The first districts of Rukongai—whether east, west, south, or north—were all located close to Seireitei. Because of that, Renji Abarai and Fūjin Taichi reached Junrinan before long.
The homes there were simple and modest.
Most were single-story wooden houses with thatched roofs, looking very much like old countryside villages from the human world.
Yet the streets were clean.
Grass and trees surrounded the settlement, and small rivers and ponds were scattered everywhere.
Thanks to the abundance of natural resources, the residents lived comfortable, worry-free lives.
According to Renji, Momo Hinamori's family home stood on Nagatsuka Street West in Junrinan—a weathered wooden house where she had once lived with her parents.
About fifty years ago, both of them passed away.
Since then, the only family she had left was her childhood friend, Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
The two had grown up together—searching for food together, surviving together.
Until half a year ago.
One day while gathering food, Hinamori happened to stumble upon the spring recruitment event for Shin'ō Academy.
On impulse, she signed up.
And like thousands of other applicants that year, she passed the entrance exam, the spiritual power test, and the enrollment assessment—beginning her long journey toward becoming a Shinigami.
...
Back to the present.
When Renji and Taichi arrived at the wooden house, they found Hinamori lying on a tatami mat, carefully copying characters from a calligraphy manual with a brush.
"Hey! Hinamori!"
Renji spotted her from afar.
The moment he noticed whose calligraphy she was studying, an inexplicable irritation bubbled up inside him.
So his greeting came out sharper than intended.
"Ah! Abarai! Fūjin! You're here!"
Hinamori sprang to her feet in one fluid motion.
Then she grabbed the arm of a silver-haired boy who was munching on a slice of watermelon and introduced him with a bright smile.
"This is Tōshirō Hitsugaya! Just call him Tōshirō!"
"Heehee… though I usually call him Shiro-chan."
"Oh! And these two are Renji Abarai and Fūjin Taichi—they're my classmates!"
"Yeah, like I care about your classmates."
Hitsugaya shook her off irritably.
With a swift kick, he sent the calligraphy sheet flying off the tatami.
Then he sat down with his arms folded, muttering coldly under his breath.
"I prefer calling you Bed-Wetting Momo anyway."
"Shiro-chan! Stop sulking!"
Hinamori picked up the calligraphy sheet and set it aside neatly.
Then she turned toward the house and called out:
"Mizuki! Rukia! Come out and see who's here!"
"Taichi!"
From inside the house, Saitō Mizuki poked her head out, her cheeks faintly pink.
"Good afternoon!"
"Good afternoon, Saitō!"
Taichi smiled warmly.
Over the past three months, he had come to realize something:
Among all the students in Class (1), she was the only one who had always treated him kindly.
"Move it, Bed-Wetting Momo."
Hitsugaya casually kicked the calligraphy sheet aside again before Hinamori could finish arranging it.
Then, expressionless, he walked out of the yard.
"Ahaha… please don't mind him!" Hinamori scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Shiro-chan isn't usually like this. He's just… a little shy."
"Oh?"
Everyone exchanged knowing smiles—but no one called her out on the obvious excuse.
Instead, they quietly drifted off to their own corners of the yard.
"Fūjin!" Rukia Kuchiki suddenly stared at him as if she had discovered a new continent.
After a long moment, she clicked her tongue in admiration.
"Mizuki kept telling me earlier that you've changed a lot lately—said you've been getting more handsome."
"I didn't believe her at first."
"But now that I see you…"
"I believe it."
"Rukia! I never said—"
Mizuki jumped up like a Persian cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
Her face flushed bright red.
"Oh yes you did!"
Hinamori chimed in mischievously.
"In the dorms it's always 'Fūjin-kun this' and 'Taichi-kun that.' Honestly, you talk about him nonstop!"
That final jab was the last straw.
Mizuki covered her face and bolted away in embarrassment.
"Tch." Renji grumbled under his breath. "When exactly did you all go blind?"
"Fūjin, this guy—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Turning slowly, he looked Taichi up and down again.
After a long pause, he muttered:
"…Actually… now that I look closely…"
"…you have changed quite a bit."
"But just a few days ago, you didn't look like this at all…"
"What the hell happened?"
"Oh ho~"
Rukia and Hinamori covered their mouths, giggling.
"Maybe ugly men are just naturally jealous."
"Shut up! I'm not jealous!"
Renji snapped back.
"I'm just saying—a real man should be strong!"
"No matter how handsome you look, if you don't have strength, you're nothing but a decorative pillow!"
"Alright, alright, calm down." Rukia patted his arm reassuringly.
"Momo and I are going to start preparing dinner."
"You guys go play with Tōshirō for a while!"
"Right!"
Hinamori added cheerfully.
"Shiro-chan, take good care of our guests!"
"Maybe you'll even make some friends!"
She shot Rukia a knowing glance, and the two girls headed inside to prepare the meal.
"Tch." Hitsugaya stood in the corner of the yard, arms crossed, chomping loudly on his watermelon.
"I don't want to be friends with Shinigami anyway."
Crunch. Crunch.
"That brat…" Renji rolled up his sleeves angrily. "I should teach him a lesson!"
But Taichi had already sat down quietly on the tatami.
His gaze drifted toward the horizon.
The sun now hung high in the sky, spilling vast sheets of golden light across the streets of Junrinan.
Against that dazzling glow, two figures slowly approached from the entrance of the district.
Tatsuma Fujiwara and Izuru Kira walked side by side through the sunlight.
"Good afternoon, Taichi-kun."
Fujiwara greeted him with his usual smiling expression.
"I knew it."
"You're not the kind of wandering swordsman who can stand being alone forever."
