Chapter 7: Bohahaha
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Chapter 7: Bohahaha
***Author Note***
You can still read a week ahead on my *******: https //www pat reon com/Maerry
Also, please join me on my Discord: https://discord.gg/hSQQ9Ydthh
***End of Author Note***
Another day passed, and Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were yet again lazying around the classroom, waiting for the class to begin.
"Morning, you three. Have two of you become Samurai or something like that?"
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle in amusement when he heard Tatsuki's question; after all, he could fully understand why she would think that, as Yuna and Hinata were both carrying a long object covered in cloth.
"Well, don't worry about it; those are for protection."
"Protection? Against what? And why aren't you carrying one with you then?"
"Against those masked monsters. Ever seen one? As for why I'm not carrying one with me as well: I'm not good with the sword."
"Masked monsters? What are you talking about? Wait! These really are swords!?"
Although Tatsuki wondered why Naruto suddenly started talking about monsters, she was even more surprised by Yuna and Hinata bringing swords to school. She was pretty sure that was forbidden.
Seeing Tatsuki's bewildered face, Yuna chuckled in amusement before removing the fabric covering what she was holding, revealing a wooden sword.
"Obviously, it's not a real one but a wooden one."
Tatsuki couldn't help but blush a little when she saw that it was just a wooden sword. She wondered why she would even think that Yuna and Hinata would carry around real swords.
As for the real reason why those two had a sword with them now, it was so they could hide their abilities better. Yuna felt like whoever was sending Hollows after Ichigo would continue making trouble, and she didn't want to reveal too much in front of the unknown puppetmaster. Especially not as long as she didn't know who it was. That was just asking for death.
Suddenly, Ichigo appeared in the window frame, seemingly having jumped there from the ground floor, which is quite the feat considering they were currently on the third floor.
"This is class 1- 3, right?"
Yuna's eyebrows rose when she heard that question as she gave Ichigo a closer look with squinted eyes.
'This isn't Ichigo.'
[He looks like him through.]
'Yeah, it's the same body but a different soul. I would probably have a more severe reaction if I hadn't seen Rukia pulling off the reverse of this. I assume Ichigo doesn't want to leave a motionless body behind every time he goes Hollow-hunting, so he got his hands on an artificial soul.'
"How did you get there? This is the third floor."
While Yuna and Kurama were talking, Tatsuki couldn't help but ask Ichigo how he got here, causing him to smile.
"How? Didn't you see it? I jumped. Pretty amazing, right? Are you surprised?"
He became even more excited when everyone started talking about him, and as he was basking in the attention, his gaze wandered over the people in the classroom. Or, more precisely, the women. Moments later, he found his target, and his eyes started shining as he quickly moved toward it.
"Pleased to meet you, pretty lady. Could you please tell me your name?"
As he said that, he slowly lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.
Yuna, whose hand was just kissed, couldn't help but look at Ichigo blankly as another commotion broke out in the classroom.
'What the hell? Isn't this thing supposed to help Ichigo keep his Shinigami activities hidden? Why is this guy acting so rampant?'
[Seems like someone messed something up.]
'Damn, someone is causing chaos, and it isn't me. I'm not happy about this.'
Despite her slight bewilderment due to the artificial soul's behavior, a leisurely smile appeared on her face as she answered his question.
"The name's Yuna Uzumaki. What is yours? Or do you prefer using your body's original name?"
At first, Ichigo was happy that Yuna gave him her name, but as she continued talking, his face paled visibly, and a trace of panic flashed through his eyes.
'She knows I'm not Ichigo! Shit, why did I need to show off? Is she a Shinigami as well? Considering I jumped up here, she might conclude that I'm not an artificial soul but a Mod-Soul with enhanced leg strength. If she finds out, won't I get destroyed!? No! I need to run!'
He was just about to turn around and run when a hand landed on his head and grabbed it in a vice-like grip.
"Owowow, what the hell!? Is a gorilla holding me!?"
"Hee~ To think you would call a small, fragile maiden like me a gorilla. How rude."
A shiver went through Ichigo's spine when he heard a woman's ice-cold emotionless voice speaking to him. Meanwhile, the other people in the classroom could only look at the scene in front of them in absolute bewilderment. The always calm and gentle Hinata was currently lifting Ichigo in the air with a single hand.
"What the hell? Where does that strength come from?"
"Crazy, has she always been that strong?"
"Forget about the strength; look at that ice-cold facial expression."
Before the other student could comment any further, Hinata moved her hand and casually tossed Ichigo out of the window where he had entered from, shocking almost everyone.
"H-Hinata, won't he die from this?"
Hearing Tatsuki's question, Hinata simply shook her head in denial. The usual Ichigo would probably get some damage from this, but this wasn't the normal Ichigo.
"No need to worry about that, Tatsuki. If he can jump up here, then he should also be able to jump down."
"Err... are you sure?"
Hinata held her chin, seemingly thinking about how to answer Tatsuki before a small smile appeared on her face.
"Yup, around 60%."
"60%!?"
Seeing the shock in Tatsuki's eyes, Hinata couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as Naruto rolled her eyes.
"Don't get tricked, Tatsuki. Hinata is just messing with you."
Seeing Hinata chuckling and Naruto adding an explanation, Tatsuki's face deadpanned as she looked at Hinata.
"I thought Yuna and Naruto were the ones who like messing with people."
"Well, that doesn't mean that I can't do it, does it?"
Tatsuki could only shake her head as her gaze landed on the window Ichigo was just tossed out of.
"Seriously, though, what was going on with Ichigo? I have never seen him act like that."
Naruto shook his head when he heard Tatsuki's words. He could easily throw Ichigo under the bus but decided not to do so. It was simply too easy, so where was the fun in that?
"That wasn't Ichigo. It's a little strange, but I can guarantee you that that wasn't Ichigo." L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.
Everyone looked at Naruto in bewilderment when he claimed that the person who looked exactly like Ichigo wasn't actually him. However, considering how differently he acted, they could somehow acknowledge Naruto's words.
"And I assume you know about his situation?"
"Yup, but that is his secret to tell and not mine."
Although Tatsuki frowned when she heard that, she could only nod her head in acceptance. She was not someone to forcefully pry other people's secrets. However, she had to admit that she was curious. Additionally, she couldn't help but be annoyed that Ichigo told Naruto his secret but kept it from her.
As if he could read her thoughts, Naruto poked his finger into the side, making her flinch as he leisurely resumed speaking.
"Don't worry your cute little head about it. We found out about this by ourselves."
"Oh, so it's like... W-Wait! C-CUTE!?"
Naruto chuckled in amusement when Tatsuki started glaring at him while blushing. Seeing her glaring at him, Naruto couldn't help himself and gave her a wink, resulting in her blushing and glaring even harder.
"Well, my bother's flirting aside, I wonder..."
*BANG*
Before Yuna could finish speaking, the door was violently opened, revealing an out-of-breath Rukia, who quickly scanned the room before silently cursing to herself.
"Has anyone seen Ichigo!?"
"Yeah, I tossed him out of the window a few minutes ago."
Rukia nodded her head when she heard Hinata's words and was just about to continue running when she froze in place due to finally registering what she had just been told.
"Y-You tossed him out of the window?"
"Yeah, he tried flirting with Yuna, so I had to interfere."
Rukia couldn't help but facepalm when she heard that the Mod-Soul started flirting with Yuna. Was there any more obvious way to blow one's cover than a man flirting with a woman that he knew was a lesbian?
"*Sigh* I have no time to deal with this now."
As she said that, she jumped out of the same window, causing everyone's eyes to widen. Ichigo jumping... well, being thrown out of the window was one thing, but Rukia jumping out was a different matter. Everyone gathered at the windows, hoping not to see Rukia's motionless body lying on the ground, but to everyone's surprise, Rukia landed safely and immediately resumed running.
Tatsuki was probably the most surprised due to Ichigo actually waiting for Rukia on the ground. However, he somehow managed to change his clothes and was now wearing a black robe while carrying a massive sword.
She was just about to exclaim in surprise when she noticed Yuna making a shushing motion. At first, she was confused about why she shouldn't talk about Ichigo, but she quickly realized that no one else seemed to have noticed him.
'What is going on? Why can't the other see Ichigo? This must have something to do with the secret Naruto doesn't want to tell me.'
