The Wandering Shinigami

A young boy adorned in a plain white Shitagi caught the eye, its fabric delicately embroidered with a few enigmatic symbols, while a flowing blue Hakama gracefully draped his form. Resting upon his lap, a sword gleamed, capturing the glimmers of sunlight that filtered through the surrounding shadows.

"It's really difficult!" Hikari sighed, looking at the sword that the shinigami called an Asauchi, seeing his sword Hikari just sighed and placed it away and began recovering his lost spiritual power.

It had been two years since Hikari was purified by a Shinigami and 23 years since I travelled into this world.

Hikari, who was just an average guy, died due to a truck accident and was sent to this world.

Of course, when he first opened his eyes in this world, he was a living human baby in the World of the Living.

But the World of the Living at the time of his birth was in the feudal age, so Hikari couldn't even live past the age of 20. Luckily, a passing shinigami performed the soul funeral ritual on him, and he was easily sent to the Soul Society.

But who would have thought he would arrive in this accursed part of the Rukongai District!

The Rukongai District was split into 320 parts, with 80 parts divided on each side (80 in North Rukongai, 80 in West Rukongai, etc.), each numbered in descending order based on how far they were from the center. This resulted in the higher-numbered (and farther) districts decaying into slums.

And Hikari was in District 80 of North Rukongai!

The worst one on the north side of Rukongai!

Initially, Hikari attempted to forge friendships. However, residing in the "Zaraki District" with its abysmal security conditions in the Soul Society for two years made him acutely aware of the harsh reality of the strong dominating the weak.

Fortunately, his Spiritual Pressure exceeded that of the ordinary Rukongai residents, granting him the opportunity to join the Shinigami Academy.

Initially, he harbored hopes of possessing some form of advantage, such as exceptional talent, extraordinary spiritual power, or even an otherworldly system, given his isekai experience. Yet, reality often proved disappointing.

Lacking any cheats, Hikari could only rely on sheer hard work. However, when compared to members from noble families, his talent could only be deemed average.

As his final year at the Shinigami Academy drew to a close, Hikari still had not awakened his shikai.

With the graduation ceremony for the final year students of the Shinigami Academy merely a month away, the pressure mounted.

The Shinigami Academy admitted 6,000 students at a time, but by the end of the year, not all could achieve shikai awakening, rendering the last six years of their lives futile.

In this critical hour, countless fellow students, like Hikari, strained every sinew and exerted every ounce of effort to awaken their shikai. After all, awakening the shikai meant gaining entry into the esteemed Gotei 13!

"Whatever, I don't want to dwell on it too much," Hikari muttered, shaking his head with indifference.

"I still have a month, and anything is possible," he said, infusing his words with a hopeful tone.

No matter what, he would never give up his efforts. Who knows what tomorrow may bring before his time runs out?

He let out another sigh and made his way toward the bathroom in his dormitory. After all, he hadn't bathed in almost four days!

Just as he was about to undress, Hikari suddenly lost consciousness, engulfed by an intense darkness that consumed his vision.

"What's happening?" Hikari wondered, disoriented as he regained his senses, only to be met once again by a fierce blackness before his eyes.

As his awareness returned, he found himself gazing upon a breathtaking sight—a sun-drenched beach surrounded by a vast expanse of greenery, accompanied by the presence of a stunning figure in a swimsuit.

Hikari dumbfoundedly raised his head, his gaze scanning the distance—a beach with rolling waves crashing upon its shores, and endless green stretching into the horizon—making him question whether he had stumbled into a dream.

Was he dreaming about his past life, so starkly different from the Soul Society, or had he once again crossed over into another world? Which of these two possibilities held a greater likelihood?

"Hey, there's a naked man here. Little brother sure has a perverted side, huh?" a teasing female voice called out, jolting Hikari back to reality and causing him to realize his current predicament.

His body remained that of a sixteen-year-old boy in the strange world, and he stood there in a state of nudity after having taken a bath earlier. Despite the embarrassment he faced, Hikari displayed minimal shame or discomfort. Instead, his first instinct was to seize the opportunity to observe the person who spoke.

What immediately caught his attention was a tall and curvaceous woman with voluminous wavy hair and fiery red lips. Although her hair was golden, it exhibited distinct Western features, accompanied by a yellow complexion and black eyes. She possessed a beauty akin to that of a blooming rose, her eyes burning like flames and exuding a sense of fierceness.

Standing beside her was another individual of Western descent, sporting a buzz cut, towering height, and a resolute and sturdy countenance.

On Hikari's side stood two men and one woman, all in their twenties. In this moment, their consciousness appeared somewhat clouded, their reactions sluggish.

What struck Hikari as peculiar was a pervasive sense of estrangement that seemed to envelop them like an invisible shroud, rendering them disconnected from the rest of the world.

A familiar sensation of déjà vu stirred within Hikari's mind. Simultaneously, he responded to the woman's playful taunting.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just taking a shower..." Hikari hurriedly covered his private parts with his hands, his cheeks flushing red as his actions perfectly portrayed the embarrassment and panic of a teenager.

Having traversed through time for over a decade, Hikari had grasped the importance of maintaining a low profile, blending in as an ordinary individual without revealing anything out of the ordinary. Each day, he had assumed the role of an ordinary teenager, honing his acting skills to perfection through constant practice.

In this moment, it was as if he suddenly snapped back to reality, his voice trailing off as he bewilderedly remarked, "Oh, right. Where is this place? Why did I suddenly...?"

"Hehe, little boy, don't worry. Sister will explain everything to you later," the big wavy-haired blonde woman replied, her eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief as she shamelessly scanned Hikari's body, eliciting laughter while playfully patting the man beside her.

"Do you still have spare clothes?" she asked.

"Looking for them," the tall man, resembling a statue, responded. As he spoke, his hands executed a magical flourish, conjuring several pieces of clothing seemingly out of thin air.

Observing this spectacle, Hikari's face promptly displayed an expression of genuine surprise.

"Is he utilizing some kind of enigmatic illusion technique? Or perhaps it's a spatial item?" he conjectured silently within his mind.

At that moment, the tall man handed over the clothes to Hikari, who gratefully accepted them with a shy, thankful expression. He swiftly dressed himself, trying to cover his body as quickly as possible.

Clearly, despite Hikari's tall and well-proportioned figure, displaying distinct muscular lines, he still appeared "thin and weak" when compared to the towering, burly man who stood at over 1.9 meters, resembling a bear. As a result, the clothes prepared by the tall man hung loosely on Hikari's frame, creating a somewhat comical effect.

Hikari didn't mind this at all; he was just grateful to have something to wear. Even though he had experienced two lives, the embarrassment of running around naked remained intolerable.

"Alright, everyone, gather around and pay attention. I will now explain the current situation," the woman with big, wavy hair declared, clapping her hands to capture everyone's focus.

Surprisingly, there was no panic or shouting among the group, including the three men and one woman who calmly congregated around her. Even Hikari, despite still feeling embarrassed from his recent nude escapade, managed to compose himself.

"You young folks have impressive mental resilience and acceptance capabilities. Unlike my generation, where several middle-aged women and men screamed and stubbornly refused to believe, almost getting themselves killed..." The big, wavy-haired woman mumbled, casting a glance at everyone.

"Do you believe in miracles?" she inquired, her gaze sweeping across the group.