Karakura First Senior High School.
The biggest school in Karakura Town, with thousands of students.
Inside the school building, Kurosaki Ichigo was bent over, panting hard. He put his hands on his knees and stared ahead in disbelief.
"Wait, Nanaya... how are you even faster than before?!"
"No, it's not just your speed," Ichigo continued, still out of breath."Your stamina's way better too!"
The distance from their house to school was about three kilometers — not too far, but not exactly close either. Normally, it would take about thirty minutes to walk.But Nanaya had sprinted all the way and made it in just five minutes.
Even professional athletes aren't that fast.
"It's just three kilometers, Ichigo. You run too slow," Nanaya said with a smile.
While teasing Ichigo, Nanaya was also thinking to himself.Before awakening the Sharingan, he could cover three kilometers in about nine minutes if he pushed himself.Today, it had only taken him five minutes. That was a big jump.
Looks like after awakening the Sharingan, his physical abilities had gotten a huge boost too.
Maybe it was the effect of Fullbring?
While Nanaya was deep in thought, someone waved excitedly from inside the classroom.It was Inoue Orihime, a girl with long orange hair and a... very noticeable figure.
"Nanaya! Good morning! I made something delicious again today!" she called out.
After saying goodbye to her friend Arisawa Tatsuki, she grabbed a lunchbox and ran straight toward Nanaya.
"Inoue, watch out, there's—"
Before Nanaya could finish his warning, Inoue stepped on a mop lying on the floor.
"Ahhh!"
She screamed as she lost her balance and tumbled forward.Nanaya rushed over to catch her, but—
Bang!
The two of them crashed onto the floor.
Nanaya didn't really feel any pain, but he looked up at the girl on top of him and said helplessly:
"Inoue, you're still as clumsy as ever."
The girl in front of him — Inoue Orihime — was not only his classmate but also part of the main group around Kurosaki Ichigo.
She was kind and thoughtful... but, honestly, she could be a bit of a scatterbrain.
A classic airhead.
"Hehe..." Inoue Orihime giggled awkwardly. Then, remembering something important, she quickly raised the lunchbox she was still holding.
"Nanaya-kun! I made a bento with bananas and yokan today! Want to try it?!"
Nanaya tapped her forehead lightly and said:
"Inoue... shouldn't you be getting off of me first?"
"Oh, right!" Inoue realized what had happened and quickly got up, her face red.
Nanaya shook his head and stood up too.Looking at the cheerful girl, he suddenly thought of Rukia Kuchiki from last night.
He couldn't help but compare the two.
He sighed to himself:
"Poor Rukia... She's been around for hundreds of years, but still hasn't grown at all. Life really isn't fair."
"Huh?"
Inoue looked at him, confused.
"Nanaya-kun, what did you just say?"
"Nothing," he said, smiling a little. "Just feeling sorry for a poor girl."
Inoue tilted her head, still confused, but eventually let it go.
When they got to the classroom, Keigo Asano waved at them excitedly.
"Hey! Nanaya! Ichigo! I heard a truck crashed into your house last night. Is that for real?!"
"Yeah, it's true," Ichigo replied casually.
Nanaya headed to his seat — by the window, in the back row, the classic "main character spot" — and tossed his schoolbag onto the desk.
"Hey, Ichigo, Nanaya, do you guys need help fixing anything?"The calm, deep voice belonged to Sado Yasutora, another classmate.
"No, it's fine. Everything's pretty much taken care of," Nanaya said with a smile.
Sado nodded quietly. He wasn't the talkative type — only speaking when necessary.
Just then, Orihime came running over, opening her lunchbox in front of Nanaya.
"Nanaya-kun, look! Look! This is the bento I made!"
Half of it was plain rice... the other half was a strange combo of fried bananas and yokan, giving off a mysterious smell.
"It looks... great. I'll try it later," Nanaya said, laughing.
Keigo peeked over Nanaya's shoulder and gasped:
"Are you serious!? Nanaya, you're really gonna eat that stuff!?"
