During the endless rainy season in Karakura Town.
Isshin Shiba, or rather the current "Isshin Kurosaki," had officially bid farewell to his past as a Soul Reaper Captain.
To hide his identity, he took on Masaki Kurosaki's surname, avoiding any potential trouble.
He was no longer the majestic Captain of the Tenth Division draped in a haori, but rather Doctor Kurosaki, wearing an outdated shirt and trying to put down roots in the World of the Living.
The classes at the Shin'o Academy had taught that Soul Reapers were the linchpins maintaining the balance of souls.
But Isshin never imagined that one day he would use the medical knowledge he learned at the Academy—originally meant for spiritual bodies—to study how to treat the injuries and illnesses of humans in the World of the Living.
"Oh my, Mr. Kurosaki, the way you hold that scalpel always makes me feel like you're going to shout 'Getsu's' name in the next second," Kisuke Urahara teased.
"The human bodies in the World of the Living are as fragile as freshly baked crepes. If you use that Soul Reaper hemostasis method to stitch up an appendectomy, the Health Department will probably arrest you as a heretic the very next day."
Kisuke Urahara waved his fan, admiring the graceful figure of the weather girl on TV while observing Isshin, who was studying modern medicine hard.
Isshin rubbed his throbbing temples, tossed the "Crash Course in Clinical Medicine of the World of the Living" onto the table, and let out a long sigh.
"Shut up, Urahara. Right now, I'm just an unemployed youth worrying about making a living..."
"Oh my... at your age, you're already a middle-aged man among the humans in the World of the Living."
Before Isshin could lash out, Urahara quickly pointed to a hand-drawn map beside him. "I've already scouted a location for your clinic. It's on a quiet street in the western suburbs of Karakura Town."
"It's a two-story building. The first floor can be converted into a consultation room and a pharmacy, and you can live on the second floor. It's just that..."
"Just that what?" Isshin looked up.
"It's just that the landlord of that property is a picky old man, and your current bank account balance is... hehe." Urahara let out his signature sly chuckle.
Isshin fell silent. This was indeed the most realistic problem.
In the society of the World of the Living, it was impossible to move a single step without money.
And as an unregistered citizen, it was absolutely impossible for him to get a bank loan.
Urahara tapped his palm with his folding fan, continuing to deal critical blows to his heart. "Furthermore, to open a clinic here, having a foundation in medicine isn't enough. The Health Department in the World of the Living doesn't recognize Kido or Kaido. You need to get a business license."
At the mention of a business license, Isshin's face fell even further.
This gave him a bigger headache than dealing with Hollows.
Under Urahara's guidance, he had been spinning like a top for over half a month: from health checkups and qualification exams to stacks of thick certificates, and he still hadn't completely finished...
On the other hand, Masaki's situation was equally bleak.
Masaki Kurosaki sat in the bedroom where she had lived for over a decade, facing several packed suitcases.
Due to the 'bloodline pollution' caused by the Hollowfication incident, the matriarch of the Ishida family had displayed an almost ruthless decisiveness.
As the last pure-blooded descendant of the Kurosaki family, she had originally been adopted so she could form a pure-blooded Quincy family with Ryuken Ishida.
Now that Masaki's bloodline had been polluted by a Hollow, she was no longer of any value to the Ishida family.
With her high school graduation ceremony approaching, Masaki had received an ultimatum to move out of the Ishida household.
That evening, Masaki walked down the streets of Karakura Town, holding a rental newspaper in her hand.
She needed to find a place with cheap rent, at least to tide her over until she went to university.
However, for an exiled Quincy girl with only her meager savings of pocket money, finding a place to stay in a bustling city was easier said than done.
After wandering around, she ultimately had no choice but to temporarily lodge at the Urahara Shop, running between various cheap rental agencies alongside another unlucky fellow.
As she and Isshin navigated through those narrow, gloomy agencies, they were unaware that in the shadows at the end of the street, a young man in an elegant suit was silently watching it all.
Ryuken Ishida.
"Young Master, is this really okay?" Kanae Katagiri asked in a low voice behind him. "If the head of the family finds out you misappropriated the Ishida family's funds..."
"This isn't misappropriation, Kanae," Ryuken interrupted her, turning around and no longer looking at the two busy figures.
"I am merely negotiating a business deal with that profiteer, Kisuke Urahara. Quincies need to acquire more data on Hollowfication and Soul Reaper Gigai adaptation for future contingencies."
Two days later, inside the Urahara Shop.
