Chapter Ten:

Meanwhile we watch as Karin super kicks a ball right into an annoying boys face. Though after she does that all the neighborhood boys gather around her yelling about her being mean and unfair. They screeched asking her if she wanted to fight, something she would normally take part in but right now she didn't feel right.

"Sorry, I'm calling it a day." she said startling the boys she had been playing with then began walking away ignoring their calls for her to come back. She began walking to the exit of the park but was surprised when she say a ragged looking Chad who was breathing heavily.

"Hey, you're Ichi's and Izumi's friend, the parakeet guy!" she concluded taking in his appearance which startled chad. "Why did a nice grown up like you come alone to a place like this-" before she could finish her question he sprung forward and grabbed her. Shielding her from the small explosion made from a hollow smashing its arms down right where they had been standing. As soon as they were safely away he put her down and faced the large monkey faced monster.

"Wha- what is that!?" she cried and was grateful he protected her. Though her statement caught Chad off guard since he himself couldn't see the monster clearly, he could only see a fuzzy vague image; basically an outline.

"Can you see it clearly?" he asked bewildered scaring Karin more than she already was.

"Can I see it? What are you talking about? I can see it clear as day!" she screamed as the hollow lunged at them while Chad's back was turned. He was going to say something but before the monster could touch them it was sent flying backwards. Neither Chad nor Karin noticed since he had reacted to her scream and had picked her up and removed her from the area they had been standing in. Chad quickly slowed down while still holding her on his shoulder he tried to locate the monsters whereabouts but he couldn't see it anymore. He searched the area until Karin gripped hold of his head and pointed off to his right where the hollow had been thrown.

"Where are you looking mister!? It's on our right! Run!" Chad managed to dodge the hollows incoming attack but no one realized that it's attack had landed on someone but that someone took the blow and threw it back again and the speed of light.

"Mister, could it be that you can't see that thing?!" Karin questioned as she watched the monster pick itself back up off the ground. She thought that it had hit the ground so hard that it was shot backwards.

"I can see it somewhat." Chad answered in his deep voice as he continued to run in the direction of the beast.

"So in short you can't see much. Then we've got no choice! Hold on to me and don't let me go!" she yelled bravely as she swiveled back to look at the hollow who was now on its feet and just like a monkey was using its front arms to swing toward them.

"No! It'd be too dangerous!" he denied her request as he picked up his speed heading toward the exit. Karin gritted her teeth and gripped the back of his shirt tighter.

"It's fine! Use me, this isn't the first time I have seen these monsters! It's been bothering me for awhile, I want to know what these things have to do with Ichi!" she screamed as adrenaline pumped through her veins. Chad was more than surprised to hear Ichigo had a connection to the monsters but before he could ask her what she was talking about she warned him about an incoming attack to his left. Right when he jumped back he saw a silhouette of a woman dressed in black kick the attack back at high speeds protecting them. Even from the quick glance he saw, he knew that there was indeed a woman protecting them from the monster's attacks and for that he was grateful but he knew he had to help protect himself too. So when the monster reached forward to balance himself from the blow the woman gave he punched down on its arm sending it flying backwards with extra momentum from the woman.

"Right! Good shot!" she screamed not being able to see the woman but being able to see Chad's monster punch on the hollows arm which sent it backwards. However the hollow used the momentum of both hits to make one of his own which connected with Chad's head sending him flying backwards. He kept Karin wrapped in his arms and protected her from every hit he took on the ground. Blood covered the ground around the crown of his head and he didn't get up straight away which made Karin worry.

"Mister! Are you okay?!" she screamed terrified for the stranger who held her in her arms but all of her worries vanished when she heard the children she had been playing with running towards them and calling her name. As fast as she could get out of Chad's arms she shot up on her knees with a terrified look on her face.

"Morons! Don't come near here! Go over there!" she screamed startling her friends and making them angry at her since they were just worried about her health. Little did they know the hollow was actually directly behind them lifting up its arms preparing to squash them in one swing. Without thinking Karin sprung forward and jumped over them offering herself up instead of their lives. Chad watched her jump completely dazed, his brain still rattled from the blow he took; in his daze he began thinking of his past. A hard lesson he had learned from his grandfather ran through his mind giving him strength as he quickly mustered up his new found strength and stood over the children throwing one major punch at the beast.

Half of the hollows body was blown away and as the smoke cleared Chad stood strong with this arm morphed into something that looked bionic. Karin watched confused until she decided to speak to her new friend.

"Mister, what's with that arm?" she hesitated slightly when he seemed just as confused as her as he looked at it silently. It was silent for a moment until the hollow once again began to stand growling and roaring, completely enraged that a mere human had done so much damage to its body. "It- it's still!" before she could finish what she was saying Chad took off in its direction; she was silent as she watched him go but just in the corner of her eye she caught a dark glimpse of a woman flying down toward the beast with two swords drawn.

"Mister!!!" she screamed trying to warn him but he was too far gone to hear or even acknowledge her. She watched as the woman sliced the beast in half at the seed of light and realized the big man hadn't seen it happen as he continued to charge the beast and completely destroy it the rest of the way. As the smoke cleared she couldn't see the woman but she did realize that Chad had just aimed at beast by himself.

