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The next day, at the break of dawn, Ishikawa Katori crawled out of bed, yawning.
It took him less than ten minutes to wash up and have breakfast. He was already sitting at the bar, enjoying a bowl of clear soup noodles.
After quickly finishing his meal, Ishikawa Katori picked up his bowl, wiped the bar, and then went to the kitchen to clean up.
Once everything was tidied, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he found a sign, wrote 'Out for Work' on it, and hung it on the shop door before leisurely heading to the agreed-upon location.
Following the information Ganju left yesterday, Ishikawa Katori walked for nearly an hour. As he observed the increasingly desolate surroundings, he suddenly wondered if Shiba Ganju had tricked him; there were no signs of human habitation in such a place.
However, after Ishikawa Katori walked for another ten minutes, his suspicion of Ganju dissipated.
Though still some distance away, a house resembling the one Sun Wukong transformed into in Journey to the West had already entered Ishikawa Katori's sight.
The house didn't look large from the outside, but behind it stood a towering chimney, reaching into the clouds, like a tail. Ishikawa Katori couldn't help but rub his chin, "If this 'tail' were to fall, that small house would instantly disappear, wouldn't it... Hmm?"
Before he could finish speaking, the 'tail' behind the small house vanished, but it didn't fall as Ishikawa Katori had suggested; instead, it 'retracted' and disappeared behind the house.
After a few seconds of silence, Ishikawa Katori applied a certain monkey's experience to himself, and after a bit of a self-deprecating remark, he calmly walked towards the small house.
Having been in this world for three years, he was actually quite accustomed to such things.
After all, Shinigami's architectural abilities have always been strong. For example, a certain shop owner in the Human World who runs a general store dug a huge underground training ground beneath his own shop in just one day.
However...
Compared to the Shiba family house in Ishikawa Katori's memory, the appearance of this house was consistent, but it lacked the most distinctive symbol: the two giant arms erected outside the door.
"Who are you?!"
Just as he approached the small house, two burly men came forward and surrounded Ishikawa Katori.
"He doesn't look like a good person, Big Brother."
"Yeah, I think so too."
"..."
Ishikawa Katori felt that he looked quite harmless. Where did these two see that he wasn't a good person? Was there something wrong with the clothes he was wearing today?
"Kin'en, Gin'en, he's the one I called."
Before Ishikawa Katori could explain, a familiar voice came from behind the two burly men: "He's the kid who runs the Everything Store in District '38'."
The two burly men's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and they immediately made way: "Oh, so he's here to help. I knew he looked like a good person, Big Brother."
"Yeah, I think so too."
"...You two big brothers are truly... steadfast in your opinions," Ishikawa Katori said, narrowing his eyes.
Walking between the two, Ishikawa Katori came to the panting Ganju and glanced behind him. The entrance was not a typical house layout, but an endless downward staircase.
"Customer, your family's architectural style is very... unique," Ishikawa Katori swallowed the word 'weird' to avoid offending the customer.
"No need to call me customer, just call me Ganju."
Putting the box on his shoulder down, Ganju pointed to the stairs behind the door: "Everything is already packed. What we need to do today is move all the boxes to the new house. If you do a good job, I definitely won't shortchange you."
A hint of surprise flashed in Ishikawa Katori's eyes. Although the man seemed a bit rough around the edges, he wasn't as overbearing as Ishikawa Katori had imagined; his attitude was unexpectedly mild.
It was he himself who had been somewhat prejudiced due to his memories.
Thinking about it carefully...
Although he disliked Shinigami, he didn't act like a noble lord in his interactions with the residents of Rukongai; on the contrary, he often mingled with them.
"Is it just the four of us?" Ishikawa Katori asked.
"Strictly speaking, only three," Ganju patted Ishikawa Katori's shoulder. "When we move, Kin'en and Gin'en will stay behind to guard the house. But you're hired, so don't even think about staying behind. Besides, you look too scrawny to be left behind."
"Come on, follow me down and move things. Let's get everything up first, and then move it to the new house's address."
