"What exactly is going on! Spill it already!"
During lunch break, before Asakura Yoh could make a run for it, he found himself cornered by Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, who had moved in from both sides to block his escape.
In the end, Yoh was dragged to the rooftop for questioning, accompanied by the hushed whispers of their gossiping classmates.
"Sigh, I haven't even had breakfast yet. At least let me finish my lunch first, mmph!"
Before Yoh could finish his sentence, Ichigo stuffed a whole rice ball into his mouth.
"Cough, cough!" Caught off guard, Yoh naturally started choking. He pounded his chest while struggling to swallow.
"Rukia, the juice!"
"Is it this? Um... how do you drink this?"
Rukia stared at the carton of 100% orange juice. Having never seen such a thing before, she looked momentarily at a loss.
"Ah, for crying out loud! You just take this straw, unwrap it, and poke it through this hole here."
Knowing Rukia came from a place called the 'Soul Society,' Ichigo figured she genuinely didn't know how to drink from a carton.
Ichigo patiently demonstrated, oblivious to the fact that Yoh's face had turned bright red from choking.
"Oh! I see." As if she had accomplished some great feat, Rukia took a satisfied sip, her eyebrows twitching slightly in surprise.
"This is actually pretty good..."
"Right? No, wait! Who said you could drink it yourself?!"
"Ah, I forgot for a second. Here."
Yoh didn't even have time to react to the half-finished juice being offered to him before Ichigo shoved it right back into Rukia's mouth.
"You idiot! How can you give someone else something you already drank from?"
"W-Who are you calling an idiot? You're being rude! I'm just not familiar with the customs of the World of the Living yet!"
"Hey... I'm talking to you two..." Having finally forced the rice ball down, Yoh spoke in a low, resentful tone.
"Did you call me here just to watch you two flirt?"
"Who's flirting with him?!" "Who's flirting with her?!" they both shouted in unison.
'And they say they aren't flirting... They're already this synchronized after only a few days...'
"Tsk, alright, fine. Just ask whatever you want to know. I don't want to waste my entire lunch break."
Seeing that they were back on track, Ichigo and Rukia turned serious once more.
"In that case, I'll be blunt. Who exactly are you? How can you see spirits, and why have you been hiding it?"
Rukia's eyes bore into Yoh, as if trying to peer through the lazy facade of the teenager before her.
"You're asking me why? Didn't Ichigo see them all the time even before he met you? Some people are just born like that."
Yoh pointed at Ichigo. On this point, Rukia truly couldn't argue.
When she first met Ichigo, his unconscious spiritual pressure had scrambled her senses, and he had even managed to physically break out of her Bakudo binding.
Back then, Ichigo hadn't even received her Soul Reaper powers yet; he was just a regular human.
"As for why I hide it—think about it. If I went around telling everyone I could see ghosts, people would just think I'm some idiot seeking attention, a lunatic, or a con artist, right?"
Yoh's words left both of them speechless. Ichigo, especially, could relate to this sentiment from personal experience.
Even he had only told his family members who could also sense spirits—excluding, of course, his 'Muggle' of a father.
While Yoh's explanation made sense, Rukia still felt there was more to him. She could vaguely sense a strange power from him—one distinct from that of a Soul Reaper or a Hollow.
Regardless, Yoh was Ichigo's friend, and since he hadn't done anything suspicious so far, she didn't feel right pressing him further.
"If you're satisfied, can I go now?"
After locking eyes with Yoh for a few more seconds, Rukia stepped aside, her meaning clear.
Yoh nodded in satisfaction, but as he passed Ichigo, he couldn't help but roll his eyes and whisper a complaint.
"Typical... prioritizing the girl over your friend."
Ichigo's mouth twitched. He wanted to retort, but knowing he was in the wrong, he held it in.
"Hey!"
Just as Yoh was about to open the rooftop door, Rukia couldn't help but speak up. Yoh looked back to see Rukia's still-serious expression, with Ichigo beside her looking like he wanted to say something but ultimately holding back.
'Man, at this rate, Ichigo's going to end up completely henpecked...'
"You... you're not our enemy, are you?"
"Your... enemy? Haha." Yoh gave a wry laugh, his expression shifting from lazy to slightly more serious.
"Don't be ridiculous. Setting you aside, Ichigo and I grew up together. He's one of my few friends. Becoming his enemy? Not a chance."
Rukia's pupils shrank for a moment before she quickly relaxed and offered a small smile of relief.
"Is that so... I see. I'll remember those words."
Once Yoh had left, Rukia nudged Ichigo with her elbow. He looked a bit embarrassed by Yoh's words.
"To think a nobody like Ichigo actually has such a decent friend. You're quite something, aren't you?"
"What do you mean 'nobody'?! Still... just like Yoh said, there's no way he'd ever be our enemy. I can at least guarantee that much."
"Yeah, I know. But... your childhood friend seems to be..."
Rukia thought back to the indefinable sense of displacement she felt from Yoh. The suspicion in her eyes hadn't completely vanished.
"?" Ichigo looked confused, not catching the deeper meaning in her words.
...
"Thank you. Now I can finally go to the other world in peace."
A middle-aged woman, kneeling on the ground with tears still on her face, spoke with sincere gratitude to the person who had allowed her to enter their body to fulfill her final wish.
Then, a faint light radiated from her form as she slowly dissipated into the air.
"Whew... job's done. Time to head home."
"Kyaa! Asakura-kun!"
The loud shout made Yoh flinch instinctively. He only relaxed when he saw it was Inoue Orihime.