"There is no point in saving the dead. That is the job of the Shinigami. You should study how to save the living."
- Ishida's Father
Ishida Uryuu stands with head bowed and fists clenched. The photo held in his injured hand deteriorates into ash from the hot spiritual energy crackling off his body.
Collapsed and forgotten on the ground, Nemu peeks over in curiosity.
Mayuri also watches Ishida, but his expression is far more serious. How is he able to stand up with limbs which where incapacitated by Ashisogi Jizou... he notices the unique glove on Ishida's uninjured hand, which the boy used earlier to materialize a bow. I know what this is. It's Ransoutengai!(1)
Raising his head, Ishida reaches over to his injured shoulder and tears off the bloodied sleeve with a sharp yank.
As Ishida uses the ripped sleeve as a way to bandage his bleeding arm, Mayuri thinks, An innumerable bundle of souls threaded together. When one reaches the point where one cannot move, these activate and force the body to move like a puppet. It was originally made for aged Quincy who could no longer move, in order for them to continue to battle Hollows. There's no point to this technique if bones will not be broken or tendons will not be severed. As its name says, it exists for the sake of fighting until the body turns to dust. The ultimate spiritual fighting technique of the spirit-controlling Quincy...
I thought it was a technique that had been lost long ago - that it only exists within textbooks. The truth is, out of the 2,661 people I have experimented on, there wasn't even one among them who showed even a glimmer of possibly of harnessing that technique. For someone so young to use it must mean - Mayuri smirks and observes Ishida with half-lidded eyes, "This is what they call... a genius, huh."
Ishida meets his gaze coldly.
(Intro Page: Ichigo charges toward the reader with an intense expression. His hand grasps the hilt of Zangetsu strapped to his back and he seems like he is about to pull it free and strike at his opponent. The sparse vegetation around him suggests that he is still at the place where we last saw him, with Yoruichi. I suppose this is KT's way of reminding us that Ichigo is still the main character. ^^;)
Years ago, when Ishida Uryuu was just a skinny little kid...
"Uryuu, it seems that you're still visiting Grandpa."
Young Uryuu looked up guiltily, with his fingers tightly gripping the straps of his school backpack.
"I've told you several times before to stop going," said a tall man with light-colored hair and frameless glasses. He wore a long white coat(2) over his dark trousers and house slippers. He and Uryuu stood in what appeared to be a private study.
"B...but..." Uryuu said weakly.
"Don't make excuses. I've told you that many times as well," the man scolding Uryuu wasn't facing him; in fact he was barely paying the boy any attention. His body was turned slightly away, facing a well-organized bookshelf while skimming though some sort of detailed manuscript in his hands.
"There is no point in saving the dead," he told the wide-eyed young boy. "That is the job of the Shinigami. You should study how to save the living. I have no interest in it and you have no talent in it. The Quincy will end with Grandpa's generation. You know that."
"...D... Dad..." Uryuu asked, staring down at the polished wood floor. "How come you hate the Quincy so much...?"
The man - Uryuu's father - looked up from the manuscript. Despite the short blonde hair, his sharply angled face held a perfect resemblance to the grown up version of Uryuu.
The man turned his head to favor his son with a narrow look, "Because there is no money in it."
Later that day, young Uryuu managed to go see his grandfather, despite his father's warnings. In a wooded area, Ishida Souken knelt in front of his grandson and tried to comfort the distraught boy.
"Hrmm... Well, he does have a point there... Being a Quincy can't bring food to the table in this day and age. That is a grave problem for someone like him, since he has a family to look after," Souken said as he looked up at Uryuu from his kneeling position. "See, I shouldn't misunderstand him! Of course, the same goes for you, Uryuu."
"B... but...!" Uryuu roughly swiped at the sloppy tears trailing down his face. "I can see them... both the Hollows and the ones who get attacked... I can also see with these eyes that it can't be handled by just the Shinigami... How...! Even though Dad should be able to see it too... Even then, how... how can he say such things...!"
Souken kept silent as his grandson stood there with his head bowed, venting his frustrations.
