Having been without his powers for a month, Ichigo's life gradually became mundane, but as a fifteen-year-old boy, his restless heart couldn't find peace.
Although his girlfriend Rukia is with him in the World of the Living, Rukia says that Soul Society in chaos right now, Byakuya won't allow Rukia to return.
Ichigo, of course, knew that Jun had told others about his situation, that his soul was in trouble, and that no one dared to help him regain his powers. He didn't even know if being stabbed by a Soul Reaper again would restore his strength.
Regarding the soul issue that Jun mentioned, Ichigo himself doesn't feel anything, but he genuinely doesn't know if he has one. If there really is a problem, that would be the biggest reason Ichigo is able to endure it; it's really scary.
But now a month has passed, Ichigo keeps wondering if Jun has forgotten about him. It's so painful! I want power so badly! I won't do anything evil, can't I just kill a few Hollows? sobs
Another day of absentminded schooling came to an end. Ichigo listlessly got up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and...
"Ichigo! Come shopping with me tonight, I found a really delicious restaurant on the pedestrian street yesterday."
"Going again?"
"Um?"
"Sigh~", Ichigo sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to go out with Rukia; the two were deeply in love and naturally wanted to have fun.
Rukia is always busy with her Soul Reaper work, and Ichigo understands that, but he used to be able to do it himself. Now, is he supposed to date Mod Soul? Damn it!
Okay~
"Haha~ I'm not doing any missions today, okay?"
"No, that won't do!"
Rukia naturally took Ichigo's arm, and the two chatted and laughed as they walked out of the classroom. In the corridor, Orihime silently watched everything, ultimately saying nothing.
Ichigo ultimately chose Rukia. After returning from Hueco Mundo, Rukia was originally going to return to Soul Society, but Byakuya stopped her, and she went back to the Kurosaki Family. Rukia was still hesitant, but with Ichigo's help, he confessed his feelings.
Rukia's already living at the Kurosaki Family, do you think she wouldn't have those kinds of feelings? What kind of woman, what kind of personality, would just casually go and live in a man's house? That would be too much like a free spirit.
Therefore, it was only natural that Rukia, being in a more advantageous position, successfully overtook Ichigo, Ichigo potential goldmine, Orihime had no chance.
In the month since returning to their lives in the World of the Living, everyone has been very calm. It feels like everything has disappeared after Aizen was gone. The entire Karakura Town seems to have been forgotten. No more unusual phenomena have occurred, and no strange people have appeared.
Even the Fullbring Organization hasn't come looking for Orihime and Sado. The Seaside Villa is now deserted, gone, gone, gone. Nobody's here anymore.
So it wasn't just Ichigo; Sado, Orihime, and Uryū were also inexplicably irritable. The previous fast-paced, chaotic battles, the constant anxiety and desperate fighting, were now replaced by a calm, which made them very uncomfortable.
During this time, the group's interactions gradually decreased. After all, Ichigo and Rukia were dating, so they left the school together, leaving everyone else behind.
There was a bit of noise at the school gate today, with many people pointing and talking about the other side of the street. Ichigo and Rukia turned left after leaving the school, Rukia was still chattering away. Ichigo glanced at the commotion and then froze.
Why aren't you leaving?
Ichigo swallowed hard, pointed across the road, and before he could say anything, Rukia waved excitedly and shouted, "Shimizu-san! We're here!"
Chun drove out in a flashy Lamborghini; he didn't recognize the exact model, but it was the car from the Seaside Villa. After the two kids got in, Junichi floored the gas and drove straight to the Seaside Villa.
As soon as he got out of the car, Jun tossed the keys to Ichigo, Ichigo looked completely bewildered. "What does this mean?"
"Here you go, take this," Chun tossed over a whole bunch of keys.
Ichigo was even more confused. "What is this now?"
"The keys to the villa, including the garage, chapel, and storage room—basically, this house is yours from now on."
"Huh!?" Ichigo was utterly dumbfounded. He'd been to this villa countless times; he knew its size and value—tens of billions of yen—without even looking. And now it was his?
"It's not this thing."
"Enough nonsense!" Chun interrupted Ichigo. "Hirako and the others aren't coming back, someone has to take care of this place. I'll perform a charging jutsu for the Training Grounds on the fourth floor in a bit. You can charge your Spiritual Power once a month to maintain the Training Grounds."
"Then write down this phone number. The holder of this phone number is a living detective. He doesn't have any Spiritual Power himself, but he's a kind of psychic detective. He can indeed get a lot of information about cases related to Spiritual Power. Originally, this was Hirako and the others' job, but now it's handed over to you, so you don't have nothing better to do."
"No!"
Jun didn't say anything, but tossed another set of keys to Ichigo. Ichigo remained silent. Jun continued, "These are the keys to the research institute. I've given the institute to the Fullbring Organization. Remember to give these keys to them. Don't worry, you still have the highest access."
At this Ichigo finally shouted, "But I have no Spiritual Power! My Soul Reaper Power has disappeared!"