"Just now he aimed for it, even though there wasn't time for me to tell him where it was. That guy aimed clearly for the head, he can see it?" she fell to her knees feeling the weight of the situation crumble off of her shoulders. She stared at Chad's back as he watched the monster lay there headless, slowly he began lifting his arm to give her a thumbs up. It blew her mind that after all that he would just give an uncool okay sign but as she watched him she noticed him begin to fall over until he fell to the ground.

"Mister! Are you okay?!" she raced over to him to see if he was alright. When she got close she stood over him and realized his eyes were wide open and watching her.

"You're not injured right, Ichigo's little sister?" he questioned nonchalantly causing her to smile down at him in disbelief.

"You damn idiot, you're the only one who got injured!" she almost laughed while she watched him look relieved.

"I see, that's good then." he mumbled making Karin angry since he was so willing to get himself hurt instead of others. It reminded her of her brother and Izumi who have bailed her out of things since she was little. Not to mention she knew Izumi has been taking care of Ichigo's fights for years without him knowing. She hated that they sacrificed themselves all the time and now this guy was no different.

"That ain't good!" she screamed and landed a kick right to the side of Chad's face surprising him. "What's so good about getting yourself hurt?! It isn't 'good' if even one person gets hurt! That's the logic of a guy who tries to act tough!! You're exactly like Ichigo and Izumi with that stuff! God I can't take it!!" She screamed down at him while pointing her finger. "Wait here! I'll go call my weirdo Dad to treat you! Don't move from there mister!" she stormed away to find a phone leaving the poor beaten man to lay there by himself and think about her words. Once she was a decent ways away he sighed out and looked up toward the sky.

"Ichigo's little sister huh. And basically Izumi's mini me too; she acts just like them." she mumbled to himself as he looked toward the sky once more. He stared for a moment thinking back to the mysterious woman who had been protecting them from the shadows. He had no idea who she was, though he did know she was the real one who killed that beast. When he was looking at the body he noticed the two distinct cuts that could have only been made by duel swords and watched the hollows body evaporate before his body collapsed on itself. He closed his eyes thinking about his new abilities; everything was silent as he laid there peacefully until he felt someone kiss his forehead. His eyes shot open connecting with the bright eyes of Izumi Yamamto who was dressed in dark clothing he had never seen before. He took in her face surprised but still unable to move. He went to open his mouth but she simple smiled and shook her head silencing him.

"Thank you for protecting Karin Chad. I owe you one." she smiled down at him with her eyes closed before she disappeared from his sight.

Leaving him confused and surprised; he knew she was had been missing for several days. Now he realized she had been the woman who was protecting them this worked him up more than anything else and he tried to sit up to find her but he couldn't. As he struggled with his own body a tingling feeling erupted from his forehead where Izumi had kissed instantly relaxing and calming him down to think again.

"Izumi." he stared up at he sky and imagined her again until his eyes closed and he ventured into the darkness.

...

Meanwhile back at the high school we watch as Tatsuki and their fiend Chizuru are sweeping up broken pieces of glass from the windows that exploded earlier.

"If I have to clean all this up then I shouldn't have come to see what happened in the first place. It only turned out that the glass broke from a fight between the Judo club members. So boring. In the ruckus even us innocent onlookers got caught up in it." Chizuru groaned not really cleaning but really just complaining while Tatsuki swept it up.

Both of them were angry that they were being forced to clean it up since the only reason they're stuck doing it is because they were the nearest and making the largest fuss.

"One of those brats said 'my arm did it against my will'! They've been in a bad temper since their pathetic loss at the Tokyo competition." Chizuru said dismissively semi striking a nerve in Tatsuki since she was part of the Judo club.

"Yeah, but you know, something's strange-" Tatsuki started but Chizuru cut her off thinking she was standing up for the boys that got them into the mess their in now anyways.

"What? You are really taking their side!? Huh, Tatsuki is that sweaty group really your type?" she poked fun knowing it would get her all riled up.

"What!!!!??" Tatsuki screamed getting in her friends face making them both begin to argue back and forth until Chizuru threw her broom and dust pan down.

"I quit! I'm going home! This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed and began stretching her neck since it was cramped from being bent down so long. As she was stretching she noticed Orihime staring up at the roof of the school motionless. She ignored Tatsuki's angry remarks and called to the orange haired girl instead.

"Princess! Leave Tatsuki to do the clean up and let's go home together!" she called to Orihime but was startled when she was ignored. "What's wrong princess? You're spacing out more than usual. while you're zoning out a lot, I'm going to tie you up and give you a twenty four hour petting." she smiled being her usual perverted self until Tatsuki popped up behind her.

"What are you letting slip out with that smile?" she growled causing them to begin bickering back and forth again until Orihime called both of there names.

"Uh, there's a show I want to see on TV today, so I'm going to go home already!" she smiled with her innocent smile then as they both looked at her confused she quickly grabbed ahold of both of them and began pushing them away from the school building. "Let's go home together, hurry up now!" she smiled and ignored their protests.

What they didn't see was the large tentacled hollow beginning to emerge from the top of the school watching them walk away.