"Sensei... I want to be stronger...!" Uryuu cried, "I want to become a strong Quincy... and protect everybody from Hollows...! If I do that, then Dad will surely accept the Quincy..." (3)
"...Thank you... Uryuu..."
Back in the present, Ishida thrusts his arm out and a bow materializes from the glove. The crackle of burning energy surrounding him does not cease.
"How nice..." Mayuri reaches for one of the strange cones on the side of his head, where his ears should be. "It seems that I've somehow developed an interest in you..." he twists the top cap off the ear-cone and carefully draws out a long, slimy object.(4) "I've decided not to kill you. I'll take you with me alive. Then I'll make you a research subject along with that girl."
Ishida does not respond. His mind is still replaying his Grandfather’s words from long ago.
"...However, Uryuu, you should also try to understand your Father," Souken said as the walked back towards the populated town. "If what one wants to protect is different, then one's sense of justice changes along with it. It's that sort of thing."
"Something that Dad wants to protect...?" Uryuu looked away sourly. "What is it? Money?"
Souken paused thoughtfully and placed a gentle hand on his grandson’s head, "Someday, you will understand."
"When that time comes, you will also know what it is that you truly wish to protect," Souken said as he handed the boy a box locked by straps and paper seals. "In case that time comes, I'm leaving this in your care." It is the box which contains Uryuu’s glove-bow. "When you've eventually come to understand your Father's feelings and find out what it is that you wish to protect - if you still wish to continue down the path of the Quincy - then one day you will surely encounter a battle that you cannot avoid. In a battle outside the limits of one's physical range, the time will come where one must cast away one's self. Please use this then."
I'm sorry, Sensei, Ishida faces down the captain of the 12th. I still don't understand Dad's feelings and I certainly don't know what it is that I truly wish to protect, He raises his left arm, his middle and index finger poised for his next move. However... I will at least understand what it is to have something I cannot forgive.
Souken placed the sealed box in front of young Uryuu, "The 'Sanrei Shutou'.(5) If you put this on and train with it for 7 days and 7 nights, then you can approach the majesty of the Quincy without limitations. But do not forget this, Uryuu," Souken warned him, "If you put it on once, you must never take it off again. If you were to take it off, then you would lose all of your powers as a Quincy."
I am sorry, Sensei, Ishida thinks as he reaches out with his two fingers and hooks them around one of the long tabs sticking out the side of his glove, For one last time, I will go against your wishes. He breaks off the object - destroying the entire glove in the process.
A bright column of energy engulfs Ishida. Mayuri's eyes grow wide at the phenomenon, "Wha... What the...! What is that...!?"
The whirlwind of energy dissipates, revealing Ishida crouched in the center. Although his bandaged arm is no different than earlier, the rest of his appearance has undergone a drastic change. The clothes covering his torso, right arm, and right leg all seem to be made up of a black & white style similar to that of his destroyed glove. He grasps a white bow in his right hand, sleeker than his former bow.
Ishida raises his head. His eyes narrow at Mayuri.
(1)"Violently Worn Heavenly Puppet" ...what. Is it supposed to make sense? Ha.
(2)Is it a lab coat? A doctor's coat? A fashion statement? I can't tell the difference.
(3)Ichigo wanted to be stronger so he can protect people from Hollows & face his mother proudly. Ishida wanted to be stronger so he can protect people from Hollows & face his father proudly. Coincidence? <_<
(4)Do I want to know what the hell Mayuri just pulled out of his... um, ear? <_<; ...no, actually, I really don't.
(5)"Glove of Fallen Spirits"
Notes:
-What do guys think of Ishida Uryuu now?
-I'm glad KT didn't pull one of those cheap tricks, like: "Ishida's rage is so powerful that it overrides the effects of Mayuri's sword." Instead, Ishida has actually trained in a desperate fighting technique in order to control his body like a puppet. I likes.
-Am I jumping to a huge conclusion by assuming that Ishida's father is some sort of doctor? It seems that Ishi's dad is quite intent on making money and saving living people instead of dead ones (plus that white coat is a pretty clear indication...) Of course, he could be a