"How could this happen!?"
Ichigo stared in disbelief.
"Wasn't Orihime's only family her brother, who died three years ago?"
"Three years ago?"
Rukia's face grew serious.
"Yeah," Ichigo nodded. After a short silence, he added, "Three years ago, there was a car accident. Orihime's brother died at the hospital... right here in Karakura Town."
He remembered it clearly — a little Orihime crying her heart out, hugging the body under the white sheet, begging:Brother, please don't die... Don't leave me alone.
Nanaya remembered that day too — it was right when he first arrived in Karakura Town.But that memory only flickered briefly in his mind.
Right now, his thoughts were elsewhere — focused on his eyes.
During the accident, he had instinctively used a new ability without realizing it — a hypnosis illusion from his Mangekyō Sharingan.
This illusion could force someone's actions by burning through Nanaya's eye power.That's why the truck driver suddenly slammed the brakes without even knowing why.
Nanaya wasn't really worried about the hypnosis ability though.What really mattered... was awakening the other powers hidden inside the Sharingan.
In the Naruto world, he thought, the Uchiha Clan had teachers and training after they awakened Sharingan. But here, I have no one.
No — even if I had a teacher, this Sharingan was created by the Hōgyoku. It's different.
Damn it... How can I unlock the other abilities? How can I evolve it into the Rinnegan?
Nanaya clenched his fists, frustrated.
The Sharingan had all kinds of strange abilities — but none of them could save Orihime's brother.
Only the Rinnegan, with its power to absorb energy, could give him a chance.Maybe Hungry Kidō, the technique that devours chakra in Naruto, could also absorb spirit energy here in the Bleach world.
But... Nanaya frowned.To evolve my powers, do I have to go to Hueco Mundo, like Sado Yasutora did?
No... I don't have the time. And even if I wanted to, I have no way of getting there right now.
—
While the room fell into a heavy silence, the front door suddenly creaked open.
Arisawa Tatsuki walked in.
"Eh? Ichigo? Nanaya? And... huh? Why are you all here at Orihime's place?" she asked, confused.
Rukia twitched her mouth awkwardly and said politely, "I'm Rukia Kuchiki. Nice to meet you."
Tatsuki wasn't embarrassed. She laughed and said, "I know who you are. I just didn't remember your name. Rukia-chan, right?"
"So, seriously — why are you guys here?"
"Uh... visiting!" Ichigo quickly made up an excuse.
Tatsuki clearly didn't believe it, dragging out her "Ehhh?" in doubt.But she shrugged and didn't press the issue, heading straight into the kitchen to help Orihime.
In the kitchen, Tatsuki asked casually, "Hey, Orihime, what's going on with them?"
"Well..." Orihime tapped her finger to her lips, thinking."I got a little hurt earlier. Even though everyone said it was fine, Nanaya-kun still insisted on walking me home."
"Ohh, I see," Tatsuki said, surprised.She glanced back at Nanaya, who sat deep in thought.
"I didn't expect that guy to be so reliable," she said with a smile.
Turning back to the clumsy Orihime, she grinned and offered, "Come on, let me help you with the tea."
—
"Nanaya, what do you think we should do now?"
Ichigo asked in a low voice.It was clear he didn't want to face the idea of having to fight Orihime's brother.
That was her only family left.
Nanaya looked up at him and said bluntly:"If you have time to worry about that, you better get ready to defend yourself."
"Why!?"
Nanaya rolled his eyes."Because you're the one he's angry at, genius!"
In the original story, after becoming a Hollow, Orihime's brother still kept a shred of humanity.He didn't attack Orihime immediately. Instead, he went after Ichigo first — maybe seeing Ichigo and Tatsuki as the ones who took his little sister away from him.
But just as Nanaya was thinking about that, he suddenly felt a jolt.
His scarlet Sharingan spun rapidly, and he whipped his head around —
Something's coming!
Out of the wall, a patch of darkness twisted and grew.
From the black void, a Hollow — Orihime's brother — burst out and swung a giant claw straight at Nanaya.
BOOM!!!
A massive claw mark gouged into the floor.
