"Orihime, it's me—your brother. The one who raised you since you were three."
"Come here. Come to me. Don't believe anything they tell you. I'm the only one who will always stay by your side."
"As long as you listen to me, I won't hurt anyone today..."
...
Orihime's brother, now turned into a Hollow, tried to lure her in with a strange, almost hypnotic voice.
"Brother... why? Why did you become like this?" Orihime covered her mouth, tears in her eyes as her voice trembled.
"Why? Why?!"
Her brother's expression twisted in anger. He pointed at Tatsuki Arisawa, full of rage.
"After I died, I watched you pray for me every single day. Back then, I believed your prayers could save me..."
"But then you met her—and that guy—and slowly, you forgot about me."
"Now you're in high school. You don't pray anymore. I feel so alone. So completely alone. And it's all because of you..."
As he spoke, he transformed further, turning into a larger and more fearsome Hollow. He slammed the ground with his massive hand, shaking the area and roaring:
"If you had just remembered me... I wouldn't have become a Hollow!"
"Brother, it's not like that..." Orihime's voice was soft and full of pain.
Watching all of this, Rukia turned to Nanaya and said, "His heart is already gone. What's left now is just a monster. Are we really going to let them keep talking?"
"I don't think so," Nanaya said, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. He remembered that in the original story, Orihime's brother somehow regained his humanity.
Did he not hit him hard enough?
With that thought, Nanaya pointed excitedly at the terrifying Hollow and shouted:
"Go, Kurosaki Ichigo! Beat this Hollow nearly to death and take back your honor!"
Kurosaki Ichigo: "..."
Ichigo's face darkened. His mouth twitched as he asked, "Nanaya... are you sure this will help Orihime's brother become human again?"
He held back his frustration—it was still Orihime's brother, after all.
"I'm not sure," Nanaya admitted. "But it's worth a try."
He had already tried everything he could to save Orihime's brother, but nothing had worked. Becoming a Hollow meant being consumed by darkness—body and soul.
How do you bring someone back from that?
"I got it," Ichigo said.
Without another word, Ichigo leaped into the air with his Zanpakuto ready and charged straight at the Hollow.
"Hey!" he shouted as he struck.
At that moment, he felt something heavy in his chest—maybe even tears.
For two whole days, he hadn't fought a single Hollow. Nanaya had taken care of them all.
But now, finally, he had a target of his own.
His blade slashed down hard, breaking the pale mask covering Orihime's brother's face.
The blow was so strong it even cut his real face underneath, leaving it bleeding.
"AAAHHH!!" he screamed, clutching his face in pain.
Orihime gasped and looked at Ichigo. "Kurosaki-kun..."
"This is the only way," Rukia said firmly, cutting her off.
"Nanaya, Ichigo, and I—we're all doing our best to save your brother. But there's nothing else we can do."
"Kuchiki-san…"
Orihime's eyes were filled with tears.
She didn't fully understand what was going on, but it was clear to her—everyone was trying their hardest to help.
"Brother…"
She placed her hands over her heart and looked at her brother, full of sorrow.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ichigo swung his large sword down again and again, like he was smashing garlic.
"Nanaya, is this enough already!?" Ichigo asked, frustrated.
"Uh…" Nanaya looked at the crumpled, messy figure lying on the ground. He rubbed his chin and said, "Yeah, that should do it. If you hit him any more, he won't be half-dead—he'll be mashed into garlic paste…"
"Brother…"
Orihime stared at the muddy mess on the ground, shocked.
Rukia turned to Nanaya, a bit disgusted, and said, "Nanaya, are you sure this isn't just torture?"
"Of course not!"
Nanaya confidently walked over to Orihime, picked her up gently, and brought her closer to the—well—pile that used to be her brother.
"Zzzk…"
Her brother groaned, some of his teeth knocked loose, making strange noises.
"Brother…"
Orihime burst into tears and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry… I'm really sorry. It's because I told you back then not to leave me alone. That's why… that's why you couldn't go to heaven…"
"Orihime…"
Her brother slowly started to regain his senses.
"I've always been by your side. Yesterday, when the car almost hit us, I was the one trying to grab you and get you out of the way…"
"I held onto your leg… that was me…"
Rukia watched him quietly. She had never seen a Hollow like this before.
Even after falling and becoming a Hollow, he still tried to protect his sister.
Nanaya remained silent too.
This was the exact moment he had seen before—he had stopped the car, just in case.
"But… if I stay like this, I can't rest in peace…"
"That's why… I didn't want you to see me. I didn't want you to know I was still here…"
"In truth, I was happy just watching you. But I made myself lonely…"
"Orihime!!!"
Her brother cried out, and the white mask on his face started to flicker—appearing and disappearing. His body shook violently as he fought something inside.
"What's happening to him!?" Ichigo asked, turning to Rukia.
Rukia's face grew serious. "He's fighting the Hollow inside him. I think his soul was taken over by a Menos Grande."
"And it didn't happen by accident. This was planned—Menos Grande wanted to use him for something…"
"Damn it! There's no other way!"
Rukia shouted, "Nanaya, Ichigo—get ready. No matter how painful this is, we might have to end it."
"But…"
Ichigo still hesitated.
At the same time, Nanaya hesitated too. He stared at Inoue's brother, his scarlet eyes intense.
"Isn't there any way to save him!?"
He racked his brain. Could he use the power of the Sharingan to help?
Rinnegan?
The Rinne Rebirth technique?
Maybe Infinite Tsukuyomi?
No… none of those would work.
There was nothing the Sharingan could do… or was there?
ROAR!!!
Inoue's brother screamed, and the white liquid on his face began to twist and shape itself into a mask once more.
Just then, Nanaya locked eyes with him and suddenly shouted:
"Sharingan—Tsukuyomi!"
In an instant, the world around Inoue's brother spun violently.
Everything shifted. He was now inside a different world.
The sky was red, the atmosphere was eerie and cold. A huge blood moon hung overhead. Inoue's brother found himself tied to a wooden cross.
"W-what is this place?"
Now back in his human form, he looked around in fear.
"This is my world. The world of Tsukuyomi," Nanaya's voice echoed as he walked into view, holding a long, silver blade.
"You… you're that annoying Nanaya!"
He struggled on the cross, panicking. "Let me go! I want to see Orihime! Is she okay!?"
"Hold on. I have to deal with this first…"
Nanaya's scarlet eyes turned to the figure bound to another cross beside him—a terrifying Menos Grande, roaring and writhing wildly.
But no matter how it struggled, the cross held it tight.
"T-that… that's the one… the one who ate me…"
Inoue's voice trembled with fear.
"I know. Now just watch."
Nanaya stepped forward and slowly raised his blade.
Without another word, he drove it into the heart of the Menos Grande.
Once. Twice. Three times...