Bleach : The God of Flames Chapter 3: Hope in the Rain

At a street corner in Karakura Town, Sawada Tsunayoshi waved with a smile as he said goodbye to the spirit in front of him.

It had been over a year since he moved to Karakura Town.

During that ti, Tsunayoshi had completely mastered his Fullbring.

His daily routine had beco simple:

Attend school and sleep through classes during the day,

hunt Hollows in the evening,

and spend his free ti hanging out with Tatsuki and Ichigo. The three of them often visited one another's hos.

Through this, Tsunayoshi got to know the Kurosaki family.

There was Kurosaki Isshin, who had lost his Shinigami powers;

Kurosaki Masaki, a Quincy;

and Ichigo's two younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin.

Tsunayoshi had once considered asking Masaki to teach him Quincy techniques, but his Fullbring training had been at a crucial stage at the ti, so he temporarily set that idea aside.

As for Tatsuki's ho, there wasn't much to say.

Inside her family's karate dojo, the three kids constantly sparred with each other. Because Tsunayoshi possessed the power of Fullbring, he usually ca out on top in their fights.

Over ti, Tsunayoshi began to notice that the way Tatsuki looked at him carried a hint of sothing unusual.

When Tsunayoshi first started training his Fullbring, he once suggested to his mother that they move away from Karakura Town.

That was the first ti he had ever seen an expression on his mother's face that wasn't gentle.

Sawada Nana firmly rejected his proposal.

Rather than dragging their father down, she said, they should support Iemitsu while he worked hard outside the ho.

After talking with his mother, Tsunayoshi realized that their family wouldn't be leaving Karakura Town anyti soon.

Since that was the case—

He would have to reduce the threat to his family as much as possible.

From that mont onward, Tsunayoshi began hunting Hollows.

His Fullbring was rather unusual—it seed to co with built-in experience. Tsunayoshi could conveniently use Hollows as practice targets to refine his abilities.

Karakura Town truly lived up to its reputation as a spiritually dense area.

Hollow attacks occurred frequently.

Tsunayoshi had no idea which Shinigami from the Soul Society was stationed here at the ti, but the Hollows never seed to run out.

For Tsunayoshi, however, that simply ant plenty of combat opportunities.

During his hunts, he also encountered many wandering souls who still lingered in the Human World.

Although Tsunayoshi wasn't a Shinigami and couldn't perform Konsō (Soul Burial) for them, he would try his best to talk with those spirits and persuade them to ascend to the Soul Society on their own.

Not a Shinigami—

Yet performing the duties of one.

That was how Tsunayoshi tirelessly spent his days.

Over the past year, he had also thoroughly familiarized himself with the geography of Karakura Town.

He had even explored the surrounding areas.

And eventually, he found the place he had been searching for:

The riverbank from the ani.

The very place where Kurosaki Masaki would one day be attacked.

After spending so much ti with the Kurosaki family, Tsunayoshi had grown fond of every one of them.

As for the cheerful and warm Aunt Masaki, Tsunayoshi wanted to save her—if he possibly could.

So he had tried to find the Hollow known as Grand Fisher in advance and eliminate it.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

That Hollow was a slippery veteran.

Even the Soul Society had failed to capture it.

There was no way it would remain in one place for long.

With no other choice, Tsunayoshi adopted a strategy of constant vigilance.

He rembered that the day of Yhwach's Auswählen was known as "Everything But the Rain."

That was the day Masaki died.

For Ichigo and Isshin, the day when their world beca nothing but endless rain and sorrow.

With only that fragnt of information, Tsunayoshi found an excuse to join the school's teorology club, where he specifically recorded rainy days.

Whenever heavy rain fell, Tsunayoshi would imdiately go out.

Because of this, Nana repeatedly tried to persuade him to quit what she considered a dangerous club activity.

After failing to convince him, she could only prepare the best reflective raincoat she could find and repeatedly remind him to stay safe before letting him leave.

Tsunayoshi pushed open the front door and returned ho.

It was currently sumr vacation, aning he could devote nearly the entire day to hunting Hollows.

After helping two spirits pass on earlier, he had returned ho to rest.

"You're back? Club activities finished?" Nana asked.

"Yeah. There hasn't been any rain lately, so there's nothing for to do…"

Before Tsunayoshi could finish speaking, an alert suddenly sounded from the television.

"Sudden heavy rainfall warning in Karakura Town. Residents are advised to stay safe…"

Tsunayoshi's expression changed instantly.

A terrible premonition surged through his chest.

"Mom, I've got sothing to take care of!"

He grabbed the raincoat hanging by the door and rushed outside.

"Leave dinner for !"

"Be careful! Co back early!" Nana called after him.

Just as he stepped outside, raindrops began falling from the sky.

Within monts, the rain began to intensify.

Tsunayoshi quickly turned into a nearby alley.

He had done this countless tis before.

No one would notice him here.

A flash of green light appeared beneath his feet.

Propelled by that light, he leapt high into the air, using the curtain of rain to conceal himself as he soared above Karakura Town.

The ability Tsunayoshi used was called Bringer Light.

