That night, he barely slept at all. Rukia's eyes wouldn't leave his mind. The hollow face of the club member the shadow had touched. No way to stop it. No way to touch it. And yet the shadow was definitely there, definitely destroying someone. (……Well, it'll work out somehow.) He tried thinking that several times in bed, but today the words just wouldn't take hold. Wednesday morning. Ichigo opened the door to Class 2-3 with heavy eyes. The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar back. In the seat directly across from Rukia's—a place that had been empty until now—someone was sitting. White. Long. Straight silver-white hair caught the fluorescent light of the classroom and gleamed faintly. Posture perfectly straight, a single paperback book placed neatly on the desk. Glasses. The profile was refined, dignified somehow. (Who the hell is that?) The moment Ichigo approached his seat, the person looked at him. Sharp, deep purple eyes. Looking Ichigo up and down in one sweep. Two seconds of silence. Then the glasses-wearing man stood without a word. A hand extended. Touched Ichigo's necktie and retied it perfectly in seconds. Didn't even take ten. "[surprised]……Hey, what are you doing?" The man looked away and sat back down. "[sarcastic]You were in my line of sight. It was unpleasant. It's not like I was worried about you or anything." Fast-talking, blunt, ears slightly red. "[surprised]……That's not an excuse, you know." "[cold]Shut up. Figure it out." Figure what out? The moment Ichigo thought that, the classroom stirred. The girls around them whispered in low voices—"Who is that?" "His hair is so pretty." "Isn't he the ace of the sewing club?"—and the boys were glancing over too. The glasses-wearing man—someone in the class murmured the name Ishida Uryuu—completely ignored the commotion and opened his paperback. Then slowly, he turned his gaze toward Rukia. "[cold]Transfer student. You should also be careful about your appearance. Bringing Chappy into the classroom is questionable." Rukia lifted her face in slow motion. Still holding the white rabbit plushie—Chappy—to her chest, she looked at Ishida Uryuu. Two seconds. "[angry]……What's with this four-eyes!?" Her voice echoed through the classroom. "[angry]I never thought there'd be someone so rude on a first meeting!" "[cold]Precisely because it's a first meeting, impression management is crucial. If you think logically, you should understand." "[angry]Logic!? Don't you have any manners at all!?" "[sarcastic]I have plenty of manners. You simply don't understand them." Ichigo looked left and right alternately. (I'm caught in the middle here……) For the fifteen minutes before homeroom started, the classroom was fifty percent louder than usual. ＊ Lunch break. Ichigo bought a yakisoba bread from the school store and started climbing the stairs to the roof. Mitsuko—the store lady—had told him "You look pale lately," and it was bugging him a little. Was it really that obvious on his face? Walking down the third-floor hallway, a voice came flying from the grounds. "[angry]Hey, Kurosaki!" Looking out the window, he saw bright red dreadlocks at the edge of the grounds. Abarai Renji. Class 2-1, PE committee. Tattoo stickers on his arms (school regulation countermeasure, according to him). One centimeter taller than Ichigo, which he seemed oddly concerned about. When Ichigo opened the hallway window, Renji yelled up from below. "[angry]I don't like how you're always getting all close to Rukia! You were going home together yesterday too!" "[surprised]Huh? We weren't. We left separately from the observation deck……" "[angry]The observation deck!? You two went there together!?" "That's not what I——" "[angry]Don't make excuses! I don't want weird guys getting close to Rukia!" That's when the infirmary door opened. Rukia came out into the hallway. Holding Chappy, she looked between Ichigo and Renji. "[sarcastic]……You're as loud as ever, Renji." Renji's face changed instantly. "[excited]Rukia! I cleaned up the whole grounds this morning! Pulled the weeds, cleared the rocks!" "[sarcastic]I see. You're quite diligent with your PE committee duties." Complete brush-off. Renji's shoulders visibly dropped. At the entrance to the roof stairs, they ran into each other again. Ishida Uryuu was standing right at the entrance with a lunch box. "[cold]This lunch break is going to be quite lively." "[angry]Huh? Who are you?" "[sarcastic]Ishida Uryuu. And you?" "[angry]Abarai Renji. I'm Rukia's——" "[cold]Her self-appointed protector? Though Rukia seemed bothered by that." "[angry]You bastard!" As a result, four people ended up sitting on the roof bench. From left to right: Renji, Rukia, Ichigo, Uryuu. No one spoke first. The sound of seagulls from the direction of the sea. The wind was a bit strong. The vending machine at the edge of the bench hummed low. "[serious]……How did this happen?" "[angry]It's your fault!" "[cold]Logically, it's the result of everyone's actions." "[sarcastic]Both of you, be quiet." Rukia placed Chappy on her lap and faced toward Sagami Bay. Her ears were slightly red. Renji opened his mouth again. "[serious]Rukia. I don't really like that you're getting close to Ichigo……" "[sarcastic]I don't recall asking you to manage my friendships." "But——" "[sarcastic]No buts. That's final." A perfect shutdown. Renji's mouth moved silently. Uryuu murmured something quietly. "Can't be helped." Only Ichigo could hear it. Ichigo almost