The note had only seven characters written on it. I like you. Ichigo read it three times. Then he tried to read it a fourth time and stopped. He understood the meaning. The words made sense. But——. ……What? The sunset streamed through the window. Orange light slowly illuminated the slip of paper on his desk. --- Let me start from this morning. He woke to the sound of the chime. Kiiiin-kooon-kaaan-kooon——. A sound his ears had grown familiar with. But when he first heard it, he was honestly startled. Did such a peaceful sound even exist? "[sarcastic]Kurosaki, dozing off again?" Ukitake-sensei, standing in front of the lectern, said this with a gentle smile. Black hair streaked with white, a thin frame. He was already coughing lightly as he began homeroom. A teacher with a weak constitution. But his voice was calm, never raised in anger. "[sarcastic]I wasn't sleeping." "Your eyes were closed." "I was thinking." A small laugh came from somewhere in the class. Ichigo let his gaze escape out the window. On the blackboard, written in white chalk: *October 7th (Wed) HR: Ukitake* Autumn morning sunlight streamed in, and the entire classroom was bathed in a soft glow. The smell of chalk dust, the old smell of wooden hallways. The creak of chairs. The sound of someone clicking a mechanical pencil somewhere. An ordinary morning. Ichigo confirmed this vaguely——and felt a little relieved again. It was strange. It had always been strange. Ever since coming to this world. Karakura City——about forty kilometers southwest of Tokyo, the kind of town you could find anywhere. It had everything: a sea, mountains, shopping streets. A normal place. Second year, Class 3 of Orange High School. Homeroom teacher: Ukitake-sensei. Uniform: navy blazer and gray slacks. There was no fighting here. No Soul Reapers, no Hollows, no Soul Society——or at least, none of it appeared on the surface. No need to risk his body to protect his friends. No need to get hurt in someone else's place. Just listen to the chime every day, attend classes, and go home. ……Why am I so relieved about this? He still didn't have an answer to that. But it wasn't bad. It definitely wasn't bad. Ukitake-sensei was reading announcements. Ichigo opened his notebook and placed the tip of his mechanical pencil on the paper. --- Lunch break came. When Ichigo arrived at the school store, there was already a line in the hallway. A huge line. It stretched around the corner of the main building's hallway, going on and on. "……Long." But there was no helping it. He got in line. Ichigo stood at the back and slowly moved forward. English reading practice drifted from the neighboring classroom. Outside the hallway window, someone was running in PE on the school grounds. After moving slowly for ten minutes, he finally saw the school store window. Behind the small window was Satsuki. A woman in her sixties wearing a white apron, always a little too energetic. "Okay okay okay, next person!" She handed out bags and gave change with practiced efficiency. Her movements were so fast it was almost pleasant to watch. Two more people until Ichigo's turn——when. "[excited]Okay, last melon pan of the day!" Ichigo's hand shot out reflexively. At the same time, another hand came from the side. Grab. Two sets of fingers overlapped on the melon pan bag. Ichigo looked up. Standing next to him was a boy from his class——what was his name, Yoshida or something? Solid build, basketball club. The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Three seconds. Four seconds. Five seconds. "[laughing]You two, settle it with rock-paper-scissors!" Satsuki stepped in to mediate. Her voice was bright. She seemed used to this kind of situation. "……Rock-paper-scissors." "Rock-paper-scissors, shoot." Ichigo threw rock. Yoshida threw paper. "[sad]……No way!" While Yoshida collapsed, Ichigo took the melon pan. One hundred fifty yen. He pulled it from his wallet and handed it to Satsuki. "That's one fifty, thank you!" Then Satsuki glanced at Ichigo. "[gentle]……Hey, you." "What?" "You come here alone every day, don't you?" Ichigo paused slightly. "Why don't you make some friends?" Still smiling, Satsuki had already turned to the next customer. "[serious]……Shut up." He said it so quietly no one else could hear, then left the school store line. Friends, huh. It was true that Ichigo came here alone every day. That was a fact. He just hadn't thought much about it. He hadn't thought much about it——or so he'd thought. But hearing it from Satsuki, he suddenly felt awkward. --- He decided to go to the roof. He climbed the stairs at the far end of the main building and pushed open the metal door. It wasn't locked. It never was. Ichigo had once wondered if he was supposed to use it, but he'd decided someone must have left it open and hadn't thought about it since. When he opened the door, there was sky. Vast sky. The autumn sky was high and endlessly blue. Only a handful of clouds. Wind brushed his cheek. It felt good. Ichigo sat near the railing and opened the melon pan bag. Sweet smell. When he took a bite, there was cream inside the soft bread. Sweet, with a hint of butter flavor. Delicious. For one fifty, this was almost unreasonably good. Someone was shouting down on the school grounds. Probably PE class. The faint sound of a JR train drifted from far away. Karakura City wasn't that big. But it had trains, shopping streets, a sea. He couldn't see the sea from here, but if he went south, there was Karakura Bay. A normal, quiet town. Ichigo looked up at the sky while eating his bread. Something flickered at the edge of his mind. The feel of a zanpakutou's