After the simple staff meal, Koyuu quickly cleared the table and dishes. She poured two cups of warm sencha from an iron kettle on the counter—one for the owner, one for Kuro Tsukasa.
The tea was a soft green, giving off a gentle steam. A few leaves unfurled lazily within the cup, releasing a comforting, earthy aroma.
"Please enjoy your tea."
"Thank you."
Tsukasa accepted it politely, lifting the ceramic cup and enjoying the perfect warmth against his fingers. He took a small sip.
"You're welcome."
Koyuu smiled softly, then carried the dishes toward the back.
Tsukasa exhaled quietly, savoring the peace that followed a full meal. At the same time, his mind stirred with thought.
He had a feeling Terada-san had already noticed that he possessed spiritual power. After all, ordinary souls never experienced hunger—they only tired. His eating speed had been... a little too obvious.
But from her composed expression, it seemed Reiryoku wasn't all that rare in Rukongai.
Even though he was in a foreign world with unknown dangers, there was no need to be overly paranoid.If kids like Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji could survive in Inuzuri, the 78th district of South Rukongai, then his chances here in West District Three were better than most.
As the soft scent of tea lingered in the air, Terada-san raised her own cup, gently blew across the surface, and then looked at him.
Her voice was calm and direct.
"Tsukasa, I'm satisfied with your work. I've decided to keep you."
That afternoon had been the smoothest her kitchen had run in years.No matter what she needed, Tsukasa was already two steps ahead.
"Room and board are included. There's a spare storage room at the end of the second floor. Small, but livable. I'll have Koyuu bring you some bedding and necessities later."
"As for pay—two silver mon a month, for now. If things go well, I'll raise it."
Her conditions were clear.This wasn't charity.This was a formal hire based on ability.
"Wait—two silver mon?!"
"Tsukasa-kun, that's amazing!"
Koyuu had just returned from the kitchen and overheard the offer. She lit up, looking at him with wide eyes full of admiration.
"Thank you very much, Terada-san. I'll do my best."
Tsukasa bowed respectfully.
He had no sense of what that salary meant here, but with food and shelter provided, he already felt more than lucky. Judging by Koyuu's reaction, it was a generous deal.
More importantly—silver.So Rukongai used a traditional gold-silver-copper currency system.That suggested he might be in a much earlier era of the Soul Society.
"Koyuu-san, I'll be in your care from now on too."
He turned to the waitress and nodded.
"Let's do our best."
Koyuu smiled back.
Terada-san nodded with quiet satisfaction.The izakaya had officially welcomed a new member.
…
After the dinner rush.
Koyuu had returned to her home across the street—she was already married. Terada-san had retired to the main house in the rear. The izakaya's main floor was dim, silent.
Tsukasa held a candleholder, the flickering glow casting shifting shadows on the walls as he climbed the wooden staircase to the second floor. Each step creaked underfoot.
The upstairs space wasn't large, but it didn't take long to find his assigned room.
Creaaak.
The door opened with a soft, prolonged groan. A faint scent of old wood greeted him—not unpleasant. In fact, it was oddly comforting.
The window had already been opened to air the space. Even without the candle, moonlight flooded the room clearly.
Everything had been cleaned. The futon was already laid out—no doubt Koyuu's doing.
The bedding showed its age—patched corners, frayed seams—but it was spotless, freshly laundered. The pillow was fluffy and soft, white as a cloud beneath the moonlight.
"No more sleeping on straw heaps."
He blew out the candle and set it beside the futon, quickly stripping off his outer clothes and shoes.
Whoosh—he dove under the covers in one smooth motion.
"Mmm… warm…"
The comfort made him sigh aloud without thinking.
He'd grown up in the countryside. He knew hardship.But nothing like what he'd faced on arrival here.
That first morning—starving, dehydrated, every muscle screaming as if he'd been mugged in an alley and left for dead—he thought his bones might fall apart from how badly they ached.
Now, wrapped in warmth and softness, his body finally resting, he closed his eyes in peace.
But not for long.
He opened them again—clear, alert, and without a trace of sleep.
He threw off the covers and sat up cross-legged on the futon, bare-chested and focused.
"The Soul Society isn't paradise."
This world of Shinigami was never meant to be kind.
Until he confirmed which era he was in, and until he had power, nothing guaranteed he'd live to see tomorrow.
The fact that he had spiritual power meant the potential was there.Supernatural strength—the stuff of every teenager's dreams—was now in reach.
How could he sleep now?
"The Soul Chain and Soul Sleep… should be located at the middle and lower Tanden (Energy centers)."
These were the two spiritual cores where Reiryoku formed and flowed.They were also critical weak points. A serious wound here would kill a normal soul instantly—and even a Shinigami would lose their powers.
Since arriving in this world, Tsukasa's body, memory, and mind had all sharpened drastically.Everything he'd ever read, seen, or studied surfaced in full clarity.
Especially the scene when Kuchiki Byakuya stabbed Ichigo and severed his powers. (Eps 17)He remembered it perfectly.
At the time, he'd wanted to throw a shoe at Byakuya's emotionless face on screen.
"The middle Tanden governs Spiritual Energy. The lower Tanden stores Essence. Energy, Essence, and Spirit—these three form the body's foundation."
"Spirit governs and integrates Energy and Essence."
He closed his eyes, breathing long and deep.
Using every fragment of cultivation theory he'd studied, he calmed his thoughts and focused inward—seeking the exact location of those two vital points.
Moonlight spilled quietly through the window, trailing over his sculpted back.
In that stillness, he could hear the flow of blood.Feel the faint pulse of spiritual energy through his meridians.
His awareness drifted within, tracing the network of lines and nodes, searching—
—and then found it.
"It worked!"
His eyes flew open, bright with joy.
In his palm, a glowing sphere of Reishi had begun to form—pale blue, small, but stable.
In this world where death could come at any moment, only one truth held firm:
Power defines survival.
And tonight…
He had taken the first step toward seizing his fate.