laughed. "[serious]……I'm not trying to be all clingy or anything." When Ichigo said that, Rukia glanced at him sideways. Just for a moment. She didn't say anything, but her ears seemed to get a little redder. (……Must be my imagination.) Renji looked at Ichigo, then at Ichigo again, then at Rukia, and bit his lip. "[serious]……Fine. I'll back off for today." "[sarcastic]For today? What does that mean?" "[serious]Meaning I won't back off from tomorrow on." "[cold]Illogical, but I suppose it's your personal choice." "[angry]I told you to shut up!" A shout echoed across the roof. A seagull startled and flew away. Ichigo ate his yakisoba bread and thought, (Well, it's fine for today.) ＊ After school. The grounds were crowded with club members. The soccer team was doing laps, the track team practicing starts. Ichigo was heading home when Renji called out "Wait up, Kurosaki" and made him stand at the edge of the grounds. "[serious]What do you really think about Rukia?" "[serious]What do I think…… She's a friend, I guess. Probably." "[angry]Probably? What's that supposed to mean!?" "[serious]Then what should I say?" "[serious]I…… Rukia means——" That's when it happened. Something flickered at the edge of Ichigo's vision. Gray. In the middle of the grounds. Right beside the soccer team's practice area, a gray shadow in the shape of a person. Then another one a bit further back. Another near the fence. Three of them. All at once. Bigger than yesterday. Clearer outlines. Faster movements. "[serious]……Renji." "What, all of a sudden——" "[serious]Behind you." But Ichigo's words came too late. Behind Renji, the shadow reached out. Touched his shoulder. Smoothly. Silently. Renji's movement stopped dead. Slowly, he knelt down. "……Huh? Why was I mad again?" Everything had drained from his voice. "Doesn't matter……" "[scared]Renji!" The moment he ran over, a scream came from the back of the grounds. Soccer team members—three, four of them—started kneeling one after another. A female track member sat down on the bench saying "I suddenly lost the will to do this." The members around her were confused—"What's wrong?" "Is it heat?"—but no one noticed the shadows. A window opened on the second floor of the special classroom building. "[surprised]That is——" Uryuu was looking down. Their eyes met. "[scared]……I can see it too. What is that?" His voice was shaking. Uryuu burst out of the sewing club room and ran down the external stairs to the grounds. Then a white coat flew out of the infirmary. Rukia. She'd left Chappy behind. Her expression was different. "[serious]Three shadows! If this continues, everyone in the school will be affected!" "[serious]How do we stop it!?" "[sad]……I don't know! I still don't know!" Ichigo ran toward the shadows. He threw a full-force punch at the nearest one. His hand passed right through. Completely through empty air. That was all the sensation that remained. "[angry]Why——!" Again. He threw his whole body at it. It passed through. The shadow ignored Ichigo and slowly moved toward the next student. Uryuu stepped in front of Rukia and reached toward the shadow. It passed through. "[angry]Why can't I touch it……!" He slammed his fist into the ground. A dull thud. One of the shadows changed direction. Toward Rukia. Ichigo ran. He tried to put his body between the shadow and Rukia. It passed through. The shadow went through Ichigo's body and stopped in front of Rukia. Rukia stepped back. Both hands clasped in front of her chest, her hands without Chappy grasping at the air like trying to hold something. Color drained from her face. "[cold]Don't touch me……" Ichigo shouted. "[angry]Rukia, run!!" The shadow's hand touched Rukia's shoulder. Time stretched out, moving in slow motion. Rukia's eyes changed, slowly. That mystical silver color faded like a receding tide. The light disappeared. "……It's fine now." Her voice was distant. "Nothing……" Rukia quietly knelt down. The grounds fell silent. Ichigo stood there, unable to do anything. His fists clenched. His hands were shaking. The shadow had already moved on. Toward another student. He couldn't stop it. Couldn't touch it. Couldn't do anything. (I…… couldn't do anything.) Uryuu was standing beside him. Eyes narrowed behind his glasses, surveying the entire grounds. His voice was low. "[serious]Just today…… more than ten people in and around the grounds." He'd been counting. Ichigo looked at him. "[serious]If this continues, the infirmary and staff won't be able to handle it." Renji was sitting in the middle of the grounds. His expression was blank. Rukia was still on her knees, facing Ichigo. Ichigo called out "Rukia." Rukia looked at him. Vaguely. "……Who?" Something inside Ichigo's chest crumbled. The evening sun fell across the grounds. Orange light fell equally on the now-unmotivated students, on Renji's red hair, on Rukia's white hair. A beautiful and cruel sight. The shadows were gone. As if their work was done, they'd vanished. Ichigo stood frozen, unable to move. Unable to touch. Unable to stop. He'd tried to protect her and couldn't do anything. The weight of that fact pressed down on him slowly, thoroughly. Uryuu spoke quietly. "[serious]When it appears next time, let's think about what we can do. We don't have time to be emotional." No time to be emotional. Ichigo bit his lip. It was right. But right now, it felt nowhere near enough. Rukia was looking at him again. Silver eyes. Empty, vacant eyes. Those eyes wouldn't leave his mind.