Gates of Hell

Yoriichi nodded after hearing Ichigo out.

"Then let's follow him."

Ichigo froze for a moment.

"Huh? It's that simple?"

Rukia glanced at him.

"How complicated did you want it to be?"

The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched, and he immediately charged ahead.

"Enough talk. Let's find Chad first."

The three followed the lingering Reiatsu.

The early-morning streets of Karakura Town had yet to fully come to life, and there weren't many pedestrians around.

Chad was still moving.

In Yoriichi's perception, another, colder presence also lingered nearby the entire time.

It was waiting for an opportunity.

Ichigo had clearly noticed it too, and his expression grew grimmer by the moment.

"That bastard hasn't already made his move, has he?"

"It's possible."

Rukia spoke in a low voice.

"Hurry."

Soon, the three reached the edge of town.

An abandoned area lay ahead, its old wire fences leaning every which way, its dilapidated factory buildings standing in silence.

The mingled smell of rust and dust already hung in the air.

Yoriichi stopped and looked toward the factory building farthest in.

"There."

Without another word, Ichigo rushed inside.

The factory was dimly lit.

Several holes gaped in the skylight, and morning light streamed down from above, illuminating the dust drifting in the air.

Chad stood in the middle of the factory.

He had suffered quite a few more injuries. His school uniform was torn, and blood stained the corner of his mouth.

He was shielding the parakeet behind him.

The sight instantly enraged Ichigo.

"Chad, what the hell are you doing?!"

Chad turned around, and his expression shifted slightly when he saw Ichigo and the others.

"You shouldn't have come."

The parakeet in the birdcage suddenly spoke.

"It's all my fault..."

The voice trembled, thick with fear.

"Everyone will get hurt because of me."

Ichigo was momentarily dumbfounded.

"The bird talked?"

"Idiot, it's not the bird talking. It's the child," Rukia snapped.

The boy huddled inside the parakeet, his voice growing quieter.

"Just throw me away."

"If you throw me away, you won't have any more bad luck."

"Please, mister... don't get hurt because of me anymore."

Chad looked down at the birdcage, his voice as deep as ever.

"I won't abandon you."

"But..."

"My grandfather told me that fists aren't for hurting people."

Chad clenched his fists.

"They're for protecting people."

Ichigo looked at Chad, his expression briefly stilling.

He really hasn't changed.

Even hurt this badly, he's still only thinking about protecting others.

The boy inside the parakeet fell silent for a moment, then finally seemed to make up his mind.

"That man... killed my mom."

"When I ran away, he kept chasing me. I ran as hard as I could, and then he fell from the building himself."

"Later, he became a monster."

At this point, Yūichi's voice was audibly shaking.

"He was the one who stuffed my soul in here. He said that if I ran for three months, he could bring my mom back to life."

"I believed him."

"But he kept chasing me, kept killing the people who came near me."

"Everyone who comes near me gets attacked."

"That's the truth behind the Cursed Parakeet."

Ichigo gritted his teeth.

"What does that bastard think children are?"

Yoriichi stood where he was, his expression so calm it was almost icy.

Toying with lives, deceiving the dead, forcing a child to endure this kind of suffering.

Something like that shouldn't be allowed to keep existing.

Just then.

A grating screech suddenly came from deep inside the factory.

The next instant, an enormous surge of Reiatsu erupted.

With a crash.

A huge Hollow smashed through the wall and charged straight inside.

A chalk-white mask covered its face, its arms resembled twisted claws, and its mouth split open in a grating laugh.

"Found you, Yūichi!"

"You really know how to make trouble for me!"

Yūichi was instantly terrified.

"Ah!"

Chad immediately stepped in front of him.

But the Hollow was fast, sending Chad flying with a single swipe.

With a thud.

Chad slammed into the wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ichigo's expression changed drastically.

"Chad!"

The Hollow had already snatched up the birdcage, its claws hooked around the bars as it gave a savage grin.

"Stay back."

"If anyone moves, I'll tear this brat's soul apart first."

Ichigo stopped dead.

Rukia's expression darkened too.

Threatening them with a hostage.

And the most troublesome kind, at that.

Chad struggled to his feet.

The Hollow stared at him, sneered, and lashed out with a kick.

Thud.

Chad was sent flying again.

But he still gritted his teeth and got back up.

Because Yūichi was still in its grasp.

So he couldn't fight back.

He could only take the blows.

A punch.

A claw swipe.

A kick.

Fresh wounds kept appearing on Chad's body, blood running down his arms and forehead.

Yūichi was on the verge of tears inside the cage.

"Forget about me!"

"Please, just forget about me!"

Ichigo shook with rage.

"You bastard..."

He was about to charge when Yoriichi reached out and stopped him.

Ichigo froze.

"Yoriichi?"

Yoriichi looked at the Hollow ahead, judged the distance workable, and shouted angrily, "Enough."

The next instant.

His figure vanished.

Ichigo's pupils contracted sharply.

He wasn't the only one.

Rukia hadn't seen how Yoriichi moved either.

All they saw was an afterimage flash from where he had stood.

Yoriichi was already in front of the Hollow.

He held his fingers together like a blade and lightly swept his hand forward.

Squelch.

The Hollow's body split neatly down the middle.

Before the savage expression could leave its face, its entire body had already fallen into two halves.

Only then did a fierce gust rise, as though a beat too late.

Ichigo opened his mouth.

"That's... it?"

Rukia's eyelid twitched as she looked at the bisected Hollow.

He's still just as outrageous.

Yoriichi had already caught the falling birdcage, rescuing Yūichi.

"You're safe now."

His voice was as calm as ever.

Yūichi stared blankly at him, momentarily forgetting even to cry.

The Hollow on the ground was still struggling.

But its body had already begun to disintegrate.

Just then.

The air inside the factory suddenly changed.

An even more sinister presence pressed down from above without warning.

Then the ground began to shake.

Rumble.

An enormous black gateway slowly emerged from the void.

Heavy chains coiled around the gates, and an eerie red glow seeped through the gap, as though countless voices were howling in agony behind them.

The temperature throughout the factory seemed to drop all at once.

Ichigo's scalp prickled at the sight.

"What the hell is that now?"

Rukia's expression changed too.

"The Gates of Hell..."

At the sight of the gates, the disintegrating Hollow let out an even more piercing scream.

"No!"

"Don't take me away!"

The chains on the gates suddenly shot out as though they had come alive, instantly winding around the Hollow's body.

No matter how it struggled, it was no use.

The next moment, it was forcibly dragged toward that door.

Click.

The door opened a crack wider.

The aura emanating from within made even Ichigo take half a step back.

Chad stood against the wall, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Yūichi was so frightened that he huddled in the cage, trembling.

Only Yoriichi remained standing quietly there, watching the enormous, sinister black door.

His gaze was calm.

But there was also a hint of scrutiny in it.

Whatever lay behind this door was no simple thing.

And what happened to the Hollow it took away did not seem to be purification in the usual sense.

At that thought, Yoriichi turned to Rukia.

"What exactly is this thing?"

"Will the Hollow it sucked in die?"