"But... this power..."
Rukia Kuchiki still frowned.Even though Nanaya spoke so confidently, her instincts screamed otherwise — this power was steeped in something ominous.
But as she glanced at Nanaya — the boy who so recklessly shielded them, his eyes burning scarlet with excitement — her heart softened.A faint pink dusted across her cheeks.
"...Forget it," Rukia muttered, shaking her head.
She raised her hand seriously and warned:
"It's fine here with me... but if you meet any other Shinigami in the future, you must never reveal that power to them."
She turned toward Ichigo as well:
"And Ichigo — you too. Never transform into a Shinigami in front of other Shinigami."
"Eh?! Why!?"Ichigo yelped, scratching his head in confusion.
Rukia hesitated, then said gravely:
"You two are... different. If the others find out, you might be eliminated."
"Eliminated!?"Ichigo yelped again, scalp tingling.
"Being a Shinigami is that dangerous?!""But we only use it when we're really in trouble, right!?"
Nanaya wasn't nearly as rattled as Ichigo.
He knew all too well what kind of place the Seireitei was — a feudal kingdom dressed in the guise of honor and justice.
In the original history, countless dark deeds had been hidden away.The Technology Development Bureau had performed human experimentation without conscience.Its current director, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, had even committed genocide against the Quincy — all in the name of research.
If he and Ichigo were exposed...
Forget Yamamoto's judgment.Kurotsuchi Mayuri would definitely come after them.
Just thinking about it sent a cold chill down Nanaya's spine.
Meanwhile, Rukia continued, voice low:
"Passing Shinigami powers to humans... is forbidden. If we're caught, it's not just me who will be punished."
"I know."
Nanaya smiled and gently ruffled Rukia's hair.
"Thank you, Rukia. We won't use our powers carelessly in front of other Shinigami."
Ichigo nodded quickly too.
Being treated like a child, Rukia's face turned bright red.She clenched her fists, seething:
"I-I'm not some little girl, you little brat!"
Smack!
A resounding fist thumped down onto Nanaya's head, leaving a giant bump.
"..."
Rubbing his head and grinning, Nanaya looked forward, his eyes flashing crimson with excitement.
He still hadn't explored the full extent of these eyes.
Meanwhile, on a distant overpass — two familiar middle-aged men were silently watching.
Kurosaki Isshin and Urahara Kisuke.
Isshin frowned, arms crossed:
"...What's going on with those eyes?"
Seeing Rukia and Ichigo didn't surprise them.After all, everything was part of the plan: one to awaken, the other to transfer power.
But Nanaya...
"That weird black fire..."Isshin unconsciously touched his smooth, bald head — his face darkened.
He had no choice but to shave his head today after the black flames burned off all his hair.
Beside him, Urahara Kisuke — wearing his iconic striped green hat — was peering at Nanaya with keen interest.
He stretched out his hand, revealing a small, transparent cube.
Within it, a strange black flame quietly burned.
"If not for Bakudō... this flame would've been impossible to put out," Urahara said, voice tinged with awe.
The flame floated inside the sealed cube, burning even though there was no fuel — an endless, quiet destruction.
Last night, it had taken everything they had just to suppress it.
Isshin's mood soured even further as he recalled it.
He glanced at Urahara and smirked:
"You're lucky you can hide your bald spot under that hat."
Urahara twitched slightly.
Isshin burst out laughing, slapping his thigh:
"I can't wait for Hiyori to see you!"
Just imagining the violent girl mocking Urahara for being bald made Isshin giddy with glee.
Urahara's face darkened."...What a headache."
After a moment, Isshin sobered and asked:
"Urahara... you've been staring for so long. Have you figured it out yet? What's the origin of those eyes?"
"Hmm..."Urahara tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"I can't say for sure. But I can tell... it has something to do with me."
"Huh!?"
Urahara lowered his voice:
"Those eyes — they reek of evil and darkness. Their aura strikes the soul directly. It's like a Hollow's power... but at the same time, there's a resonance with the Hōgyoku."
Isshin stiffened, his grin disappearing.
"...The Hōgyoku?"
"Yeah," Urahara said lightly."The very same Hōgyoku... that I created."
Isshin's face twisted.
"You idiot—! Grit your teeth!"
"Wait wait wait—AHHHHH!!!"
A small brawl broke out noisily on the overpass.
"Did you hear something just now?"
Nanaya tilted his head, scarlet eyes scanning the horizon.
