"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Aaaaaah—!"
In a fit of exasperation, Asakura Yoh forcibly reclaimed control of his body. Foregoing the bow and arrows, he instantly activated Blut Arterie and unleashed a flurry of punches on Inoue Sora.
Under such abuse, Sora lost all desire to kidnap Inoue Orihime; he just wanted to flee back to Hueco Mundo.
But Yoh wasn't about to give him the chance. He grabbed the Hollow's snake-like tail and slammed him into the ground with a shoulder throw, then mounted him and started raining down slaps.
"That's for the domestic violence! That's for trying to kill your sister and her friend! That's for..."
"Kuchiki?" Arisawa Tatsuki was still dazed when she realized Kuchiki Rukia had appeared before her.
Rukia kept her hands behind her back, looking at Tatsuki with a smile.
"Good evening, Arisawa-san."
"?"
*Bang!*
Rukia quickly brought the memory-altering device from behind her back and pressed the button in front of Tatsuki. With a small pop, Tatsuki fell into a deep sleep.
Rukia then dragged Tatsuki to safety. Judging by the situation, that Hollow was clearly no match for Asakura Yoh.
"Stop! Stop hitting me! I was wrong, I was wrong! Orihime! Orihime!"
Sora's face had been the only part of him that still looked human; now, it was the least human part of him, swollen like a pig's head.
"Um, Asakura-kun, maybe you should..."
Seeing her brother beaten like this, Orihime couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy, even though she knew he had turned into a monster. But since Yoh was clearly saving her, she didn't know how to intervene.
"Yoh, maybe... you should stop and hear what he has to say?"
Kurosaki Ichigo spoke up, unable to watch any longer—though he stayed ten meters away, clearly still wary after the previous incident.
"Phew... fine. I don't really like using violence to solve things anyway."
Yoh stood up and brushed off his hands. His comment was met with dead silence.
'You literally beat a Hollow into begging for mercy, and you claim you don't like violence?'
"Wait? Inoue, you can see Hollows? And you can see me?"
The slow-witted Ichigo finally realized that Orihime shouldn't have been able to see him.
"Uh, well..." Orihime looked awkwardly at the chain on her chest. Ichigo followed her gaze.
"Ah! You! Inoue, are you already dea—"
"Idiot!" Having finished with Tatsuki, Rukia returned and immediately gave Ichigo a sharp rap on the head.
"Her soul was just forcibly pulled out. See the chain on her chest? It's still connected to her body. As long as she returns to her body soon, she'll be fine."
Rukia's explanation relieved Ichigo. He couldn't imagine how devastating it would have been for Tatsuki if something had really happened to Orihime.
"Brother..."
Orihime approached her brother, gently brushing the hair away from Sora's forehead with pity.
"Orihime... why... why did you forget about me?"
"I was the one who took you away from those scumbag parents! I was the one who raised you! We only had each other! So why!?"
Seeing Sora becoming unstable again, Yoh made a motion to raise his hand. Sora immediately shut his mouth.
"It's not like that, Brother."
Unaware of Yoh's gesture, Orihime focused entirely on her brother.
"I just wanted you to know about the happy things that happened at school, the things I liked..."
"The reason I prayed less later on was because I thought if I kept doing it, you would just be sad and worried about me from the other side..."
"That's why I tried to change. I wanted you to see how happy I was! I wanted you to know you didn't need to worry about me anymore!"
"But I didn't realize... that it would make you feel so lonely instead..."
"I'm sorry. It's my fault for making you lonely... I love you more than anyone..."
Large tears welled up in her eyes. It was then that Sora noticed the hairpins in Orihime's hair—the very ones he had given her on the day of the accident.
Orihime had acted like she hated them back then, and they'd had a rare, huge fight over it. He had always assumed she'd thrown them away long ago.
But she had been wearing them all along. He was so foolish. Why hadn't he noticed something so simple before?
"Orihime... I'm the one who should apologize. I was so stupid to misunderstand your feelings like that..."
Sora stood up and slowly looked toward Ichigo.
"Soul Reaper, use that sword to kill me now."
"Brother?!"
"Hey, is that really necessary?"
Ichigo spoke hesitantly. Given the circumstances, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"No, it's the right choice. Once someone becomes a Hollow, they can never go back," Rukia stated firmly.
"Rukia..."
"Don't worry. For a Hollow, being 'cut' isn't the same as being 'killed.' A Zanpakuto cleanses a Hollow's sins and sends them to the Soul Society. That is why we Soul Reapers exist."
"Then... Orihime... goodbye..."
"Wait a minute!" Yoh suddenly interrupted. Sora flinched instinctively, clearly traumatized.
"Sorry to interrupt your touching farewell, but I have a proposal that might be better than going to the Soul Society."
As everyone looked toward him, Yoh continued.
"Inoue's brother, if I had a way for you to keep your human memories and sanity, would you want to stay? Even if you can no longer be called 'human,' you could still remain by your sister's side."
"What? Is that even possible!?" Ichigo asked in surprise. Personally, he thought that might be better.
"Of course not! How could such a thing be possible!?"
Rukia shouted with an air of absolute authority, a hint of anger in her voice. Yoh's words threatened to overturn the worldview she had held for nearly two hundred years.
"No, it can be done."
Yoh spoke with a smile. His gaze swept over the skeptical Rukia, then the confused Ichigo who didn't know who to believe.
Finally, his gaze settled on the Inoue siblings, whose eyes were once again alight with hope.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself..."
"I am a Shaman—the bridge between this world and the next!"