"May Kamijou Touma bless me!"
"Clang, clang — open the door and attack!"
Early in the morning, Nanaya held her packed blanket, closed her eyes for a quick prayer, and then pushed open the closet door with a loud creak.
Inside the closet, Rukia Kuchiki, wearing yellow pajamas, glared at her with a dark expression and raised her fist.
"What are you doing!?" she snapped.
Bang!Nanaya quickly slammed the door shut again.
Touching her chin thoughtfully, Nanaya stared at the door and muttered to herself,"Did I pray to the wrong person? Maybe I should have prayed to Makoto-kun instead..."
———
Later, in the living room, Nanaya carried a tray with two portions of breakfast. She smiled at Yuzu and Karin and said,"Thanks, Yuzu, Karin. I'm going to eat in my room today."
As Nanaya disappeared into her room, Kurosaki Yuzu blinked in confusion."Huh? Doesn't Nanaya-kun usually have breakfast with us?"
"It's probably because of that dumb old man," Karin said, glancing at their dad, Kurosaki Isshin, who was lying on the floor after being kicked by Ichigo. "He's always playing stupid tricks in the morning even though he's already over 40."
"Because of me!?" Isshin pointed to himself, pretending to be hurt.
"Just eat," Ichigo said lazily, already used to the scene. He knew there was someone staying in Nanaya's room.
———
Meanwhile, in the bedroom—
"This food is delicious, thank you for the meal!" Rukia clasped her hands together politely.
Nanaya, busy cleaning up the dishes, glanced at her."Shouldn't you be thanking me instead?"
"Hmph! I'm not thanking an idiot!" Rukia huffed.
Nanaya was speechless.
———
After finishing breakfast, they left the house.While Nanaya and Rukia jumped out of the window, Ichigo calmly walked through the door, and they all headed to school together.
As they walked, Ichigo lazily swung his schoolbag over his shoulder and asked,"Hey, Kuchiki, you working today too?"
"Of course!" Rukia said seriously. "You're a Soul Reaper now. Whenever a Hollow shows up, you have to fight it."
"Agh, so annoying... Isn't it enough if Nanaya and Yoruichi handle it?"
Just as Nanaya was about to answer, his black eyes suddenly turned into blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan.
His gaze locked onto a girl up ahead.
A speeding truck was rushing straight toward her without slowing down.
Without thinking, Nanaya kicked off the ground hard and raced toward the girl like a wild horse.
"Mangekyō Sharingan!"
His spinning, hypnotic eyes locked onto the truck driver.
The driver's mind went blank, and his foot automatically slammed down on the brakes.
With a deafening screech, the truck screeched to a stop—only three centimeters away from Nanaya—leaving a long black skid mark on the road.
At that moment, Ichigo and Rukia caught up.
"Nanaya! What's going on!?" Ichigo shouted.
"If that truck had moved a little more forward..." Rukia gasped.
Nanaya interrupted her casually,"Then the truck would be totaled, that's all."
He wasn't kidding. His strength was monstrous. Even without the Sharingan, he could easily lift huge steel beams at construction sites.
Rukia twitched at the memory—Nanaya really wasn't normal.
———
"That was too dangerous! Why'd you jump out like that?" Rukia asked.
Nanaya stepped aside to reveal the girl who had fallen to the ground — it was Inoue Orihime, a well-known girl from their class with a curvy figure.
"Inoue!?" Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here!? That was way too dangerous!"
It turned out Inoue had fallen into the truck's blind spot. The driver hadn't even seen her.
Thank goodness the truck had braked in time...
Ichigo turned to thank the driver — but froze.
The truck driver sat stiffly in his seat, pale and motionless, like he'd seen a ghost.
"Nanaya, look! Why isn't this guy moving!?" Ichigo called out.
Nanaya glanced at the driver thoughtfully, then focused his Mangekyō Sharingan on him again.
