Ichigo approached Rukia, who turned to him with that ridiculous, exaggerated smile plastered across her face. He didn't even bother asking why she was here—he had bigger concerns. Without wasting time, he simply said, "Follow me."
Rukia tilted her head slightly but didn't question him. She stood up and walked alongside him, her hands tucked into her uniform pockets.
The class watched them go, whispers immediately filling the room. Ichigo wasn't the type to interact much with new students, so seeing him walk off with Rukia caught their interest. "What does he want with the transfer student?" some murmured.
After walking for a while in silence, Rukia finally broke it with a teasing tone, "How far are we going? Are you taking me somewhere secluded so we can…?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Ichigo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No," he deadpanned. "I just want to make things clear. I understand that you want me to be a Soul Reaper. Is that right?"
At this, Rukia stopped joking. Her expression turned serious as she nodded. "Yes. That's what you need to do. Thanks to someone, my powers are gone. I can't fulfill my duty. And since you're the only Soul Reaper here, you have to do the job."
Ichigo sighed but nodded. "I don't mind doing it. I'll take care of things until you get your powers back. But tell me something—what exactly are you wearing? Everyone in class could see you, so you're not a ghost, right?"
Rukia crossed her arms and smirked. "Glad you noticed. This is a Gigai—an artificial body that allows me to blend in with humans. It lets me interact with the living world, but I can't use my Soul Reaper abilities while inside it."
Just as she finished explaining, her phone suddenly beeped, flashing a red signal. She glanced at it, her eyes sharpening. "It's a Hollow. Let's go."
She quickly pulled out her glove, sliding it onto her hand. Ichigo was about to ask what it did, but before he could get a word out, Rukia shoved her palm into his forehead.
Whoosh!—
His entire body lurched as his soul was forcibly separated from his physical form. He stumbled slightly, but when he looked down, he saw his human body collapse lifelessly onto the ground.
At the same time, he realized he was now clad in the black Soul Reaper uniform, the weight of his Zanpakuto resting against his back.
Ichigo flexed his fingers, feeling the strange yet powerful sensation of being in this form again.
'Cool,' he thought with a smirk.
The moment the alert came in, Ichigo and Rukia sprinted toward the location, their feet pounding against the pavement.
As they arrived at the scene, they saw a Hollow—its grotesque body supported by long, spider-like legs—chasing a terrified young boy. The child's desperate cries for help echoed through the air as he ran, his small legs struggling to carry him away.
Ichigo didn't waste a second.
Woosh!
His body blurred as he dashed forward at top speed, closing the distance in an instant.
The Hollow raised one of its clawed limbs, about to strike the boy down—
BAM!
Before it could react, Ichigo's foot connected with its mask, sending it soaring backward like a ragdoll.
CRASH!
The Hollow smashed into the swing set, the metal groaning under the impact as dust and debris shot into the air.
Rukia barely had time to process what happened before the Hollow screeched in fury, pushing itself up from the wreckage. It didn't hesitate—it charged Ichigo with all its might, its many legs scuttling forward at terrifying speed.
But Ichigo stood firm. He didn't even flinch.
The second it got close—
SWISH!
His Zanpakuto flashed in the air, cutting through its mask with deadly precision.
The Hollow let out a final, agonized wail before its body began to dissolve, breaking apart into fragments of spiritual energy. Within moments, it was gone.
Ichigo exhaled and turned toward the child, who was staring up at him with wide, uncertain eyes. Kneeling down, Ichigo ruffled the boy's hair with a small, reassuring smile.
"You're going to a better place now, okay?"
The boy nodded hesitantly, his fear easing slightly as Ichigo pressed the hilt of his sword to his forehead.
A glowing circle formed beneath the child, and in the next instant, his soul was gently pulled into the afterlife, vanishing in a trail of soft blue light.
Rukia watched all of this in silence, her eyes locked onto Ichigo.
His composure, his power, the way he moved—it wasn't just skill.
It was instinct.
'It's like he was born to be a Soul Reaper…' she thought, still in disbelief.
If only she knew.
As they returned to school, they were immediately met with curious stares. Their classmates had noticed them leaving together earlier, and now they wanted answers.
"Wait a minute," Keigo said, narrowing his eyes. "You two know each other, don't you?"
Ichigo barely hesitated. "Nope."
Rukia frowned, clearly offended by how quickly he denied it. She folded her arms and gave him an unimpressed look, but Ichigo ignored her.
Still, despite his denial, he made sure Rukia joined their group, pulling her into their usual hangout.
'Because God knows what she'll do without me observing her,' he thought, side-eyeing her as she sat beside him.
Keigo, Mizuiro, Tatsuki, and Orihime welcomed her in, though two of them weren't entirely at ease.
Tatsuki and Orihime both liked Rukia—she was fun, easy to talk to, and had a sharp wit that made their conversations lively. But something about how close she was to Ichigo made them uneasy.
Orihime especially found herself glancing at them every so often, noting how naturally Rukia had slotted herself beside him, how easily they talked. It was rare for Ichigo to warm up to someone so quickly.
Tatsuki, on the other hand, simply crossed her arms and frowned. Since when did Ichigo let a girl get that close to him?
They wanted to ask. They wanted to know what was really going on.
But they also knew it would be too sudden. Too obvious.
So, for now, they swallowed their thoughts and tried their best to ignore the feeling gnawing at them.
TO BE CONTINUED