The Cursed Parakeet

The Cursed Cockatiel is an event during the Death Trilogy Overture: Death & The Strawberry. Yasutora Sado, AKA Chad, adopts a cockatiel said to be cursed. He is then forced to defend the intelligent bird from a fate worse than death, with the help of Rukia and Ichigo.

Prelude
Harutoki Ide, a friend of Chad's, has come by a cockatiel. However, according to what he had heard, the cockatiel is cursed, as all of its previous owners died horrible deaths. Chad's other friend, Gitano Shigeo, refuses to take the bird but Chad, who's always had a soft spot for anything cute, takes interest in the cockatiel. At that moment, a large steel girder falls from the top of a building under construction the boys were sitting under. Chad spots it and manages to catch it on his shoulders, saving his friends and the cockatiel. When the cockatiel thanks Chad for saving him and introduces himself as Yūichi Shibata, Chad is enchanted by the bird and agrees to take care of it.

The Cursed Cockatiel
The next day Chad appears in school with an assortment of bandages on his face and hands. When his friends ask him what happened he explains that his head was hit by a steel girder that fell on him and his hands were scuffed when a motorcycle crashed into him. The reason he was late was because the biker was badly injured and Chad had to carry him to a hospital. He then puts the cockatiel's cage down. Ichigo and Rukia immediately notice the presence of a Plus within the bird. Ichigo asks Chad about the cockatiel but Chad is reluctant to answer. Rukia tells Ichigo not to worry, since the spirit in the bird is not an evil one; she says they'll come by at night and perform Konsō on the Plus.

Later that day, when Ichigo comes home from school, he finds his house in a ruckus. Yuzu informs him that there's been a car accident in the intersection. When he asks his father if there's anything he can help with he is denied and told to make himself scarce and keep out of the way. A while later his father calls on him for help with a particularly large patient - his classmate, Yasutora Sado. Karin notices the cockatiel and senses something terrible emanating from it. As he looks at Chad's wounds, Ichigo gets the feeling of a Hollow. Isshin tells Chad he'll have to stay there for observation. Chad initially refuses, saying he is fine but as he tries to get up, faints immediately. Rukia could feel the traces of a Hollow from the wounds even where she was waiting, in Ichigo's room. By morning, Chad's bed is empty.

The next day Isshin informs Ichigo of Chad's disappearance and Ichigo rushes to school, hoping to find Chad there. When he learns no one in school has seen Chad he becomes worried and runs off to search for him. Over at their school, Yuzu is most concerned about Karin, who's holed up in a bathroom stall with a stomach ache and nausea. The dark haired twin tries to intimidate her sister into leaving her alone, but cannot even keep her breakfast down. Karin gets out of the stall and informs Yuzu that she'll be leaving early. She tells her to go get her back pack from class. Rukia joins Ichigo in his search, but he has no lead to follow. Soul Society could provide no information either and Rukia explains a Hollow can move freely between the Human World and Hueco Mundo, so they'll only be able to sense it when it makes his move on Chad. Ichigo tries to think of a plan to find Chad and decides to try and hone in on the Plus within the cockatiel. Ichigo concentrates and is suddenly surrounded by several dozen white threads. He grabs the correct one and starts following it. Rukia, who did not believe this feat to be possible, identifies the technique as Reiraku.

Chad and the cockatiel take shelter in an abandoned warehouse. The cockatiel tells Chad he thinks it'll be safe there. Chad says he'll be alright, since his one redeeming quality is his toughness. Chad has a split second to pick up on the incoming attack and dodge it. He tells the cockatiel they must run away. He assures the cockatiel that he's back to health and promises him he'll save his mother. When he runs out of the warehouse, Chad spots Ichigo and Rukia running in his direction and as soon as he sees them turns his back and runs away. Ichigo tries calling him back but Chad ignores him and before Ichigo can give chase he hears the voice of Karin calling him. Seeing how ill his sister is, Ichigo tries asking her what is the matter. She tries walking towards him but collapses and Ichigo rushes to her side. Rukia tells Ichigo to take Karin home while she will follow Chad. Ichigo protests but Rukia assures him she is fit for the job. Before going, Ichigo reminds Rukia she still has not regained her Shinigami powers and warns her not to put herself in danger. They depart and on the way Karin shares with Ichigo her experience with the cockatiel from the previous day. She tells him the spirit within the cockatiel is that of a little boy whose mother was murdered in front of his eyes. She begs Ichigo in tears to save the little boy.

Rukia finds it hard to catch up to Chad in her Gigai, in a speed that would mean nothing to her outside of it, she notices she is running out of breath when she hears a voice behind her, telling her she smells nice. Turning around, she finds herself face to face with a Hollow. The Hollow asks her to let him eat her soul and Rukia realizes in her effort to catch up to Chad, she wasn't watching her back. The Hollow attacks. Rukia is hit but is able to recover and face the Hollow. The Hollow is surprised that she survived his attack and realizes she can see him. He asks her what she is but in lou of an answer, Rukia attacks; she kicks at his mask and positions herself behind his head where she attempts a Hadō spell, Sōkatsui. The spell however has little to no effect on the Hollow and he makes another go at her, wounding her again. Gloating, the Hollow says he recognized the spell as a Shinigami technique, but it was too weak to hurt him. He states he had eaten two Shinigami in the past when they tried helping the boy in the cockatiel and they were very much to his liking. Rukia asks him about the boy and the Hollow promises to tell her more if she lets him eat her. Not far from there, Chad heard the explosion caused by Rukia's spell. He asks what it was and the cockatiel explains that Rukia is being attacked. When he hears this, Chad places the cage on the ground and says he is going to help Rukia. The cockatiel protests saying it is too dangerous, but Chad misunderstands him and places the cage on a wall instead, before going off for Rukia's aid.

Aftermath
Chad arrives in time to save Rukia from the Hollow, despite not being able to see him. With Rukia there to guide his blows he manages to hold the Hollow off. The Hollow's powers almost prove to be too much for the pair to handle, but Rukia knows she only needs to buy Ichigo enough time to arrive, and when he does he takes on the Hollow.