Meanwhile, there was a single person in the room who wasn't paying the slightest attention to anything that was happening and was instead staring at Hinata in a daze. That person was Chizuru, who still couldn't get over how her view of Hinata had changed.
Initially, she thought of her as a kind young woman that was occasionally dragged into perverted acts by her girlfriend, but that changed a lot after she visited the trio's home. The matter of three underage people living in the same home with no guardian in sight aside, Hinata had quite the surprising side to her.
While talking about how to pleasure another woman, Yuna had shamelessly requested Hinata to step forward for a live demonstration. Chizuru expected Hinata to simply roll her eyes at Yuna's request, but she surprisingly agreed after only a few seconds of hesitation. That was already, but it got even weirder when Hinata had basically no trouble holding eye contact with Chizuru while Yuna was playing with her body. Frankly, Chizuru had never felt this turned on.
Anyway, on that day, Hinata's image changed to that of a perverted exhibitionist. Now, however, the image had changed yet again. That cold voice and eyes Hinata used to look at Ichigo sent shivers through Chizuru's spine. Although Hinata was still a perverted exhibitionist in her eyes, she was also a very dangerous person one should rather not cross.
A few days passed, and inside Soul Society, Aizen was yet again watching a monitor with a calm smile on his face. The monitor showed a young man with orange hair fighting a large furred creature wearing a white mask that had a long appendage on its head.
This was the Hollow that was supposed to kill Ichigo's mother years ago. Although Aizen wanted Ichigo to fight this Hollow with the thought in mind that it killed his mother, Aizen decided not to bother with that. Instead, he had it wound Ichigo's two little sisters, which served as an excellent substitute to make this fight personal.
The Hollow, Grand Fisher, was actually quite powerful compared to other Hollows, as it had already killed multiple Shinigami and had been hunted by Soul Society for quite a long time, so Ichigo was actually on the verge of losing this fight.
Despite that, Aizen wasn't worried that all his preparations surrounding Ichigo would have been for nothing due to him dying. He knew that there was a lot of potential in Ichigo and that he was using far from what he should have been capable of. Hell, he wasn't even utilizing his Spiritual Power properly. That alone would enable him to slay the Hollow in front of him easily.
Another minute of fighting later, a heavily wounded Ichigo finally managed to land a near-fatal blow on Grand Fisher, but unfortunately, that blow wasn't enough to actually kill it, allowing Grand Fisher to retreat.
Seeing that Ichigo had more or less won while further unlocking his potential, Aizen couldn't help but smile.
"Just as planned."
Aizen couldn't care less whether Grand Fisher died or not, as his only goal was strengthening Ichigo and unlocking his potential, something a fight to the death certainly did.
"Let's see. Should I send people to retrieve Rukia, or should I wait a little longer?"
Aizen calmly stroked his chin as he pondered his next step, and after a few seconds, he nodded his head at the conclusion he came to.
Tatsuki was a fighter, so that was the first thought that popped up in her mind. If she was prone to getting attacked by a Hollow, she wanted to know if there was any point in fighting back. Hearing Tatsuki's question, Naruto could only smile wryly.
"Yes, a normal human can fight back, but it won't be easy. Let's put it like that, are you confident in defeating a bear by yourself?"
Hearing Naruto's question, a deep frown appeared on Tatsuki's face.
'Defeating a bear? I only know how to fight bare-handed; how am I supposed to kill a bear without a weapon.'
Coming to that conclusion, Tatsuki clenched her fist in anger. However, before she could issue any regrets, Naruto chuckled in amusement, drawing her attention.
"Well, no need to worry. There are certainly other methods to fight against a Hollow. I'll say this frankly, traditional martial arts won't bring you far against a Hollow, but if you want, I can teach you a few tricks."
Tatsuki's eyes shone with enthusiasm when she heard that there was a way. She hated being helpless, so Naruto providing her with a way to fight back was a back deal for her.
"Please teach me what I can do. I'll do whatever you want!"
Hearing Tatsuki's words, perverted laughter escaped Naruto's mouth, causing Tatsuki to reel back.
"Hehehe, everything?"
A shudder went through Tatsuki's spine as Naruto looked at her while licking his lips in excitement.
'W-What the hell!? Is this his real self? Has he always been a pervert like that?'
"N-No, I-I won't do whatever you want. I-I won't be doing any perverted stuff! I-In fact, I don't want your help!"
Hearing her words, a smirk appeared on Naruto's face as she took another step toward Tatsuki, closing the distance.
"Now, now, you don't even know what I want yet. Are you sure you want to decline my offer that quickly?"
Tatsuki was a little torn when she heard Naruto's words. Obviously, she wanted to get stronger, but there was no way she would allow Naruto to do whatever perverted thing he had in his mind to her.
"W-What is it you want me to do?"
Ultimately, she couldn't help but let her curiosity take the lead. She really wanted to know if she had misjudged Naruto and that he was actually someone who would take advantage of her when she was in a weaker position.
"Hehe, in that case..."
Naruto licked his lips again as he slowly moved his mouth next to Tatsuki's ear.
"... I want you to use your mouth..."
Another shiver went through Tatsuki's spine when Naruto talked so close to her ear. Additionally, hearing Naruto's words, there was already an image in her mind that made her quite angry.
'This bastard! He actually wants to force me to perform that kind of sexual act by luring me with a method to fight back against Hollow. What a bastard, I'll never talk to him again.'
Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't help but smirk a little when she saw anger building up in Tatsuki's eyes. He knew that he shouldn't push this too far, so he quickly finished his sentence.
"... and give a kiss on the cheek."
"You bastard, how dare y... eh? EHHH!? T-That's all?"
The perverted look on Naruto's face vanished instantly and was replaced with an innocent facial expression.
"What do you mean by 'That's all'? What else were you expecting me to ask for?"
As he asked that question, Naruto's eyes widened as a blush appeared on his face.
"No way, you thought I wanted you to do that? Pervert!"
Tatsuki felt like the word "pervert" pierce right through her heart as she saw how Naruto shyly averted his gaze.
'Shit, I'm an idiot. Obviously, Naruto pushed me to do something like that. As for a kiss on the cheek... *cough* Well, I don't mind. Naturally, this has nothing to do with Naruto being the one who gets the kiss. Right, it's just a kiss on the cheek. No big deal, hehe.'
However, while Tatsuki was a little caught up with her own thoughts, she realized something else.
'Wait a moment. Although Naruto looks innocent right now, he clearly had a perverted expression before. No way, was he...'
Before she could finish that thought, she gave Naruto another glance. Her eyebrows twitched in irritation when she saw the smug look he was currently giving her.
'... he was actually messing with me!'
Seeing his smug look, a combination of anger and shame flooded her body. She really wanted to punch Naruto, but she didn't want to punch Naruto at the same time.
Before she could say anything else, Naruto gripped her hand, drawing her attention.
"Okay, I'm sorry for teasing you like that, Tatsuki."
Hearin Naruto's apology, Tatsuki couldn't help but pout, making Naruto chuckle.
"You are an idiot."
Naruto chuckled yet again when he heard Tatsuki cursing him.
"Yup, I'm an idiot that likes teasing cute tomboys~"
Tatsuki's face became even redder when Naruto called her cute. Despite being a little angry at him, she couldn't help but be happy about Naruto's praise.
"Come on, Tatsuki. No need to be angry; I was just teasing you a little. How about I invite you for dinner tonight to make up for it?"
Tatsuki briefly pondered Naruto's offer, and as she raised her head to look into Naruto's eyes, she could clearly see how sorry he was for tricking her.
"Fine, I'll allow you to invite me to dinner today."
"Hehe, great. Don't worry; I know a great restaurant."
Tatsuki nodded in satisfaction when she heard Naruto's words and refocused back on the show that was about to start. As for Naruto still h*lding her h*nd, she decided to ignore that for now.
'Date, get~'
[That was quite manipulative.]
'Meh, all is fair in love and war. Besides, it's not like she doesn't like me. Since we both like each other, why not speed things up a little.'
[Sure, whatever floats your boat. On a side note, you still remember that you promised not to take in more than two women, right?]
'*Cough* What are you saying, Kurama? Obviously, I still remember that.'
[Sure, let's pretend I believe you.]
A bit more time passed as more and more of Yuna's classmates met, forming a somewhat large group. Moments later, it was finally time for the show to begin as a gaudily dressed man appeared in front of a massive crowd of people, causing everyone to go wild as he started spouting multiple catchphrases.
