"Qiye, what happened to your head?"
In the classroom of Karakura First High School, Kurosaki Ichigo stared at the massive bump on Nanaya's forehead with disbelief.
It was huge. Practically a third eyebrow.
Nanaya's mouth twitched. "Nothing... Just had a little water in my brain."
Earlier, in a moment of sheer excitement when Rukia had been completely immobilized by his Bakudō, two little figures had appeared on his shoulders—one devil, one angel.
The devil grinned: "What are you waiting for? She's defenseless—go tickle her to death."
The angel nodded vigorously: "Yeah! What a rare opportunity!"
And so...
Yeah.
"That damn brat..."
At her desk, Rukia Kuchiki sat with a flushed face, glaring daggers at Nanaya.
She had taught him one Bakudō spell. Just one. And the first thing this ungrateful punk did with it was use it on her. This wasn't just betrayal—it was blasphemy against every teacher and textbook in the Soul Society.
Worse, she still couldn't figure out how to break free from the binding spell. She'd been pinned and tickled for ten full minutes.
Even now, her body twitched at the phantom sensation, and her glare toward Nanaya only intensified.
Nanaya approached sheepishly and coughed twice.
"Ahem… My dear Rukia-chan, you're a mature and elegant Shinigami… Surely, you wouldn't hold a little grudge and would still teach me Kidō… right?"
Rukia's face darkened. She wanted to sink her teeth into his smug little grin.
"Teach you again? I'd rather fight Hollows barehanded!"
She'd just suffered both emotional and physical trauma, and this brat had the audacity to ask for more lessons?
It had taken her over a month to master that Bakudō back at Shin'ō Academy—and this freak did it in under an hour!
Just looking at him made her want to explode.
"Alas…" Nanaya sighed dramatically, walking back to his desk like a scolded child. "I finally found a teacher, and I blew it..."
But as he sat down, the memory of Rukia rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably while begging for mercy, made him snort.
Hehehe. Not bad.
Rukia clenched her fists under the desk. This guy needs another lump on his head.
Later, at lunch—
On the rooftop, Rukia finally calmed down and cornered Nanaya.
"Hey," she whispered, "how did you get so good so fast? Be honest. Is there some trick to visualizing the Kidō trajectory?"
"Nope. No trick," Nanaya said, exasperated. "Just talent, I guess."
Rukia stared at him, stunned.
No way… It's not that I'm bad. He's just…inhuman.
"N-Nanaya-kun…"
A shy voice broke the silence. Inoue Orihime walked over, her cheeks glowing red as she clutched a carefully packed bento box.
"I… I made lunch for you again today…"
"Really!?" Nanaya perked up. "I thought you skipped me today! I didn't even buy food."
Orihime blushed harder. "I wanted to give it to you this morning, but I… I got shy…"
She'd made bento for Nanaya every day for a while now—but each time, it was like confessing her love.
"Nana," said Tatsuki Arisawa, arriving with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed, "Orihime spent five hours making that lunch for you."
Then she squinted at Nanaya, an odd scowl forming. "Also… for some reason, I really wanna punch you today."
Nanaya forced a dry laugh. Crap… probably because I erased her memory yesterday with a little extra force...
"We're sparring tonight," Tatsuki added coldly. "I won't feel better until I beat the smug off your face."
"Gulp…"
As they talked, the heavy clunk of footsteps echoed behind them.
Sado Yasutora, aka Chad, appeared at the rooftop door. He was holding a birdcage with a green parrot inside—and had OK stickers on his forehead and hands.
Keigo Asano gasped. "Sado! Are you injured!?"
The whole class turned.
In their eyes, Chad was like an iron wall—someone you couldn't imagine getting hurt.
Sado simply nodded. "I got hit by a truck this morning."
Everyone: "WHAT!?!"
There was a collective gasp on the rooftop.
Sado Yasutora, calm as ever, continued:"The truck driver was badly hurt. I helped pull him out and got him to the hospital."
The rooftop fell into silence again. Everyone looked at him, expressions mixed between awe and disbelief.
Kojima Mizuiro twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth. "Sado… your body really is incredible."
Nanaya couldn't help but smile. Even before awakening the Sharingan, his physical abilities surpassed most—perhaps even Ichigo's.
But Sado? Sado was built like a tank. A real-life iron fortress.
While chatting, Sado gently placed the birdcage he had been carrying down in front of the group. Inside was a white parrot.
The bird opened its beak and spoke clearly:
"Hello everyone. My name is Shibata Yuichi."
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Nanaya, Kurosaki Ichigo, and Rukia Kuchiki all froze. The expressions on their faces changed in an instant.
They turned sharply toward the parrot.
"Sado," Ichigo said, eyes narrowing, "where did you get that parrot?"
Even with his limited abilities as a new Shinigami, Ichigo could clearly sense it—spiritual pressure. Faint, but definitely there, emanating from the bird.
Sado answered simply: "Picked it up yesterday."
"Wait, wait, wait—what do you mean picked it up!?" Keigo Asano jumped in. "You skipped like a whole story there! Where exactly did you get it!?"
"I didn't omit anything."
"Nope! That's totally the kind of vague reply that skips the juicy part!"
"…"
While they squabbled, Rukia calmly sipped her drink, eyes half-lidded. "Relax. It's just a wandering spirit. Lonely, probably wants someone to talk to."
Her voice was even, but her perception as a former Shinigami surpassed Ichigo's. If she wasn't worried, it was probably fine.
Ichigo exhaled slowly in relief.
But then—
Nanaya frowned.
His black eyes shifted—and turned blood red.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
"No… it's not just a spirit," he muttered. "There are traces of Hollow energy."
The rooftop fell silent again.
Within the parrot's body, Nanaya could see it clearly—a human soul, a child's soul… stained by residual Hollow energy.
"What!?""Nanaya, what did you just say!?"
Both Rukia and Ichigo were stunned. They hadn't felt anything like that. Could Sado be involved with Hollows somehow?
Ignoring their shock, Nanaya slowly stood up, brushing off the dust from his pants. He turned toward the horizon.
The rooftop offered a wide view of the nearby neighborhood. With his enhanced vision, Nanaya scanned the area.
The Sharingan spun.
Then it stopped.
"There."
He pointed at a house not far from the school.
"I've found it."
"Found what!?""Nanaya, what are you talking about!?"
Rukia and Ichigo were getting flustered now, struggling to keep up.
Nanaya didn't answer. His eyes narrowed.
"Amaterasu.""Flame Control."
Black flames surged into existence, spewing forth from his eyes. Under his command, the flames condensed—into spears of pure, searing fire.
Shua shua shua!
The air cracked as the spears flew through the sky.
Shua!
A sickening squelch echoed in the distance as the black flame spear pierced flesh.
"ROAAAAARRRR!!!"
A monstrous howl erupted.
From the distant house, a towering, green-skinned Hollow—the size of a van—emerged, writhing in agony.
"HOW!? How could you see me from so far away!?" it roared. "Stop! Or I'll—kill that kid—!"
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The Hollow never finished its threat.
The flames, no longer contained by Nanaya's will, spread like a virus. Within seconds, the beast was swallowed by black fire—burned to ash.
The sky fell silent.
This Menos Grande—who, in the original timeline, had spanned two entire episodes and seriously wounded Rukia—had just been instantly erased from existence.
Rukia and Ichigo stood in stunned silence.
They hadn't even realized there was a threat nearby.
Nanaya's Mangekyō slowly faded, returning his eyes to black. He sat back down on the rooftop and opened his bento.
"It's over."
He grinned, grabbing a pair of chopsticks.
"Time to eat."
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