The next morning, when Yoriichi Tsugikuni walked into the classroom, Ichigo Kurosaki was slumped over his desk.
Keigo Asano leaned close to him, his face full of shock.
“Ichigo, did you go save the world last night or something?” Ichigo looked up, his eyes filled with displeasure.
“Shut up.” “That’s not very nice,” Keigo said, clutching his chest in mock pain.
“I was just showing concern as a friend, and you treat me like this.” Mizuiro Kojima sat beside him, smiling gently.
“Keigo, if you keep nagging him, Kurosaki might actually beat you up.” Keigo immediately shut up.
After all, he had plenty of firsthand experience being on the receiving end of Ichigo’s fists.
Yoriichi sat down in his seat and put his bag away.
He could roughly guess what had happened last night.
An ordinary high school student, suddenly forced to become a Substitute Shinigami and having to go out at night to deal with Hollows.
Anyone in that situation wouldn’t sleep well.
Just then, the school bell rang.
The homeroom teacher pushed open the door and walked in, holding an attendance sheet.
“Everyone, quiet down.” The noise in the classroom gradually subsided.
The teacher stood on the podium, cleared her throat, and said, “We have a transfer student in our class today.” The moment those words were spoken, Keigo instantly perked up.
“A transfer student?
Is it a boy or a girl?” “Quiet down.” Tatsuki Arisawa smacked him on the head with a rolled-up book.
Keigo clutched his head, looking at the podium with a wronged expression.
The next moment, a petite girl walked in from the hallway.
She was wearing the Karakura First High School uniform.
Her short black hair was neatly trimmed against her face, and her expression was very serious.
Despite not being very tall, her posture was impeccably straight.
She gave off the feeling of an elementary school student wearing adult clothes, trying entirely too hard to act like a noble lady.
Of course, no one dared to say that aloud.
“My name is Rukia Kuchiki.” Rukia stood at the podium and said earnestly, “From today onwards, please take care of me.” The classroom was silent for a second.
Then, murmurs immediately broke out.
“So petite.” “She’s the cute type.” “She speaks so formally.” Keigo placed his hands on his desk, his eyes lighting up.
“A beautiful transfer student!” Ichigo’s expression froze.
He stared wide-eyed at Rukia on the podium, looking like he was about to jump out of his chair.
“What are you doing here?!” She looked at Ichigo, a very polite, almost strained smile on her face.
The homeroom teacher glanced at the seating chart and said, “Kuchiki-san, you can sit behind Kurosaki-san.” “Yes.” Rukia nodded, picked up her bag, and walked down the aisle.
Yoriichi’s gaze fell on Rukia.
The Transparent World unfolded.
The next moment, Rukia’s body became crystal clear in his eyes.
It wasn’t a normal human body.
Skeleton, flesh, internal organs—all were merely an outer shell composed of high-density Reishi (spiritual particles).
These particles were arranged with exquisite precision, yet possessed an unnatural stiffness.
Like a hastily put-on garment.
A Gikai.
The word surfaced in Yoriichi’s mind.
And deep within the Gikai, Rukia’s true soul was enveloped.
That soul was weak, her spiritual pressure almost completely drained, yet it still maintained the form befitting a Shinigami.
Her spiritual pressure was recovering very slowly.
Abnormally slow.
Yoriichi’s gaze lingered on the core of the artificial body.
There were layers of tiny, intricate Kido seals, like locks, wrapped tightly around Rukia’s soul.
He couldn’t read the specific runes, but he could see their function.
These things were suppressing Rukia’s powers.
Yoriichi withdrew his gaze.
He was finally completely certain that he wasn’t dreaming.
This was indeed the world of Bleach.
And the girl sitting behind Ichigo was Rukia Kuchiki.
After Rukia sat down, a chill suddenly ran down her spine.
She subconsciously looked forward at Yoriichi.
He looked like an ordinary, unassuming student.
But Rukia’s years of combat intuition told her that something was deeply wrong with this person.
Rukia frowned.
