"Hey."
The boy's voice was crisp and refreshing, drawing the attention of the surrounding wandering souls, who all turned to look at Asuka along with him.
"You can see them?" Asuka pointed at the wandering souls around him, who were curiously sizing him up.
"Of course I can see them. We're all neighbors, after all." The boy pushed himself up, hopped down from the tombstone, and dusted off his pants. "My name is Yoh Asakura. I'm a Shaman who recently transferred here, though my skills are just so-so."
"A Shaman?"
It was Asuka's first time hearing of such a profession, leaving him feeling somewhat baffled.
Yoh Asakura grinned and pointed at Asuka. "I saw you handing out those spirit-calming talismans down there earlier. You're a Shaman too, right?"
Asuka carefully observed the boy in front of him.
The other party didn't possess the sharp Spiritual Pressure of a Soul Reaper, nor the malicious Spiritual Pressure of a Hollow.
Instead, he emitted a gentle, profound fluctuation, much like the earth or flowing water.
This fluctuation was completely incompatible with the power Asuka was familiar with, yet it made the restless souls around them feel unusually at peace.
"You said those talismans are for calming spirits?" Asuka asked.
"Yeah. I can feel the Furyoku on them. If someone with a troubled mind wears one, they'd probably get a good night's sleep." Yoh Asakura shoved his hands into his pockets, slowly walked up to Asuka, and tilted his head to look at him. "But compared to the talismans, I'm much more interested in you."
"Even though I feel like you're similar to me, there's also something a bit different..."
"Your soul... it feels like it doesn't quite match this body of yours. Did a channeling go wrong?"
Asuka's heart suddenly sank.
Since entering this body, aside from acquaintances like Urahara and Yoruichi, this was the first person who could see the anomaly of his body at a single glance.
"Don't be so tense." Yoh Asakura chuckled, pointing to an old locust tree not far away. "It's rare for you to visit Funbari Hill. Want to sit down, have a can of juice, and chat? The breeze here is really nice."
Looking at the boy before him, Asuka's shoulders, which had been tense all morning, miraculously relaxed a little.
This guy named Yoh Asakura seemed to possess a magical charm that could slow down the pace of everything around him.
"Sure."
Asuka nodded in agreement and followed Yoh Asakura toward the old tree where the most souls had gathered.
The two sat side by side on the thick tree roots. From this vantage point, they could overlook the neatly arranged streets below and clearly see the souls wandering peacefully among the graves.
Asuka clutched a can of cheap orange juice Yoh Asakura had shoved into his hands, letting the chill condensing on the aluminum rim spread through his fingertips.
"So, you're saying my current condition is because of a 'failed channeling'?"
Asuka frowned, turning his head to look at the boy swinging his legs beside him.
"Well, it's not exactly accurate, but that's how it looks to me." Yoh Asakura took off the headphones around his neck, his clear eyes revealing an easygoing nature that seemed to see through all things.
"My feeling is—the spirit you chose to channel must be incredibly powerful. So powerful that this physical body simply can't fully contain it."
"If you force an incompatible soul to possess a body, or forcefully use its power when the compatibility isn't high enough, you'll experience the aftereffects you're having now—a sense of detachment between the soul and the flesh."
Yoh Asakura didn't know that Asuka's body was a special Gigai crafted by Kisuke Urahara.
He also didn't know that Asuka's soul was a complete foreigner drifting from another world, and that their meeting on Funbari Hill was an absolute miracle.
In his understanding, the boy in front of him was more like a fellow practitioner who had suffered a cultivation deviation, resulting in the separation of his body and soul.
"...Is there a solution to what you're talking about?" Asuka remained silent for a moment before asking.
Of course, he didn't understand anything about channeling either.
"A solution, huh..." Yoh Asakura looked up, deep in thought. "Do you want to try our Asakura family's introductory meditation method? It might be a little different from what you've practiced before, but the principles are universal."
"Meditation?" Asuka was no stranger to this.
In that world that had already faded away, he had honed his will countless times by sitting in silent meditation deep in the mountains.
Yoh Asakura smiled and extended a finger, drawing a circle in the air. "It's not that lifeless, rigid sitting. It's learning to feel and acknowledge the Furyoku within you, rather than commanding it from on high..."
Amidst the sunlight and gentle breeze, Yoh Asakura said a lot of things, but Asuka barely understood any of it.