Seeing the man act like a clown, Yuna couldn't help but stroke her chin as she watched everyone go wild.
'Kurama, I need your help here. This is pretty shameful, right?'
[I'm honestly surprised you managed to figure that out, but yes, it is.]
'Good, thanks for the help.'
[Wait a moment, you wanted help to find out whether this is shameful or not!?]
'Yup, you know that I'm not good with stuff like that, so isn't it obvious to ask for help?'
[That... I... Err... I guess?]
While the two were chatting, the star of the show finished his initial spiel and surprisingly focused on the soul that was currently cursing him like crazy.
'Okay, color me impressed. That guy can actually see spirits. I was not expecting that.'
After a little bit more showmanship, the man twirled around the ornate cane he was holding and slammed it into the half-opened hole in the soul's chest, causing Yuna's expression to stiffen.
'You can't be serious. Does he want a Hollow to go on a rampage?'
Seemingly wanting to prove Yuna's thoughts right, the man continued slamming his staff into the half-opened Hollow hole, significantly increasing its size.
"Shit, we need to act. Ichigo, Shinigami form. Hinata, Naruto, cover me."
As Yuna said that, Hinata and Naruto immediately put on masks, while Yuna did the same, dumbfounding Tatsuki, who was the only one paying attention to them. After hearing Yuna's order, Ichigo was initially dumbfounded, but he realized quickly what he had to do as he grabbed the stuffed toy Yuna had previously met at pulled a pill out of its mouth, which he promptly swallowed, resulting in a second Ichigo wearing a black Shinigami robe appearing.
Naturally, Tatsuki was dumbfounded by a second Ichigo appearing, but she quickly realized that this was probably the same situation that had previously happened in the classroom. Right now, she was determined to find out whatever was going on with Ichigo. Well, it wasn't just Ichigo, as Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto clearly had something going on as well. As these thoughts appeared in Tatsuki's mind, Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were already running towards today's so-called star at high speed. Obviously, security wanted to stop them; however, the moment the first guard reached Yuna, her hands blurred, resulting in the guard falling to the ground instantly and causing Tatsuki's eyes to widen in shock.
'What incredible speed! I could barely see her hands move! Now I really want to try fighting her as well. Although my chances to win are pretty much zero, I think I should be able to learn a lot from someone that skilled.'
As these thoughts swirled in Tatsuki's head, security guards were flung away rapidly, allowing the trio to reach the gaudily dressed man rather quickly.
"I can understand how great much of a fan you three are, but please don't interrupt my exorcism just to ask for an autograph."
Hearing the man's narcissistic words, Yuna could only shake her head as she gripped the staff that was still poking into the soul's body, bringing it closer and closer to becoming a Hollow.
"You shouldn't perform exorcism if you don't know what you are doing. Removing a soul's Chain of Fate will inevitably turn it into a monster, so please refrain from doing so in the future."
Naturally, a man that dressed like a peacock wouldn't listen to reason so easily, so he quickly puffed up his chest while futility trying to free his staff from Yuna's vice-like grip.
"Nonsense, I've been performing exorcism like that for a while now, and nothing had ever happened."
Yuna could only shake her head at the man's words. Clearly, there was no reasoning to be done, so she deiced to take another path.
"In that case, let's show you how souls are brought to the afterlife in a proper manner."
As she said that, Ichigo appeared beside her, casually resting his massive sword on his shoulder. Before the peacock-like man could say anything, Ichigo pressed the tip of his sword handle on the raging soul's forehead, instantly calming it down.
"What!? What just happened!?"
Naturally, the man was surprised by what he had just seen. While he was exorcising a soul, it would always struggle and scream in anger, but this time, there was actually a peaceful expression on its face, lending Yuna's words some credibility.
"I-Impossible! This is just another method to send souls to the afterlife. I'm sure of it!"
Yuna could only shake her head when she heard the man's words as she turned around and walked away with the rest of her people. Frankly, she couldn't care less what the man thought. If he is so insisted on someday getting eaten by a Hollow, then Yuna couldn't care less.
Meanwhile, Tatsuki had questions. Lots of questions. First of all, she wanted to know what was going on with Ichigo and why a second Ichigo just popped out like that. Then, he would like to know why Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were all monsters with an absolutely ridiculous amount of close combat skills.
Although she didn't want to pat her own back, Tatsuki was quite skilled in martial arts. So far, the only one in her own age group that was capable of defeating her was Ichigo. Well, that changed when she met Naruto, but apparently, the people by Naruto's side were stronger than her as well.
'There is definitely something going on. Didn't those three attend the same school as me for all these years? Where the hell does all that combat experience come from? Something is fishy, and I'll definitely find out what exactly is going on.'
As she thought that, her eyes wandered to the currently masked Naruto, that was running away from a bunch of security guards together with Yuna and Hinata.
'I'll be eating dinner with Naruto tonight; that should be the perfect opportunity to get all the answers I want.'
Tatsuki nodded her head in approval at her own idea before another thought popped up.
'Wait a moment. Naruto and I will be eating dinner together in a restaurant. Just us two... alone... ISN'T THIS A DATE!?'
She wanted to dismiss these thoughts, but no matter how much she tried, that idea simply wouldn't vanish from her mind.
'N-No way, this isn't a date! R-Right, he is just paying me back for messing with me. No problem. No date at all. Nothing is going on.'
Despite her thoughts, the blush on her face became more and more pronounced as she repeatedly told herself that she wouldn't have a date tonight but just a simple dinner with a friend.
'S-Should I go shopping for some new clothes? What the hell are you thinking about, Tatsuki? I can just wear some casual attire, and there will be no problem... Well, I wanted to go get a few new clothes for a while now, so I might as well do it now.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 7: Bohahaha
***Author Note***
You can still read a week ahead on my *******: https //www pat reon com/Maerry
Also, please join me on my Discord: https://discord.gg/hSQQ9Ydthh
***End of Author Note***
Another day passed, and Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were yet again lazying around the classroom, waiting for the class to begin.
"Morning, you three. Have two of you become Samurai or something like that?"
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle in amusement when he heard Tatsuki's question; after all, he could fully understand why she would think that, as Yuna and Hinata were both carrying a long object covered in cloth.
"Well, don't worry about it; those are for protection."
"Protection? Against what? And why aren't you carrying one with you then?"
"Against those masked monsters. Ever seen one? As for why I'm not carrying one with me as well: I'm not good with the sword."
"Masked monsters? What are you talking about? Wait! These really are swords!?"
Although Tatsuki wondered why Naruto suddenly started talking about monsters, she was even more surprised by Yuna and Hinata bringing swords to school. She was pretty sure that was forbidden.
Seeing Tatsuki's bewildered face, Yuna chuckled in amusement before removing the fabric covering what she was holding, revealing a wooden sword.
"Obviously, it's not a real one but a wooden one."
Tatsuki couldn't help but blush a little when she saw that it was just a wooden sword. She wondered why she would even think that Yuna and Hinata would carry around real swords.
As for the real reason why those two had a sword with them now, it was so they could hide their abilities better. Yuna felt like whoever was sending Hollows after Ichigo would continue making trouble, and she didn't want to reveal too much in front of the unknown puppetmaster. Especially not as long as she didn't know who it was. That was just asking for death.
Suddenly, Ichigo appeared in the window frame, seemingly having jumped there from the ground floor, which is quite the feat considering they were currently on the third floor.
"This is class 1- 3, right?"
Yuna's eyebrows rose when she heard that question as she gave Ichigo a closer look with squinted eyes.
'This isn't Ichigo.'
[He looks like him through.]
'Yeah, it's the same body but a different soul. I would probably have a more severe reaction if I hadn't seen Rukia pulling off the reverse of this. I assume Ichigo doesn't want to leave a motionless body behind every time he goes Hollow-hunting, so he got his hands on an artificial soul.'
"How did you get there? This is the third floor."
While Yuna and Kurama were talking, Tatsuki couldn't help but ask Ichigo how he got here, causing him to smile.
"How? Didn't you see it? I jumped. Pretty amazing, right? Are you surprised?"
He became even more excited when everyone started talking about him, and as he was basking in the attention, his gaze wandered over the people in the classroom. Or, more precisely, the women. Moments later, he found his target, and his eyes started shining as he quickly moved toward it.
