"Speaking of summer, you think of the beach! Speaking of the beach, you think of summer!"
Asano Keigo had somehow scrounged up a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and thrown it on. The collar was wide open, revealing his scrawny chest.
He put his hands on his hips and threw his head back with a loud laugh.
"And so—"
He took a deep breath and spread his arms wide as if trying to embrace the whole world.
"I, Asano Keigo, propose a ten-day beach training camp starting tomorrow!"
He was the first to raise his own hand high, his eyes scanning the crowd with a burning intensity as he waited for a thunderous wave of agreement.
He was already daydreaming—azure waters, white sandy beaches, and older girls in bikinis lying on tanning mats, beckoning him.
"Hey little brother, can you help me apply some sunscreen?"
"Sure thing, big sister," and then—
"Fireworks! Courage tests! And even mixed-gender open-air hot springs!" His voice grew louder and higher, the smile on his face becoming more radiant.
"Every heart-pounding activity you can imagine! All led personally by me, Asano Keigo! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and join the Asano Tour Group!"
His only response was dead silence.
Then, several buckets of cold water were poured over him at once.
"Sorry, I've got things to do. I can't go."
The first bucket of cold water came from Kurosaki Ichigo.
Asano Keigo's face instantly contorted.
"Whaaat—!!!???"
His features scrunched together, eyes bulging as if they might pop out of their sockets, and his mouth hung open in a perfect 'O' shape, looking like a Hannya mask that had escaped from a temple.
That terrifying aura was so intense that even Kurosaki Ichigo subconsciously lowered his voice a bit.
"Uh... sorry, but no means no."
"I'm sorry, I can't go either."
The second bucket of cold water was poured by Inoue Orihime. She pressed her hands together in apology, looking at Asano Keigo with eyes full of sincere regret.
The blow to Asano Keigo instantly doubled.
"What!? Even you, Inoue!?"
His voice had begun to tremble.
"Same here. I have plans, can't go."
Arisawa Tatsuki didn't even look at him, dismissing him with a clean wave of her hand.
She was even planning to skip the karate club's competition; she had no interest in messing around at the beach with him.
"Me too..." Sado Yasutora said in a low voice. "Don't count on me this time..."
Asano Keigo's eyes were starting to turn red.
His gaze swept around, finally landing on the one person who hadn't spoken yet.
"Hmm?"
Asakura Yoh looked up and pointed to himself with an innocent expression.
"Am I involved in this too?"
Asano Keigo's expression froze.
Then—
*Pfft—!*
He clutched his chest as if he'd been stabbed, staggering back a couple of steps while making exaggerated blood-spitting sounds.
Asano Keigo turned pathetically to the last person—his good friend, Kojima Mizuiro.
At this moment, the look he gave Mizuiro was like a drowning man clutching at the final straw.
"I'm going to Phuket tomorrow."
Asano Keigo froze for three seconds.
Then he exploded like a lit firecracker.
"You bastard—!!!!"
He lunged forward, grabbing Kojima Mizuiro by the shoulders and shaking him like a madman. Mizuiro's head wobbled back and forth.
"Waaaaah! Why is the reaction only this intense for me!?"
Asano Keigo's tears finally burst forth, streaming down his cheeks.
"You're going with some older girls, aren't you!? Who!?" He stared intently at Mizuiro, his eyes bloodshot.
"Is it that older girl from the ghost-hunting show last time!?"
"N-no! You guessed wrong..." Mizuiro, dizzy from the shaking, finally managed to steady himself.
"To be precise, it's with Marie and her nine friends."
He added calmly:
"They're all girls. Including the two of us, that's eleven people in total."
"Aaaah! You jerk! What kind of perfect lineup is that!?" Asano Keigo wailed at the sky.
"Do you think you're some Hollywood star!?"
Although Asakura Yoh didn't lose his composure like Asano Keigo, he secretly felt a bit of admiration for Kojima Mizuiro.
'This guy really has some skills.'
Just as he was feeling envious, he suddenly felt a cold gaze coming from beside him.
That gaze was as cold as a winter wind, piercing straight toward him from a certain direction.
Asakura Yoh's expression instantly became serious, and his back straightened even more than before.
'An illusion, it must be an illusion.'
He told himself silently.
...
Summer vacation arrived as scheduled.
Urahara Shop—
That confectionery shop that looked worn-down and ready to go out of business at any moment actually hid another world beneath it.
Kurosaki Ichigo was completely stunned.
"Oh my! What a surprise!! I didn't expect such a place to exist under a tiny little shop! It's simply amazing!"
Urahara Kisuke provided the narration behind Kurosaki Ichigo, with his three employees constantly scattering flower petals in the background.
"More importantly..." Ichigo ignored Urahara Kisuke's antics, his tone serious and heavy.
"What is this? This... couldn't have been like this originally, right?"
"This..."
Urahara Kisuke curled his lips, his gaze beneath the brim of his hat turning serious.
Before Kurosaki Ichigo was no smooth path or level ground, but a massive rift that looked as if it had been split open by a sword, with a bottomless abyss below.
"This is the damage caused by Mr. Asakura's previous training here. It's quite shocking, isn't it?"
"If I'd known, I should have charged ten times as much. This won't be easy to fix in a short time."
Urahara Kisuke acted like a shady merchant, but Kurosaki Ichigo didn't have time for that; his heart was already in turmoil.
'Was this... done by Yoh...?'
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of town.
"I'm telling you guys, there's no need to be in such a hurry. We have plenty of time."
Asakura Yoh sat cross-legged on a cushion in the corner, resting his chin on his hand as he looked helplessly at the three in front of him.
Arisawa Tatsuki was covered in sweat, her martial arts uniform clinging to her body as she gasped for breath, but she showed no intention of stopping.
"Shut it."
Her voice was hoarse, but her tone was as hard as a rock.
"Yukio, hurry up and spawn more monsters."
In the control room, Yukio Hans Vorarlberna stared at the screen, his fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard. Hearing Arisawa Tatsuki's words, his fingers paused, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
'This bossy tone is exactly the same as Yoh's.'
He grumbled silently in his heart but still pressed the button to start the next level.
On the training ground, new enemies began to coalesce.
"I... I can still keep going too."
Inoue Orihime stood behind Tatsuki, her legs already trembling, but her gaze remained firm. She clenched her fists, her snowflake hairpins glinting in the sunlight.
"No problem."
Sado Yasutora's voice was as steady as ever. He stood at the very front, his tall frame like a wall.
Asakura Yoh looked at them and sighed softly.
These three were all equally stubborn.
Tatsuki was always like this; once she set her mind to something, she never looked back. Orihime seemed soft, but she had a kind of persistence in her bones that no one could stop. Sado was even more so; usually quiet, but once he decided on something, ten oxen couldn't pull him back.
"Fine then."
Asakura Yoh shifted into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes as if he were about to sleep.
But the corners of his mouth quirked up slightly.
"Have it your way."
On the training ground, a new battle began.
And this summer had only just begun.
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