"What are you talking about?" Taichi frowned slightly, clearly confused.
He glanced sideways at Renji, who was now locked in a silent staring contest with Hitsugaya.
Then he turned back.
"I understand why Kira came to visit—he's the model student in our class. Everyone likes him."
"But you, Tatsuma…"
"Why are you here?"
"I—"
Tatsuma Fujiwara had barely opened his mouth when Momo Hinamori suddenly poked half her body out from the house beside them, cheerfully waving toward the newcomers.
"Ah! Kira! Fujiwara! You made it!"
Then she turned to Fūjin Taichi and explained with a smile,
"I invited Izuru Kira. We've known each other for a long time! And Fujiwara is Mizuki's good friend!"
"Oh… I see."
Taichi glanced at Fujiwara again, surprise flickering in his eyes.
He really hadn't expected this guy to quietly form a connection with the young lady of the Saitō family—the prestigious clan that trained members for the Kidō Corps.
This guy… works fast.
"Hey, Taichi."
After Kira wandered off to chat with the others, Fujiwara sat down beside him with an easy smile.
For a moment, he simply stared at the brilliant sunset blazing across the horizon.
Then he asked softly,
"You've already forged your Zanpakutō, haven't you?"
"…What?!"
Taichi nearly jumped.
I only awakened it last night!
How the hell did this guy notice already?!
"Relax," Fujiwara said casually. "No need to look so shocked."
"I even know that your Zanpakutō…"
he smacked his lips thoughtfully,
"…shares the same attribute as Ryūjin Jakka, the blade of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto."
His gaze drifted toward the sword resting at Taichi's waist—Zanpakutō: Kyūjūkyū.
A strange glimmer flashed in his eyes.
"So I'm curious…"
He leaned back slightly.
"…whose power is stronger."
"Your sea of fire…"
"…or my glacier of ice?"
"What do you think?"
Taichi frowned.
The more he listened, the more unsettling Fujiwara became.
He had told no one about the power of his Zanpakutō.
Not a single soul.
So how could this guy know?
The thought looped endlessly in his mind.
The deeper he thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed.
And the more uneasy he felt.
Still…
When he calmed down and thought about it carefully, Fujiwara didn't seem to harbor any malicious intent.
If anything, the guy just wanted a fight.
A real one.
Taichi's thoughts raced.
Fujiwara's Zanpakutō is called Yukihime…
From what he'd heard, it was an ice-type blade.
Perfectly opposed to his own fire-type Zanpakutō, Kyūjūkyū.
Granted, the name Yukihime sounded far more like a legitimate Zanpakutō spirit.
Sounds pretty powerful…
But Taichi was certain of one thing—
The red-clad woman named Yone, who had taught him the Heavenly No-Mind One-Sword Style, was definitely no weakling either.
So if Fujiwara wanted to fight…
Then fight they would.
A fierce battle spirit surged in Taichi's chest.
He wanted to test himself against the man rumored to be the strongest of their class.
Yet the moment he considered the spiritual pressure such a battle might release—strong enough to attract the attention of powerful figures inside Seireitei—his reason finally prevailed.
Suppressing his excitement, Taichi asked quietly instead,
"Actually… I'm more curious about something else."
"How did you find out?"
"The Royal Seal."
Fujiwara lazily stretched out on the wooden floorboards.
Then he answered in a relaxed tone.
"That night, I used the Royal Seal to carve a space-time sigil onto your body."
"So any fluctuation in your spiritual pressure…"
"…can't escape my senses."
"…You son of a—"
Taichi suddenly remembered that night.
A crow.
A strange mark.
A sixteen-petaled black chrysanthemum stamped onto his chest.
Rage surged instantly.
"Tatsuma! That's a violation of my privacy!"
"I'm reporting you to Seireitei the moment I get back! I'll have those undercover royal agents chop your head off!"
"Pfft."
Fujiwara rolled over on the tatami without the slightest concern.
"Go ahead."
He brushed imaginary dust off his clothes.
"Just remember one thing, Taichi."
"From the moment I placed that sigil on you…"
"…you boarded my pirate ship."
"…."
Taichi fell silent.
He understood the implication perfectly.
If he exposed Fujiwara's identity, the royal agents would discover the Royal Seal mark on him as well.
And once that happened—
He'd be silenced too.
Dammit…
Even though Taichi was burning with anger, there was nothing he could do about it now.
With a frustrated sigh, he lay down beside Fujiwara on the tatami.
Then, almost whispering, he asked:
"I accept your challenge."
"When?"
"Tonight."
"Where?"
"Walk straight to the end of this street after leaving the yard," Fujiwara replied lazily.
"There's a small river there."
"Alright."
Taichi sat up again and glared at Fujiwara's back, grinding his teeth.
"Old grudges and new—I'll settle them all tonight."
"I'm going to beat the crap out of you."
"Likewise."
Fujiwara waved dismissively.
Then he suddenly remembered something and added,
"Oh, right."
"You don't need to worry about spiritual pressure attracting attention."
"I'll use the Royal Seal to shift space-time and open the battlefield somewhere else."
"So…"
"So?" Taichi raised an eyebrow.
He already knew what was coming.
"So unleash your power to your heart's content."
Fujiwara's gaze burned with intensity.
Word by word, he declared:
"No matter where that power comes from… I'll prove with my strength that—"
"Your little spark of a star…"
"…can only bow before my boundless glacier, Taichi."
"Tch."
Taichi tightened his grip on the hilt of Zanpakutō: Kyūjūkyū.
Flames seemed to burn deep within his eyes.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
"Even the smallest spark…"
"…can ignite a wildfire across the plains."
"Just wait and see, Tatsuma."
...
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin