That night, Hisagi slept only a few hours but managed to stay entertained watching television, thanks to the soundproofing effect of the capsule rooms. Additionally, the people in these kinds of places greatly respect silence, both inside and out.
It didn't matter that Hisagi was only seventeen at the time. His height and more developed features were more than enough to make him blend in. Plus, this place was full of students of all ages, so his presence in such places was quite common. With his appearance, who would believe he was only seventeen?
Maybe he was about 1.85 meters tall, and with almost eighteen years, he was at a perfect age for marriage. The age of consent here in Japan is thirteen, so it wasn't so unrealistic that he wasn't considered a child as in other countries.
When he woke up, he only had time to wash his face, though it wasn't necessary. Ever since he had obtained a small portion of his power, his body had stopped sweating odors.
These were just some of the natural advantages of having so much power.
As for what he would do after leaving the capsule hotel, Hisagi spent half the day searching for cursed spirits to kill. However, aside from creatures as small as his fist, there were no significant enemies to pay attention to.
Considering that and the fact he needed to find a place to stay, he soon arrived at the place where his parents' old apartment used to be.
Everything was as he remembered, although the surroundings had certainly evolved in the last five years.
From what he could gather, people were doing everything they could to leave the nearby community. It wasn't exactly in the city center, but it was in a fairly good area.
But according to the condominium administrator, the reason everyone was leaving was the fear of dying in inexplicable ways near a very peculiar company.
The reason?
The main cause was that this large company close to the apartments had experienced some supernatural events before, leading many residents in the surrounding areas to evacuate their homes quickly. Only after rents had dropped in recent months had the number of residents slightly increased.
Like others, Hisagi didn't care about the supernatural incidents. In fact, he would handle all the supernatural issues in this place. If there was a problem related to cursed spirits, he would take care of cleaning that area.
After receiving money from Hisagi to take care of the little things he didn't know how to handle, the man who helped him gave him some advice, like, "If you're planning to go out, it's best not to do it at night, since you're new to the city." Then he quickly left, seemingly afraid that Hisagi would ask him more questions.
Hisagi felt genuinely strange watching the back of the condominium administrator hurrying away from the place.
"Am I being tricked into selling this apartment, or is this place really not peaceful at all? Who would've thought that now that I'm back, the paranormal would be my specialty?" Hisagi looked at the enormous building, which seemed lonelier than living in the mountains.
When he looked more closely at the building and walked inside, he noticed many old things but no cursed spirits.
"The elevator doesn't work. You'll have to use the stairs."
Hisagi glanced toward a corner where an elderly woman had been resting before, nodded slightly, and said, "Thanks for letting me know. Have a good day, ma'am. "
Without waiting for a response, Hisagi walked up the stairs without any issues.
Once Hisagi was out of sight, the elderly woman sitting in the reception area opened her eyes and murmured, "I hope this new neighbor doesn't end up taking his life like the last one. So much bad luck will eventually kill my will to keep breathing."
After saying that, the old woman left the reception area and walked down a quiet path.
The people in this building had grown accustomed to the daily misfortunes they lived with. Those who had the chance had left, and now only one worker remained at the building's entrance.
The residents who didn't care much about the situation didn't complain.
...
By the time the old woman had left the building, Hisagi had arrived at his apartment.
It had been a long time since he'd been here, so out of curiosity, he wanted to greet those who would be his neighbors from now on to avoid any problems later.
"Just so they don't think there's a ghost..." Hisagi muttered, a little annoyed at the thought of introducing himself to others.
Knock, knock, knock!
Hisagi knocked on his neighbor's door and suddenly remembered that it was Monday. Being workers or students, they were probably out. Also, now that he thought about it, he didn't sense many human auras around.
For now, Hisagi entered his apartment.
The apartment was spacious, especially for being on the middle floor of the building. Its large windows offered an incredible view of the more distant houses. Without a doubt, it was enough space for a few people to live.
Glancing briefly around, Hisagi found three bedrooms, a private bathroom, a kitchen connected to the dining area, and a living room near the windows with a small balcony.
That's why Hisagi settled in the room that used to belong to his parents and left a message for Aoki. Whether he decided to come or not was up to him.
Hisagi knew there were many ways to learn about cursed spirits. One of them was the dark web. If he could get into that, he could also find some work.
Though Aoki couldn't fight, having him in logistics would be very helpful for handling those matters.
"Well, now I just need supplies." At the very least, before wandering around the city, Hisagi wanted to explore the surroundings and buy food. After all, it was essential when living alone.
...
As expected from a place like this, the first mode of transportation in the city was more convenient and intuitive. Compared to the crematorium outside the Tokyo suburbs, where Hisagi had spent a long time after his accident with that cursed spirit, it was pleasantly better. Though there were many houses here, everything was well integrated to convey a sense of freedom in the area.
Yoyogi District is relatively more relaxed compared to Shibuya; at least where Hisagi lived, there was a large area full of greenery, trees, and places to rest.
After Hisagi bought his daily necessities and food at a large supermarket, he headed back home. On the way, he was often given strange looks.
