Got You

Faster than the rain.

Swifter than the wind.

The deep blue reishi arrows tore through the air, piercing through Yaksha's body in an instant, pinning it brutally to the pavement.

But even that wasn't enough to suppress its movements completely.

The relentless downpour of reishi arrows didn't cease, reducing the concrete beneath it to dust, sending a cloud of debris spiraling into the air.

Shiba Isshin raised a hand to shield his face, his expression shifting into one of deep confusion.

What… is this?

Unexpected reinforcements had arrived.

"Don't just stand there, you over there!"

A crisp, cold voice cut across the battlefield.

Isshin didn't recognize the voice.

But strangely, an instinctual sense of trust flickered in his mind.

It was as if this unknown person was someone he could trust—someone reliable.

Almost as if compelled by something beyond himself, he turned his head.

Through the rain, a figure was running toward him.

Orange hair, drenched and clinging to her face. A uniform that suggested some sort of academy…

But Isshin wasn't well-versed in modern clothing trends.

Nor did he care about things like school uniforms.

"Who… are you?"

His wounds bled freely, half of his face numb from pain.

His voice carried exhaustion and uncertainty.

He had already resigned himself to death, yet the sudden change in the situation left him with a strange, conflicted feeling.

The girl—Kurosaki Masaki—met his gaze with a firm, determined expression.

"I'm just someone passing by," she stated.

"Someone who doesn't want to see people die for nothing."

"Just a Quincy."

She couldn't ignore it.

She had seen everything happen.

And if she saw it, she would act.

That was her way of life.

Reaching out a hand toward Isshin, her voice remained firm.

"How are you feeling? Can you still walk? That wound looks serious… But for now, let's just get out of here!"

It was a huge help.

Isshin wanted to say that.

But his attention was still locked onto the battlefield.

"Wait… That thing is different from other Hollows. It can break down spiritual particles and turn them into something harmless—"

"…Huh?"

Masaki's expression shifted slightly.

And at that moment—

From the rooftop of a nearby building, Ishida Ryūken's face darkened.

Not good.

With his advanced understanding of reishi, his Quincy instincts instantly recognized the problem.

"Masaki! Get back! That thing isn't actually injured!"

In an instant, black-red lightning crackled from within the smoke.

A low hum reverberated through the air—

And then, with explosive force, a Cero was unleashed, streaking directly toward Masaki.

There was no time to dodge.

"Dangerous!"

Ignoring his pain, Isshin gritted his teeth and moved.

Throwing himself forward, he extended his last reserves of reiatsu—

Bakudō #81: Dankū.

A transparent barrier of pure energy materialized before them, its presence like an immovable wall.

The Cero crashed against it.

BOOM!

Half the sky turned a blinding red-yellow.

The heat and force tore through the rain, creating an eerie, unnatural void where the downpour had been repelled.

Masaki's lips parted slightly.

She wasn't weak—she was a Quincy, and her natural abilities far exceeded others of her kind.

Yet just now, she had stood at the edge of death.

"Th—"

Her instinct was to thank him.

But the words caught in her throat.

Because as the explosion faded—

She saw him.

Shiba Isshin stood before her.

Tall.

Strong.

A living shield.

But his body—

His entire left side had been burned to a crisp.

His shihakushō and captain's haori had been incinerated, leaving nothing but smoldering remnants.

His skin and flesh had charred black, the wound so severe it was terrifying to even look at.

Hearing her sharp inhale, Isshin forced himself to turn his head slightly.

"Heh… You alright?"

He tried to smile.

But his body wouldn't allow it.

The next second—

Shiba Isshin collapsed.

Even an incomplete Dankū had impressive defensive power.

If the attack had been an ordinary Cero, he might have been able to block it fully.

But—

Watching from above, Seiya exhaled softly.

"My Cero isn't something that can be stopped by a half-formed barrier like that."

Was it recklessness?

Or just ignorance?

Compared to the original timeline, Yaksha was far stronger than the Hollow White.

Isshin had at least been able to take one of its arms.

Now, in the face of this enemy, he had been reduced to a fleeing, battered mess.

"A Second-Class Spiritual Threat isn't something the Captain of the 10th Division can handle."

Up until now, Seiya's Yaksha clone had been fighting conservatively.

Now, thanks to Masaki's interference—

It had been forced into a direct confrontation.

Things have changed.

As Yaksha loomed, Masaki's breathing quickened.

She had already begun moving before she realized it, closing the distance between them in an instant.

Her focus narrowed.

Every detail of the battlefield slowed down in her vision.

A pattern.

Every fighter had one.

Even this thing.

It had a firing limit—

A maximum number of Cero it could unleash at once.

And because it had to split its attacks between her and Ryūken, its firepower was divided.

That means—

The wound Ryūken had inflicted.

The hole in its neck.

It was healing—but not fast enough.

This is the only chance.

Masaki had always been a risk-taker.

Her life philosophy was simple: If you don't take the shot, you'll never hit the target.

"I have to take this shot."

Even if it meant gambling with her life.

Her speed increased.

Dodging a Cero at the last moment, she slipped through the storm of attacks.

One meter.

Two.

Then—

Right there.

She lifted her right hand.

Her fingers curled into the shape of a gun.

A deep blue glow surged through her veins.

Reishi surged.

A bow of pure energy formed instantly.

Point-blank range.

Maximum output.

Masaki whispered,

"Got you."

Her reishi erupted in a concentrated beam—

It was over.

Or so she thought.

Because at that moment—

A voice, calm yet laced with something unreadable, cut through the air.

"Really now…"

"You're more reckless than I expected."

The next thing Masaki saw—

Was a sword flash.

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Powerstones?

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