The timeline had reached Tsuna's middle school years. By then, Tsuna had mastered every Bankai. From that perspective, having too many Bankai was not necessarily a good thing. It had taken Tsuna nearly three years to master the powers of a Bleach; Ichigo could have speedrun Yhwach in that time.
Unsurprisingly, Tsuna, Tatsuki, and Ichigo ended up in the same class again when they entered middle school. What surprised Tsuna was that Ishida Uryū had also been assigned to their class.
"Why are you in our middle school too? Doesn't your home live pretty far from here? And you suddenly transferred in, too." Tsuna grabbed Uryū and squatted with him in the corner, asking the question. They had already been in middle school for a month when Uryū joined the class.
"As the last inheritor of the Quincy, I naturally had to see what abilities a traitor to the Quincy like you possesses!" Uryū declared firmly.
Uryū still held a grudge over Tsuna abandoning the Quincy and joining the Bleach. As for his grandfather, Ryūken, he certainly would not explain in detail why Tsuna had left. As a result, after completing his training, Uryū had constantly competed with Tsuna in secret. Now he had even followed him into the same class.
"Suit yourself. But let me tell you first, Tatsuki and Ichigo still don't know my identity..."
"What are you two sneaking around for?" Tatsuki's voice sounded behind them.
"Ah, Tatsuki, Ichigo. Let me introduce you to a new friend, Ishida Uryū..." Tsuna introduced Uryū to Tatsuki and Ichigo. They exchanged friendly greetings and became acquainted for the first time.
"Speaking of friends, I have a friend I want to introduce to you too. Wait here."
Tatsuki vanished in a flash. After quite a while, she returned with an orange-haired girl she had dragged over from some corner. The girl looked timid and not especially enthusiastic, yet there was a hint of silliness about her. Her unusually well-developed figure gave away her identity: Orihime Inoue.
"This is Orihime Inoue, a friend I just met. This is Sawada Tsunayoshi, Ichigo Kurosaki..."
Tatsuki introduced Orihime to Tsuna and the others one by one. Orihime politely greeted each of her new classmates in turn. Compared to Orihime's courtesy, Tsuna and the other two reacted rather blandly, prompting Tatsuki to immediately call them aside for a little meeting.
"Listen up. Something happened to Inoue's House, so liven up a little and give her a warm welcome!" Tatsuki "threatened" in a low voice.
The three immediately clapped to welcome Orihime. Ichigo even stepped forward, patted her shoulder, and offered some random comforting words. Seeing Orihime's faintly reddened face, Tsuna knew that this girl had already fallen for Ichigo.
"Hiss!" The pain at his waist snapped Tsuna back to his senses.
"What are you looking at!"
Tsuna turned his head slightly and saw Tatsuki glaring at him. He complained, "Nothing. I was just lamenting how an innocent girl had fallen into Ichigo's web of love. By the way, what happened to Inoue's House?"
"I think Orihime's Brother passed away. She's the only one left in her family now. I don't know the details. I saw her curled up alone in a corner, so I went over to talk to her. We became friends after that." Tatsuki quickly explained what had happened.
"So you want her to make more friends and be happier?"
"Obviously. She's a young girl all alone every day. What kind of life is that?"
"You really are kind." Tsuna said, "Since you want to make her life livelier, how about we find a chance to hold a party at her house? Make things more cheerful for her?"
Tatsuki narrowed her eyes and looked Tsuna up and down. "What are you planning? What do you want to do at a girl's house?"
"What are you thinking? School might be lively for her, but won't her home still be cold and empty?"
"You're right. I'll find a time to ask Inoue." Tatsuki seriously considered Tsuna's suggestion.
Unlike Tatsuki, who suspected him of ulterior motives, Tsuna's thoughts were much simpler. Orihime being alone meant that her brother had already died. Tatsuki had befriended her only after noticing how lonely she looked. If Tsuna remembered correctly, Orihime's Brother, Sora Inoue, would turn into a Hollow and attack Orihime, though that would happen later.
Since Sora Inoue had become a Hollow, his soul must have been lingering around Orihime Inoue all this time, whether because he had been consumed by other Hollows or because emptiness had arisen in his heart.
Now that he had met Orihime Inoue early, he might as well find an excuse to help her remove this hidden danger, lest Ichigo somehow end up without a wife.
Tsuna looked at the orange-haired boy doing everything he could to make Orihime laugh and sighed inwardly. Only because Tsuna and Ichigo had been friends for so many years would Tsuna bother with so much.
That weekend, Tatsuki arranged a gathering at Orihime Inoue's House under the pretense of a study group.
"Tatsuki, couldn't you have come up with a better excuse? Do I look like someone who would hold a study session?" Tsuna complained to Tatsuki as he carried his schoolbag. Since he spent most of his time training, he was dead last in the class.
"You're exactly the one who needs to study harder! Ichigo and I are only there to keep you company!" Tatsuki said forcefully. If she did not force Tsuna into study sessions before every exam, he might not even be able to advance normally.
"Tsuna, didn't you invite the new classmate?" Ichigo looked around but did not see Uryū.