After class began, Ichigo was restless.
He glanced back at Rukia every now and then, while Rukia drew a strange, lumpy rabbit on the back of her textbook.
The rabbit was holding a sign.
It read: “SHUT UP!” Ichigo’s lips twitched.
What the hell was that drawing?
Yoriichi saw the rabbit.
He paused for a moment, then looked away.
Soon, the morning classes ended.
As soon as the bell rang, Rukia dragged Ichigo out of the classroom by the wrist.
Her movements were swift and decisive, completely unlike a frail transfer student.
Keigo reached out, his expression stiff.
“What…
just happened?” Mizuiro smiled slightly.
“It seems Kurosaki-kun has been kidnapped by the transfer student.” Keigo’s eyes widened.
“Damn it, Ichigo secretly knows a beautiful girl!” Tatsuki rolled her eyes.
“Is there anything else on your mind besides that?” Meanwhile, Rukia dragged Ichigo to the corner of the stairwell.
After confirming no one was around, she immediately let go.
Ichigo rubbed his wrist, annoyed.
“Hey, what exactly do you want?” Rukia didn’t answer the question directly.
She looked up at Ichigo, her expression serious.
“What’s the deal with that dark-haired guy in your class?” Ichigo froze.
“Yoriichi?” “Yes.” Rukia lowered her voice.
“Is he really just an ordinary human?” Ichigo scratched his head.
This question really stumped him.
If it were before yesterday, he would have definitely said Yoriichi was just a quiet, ordinary classmate.
But after last night, he knew this world wasn’t ordinary.
The words “ordinary human” suddenly felt unreliable.
“Probably,” Ichigo thought for a moment and said, “Yoriichi isn’t very talkative and doesn’t socialize much, but he’s a good guy.” Rukia frowned.
“What kind of explanation is that?” “Then what do you want me to say?” Ichigo shrugged.
“I know him because I ran into some thugs on the street one time.” Rukia looked at him expectantly.
“And then?” “I was gonna go beat them up.
But when I got there, all the thugs were already lying on the ground.” Rukia was silent for a moment.
“He did it?” “Yeah.” Ichigo nodded.
“And he didn’t look like he’d just been in a fight at all.
His uniform wasn’t even messed up.” He still remembered that day very clearly.
Several thugs lay sprawled on the ground groaning, while Yoriichi Tsugikuni stood nearby, calmly carrying a bag of freshly bought vegetables.
Ichigo had asked him what happened.
Yoriichi had only said, “They were in the way.” Just those four words.
That was just how Yoriichi was.
“Why are you suddenly asking about Yoriichi?” “My gut feeling tells me there’s something off about him,” Rukia said.
“You’d better not reveal too much to him.” Ichigo frowned.
“Yoriichi isn’t that kind of person.” “I didn’t say he was a bad person.” Rukia glared at him.
“I’m telling you to be careful.
You’re a Substitute Shinigami now.” Ichigo opened his mouth, but ultimately didn’t argue.
He didn’t like being lectured, but the Hollow from last night was real.
The Shinigami was real, too.
He certainly didn’t have the right to act like he knew everything right now.
Not long after, Ichigo and Rukia returned to the classroom.
Before sitting down, Rukia glanced at Yoriichi one last time.
Yoriichi was already looking at her.
Their eyes met briefly in the air.
Rukia’s body stiffened slightly.
For a moment, she seemed to see a quietly burning sun.
There was no hostility.
But it was impossible to ignore.
Yoriichi looked away and continued flipping through his textbook.
Rukia sat back down, her fingers clenching slightly.
This person was definitely not ordinary.
But at least for now, he hadn’t shown any malice.
After hearing Ichigo’s words, she could only temporarily suppress her confusion.
After all, the most troublesome thing right now wasn’t Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
It was Ichigo Kurosaki, the newly appointed Substitute Shinigami.
Rukia glanced at Ichigo in the seat in front of her and sighed inwardly.
This guy, no matter how you look at him, doesn’t seem like someone who can keep a secret.