"Suguru… what is that thing beside you?"
"Excuse you?"
Ichigo stared at Gojo as if he had grown a third head.
"What kind of greeting is that? Is that how you usually talk to people you've just met? Now I get why Riko calls you a rude bastard."
"Right?!" Riko chimed in.
"Satoru… that is you, right?"
Geto stepped closer to his friend. He barely registered the insult. What concerned him was Gojo's face: the exhilaration from moments ago had vanished, replaced by a blank stare.
"Yes, but answer me, Suguru. What is that…?"
Gojo paused.
"Oh. Never mind. I see now."
He was still coming down from the euphoria of his awakening. His Six Eyes were taking in so much information that, when he first looked at Ichigo, all he had registered was a mass of energy.
Cursed energy? No… something's different.
He had never seen anything like it.
"My bad. I'm Satoru Gojo. And you?"
"Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Satoru," Geto said quietly. "Kuroi-san is…"
"I know." Gojo's expression softened. "I'm just glad you and Riko are okay."
"I see. I'm glad you're okay, too."
Geto glanced at the others.
"Let's head back."
By the time they reached the grounds of Jujutsu High, Ichigo had begun explaining his situation.
"So, Ichigo, you're saying you're lost?" Gojo asked.
"Yes. I suddenly appeared where Geto and Riko were."
He glanced around.
"To be honest, I don't even know what city this is."
"Tokyo."
"I see. Do you guys know Karakura Town?"
"Never heard of it," Gojo replied.
"Me neither," Geto added.
"Sorry," Riko said.
"It's fine. Can one of you lend me a phone? I want to call my friends."
Ichigo was disappointed, but he wasn't ready to panic. It wasn't as though his hometown was famous.
Still… Karakura's a Tokyo suburb. It's a little weird that none of them have heard of it.
"Sure. Here you go, Ichigo-san."
Riko handed him her phone. Ichigo turned it over in his hand, looking mildly surprised.
"Nice phone. Looks pretty new."
"It's actually a little old. It's a 2005 model, if I remember correctly."
Ichigo stared at her.
"Ichigo-san? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because you just said something weird."
"Huh? What did I say?"
"That this phone's from 2005."
"It is."
"How's that even possible?"
"What do you mean?"
"How can you have a phone from 2005 when it's 2003?"
The three of them stared at him.
"Hey, Ichigo," Gojo said. "Did you hit your head on the way here or something?"
"Huh? You trying to start a fight?"
"Ichigo," Geto interrupted, "you know it's 2005, right?"
"What the hell are you talking about? How could it be 2005? Are you guys messing with me? Because—"
"Ichigo, as punishment for this sin, you, too, shall depart from this world."
Yhwach's final words echoed in his mind.
A cold feeling settled in his stomach.
"No way…"
Ichigo looked down at the phone.
"Please don't fuck with me like this."
He dialed Chad's number.
"The number you have dialed does not exist."
He tried Ishida next.
"The number you have dialed does not exist."
His grip tightened around the phone.
"Come on. Please work."
He called Orihime.
This time, someone answered.
"Orihime! It's me, Ichigo! Where are you guys?"
"Sorry, but I think you have the wrong number. I don't know anyone named Orihime."
It was a woman's voice, but it wasn't hers.
"…I see. Sorry."
Ichigo ended the call.
For several seconds, he stood without speaking, his expression unreadable.
"Ichigo-san… are you okay?" Riko asked.
"Yeah." He paused. "Sorry, but can you get me a map?"
"A map?" Geto repeated. "Sure. There should be one at the school. We can ask a teacher."
"Thanks."
The four of them entered the building and soon came across Masamichi Yaga.
"Hey, Yaga-sensei!"
Gojo waved casually, but Yaga stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening.
"Satoru! What happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?!"
"Oh, this? Someone stabbed me."
He said it as casually as if he were discussing the weather.
"Stabbed you? Who? How?" Yaga shook his head. "Damn it, you can explain later. Go see Shoko so she can hea—"
"No need. I'm already healed. Look."
Gojo pulled his shirt open, revealing that his wounds had closed.
"But forget about that for now. We have something more urgent to deal with."
Yaga stiffened.
"What's going on? Is someone attacking Jujutsu High?"
"Well, you see… we need a map."
"A map?"
"Yep."
"What for?"
"Our friend here."
Gojo pointed his thumb toward Ichigo. Only then did Yaga properly register the stranger standing with his students.
I was so worried about Satoru that I didn't even notice him.
His gaze shifted.
And is that Riko Amanai? What is she doing here?
"Nice to meet you. My name's Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo gave him a brief nod. "Sorry to ask out of nowhere, but I really need a map. Could you lend me one?"
"…Of course. Follow me."
Yaga had questions—several of them—but one look at Ichigo's face convinced him the explanations could wait.
And trying to untangle whatever these kids have gotten themselves into is bound to give me a headache.
He led them into a classroom and began searching through the stored teaching materials.
"Let's see. It should be around here somewhere…"
A moment later, he pulled out a map.
"Found it. Here you go."
"Thank you."
Ichigo spread it out and searched for Karakura Town.
Thank God they made us study maps in school. Okay… Karakura should be around here.
He knew roughly where to look.
But where his hometown should have been, the map showed only forest.
He checked the surrounding area, then looked again.
Nothing.
"Sorry. I need to check something."
Before anyone could respond, Ichigo vanished.
"Eeh?! Ichigo-san disappeared!"
"Calm down, squeaky. He just went somewhere else."
"Did you see him move, Satoru?" Geto asked.
"Yeah."
"That was incredible. I couldn't even react."
"Well, I am pretty amazing."
Despite his answer, Gojo's thoughts were elsewhere.
I saw him move, but I don't think I could keep up with that speed. Not as I am now.
An excited smile spread across his face.
Interesting.
"Anyway, let's wait for him," he said. "He probably went to check the place he was looking for."
Ichigo stood above the place where Karakura Town should have been.
"Nothing…"
The streets, the houses, the familiar buildings—none of them were there.
In place of the lively town he knew stretched a vast forest, filled with wildlife.
There wasn't a person in sight.