Chapter 7

 

With much persuasion, Ichigo was able to convince me to follow him to an old candy shop in the middle of town. He pushed the door open, yelling for someone named Urahara. Toshiro was still asleep in my arms, which concerned me. I wanted to know he was okay.

 

“What are you yelling about now?” someone asked and I saw a man who looked exactly like Ichigo enter the room. I stared between them for a moment.

 

“Please tell me you have a twin,” I murmured. Ichigo pulled something out of his pocket and pressed it against the other man’s chest. This caused Ichigo to disappear into the man’s body. It was all I could take to keep myself standing.

 

“Not exactly,” Ichigo answered, pulling a small, blue pellet from his mouth.

 

“I… I’m not even going to ask.”

 

“It’s probably better that way for now. You might want to sit down and we can lay your brother down.” I nodded shakily and followed Ichigo into the back room of the shop, where he pulled out a mat for Toshiro. I carefully set my brother down on the mat, brushing the hair out of his face.

 

“Thank you for helping us,” I whispered, looking at Ichigo.

 

“Don’t mention it. Hey, what’s your name?”

 

“I’m Minako Kitamura. This is my brother, Toshiro.”

 

“You and your brother are brave, taking those guys on.”

 

“Who were they? Are there more like them?” I asked, suddenly very frightened. What would we do if more of those monsters came?

 

“Yeah, there are more of them,” he answered with a sigh, rubbing the side of his head.

 

“Ichigo, why didn’t you tell me you were bringing a guest? I would’ve cleaned up the shop more,” someone said and I turned around to see another man. He was tall, blond and his eyes were hidden by the brim of his white and green striped hat. He wore loose clothes and his appearance, in all honesty, made me think he was on some kind of drug.

 

“Who are you?” I asked politely.

 

“I’m the owner of this shop and Ichigo’s employer.” I frowned at his answer. Could nobody answer a simple question of identification?

 

“This is Kisuke Urahara,” Ichigo supplied and I gave him a grateful smile. “Urahara, she’s Minako, the one Uryuu told us about.”

 

“So you’re the woman who was attacked in the park last week. And am I to assume that boy is your brother?” the store keeper asked, looking down at Toshiro. I placed my hand on my brother’s forehead.

 

“Yes. Do you know what’s going on?”

 

“But, of course!” Kisuke moved to sit across from me. I couldn’t help but suspect he was on crack or something similar to it. His expression suddenly went serious. “What’s happening is a lot more serious than you may realize.”

 

“We’ve been attacked twice and I was hospitalized the first time. Now my brother is unconscious. How much more serious could this be?”

 

“The fate of the world rests on our shoulders, and now it’s on you and your brother as well.” My eyes widened in shock and I stared down at Toshiro. He couldn’t bear the weight of the world. He could barely handle protecting me from that serpent. I shook my head.

 

“No. This can’t be happening,” I whispered. “What are we supposed to do about those… things that attacked us?”

 

“Those things, as you call them, are called Hollows. And you will most likely have to fight them.”

 

“Fight them?! What part of hospitalization didn’t you understand?!”

 

“You already have the ability to see Hollows and Soul Reapers, if you could see Ichigo. That’s more than most people can say. From what I hear, you’ve already fought off a Hollow.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“That Hollow that attacked you last week should have killed you. Somehow, you were able to knock it backwards long enough for Uryuu to kill it.”

 

“He knows about this too?!” I asked in shock.

 

“So does Orihime,” Ichigo added. “We’ve been doing this for about ten years.”

 

“Are there more people who know about this?”

 

“There are a few more humans and hundreds of Soul Reapers,” Kisuke answered.

 

“How does this all go unnoticed?!”

 

“Like I said, not many people can see them. On top of that, the Soul Society has had thousands of hears to get good at cover-ups.” I stared at him incredulously. None of this made any sense. In fact, it sounded like a half-baked conspiracy theory. I was beginning to put serious thought into the idea that Kisuke was on drugs.

 

“Your brother can also fight Hollows,” Ichigo said and I glared harshly at him.

 

“Over my dead body! There is no way in hell I’m going to allow Toshiro to fight those demons, or Hollows, or whatever you want to call them!”

 

“You want to protect your brother?” Kisuke asked. I nodded sharply. “More Hollows will come, whether or not you believe us. If you want him to live to see his next birthday, your only option is to get our help.”

 

The pregnant silence that filled the room was far from comfortable. I’d just been told my brother would die if I didn’t learn to fight those Hollows Kisuke had spoken of. My gaze shifted to the sleeping Toshiro and I felt my heart clench in my chest. When he was born, I’d promised to always protect him. What choice did I have?

 

“Okay,” I murmured. “What do I need to learn?”

 

“You sure you don’t want to think about it?” Ichigo asked.

 

“What’s there to think about? My brother’s in danger and I have to protect him at all costs.” Kisuke nodded and loosely crossed his arms in front of his chest in a lazy fashion.

 

“I would suggest you let all of this sink in and come back tomorrow with your brother. Ichigo’s friends will be here at noon,” he explained. “Once your brother- you said his name was Toshiro, right? Once he wakes up, you’re free to go.”