Kisuke Urahara pushed a hefty check and a signed property transfer agreement toward Isshin Kurosaki.
"Yo, Mr. Kurosaki, it seems your luck is quite good. A 'great philanthropist' who wishes to remain anonymous saw the value in your future medical research and paid a large consultation fee in advance."
Urahara lowered his voice, a hint of teasing in his tone. "This money is not only enough to buy that two-story building, but it's also enough to cover all the bribery fees for your medical licenses, and even more than enough to buy a comfortable little apartment for Miss Masaki."
Isshin stared blankly at the number on the check.
That amount was definitely not an ordinary charitable donation.
"It's Ryuken, isn't it?" Isshin suddenly spoke, his tone surprisingly calm.
"My, my, Mr. Kurosaki has gotten smarter."
"That stoic brat..." Isshin's mouth twitched, but his heart felt slightly warm.
He certainly knew this money wasn't for him, but rather to support Masaki Kurosaki through his hands.
Isshin immediately wanted to rush to the Ishida household to express his thanks, but Urahara blocked him with his folding fan. "If you go looking for him, you'll be wasting the dignity he went through so much trouble to uphold for you."
"The Quincy Young Master doesn't need your gratitude. What he needs is for you to take better care of that girl, who originally belonged to the Ishida family, in this World of the Living than she ever was in that cold mansion."
Isshin's footsteps halted.
He clenched his fists and took a deep breath.
In the following days, Isshin completely turned into a workaholic.
During the day, he shuttled between various administrative agencies in the World of the Living, holding the returnee certificates and educational qualifications that Urahara had prepared—or rather, forged and fabricated—for him, filling in the name "Isshin Kurosaki" on thick application forms.
To deal with the Health Bureau's surprise inspections, he genuinely began studying the medical textbooks of the World of the Living day and night.
"The naming of the bones here is completely different from the Academy!" Isshin wailed in agony at the construction site on the first floor of the clinic.
At this moment, he was wearing a lime-stained work uniform, studying the textbook while personally directing the decorators to remodel the operating room.
Thanks to the ample funds, the originally dilapidated building took on a completely new look. The first floor was divided into a registration area, a pharmacy, and two spacious consultation rooms.
Isshin insisted on planting a tree at the entrance, saying it would make it feel more like a home.
Meanwhile, Masaki moved into an apartment just two streets away from the clinic.
On moving day, Isshin drove a secondhand van he had gotten from who-knows-where, shouting and hollering as he helped her move her meager luggage.
"Mr. Isshin, I can actually do this myself," Masaki said, holding a potted plant and looking apologetically at the haggard Isshin, who was busy running up and down.
"I'm your attending physician now. How can I let a patient who hasn't fully recovered do this kind of manual labor?"
With a grunt, Isshin steadily set down several stacked suitcases, turning back to reveal a bright, almost comical smile. "Besides, everyone around here is going to call me Doctor Kurosaki from now on. I need to get used to this respectable persona in advance."
Masaki looked at him and suddenly smiled.
Half a month later.
It was the clearest day in Karakura Town since the beginning of summer.
Isshin stood at the entrance of the clinic, holding the final approval documents that had just been delivered.
It was a medical institution business license stamped with the official seal of the Health Bureau.
He turned around and looked at the wooden signboard he had written with his own hands.
Walking into the consultation room, he hung the license squarely on the most prominent wall.
"I guess this is a complete farewell to the past..."
Kurosaki Clinic
Ring—
The sensor bell at the door rang.
"Doctor Kurosaki, congratulations on your grand opening."
Wearing a simple floral dress and carrying a basket of fresh ingredients, Masaki stood at the door with her eyes curved in a smile. "As your first customer, do you want to eat something good tonight to celebrate?"
Isshin froze for a moment, then burst into exaggerated laughter.
He strode over, took the basket, and spoke with an unprecedented sense of groundedness:
"Of course! Congratulations on the official opening of the Kurosaki Clinic!"
Sunlight pierced through the clean glass windows, spilling onto the white floor tiles, warm and inviting.
A man had given up a long lifespan and supreme honor.
In this city named Karakura Town, for the sake of a smile, he officially began his daily life as "Isshin Kurosaki."
"Excuse me, delivery—"
Doctor Kurosaki had just placed the ingredients on the table when he heard a half-dead voice coming from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Asuka, sporting dark circles under his eyes and an exhausted expression, placing a flower basket sent from the Urahara Shop at the door.
"Please sign for this, thank you."