Falling Talons

The following hour, Rukia and Ichigo were walking side by side. Their alone time would often be awkward since she could never figure out Silas's nature. The first day they met, he seemed protective of Ichigo's family. But now he seemed more protective of her than them. So she said, "Ichigo, you know I can take care of myself."

Silas ignored her comments. Because he was quiet, it caused her to put her foot down.

"It's close," he said with his back turned. "Do it."

Rukia took out a fingerless glove known as the "soul-removing glove". With it, she could force Silas to enter his Soul Reaper form by pushing out his soul. Putting the glove on tightly, she rushed forward at him. Silas felt more of a knockout punch behind his head than a simple push as he leapt forward into his Soul Reaper form. Without needing to look, he knew that Rukia had a sinister smile on her face, almost as if she'd been waiting to hit him.

His physical body collapsed, prompting her to hold it while he took care of things. This particular Hollow he was after was known as Grand Fisher. It was a conspicuous Hollow that liked to lure people in with a decoy that took the shape of someone close to the person's heart. It was also the same Hollow that had killed Ichigo's mother.

Sensing it wasn't all too hard due to the amount of killing instinct it was giving off. By the time Silas stopped in the middle of a clearing, he saw what looked like a little girl with short, cropped hair. Focusing closer, he saw a vague image of Grand Fisher right behind the decoy. It most resembled a furry rat with four red talons, a giant white Hollow mask, and a tentacle sticking atop its head.

"A Soul Reaper?" it growled through the decoy.

"Don't think of running," Silas said, releasing Zangetsu.

"Your spiritual pressure is high for an ordinary Soul Reaper. Who are you?"

"A wannabe anglerfish dares make small talk?" Without waiting, Silas rushed in. Grand Fisher immediately formed its true self by emerging out of the decoy. Once Silas closed the distance, he swiped horizontally at its body. Grand Fisher leapt high into the sky, screeching since one of its talons had been cut off.

"You lowly Soul Reaper!" The area where its limb had been missing grew another limb that protruded down toward Silas.

"You're too slow," Silas calmly said, holding Zangetsu forward. Moments before Grand Fisher could make contact, he took one swing and easily sliced that limb right off. Silas then leapt upward. At the peak of his jump, he planted his foot on an invisible platform and leapt right past Grand Fisher's body. Rukia, who had just arrived on the scene, was amazed to see him perfectly hardening his energy to solidify the air.

Grand Fisher turned around to prepare another attack. But by the time it looked, Silas's giant blade was already coming down. The Hollow wasn't fast enough to evade, causing a portion of its body to be sliced. It screamed in agony as Silas used his falling momentum to bounce back at it. He took another slice, repeating the same process until five consecutive attacks landed.

After the last blow was delivered, he softly landed on two feet, sheathing Zangetsu back in its scabbard. Rukia had sweat pouring on her face. She had already been told about Masaki's death. Noticing that it was the notorious Grand Fisher he had been facing made her feel a tad anxious at first. But after seeing his display of power, it was clear that Silas was the real threat.

Grand Fisher had been defeated. It was a formidable Hollow. Insomuch that not even Ichigo was able to defeat it in their first encounter. Silas, however, made light work of it. If he wanted, he could have finished it off in a number of ways. What normally dictated a battle between two spiritual beings was the amount of spiritual power one had. And Silas's was far beyond Grand Fisher's.

With the Hollow taken care of, the two eventually returned to the Kurosaki family. As far as Silas was concerned, only Aizen was aware of the earlier battle. He held back as planned, but someone like Aizen wasn't easy to fool. For him to truly know his act had succeeded, he'd have to wait for more events to unfold.

• • •

After some time had passed, Silas attended school with Rukia as normal. Uryū was always informed about all of the Hollows the two had defeated, allowing Silas to retain his loyalty. While sitting in class, he was approached by Orihime. "Umm, morning, Ichigo…"

Silas could only guess why she, of all people, had the courage to approach him. She was going to ask him a question. "I was wondering if you and Rukia'd like to eat lunch with Tatsuki and me today."

"Sure."

"I'm sorry for asking! Maybe next… Huh?!" she corrected herself. Orihime had clearly expected him to deny her. Finding joy in his answer, she blushed uncontrollably. Silas took note of how much more infatuated she was as opposed to before. It was likely out of jealousy and Silas's equanimous attitude that most females found attractive.

"Uryū Ishida will be joining us," he calmly said. Uryū, who had been sitting up front, twitched slightly after hearing the comment. And he wasn't the only one who was chiming in on their conversation. Keigo began crying in a comical fashion about how Silas preferred to hang out with only his intelligent classmates.

"Mind if I join?" a deep voice asked. It was Chad. Before Silas could tell him no, Rukia answered on his behalf.

"I think that'd be a great idea… uh…"

"My name is Chad."

Silas had his eyes closed with his elbows on the desk and his hands over his mouth as Chad finished introducing himself. Orihime was a tad confused at first, mainly wishing to spend a little time with Silas by trying to invite Rukia since the two were always around one another. And when Silas hadn't disapproved of the decision, it made Mizuiro comically cry, too.

Silas was perhaps the only person not engaging in their tomfoolery. But inwardly, he accepted the notion that this could further expedite Ichigo's original team. He had thoughts of whether or not he should handle the Soul Society with only Uryū, something that could likely end in failure. Yet he didn't mind doing so since his entire goal revolved around defeating Aizen anyway.

To do that, he needed to first be able to enter the Soul Society. There were various means of doing so, but Silas didn't have the right equipment. One way to enter the it was through a gate known as the "Senkaimon". Only people like Kisuke had access to one. And he would more or less never let Silas use it until Rukia's imminent capture—so he believed.

Byakuya and Renji's arrival was written to have been one day before the last day of school on July 19th. That gave Silas roughly one month to make his preparations1.