Kurosaki Ichigo responded with some confusion. He looked at the person greeting him on the seat next to him. This person... he didn't know him at all.
"do we know each other?"
"Huh? Are you unconscious, Kurosaki? It's me! It's me! I'm Momohara! We've always been at the same table!"
The man smiled helplessly, as if he just thought Kurosaki Ichigo was joking.
"..."
Kurosaki Ichigo silently put down his backpack and sat down.
He really didn't know this person, because the person sitting at his table should be Lucia.
······
"Ding-dong-"
The morning classes passed quickly.
After a whole morning, Kurosaki Ichigo figured out the whole story.
After Rukia, a god of death, returned to Soul Society, she left no memory of her existence in anyone's mind. No one remembered it except him. And this unknown guy who suddenly appeared at the same table seemed to be a replacement.
He knew Lucia's existence.
He looked around at the empty seats.
Xuanhao asked for leave, Ishida asked for leave, and everything else seemed to be normal.
As humans, all of them still remember it.
Only Rukia, the God of Death, disappeared and was forgotten.
She has returned to Soul Society, so the fact that she existed in this world has been erased, probably because of what those Shinigami like Rukia did.
If he also forgets the existence of Rukia Kuchiki, he may be able to return to his usual daily life.
But that's impossible.
He cannot forget, and must go to Soul Society as soon as possible to save her.
In fact, he also wanted to ask himself why he still came to school at this time, but he couldn't rush it. That clog hat was right. Although saving Lucia was indeed important, it was not that simple.
First of all...he can't let his father and sisters worry.
After calming down, Kurosaki Ichigo figured out a lot of things. He was indeed too impatient before.
This won't work.
Today is the last day before summer vacation. If you miss class, your teacher will probably have to call your dad to nag you, which is another troublesome thing.
As long as he finishes today's class, he will have time to act on his own and does not need to go home. As early as this morning when he went out, he had already told his family that he would stop sleeping together with his classmates. This probably won't happen in the first half of the summer vacation.
Go home and don't worry.
And the most important thing is... his current physical condition has not recovered to the extent that he can train. The clog hat gave him a bottle of suspicious-looking pills with a skull engraved on the bottle, which made him feel uncomfortable every day during the day.
If he takes one pill an hour, his injuries will be healed in the evening. So before that, he can only endure it.
"Don't be in a hurry...you still have plenty of time."
Kurosaki Ichigo murmured to himself as if to calm himself down.
Time passed bit by bit, and finally, after half a day, the bell rang for the end of class.
Ichigo Kurosaki picked up his backpack and left the school silently. Everything had been arranged, the medicine had been taken, and there was no obvious pain in his body. He could go directly to the Urahara store for special training.
But just halfway, he was stopped by a slender figure.
"Uh... Inoue?"
Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly remembered that there might be someone in this world who remembered Rukia, and that was Orihime Inoue in front of him. After all, she seemed to have special abilities, and the man took special care of her, so she should not be erased.
memory.
"Why is Kuchiki missing? Why does everyone seem to have forgotten her... I think you might know something?" Inoue Orihime asked.
"Um? Didn't Xuanhao tell you... That's right, he probably wouldn't want you to be involved in such a dangerous thing."
Kurosaki Ichigo was a little hesitant, not sure whether he should say it or not.
"please tell me."
Inoue Orihime's eyes were firm, "Although I asked my brother and he was unwilling to say anything, I still want to know... This is my own decision."
"..."
"All right."
After a moment of silence, Kurosaki Ichigo decided to speak out. Because he could understand the determination in this girl's eyes, which was the same as his own. Once she made up her mind, she would never give up.
Even if he doesn't say anything, she will try her best to understand the situation, right?
······
Park, two people sitting on the steps.
"Well...it turns out that's the case...she has returned to her own world..."
After listening to the whole story described by Kurosaki Ichigo, Inoue Orihime lowered her head, "So... you want to save her, right?"
"Yeah, that guy saved me twice."
