"Really?!"
"Then you're way too careless."
"I understood how dangerous it was to play with fire when I was just a kid."
Standing in front of Urahara Kisuke, Qiye couldn't help but tease him, even though he knew how dangerous Urahara could be.
Urahara Kisuke's face darkened, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he glared at Qiye.
"This customer is just too much," he muttered.
(Seriously, who do you think set my hair on fire? Wasn't it that weird black flame of yours?)
Qiye laughed silently to himself but quickly stopped teasing Urahara. It wouldn't be smart to push him too far—he didn't want Urahara making trouble for him later.
Meanwhile, Rukia Kuchiki ignored their back-and-forth. After understanding the situation, she walked into the shop like nothing happened.
"Manager, I need some medicine and a few tools," she said.
As she spoke, Rukia paused, then turned her head to look at Qiye.
"Nana, do you want to come inside and take a look too?"
"No thanks," Qiye replied immediately.
Although he was a little curious about what was inside, he shook his head. He didn't fully understand why his Sharingan had awakened yet. It wasn't a good idea to get too involved with Urahara and the others right now.
After thinking for a second, Qiye pulled out a piece of paper, scribbled something down, and handed it to Rukia.
"This is my home phone number—Kurosaki Clinic. If anything happens or if you need help, call me. I'll do what I can."
With that, Qiye waved goodbye and jogged away.
Rukia watched the black-haired boy disappear into the night. She snorted lightly, but held the paper close, whispering under her breath:
"You stupid pervert... thanks."
"What was that, Miss Kuchiki? Did you say something?" Urahara asked, glancing at her.
"Nothing!" Rukia snapped back quickly.
"..." Urahara said nothing more.
—Late that night, at Kurosaki Clinic.
Qiye lay in bed, holding up a mirror and staring at his reflection.
The blood-red eyes with the spinning black pattern were staring back at him.
"So it really is the Mangekyō Sharingan," he muttered.
The black pinwheel spun slowly in the red background of his eyes, giving off a deep, mysterious feeling that made him feel like he could get lost in them.
With just a thought, the red eyes disappeared, and his normal black eyes returned.
With another thought, the blood-red Sharingan reappeared again.
"I can switch my eyes back and forth whenever I want?"
Seeing the change in the mirror, Qiye let out a breath of relief. The last thing he wanted was to walk around with glowing red eyes all the time.
"But why... did the Sharingan awaken?"
He put the mirror down and rested his chin in his hand, thinking deeply.
He had often daydreamed about what kind of powers he might awaken someday—maybe something like Orihime Inoue's Shun Shun Rikka or Sado Yasutora's mighty Left Arm of the Giant.
But not right now. It was too soon.
Rukia hadn't switched to her artificial body yet. That meant the Hōgyoku shouldn't have been placed inside her.
"Still... that warmth I felt earlier..."
After thinking it over carefully, Qiye became more sure—Rukia already had the Hōgyoku inside her.
"If that's true, then..."
"This isn't really a Sharingan."
"It's... Fullbring?"
He fell silent, lost in thought.
—The next morning.
"Wake up, Ichigo!"
A loud voice shook the walls of the Kurosaki house.
A giant foot, still in a black sock, came crashing down from above.
"AAAGH!!!"
Ichigo's scream echoed through the house.
Inside Ichigo's room, he was clutching his forehead, which now had a bump. With an angry, dark expression, he grabbed his father Kurosaki Isshin by the collar.
"You're insane, waking me up like this!"
Isshin, half-choking, still managed to raise a thumbs-up.
"Nice move, Ichigo. You've grown up well! There's nothing more I can teach you."
Suddenly, Ichigo remembered something important. He shook Isshin harder, looking panicked.
"Hey, you idiot old man! What happened to Nanaya last night? Are Yuzu and Karin okay?!"
"Huh?" Isshin looked confused. "You mean the little fire accident last night?"
He scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"I just burned myself a little while cooking. I didn't think you'd care so much, Ichigo. You're a good son."