"Of course. You gotta experience everything life throws at you," Nanaya replied easily.
Hearing that, Orihime beamed even brighter, feeling like she'd found a true kindred spirit.
Tatsuki Arisawa, who had been quietly watching from the side, yawned and said with deadpan eyes:
"Nanaya... are you eating Orihime's cooking because you like her or something?"
Suddenly, Orihime's cheeks turned bright red, and she quickly waved her hands.
"No, no, no! Nanaya-kun just likes my food! It's not like that at all!"
Tatsuki just rolled her eyes at her.
"You idiot."
No one would eat her crazy food every day unless they actually liked her.
Nanaya just chuckled. He placed the bento into his desk casually.He didn't have that kind of feeling for Inoue Orihime.
After all, she was meant to be Kurosaki Ichigo's girlfriend in the original story.And besides — there's an unspoken rule: Never mess with your friend's girl.
Back when Nanaya first transferred to this school, he had seen Orihime trying to offer her food to others, but everyone avoided it.
Seeing her sad face back then, he decided to accept it without thinking too much.
And somehow... it became a habit over the years.
Seeing things getting a little too quiet, Keigo quickly switched topics to gossip:
"Hey, did you guys hear? There's gonna be a transfer student joining our class today!"
The classroom instantly buzzed with excitement.
"For real? A transfer student at this time of year?"
"I hope it's a cute girl!"
"Yeah, and maybe she'll sit next to me!"
"I think I caught a glimpse of the new transfer student... She's really beautiful..."
The classroom instantly buzzed with excitement again.
And then —
A girl in a school uniform walked through the door.
Kurosaki Ichigo glanced over casually... and froze.His eyes widened to the limit, and he suddenly stood up, pointing straight at her:
"You— You're the one from last night!!"
Before he could say anything more, the girl stepped forward, smiling sweetly as she stretched out her hand.
"Ah, have we met before, classmate?" she said kindly.
Ichigo stiffened — because on her palm, hidden from everyone else's view, were a few chilling words:
[If you dare to tell anyone, I'll kill you.]
Cold sweat instantly poured down Kurosaki Ichigo's forehead.
He sat down stiffly, averting his gaze.He's been completely silenced.
Meanwhile, the girl — Kuchiki Rukia — turned and walked toward Nanaya.
She approached with a bright smile... but the moment she was close enough, her face twisted darkly.Clenching her teeth, she hissed under her breath:
"I'm so sorry that my body hasn't developed in hundreds of years, and that I can't compare to that classmate at all!"
Nanaya: "..."
He blinked, coughed awkwardly, and scratched the back of his head.
"Uh... Wait, you heard that?"
"I heard everything," Rukia said through gritted teeth."You slandered me right there in the hallway, you b*****d!"
"Huh?!"
Nanaya looked genuinely shocked and quickly tried to explain:"Classmate Kuchiki, I think 'slander' is the wrong word here—"
Facing her deadly glare, he wisely shut his mouth immediately.
"Hmph!"
Rukia turned away with a snort, but her gaze soon drifted over to Inoue Orihime, stealing a side glance at her... abundant assets.Then she looked down at her own—
Her own...
Rukia froze in silence.
Nanaya tried to comfort her:
"Come on, Kuchiki-san... Big chests have their own problems, you know."
"What problems exactly!?"
"Um... like... running must be tiring?"
"Shut up!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"..."
A little while later, the three of them sneaked up to the rooftop.
Ichigo was still freaking out, pointing at Rukia:
"Nanaya! She—she's that Shinigami from last night!"
Rukia snorted, crossing her arms:
"Don't call me 'Shinigami.' I have a name. Kuchiki Rukia. In class, you'll call me Kuchiki-san."
"Yes, Kuchiki-chan!" Nanaya replied immediately with a mischievous smile.
Rukia shot him a look that could kill.
This little pervert — she was seriously starting to hate him.
But she remembered why she was here and forced herself to calm down.Taking a deep breath, Rukia straightened up and said solemnly:
"Starting today... you two will be Shinigami!"