Kurosaki Ichigo nodded slightly and replied, "How could I know that she would die if she went back and still do nothing."
"That's right, this is what you look like!"
After listening to Kurosaki Ichigo's words, Inoue Orihime raised her head and smiled, "I knew you would say that."
After saying that, she stood up as if she had made up her mind.
"I don't want my friend to die like this, so I won't stop you, don't worry. Go ahead! Work hard!"
"Forehead……"
Kurosaki Ichigo was stunned.
This girl seemed to have read his mind.
He really thought that no one could tell anyone about this, because if he did, someone would be worried about his safety and stop him from taking action.
But Inoue seemed to have seen through it all.
Not only did she not stop it, she also supported it.
For an instant, for some reason, Kurosaki Ichigo felt full of strength.
The road ahead is full of thorns, but if someone encourages you, you are no longer alone.
"Thank you, Inoue!"
Kurosaki Ichigo bowed slightly towards the girl in front of him.
Although it was only verbal support, he was indeed encouraged by it.
"Then...I'm going!"
Saying that, Kurosaki Ichigo turned around and ran in the determined direction with firm steps.
"Well...be careful...don't get hurt..."
Looking at Kurosaki Ichigo's retreating back, Inoue Orihime prayed softly in a voice that only she could hear.
But she also knew that just praying was useless.
So she raised her head and looked towards the high-rise buildings under construction in the center of the town.
The boy and the girl walked in opposite directions with firm steps, but it seemed that they were going to the same destination.
······
"Ah! Welcome."
Seeing the door of the shop being opened, Urahara Kisuke opened the folding fan in his hand and smiled to welcome the young man's arrival.
"How are you recovering from your injuries?"
“No problem at all!”
Without saying a word, Ichigo Kurosaki tore off his school uniform, revealing his strong muscles.
There are still slightly hideous scars on the chest, abdomen and shoulders on both sides, but the wounds have indeed healed completely and will not affect the movement at all.
"Very good, so have you made arrangements for your current affairs?"
Urahara Kisuke asked with a smile, "For example, leave a suicide note or something like this. This trip will be very dangerous~"
"The arrangements have been made, but I don't know how to write a suicide note. I just told my dad that I went to a sleepover."
Kurosaki Ichigo showed a confident smile on his face, "I will definitely come back."
"Having confidence is a good thing..."
Urahara Kisuke looked at the smile on the face of the young man in front of him and sighed slightly that it was great to be young.
It was obvious that he had just suffered such a setback, but he recovered so quickly.
"So... let's get started?"
As he spoke, he slowly stood up from the futon. At the same time, the sliding door behind him slowly opened. It was dark inside, and he didn't know where it led.
"Then it all depends on you!"
Looking at Urahara Kisuke who turned around and walked towards the door, Kurosaki Ichigo bowed ninety degrees and asked sincerely.
"Forehead?"
Urahara Kisuke was surprised when he heard the voice coming from behind.
No!? This was the first time he heard this boy address him with honorifics! It was so touching. The hard work seemed to have finally paid off, and he was upgraded from 'clogs hat' to 'you'
Yeah! It’s not like all the hard work was in vain.
On the other side, two figures arrived at the foot of a building under construction.
"Uh... Inoue-san, are you here too?"
"Well, Sadatari-san, what are you here for?"
"me……"
Chadota Taihu scratched his head and raised his eyes. At this moment, his eyes were full of indescribable determination.
He raised his head and looked at the top of the building, "There's something wrong with Ichigo's appearance today. I came to ask if something happened. And... I've been thinking about one thing since that day..."
Saying "Giant's right arm" appeared on his right hand.
"Ichigo and I made a promise that we would punch each other for each other, so I thought maybe now is the time...what about you?"
"I have decided too."
Inoue Orihime's eyes were equally determined.
She also raised her head and looked at the roof of the building.
A figure stood looking at them from a high place.
She could probably read what the other person's eyes meant, and she was asking them - "Have you really decided?"