It wasn't because he was new to the area, but because he was carrying a large number of bags, both big and small, to the point that Hisagi's body was almost completely covered. Although he was tall, most people thought he shouldn't be holding so many bags, but for him, it was just a little effort.
It's more convenient to buy everything at once so he could feed himself for at least two weeks. He didn't like going back and forth for groceries, so even though it looked strange, he preferred to carry everything at once.
After walking relatively quickly without stopping, he arrived at his apartment and put all the food in the empty fridge. Since there were pans here, he could cook later.
It's never too late to go out and eat local food when you have money. But this kind of spending made Hisagi feel a sense of comfort he didn't want.
While watching TV, Hisagi wanted to go out and visit that strange company to see if he could find something unusual, but after thinking about it, he decided to review his real strength.
Currently, he could release his Shikai without any problem, and since he was at level 4, he felt confident that he had enough control over his flames without worrying about losing control. In addition, he had great abilities he could use with his sword's flames. If all the cursed spirits within hundreds of meters touched his flames, they would most likely be reduced to ashes.
But there's a big problem: attracting attention. The moment he released his Shikai, it would attract not only the attention of the Cursed Spirit hunters nearby but also Special Grade Cursed Spirits, which he wasn't entirely sure he could face and come out unscathed. Also, he didn't know how powerful his flames were or the extent of his strength in this world.
Hisagi knows he's strong, but he doesn't know just how strong. And most importantly, he doesn't know what kind of monsters he might encounter along the way.
If he fully released his strength and attacked his enemies, the collateral damage would be something Hisagi couldn't control at his level 4 Shikai. And if his sword's flames didn't damage the cursed spirits, he would have to fight hand-to-hand, and his skills in that area weren't particularly great at the moment.
However, this concern was replaced by the normal state of his sword. It was truly a weapon at the cursed level in its normal state, with an unimaginable sharpness and durability. For starters, that sword with the purple hilt was a powerful weapon, and no one could imagine the power it could unleash if he unlocked all of it.
With just his Shikai, Hisagi believes he could cause trouble for an entire city, and the attention he'd draw would come from all directions. So until he has a way to conceal the battles he engages in, unleashing all the flames under his control is really risky.
As for hand-to-hand combat, although the martial art he practices is unrivaled for fighting Cursed Spirits, not all of them can be defeated with brute force, so he needed to practice a lot and train to improve naturally, as he currently has no soul points to use. Moreover, even though the damage he can take is incredibly high, healing his wounds requires both cursed energy and soul, so in a long-term fight, it's not safe to take too much damage.
It's true; he could increase his stats through natural training. That's what he did, and besides killing cursed spirits and guiding souls to the crematorium, he trained a lot of the time, and the result of that was his abnormal stats. In short, as long as he doesn't encounter a first-class cursed spirit in perfect condition or a special-grade cursed spirit, he's quite confident in winning.
This world not only has to be defended against the most powerful cursed spirits but also against evil sorcerers, jujutsu users, and certain cursed objects that could cause him serious trouble. If he encountered one of these people, it would be really complicated to come out unscathed.
Therefore, Hisagi tries to keep a low profile, and it's better not to get arrogant too soon before he's skilled enough that he no longer has to hide from anyone to avoid being caught by a powerful enemy and causing his death.
"I know so little about this world that it's unsettling. Well, since it's nighttime, I'll see if there are any changes outside." Hisagi did this often, and if he found something wrong during his watch, he always took care of it.
Tap-tap! Tap-tap!
"Is someone coming up the stairs?" Hisagi's ears were very sensitive, and he heard someone walking upstairs. By this time, the sky was already dark, and it was night before he realized it.
After hearing the sound of the steps on the stairs, Hisagi decided to go out and take a look to see if something strange was really happening.
Soon, the sound of footsteps reached the floor above, and Hisagi stood on the stairs.
"Is it really a girl?"
Hisagi was stunned for a moment, with one foot still on the steps, just watching the girl coming up from below. Thinking about the recommendations he had received, he respected the courage of this girl. Like any good man, Hisagi wouldn't move to ensure she got home safely.
"I feel like something's wrong with her, but I still don't know what..." Hisagi had a hunch, but for some reason, he couldn't look into her, especially after seeing her so unexpectedly, which made the situation feel a bit unreal.
The girl Hisagi felt slightly interested in was named Aira Shiratori, who had noticed the boy in the distance for a while, but now that Hisagi was staring directly at her, it made her frown.
"Is this guy a stalker?" Aira Shiratori thought to herself but quickly averted her gaze from Hisagi. Although she had lived here when she was young, these days she knew no one would come to live in this place due to the special conditions of the surroundings.
Cheap rent is one thing for those who don't own their apartment, but no matter how cheap the rent is, not many people would come to live here. She stayed here for the sake of peace and comfort of mind and, by the way, to take care of her personal matters.
What motives did the boy in front of her have, staring at her so intently?
Could it be that he was here because of her?
Was he stalking her intentionally?
Aira Shiratori frowned and walked step by step, her right hand already clenched into a fist. If this young man with his active hormones dared to make a move, she would punch him straight in the nose!
But just as Hisagi felt something was wrong with her, Aira also noticed something unusual about him.
A dark aura that gave her a sense of fear told Aira that Hisagi might not be a good person.