What… just happened!?
Kisaragi Akira froze, eyes wide.
Did that woman… see through Arisawa Sōma's special nature?
Wait—Did she also notice the hidden darkness buried deep in that guy's personality?
Was Sōma about to be thrown into some secret prison beneath the Academy?
And also—
Who on earth is this beautiful woman!?
Before Akira could process the panic swirling in his head, the elegant woman's gaze shifted.Her eyes turned from Sōma… to him.
"Although," she murmured, voice calm and lilting,"You seem… quite special yourself."
She placed one hand gracefully against her chest.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Shudara Chizuru, head of the Twelfth Division's Spiritual Research Bureau."
Her posture, her poise, even the turn of her wrist—every movement radiated an effortless nobility totally unbecoming of a stereotypical scientist.
Akira blinked, stunned.
The name tickled his memory.He couldn't recall the exact details anymore, but he distinctly remembered the face.Those features.That presence.
Wait—If you added an intricate golden hairpiece, draped a pure-white ceremonial coat across her shoulders, and maybe even decorated her with a few ornate skeletal ornaments—
It matches.
Exactly the same as his memory.
After staring at her for nearly a full minute, Akira frowned slightly.
Chizuru smiled.
"Young man, such a stare is quite impolite."
"Is my makeup… unsatisfactory today?"
Her tone carried the shape of reprimand, but not even a hint of genuine displeasure.
Akira lowered his hands and replied honestly:
"No, I was just thinking… I like this version of you better."
Without the elaborate gold ornaments from his memory, she looked more approachable.Relatively speaking, anyway.
If he recalled correctly, this elegant woman would soon ascend to a position reserved for spiritual elites—far beyond the status of an ordinary division head.
Even now, although she wasn't formally serving as captain, she certainly outranked most people walking the academy halls.
Chizuru let out a soft laugh.
"You speak quite charmingly, young man. It's a shame—I'll be leaving the Seireiden complex soon. If not, inviting you to the Twelfth Division might have been a delightful idea."
Flattery works on anyone, Akira thought.Especially sincere praise.Especially from someone who means no harm.
Chizuru extended a hand and picked up a rectangular silver device from a nearby metal counter.
"This is a Hollow Cluster Locator. It reads the spiritual-pressure circuits of any concealed Hollow clusters within our realm."
She held it out toward Akira.
"To use it, simply inject spiritual pressure while within the Hollow's activity range. It will automatically analyze and reveal their positions."
Then, with a sudden shift in mood as erratic as summer weather:
"That concludes our discussion."
Her expression cooled.One moment she was conversing pleasantly—and the next, she was ushering them out.
"Niegiri—escort our guests."
Before Akira could react, a voice grumbled from a side laboratory.
A tall man stomped out, his face painted in uneven white, a metallic eyepiece covering one eye, and strange yellow hollow cones encasing his ears. His slicked-back blue hair glistened under the lights.
His presence radiated irritation.
"For crying out loud—couldn't you just tell them to get lost yourself!?" he snapped. "Do you HAVE to interrupt my experiments for every little thing?"
Akira quietly studied him.
The hair. The attitude. The wild aura.He wasn't exactly the same as the "future version" in Akira's mind, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
He'd always assumed the famous scientist Urahara was the predecessor of this madman, but judging from this timeline…Niegiri Jōgen had been here long before the current captain ever took the position.
No wonder he despised Urahara.Being overshadowed by a junior would irritate anyone.
Niegiri stared at Akira, who still hadn't moved.The scientist's expression shifted to a strange blend of disgust and pity.
"Don't tell me you're stupid, kid."
Then he jabbed a thumb toward the door.
"Move. Both of you. How long are you planning to stand there? Get out—don't you dare interrupt my research again."
Under his relentless nagging, Akira and Sōma collected the Hollow Locator and finally left the facility.
On the road to Zenteiji
As they walked through the quiet outskirts, Akira glanced around to make sure no one was nearby.
Once the surroundings were clear, he leaned closer to Sōma and whispered:
"Sōma… do you think Shudara Chizuru figured out you're destined to rebel against the spiritual world one day and become some kind of world-ending villain? Is that why she said you're special?"
Sōma's expression didn't change.
He shot Akira a sideways look and replied calmly:
"She said the same thing about you."
Akira froze.
"…Does that mean you and I are destined for the same path?"
He immediately started hissing through his teeth.
Because…Judging from recent events—It wasn't an impossible scenario.
Was he also…Going to rise to the top of the world?
With such thoughts swirling in his head, Akira trudged anxiously down the road toward the outer districts, until at last they reached their mission destination.
Zenteiji
Some time had passed since the violent incident that once devastated this area.The residents had rebuilt their daily lives; shops bustled again, people came and went, laughter filled the streets.
Akira and Sōma's arrival drew little attention.
This district was close enough to the Academy that Shinigami-trainees—or spiritual arts students in this world—were not uncommon.
"The last confirmed sighting was near the outskirts," Sōma said.
"Once we pass the final row of houses, we should see it."
Akira raised the silver locator, channeled spiritual pressure into it, and watched as crimson grid lines lit up across the surface.
On the display:
one green dot representing himself
and two red dots representing the Hollows.
Akira grinned.
"Well, this thing's pretty useful. We already found them. Perfect—one each."
Sōma glanced at the device, then wordlessly continued westward.
For some reason, an uneasy feeling tugged at him.
As if…Something was about to happen.
A sense that his future had already slipped from his grasp.
It was a terrible feeling.
Outskirts — Before the Cave
A dark, yawning cavern sat ahead.
"This should be it," Sōma confirmed.He looked toward the shadows inside.
"Let's wrap this up quickly so we can go eat."
Akira cracked a grin.But he didn't charge in blindly.
Instead, he spread his fingers toward the cave mouth.
"Binding Art No. 21 — Crimson Smoke Escape."
A burst of scarlet smoke erupted from his palm, rushing violently into the darkness.
Electric arcs crackled and snaked within the haze, expanding wildly.
A single spark ignited—
BOOM!!
Flames roared through the tunnel like a storm unleashed, waves of pressure hammering through the rock, producing a deafening thunderclap.
Fire spiraled outward, bursting from the narrow mouth of the cave and scattering as molten droplets—a rain of blazing liquid light.
A spectacle of destruction.
Author's Notes (Translated and adapted)
Regarding Shudara Chizuru:In an old interview, the original author mentioned a pre-established, unofficial research group that existed before the current Technical Development Bureau.Chizuru was said to be its leader, with Niegiri Jōgen as her first member.This is official background, not my fabrication.
It's possible that after Chizuru ascended to the elite corps, Niegiri delved into forbidden research and was imprisoned before Urahara took over as captain.
As for Saezume Kiryo, she should be the current Twelfth Division captain at this point in the timeline.
The timeline in this world is intentionally vague; I try to fit the pieces where possible.Occasional inconsistencies exist only to support the story.Thank you for your understanding.