The two people downstairs nodded in unison. Before stepping into the building, they looked back at this ordinary city.
On one side are bustling neighborhoods, on the other side are tall buildings with only frames that look like the remains of a bustling city.
At this moment, they seemed to understand why this man chose to live in such a place.
Just like the contrast between this building and the rest of the city...he is out of tune with the rest of the world.
And now, having made their choice, they will probably go further and further away from their ordinary life.
"let's go."
······
"tread--"
Slightly hasty footsteps sounded on the wooden floor.
Renji Abarai, whose stab wounds had not yet healed, wore a yukata and headed towards the place where Rukia Kuchiki was being held.
He held the key he kindly 'borrowed' from the jailer and clicked open the door with the word 'six' printed on it.
Because Rukia belongs to the Sixth Division, she is currently being temporarily detained in their own territory. He can still talk here and just look at the prisoners, which is a piece of cake.
In the deepest cell, Kuchiki Rukia sat quietly on a wooden chair facing the wall, seemingly repenting.
But in fact, if you look at it from the front, you can see that she is holding the bowl and chopsticks in her hands, taking every bite.
"The food in prison is really bad, but the glutinous rice balls in this world are still delicious."
For some reason, she didn't seem nervous at all.
"Hi, you seem to be in good condition?"
Renji Abarai looked at Rukia Kuchiki, who was in good spirits, with a slight smile on her face.
It seemed like he was worried for nothing.
But this guy seems to have changed a lot after he went to the real world... He had never dared to imagine that this guy could be so optimistic while being imprisoned in a cell.
"Of course, even if I'm going to die, you have to let me be a dead man, right?"
Kuchiki Rukia turned her head and smiled.
"Damn, it's not the end yet!"
Renji Abarai scratched his head helplessly, "Don't worry, although the death penalty has been set for you, Captain Kuchiki has already reported to Kibe, and he should probably ask for a commutation of your sentence. After all, he is your elder brother and will not turn a blind eye.
Watching you being executed..."
"No, you are thinking too much."
Kuchiki Rukia shrugged slightly, with a helpless expression on her face, "He won't plead for me, and will even kill me..."
"How..." Abarai Renji opened his mouth to refute.
But he looked at Lucia's expression and saw that this guy... was serious. She really thought so! Why?
"I know very well what kind of person Byakuya is..."
Seemingly seeing the disbelief in Renji's eyes, Rukia smiled and explained, "Maybe you won't believe it, right? It's been forty years since I was adopted by the Kuchiki family, but that person has never been...useful He looked at me with his eyes. I don’t even know what the reason was for him to adopt me... maybe it’s just because I have excellent spiritual talents?”
"this……"
Renji Abarai wanted to refute, but unfortunately, that was all he could think of.
Indeed... that man is the head of the Kuchiki clan, the leader of the entire noble family, and the captain of the sixth division. How could he really have such a ridiculous thing as affection for a kid who was born in Rukongai?
Maybe what Rukia said was right... that man really didn't know how to plead for mercy, and he might even act as the executioner himself to execute this criminal who ruined the Kuchiki family's reputation.
"Then...why can you still laugh now?"
Renji Abarai clung to the railing of the cell door, veins popping out on the back of his hands.
Although he has the ability to directly open the prison door and rescue the people inside, where can he run after he gets out?
As long as Lucia still carries her guilt, they will face an endless pursuit whether in this world or in Soul Society.
Is there really no other way?
"Because...well~"
Rukia Kuchiki seemed to be thinking with some distress, "How should I put it? In short, I feel like I won't die."
"Feel?"
Renji Abarai was a little puzzled.
"I have never placed my hope on Brother Byakuya to intercede for me, but..."
Rukia Kuchiki raised her head and looked at the distant sky through the only small window above the cage.
"I believe someone will come to save me. If it is them... definitely."
"them?"
"Yes, they... Renji, you don't understand, do you? What kind of creatures are humans?"