c2: First Encounter
The boy no, he should now properly be called Ichigo Kurosaki l stood quietly for a moment after leaving his house. The sign of the Kurosaki Clinic still hung behind him, and the peaceful suburban streets of Karakura Town stretched ahead.
He let out a slow breath and began walking.
In truth, Ichigo did know the direction of Karakura High School his body retained those memories clearly but he deliberately chose a slower route along the riverbank. He needed time to sort out his thoughts, especially since the Plus he had noticed earlier was still drifting nearby.
The middle-aged man in a worn suit floated slightly above the ground, the Chain of Fate extending from his chest and swaying faintly. It had not yet begun to corrode.
"Hey, young man," the spirit called out cheerfully. "You can see me, can't you? There's something about you… something very bright."
Ichigo clicked his tongue. "Yeah. I can see you. But it's not that I'm bright. Spirits just tend to gather around me."
That much aligned with early chapters of Bleach. Ever since childhood, spirits had followed him. It was the reason delinquents thought he was crazy when he talked to empty air. It was the reason he once got into a fight after they knocked over flowers left for a ghost girl.
The Plus smiled faintly. "Since I died, no one's acknowledged me. You're the first person to look at me directly."
Ichigo glanced at the man's chest. The chain was intact—for now.
"You're lucky," Ichigo muttered. "As long as that chain doesn't erode, you're still safe."
"Hm?"
"Nothing," Ichigo said quickly.
In the manga's opening arc, Pluses eventually transformed into Hollows once the Chain of Fate corroded completely. And Hollows were drawn to spiritually aware humans.
Which meant
He might not have long before trouble started.
The spirit looked up at the sky. "Sunlight isn't painful, you know. It just feels… distant. I prefer evenings."
Ichigo nodded absentmindedly. That matched canon; spirits weren't harmed by daylight. They appeared openly during the day in several early scenes.
"Well then," the spirit said kindly, "you're still a student. Don't skip class on my account."
Ichigo almost laughed at the irony.
After the Plus drifted toward the shade of a nearby tree, Ichigo continued walking, deep in thought.
"Let's organize this," he muttered under his breath. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. This is definitely before I became a Shinigami. I don't have a Substitute Shinigami badge yet."
He remembered that the Substitute Shinigami Badge was only given to him by Retsu Unohana? No that wasn't right. It was granted by the Soul Society after the events of the Soul Society arc, under the authority of Captain-Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. The badge allowed him to legally act in the human world.
Which meant he was still at the very beginning.
And the person who gave him Shinigami powers…
"Not Kuchiki Lugia," he muttered with a grimace. "That's a Pokémon."
The correct name surfaced clearly.
Rukia Kuchiki.
A member of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13. She would enter Karakura Town pursuing a Hollow and crash through his bedroom window.
If this was before that night, then events were about to begin.
"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!"
A bright, gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.
Ichigo looked up.
Standing before him was a tall girl with long orange hair flowing past her shoulders, soft grey-blue eyes, and a small blue six-petal hairpin holding her bangs to the side. Her school uniform fit neatly, and she carried herself with a natural warmth.
This was Orihime Inoue.
In early chapters, she was portrayed as kindhearted, somewhat airheaded, and prone to unusual imagination often thinking about bread varieties or bizarre scenarios.
Ichigo blinked.
"Morning," he replied.
"Hm? You were mumbling something," Orihime said curiously. "What was 'over ninety'?"
Ichigo stiffened slightly. He hadn't meant to say that aloud.
Before he could answer, another voice cut in sharply.
"Unbelievable. I didn't expect you to start saying creepy things first thing in the morning."
A short-haired girl stepped forward, arms crossed, eyes sharp with annoyance yet unmistakably intelligent. Her posture carried a quiet confidence.
She was Tatsuki Arisawa, Orihime's best friend since childhood and a skilled martial artist who often protected Orihime from bullies in the earlier chapters.
Tatsuki narrowed her eyes at Ichigo. "You were staring."
"I wasn't," Ichigo replied reflexively.
Tatsuki snorted. "Sure."
Orihime tilted her head innocently. "Staring at what?"
"Nothing!" Ichigo said quickly.
In canon, Ichigo and Orihime were classmates, but not yet especially close at this stage. Their relationship would only deepen later especially after the Soul Society arc and beyond.
Right now, this was simply an ordinary school morning.
Ordinary
But Ichigo's senses suddenly felt a faint, unpleasant pressure in the air.
A subtle spiritual distortion.
His expression shifted.
If he remembered correctly, the very first Hollow encounter in the series happened soon after Rukia arrived in town.
Which meant
This peaceful walk to school might be the last normal morning he would have.
And somewhere nearby, unseen by Orihime and Tatsuki
Something was already watching.
Orihime's face turned bright red the moment Tatsuki spoke so bluntly. She waved both hands in panic. "T-Tatsuki! Don't say it like that! Kurosaki-kun wouldn't think something weird like that!" she insisted hurriedly.
The energetic short-haired girl beside her was Tatsuki Arisawa, Orihime's longtime friend and protector. Unlike Orihime, Tatsuki was straightforward and physically capable an experienced karate practitioner who often scared off bullies during their middle school days.
