By the time the story reached Tsuna's middle school years, he had already mastered all of his Bankai. Looking at it that way, having too many Bankai really wasn't a blessing—Tsuna had spent nearly three full years mastering his Shinigami powers. With that much time, Ichigo could probably have speedrun all the way to defeating Yhwach.
As expected, once they entered middle school, Tsuna, Tatsuki, and Ichigo still ended up in the same class.
What Tsuna hadn't expected, though, was that Uryū Ishida would also be assigned to their class.
"The hell are you doing at our school too?" Tsuna asked, dragging Uryū into a corner to squat down with him. "Your house is pretty far from here, isn't it? And you suddenly transferred in?"
"As the last inheritor of the Quincy tradition, of course I had to see what kind of abilities a traitor to the Quincy like you actually has," Uryū said with complete conviction.
Uryū was still clearly hung up on the fact that Tsuna had abandoned the Quincy path and thrown himself into becoming a Soul Reaper. Naturally, his old man Ryūken had never bothered to explain the real reason Tsuna stopped. So after Uryū's training progressed, he had been silently trying to compete with Tsuna the whole time.
And now he had literally followed him into the same class.
"Do whatever you want," Tsuna said. "But let me warn you first—Tatsuki and Ichigo still don't know about my identity…"
"What are you two sneaking around doing?" Tatsuki's voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
"Ah, Tatsuki, Ichigo—let me introduce a new friend. This is Uryū Ishida…"
Tsuna quickly introduced Uryū to them, and both sides exchanged friendly greetings. That was enough to count as an initial introduction.
"Speaking of friends," Tatsuki suddenly said, "I've got a friend I want to introduce to you guys too. Wait here."
She vanished in a blur, then returned a while later dragging along an orange-haired girl.
The girl looked timid, not in particularly high spirits, and somehow a little airheaded too. But her unusually mature figure gave away her identity immediately—
Orihime Inoue.
"This is Inoue Orihime. She's a new friend I just made. And this is Sawada Tsunayoshi, Kurosaki Ichigo…"
Tatsuki introduced Orihime to Tsuna and the others one by one.
Orihime politely greeted each of them in turn.
Compared to Orihime's courtesy, Tsuna and the other two reacted rather flatly.
That immediately earned them a private "meeting" from Tatsuki.
"I'm telling you," she whispered threateningly, "something happened in Inoue's family. You three better liven up and clap properly!"
The three of them immediately started applauding to welcome Orihime. Ichigo even went over and patted her on the shoulder while clumsily offering some comforting words.
Judging from the faint blush rising on Orihime's face, Tsuna could already tell—
this girl had been completely won over by Ichigo.
"—Ow."
A sharp pain in his waist snapped Tsuna back to reality.
"What are you staring at?"
Tsuna turned his head slightly and met Tatsuki's unpleasant glare.
"Nothing," he said. "I was just thinking about how some clueless girl has already fallen into Ichigo's web. Anyway, what exactly happened to Inoue's family?"
"I think her brother passed away," Tatsuki said. "She's the only one left at home now. I don't know the details. I just saw her sitting alone in a corner, so I went over to talk to her. Then somehow we ended up becoming friends."
"So you want her to make more friends and cheer up a bit?"
"Well, obviously," Tatsuki snapped. "A girl like that always being all alone—what kind of life is that?"
"You really are kind," Tsuna said. "Since you want to make her life more lively, why don't we find a chance to throw a little gathering at her place? Cheer things up a bit?"
Tatsuki narrowed her eyes and looked Tsuna up and down.
"What exactly are you trying to do? Going over to a girl's house—what are you planning?"
"What are you thinking?" Tsuna shot back. "She may be around people at school now, but once she goes home, it's still quiet and empty there."
"…You've got a point," Tatsuki admitted. "I'll find a chance to ask Inoue."
In truth, while Tatsuki was busy suspecting him of ulterior motives, Tsuna's reasoning was much simpler.
If Orihime was living alone, that meant her brother had already died.
And if Tsuna remembered correctly, Sora Inoue—Orihime's brother—would later transform into a Hollow and attack her.
If Sora became a Hollow, then that meant his spirit had been lingering around Orihime all along—whether because he had been consumed by another Hollow or because the emptiness in his heart had turned him into one.
Since Tsuna had gotten to know Orihime early, he might as well find an excuse to remove that hidden danger in advance.
That way, through sheer carelessness, Ichigo wouldn't lose his future wife before things even got started.
Looking at the orange-haired idiot doing his absolute best to make Orihime laugh, Tsuna sighed inwardly.
If he and Ichigo hadn't been such old friends, there was no way Tsuna would bother sticking his nose this far into someone else's business.
...
That weekend, Tatsuki arranged a "study group" at Orihime Inoue's house.
"Tatsuki, you could've at least picked a better excuse," Tsuna complained while carrying his schoolbag. "Do I look like someone who'd ever attend a study session?"
Since he spent most of his time training, his academic performance were basically dragging down the class average.
"That's exactly why you need extra studying!" Tatsuki said forcefully. "Ichigo and I are only here to keep you company!"
If she didn't force study sessions on him before every exam, Tsuna probably wouldn't even pass properly.
"Tsuna, you didn't call the new guy over?" Ichigo asked, glancing around when he realized Uryū wasn't there.
