"Why does Captain Shiraha get more food and not have to do anything?"
Renji frowned, staring at Shiraha's bowl—overflowing, perfectly served by Tessai Tsukabishi. They were both staying under the same roof, yet the difference in treatment was painfully obvious.
"Ah, Mr. Rice," Urahara Kisuke chuckled behind his fan, "Shiraha is different. He's our most honored guest. You, on the other hand, are just… well, Mr. Rice."
"Yeah, Mr. White Rice," Jinta added with a teasing grin. "Mr. Shiraha paid the shopkeeper already. You didn't pay a thing. You're just eating air, freeloading Rice!"
Renji's eyebrow twitched. "Shiraha, you too?"
Shiraha smiled calmly. "Renji, there's no comparison between us. You're a freelancer. I paid my share. Naturally, our treatment will differ. I'm sure even you can understand that."
One verbal strike after another.
Each hit cut straight into Renji's already fragile heart.
His body trembled, and after setting his bowl on the table, he muttered, "I'm full," before storming out of the room.
"Pff—hahaha!" Jinta fell to the floor, laughing uncontrollably.
"Jinta, wasn't that a bit much?" Ururu asked softly.
"Abarai looks tough," Urahara said, still fanning himself. "But his heart's as soft as tofu."
Yoruichi sighed, her expression darkening. She leaned against Shiraha's chest, golden eyes narrowing. "That was cruel."
It had only been a harmless prank among friends, yet none of them expected Renji's heart to be that delicate.
"Mr. Shiraha," Tessai rumbled in concern, "will Abarai be all right?"
"Don't worry," Shiraha replied with his usual calm smile. "He'll sulk for a bit, then bounce back. It's just a bruise to his pride."
"Ah, Shiraha," Urahara said, turning his fan thoughtfully. "Yoruichi mentioned you went to Kurosaki's school as a teacher. Why the sudden interest in that job?"
"Mr. Shiraha, you're a teacher now?" Jinta asked curiously. "What do you even teach?"
Shiraha smiled faintly. "I was bored. That's all."
Yoruichi had clearly kept Shiraha's hypnotic ability secret. Urahara tilted his head but didn't press further. "I see. That explains it."
"Let's move on," Yoruichi interjected suddenly, her tone serious.
"What's the matter?" Urahara asked, fanning lightly.
"I've been sensing something strange lately," she said. "An aura that doesn't belong to humans, Shinigami, Hollows, or Quincy."
Urahara's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, I've felt it too. Chaotic, but not strong enough to cause a panic—at least not yet."
Shiraha's mind turned over the possibility. Soul Hunters? Or maybe the Bounts?
In the original timeline, the Soul Hunter incident had occurred shortly after Ichigo and his friends returned from the Soul Society—an explosion born from Seireitei's research into immortal souls. The Shinigami souls used in those experiments had given rise to aberrant beings who devoured other souls to sustain themselves.
When they consumed the dead, they gained immortality. When they consumed the living, they gained power that warped space itself.
"If it's just this level of disturbance, it won't cause chaos," Yoruichi murmured. "Still, the spirit particles in Karakura have grown more unstable these past few days."
Urahara closed his fan and nodded. "Indeed. The flow of reishi has become distorted."
Yoruichi's gaze softened as she looked up at Shiraha. "Before you left the Soul Society, nothing major happened, right?"
"No," Shiraha said calmly, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. "But Mr. Urahara likely has a countermeasure already… don't you? Perhaps you should call out your hidden guests."
Urahara froze for a second before laughing. "Ah, so you noticed. Your perception really is something special, Shiraha."
At his signal, the air rippled. A circular red portal shimmered open, and three figures stepped out.
The first was a petite girl with lavender hair and mischievous eyes. The second, a tall man wearing a red mask that covered his face. The third, a bearded man with a magician's hat.
"This little one is Lilin," Urahara said, gesturing toward the girl. "She can create illusions."
"Hello, Mr. Shiraha," Lilin greeted politely.
"This one is Zhiba," Urahara continued, motioning to the masked man. "He manipulates space—his ability is somewhat similar to yours."
"Mr. Shiraha," Zhiba said respectfully.
"And lastly, this is Claude," Urahara gestured toward the man with the hat. "He can copy the appearance of others."
Claude tipped his hat. "A pleasure, Mr. Shiraha."
Shiraha nodded slightly. "Likewise."
He could immediately tell—they were modified souls. Not ordinary at all. These three were the same Mod-Souls who had once assisted Ichigo and the others in the original sequence of events. Their combat strength was modest, but their unique abilities made them invaluable in specific operations.
After all, they were never created for fighting.
"Urahara," Yoruichi said, folding her arms, "when did you even make these three? I didn't sense any of their Reiatsu until now."
"Ah, Yoruichi-chan," Urahara said with a grin, "Zhiba and the others were completed only yesterday. It took me a day to rebuild them properly."
Lilin beamed proudly, while the other two stood silently behind her.
Among them, Lilin was originally crafted during Urahara's time in the Technology Development Bureau. Zhiba and Claude, however, were new creations—freshly made souls with enhanced properties.
Transformed souls—artificial beings born from experimentation with spirit essence, granted unique abilities that transcended human and Shinigami boundaries.
Shiraha regarded them silently. Another set of anomalies in this fragile world. Another spark in the storm gathering over Karakura Town.
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