Orihime continued flusteredly, "We just had exams a few days ago, right? Maybe Kurosaki-kun was thinking about test scores!"
Ichigo almost coughed at that.
Test scores?
In the early chapters of Bleach, Ichigo's grades were never terrible. In fact, despite his delinquent appearance and constant involvement in fights, he ranked fairly high academically often near the top of the class. His sharp mind balanced his rough exterior.
He scratched his cheek. "Actually… I wasn't thinking about exams."
Orihime's blush deepened.
The tall, soft-spoken girl before him was Orihime Inoue, known for her unusual imagination, her love of strange bread flavors, and the small six-petal blue hairpin she always wore later revealed to be connected to her spiritual powers. At this stage, though, she was simply a kind classmate with a gentle heart.
Ichigo, still adjusting to his new reality as Ichigo Kurosaki, found himself studying her expression carefully.
"I was thinking about something else," he said honestly. "But when I saw you, that thought stopped."
Orihime froze.
"I… Ichi…go…" she stammered, her face turning crimson all the way to her ears.
Tatsuki blinked in disbelief. "Oi. What's with you today, Ichigo? Since when do you talk like that?" She narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you suddenly decided you like Orihime."
Orihime didn't speak, but her eyes lifted slightly toward Ichigo, nervous yet hopeful.
Ichigo paused.
Do I like her?
In the original storyline, Orihime's feelings for him deepened gradually especially after the Soul Society arc and later during the Arrancar arc. He himself was often oblivious to romance, too focused on protecting others.
He exhaled slowly. "Yeah," he admitted. "I like her."
Orihime's breath hitched.
"But," Ichigo added calmly, "I'm not going to chase after her right now."
Tatsuki frowned. "Why not? If you like her, just say it properly. Orihime's kind, she's pretty, and she's way too good for half the idiots in this town." She jabbed a finger toward Ichigo's chest. "And don't pretend you're some hopeless delinquent. You get good grades. You just look like trouble because of that hair."
Ichigo smirked faintly. His naturally bright orange hair had always caused misunderstandings even teachers assumed he dyed it.
"We're still in high school," he replied. "There's no need to rush. Besides, we don't really know each other that well yet." He tilted his head teasingly. "Or what, Tatsuki? Are you in a hurry to hand your best friend over? Should I pursue both of you at once?"
A vein popped visibly on Tatsuki's forehead.
"You bastard!"
She swung a fist toward his stomach without hesitation.
Ichigo reacted instantly. His body moved before he consciously thought stepping sideways, catching her wrist mid-strike.
"Hey, hey. I'm joking," he said quickly.
Tatsuki's eyes narrowed.
"You dodged that cleanly," she observed. "And grabbed my wrist too."
She pivoted sharply and launched a kick.
Ichigo released her arm and retreated, blocking just in time. Tatsuki pressed forward relentlessly. Her karate training gave her solid form and balance, and she wasn't holding back.
For several exchanges, Ichigo could only defend.
But something felt different.
Her movements.though fast seemed clearer to him than they should have. His perception felt sharper, almost heightened. Was it simply muscle memory from Ichigo's own fighting experience? Or something else stirring beneath the surface?
Tatsuki finally slowed a fraction, her stamina dipping from continuous offense.
Ichigo saw the opening.
He stepped in and threw a straight punch.
Tatsuki's eyes widened. She couldn't fully dodge in time. Instinctively, she countered with a punch aimed at his face choosing to trade injury for injury.
"Wait!"
Orihime gasped from the side.
Thud.
Ichigo winced, clutching his eye.
"I told you it was a joke," he groaned.
At the last moment, he had changed his closed fist into an open palm, lightly tapping Tatsuki's cheek instead of striking her. She, however, had not pulled her punch. His right eye was already swelling.
Tatsuki's face flushed not from exertion this time, but embarrassment.
"Serves you right," she muttered. "Talking nonsense first thing in the morning. Don't get ahead of yourself."
Orihime rushed forward in worry. "Kurosaki-kun, are you okay? Your eye"
Tatsuki grabbed her hand. "We'll be late for class. He's fine. He's tougher than he looks."
She cast Ichigo one last assessing glance before dragging Orihime toward the gates of Karakura High School.
Ichigo watched them go, a faint smile on his face despite the throbbing pain.
Once they were several steps away, something small rolled near his shoe.
He looked down.
A compact medicine bottle.
He recognized the brand topical ointment for bruises and swelling.
Tatsuki hadn't "accidentally" dropped it.
Ichigo picked it up and examined the label.
"…You're not as cold as you pretend," he muttered.
Ahead, streams of students flowed toward Karakura High's front gates. The building stood tall and ordinary under the morning sun—just another peaceful day in Karakura Town.
Ordinary on the surface.
But Ichigo's gaze shifted briefly to a nearby rooftop.
For a split second, he thought he sensed something a flicker of unfamiliar spiritual pressure.
It vanished just as quickly.
He tightened his grip on the medicine bottle.
If his memories of the early chapters were correct, then very soon, his life as a normal high school student would end.
And the next time someone crashed into his world
It wouldn't be Tatsuki's fist.
It would be a Soul Reaper.