"Alright, customer!"
Ishikawa Katori responded in the tone of a shop assistant, then followed Ganju downstairs, asking as he walked, "Is it just you in your family?"
"I also have an older sister. She's building the house at the new address. You'll see her when we move there. It was also my sister who suggested I hire you to help with the move. She said the owner of the tobacco shop in District 3 recommended you to her."
Ganju said without turning his head, then as if remembering something, he turned to Ishikawa Katori and warned, "When we get there, you absolutely must not be disrespectful, or if you anger my big sister, no one can save you."
Ishikawa Katori hummed in response and didn't inquire further. He had already learned what he wanted to know, and asking too many questions might make the other party wary.
There was an unexpectedly large amount of stuff to move.
It took Ishikawa Katori and Ganju nearly three hours to move all the boxes and furniture from underground to the surface.
"Not bad, kid."
When everything was moved, Ganju sat on a box, looking at Ishikawa Katori in surprise. "I didn't expect you to be so strong, looking so thin and weak? Are you really human?"
He had originally thought Ishikawa Katori might collapse from exhaustion in no time, but this seemingly frail guy had been effortlessly handling everything from start to finish.
Ishikawa Katori said, "As far as I know, there are no 'human' creatures in the entire Soul Society, are there?"
"Huh?"
Ganju was stunned, then reacted, "Hahaha, you're right. You're actually pretty good, kid. No wonder so many people in West Rukongai entrust you. I'm planning to take on a few subordinates recently. Do you want to join me? I'll look out for you."
"Sure, how much per day?"
Ganju choked, recalled the Everything Store's price list, and decisively shook his head: "Never mind. I can't afford a subordinate like you."
Ishikawa Katori smiled upon hearing this and extended his hand to Ganju on the ground: "Had enough rest? Then let's continue. According to the shop's rules, if we don't finish today, there will be extra charges tomorrow."
"Are you obsessed with money?"
Ganju's face darkened, but he still grabbed Ishikawa Katori's hand and stood up. However, he didn't notice the strange look that flashed in Ishikawa Katori's eyes as he pulled him up.
Of course, it wasn't because of holding hands.
Ishikawa Katori's sexual orientation was normal. The reason for his reaction was entirely because Ganju didn't even detect his Reiatsu when they made contact.
When Ishikawa Katori extended his hand earlier, a layer of Reiatsu had actually condensed beneath his skin, yet Ganju hadn't noticed the slightest anomaly.
When they were moving things earlier, he had actually used Reiatsu just like Ganju.
Although people with Reiatsu are rare in Rukongai, they are not entirely nonexistent, so Ishikawa Katori had no intention of hiding it from the beginning.
But what surprised Ishikawa Katori was...
From beginning to end, Ganju never noticed this, instead believing that Ishikawa Katori's ease was due to his good stamina.
Conversely, Ishikawa Katori had detected the fluctuation of Reishi from the moment Ganju used Reiatsu to enhance himself. From the intensity, it was much stronger than his own 'Low Level' Reiatsu.
Was his Reishi perception not as good as his own?
Or was it...
Ishikawa Katori tried to release his Reiatsu for a moment.
"Hmm?"
Ganju, who was moving a box, stopped his actions, looking around in confusion, muttering to himself, "Was that a hallucination?"
A strange glint flashed in Ishikawa Katori's eyes.
It seemed it wasn't because Ganju's Reishi perception was weak, but rather that his own Reiatsu was difficult to detect unless it was released to the skin's surface.
But if that was the case, when they were moving things earlier, Ganju used the same method as him, so why was he able to detect it?
Is my body special?
"Hey... hey, hey..."
"Huh?"
Ishikawa Katori was roused from his thoughts by Ganju. Looking at the dazed Ishikawa Katori, Ganju said with dissatisfaction, "I'm telling you, even if we drag this out until tomorrow, I won't give you extra money."
"Sorry, I was just distracted."
Ishikawa Katori didn't dwell on it any further. He hoisted three large boxes from the ground and caught up with Ganju.
...
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