"Pleased to meet you, pretty lady. Could you please tell me your name?"
As he said that, he slowly lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.
Yuna, whose hand was just kissed, couldn't help but look at Ichigo blankly as another commotion broke out in the classroom.
'What the hell? Isn't this thing supposed to help Ichigo keep his Shinigami activities hidden? Why is this guy acting so rampant?'
[Seems like someone messed something up.]
'Damn, someone is causing chaos, and it isn't me. I'm not happy about this.'
Despite her slight bewilderment due to the artificial soul's behavior, a leisurely smile appeared on her face as she answered his question.
"The name's Yuna Uzumaki. What is yours? Or do you prefer using your body's original name?"
At first, Ichigo was happy that Yuna gave him her name, but as she continued talking, his face paled visibly, and a trace of panic flashed through his eyes.
'She knows I'm not Ichigo! Shit, why did I need to show off? Is she a Shinigami as well? Considering I jumped up here, she might conclude that I'm not an artificial soul but a Mod-Soul with enhanced leg strength. If she finds out, won't I get destroyed!? No! I need to run!'
He was just about to turn around and run when a hand landed on his head and grabbed it in a vice-like grip.
"Owowow, what the hell!? Is a gorilla holding me!?"
"Hee~ To think you would call a small, fragile maiden like me a gorilla. How rude."
A shiver went through Ichigo's spine when he heard a woman's ice-cold emotionless voice speaking to him. Meanwhile, the other people in the classroom could only look at the scene in front of them in absolute bewilderment. The always calm and gentle Hinata was currently lifting Ichigo in the air with a single hand.
"What the hell? Where does that strength come from?"
"Crazy, has she always been that strong?"
"Forget about the strength; look at that ice-cold facial expression."
Before the other student could comment any further, Hinata moved her hand and casually tossed Ichigo out of the window where he had entered from, shocking almost everyone.
"H-Hinata, won't he die from this?"
Hearing Tatsuki's question, Hinata simply shook her head in denial. The usual Ichigo would probably get some damage from this, but this wasn't the normal Ichigo.
"No need to worry about that, Tatsuki. If he can jump up here, then he should also be able to jump down."
"Err... are you sure?"
Hinata held her chin, seemingly thinking about how to answer Tatsuki before a small smile appeared on her face.
"Yup, around 60%."
"60%!?"
Seeing the shock in Tatsuki's eyes, Hinata couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as Naruto rolled her eyes.
"Don't get tricked, Tatsuki. Hinata is just messing with you."
Seeing Hinata chuckling and Naruto adding an explanation, Tatsuki's face deadpanned as she looked at Hinata.
"I thought Yuna and Naruto were the ones who like messing with people."
"Well, that doesn't mean that I can't do it, does it?"
Tatsuki could only shake her head as her gaze landed on the window Ichigo was just tossed out of.
"Seriously, though, what was going on with Ichigo? I have never seen him act like that."
Naruto shook his head when he heard Tatsuki's words. He could easily throw Ichigo under the bus but decided not to do so. It was simply too easy, so where was the fun in that?
"That wasn't Ichigo. It's a little strange, but I can guarantee you that that wasn't Ichigo." L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.
Everyone looked at Naruto in bewilderment when he claimed that the person who looked exactly like Ichigo wasn't actually him. However, considering how differently he acted, they could somehow acknowledge Naruto's words.
"And I assume you know about his situation?"
"Yup, but that is his secret to tell and not mine."
Although Tatsuki frowned when she heard that, she could only nod her head in acceptance. She was not someone to forcefully pry other people's secrets. However, she had to admit that she was curious. Additionally, she couldn't help but be annoyed that Ichigo told Naruto his secret but kept it from her.
As if he could read her thoughts, Naruto poked his finger into the side, making her flinch as he leisurely resumed speaking.
"Don't worry your cute little head about it. We found out about this by ourselves."
"Oh, so it's like... W-Wait! C-CUTE!?"
Naruto chuckled in amusement when Tatsuki started glaring at him while blushing. Seeing her glaring at him, Naruto couldn't help himself and gave her a wink, resulting in her blushing and glaring even harder.
"Well, my bother's flirting aside, I wonder..."
*BANG*
Before Yuna could finish speaking, the door was violently opened, revealing an out-of-breath Rukia, who quickly scanned the room before silently cursing to herself.
"Has anyone seen Ichigo!?"
"Yeah, I tossed him out of the window a few minutes ago."
Rukia nodded her head when she heard Hinata's words and was just about to continue running when she froze in place due to finally registering what she had just been told.
"Y-You tossed him out of the window?"
"Yeah, he tried flirting with Yuna, so I had to interfere."
Rukia couldn't help but facepalm when she heard that the Mod-Soul started flirting with Yuna. Was there any more obvious way to blow one's cover than a man flirting with a woman that he knew was a lesbian?
"*Sigh* I have no time to deal with this now."
As she said that, she jumped out of the same window, causing everyone's eyes to widen. Ichigo jumping... well, being thrown out of the window was one thing, but Rukia jumping out was a different matter. Everyone gathered at the windows, hoping not to see Rukia's motionless body lying on the ground, but to everyone's surprise, Rukia landed safely and immediately resumed running.
Tatsuki was probably the most surprised due to Ichigo actually waiting for Rukia on the ground. However, he somehow managed to change his clothes and was now wearing a black robe while carrying a massive sword.
She was just about to exclaim in surprise when she noticed Yuna making a shushing motion. At first, she was confused about why she shouldn't talk about Ichigo, but she quickly realized that no one else seemed to have noticed him.
'What is going on? Why can't the other see Ichigo? This must have something to do with the secret Naruto doesn't want to tell me.'
Meanwhile, there was a single person in the room who wasn't paying the slightest attention to anything that was happening and was instead staring at Hinata in a daze. That person was Chizuru, who still couldn't get over how her view of Hinata had changed.
Initially, she thought of her as a kind young woman that was occasionally dragged into perverted acts by her girlfriend, but that changed a lot after she visited the trio's home. The matter of three underage people living in the same home with no guardian in sight aside, Hinata had quite the surprising side to her.
While talking about how to pleasure another woman, Yuna had shamelessly requested Hinata to step forward for a live demonstration. Chizuru expected Hinata to simply roll her eyes at Yuna's request, but she surprisingly agreed after only a few seconds of hesitation. That was already, but it got even weirder when Hinata had basically no trouble holding eye contact with Chizuru while Yuna was playing with her body. Frankly, Chizuru had never felt this turned on.
Anyway, on that day, Hinata's image changed to that of a perverted exhibitionist. Now, however, the image had changed yet again. That cold voice and eyes Hinata used to look at Ichigo sent shivers through Chizuru's spine. Although Hinata was still a perverted exhibitionist in her eyes, she was also a very dangerous person one should rather not cross.
A few days passed, and inside Soul Society, Aizen was yet again watching a monitor with a calm smile on his face. The monitor showed a young man with orange hair fighting a large furred creature wearing a white mask that had a long appendage on its head.
This was the Hollow that was supposed to kill Ichigo's mother years ago. Although Aizen wanted Ichigo to fight this Hollow with the thought in mind that it killed his mother, Aizen decided not to bother with that. Instead, he had it wound Ichigo's two little sisters, which served as an excellent substitute to make this fight personal.
The Hollow, Grand Fisher, was actually quite powerful compared to other Hollows, as it had already killed multiple Shinigami and had been hunted by Soul Society for quite a long time, so Ichigo was actually on the verge of losing this fight.
Despite that, Aizen wasn't worried that all his preparations surrounding Ichigo would have been for nothing due to him dying. He knew that there was a lot of potential in Ichigo and that he was using far from what he should have been capable of. Hell, he wasn't even utilizing his Spiritual Power properly. That alone would enable him to slay the Hollow in front of him easily.
Another minute of fighting later, a heavily wounded Ichigo finally managed to land a near-fatal blow on Grand Fisher, but unfortunately, that blow wasn't enough to actually kill it, allowing Grand Fisher to retreat.
Seeing that Ichigo had more or less won while further unlocking his potential, Aizen couldn't help but smile.
"Just as planned."
Aizen couldn't care less whether Grand Fisher died or not, as his only goal was strengthening Ichigo and unlocking his potential, something a fight to the death certainly did.
"Let's see. Should I send people to retrieve Rukia, or should I wait a little longer?"
Aizen calmly stroked his chin as he pondered his next step, and after a few seconds, he nodded his head at the conclusion he came to.
Tatsuki was a fighter, so that was the first thought that popped up in her mind. If she was prone to getting attacked by a Hollow, she wanted to know if there was any point in fighting back. Hearing Tatsuki's question, Naruto could only smile wryly.
"Yes, a normal human can fight back, but it won't be easy. Let's put it like that, are you confident in defeating a bear by yourself?"
Hearing Naruto's question, a deep frown appeared on Tatsuki's face.
'Defeating a bear? I only know how to fight bare-handed; how am I supposed to kill a bear without a weapon.'
Coming to that conclusion, Tatsuki clenched her fist in anger. However, before she could issue any regrets, Naruto chuckled in amusement, drawing her attention.
"Well, no need to worry. There are certainly other methods to fight against a Hollow. I'll say this frankly, traditional martial arts won't bring you far against a Hollow, but if you want, I can teach you a few tricks."
Tatsuki's eyes shone with enthusiasm when she heard that there was a way. She hated being helpless, so Naruto providing her with a way to fight back was a back deal for her.
"Please teach me what I can do. I'll do whatever you want!"
Hearing Tatsuki's words, perverted laughter escaped Naruto's mouth, causing Tatsuki to reel back.
"Hehehe, everything?"
A shudder went through Tatsuki's spine as Naruto looked at her while licking his lips in excitement.
'W-What the hell!? Is this his real self? Has he always been a pervert like that?'
"N-No, I-I won't do whatever you want. I-I won't be doing any perverted stuff! I-In fact, I don't want your help!"
Hearing her words, a smirk appeared on Naruto's face as she took another step toward Tatsuki, closing the distance.
"Now, now, you don't even know what I want yet. Are you sure you want to decline my offer that quickly?"
Tatsuki was a little torn when she heard Naruto's words. Obviously, she wanted to get stronger, but there was no way she would allow Naruto to do whatever perverted thing he had in his mind to her.
"W-What is it you want me to do?"
Ultimately, she couldn't help but let her curiosity take the lead. She really wanted to know if she had misjudged Naruto and that he was actually someone who would take advantage of her when she was in a weaker position.
"Hehe, in that case..."
Naruto licked his lips again as he slowly moved his mouth next to Tatsuki's ear.
"... I want you to use your mouth..."
Another shiver went through Tatsuki's spine when Naruto talked so close to her ear. Additionally, hearing Naruto's words, there was already an image in her mind that made her quite angry.
'This bastard! He actually wants to force me to perform that kind of sexual act by luring me with a method to fight back against Hollow. What a bastard, I'll never talk to him again.'
Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't help but smirk a little when she saw anger building up in Tatsuki's eyes. He knew that he shouldn't push this too far, so he quickly finished his sentence.
"... and give a kiss on the cheek."
"You bastard, how dare y... eh? EHHH!? T-That's all?"
The perverted look on Naruto's face vanished instantly and was replaced with an innocent facial expression.
"What do you mean by 'That's all'? What else were you expecting me to ask for?"
As he asked that question, Naruto's eyes widened as a blush appeared on his face.
"No way, you thought I wanted you to do that? Pervert!"
Tatsuki felt like the word "pervert" pierce right through her heart as she saw how Naruto shyly averted his gaze.
'Shit, I'm an idiot. Obviously, Naruto pushed me to do something like that. As for a kiss on the cheek... *cough* Well, I don't mind. Naturally, this has nothing to do with Naruto being the one who gets the kiss. Right, it's just a kiss on the cheek. No big deal, hehe.'
However, while Tatsuki was a little caught up with her own thoughts, she realized something else.
'Wait a moment. Although Naruto looks innocent right now, he clearly had a perverted expression before. No way, was he...'
Before she could finish that thought, she gave Naruto another glance. Her eyebrows twitched in irritation when she saw the smug look he was currently giving her.
'... he was actually messing with me!'
Seeing his smug look, a combination of anger and shame flooded her body. She really wanted to punch Naruto, but she didn't want to punch Naruto at the same time.
Before she could say anything else, Naruto gripped her hand, drawing her attention.
"Okay, I'm sorry for teasing you like that, Tatsuki."
Hearin Naruto's apology, Tatsuki couldn't help but pout, making Naruto chuckle.
"You are an idiot."
Naruto chuckled yet again when he heard Tatsuki cursing him.
"Yup, I'm an idiot that likes teasing cute tomboys~"
Tatsuki's face became even redder when Naruto called her cute. Despite being a little angry at him, she couldn't help but be happy about Naruto's praise.
"Come on, Tatsuki. No need to be angry; I was just teasing you a little. How about I invite you for dinner tonight to make up for it?"
Tatsuki briefly pondered Naruto's offer, and as she raised her head to look into Naruto's eyes, she could clearly see how sorry he was for tricking her.
"Fine, I'll allow you to invite me to dinner today."
"Hehe, great. Don't worry; I know a great restaurant."
Tatsuki nodded in satisfaction when she heard Naruto's words and refocused back on the show that was about to start. As for Naruto still h*lding her h*nd, she decided to ignore that for now.
'Date, get~'
[That was quite manipulative.]
'Meh, all is fair in love and war. Besides, it's not like she doesn't like me. Since we both like each other, why not speed things up a little.'
[Sure, whatever floats your boat. On a side note, you still remember that you promised not to take in more than two women, right?]
'*Cough* What are you saying, Kurama? Obviously, I still remember that.'
[Sure, let's pretend I believe you.]
A bit more time passed as more and more of Yuna's classmates met, forming a somewhat large group. Moments later, it was finally time for the show to begin as a gaudily dressed man appeared in front of a massive crowd of people, causing everyone to go wild as he started spouting multiple catchphrases.
Seeing the man act like a clown, Yuna couldn't help but stroke her chin as she watched everyone go wild.
'Kurama, I need your help here. This is pretty shameful, right?'
[I'm honestly surprised you managed to figure that out, but yes, it is.]
'Good, thanks for the help.'
[Wait a moment, you wanted help to find out whether this is shameful or not!?]
'Yup, you know that I'm not good with stuff like that, so isn't it obvious to ask for help?'
[That... I... Err... I guess?]
While the two were chatting, the star of the show finished his initial spiel and surprisingly focused on the soul that was currently cursing him like crazy.
'Okay, color me impressed. That guy can actually see spirits. I was not expecting that.'
After a little bit more showmanship, the man twirled around the ornate cane he was holding and slammed it into the half-opened hole in the soul's chest, causing Yuna's expression to stiffen.
'You can't be serious. Does he want a Hollow to go on a rampage?'
Seemingly wanting to prove Yuna's thoughts right, the man continued slamming his staff into the half-opened Hollow hole, significantly increasing its size.
"Shit, we need to act. Ichigo, Shinigami form. Hinata, Naruto, cover me."
As Yuna said that, Hinata and Naruto immediately put on masks, while Yuna did the same, dumbfounding Tatsuki, who was the only one paying attention to them. After hearing Yuna's order, Ichigo was initially dumbfounded, but he realized quickly what he had to do as he grabbed the stuffed toy Yuna had previously met at pulled a pill out of its mouth, which he promptly swallowed, resulting in a second Ichigo wearing a black Shinigami robe appearing.
Naturally, Tatsuki was dumbfounded by a second Ichigo appearing, but she quickly realized that this was probably the same situation that had previously happened in the classroom. Right now, she was determined to find out whatever was going on with Ichigo. Well, it wasn't just Ichigo, as Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto clearly had something going on as well. As these thoughts appeared in Tatsuki's mind, Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were already running towards today's so-called star at high speed. Obviously, security wanted to stop them; however, the moment the first guard reached Yuna, her hands blurred, resulting in the guard falling to the ground instantly and causing Tatsuki's eyes to widen in shock.
'What incredible speed! I could barely see her hands move! Now I really want to try fighting her as well. Although my chances to win are pretty much zero, I think I should be able to learn a lot from someone that skilled.'
As these thoughts swirled in Tatsuki's head, security guards were flung away rapidly, allowing the trio to reach the gaudily dressed man rather quickly.
"I can understand how great much of a fan you three are, but please don't interrupt my exorcism just to ask for an autograph."
Hearing the man's narcissistic words, Yuna could only shake her head as she gripped the staff that was still poking into the soul's body, bringing it closer and closer to becoming a Hollow.
