Ren, Ichigo and Chad were walking through the school corridors in search of class 1-3, while Mizuiro and Keigo followed behind.
"You two were pretty strong back there. I see your reputation isn't a lie." Said Ren as he turned to the duo beside him.
"I'm the one who's surprised here, Ren. None of them were able to hit you." Ichigo looked back and responded, "I had the impression you were a little strong, but you just avoided everything."
'I shouldn't have let loose that much, huh? But there's no reason to fake being extremely weak as well…' Ren thought for a brief moment, looking at his hands which were a little sore, much like some of his muscles.
A few minutes earlier, he used the chance to try and get more used to his body, but the reality is that whoever Ashikawa Ren was, he wasn't a fighter.
'I remember my arms were a lot skinnier before that crazy pain, which also made me feel a lot lighter afterwards. I think even my hair color was different, but it's hard to say for sure."
Though his strength had increased, the problem remained that it wasn't a well trained body. His skills weren't up to par with his peak even before Ren's dramatic encounter with Truck-kun.
'I need to stop slacking and put in some training again. Things will get pretty dangerous once the story starts, and I don't even know if there will be anything different from what I know.'
Making a mental note to keep himself in check, Ren explained vaguely, "Well, I was beaten a lot training as a kid, so I learned how to dodge. But I haven't moved like this in so long that my whole body feels a little sore."
"Hm, I see…" While Ichigo didn't think too deeply about it, the way Chad looked at him had changed, though it went unnoticed.
The group kept walking, with a few iterations of Ichigo pushing away a now very friendly Keigo, whose previous fear of him vanished after being saved. They were scolded for fighting, but Mizuiro's godly explanation helped them only get a verbal warning.
"Ichigoo! I always knew that you were a good guy deep inside, even if you looked scary. From now on, I'll be your friend even if you don't have any~" He went for a bro hug, but flew away soon after.
"Why are you suddenly calling me by my first name? Hey, Kojima, can't you do something about this?" Ichigo asked Mizuiro with clear exasperation in his voice.
In response, however, the latter simply smiled, "I told you earlier that he warms up quickly to people. You can call me Mizuiro too, Ichigo."
The former was dumbfounded once again, but at the end clicked his tongue, "Fine, do whatever you want… *Sigh*"
From the side, Ren said quietly with a chuckle, "What a tsundere…"
A vein popped on Ichigo's forehead, but in a rare show of restraint, or simply mental fatigue, he decided to ignore it and keep walking.
Soon, they arrived at the classroom, where the previous chaos had already finished. Many of the students were talking about what they had seen from the windows earlier, and many stared warily at Ichigo and Chad as the group walked inside.
Ren looked curiously at the students, 'This is so cool. The anime barely showed only a part of this class, but I'm actually a member here.'
He then noticed a particular group of girls chatting. Pretty much all of them were beautiful, but to be fair he also hadn't seen an ugly girl among any of the people he saw today.
'I guess the famous anime genes weren't an exaggeration. That should be Orihime, then Tatsuki, and I think the redhead was called Chizuru. The names of the other girls should be Ryo, Mahana and Chizuru.' Ren noted his memory wasn't perfect, since there were many people in class he never saw in the original series, but didn't bother about it, 'I can just ask them. That'd work just fine.'
The group of boys naturally disbanded as each looked for their seats. Ren's was located on the back row of the class, beside the window.
He sat down and waited for the arrival of the homeroom teacher for class 1-3, who would be a woman called Ochi Misato, if nothing went wrong.
Soon later, she arrived, holding a folder in her hands. Looking to be in her mid twenties, Misato had her brown hair tied in a low ponytail, with rounded glasses and a mix of formal and yet casual clothes that made her look professional, but still approachable.
'Oh, she's pretty nice too.' Ren noted, 'Maybe she just recently graduated, since she looks quite young.'
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Ochi Misato, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the foreseeable future. You can call me however you want, as long as it isn't rude or mean." She spoke with an energetic tone, "Let's treat each other well from here on."
She looked at the students with a smile, and continued, "First, let's do the roll call, then I'll brief you guys on the things you should keep in mind, and finally we'll go to the gymnasium for the ceremony, okay?"
Though only a few responded with the same energy as her, she didn't mind, "Well, stand by your seats so we can start."
Looking at his new environment, Ren thought with a smile, 'It's a pain to have to study everything again, but it is a nice change of pace compared to gunfights and mafia guys.'
He decided to enjoy his time more in this new life.
[Afternoon, on the way home...]
Ren was walking through the streets at a calm pace. He didn't go with Ichigo and company, despite living beside each other.
"I needed some time alone to put my thoughts in order, so I said I had something important to do… But I'll take the offer some other day."
The streets were somewhat quiet at this hour, but soon enough the night would start and they would regain their movement. The slow breeze and the orange hue encompassing the sky would make one want to just lie down and take a nap on the river bank.
"School is actually fun, which is a crazy thought in itself, but I think it's because I don't need to learn everything again. It's like refreshing my memory, so there's no pressure at all…"
"Keigo is a funny guy to be around, Mizuiro came across as a smart yet unshakeable person. Them and everyone else, to think their personalities would only be slightly similar to the anime…"
He felt now that the depictions of the characters lacked depth compared to what he saw from interacting directly with them for a whole day.
Ren reminisced about the craziest day of his life, one that was going on for more than 24 hours already. A smile adorned his face thinking about the reality of his situation.
"Haha, no one would ever believe me if I said I actually met Ichigo and Chad… and everyone else too."
Thinking about the events that followed as soon as he left his new house, he felt giddy inside.
"I'll make sure to talk to the girls later too. They were cute. There's also some interesting people among the classmates. I bet I can go for the chill and cool, musician guy vibe and become friends with most of them."
"I'll go for the same career here too. Be it playing, conducting or teaching, I am a musician, and that'll never change, no matter where I am."
This was the thing he dedicated his whole life to once, and he would gladly do it a second time, or a third one, for that matter.
'There's nothing that I love more than music… well… except the kids, my parents and my friends… okay, there's a few things, but that's beside the point."
As the topic of music crossed his mind, Ren's smile went away as thoughts of his previous life took over his mind once again.
"I… thought I was done for. There was no time nor way to get to a hospital before I bled out, and it was getting hard to breathe. Thank god Lyssa didn't see that pathetic appearance…"
Now that the adrenaline was receding, the stuff he was pushing to the back of his mind started forcing their way in.
"...Fuck… What is happening to me… Why am I not dead?"
A pressure spread from his heart. It felt like there was a hand squeezing his very being, trying to crush him into dust. He now realized that he lost everything that was dear to him.
Ren gripped his chest and keeled over. He felt the urge to cry, to scream and mourn, anything that could lessen the pain he felt. Silent droplets formed on the corners of his eyes, but thankfully, there was no one around to witness his weak state.
"Hah, hah… Argh! Enough!"
A loud impact echoed as he gave himself a slap across the face, using the stinging pain to retrieve some sort of rational thought. He wiped away the tears threatening to fall, and straightened his posture once more.
"This is unbecoming of me. I know they're all fine, so there's no point in acting as if it's the end of the world."
Despite the pain on his cheek, he formed a small smile once again.
"Let's go home."
—
Extra Titles: ("Wouldn't having to go through school twice be a pain in the ass? Am I the only one thinking this?", "Teacher's hot, so I can take classes again just fine.", "It seems that bitch-slapping oneself cures depression…", "Almost turned into a villain there, whew.", "I am become Music, destroyer of ears… souls?", "Genetically engineered catgirls should be possible here, right?").