Seventeen months have passed since the battle between Karakura Town and Aizen.
Kurosaki Ichigo is seventeen years old and a senior in high school.
During this peaceful time, he could no longer see the existence of his soul.
Like everyone else in Soul Society, Kurosaki Ichigo doesn't know what that man wants to do. Ever since Aizen was imprisoned by Soul Society, that man has done nothing.
Including Orihime Inoue, everyone seemed to have returned to their daily lives, and there was a tacit understanding that no one mentioned anything about the reshaping of the world and the birth of the King.
Among them, only Inoue Orihime knew that to her brother, who had equal time and eternity, more than a year was as insignificant as dust in the universe.
Therefore, as a reward for the winner, this more than a year is probably a short break for everyone. This is just the calm before the storm.
In the early morning, Ichigo Kurosaki went to school like an ordinary student with his backpack as the new semester started.
After the last battle, Urahara Kisuke did not manipulate the memories of his classmates, so everyone actually knew everything they had experienced.
However, it seemed that in order to cherish this hard-won peace, or because Kurosaki Ichigo's power had completely disappeared, they thought that these mysterious matters were over, and everyone kept silent about it.
But Kurosaki Ichigo has always known that even if he can no longer see the existence of the soul, the world is still running according to the original rules.
In the past, the work of protecting Karakura Town as a Shinigami against the non-invading Hollows was now taken over by Uryu Ishida and Sadatari. Although he also wanted to help, he couldn't do anything because he couldn't see.
At this moment, the only thing that can prove that he was once the God of Death is probably the 'Death Agent Certificate' that looks like an ordinary brand because he can't feel the spiritual power.
Oh, right.
There is another way to prove that he was once a god of death.
"boom."
Kurosaki Ichigo expressionlessly dodged the dagger stabbed by the gangster who was robbing him on the street, took back the robbed thing, and punched the opponent away.
With the combat awareness and reflexes he had honed in fighting those troublesome guys, as well as his extraordinary physical fitness, even if he loses his spiritual power, he is still able to deal with ordinary gangsters.
"Take it."
"Wow! You're so awesome, kid!"
The man whose backpack was robbed smiled and took the backpack handed back by Kurosaki Ichigo, "Thank you so much! Have you had breakfast? I'll treat you to ramen, are you here?"
"No."
Throwing the snatched backpack to its original owner, Kurosaki Ichigo picked up the schoolbag placed on the ground, turned around, and continued walking towards the school, yawning.
This was like an ordinary little thing to him, and he didn't care at all.
"Please keep my secret and don't tell others about me, sir."
"Hahaha, you understand, high school students will be punished by the school if they fight outside, right?"
The man chuckled and looked at Kurosaki Ichigo's back, "Are you really not coming? The ramen is delicious~"
"No."
"Really...what a pity."
Looking at Kurosaki Ichigo who left without looking back, the man unzipped his backpack and murmured to himself...
Wow...
The sign hanging on a thin iron chain fell out of the zipper of the schoolbag.
If Ichigo Kurosaki turned around and saw this sign at this moment, his face would probably become ugly.
Because this sign is nothing else, it is exactly the same 'Death Agent Certificate'.
"Your vigilance is really high...Kurosaki Ichigo." Looking at the back of the boy in front of him leaving, the smile on the man's face gradually became dangerous.
············
Come to the school classroom.
"So, how much do you bid?"
Kurosaki Ichigo sat in his seat and looked at himself
The president of the Taekwondo club in front of me asked with a slight frown.
"Five...five thousand yen?"
Although the president of the Taekwondo Club is tall and tall, he seems a little timid when looking at Kurosaki Ichigo's impatient eyes.
"pass!"
Kurosaki Ichigo pulled him away from him and looked at the people in the back who were blocked by the burly figure.
"Five thousand yen a week? You are so naive! Next one!"
"yes!"
The next person who was called had cold sweat on his face when he heard this, "I am Satoda, the vice-captain of the football team! I want to use the power of Kurosaki-senpai..."
"Stop talking nonsense, just tell me the time and quote the price!"
Kurosaki Ichigo curled his lips slightly and looked at him impatiently.
This has become his daily routine.