He thought he caught a distant shout.
But when he looked up at the overpass — there was nothing there.
"Must be my imagination," he muttered.
Ichigo sighed heavily, stomping forward with his schoolbag slung over one shoulder:
"I wasted a whole day with you and didn't even get to fight a single Hollow!"
"Sorry, sorry..."Nanaya laughed, scratching his head awkwardly.
Today alone, he had roasted seven or eight Menos Grande into ash with Amaterasu.
Naturally, there hadn't been anything left for Ichigo to fight.
"But..."Nanaya's eyes narrowed slightly.
Something still felt off.
He wasn't looking at the overpass anymore — but at the sky beyond it.
A perfectly clear, endless blue.
But somehow...
It felt too empty.
As if... something should be there, but wasn't.
Nanaya clearly saw it —A patch of black matter floating in the blue sky, distorting reality itself like a drop of ink in water.
His mind raced, but—
"Hey!"Ichigo's grumpy voice snapped him back to reality.
"How long are you planning to freeload off us!?"
"Huh?!"Rukia immediately clutched her chest with an exaggerated, tearful expression:
"Can you really cast out a helpless, homeless, poor girl onto the cold streets!?"
"H-Hisss—"Ichigo took a frightened step back, the weird melodramatic tone sending chills up his spine.
"W-What's with that creepy act!?"
"Ah..."Rukia dramatically raised her right arm to the heavens, her face full of tragic heroism:
"Is there no kind soul willing to shelter a lonely, abandoned Shinigami girl in this cruel world..."
Nanaya chuckled as he watched the two bicker.
He thought for a moment, then grinned wickedly and said:
"If there's a homeless Shinigami girl willing to become my fiancée, I wouldn't mind sharing my big house with her—"
Bang!
"OW—!"
Nanaya hunched over, rubbing the new lump growing on his head where Rukia's small fist had landed.
Far away, in a place darker than darkness itself —A world full of conical peaks twisted under a heavy, suffocating sky.
The air was thick with evil and emptiness, the stench of death and rot almost palpable.
Grotesque roars echoed endlessly, creating a chorus of horror.How many monsters lurked here, hidden among the peaks?No one could say.
In a small, crumbling corner of this nightmarish world—
A young human soul, still shackled with a soul chain on his chest, trembled uncontrollably.
Facing him were dozens of grotesque Menos Grande, their massive bodies towering over the broken ground.
And behind them all, emerging like a demon from the depths of hell—
A massive, lantern-fish-like Menos Grande.
It grinned wickedly, teeth jagged like shards of bone, and roared in a chilling, hypnotic voice:
"Wandering human soul... eat... take the soul of that man..."
The youth's legs gave out, and for a moment he could only sit there, frozen with terror.
Then —Driven by pure survival instinct — he scrambled to his feet and fled into the endless darkness, rolling and crawling like a desperate animal.
"Go!"
The lantern-fish Menos roared, its command shaking the very air.
In an instant, all the Menos Grandes surged forward, hungry howls tearing through the black mist.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"The youth's scream pierced the night, desperate and hopeless.
Back in the living world — at night — inside Kurosaki Clinic.
The room was dim, quiet.
Creaaak—
The closet door creaked open slowly from the inside.
Rukia Kuchiki, wearing cute pajama pants and an oversized T-shirt, yawned lazily as she crawled out.
Nanaya, half-reclining on the bed, blinked a few times in disbelief and asked:
"Rukia... why are you sleeping in my room?"
He wasn't shocked that she slept in the closet — after all, he had seen the anime.But the question was: why his closet!?
In the original story, shouldn't she be in Kurosaki Ichigo's room?Ichigo's closet was way bigger — it even looked relatively comfortable.
"Idiot!"Rukia snapped, hands on her hips.
"Does it really matter whose room it is?!"
She pointed at him menacingly:
"I'm just sleeping here, okay? If you dare try anything shady... I won't show mercy!"
Nanaya raised his hands in surrender, cold sweat dripping down the back of his neck.
He wasn't dumb enough to mess with Rukia —Especially not when she could easily break several ribs without even using her zanpakutō.
Still, as he watched her nonchalantly climb back into the closet and plop down, a small smile played on Nanaya's lips.
He couldn't help but think—
This life... was getting more chaotic, and much more dangerous.But it also felt... warmer.
Like this misfit family, pieced together by fate, was slowly becoming something real.