"That guy's an honor student. There's absolutely no need for him to do extracurricular studying." Tsuna casually made up an excuse for Uryū. In truth, Tsuna did not have the time, so he had asked Uryū to patrol Karakura Town and prevent any Hollow incursions.
"Enough talking. Orihime is already waiting for us at home, so move!" Tatsuki moved behind the two of them and pushed them forward like they were two enormous boulders.
At Inoue's House, Orihime happily welcomed everyone inside. She bustled around preparing drinks for them, while Tsuna and the other two turned their eyes toward the cabinet against the wall—or rather, the spot beside it.
A short-haired man in a suit was crouched there. When he saw Orihime Inoue happily welcoming the strangers, he was delighted for a moment before becoming somewhat dejected, as if he feared these outsiders would steal away his place in Orihime Inoue's heart. He was Orihime Inoue's recently deceased brother, Sora Inoue.
"Was this why you insisted on coming to Inoue's house?" Tatsuki leaned close to Tsuna and asked quietly.
"What's the problem? It's just a soul." Ichigo was somewhat confused. Several souls like this often appeared around his house at once, so he had long stopped finding it strange.
"Idiot, that's Orihime's Brother. Look at the photo on the cabinet!" Tatsuki rebuked him in a low voice. Ichigo was far too oblivious to have missed something so obvious.
Only then did Ichigo notice that the photograph on the cabinet looked exactly like that soul. Clearly, it was a memorial portrait. Ichigo was about to do something when Tsuna reached out and pulled him back.
"Wait until the study session is over. Don't bring up something painful for Inoue," Tsuna instructed.
No matter how oblivious Ichigo was, he saw Orihime Inoue walking over with drinks for them. He could only forcibly turn his head away and join Tsuna in this so-called study session.
The moment they left Inoue's House, Ichigo impatiently grabbed Tsuna and asked, "Tsuna, what happened with Orihime's Brother?"
"As you saw, Orihime Inoue's brother died in some kind of accident. Because he could not let go of Inoue, her brother had been unable to ascend to heaven and remained in her house," Tsuna explained.
"Orihime's Brother's soul could hurt her, right?" Ichigo always displayed an extraordinary sharpness in places Tsuna never expected.
"You could put it that way."
"What should we do?" Tatsuki asked Tsuna. From her experience tailing Tsuna over the past two years, she was certain that Tsuna possessed special abilities, though she had yet to catch him in the act.
"I'll pull Orihime's Brother's soul out tonight and force him to ascend to heaven. That'll settle it." Having seen the situation firsthand, Tsuna spoke with confidence.
"Wait, you're going to break into Inoue's house at night? Absolutely not!" Tatsuki immediately objected. "She's a girl living alone. What would it look like for you to go by yourself? At the very least, at the very least, bring me along."
"Wait, are you two just deciding Orihime's Brother's fate like that? Even if Orihime's Brother is going to ascend to heaven, shouldn't Orihime be the one to decide?" Ichigo said.
"Ichigo, watch your wording. Orihime's Brother is a soul. He's already dead," Tsuna corrected.
"But how can you be sure Orihime's Brother will become dangerous?" To Ichigo, souls were common. Aside from causing some disturbances in his daily life, they had never posed any danger.
"This... How should I explain it to you?" Tsuna was troubled. With Ichigo's way of thinking, the best approach was to show him the facts rather than reason with him.
Just as Tsuna was worrying over it, his phone rang. It was a call from Uryū.
"Uryū, did you run into something you can't handle?" Tsuna struck first.
Tsuna's words choked Uryū up. He had wanted to prove the power of the Quincy, yet after only one day, he had to call Tsuna for help.
After a long pause, Uryū finally said, "A soul's Causal Chain is about to disappear here. If you can get here in time, you can send it directly to heaven."
This was indeed something only a Bleach could do, so it was not Uryū's lack of ability.
"Oh, that? I'll be right—"
"No need. A Hollow Hole has already appeared." Uryū interrupted Tsuna. Once a soul became a Hollow, there was only one solution: destroy it.
"Wait, Uryū. Keep an eye on it and don't let it hurt anyone. I'll be right there." Tsuna hung up and asked the two beside him, "Now's the chance. Are you two interested in seeing the real world?"
Tatsuki was eager to try. She had followed Tsuna for over two years, and now she finally had a chance to achieve her goal. She had nothing to hesitate over.
Tsuna stopped Tatsuki before she could speak, warning them in a frightening tone, "Choose carefully. Once you come into contact with the truth of this world, your lives may be in danger!"
"I'll follow in your footsteps. This time, no matter what, I won't let you leave me behind again!" Tatsuki said firmly. Tsuna was the only boy who had been able to defeat her ever since they were children, and she had liked him since then.
Although the few of them were friends, Tatsuki had always felt that the distance between herself and Tsuna was gradually widening. That feeling had become even more obvious after she gained the ability to see souls. Time and again, she had followed Tsuna, yet she could not even catch his shadow. Now that she had this chance, Tatsuki would never let Tsuna shake her off again. She wanted to walk beside him!
Ichigo had not expected Tatsuki to be so decisive. With Tatsuki taking the lead, and with his concern for Orihime Inoue, Ichigo likewise answered, "I'm going with you!"
Before you continue