Although he has lost his spiritual power, he has rarely developed amazing physical abilities, which of course must be used to do meaningful things.
He wants to save money, so he often accepts commissions from various clubs in the school. As long as the time is right and the price is fair, he doesn't mind representing the club in various competitions or serving as a training target.
"Ichigo...huh?"
Kojima Mizuiro, who had just arrived in the classroom, looked at the long queue in front of Kurosaki Ichigo's desk with confusion.
"Business is still as good as ever? By the way, has the previous commission for the basketball team ended?"
"Yes, it's over. I have to take on a new commission just after I finished~" Keigo Asano complained, "It's really a headache. This way Ichigo won't have time to play with me."
"It sounds like he usually plays with you." Kojima Mizuiro revealed the truth without mercy.
"Of course he...he will play with me! I am definitely not the one who always goes to where Ichigo works when I have nothing to do, and then he dislikes me for being annoying!" Asano Keigo didn't bring it upon himself.
Explaining.
"Yes Yes Yes……"
Kojima Mizuiro laughed casually, "But then again, does Ichigo need money that much? I heard recently that he is raising funds so that he can move out and live alone after graduation?"
"Huh? Is this guy planning to run away from home?" Asano Keigo asked in surprise.
"Don't you often play with this guy? You don't even know how I know if it's true or not?"
"Ah, yes, yes! It's true!"
"Thank you so much!" came the excited voice of the vice-captain of the football team.
While Kojima Mizuro and Asano Keigo were chatting, Kurosaki Ichigo's business seemed to have been settled.
"Have you decided on the football team? How much does it cost this time?" Asano Keigo saw Kurosaki Ichigo finishing his work, he chuckled and came closer...
"Business confidential, no comment."
Kurosaki Ichigo raised his hand to hold the other person's face away, with a look of disgust on his face.
"Are you going to be a sparring partner? When did you start?" Kojima Mizuiro asked.
"Class is over today."
Kurosaki Ichigo answered calmly, as if this was already a common thing for him.
Soon, after class, Kurosaki Ichigo stood on the football field doing warm-up exercises with a decadent look on his face.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that since he lost his spiritual power, he couldn't muster the energy to do anything, as if his life was missing some important part.
"Why?"
A confused voice came from behind.
Kurosaki Ichigo turned his head when he heard the sound and saw Inoue Orihime's best friend and his childhood sweetheart, Arisawa Ryuuki.
At this moment, Long Gui has started to grow long hair after a year. At least in appearance, he no longer looks like a tomboy like he did more than a year ago, so he attracted the attention of many people when he walked through the playground.
"Aren't you going to join the basketball team?" Amid the admiring looks of a group of people, she came to Ichigo Kurosaki and asked in confusion.
"That was all done last week. I'm helping out with the football team this week." Kurosaki Ichigo continued to do warm-up exercises, still looking decadent, "Why didn't you go to the club activities?"
Move? Are you ready to go home?"
"I'm working part-time, and I'm going to the dojo next." Arizawa Ryuki replied, "Didn't I tell you before? I've been working as an assistant at the dojo since last month."
"You will be a teaching assistant..."
Hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo broke out in cold sweat on his forehead.
He knows best what this violent female Iron Fist feels like.
"Fortunately, I didn't go over there to help. I didn't want to call you teacher."
"You were thinking of something very rude just now, weren't you?" Ryuki Arizawa looked at the twitching expression at the corner of Kurosaki Ichigo's mouth and the veins on his forehead popped out, "Why don't I use violence to make you scream now?"
"La la la~"
At the same time, soft humming came from the corridor on the second floor next to the playground.
"Look! It's Inougami-san..."
"So beautiful - just like a star!"
"When I saw her, I thought, entering this high school is a wise choice!"
"I took a picture of her front face with my mobile phone before!"
"Really? Give me Kangkang too!?"
"good!"
"Card--"
The sound of a broken cell phone sounded.
"Cha...Chawatari-senpai?"
The students who were talking a lot looked at the burly figure who took the mobile phone and crushed it gently, with cold sweat on their faces.
"I will pay for your cell phone... You... better not take secret photos of Inoue, it's very dangerous, understand?" Sadatora suggested seriously.
