"What?! Embracing a total beauty? You mean Yoh?!"
Arisawa Tatsuki slammed both hands onto the desk, staring in disbelief at her best friend who was recounting what she saw last night.
"Yeah... it was sort of like this, and then it was like that! Then, whoosh! They just lunged into a hug, and then, splash! The tears started flowing!"
Inoue Orihime gestured nonsensically in the air, her expressions exaggerated and her words a confusing mess. Arisawa Tatsuki, however, wasn't surprised by the display.
"That guy Yoh... I was wondering where he'd been slacking off lately. To think he was up to something like that!"
"Ah, but..." Inoue Orihime crossed her arms and closed her eyes, looking like she was thinking hard.
"Back then, Asakura-kun was definitely Asakura-kun, but it didn't feel like him at all. Oh! Right, right! It was like there was another soul inside his body!"
Inoue Orihime finally found the right description and sounded quite excited.
"Sigh... there she goes talking nonsense again." Arisawa Tatsuki affectionately rubbed Inoue Orihime's head. Her friend was perfect in every way, except for her eccentric train of thought.
"I'm being serious!"
"Right, right..."
Tatsuki's gaze drifted to another empty seat. Its owner was her other childhood friend.
"Speaking of which, Ichigo is late too. Seriously, what is wrong with those two?"
"Ichigo might take the day off today."
Kojima Mizuiro, who had been listening nearby, suddenly interjected. Tatsuki and Orihime both looked at him in confusion.
"Kojima-kun?"
"Why do you say that? Right, Kojima, don't you usually walk to school with Ichigo?"
"I do. But when I went to get him this morning, I found a huge hole in his house. They say a truck plowed right into it in the middle of the night. Maybe the driver fell asleep? Anyway, that's what his father told me."
"A truck!?" Both Tatsuki and Orihime were startled by Mizuiro's calm delivery. No matter how you looked at it, that sounded like a bad situation.
"Is he okay?! Was anyone hurt?! Or did..." Before she could finish the unlucky thought, the back of Tatsuki's head was gently struck by a flying bag. Kurosaki Ichigo's voice followed immediately.
"I'm fine, and my family is safe too. Sorry to disappoint you." Even though he was trying to put Tatsuki's mind at ease, the way he said it was extremely awkward.
"It really was a miracle. Despite such a huge hole being knocked in the wall, no one in the family was hurt; no one was even woken up."
Asakura Yoh followed Ichigo into the classroom. Many classmates turned their attention toward them. After all, their group was quite well-known in the school.
"Yoh! You actually dare to show your face! Tell me, where have you been these past few days!?"
Tatsuki stared at Yoh with annoyance, her gaze practically radiating fire.
"Me? Well..." Yoh looked at the furious Tatsuki and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again.
"Doing good deeds."
"Cut the crap! I've heard all about it, you...!"
Just as Tatsuki and Yoh were about to get into their usual bickering match, a female voice with an odd, formal tone interrupted the scene.
"These two... must be Kurosaki-kun and Asakura-kun? It is a pleasure to meet you."
Big eyes, sleek black hair styled like an onion, and matching dark irises. She carried herself with a deliberate air of nobility.
The moment they saw this girl, the pupils of both Kurosaki Ichigo and Asakura Yoh contracted.
'Kuchiki Rukia... huh? I guess the story is officially starting.'
After nearly ten years of waiting and preparing, Yoh knew that from this moment on, the gears of fate had truly begun to turn.
"Ha! This is our new transfer student, Kuchiki-san. She just registered today."
"Apparently, she transferred mid-term because of some family circumstances."
Mizuiro introduced Kuchiki Rukia to the two who 'didn't know' her yet.
"You... how are you..." Ichigo pointed at Rukia, his mouth agape. He was too shocked to find the right words.
Mizuiro and the others looked at Ichigo with confusion, while only Yoh showed a look of understanding.
'So they've already met. That means Ichigo must have obtained his Soul Reaper powers.'
Rukia flashed a smile that couldn't have been more fake. She reached out toward Ichigo as if to shake hands, but suddenly turned her palm upward, revealing writing only visible from his perspective.
[IF YOU SAY A WORD—I'LL KILL YOU!]
Ichigo shuddered. Since he knew her true identity, the word 'kill' coming from a Soul Reaper carried a different weight.
'What... what is she trying to do?'
Then, ignoring the strange looks from everyone, Ichigo grabbed Rukia and dragged her outside. She gave the group a polite smile and didn't resist.
Yoh knew that Rukia, having lost her Soul Reaper powers, was going to ask Ichigo to assist her in her duties. However, to the uninformed onlookers, it looked like something else entirely.
"Ichigo is being so proactive. I guess he's reached that age too," Mizuiro said in his usual mature tone despite his baby face.
"No... I don't think that's it..." Although she didn't know the details, Tatsuki could guess that Ichigo had other reasons based on her knowledge of him.
"Hey, Yoh, do you know what's up with—Hey! Where are you going now!?"
Tatsuki was about to ask when she noticed Yoh had already reached the classroom door.
"I'm going to check on them. And maybe collect Ichigo's 'corpse' while I'm at it."
"Huh?"
Not understanding Yoh at all, Tatsuki sat back down with a frown, grumbling to herself.
"What's with those two? Acting all mysterious..."
When he reached the corridor of the school building, Yoh indeed found Ichigo lying face down on the ground like a corpse.
"Oh dear... this won't do. He'll catch a cold like this."
An orange fireball with facial features had flown over to Yoh at some point, speaking in a very gentle and pleasant voice.
"Uh, is that really the point? Whatever... let's just get him to the infirmary for now."