"You shouldn't perform exorcism if you don't know what you are doing. Removing a soul's Chain of Fate will inevitably turn it into a monster, so please refrain from doing so in the future."
Naturally, a man that dressed like a peacock wouldn't listen to reason so easily, so he quickly puffed up his chest while futility trying to free his staff from Yuna's vice-like grip.
"Nonsense, I've been performing exorcism like that for a while now, and nothing had ever happened."
Yuna could only shake her head at the man's words. Clearly, there was no reasoning to be done, so she deiced to take another path.
"In that case, let's show you how souls are brought to the afterlife in a proper manner."
As she said that, Ichigo appeared beside her, casually resting his massive sword on his shoulder. Before the peacock-like man could say anything, Ichigo pressed the tip of his sword handle on the raging soul's forehead, instantly calming it down.
"What!? What just happened!?"
Naturally, the man was surprised by what he had just seen. While he was exorcising a soul, it would always struggle and scream in anger, but this time, there was actually a peaceful expression on its face, lending Yuna's words some credibility.
"I-Impossible! This is just another method to send souls to the afterlife. I'm sure of it!"
Yuna could only shake her head when she heard the man's words as she turned around and walked away with the rest of her people. Frankly, she couldn't care less what the man thought. If he is so insisted on someday getting eaten by a Hollow, then Yuna couldn't care less.
Meanwhile, Tatsuki had questions. Lots of questions. First of all, she wanted to know what was going on with Ichigo and why a second Ichigo just popped out like that. Then, he would like to know why Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were all monsters with an absolutely ridiculous amount of close combat skills.
Although she didn't want to pat her own back, Tatsuki was quite skilled in martial arts. So far, the only one in her own age group that was capable of defeating her was Ichigo. Well, that changed when she met Naruto, but apparently, the people by Naruto's side were stronger than her as well.
'There is definitely something going on. Didn't those three attend the same school as me for all these years? Where the hell does all that combat experience come from? Something is fishy, and I'll definitely find out what exactly is going on.'
As she thought that, her eyes wandered to the currently masked Naruto, that was running away from a bunch of security guards together with Yuna and Hinata.
'I'll be eating dinner with Naruto tonight; that should be the perfect opportunity to get all the answers I want.'
Tatsuki nodded her head in approval at her own idea before another thought popped up.
'Wait a moment. Naruto and I will be eating dinner together in a restaurant. Just us two... alone... ISN'T THIS A DATE!?'
She wanted to dismiss these thoughts, but no matter how much she tried, that idea simply wouldn't vanish from her mind.
'N-No way, this isn't a date! R-Right, he is just paying me back for messing with me. No problem. No date at all. Nothing is going on.'
Despite her thoughts, the blush on her face became more and more pronounced as she repeatedly told herself that she wouldn't have a date tonight but just a simple dinner with a friend.
'S-Should I go shopping for some new clothes? What the hell are you thinking about, Tatsuki? I can just wear some casual attire, and there will be no problem... Well, I wanted to go get a few new clothes for a while now, so I might as well do it now.
Chapter 7: Bohahaha***Author Note*** You can still read a week ahead on my *******: https //www pat reon com/Maerry Also, please join me on my Discord: https://discord.gg/hSQQ9Ydthh ***End of Author Note*** Another day passed, and Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were yet again lazying around the classroom, waiting for the class to begin. "Morning, you three. Have two of you become Samurai or something like that?" Naruto couldn't help but chuckle in amusement when he heard Tatsuki's question; after all, he could fully understand why she would think that, as Yuna and Hinata were both carrying a long object covered in cloth. "Well, don't worry about it; those are for protection." "Protection? Against what? And why aren't you carrying one with you then?" "Against those masked monsters. Ever seen one? As for why I'm not carrying one with me as well: I'm not good with the sword." "Masked monsters? What are you talking about? Wait! These really are swords!?" Although Tatsuki wondered why Naruto suddenly started talking about monsters, she was even more surprised by Yuna and Hinata bringing swords to school. She was pretty sure that was forbidden. Seeing Tatsuki's bewildered face, Yuna chuckled in amusement before removing the fabric covering what she was holding, revealing a wooden sword. "Obviously, it's not a real one but a wooden one." Tatsuki couldn't help but blush a little when she saw that it was just a wooden sword. She wondered why she would even think that Yuna and Hinata would carry around real swords. As for the real reason why those two had a sword with them now, it was so they could hide their abilities better. Yuna felt like whoever was sending Hollows after Ichigo would continue making trouble, and she didn't want to reveal too much in front of the unknown puppetmaster. Especially not as long as she didn't know who it was. That was just asking for death. Suddenly, Ichigo appeared in the window frame, seemingly having jumped there from the ground floor, which is quite the feat considering they were currently on the third floor. "This is class 1- 3, right?" Yuna's eyebrows rose when she heard that question as she gave Ichigo a closer look with squinted eyes. 'This isn't Ichigo.' He looks like him through. 'Yeah, it's the same body but a different soul. I would probably have a more severe reaction if I hadn't seen Rukia pulling off the reverse of this. I assume Ichigo doesn't want to leave a motionless body behind every time he goes Hollow-hunting, so he got his hands on an artificial soul.' "How did you get there? This is the third floor." While Yuna and Kurama were talking, Tatsuki couldn't help but ask Ichigo how he got here, causing him to smile. "How? Didn't you see it? I jumped. Pretty amazing, right? Are you surprised?" He became even more excited when everyone started talking about him, and as he was basking in the attention, his gaze wandered over the people in the classroom. Or, more precisely, the women. Moments later, he found his target, and his eyes started shining as he quickly moved toward it. "Pleased to meet you, pretty lady. Could you please tell me your name?" As he said that, he slowly lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. Yuna, whose hand was just kissed, couldn't help but look at Ichigo blankly as another commotion broke out in the classroom. 'What the hell? Isn't this thing supposed to help Ichigo keep his Shinigami activities hidden? Why is this guy acting so rampant?' Seems like someone messed something up. 'Damn, someone is causing chaos, and it isn't me. I'm not happy about this.' Despite her slight bewilderment due to the artificial soul's behavior, a leisurely smile appeared on her face as she answered his question. "The name's Yuna Uzumaki. What is yours? Or do you prefer using your body's original name?" At first, Ichigo was happy that Yuna gave him her name, but as she continued talking, his face paled visibly, and a trace of panic flashed through his eyes. 'She knows I'm not Ichigo! Shit, why did I need to show off? Is she a Shinigami as well? Considering I jumped up here, she might conclude that I'm not an artificial soul but a Mod-Soul with enhanced leg strength. If she finds out, won't I get destroyed!? No! I need to run!' He was just about to turn around and run when a hand landed on his head and grabbed it in a vice-like grip. "Owowow, what the hell!? Is a gorilla holding me!?" "Hee~ To think you would call a small, fragile maiden like me a gorilla. How rude." A shiver went through Ichigo's spine when he heard a woman's ice-cold emotionless voice speaking to him. Meanwhile, the other people in the classroom could only look at the scene in front of them in absolute bewilderment. The always calm and gentle Hinata was currently lifting Ichigo in the air with a single hand. "What the hell? Where does that strength come from?" "Crazy, has she always been that strong?" "Forget about the strength; look at that ice-cold facial expression." Before the other student could comment any further, Hinata moved her hand and casually tossed Ichigo out of the window where he had entered from, shocking almost everyone. "H-Hinata, won't he die from this?" Hearing Tatsuki's question, Hinata simply shook her head in denial. The usual Ichigo would probably get some damage from this, but this wasn't the normal Ichigo. "No need to worry about that, Tatsuki. If he can jump up here, then he should also be able to jump down." "Err... are you sure?" Hinata held her chin, seemingly thinking about how to answer Tatsuki before a small smile appeared on her face. "Yup, around 60%." "60%!?" Seeing the shock in Tatsuki's eyes, Hinata couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as Naruto rolled her eyes. "Don't get tricked, Tatsuki. Hinata is just messing with you." Seeing Hinata chuckling and Naruto adding an explanation, Tatsuki's face deadpanned as she looked at Hinata. "I thought Yuna and Naruto were the ones who like messing with people." "Well, that doesn't mean that I can't do it, does it?" Tatsuki could only shake her head as her gaze landed on the window Ichigo was just tossed