Chapter 1: Being Run Over by a Truck is Protagonist Treatment
Modern-day, Karakura Town, Tokyo—
"I'm dead?"
Kurosaki Ichigo watched as his body was loaded into an ambulance, leaving only a mess of bloodstains staining the concrete under the overpass. His pupils trembled, unable to process the situation for a long time.
None of the onlookers spared him a second glance.
Because he was now a freshly minted "Plus"—commonly known as a soul.
Ordinary people couldn't see him.
The only ones who could respond to him were other souls.
"Yeah, you died pretty horribly. Got hit by a truck, sent flying dozens of meters, then run over again. Turned into a literal carpet."
The speaker sat on the curb.
He looked young, probably around seventeen or eighteen.
Slender build, neither fat nor thin, quite well-proportioned.
He exuded a calm atmosphere.
If he wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, he'd look exactly like the harmless nerd in class.
If he started lecturing with a serious expression, it would usually annoy the opposite sex.
However, his darkly humorous hellish remarks fully showcased his "sharp" side.
His eyes were particularly bright and piercing, giving off a vague impression that he seemed to know a lot of things, yet different from a scholar's erudition.
"Dammit, where did that truck even come from? Also, please don't remind me of how I died—I'll puke!"
The orange-haired boy, about to become a high school freshman, had surprisingly good grades, but no matter how hard he thought, he never expected to get into a car accident right in front of a convenience store.
Even if it was premeditated murder, it'd be hard to get a truck into that position beforehand.
And it was impossible for it to hit him without making any noise.
As if it had appeared out of thin air.
There wasn't even a driver in the truck.
It was basically a supernatural paranormal event!
"Since you don't want to talk about your death, let's change the subject... My name is Sōma, Shirogane Sōma, an incoming college student. Seeing as we're in the same boat, I look forward to working with you from now on."
Sōma stood up, casually dusting himself off.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, incoming high school student... You said 'same boat,' does that mean..."
Ichigo trailed off.
"Yeah, you're not the only one who got run over."
Sōma admitted frankly.
These days, transmigration is getting more and more high-tech.
It used to be lightning strikes, now it's truck collisions.
And damn, it happened twice.
The first time.
He was eating hotpot and singing "Happy Birthday," then it seemed like some god in the heavens got too excited and sent him this "gift."
It sent him to a Tokyo mixed with slice-of-life anime.
He became the son of a wealthy conglomerate.
Relying on his transmigrator knowledge, he sailed through life smoothly since childhood, earning admiration from everyone around him.
During summer break, on a whim, he decided to visit Chiba.
However, God seemed to see through his desire for a human body and sent another dump truck to forcibly alter his itinerary.
At the same time, it also changed Ichigo's destiny.
Any cheat-like bloodline was rendered useless in the face of such unreasonable supernatural phenomena at the level of an upper narrative entity.
"Speaking of which, if it weren't for this thing, I'd think I wasn't dead. It feels completely different from the last time I died."
Sōma looked down at the lock and the half-broken Chain of Fate on his chest, flicking it with his hand and producing a crisp sound.
The sound and texture were peculiarly strange, giving him an irresistible urge to dig the lock out.
"You always say things that are hard to understand. Shouldn't you be feeling sentimental at a time like this?"
Ichigo took a deep breath.
"What's done is done. There's no point in being sentimental. Look, we're fine, aren't we? We've just lost our physical bodies—no big deal. Besides, this might not be a bad thing."
"Being killed by a dump truck is the protagonist's treatment. Next, we might even meet a goddess guiding us into another world."
Sōma waved his hand dismissively. As soon as he finished speaking, a strange Japanese lattice door appeared abruptly in the air above the sidewalk ten meters away.
The door slowly opened, accompanied by the fluttering of an ethereal blue butterfly, and a petite figure stepped out from within.
It was a young girl.
Dressed in a black kimono with an "onion head" hairstyle, her delicate features paired with large eyes made her undeniably cute. Yet, the long sword at her waist and her imposing aura exuded an indescribable authority.
"?"
"..."
There was no way they could miss someone so conspicuous.
—This was true for both sides.
If Sōma and Ichigo were merely captivated by her unusual appearance and intense presence, then Kuchiki Rukia was stunned by the "atmosphere" emanating from the two of them.
Having come to the spiritually deficient living world from the Soul Society, theoretically, even the slightest fluctuation of Reiatsu should stand out like a rare animal.
Yet, standing before these two...
For a moment, she felt as if she had never left the Soul Society at all.
"The Reiatsu they unconsciously emit naturally merges with the spiritual particles in the atmosphere, altering the ambiance of this place..."
In such a situation, even if a Hollow appeared, it would likely overlook them subconsciously.
Rukia's expression grew increasingly cautious.
She landed on the ground, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she approached the two step by step. There was no sense of boundaries as if meeting for the first time—only the cold, decisive demeanor of an enforcer carrying out her duties.
"Hey! Who are you?"
Ichigo tensed up, taking a step back as he shouted his question.
He completely failed to notice the "See? I told you—here comes the goddess" expression on Sōma's face beside him.
Rukia explained matter-of-factly, "Don't be alarmed. I am the Shinigami stationed in Karakura Town, responsible for guiding the souls of the deceased to the Soul Society—the resting place for spirits."
"—That said, I never expected to encounter two souls with such high spiritual power right after arriving. You two should be grateful I came just in time. If I were any slower, powerful evil spirits would surely be drawn here, and you'd face something far worse than death."
"Shinigami? Soul Society?"
Ichigo was utterly bewildered. Having encountered two strange individuals in a row, his ability to process information was starting to falter.
"Does the Shinigami also have regional protection measures? Carrying a tachi instead of a scythe, wearing kimono instead of cloaks—won't religious foreigners reject this image?"
As soon as Sōma spoke, the tense atmosphere immediately eased.
"Of course not, because I'll mercilessly use force to make them obediently scram before they can even voice their opinions."
Rukia was momentarily surprised, then righteously puffed out her chest.
Despite having some noble temperament, her speech carried the slick cunning of a seasoned rogue, leaving people at a complete loss.
"Wait, when you say 'scram down,' you don't mean going to hell, do you?! We have no way of knowing if you're telling the truth, and a Shinigami who looks like an elementary school student? That doesn't inspire confidence at all."
Ichigo frowned, his face full of wariness.
"Shut up. I'm ten times older than you. A human brat like you has no right to question my abilities. But considering you have potential and might become colleagues in the future, I'll introduce myself anyway."
"I'm Kuchiki Rukia. The greatness of this name is something you'll gradually come to understand in the Soul Society."
"Hey, I haven't even said goodbye to my family...!"
Before Ichigo could finish, Rukia stepped forward with a strained smile, swiftly drawing her sword with a "shing" and striking Ichigo's forehead with the hilt, causing him to fall backward and be swallowed by white light emerging from the ground.
Then it was Sōma's turn.
He offered no resistance, as nonchalant as having a flight attendant fasten his seatbelt before takeoff.
After sending off the two, Rukia breathed a slight sigh of relief and leaped onto the overpass to gaze at Karakura Town's modern cityscape.
Though some might accuse her of riding on family prestige, she would definitely shatter everyone's doubts with impeccable achievements and perfectly complete her stationed mission.
"Speaking of which, I forgot to ask their names... but it doesn't matter. If they can successfully graduate from Shin'ō Academy and join the Gotei 13, we'll meet again eventually. By then I should already be a lieutenant, or at least a high-ranking officer."
"Perfect chance to let that orange-haired brat experience the authority of a senior, hehe... How dare he call me an elementary school student!"