"That guy's a top student. He has no need for extracurricular study sessions," Tsuna said, casually making up an excuse for Uryū.
The real reason was that Tsuna himself had no time, so he had sent Uryū to patrol around Karakura Town in case Hollows showed up.
"Enough talking already. Inoue's waiting for us at her house—move!"
Tatsuki walked behind the two of them and started shoving them forward like she was pushing two giant boulders.
---
At Orihime's House...
Orihime welcomed them happily at the door, then hurried around preparing drinks for everyone.
Meanwhile, Tsuna, Tatsuki, and Ichigo all found their eyes drawn toward the cabinet against the wall—
or rather, the space beside it.
There, crouched down, sat a man in a suit with short hair.
When he saw how happy Orihime was to welcome these unfamiliar guests, he brightened for just a moment—then quickly turned gloomy again, as if he were afraid these newcomers might steal away his place in Orihime's heart.
He was Orihime's recently deceased older brother—
Sora Inoue.
"So that's why you insisted on coming to Inoue's house?" Tatsuki whispered to Tsuna.
"What's the problem? He's just a spirit," Ichigo said, puzzled. At the Kurosaki house, several spirits often showed up together, so this sort of thing no longer surprised him.
"Idiot," Tatsuki hissed. "That's Inoue's brother. Look at the photo on the cabinet!"
Only then did Ichigo notice that the photo on the cabinet matched the spirit exactly.
Clearly, it was a memorial photo.
He was just about to act when Tsuna reached out and pulled him back.
"We wait until after the study session," Tsuna said quietly. "Don't bring up something painful for Inoue right now."
For all Ichigo's bluntness, even he could see Orihime approaching with drinks in her hands. So he forcibly looked away and, together with Tsuna, threw himself into this so-called study session.
...
The moment they stepped outside, Ichigo grabbed Tsuna and asked,
"Tsuna, what's going on with Inoue's brother?"
"Just what it looks like," Tsuna explained. "Orihime's brother died because of some accident. Because he couldn't let go of his attachment to her, he hasn't been able to pass on, so he's been lingering at her house."
"Inoue's brother's spirit… is dangerous to Inoue, isn't it?" Ichigo said.
Tsuna was momentarily caught off guard.
Ichigo really did have a bizarre kind of sharpness when it came to things like this.
"You could put it that way."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Tatsuki asked Tsuna.
Based on two years' worth of experience trying to tail him, she was already convinced Tsuna possessed some kind of special ability.
She just still hadn't caught him red-handed.
"I'll drag Inoue's brother's spirit out tonight and forcibly send him on. That'll solve it," Tsuna said. Having seen the situation in person, he was confident.
"Hold it," Tatsuki said immediately. "You're planning to break into Inoue's house at night? Absolutely not. She's a girl living alone. If you're going, then at the very least—at the very least, I'm coming too."
"Wait," Ichigo cut in. "You two are just going to decide Inoue's brother's fate like that? Shouldn't Inoue get to decide what happens to him, even if he passes on?"
"Ichigo, watch your wording," Tsuna said. "Inoue's brother is a spirit. He's already dead."
"But how can you be sure he's really dangerous?" Ichigo asked. To him, spirits were common. Aside from occasionally interfering with daily life, they had never seemed dangerous.
"Well… how do I explain this…" Tsuna muttered, troubled. The best way to deal with Ichigo's kind of thinking was always to show him facts, not give him logic.
Just as Tsuna was struggling to explain, his cellphone rang.
It was Uryū.
"Uryū, did you run into something you can't handle?" Tsuna immediately shot back.
Uryū was left speechless for a second.
He wanted to prove the strength of the Quincy, yet after only one day he was already calling Tsuna for help.
After a long pause, Uryū finally said,
"There's a spirit here whose Chain of Fate is about to disappear. If you can get here fast enough, you should still be able to send it on directly."
This really was one of those things only a Soul Reaper could handle. It wasn't that Uryū was incompetent.
"Oh, that? I'll be right—"
"No need," Uryū interrupted. "A Hollow hole has already appeared."
Once a soul became a Hollow, there was only one way to deal with it.
Destroy it.
"Wait, Uryū—keep it there. Don't let it hurt anyone. I'm coming right away."
Tsuna hung up and turned to the other two.
"Well? Here's your chance. You interested in seeing what the real world is like?"
Tatsuki was eager.
She had been chasing Tsuna for over two years. Now she finally had a chance to reach the truth.
Tsuna cut her off before she could speak, his voice suddenly grim.
"Think very carefully. Once you touch the truth of this world, your life could be in danger."
"I'll follow your footsteps," Tatsuki said firmly. "This time, no matter what, I'm not letting you leave me behind again."
Tsuna had been the only boy who could beat her since they were children.
She had liked him from the very beginning.
Even though the three of them were friends, Tatsuki had always felt that the distance between herself and Tsuna was slowly growing wider. Once she began seeing spirits, that feeling only became stronger.
She had followed him again and again, only to fail every single time to catch even the shadow of his tail.
But now—
now she had a real chance.
This time, no matter what, she would not let Tsuna shake her off again.
She would stand beside him.
Ichigo hadn't expected Tatsuki to decide that quickly.
With her taking the lead, and with his own worry about Orihime weighing on him, Ichigo answered too:
"I'm going with you."
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