"Meow!!!"
Inside Urahara Shop—
The black cat perched on the shelf bristled, trembling with rage as it sensed that overwhelming reiatsu.
"Meow, meow, meow!!! Meow, meow!!!"
"Eh?"
Tessai, who was moving boxes, froze in place.
"This reiatsu… feels familiar." Kisuke narrowed his eyes, trying to recall where he had felt it before.
Meanwhile, Cole smirked, eager to test his new abilities—this time, Reiatsu Burst.
With a faint boom that no one else noticed, his raging spiritual power erupted at once, flaring like blue fire in the classroom.
Though unseen, everyone felt the crushing weight pressing down on them.
Orihime clutched her chest. "Ugh… my chest feels tight…"
Tatsuki shot her a look. "That's just because yours is too big. But why do I feel like I can't breathe either…?"
Keigo groaned. "Ugh, my head… feels so heavy…"
Only Ichigo could actually see it—Cole's body wreathed in violent blue flames of reiatsu, like a bonfire raging in the middle of class.
Cole silenced him with a gesture, then reined it in. Next, he tried Soul Control.
At a thought, his spirit separated cleanly from his body, shifting into shihakusho form with zanpakuto at his side.
Turning, he saw his physical body slumped unconscious over the desk.
"My soul just left my body that easily!?"
His pulse quickened with excitement.
In the original story, Ichigo had struggled endlessly just to achieve soul separation. Yet for him, it was effortless.
He even reached for his chest, eager to draw out his eighty-meter zanpakuto—
"Cough, cough, cough!!!"
Ichigo hacked violently.
Cole frowned. "You dying or something?"
Ichigo nearly exploded—he was trying to stop this idiot from splitting the whole building in half with his sword!
Interrupted, Cole dropped the idea of unsheathing it, and instead began absorbing ambient reiryoku.
The results were immediate—far faster than before.
As a human, he had only managed about 200 points a day. But in Shinigami form, he felt he could easily reach 300.
Just then, the classroom door slid open.
A black-haired girl stepped in, graceful and polite, greeting everyone with a gentle smile.
"Hello…"
"I'm the new transfer student…"
Her eyes suddenly widened.
There by the window sat a Shinigami boy, casually perched with a smile.
Cole waved. "Yo, Rukia! Morning!"
"…Morning my ass!"
Rukia nearly tripped as she rushed over, grabbing his shihakusho. "This is shihakusho—but how!? You're human! How did your soul leave your body on its own—"
"Cough, cough!!!"
Ichigo deliberately coughed louder and louder.
"What!?" Rukia snapped at him.
He pointed nervously at their gawking classmates.
Her face turned scarlet.
Cole was invisible to them, but she wasn't—meaning, to everyone else, she looked like she was having a complete breakdown, yelling at thin air.
Her stomach twisted in shame. Centuries alive, yet she'd forgotten something this basic.
"Rukia—"
"Shut up!"
She scribbled a note in her palm and shoved it at Cole.
(Come quietly or I'll kill you!)
"…."
Tatsuki frowned at their retreating figures. "Wait… isn't today supposed to be her first day in Karakura? Why does it feel like she already knows those two?"
Keigo's eyes lit up. "Maybe Cole dumped her before, and she transferred here just to confront him!"
"No way." Orihime blushed, quickly cutting in. "Cole-kun isn't that type of person."
"Why not?" Keigo asked, baffled.
Orihime lowered her head, her voice soft. "Because Cole-kun is kind… and gentle. He would never abandon anyone."
Her mind drifted back to her brother's death. She had been helpless, crying in the rain—until Cole appeared, working tirelessly all night to help her.
He'd caught a fever afterward, bedridden for days.
And over the years, he had often come to help her, calling it "taking care of a cute maiden."
Her face reddened deeper.
Keigo sulked away in defeat.
Tatsuki narrowed her eyes. "Orihime, don't tell me you've fallen for that shameless playboy."
Orihime looked at her blankly. Tatsuki's cheeks flushed.
She remembered her own past.
When no one wanted to spar with her because her strikes were too strong, leaving partners injured—Cole had grinned and said:
"Tatsuki, I'll train with you."
From then on, he had been her constant partner. Yet during training, he often ruffled her hair, pinched her cheeks…
Her blush deepened.
"Orihime, listen to me!" Tatsuki stammered, fists clenched. "Cole is trouble. He flirts with every pretty girl he sees. Stay away from him!"
Orihime tilted her head, staring in surprise.
Her thoughts slipped out in a whisper. "…Wait. Tatsuki… do you like Cole-kun too?"
BANG!
Tatsuki's face turned bright red. She flailed her hands.
"O-of course not! I'd never like that womanizing playboy! He only goes after those… those big-breasted types!"
"..."
......…
......…
(End of Chapter)
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