What Furyoku, Spirit Integration, Channeling Medium...
'Where exactly am I? Is this still the World of the Living?'
"...Anyway, when you no longer feel like you're 'exerting force,' but instead feel that this power has always been flowing there naturally, that sense of anomaly will disappear."
Asuka lowered his head, looking at his hands, which were covered in tiny scars from practicing Hakuda.
All along, due to losing his spiritual power and being in an unfamiliar world, he had subconsciously treated this "Gigai" as a temporary tool that needed to be manipulated.
He desperately wanted to "command" it, to "control" it, but he had never thought about "acknowledging" it.
This subtle deviation in mindset was just like a swordsman gripping a blade—if he didn't treat the sword as an extension of his arm, then the sword would forever remain just a piece of iron.
"Acknowledge it..."
Asuka closed his eyes and, following Yoh Asakura's words, tried to feel the subtle palpitations within this sluggish body.
One second, two seconds.
Slowly, Asuka felt the sound of the wind in his ears seem to grow louder.
His originally stinging lungs also calmed down in rhythm with it.
That suffocating feeling of being tightly bound by some outer shell actually lessened slightly.
Although it was only a tiny bit, for Asuka, who had hit a bottleneck, it was a tremendous and pleasant surprise.
"Thanks." Asuka opened his eyes, a trace of genuine sincerity in his tone.
"Hehe, I'm glad I could help. After all, we're all friends resting on this hill." Yoh Asakura put his headphones back on, looking as if he was about to fall asleep.
However, this peaceful atmosphere didn't last long.
A noisy roar of engines, mixed with arrogant laughter, came from the stairs below, shattering the original tranquility of Funbari Hill.
Asuka stood up almost reflexively, his eyes instantly regaining their combat-ready sharpness.
He saw a group of hooligans dressed in delinquent fashion, riding motorcycles or wielding clubs, swaggering into this pure land that belonged to the wandering souls.
The guy in the lead was the most eye-catching.
He sported a comically exaggerated purplish-red pompadour, wore a flashy long coat, and gripped a heavy wooden sword in his hand.
"Ah—! Found it! Is this the legendary 'best spot' with an excellent view that makes people feel so good?"
The man waved his arm, pointing at the quiet tombstones, and announced loudly.
"Hey! You over there with the headphones! And that half-dead-looking brat! From now on, this place is occupied by me, Wooden Sword Ryu! If you know what's good for you, get lost immediately and don't get in the way of us enjoying life!"
Yoh Asakura sighed and climbed down from the tombstone with a somewhat helpless expression. "This is a place for everyone to rest. If you make such a mess, the neighbors will be troubled."
"Hah? Neighbors? What neighbors? Are you talking about these rotten stones covered in weeds?"
The man known as Wooden Sword Ryu let out a burst of maniacal laughter, and the hooligans behind him joined in the jeering.
Some even started banging their clubs against the nearby tombstones, creating bursts of ear-piercing noise.
The timid wandering souls trembled in fear, hastily hiding behind the large trees.
Watching these people's actions, Asuka's eyes turned completely cold.
Having lived through two lifetimes, he had seen all kinds of people.
What he despised the most was this kind of scum who recklessly destroyed the peace of others, building their own happiness on the suffering of others.
"How unpleasant," Asuka muttered in a low voice.
"Mr. Asuka, be gentle. They're just lost people," Yoh Asakura said, trying to mediate, even as he silently walked toward Wooden Sword Ryu.
Asuka tossed his baseball bag onto the ground, cracking his knuckles. "Don't worry. My sword doesn't kill humans."
"Cut the crap! Anyone who stands in my way will be cleaved in half by my wooden sword!"
Wooden Sword Ryu roared, and the wooden sword in his hand smashed straight down toward Yoh Asakura's head, accompanied by the howling wind.
This strike was heavy and powerful. If it were an ordinary boy, his skull would probably be shattered on the spot.
"Since talking won't work, I'll just have to intrude a little..."
"Amidamaru, I'm counting on you!"
Under Asuka's astonished gaze, a translucent figure wearing ancient samurai armor appeared out of thin air behind Yoh Asakura.
The aura emitted by that spirit was completely different from the Pluses Asuka was accustomed to seeing.
The samurai spirit transformed into a streak of golden light and instantly drilled into the palm of Yoh Asakura's hand.
"Spirit Integration—Amidamaru!"
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