Although the man did not come to the world, he believed that the man must have been keeping Inoue Orihime safe. Although it was not good to say so...but he felt that this kind of behavior...that man was probably a girl control.
If he knew that someone dared to save photos of his sister on his cell phone...
Just thinking about it is scary.
"I know...I know!"
However, in the eyes of the students, it was obvious that the giant bear-like Chato Taihu in front of them felt more oppressive.
They were so frightened that they kept bowing to Sadatora, just like a gangster who was respectful to his boss. Moreover, the unlucky guy whose cell phone was crushed even shouted that he didn’t need to pay for the phone, which made Sadatora scratch his head.
A moment of doubt...
"Kurosaki——Ryuuki——"
Inoue Orihime, who knew nothing about what happened behind her, noticed Kurosaki Ichigo and Arizawa Ryuki who were talking downstairs, and shouted hello loudly.
She had enjoyed the pleasant time for more than a year. After experiencing various struggles, she realized that peaceful days were so precious.
She began to understand her brother's desire to create a peaceful world, and thought that it might be really good if the world after reshaping was as peaceful as it is now.
But there must be some necessary disputes before that.
So take advantage of now... and cherish this wonderful time.
"Ah... Inoue..."
Kurosaki Ichigo and Arizawa Ryuuki went away after hearing the news.
I saw Inoue Orihime laughing as she climbed out of the second floor window and slid along the pipe against the wall to the ground.
"..."
"Idiot! You're out of business!" Arizawa Ryuuki scolded him angrily.
Kurosaki Ichigo fell into silence.
He was the only one who lost his power. Inoue's power was still there, so of course he wouldn't worry about the danger the other party would face when he came down from the second floor.
It's just that... after suddenly realizing that he was the only one who lost his power, Kurosaki Ichigo's mood became a little heavy.
Yes, he seems to be escaping from reality again.
I keep myself busy with various things every day just to forget the feeling of losing power in my heart.
He couldn't accept that he couldn't do anything.
But suddenly he seemed to realize that he couldn't escape at all.
Perhaps as Xu Bai once said, he was born to ‘fight,’ and ‘fighting’ is ‘instinct’.
,.
How can a living thing turn its back on its own ‘instinct’ and stay alive?
But...how can I regain my strength?
Thinking of this, Kurosaki Ichigo lowered his head and clenched his fists, feeling confused for a moment.
"Buzz-"
The sound of his cell phone vibrating in his trouser pocket brought him back to his thoughts.
"Sorry, I'll take a call."
As he spoke, he greeted Inoue Orihime, who was being educated, and Arizawa Ryuki, who was scolding Inoue Orihime. Without waiting for the two to respond, he turned around and leaned towards the wall at the school entrance.
No school would allow high school students to use mobile phones blatantly, so of course they couldn't stand in the middle of the playground while making calls. That would be too arrogant.
"Fool!"
As soon as he answered the phone, Kurosaki Ichigo heard an angry voice coming from the other end.
This is the store manager of the place where he works.
"Do you know what you are doing? After taking leave last week, you only came for one day! Now you want to take another week off?"
"Uh, that's why I said sorry..." Kurosaki Ichigo scratched his head in embarrassment.
In fact, he didn't want to ask for leave, but he had no choice.
The school football team gives me too much money, and I can't even earn that much money even if I work for a week.
"Do you think apologizing is enough? Get over here, or I'll fire you!"
"Really? There's nothing you can do about it~"
Kurosaki Ichigo answered indifferently, as if he didn't care at all.
"Why?"
This time it was the store manager's turn to be confused. How could this guy not care so much?
"Ouch...what are you talking about? Ichigo-chan..."
"I said that for a guy like me, there is nothing he can do about being fired. I'm really sorry. Thank you for taking care of me for so long."
"Well... it didn't take long actually, it was only half a year~ The interesting things about the House of All Things are just beginning to appear! Our adventure will continue! Come here quickly -"
"Thank you for taking care of me~"
"drop--"
Kurosaki Ichigo didn't even wait for the other party to finish speaking and hung up the phone without hesitation.
Clang——
However, just as he was about to return to the football field to continue his full commitment, the sound of iron knocking on the iron door came from the door.