After a few seconds, the driver snapped out of his trance, leaned out the window, and yelled,"Get out of the way, idiots! Can't you see the road!?"
Ichigo and Rukia blinked in surprise.
Wait... wasn't it you who braked by yourself just now!?
Nanaya didn't explain. He just shrugged and turned to help Orihime pick up her scattered belongings.
The truck revved loudly and drove away.
"Inoue-san, are you okay?" Nanaya asked, noticing a scratch on her leg. He pulled out a Band-Aid from his pocket. "Here, let's patch this up first."
"No, it's fine!"
Orihime jumped up quickly, waving her hands frantically."I'm really okay! Even though I got hurt, after seeing Nanaya-kun, I feel all better!"
"Am I some kind of healing potion to you!?" Nanaya muttered, rolling his eyes.
Ignoring her protests, he gently lifted her leg and placed the Band-Aid over the scratch.
"So, what happened? Why did you fall there in the first place?" Rukia asked, crossing her arms and eyeing Orihime carefully.
"Oh, I'm a new transfer student!" Orihime said, knocking her head with a goofy smile.
"I know that..." Rukia said, unimpressed. "But why did you suddenly collapse?"
"I don't know..." Orihime said honestly. "I just... couldn't stand up for some reason."
"Huh?" Rukia's eyes narrowed. She glanced down at the ground suspiciously.
Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock.
———
On Inoue Orihime's slender calf, there was a horrible black claw mark.
Nanaya noticed it too and frowned.
"I forgot about this..." he muttered.
It had been fifteen years since he traveled to this world. Although he still remembered the main storylines, he had long forgotten some of the smaller details.
Seeing the black claw mark suddenly brought back memories about Inoue Orihime's situation.
Nanaya looked silently toward the middle of the road, where he had earlier spotted a twisted, ghostly claw.
It must have been Orihime's brother.
When he snapped back to reality, he noticed Inoue Orihime getting ready to leave.
"It's fine," Orihime said with a cheerful smile. "This mark probably came from the truck hitting me earlier. No big deal!"
"Really...?" Ichigo said, looking worried. "Be careful, okay?"
"I will!" Orihime nodded. "Thank you, Nanaya-kun, Ichigo-kun, Kuchiki-san. I'll head home now..."
"Wait!" Nanaya called out to her.
"Your leg is hurt. Let me take you home."
———
At Inoue Orihime's house, they all took off their shoes at the door and stepped inside.
After they sat down in the living room, Orihime suddenly smacked her forehead, realizing something."Ah! I forgot to make tea for you guys!"
She rushed into the kitchen to boil water. Right away, there was a loud clatter — it sounded like she had knocked something over.
"Hey, Nanaya," Ichigo leaned over and whispered, "Orihime's just got a small scratch. Why are we even here?"
Even though Ichigo looked rough on the outside, he actually cared about things like missing school.
"Well..." Nanaya turned to Rukia. "Rukia, can you explain it?"
"Sure." Rukia nodded, then looked seriously at Nanaya."You saw it too, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," Nanaya confirmed.
Hearing his answer, Rukia's expression became heavy. She stopped beating around the bush and explained:
"That black mark is the sign of a Hollow. It means Orihime has been targeted by a Hollow. One could show up at any time to attack her."
"What?!" Ichigo shouted, completely shocked. He never thought a simple accident could be connected to a Hollow.
"Be quiet and listen," Rukia said sharply, then continued:
"Normally, Hollows don't leave claw marks. When they attack, they appear suddenly and just eat their victims right away."
"But if a Hollow leaves a mark, it means something different. It means the Hollow was just born — and it's someone connected to the victim..."
Rukia paused for a second before continuing, her voice softer now:
"Hollows are souls that have fallen into darkness. They're spirits that couldn't pass into Soul Society because their hearts were consumed by pain or regret..."
"In their emptiness, they desperately search for the souls of people they loved when they were alive..."
"They try to devour those souls — to fill the hole in their hearts."