out of. "Seriously, though, what was going on with Ichigo? I have never seen him act like that." Naruto shook his head when he heard Tatsuki's words. He could easily throw Ichigo under the bus but decided not to do so. It was simply too easy, so where was the fun in that? "That wasn't Ichigo. It's a little strange, but I can guarantee you that that wasn't Ichigo." L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Nvl--B1n.Everyone looked at Naruto in bewilderment when he claimed that the person who looked exactly like Ichigo wasn't actually him. However, considering how differently he acted, they could somehow acknowledge Naruto's words. "And I assume you know about his situation?" "Yup, but that is his secret to tell and not mine." Although Tatsuki frowned when she heard that, she could only nod her head in acceptance. She was not someone to forcefully pry other people's secrets. However, she had to admit that she was curious. Additionally, she couldn't help but be annoyed that Ichigo told Naruto his secret but kept it from her. As if he could read her thoughts, Naruto poked his finger into the side, making her flinch as he leisurely resumed speaking. "Don't worry your cute little head about it. We found out about this by ourselves." "Oh, so it's like... W-Wait! C-CUTE!?" Naruto chuckled in amusement when Tatsuki started glaring at him while blushing. Seeing her glaring at him, Naruto couldn't help himself and gave her a wink, resulting in her blushing and glaring even harder. "Well, my bother's flirting aside, I wonder..." *BANG* Before Yuna could finish speaking, the door was violently opened, revealing an out-of-breath Rukia, who quickly scanned the room before silently cursing to herself. "Has anyone seen Ichigo!?" "Yeah, I tossed him out of the window a few minutes ago." Rukia nodded her head when she heard Hinata's words and was just about to continue running when she froze in place due to finally registering what she had just been told. "Y-You tossed him out of the window?" "Yeah, he tried flirting with Yuna, so I had to interfere." Rukia couldn't help but facepalm when she heard that the Mod-Soul started flirting with Yuna. Was there any more obvious way to blow one's cover than a man flirting with a woman that he knew was a lesbian? "*Sigh* I have no time to deal with this now." As she said that, she jumped out of the same window, causing everyone's eyes to widen. Ichigo jumping... well, being thrown out of the window was one thing, but Rukia jumping out was a different matter. Everyone gathered at the windows, hoping not to see Rukia's motionless body lying on the ground, but to everyone's surprise, Rukia landed safely and immediately resumed running. Tatsuki was probably the most surprised due to Ichigo actually waiting for Rukia on the ground. However, he somehow managed to change his clothes and was now wearing a black robe while carrying a massive sword. She was just about to exclaim in surprise when she noticed Yuna making a shushing motion. At first, she was confused about why she shouldn't talk about Ichigo, but she quickly realized that no one else seemed to have noticed him. 'What is going on? Why can't the other see Ichigo? This must have something to do with the secret Naruto doesn't want to tell me.' Meanwhile, there was a single person in the room who wasn't paying the slightest attention to anything that was happening and was instead staring at Hinata in a daze. That person was Chizuru, who still couldn't get over how her view of Hinata had changed. Initially, she thought of her as a kind young woman that was occasionally dragged into perverted acts by her girlfriend, but that changed a lot after she visited the trio's home. The matter of three underage people living in the same home with no guardian in sight aside, Hinata had quite the surprising side to her. While talking about how to pleasure another woman, Yuna had shamelessly requested Hinata to step forward for a live demonstration. Chizuru expected Hinata to simply roll her eyes at Yuna's request, but she surprisingly agreed after only a few seconds of hesitation. That was already, but it got even weirder when Hinata had basically no trouble holding eye contact with Chizuru while Yuna was playing with her body. Frankly, Chizuru had never felt this turned on. Anyway, on that day, Hinata's image changed to that of a perverted exhibitionist. Now, however, the image had changed yet again. That cold voice and eyes Hinata used to look at Ichigo sent shivers through Chizuru's spine. Although Hinata was still a perverted exhibitionist in her eyes, she was also a very dangerous person one should rather not cross. A few days passed, and inside Soul Society, Aizen was yet again watching a monitor with a calm smile on his face. The monitor showed a young man with orange hair fighting a large furred creature wearing a white mask that had a long appendage on its head. This was the Hollow that was supposed to kill Ichigo's mother years ago. Although Aizen wanted Ichigo to fight this Hollow with the thought in mind that it killed his mother, Aizen decided not to bother with that. Instead, he had it wound Ichigo's two little sisters, which served as an excellent substitute to make this fight personal. The Hollow, Grand Fisher, was actually quite powerful compared to other Hollows, as it had already killed multiple Shinigami and had been hunted by Soul Society for quite a long time, so Ichigo was actually on the verge of losing this fight. Despite that, Aizen wasn't worried that all his preparations surrounding Ichigo would have been for nothing due to him dying. He knew that there was a lot of potential in Ichigo and that he was using far from what he should have been capable of. Hell, he wasn't even utilizing his Spiritual Power properly. That alone would enable him to slay the Hollow in front of him easily. Another minute of fighting later, a heavily wounded Ichigo finally managed to land a near-fatal blow on Grand Fisher, but unfortunately, that blow wasn't enough to actually kill it, allowing Grand Fisher to retreat. Seeing that Ichigo had more or less won while further unlocking his potential, Aizen couldn't help but smile. "Just as planned." Aizen couldn't care less whether Grand Fisher died or not, as his only goal was strengthening Ichigo and unlocking his potential, something a fight to the death certainly did. "Let's see. Should I send people to retrieve Rukia, or should I wait a little longer?" Aizen calmly stroked his chin as he pondered his next step, and after a few seconds, he nodded his head at the conclusion he came to. Tatsuki was a fighter, so that was the first thought that popped up in her mind. If she was prone to getting attacked by a Hollow, she wanted to know if there was any point in fighting back. Hearing Tatsuki's question, Naruto could only smile wryly. "Yes, a normal human can fight back, but it won't be easy. Let's put it like that, are you confident in defeating a bear by yourself?" Hearing Naruto's question, a deep frown appeared on Tatsuki's face. 'Defeating a bear? I only know how to fight bare-handed; how am I supposed to kill a bear without a weapon.' Coming to that conclusion, Tatsuki clenched her fist in anger. However, before she could issue any regrets, Naruto chuckled in amusement, drawing her attention. "Well, no need to worry. There are certainly other methods to fight against a Hollow. I'll say this frankly, traditional martial arts won't bring you far against a Hollow, but if you want, I can teach you a few tricks." Tatsuki's eyes shone with enthusiasm when she heard that there was a way. She hated being helpless, so Naruto providing her with a way to fight back was a back deal for her. "Please teach me what I can do. I'll do whatever you want!" Hearing Tatsuki's words, perverted laughter escaped Naruto's mouth, causing Tatsuki to reel back. "Hehehe, everything?" A shudder went through Tatsuki's spine as Naruto looked at her while licking his lips in excitement. 'W-What the hell!? Is this his real self? Has he always been a pervert like that?' "N-No, I-I won't do whatever you want. I-I won't be doing any perverted stuff! I-In fact, I don't want your help!" Hearing her words, a smirk appeared on Naruto's face as she took another step toward Tatsuki, closing the distance. "Now, now, you don't even know what I want yet. Are you sure you want to decline my offer that quickly?" Tatsuki was a little torn when she heard Naruto's words. Obviously, she wanted to get stronger, but there was no way she would allow Naruto to do whatever perverted thing he had in his mind to her. "W-What is it you want me to do?" Ultimately, she couldn't help but let her curiosity take the lead. She really wanted to know if she had misjudged Naruto and that he was actually someone who would take advantage of her when she was in a weaker position. "Hehe, in that case..." Naruto licked his lips again as he slowly moved his mouth next to Tatsuki's ear. "... I want you to use your mouth..." Another shiver went through Tatsuki's spine when Naruto talked so close to her ear. Additionally, hearing Naruto's words, there was already an image in her mind that made her quite angry. 'This bastard! He actually wants to force me to perform that kind of sexual act by luring me with a method to fight back against Hollow. What a bastard, I'll never talk to him again.' Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't help but smirk a little when she saw anger building up in Tatsuki's eyes. He knew that he shouldn't push this too far, so he quickly finished his sentence. "... and give a kiss on the cheek." "You bastard, how dare y... eh? EHHH!? T-That's all?" The perverted look on Naruto's face vanished instantly and was replaced with an innocent facial expression. "What do you mean by 'That's all'? What else were you expecting me to ask for?" As he asked that question, Naruto's eyes widened as a blush appeared on his face. "No way, you thought I wanted you to do that? Pervert!" Tatsuki felt like the word "pervert" pierce right through her heart as she saw how Naruto shyly averted his gaze. 'Shit, I'm an idiot. Obviously, Naruto pushed me to do something like that. As for a kiss on the cheek... *cough* Well, I don't mind. Naturally, this has nothing to do with Naruto being the one who gets the kiss. Right, it's just a kiss on the cheek. No big deal, hehe.' However, while Tatsuki was a little caught up with her own thoughts, she realized something else. 'Wait a moment. Although Naruto looks innocent right now, he clearly had a perverted expression before. No way, was he...' Before she could finish that thought, she gave Naruto another glance. Her eyebrows twitched in irritation when she saw the smug look he was currently giving her. '... he was actually messing with me!' Seeing his smug look, a combination of anger and shame flooded her body. She really wanted to punch Naruto, but she didn't want to punch Naruto at the same time. Before she could say anything else, Naruto gripped her hand, drawing her attention. "Okay, I'm sorry for teasing you like that, Tatsuki." Hearin Naruto's apology, Tatsuki couldn't help but pout, making Naruto chuckle. "You are an idiot." Naruto chuckled yet again when he heard Tatsuki cursing him. "Yup, I'm an idiot that likes teasing cute tomboys~" Tatsuki's face became even redder when Naruto called her cute. Despite being a little angry at him, she couldn't help but be happy about Naruto's praise. "Come on, Tatsuki. No need to be angry; I was just teasing you a little. How about I invite you for dinner tonight to make up for it?" Tatsuki briefly pondered Naruto's offer, and as she raised her head to look into Naruto's eyes, she could clearly see how sorry he was for tricking her. "Fine, I'll allow you to invite me to dinner today." "Hehe, great. Don't worry; I know a great restaurant." Tatsuki nodded in satisfaction when she heard Naruto's words and refocused back on the show that was about to start. As for Naruto still h*lding her h*nd, she decided to ignore that for now. 'Date, get~' That was quite manipulative. 'Meh, all is fair in love and war. Besides, it's not like she doesn't like me. Since we both like each other, why not speed things up a little.' Sure, whatever floats your boat. On a side note, you still remember that you promised not to take in more than two women, right? '*Cough* What are you saying, Kurama? Obviously, I still remember that.' Sure, let's pretend I believe you. A bit more time passed as more and more of Yuna's classmates met, forming a somewhat large group. Moments later, it was finally time for the show to begin as a gaudily dressed man appeared in front of a massive crowd of people, causing everyone to go wild as he started spouting multiple catchphrases. Seeing the man act like a clown, Yuna couldn't help but stroke her chin as she watched everyone go wild. 'Kurama, I need your help here. This is pretty shameful, right?' I'm honestly surprised you managed to figure that out, but yes, it is. 'Good, thanks for the help.' Wait a moment, you wanted help to find out whether this is shameful or not!? 'Yup, you know that I'm not good with stuff like that, so isn't it obvious to ask for help?' That... I... Err... I guess? While the two were chatting, the star of the show finished his initial spiel and surprisingly focused on the soul that was currently cursing him like crazy. 'Okay, color me impressed. That guy can actually see spirits. I was not expecting that.' After a little bit more showmanship, the man twirled around the ornate cane he was holding and slammed it into the half-opened hole in the soul's chest, causing Yuna's expression to stiffen. 'You can't be serious. Does he want a Hollow to go on a rampage?' Seemingly wanting to prove Yuna's thoughts right, the man continued slamming his staff into the half-opened Hollow hole, significantly increasing its size. "Shit, we need to act. Ichigo, Shinigami form. Hinata, Naruto, cover me." As Yuna said that, Hinata and Naruto immediately put on masks, while Yuna did the same, dumbfounding Tatsuki, who was the only one paying attention to them. After hearing Yuna's order, Ichigo was initially dumbfounded, but he realized quickly what he had to do as he grabbed the stuffed toy Yuna had previously met at pulled a pill out of its mouth, which he promptly swallowed, resulting in a second Ichigo wearing a black Shinigami robe appearing. Naturally, Tatsuki was dumbfounded by a second Ichigo appearing, but she quickly realized that this was probably the same situation that had previously happened in the classroom. Right now, she was determined to find out whatever was going on with Ichigo. Well, it wasn't just Ichigo, as Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto clearly had something going on as well. As these thoughts appeared in Tatsuki's mind, Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were already running towards today's so-called star at high speed. Obviously, security wanted to stop them; however, the moment the first guard reached Yuna, her hands blurred, resulting in the guard falling to the ground instantly and causing Tatsuki's eyes to widen in shock. 'What incredible speed! I could barely see her hands move! Now I really want to try fighting her as well. Although my chances to win are pretty much zero, I think I should be able to learn a lot from someone that skilled.' As these thoughts swirled in Tatsuki's head, security guards were flung away rapidly, allowing the trio to reach the gaudily dressed man rather quickly. "I can understand how great much of a fan you three are, but please don't interrupt my exorcism just to ask for an autograph." Hearing the man's narcissistic words, Yuna could only shake her head as she gripped the staff that was still poking into the soul's body, bringing it closer and closer to becoming a Hollow. "You shouldn't perform exorcism if you don't know what you are doing. Removing a soul's Chain of Fate will inevitably turn it into a monster, so please refrain from doing so in the future." Naturally, a man that dressed like a peacock wouldn't listen to reason so easily, so he quickly puffed up his chest while futility trying to free his staff from Yuna's vice-like grip. "Nonsense, I've been performing exorcism like that for a while now, and nothing had ever happened." Yuna could only shake her head at the man's words. Clearly, there was no reasoning to be done, so she deiced to take another path. "In that case, let's show you how souls are brought to the afterlife in a proper manner." As she said that, Ichigo appeared beside her, casually resting his massive sword on his shoulder. Before the peacock-like man could say anything, Ichigo pressed the tip of his sword handle on the raging soul's forehead, instantly calming it down. "What!? What just happened!?" Naturally, the man was surprised by what he had just seen. While he was exorcising a soul, it would always struggle and scream in anger, but this time, there was actually a peaceful expression on its face, lending Yuna's words some credibility. "I-Impossible! This is just another method to send souls to the afterlife. I'm sure of it!" Yuna could only shake her head when she heard the man's words as she turned around and walked away with the rest of her people. Frankly, she couldn't care less what the man thought. If he is so insisted on someday getting eaten by a Hollow, then Yuna couldn't care less. Meanwhile, Tatsuki had questions. Lots of questions. First of all, she wanted to know what was going on with Ichigo and why a second Ichigo just popped out like that. Then, he would like to know why Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were all monsters with an absolutely ridiculous amount of close combat skills. Although she didn't want to pat her own back, Tatsuki was quite skilled in martial arts. So far, the only one in her own age group that was capable of defeating her was Ichigo. Well, that changed when she met Naruto, but apparently, the people by Naruto's side were stronger than her as well. 'There is definitely something going on. Didn't those three attend the same school as me for all these years? Where the hell does all that combat experience come from? Something is fishy, and I'll definitely find out what exactly is going on.' As she thought that, her eyes wandered to the currently masked Naruto, that was running away from a bunch of security guards together with Yuna and Hinata. 'I'll be eating dinner with Naruto tonight; that should be the perfect opportunity to get all the answers I want.' Tatsuki nodded her head in approval at her own idea before another thought popped up. 'Wait a moment. Naruto and I will be eating dinner together in a restaurant. Just us two... alone... ISN'T THIS A DATE!?' She wanted to dismiss these thoughts, but no matter how much she tried, that idea simply wouldn't vanish from her mind. 'N-No way, this isn't a date! R-Right, he is just paying me back for messing with me. No problem. No date at all. Nothing is going on.' Despite her thoughts, the blush on her face became more and more pronounced as she repeatedly told herself that she wouldn't have a date tonight but just a simple dinner with a friend. 'S-Should I go shopping for some new clothes? What the hell are you thinking about, Tatsuki? I can just wear some casual attire, and there will be no problem... Well, I wanted to go get a few new clothes for a while now, so I might as well do it now.
