"That damned punk, how did his spiritual pressure spike again?"
On the roof of a house, a red-haired boy hefting an oversized bat glared after Tachibana Yu and Kurosaki Ichigo.
"Is that guy really human? Even Captain Kurosaki's kid isn't that outrageous, right?"
Beside the redhead stood a frail-looking girl with black hair, lugging a heavy Gatling gun. She timidly reminded him, "Um, Jinta, that boy you mean isn't Captain Kurosaki's son."
"Huh?"
Hanakari Jinta widened his eyes, pointing at Yu's back in disbelief.
"You're saying that jerk isn't Captain Kurosaki's son?"
Tsumugiya Ururu nodded and, pointing at Kurosaki Ichigo, whispered, "He is Captain Kurosaki's son."
Jinta went slack, staring blankly at the two figures. No matter how he looked, Yu's spiritual pressure burned far brighter, like blue flames, hundreds of times stronger than Ichigo's.
After several seconds he snapped out of it and glowered at Yu's back.
"Then who's that black-haired jerk?"
Ururu thought for a moment. "A passing gentleman?"
Jinta clenched his bat, teeth grinding. "I really want to beat him to a pulp."
He thought of his blood-and-tears routine these past years, always roused from sweet sleep by Urahara Kisuke to run emergency rescues. Some days he had to sprint out more than once, enough to mess up his hormones.
And now they told him the black-haired boy wasn't Captain Kurosaki's son, while the blond next to him was.
What a joke.
Since when did ordinary humans have that kind of spiritual pressure?
...
Karakura First High School, Class 1-3.
When Tachibana Yu and Kurosaki Ichigo walked into the classroom, they drew a flood of stares.
Arisawa Tatsuki blurted, "Yu, Ichigo, did you pick a fight with the mafia before school? Why are you such a mess?"
Yu and Ichigo traded a look and saw the same thing: dust and ripped holes all over each other.
Asano Keigo gaped. "Be honest, do you throw down with the mafia every morning on your way here?"
Kojima Mizuiro added, "You really are a wreck. Your clothes are scuffed all over, like you were just chased for your lives."
Ichigo's mouth twitched. He wanted to explain but no words came out.
Yu slouched into his seat and drawled, "Told you already, we beat up a few monsters on the way to school every day, just doing our part to keep Karakura safe."
"There he goes again with the monster theory..." Classmates shook their heads, helpless.
How could they believe there were monsters in Karakura Town?
Asano Keigo bounded over, excited. "Yu, Ichigo, tell me the truth. Did you kidnap a mafia boss's daughter? Is that why they won't give up chasing you?"
"Which mafia in Karakura would dare mess with us?"
Yu gave Keigo a speechless look. He had pushed his Strength past four thousand, the force of four hundred people.
He was still weaker than a Hollow, sure, but among humans he was a bona fide superman.
"Don't be so sure..." Keigo wagged a finger. "What if it isn't the mafia, but some politician's daughter, a high official's daughter..."
"Take your daughter nonsense somewhere else."
Yu shooed the gossip hound away.
Just then, the towering, dark-skinned Sado Yasutora walked over and rumbled, "Yu. Ichigo. Need help?"
Yu and Ichigo hurriedly shook their heads. If even they could not handle those things, bringing Sado along would be pointless, maybe even more dangerous.
Once they had waved everyone off, Yu and Ichigo started straightening their clothes.
Inoue Orihime watched, hesitated, then blushed and hurried over, handing Yu a neatly scented uniform.
"Yu-kun, this is the set you asked me to mend last time. I finished it, so you can change now."
Yu's eyes lit up and he grabbed the clothes at once. "Thanks, Inoue. If I go to class dressed like this, Ochi-sensei is definitely going to yell at me."
Ichigo shot the traitor a tragic look, then glanced curiously at Orihime. "Inoue, when did Yu ask you to mend that?"
Orihime's cheeks flared hotter. She lowered her head and murmured, "Last time, when Yu-kun came to my house to help..."
Yu cut in as he shrugged out of his shirt. "Inoue's household shrine was broken, so I went over and made a new one."
Ichigo nodded, understanding. He knew Orihime's late brother too.
Something occurred to Yu, and he asked Orihime, "By the way, Inoue, do you still offer daily prayers to your brother?"
Orihime nodded while sneaking flustered peeks at Yu's bare upper body. "I pray every day. Yu-kun, you said that since my brother loved me so much, he would surely stay nearby to protect me in silence. I can't let him feel so lonely."
Yu gave a small nod.
With Orihime's daily offerings, plus the warning he had given her brother, the man should not fall into Hollowhood like in the original timeline.
Once Ichigo, or Yu himself, became a Soul Reaper, they could send him on to the Soul Society.
"Hold on, Yu, what are you doing?"
Arisawa Tatsuki suddenly shouted.
Her face was scarlet as she stared at Yu. Seeing his bare chest, she reddened even more, rushed over, and tugged Orihime back.
"Yu, why are you changing clothes in the classroom? You're making Inoue shy."
Orihime was indeed shy, clutching Tatsuki's hand and insisting it was fine, while stealing more blushing glances at Yu's torso.
Yu-kun...
Such a nice body...
...
Soon, the final bell rang.
Walking home, Yu and Ichigo suddenly heard a monster's screech ripple through the air.
Cold sweat slid down Ichigo's temples. He jerked his head toward a distant cluster of high-rises and, sure enough, spotted a raging Hollow there.
Yu saw it too, but his attention was not on the Hollow. It was on the girl perched atop a utility pole.
"A shihakushō... Kuchiki Rukia."