hilt——something like that. The sensation of something fitting in his hand. But when he looked at his hand, there was nothing. That's all that ever flickered. Like a dream, it faded quickly. The Hollow's scream, his friends' faces——blurred images that disappeared when he tried to touch them. When he was here, those things felt distant. ……There were no enemies here. He didn't have to protect his friends. Just listen to the chime, eat melon pan, attend class, and go home. Why am I so relieved about this? It was the same question he'd asked himself this morning, and he still had no answer. Ichigo ate the last bite of his bread. He carefully folded the bag and shoved it in his pocket. The sky was vast. Suddenly, he thought. Maybe it would taste better if I ate it with someone. Right after thinking it, he dismissed it as a weird thought. --- After school came. The last class ended and the classroom suddenly became lively. The sound of drawers opening, chairs being pulled, laughter. Several people rushed into the hallway. Ichigo slowly put his textbooks into his bag. There was no reason to hurry. He had nowhere to stop by. He was just going home to Kurosaki Medical Clinic——a twelve-minute walk from the station, his family's clinic——where his father Isshin was seeing patients. He didn't want to deal with him because he was annoying, but that was where he went home to. One textbook, then another. Notebook in, mechanical pencil back in its case. The number of people in the classroom was decreasing. Less than half now. Outside the window, the light had changed to sunset. Orange light streamed in at an angle, creating long shadows on the floor. One more thing. My pencil case. My Japanese dictionary. ——Wait. When he put his hand in his desk drawer, something caught. Not a textbook. Thin. Folded paper. Did I put this in? No, I didn't. So someone else——. He pulled it out. White paper. Folded in quarters. ……Did I put this in? No, I didn't. So someone else——. He opened it. *I like you.* Neat handwriting. Blue ballpoint pen. No signature. Ichigo stared at it. He read it again. A third time. …… ……What? His brain completely froze. Shut down. Like the power had been cut, nothing moved. Against Hollows, his body moved first. Strategy formed in his head. But——in front of these seven characters, he could do nothing. Who is this from? Why is it addressed to me? The remaining people in the classroom could be counted on one hand. Someone laughed as they left into the hallway. Ichigo stood frozen, holding the slip of paper, not really seeing anything. He could read an enemy's movements. He knew how to fight, how to protect. But——he had no idea about this. His hands were trembling slightly. Realizing it made him even more embarrassed, and his face grew hot. "[scared]……Seriously?" Alone in the sunset classroom, Ichigo whispered to himself. --- How long had he been frozen? When he came to, there was no one left in the classroom. No voices from the hallway. The quiet time after school. Ichigo looked at the slip of paper again. Then he thought about it. Then he still couldn't figure anything out, so he quietly shoved the paper into his pocket. He picked up his bag and stood. ——His gaze turned toward the window. Something bothered him. He didn't know why. It was like instinct. In front of the school gate. A figure in the sunset. White hair. Ichigo reflexively rushed to the window. From the third-floor window, he looked down at the gate. ——The figure seemed to be looking up at him. But. Had he been mistaken? There was no one there anymore. In front of the gate, only the cherry blossom trees swayed in the evening breeze. The autumn cherry trees, half their leaves already fallen, rustled quietly in the wind. ……What was that? His chest felt unsettled. A strange sensation. Different from the presence of an enemy. But something was definitely——. Never mind. Ichigo decided that and left the classroom with his bag. --- He walked down the slope. The path from Orange High School toward the station was a gentle uphill. So the way home was downhill. Cherry blossom trees lined both sides. Now, with most of the leaves fallen, only thin branches remained. They must have been beautiful in spring, the way they were arranged. The autumn wind brushed his cheek. Cold, but pleasant. Ichigo became aware of the slip of paper in his pocket. That folded white paper. Who sent it? What was that white figure? This was supposed to be a world without battles——so why was his heart so loud? Ichigo looked up at the sky as he walked. The sunset was fading. Orange turning to purple. The sky over Karakura City was wide. The southern sky, toward the sea, was still faintly bright. What is "like"? He'd never thought about that word before. He understood "protect." He understood "be beside." But "like"——was different. Something was different. ……I don't understand at all. At the bottom of the slope, he saw the light of a convenience store. A "Yorimichi" sign. A place where Orange High students often hung out. Through the glass, he could see the warm steam from steamed buns. Ichigo paused for just a moment. Steamed bun, one thirty. Buy it or not? There'd be food at home anyway. But. ……Yeah, whatever. He walked past the convenience store. The sound of a train came from somewhere. A JR line ran nearby. Forty-five minutes to Tokyo. A completely different world spread out not far away. But it had nothing to do with Ichigo. His world now existed within a few kilometers of Karakura City. It was supposed to be peaceful. So why was his heart so loud? The slip of paper in his pocket walked with him through the dusk, silent and still.