By condensing Reishi beneath his feet, he created a temporary foothold in midair.

Stepping on that foothold allowed him to launch himself with explosive force, moving primarily through powerful leaps.

Whenever he used it, the concentrated Reishi emitted a faint green glow, making the technique sowhat recognizable.

As Tsunayoshi bounded rapidly across the sky, he silently prayed.

Please don't let today be the day of Auswählen.

And if it is—

At least let him arrive in ti.

At the riverbank Tsunayoshi was racing toward,

Kurosaki Masaki had already confronted the Hollow known as Grand Fisher.

The creature had four limbs and a body covered in coarse brown fur.

From its grotesque white mask extended a whip-like appendage.

This organ allowed it to disguise itself as a human.

Grand Fisher used that ability to lure victims with high spiritual power.

Just like its na suggested, this Hollow was a fisherman.

It relied almost entirely on its baiting tricks and escape skills.

Its actual combat ability was diocre.

Monts earlier, it had disguised itself as a girl standing by the river.

Kind-hearted Ichigo had mistaken it for soone about to jump into the water and rushed over to help.

That was when the Hollow revealed its true form and attacked.

Naturally, Masaki, as a Quincy, stepped in front of her son.

As a forr pure-blood Quincy, Masaki's mastery of both Blut Vene and Blut Arterie far surpassed that of ordinary Quincy.

Against a Hollow like this—

She had nothing to fear.

In fact, whether the creature could survive even one exchange with her was questionable.

Blue light began to glow along Masaki's arm.

The light spread like veins across her forearm.

Blut Vene.

The Quincy defensive technique.

anwhile, Grand Fisher knew none of this.

Seeing its prey standing before it, the Hollow leapt forward with its claws raised high.

To it, the mother and son with such high spiritual power were simply a perfect al.

Masaki raised her forearm defensively.

The mont the Hollow entered close range—

She would fire a Heilig Pfeil and obliterate it at point-blank range.

This strategy had worked countless tis before.

It was even how she first t Kurosaki Isshin years ago.

Back then, however, her plan had failed.

That Hollow had been far stronger than expected.

It broke through her Blut Vene and injured her, infecting her with Hollow poison and ending her status as a pure-blood Quincy.

But this ti, Masaki was confident.

Judging by its Reiatsu, this Hollow was nowhere near her level.

Her plan would succeed.

Or so she thought.

Suddenly—

Masaki realized sothing was wrong.

Her body wouldn't respond.

The power inside her was rapidly fading.

The Reishi around her refused to obey.

Panic flooded her heart.

For a Quincy, being unable to control Reishi ant losing all combat ability.

And the Hollow had already reached them.

In desperation, Masaki turned and wrapped her arms around Ichigo, shielding him with her own body.

This was the final instinct of a mother.

As for Ichigo—

He had never witnessed anything like this before.

The terrifying appearance of the Hollow and the overwhelming pressure of its Reiatsu froze him in place.

He couldn't move at all.

Masaki could only cover his eyes.

At the very least, she didn't want her son to see the mont she died.

Yes—

She had already given up.

The Reishi in her body was disappearing faster and faster.

She didn't know what was happening.

All she knew was that she and her son were about to die here.

Masaki closed her eyes and prayed.

Prayed that the Hollow would spare Ichigo.

Prayed for a miracle.

A whistling sound suddenly tore through the rain.

The death that should have arrived—

Didn't.

Masaki turned her head in shock.

A massive red-glowing arrow had pierced through Grand Fisher's claw.

The Hollow howled in pain and tried to flee.

Grand Fisher couldn't understand what kind of attack this was.

Its defenses had been completely useless.

The arrow had pierced through it like tofu.

True to its nature as a Hollow specialized in baiting and escape, Grand Fisher didn't hesitate.

Just from that single attack, it knew it couldn't win.

It didn't even bother looking for its attacker.

It imdiately turned to run.

Three more whistling sounds cut through the air.

Three arrows struck its limbs in succession.

The Hollow was pinned firmly to the ground.

Grün Pfeil chanism Arrows.

Rapidly fired anchoring arrows wrapped in spiraling red flas, designed to immobilize enemies.

Now that the threat had stopped moving, Masaki looked behind her.

On the bridge stood a small figure.

The silhouette looked strangely familiar.

But what drew Masaki's attention most was the massive bow in his hands—almost as tall as he was.

The bow's fra resembled white bone, while its string was ford from crimson energy.

There was even a guard attached to it, decorated with faint red patterns.

A Quincy?

The thought had just crossed her mind—

When the figure shouted:

"Get down!"

Without hesitation, Masaki pulled Ichigo down to the ground.

In the next mont—

A millstone-sized arrow of blazing red fire shot over their heads.

From its sharp spear-like tip, one could just barely tell it was an arrow.

The crimson projectile tore through the rainstorm.

Unstoppable.

It slamd directly into the immobilized Grand Fisher, piercing straight through it.

The raging flas consud the Hollow's body completely—

Reducing it back into Reishi scattered across heaven and earth.

Scarlet Dragon Tornado Arrow.