Chapter 53 – One Thing
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[So, just to clear confusion for some people who are wondering and don't know where this is going. There are going to be Arcs, different Arcs. 

With each Arc, the story will move forward, but from different perspective. With each identity that Jay has taken through his Shikai. 

This Arc will follow Jay and his life as Jun, the next will likely follow Decimo or the Fourth Fragment in Naruto Universe (I still haven't watched Boruto so I will have to watch the whole show first. Still have a month for that.) 

This Arc will also show the changes in Soul Society, and it shouldn't be a whole mess anymore.]

Ichigo looked up at the stars, walking on the streets of Karakura Town, walking towards the new spiritual pressure that has been roaming around the cities. He moved his eyes down from the stars, looking at the petite girl standing on the crossroads, "Yo, this way." 

Even as he said that the girl didn't pay attention. Instead, she kept looking in the distance. 

The confused Ichigo stepped forward, waving his hand in front of her face, "Yo! Can you hear me?!" 

The petite girl wearing shihakusho didn't even look at him when she turned around, "Hmm, is the idiot talking to himself?" 

Ichigo tightened his jaw, kicking Rukia's butt, causing her to fall on the road, face first, "I am talking to you!!"

Rukia panicked, getting on her feet, looking back at Ichigo, "You can see me!!" 

"Hah?! Of course, I can see you!" Ichigo glared at her, putting his hands inside his sleeveless jackets. 

Rukia pointed at him, "You are the one that has been exorcising Hollows!" 

Ichigo scratched his cheek, "Congratulations, you figured it out, genius. What do you even want here?" 

Rukia became confused, blanking out, "What do I want? I...My mission was to find you...? I guess?" 

"And what after you find me?" Ichigo looked at her like looking at an idiot, furling her feathers. 

"You bastard!!" Rukia clenched her fist, cursing him before she took a deep breath, calming down. She thought for a moment, "Let's see...to begin with. How are you even exorcising Hollows? What are you?" 

Ichigo shifted his eyes downwards, looking at the two pendants that his brother gave him when they were children. 

Years ago, 

"Dad!! Why did you even name me Ichigo?! Jun always keeps calling me Pink or Strawberry!" A tiny Ichigo sat in front of his father, puffing his cheeks, complaining, "He got a good name like Jun!" 

Isshin chuckled, squatting in front of Ichigo, patting his head, "Mm, Ichigo... your name doesn't mean strawberry. It means 'To Protect One Thing.'" 

"Mm?" Ichigo blankly blinked, looking up at his father, turning his eyes towards his mother sitting on the sofa, kindly smiling at him. 

"Doesn't change you are still Pink," Jun, who was sprawled over the sofa, taunted. 

Ichigo proudly pushed out his chest, "That's not what it means." 

"Tch, Dad." 

"Young boy! Don't click your tongue on your father!" 

"Tch, tch." 

"Masaki!! See what he's doing!" 

Masaki chuckled, pulling Jun's head over her lap, caressing his rusty colored hair, "Come on, Jun. Don't bully your Dad?" 

"Eh..." Jun closed his eyes, burying his head in Masaki's stomach, "If you say so." 

Festival Evening, 

"Ichigo."

Ichigo stood at the center of the road, with people passing by, wearing kimonos. He was confused about where the others went. When his eyes fell on Jun, standing in the middle of the road with him. 

For some reason, people started ignoring this area, leaving the space empty for them. 

"Jun!!" Ichigo hastily walked towards him, "Where are Mom and Dad!" 

Jun held Ichigo's head, stopping him from coming closer, "Tell me...when Dad told you the meaning of your name. Did you think that if you can protect one thing, you'd protect mother?" 

Ichigo widened his eyes, with a light blush on his cheeks, "How did you know?!" 

"Well, you are an open book," Jun curled his lips, removing his hand from Ichigo's head, putting it on Ichigo's heart, "But Ichigo...One thing can be anything. One person, one family, one life, one way of life, one friend, one group of friends, one city, one country, one...world. One can be as big as your heart can be." 

Ichigo widened his eyes in a trace, taking in a deep breath, pressing his lips with tears building on the corner of his eyes. He blushingly looked down, "But...I can't even beat Tatsuki..." 

"Hmp," Jun smiled, putting his hand in his pocket taking out two pendants. One had a sword attached at its end, the other had a shield in the shape of a sharp side down pentagon. 

He put them around Ichigo's neck, "Here then, you'd need a sword to defeat the enemy...and a shield to protect your one thing." 

Ichigo held the sword and the shield in the palm of his hand, watching them with shimmering eyes, brightly grinning at Jun, "Thank you, big brother." 

"Shut up," Jun ignored him, walking past him, making Ichigo hastily turn around, holding onto Jun's clothes, following after him. 

Present, 

Ichigo smiled, remembering the past, looking at the pendants. Still, before he could say anything, Rukia realized something, "You are a Fullbringer!" 

Ichigo looked up at Rukia, "Is that what someone like me is called?" 

Ichigo tilted his head, "What do you even want with me? You are focusing more on finding me than exorcising the monsters." 

"Well..." 

The Roof of a nearby Building, 

"Ichigo isn't that good a liar," Sado looked towards the distance; from here, they could see and hear Ichigo and Rukia talk. 

"What did you do?" Uryu adjusted his glasses, shifting his eyes towards Jun. 

Jun, sitting on the ledge of the roof, watching Ichigo smiled, "I took...No, sealed some of Ichigo's memories." 

"You did what?" Uryu Ishida widened his eyes, "Why would you?" 

"You knew about it?" Sado noticed that Orihime wasn't surprised. 

"I asked her permission...after all, she'd be affected too," Jun looked back at them, smiling. 

"The thing is...we don't know how the Soul Society would react to the presence of our group, but if we make contact...even Ichigo...It's better if he doesn't remember the burden...that way, he could make a connection with them...free of heart." 

"Wait...if he doesn't remember...doesn't that mean everything he learned?" 

Jun chuckled, "Yes, he doesn't." 

"Isn't that dangerous," Sado narrowed his eyes when they all abruptly felt a large amount of spiritual pressure cover them.

Their eyes turned towards the sky, seeing a cavity open, a thick disdainful voice resounded above their heads, "This is the World of Living? The Spiritual Energy here is so thin." 

"We are here on Lord Aizen's orders. Let's just complete our mission and leave." 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." 

Jun raised his deep red eyes, seeing the two Espada, "Hmm, this might be too much for Ichigo...after all. It's almost as if he read my mind." 

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