Ichigo stared at Isshin's singed hair and said with a dark face:
"Who cares about you?! I'm asking about—"
"Everyone's fine," came a calm voice from the doorway.
Qiye strolled past, holding a glass of milk.
"If you've got time to argue, you should come eat. Yuzu and Karin already finished making breakfast."
"Qiye!" Ichigo shouted in surprise. "You're okay! Last night, I blacked out somehow—"
"Yeah, yeah," Qiye interrupted, waving him off.
He quickly explained everything that happened after Ichigo had lost consciousness.
Hearing that no one was hurt, Ichigo finally relaxed completely.
"Good... no one got hurt."
Qiye then looked at Isshin, smiling slyly.
"Uncle, funny thing... I also saw a really dumb uncle set himself on fire last night."
Isshin wiped the sweat from his forehead and laughed nervously.
"Hahaha, really?"
"..." No one said anything more.
—Later, in the living room, at the dining table.
"Hahaha..." Ichigo laughed freely. "A huge truck crashed into our house, and yet we're all okay."
Now that he had heard the full story from Qiye, his mood had improved a lot.
Kurosaki Yuzu came over with a tray of food and smiled warmly.
"It must have been Mom watching over us from heaven. That's why no one got hurt."
"Yeah," Karin agreed, looking at the broken wall sadly. "And somehow, no one even woke up during the whole thing."
"That's right... But, Yuzu, Natsuki, why did you pile all the food in front of Nanaya?!"
Kurosaki Ichigo frowned as he looked at the dining table.
A luxurious breakfast with ten dishes was laid out — but nine of them were sitting neatly in front of Nanaya.
In front of Ichigo, there was only a lonely little plate of pickles.
"Um..." Kurosaki Yuzu touched her lips with her finger, tilted her head, and said in confusion, "I don't know either. I just had this strong feeling that I should thank Brother Nanaya."
"I feel the same way..." Kurosaki Natsuki added, her cheeks turning slightly red. She looked shyly at Nanaya and said softly:
"Whenever I see Brother Nanaya's face now, my heart beats so fast. I feel embarrassed... like something happened."
Kurosaki Ichigo: "..."
"You little brat, Natsuki!!"
Ichigo suddenly rushed over to Nanaya, grabbing him by the collar and shouting:
"What did you do to my sister last night!?"
"Eh? I did something?"
Nanaya looked a little surprised at first, but then smiled and patted Yuzu and Natsuki's heads gently.
"It's only natural for little sisters to like their big brother, isn't it?"
He guessed that since Yuzu and Natsuki both had spiritual powers, the memory-erasing spray Rukia used hadn't completely wiped their memories. Some vague feelings must have remained.
Bang!
Bang!
Both Yuzu and Natsuki blushed even harder, lowering their heads shyly and whispering:
"I really like Brother Nanaya."
"Me too..."
Ichigo twitched as he pointed furiously at the two girls.
"Have they ever acted like this toward me?!"
The girls looked even more embarrassed. They glared at Ichigo and snapped:
"Big Brother Ichigo, what are you even saying?"
"We're not giving you any breakfast today. You can just eat your pickles!"
Kurosaki Ichigo: "..."
"..."
Soon after breakfast, Ichigo and Nanaya headed off to school.
On the way there, Ichigo kept glancing at Nanaya out of the corner of his eye, his face full of resentment.
Nanaya saw this, shrugged helplessly, and said:
"You can't blame me, you know. You're the one who made Yuzu and Natsuki mad, not me."
Hearing that made Ichigo even sadder.
"Yuzu... Natsuki..." he mumbled to himself, looking heartbroken.
But after a while, Ichigo pulled himself together. With a grin, he said:
"Well, whatever. It's all over now. I'll just think of last night like it was a dream."
Slinging his schoolbag onto his shoulder, Ichigo suddenly sped up, running ahead while laughing loudly:
"Nanaya, I'm gonna get to school earlier than you today!"
Nanaya followed behind him, laughing as he casually adjusted his bag.
"Over? You think it's that easy?"
With a few quick steps, Nanaya easily caught up and overtook Ichigo.
"You're way too slow, Ichigo!"