"Ah~ right!" Jun suddenly remembered, and a beam of light pierced through Ichigo's body. Then the familiar feeling returned, and the light was immediately taken back by Jun. Ichigo suddenly felt unbearably hungry.
"Don't even think about absorbing my Spiritual Power. If you're really hungry, have your girlfriend give you some Spiritual Power to fill your stomach, and then you can recover on your own. In the meantime, use the Spiritual Power Tester to check your Spiritual Power data and see how it is."
Ichigo was completely bewildered. "Didn't you tell them before that there was something wrong with my soul? And that you wouldn't let them restore my Spiritual Power?"
"I made that up," Chun began, constructing a spell to power the Training Ground. "I just didn't want you to gain Spiritual Power too quickly."
"Ha!?"
"Why are you so surprised? How do you feel about living a normal life for a month? Is your brain not working properly again?"
This wasn't the first time Ichigo had dealt with Jun, and every time Jun asked him this question, Ichigo always had to rack his brains for Ichigo. So Ichigo really did rack his brains, saying, "Emmm, it doesn't feel that great. I want to have power."
"That's normal. Power is like money; sometimes you don't feel anything, but it's when you lose it that you feel bad," Jun said, looking at Ichigo.
Ichigo chuckled sheepishly. Although he hadn't thought that way, and had even fantasized about being unmoved by external things, it now seemed that he was just like everyone else.
The construction of a spell was very quick. Chun spoke to the two of them, "You have a very strong will and can endure great pain. You have a strong sense of justice, but you lack a mature sense of right and wrong, so you are easily manipulated by some people and get involved in some inexplicable things."
"So, this past month has actually been a test for you. Now, give me your answer: do you think you can continue living a normal life?"
Ichigo hadn't expected such a serious question. Ichigo exchanged a glance with Rukia, thought about what had happened in the past month, and finally shook his head. "I can't!"
"This choice means you'll be stuck in the same rhythm you've been in for the past six months."
Ichigo vigorously, "I'm willing to live this kind of life!"
"Since you've made this choice, I respect it. However, I don't recommend that you use the Final Getsuga Tenshō again in future events. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Understood. Just because there were no problems this time doesn't mean there won't be any next time."
Jun smiled with relief, "I'm relieved that you think that way, Ichigo Kurosaki. You've grown into a mature young man."
"Thank you," Ichigo smiled as well. This was probably the first time in a long time that he had received Jun's approval.
"I'll be working in Hueco Mundo for a long time to come. Don't get involved in the mess in Soul Society; that's not your business, understand?"
"What exactly happened in Soul Society!?" Rukia asked this question, and Ichigo was also very concerned.
"The Soul Society is undergoing the Meiji Restoration. Are you a reformer or an expulsionist?"
Ichigo swallowed hard. He didn't feel anything from studying history, but now a real historical question was before him, and he had no choice.
"So you should just stay out of it. The Soul Society is in chaos right now. No one is at fault; the Soul Society as a whole is at fault. If you want to get involved, think carefully about your position and make sure you won't regret it."
Ichigo immediately chickened out, "I won't go, I promise I won't go!"
"It's good that you understand the seriousness of the matter," Jun said, which was enough. He could still grab Ichigo by the ear and stop him from going; that was Mi and Isshin's job, and even their parents didn't care, so why was Jun interfering?
"Then I'll ask you one last question."
"You said..."
Jun stared intently at Ichigo, "The Final Getsuga Tenshō, you fused with your sword, didn't you?"
Ichigo had never seen Jun so serious before, and nodded hastily, "Yes, that's it!"
"So, in that state, what exactly were you? Were you Ichigo Kurosaki? Or Tensa Zangetsu?"
"This..." Ichigo was a little confused.
"I need an answer. Think about it carefully. There's no need to rush to give me a perfunctory answer. I want your true thoughts."
"Oh," Ichigo seriously recalled his previous state, a state that now seemed truly bizarre. Who was he? Was it himself? Or his sword?
"I am everything," was Ichigo's final answer.
"All of them?"
"Yes! I am myself, and I am also Tensa Zangetsu, and I am not myself, nor am I Tensa Zangetsu. It's not just that; we have completely merged into one."
This answer was entirely expected, "Did you have any other ideas besides defeating Aizen at that time?"
"Uh, no, after all, I only became like that to defeat Aizen."
"Now, suppose you don't have any enemies now, and you're in that state, what would you do? Think! Think very carefully! You could even fantasize!"
Ichigo was stumped by the question, but it wasn't the first time he'd faced such a difficult challenge from Jun. Ichigo gradually adapted to Jun's way of asking him thought-provoking questions and began to think for himself.
But this problem was really, really difficult. Ichigo thought about it for half an hour before finally giving an ambiguous answer.
"I probably won't do anything."
"Can't do anything?"
"Yes! I can't do anything."
Jun opened the Space-Breaking World, and before leaving, he patted Ichigo's shoulder forcefully, "Never use that technique again! Remember! Never!"
Ichigo nodded seriously, "Yes! I will never use it again, never!"