FLASH!
A searing light ripped through the black, stabbing his mind like a needle.
The light grew so bright it felt like it was peeling his soul apart. Then came the pain — sharp, brutal, instant. And just as quickly, it was gone. He saw nothing but a flash of red — blood — before the world went black again.
But this time, when he opened his eyes, he wasn't floating in some cozy afterlife.
He was standing.
Over a corpse.
A small corpse.
A child's corpse.
His eyes scanned the scene as he took in the broken body on the pavement — red hair, torn clothes, blood still pooling under the head.
"Is this the kid he was talking about?"
The answer came when he caught his reflection in the shop window.
A crimson-haired boy with golden eyes stared back at him. Maybe seven or eight years old, barely one-thirty tall, covered in dirt and blood.
The crowd gathering around the body didn't even look at him. Not a single head turned his way.
"…Right. Of course. They can't see me."
He crouched by the body — his body — and stared in silence as police started roping off the scene.
He looked down at the corpse. The torn clothes.
The mangled limbs.
The loaf of bread lying in the gutter.
The bakery a few steps away.
"…You've got to be kidding me. The kid died stealing bread? What is this, some Dickensian tragedy? Yeah, guess that explains why he's dead in the middle of the road. Truck probably turned him into street art."
But then something else stirred inside him — not just his own memories, but the boy's.
"Chigetsu Kei. That's this kid's name."
His smirk faded.
"Great. So now im Akagiri Kurotsuki and Chigetsu Kei But what the hell am I supposed to do as a dead kid's ghost? Just… haunt bakeries?"
A thunderous roar shattered the street.
Kurotsuki's head whipped toward the sound just as the corner building collapsed.
Something stepped out of the dust — towering, monstrous, with a gaping hole in its chest and a bone-white mask covering its face.
"Just my luck."
A towering beast lumbered into view, a gaping hole in its chest, its face hidden behind a bone-white mask.
The creature let out another roar and charged straight at him, ignoring the screaming civilians around it.
Kurotsuki did the only thing that made sense—he ran.
Or at least, he tried to.
CLINK!
A chain yanked him backward, slamming him to the ground.
"What the—?!" His eyes widened as he saw the chain extending from his chest, connected to the corpse behind him.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
The monster's massive shadow loomed over him, its claw raised—
And then black-clad figures appeared in a flash.
Swords glinted. The battle was fast and violent, but within minutes the monster dissolved into nothing.
Kurotsuki just sat there, it felt surreal seeing it happen in front of him and not through a screen.
Black robes. Zanpakuto.
He then turned his gaze to his chain connecting his chest and the dead body.
His chain rattled as the Soul Reaper approached. "We got here just in time. Another few seconds and the Hollow would've devoured you."
The man crouched, hand on his Zanpakuto. "Don't be afraid, kid. I'll send you to Soul Society now. It's safer there. I'm sorry you died such a horrible death."
"Is it a good place?" Kurotsuki asked cautiously, his golden eyes wide, shimmering with unshed tears.
His body shook, his lip quivering. To anyone watching, he was just a helpless child staring at his savior—but inside he wanted to let the Soul Reaper's guard down.
"Don't cry, kid. Seeing you like this… I swear to you on my life as a Soul Reaper," the man said, his voice softening as he offered a small, reassuring smile. "It's a place where you'll be safe… at least for now. As long as you cooperate, nothing will harm you."
"…Th-thank you, mister… I thought I was gonna die again…" Kurotsuki's voice cracked on cue.
The Soul Reaper's gaze softened.
Phew…
Behind the mask of innocence, his thoughts cut cold and clean: So, it's real. Soul Reapers, Hollows, Soul Society. Then the rules of the game are clear: power is visible, but information is invisible. And the invisible blade kills deepest.
Thank God he kept his composure. If he hadn't acted like a frightened child, they would have suspected him.
Showing calmness now would've been dangerous… deadly, even.
He lowered his gaze, hiding the small smile that threatened to show. Let them see only a frightened child.
The Zanpakuto tapped his forehead, and blue light swallowed him whole.
Darkness returned.
But in that darkness, his grin widened. Another world… His priority is survival. Information is my greatest weapon, but it must be used wisely.
This world isn't predictable, and its people can't be treated with the same logic as ordinary humans. Without strength, information is useless. And with strength alone, he'll be blind without information. Both must grow together.
He will not be prey here… he will be the predator.