"If I hadn't dodged just now, I'd be a stain on the ground," Nanaya muttered.
He turned to the Menos Grande with his spinning scarlet eyes and said sarcastically:"Hey, Orihime's brother — I think you've got the wrong guy. I've never even met you before."
At those words, the Hollow, which had been strangely calm, suddenly snapped.
It let out a horrible roar, thrashing and smashing everything around.
"ROAR... ROAR... KILL YOU... KILL YOU..."
"...NANAYA... KILL YOU..."
Hearing it scream his name specifically, Ichigo and Rukia both turned to stare at him.
"Nanaya, did you ever mess with Orihime's brother!?"
"Nanaya, did you do something to Orihime!?"
"No!!" Nanaya protested, completely confused.
He had only seen Orihime's brother once — the day he was already dead, lying under a white sheet.
"What the heck! You trying to destroy the house!?"
Arisawa Tatsuki came running out, yelling.
"Careful!"
Nanaya, Ichigo, and Rukia shouted at the same time.
But it was too late — the Hollow locked its eyes on Tatsuki and charged at her with a terrifying roar.
"Ichigo!"
Rukia shouted urgently, pulling out her special glove and punching Ichigo's soul out of his body in one swift move.
In the same instant, Ichigo grabbed his Soul Slayer sword, instantly ready for battle.
Before Rukia could even say anything else, Nanaya had already locked eyes on the Hollow — Menos Grande — with his spinning Sharingan.
But then he hesitated.
No... if I attack now, he'll die instantly.
His Black Flame — Amaterasu — would ignite anything it touched, burning it until nothing was left.Even with Flame Control, he couldn't reverse the damage once it started.
While both he and Ichigo paused for a critical moment—
BOOM!
Menos Grande suddenly lashed out violently, smacking Arisawa Tatsuki and Inoue Orihime aside with one brutal swipe.
Bang! Bang!
Their bodies slammed hard against the walls and crumpled to the floor.
"Inoue! Tatsuki!"
Nanaya and Ichigo rushed to shield them instinctively.
But then — shockingly — they noticed something strange.
There were two Orihimes and two Tatsukis in the room.Two were unconscious on the ground... and two were awake, looking around dazed.
"What the hell...?"
Ichigo turned quickly toward Rukia for an answer.
Rukia glanced at them sharply and said grimly:"Their souls have been knocked out of their bodies."
Then she added, voice tight with urgency:"We need to return their souls immediately. If they stay separated too long... they'll die."
"I got it."
Nanaya nodded, preparing to push the souls back into their bodies—
But just then, a heart-wrenching sound echoed through the room.
"Orihime..."
Menos Grande — the Hollow — groaned in a low, broken voice.
"Can't you even recognize my voice?"
Orihime froze, staring up at the monstrous figure.
"Brother...?" she whispered, disbelief flooding her face."Brother, is that you...!?"
Tatsuki, still half-shocked, glanced between the Hollow and Orihime, confused.
"What's going on...? Is that really your brother!?" she asked.
She looked down and finally noticed the soul chain dangling from her chest, her face paling in realization.
But there was no time to explain.
Rukia tightened her grip on her sword, frowning deeply.She spoke quickly:"It's too dangerous. Inoue's brother has already become a Hollow. If we don't kill him now—"
Before she could finish, Nanaya raised his hand and interrupted:"Wait. Let him speak. We can handle it if things go wrong."
Nanaya's eyes stayed locked on the struggling Hollow.Just because he didn't want to kill Inoue's brother immediately didn't mean he couldn't.Even without his help, Ichigo alone could finish this Hollow if it came to that.
But deep inside, Nanaya remembered — in the original timeline, Orihime's brother still had fragments of his humanity.Maybe... just maybe... they could let him say his last words.
Rukia hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"...Fine."
But she immediately glared at Nanaya, who was still covering her mouth — and pinching her cheeks for good measure.
"Oi, what the hell are you doing!?" she growled, voice muffled."Covering my mouth is one thing — but why are you pinching my face!? Get your hand off me!"
Nanaya blinked innocently."...Habit?"
Rukia twitched, her face dark.I swear, when this is over, I'm kicking his ass.
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