"Stronger… I have to get stronger!!"
Inside the infirmary of the Shinō Academy, Fūjin Taichi suddenly jolted awake with a shout.
For a moment, the unfamiliar surroundings left him disoriented.
"Thank goodness! Fūjin, you're finally awake!!"
A familiar voice rang out from beside him.
Taichi turned his head in surprise and saw Rukia Kuchiki, his classmate, leaning close to the bed with a relieved smile.
"Rukia?! W-What are you doing here?"
Taichi instinctively leaned back a little and glanced around the room.
Only then did he realize he was lying on a bed in the academy's infirmary.
"Well," Rukia said cheerfully, pulling a small stool next to the bed, "Instructor Saitō heard that you got knocked unconscious in the dojo, so he asked me to come take care of you!"
As she spoke, she carefully pressed a medicated patch onto the back of Taichi's neck.
"The medical team said this plaster works really well for bruises. If you leave it on overnight, you should recover by morning."
"Ah… thanks, Rukia."
A cool sensation spread across the sore spot on Taichi's neck.
The pain eased almost immediately, and he let out a small sigh of relief.
"No problem!" Rukia replied shyly, scratching her cheek.
"Oh, right! There's something else."
"Earlier this evening, a girl named Saitō Mizuki came by asking about you."
"Huh? Mizuki…"
Taichi blinked for a moment before suddenly remembering the punishment he'd received earlier.
He quickly sat up.
"Rukia, what time is it right now?"
"It's almost midnight," she said. "About half an hour left. Why?"
"Nothing…"
Taichi scratched his head awkwardly.
He briefly explained how he'd been punished for reading in the library.
"Did Miss Saitō say anything else?" he asked.
"She asked about your condition," Rukia replied, thinking for a moment.
"Then she said she could help request an extension from Instructor Mangetsu at the academic office if needed."
"I see…"
Taichi nodded.
After recalling the chaotic events from the afternoon in Dojo No. 1, he cautiously asked another question.
"Um… did anyone else come looking for me today?"
Rukia thought carefully.
"…I don't think so."
"Oh."
Taichi gave a quiet response and said nothing more.
He leaned back against the pillow and stared out the window at the pale moonlight spilling across the sill.
Seeing that he seemed lost in thought, Rukia stood up quietly.
"Well… you should get some rest, Fūjin. I'll be heading back now!"
"Rukia."
Taichi turned his head and looked at her sincerely.
"Thanks for taking care of me today."
"Ah—haha!"
Rukia suddenly became flustered and rubbed her nose in embarrassment.
"You're being so formal all of a sudden… I don't even know what to say!"
After awkwardly telling him to rest well one more time, she picked up her lantern and left the infirmary.
"Ōki…" Taichi stared blankly at the ceiling after she left.
His mind kept replaying the moment Ōki had attacked him from behind.
Anger burned in his chest.
That bastard…
Not only did he sneak-attack me, he didn't even bother coming to check on me afterward.
Just wait.
One day I'll make sure you regret it.
"Caw… caw…"
At some point, a pitch-black crow had flown into the infirmary.
It landed near Taichi's bed and tilted its head, studying him curiously.
"Shoo, shoo… I'm not dead yet."
Taichi waved his hand lazily.
But the next second, he froze.
His eyes locked onto the crow.
"…Wait a second."
"Do they even have crows in the Soul Society?"
"Caw… caw…"
The crow tilted its head again.
After staring at him for a moment, it suddenly spoke.
"Of course the Soul Society has crows, Fūjin."
"…What?!"
Taichi nearly jumped out of the bed.
He pressed his back against the wall in alarm, staring at the bird.
"Y-You can talk?!"
Seeing that the crow didn't seem hostile, he cautiously asked,
"…What the hell are you?"
"If you don't know how to listen, then keep your mouth shut," the crow said with an annoyed eye roll.
Then it turned its head toward the open window and called out,
"Come in, Yukihime."
"Yukihime…?"
The moment Taichi heard that name, realization struck him.
Yukihime… that's the name of Fujiwara Tatsuma's Zanpakutō.
Which means…
His eyes widened.
"You—"
"You're Fujiwara Tatsuma?!"
"Looks like you're not completely stupid," the crow replied lazily.
"Good. That makes things easier."
It flapped its wings and flew a few circles around the room before landing on the window frame again.
At that moment, a graceful figure drifted in through the window like falling snow.
She took a seat beside the crow.
It was Yukihime.
A crow and a white-haired girl in white robes sitting side by side on the windowsill.
No matter how you looked at it, the scene felt like something straight out of a horror film.
"Fujiwara… why are you a crow?" Taichi asked, staring at the bizarre pair. "And… isn't she your Zanpakutō? How did you make her appear in physical form?"
As a descendant of a royal bloodline, Fūjin Taichi had read about certain secrets recorded in the Great Spirit Archive. According to those records, the Five Great Noble Families serving the Soul King could form contracts with spiritual entities, granting them the ability to transform into animals.
But still—
He had never imagined Fujiwara Tatsuma could turn into a crow.
Could it be…
"I… come from the Royal Clan."
The crow blinked in a strangely human way.
"My real name is Kazama Kyōnosuke."
"Oh."
Taichi let out an awkward laugh.
As a descendant of a branch family of the royal lineage, he had spent years thinking about revenge against the main royal house.
Yet now that someone from the royal family was standing right in front of him…
He suddenly had no idea what to do.
"Fūjin," the crow said seriously. "I need your help."
"…What?"
"I…"
The crow glanced at the white-haired girl beside him—Yukihime—before continuing.
"Not long ago, a rebellion broke out within the Royal Clan."
"I need outside forces to help me suppress it."
Taichi folded his arms and remained silent for a long moment.
Then he asked calmly,
"If the Royal Clan is in trouble, shouldn't you ask Seireitei for help?"
"No."
The crow's expression darkened.
"There are spies planted by the royal faction inside Seireitei."
"If my identity is exposed, I'll likely be assassinated."
"Spies?" Taichi frowned. "You mean…?"
"My eldest brother, Momonosuke, has placed informants within the court."
"I still haven't figured out who they are."
A flash of hatred passed through the crow's dark eyes.
"He poisoned our father in order to seize the throne."
"Then he murdered my mother as well."
"And after that… he sent the Kazama Four Wings to hunt me down."
"The Kazama Four Wings again?!"
The moment Taichi heard that name, anger flared in his chest.
Those bastards…
The ones who hunted me in East Rukongai, District 76—the SakahoneDistrict—were from the Kazama Four Wings!
Because of them, he had spent more than fifty years hiding in the desolate Hanakuzu District.
Fifty years of fear.
Fifty years of hunger.
He barely dared leave his hiding place, often starving because he couldn't risk searching for food.
"I will avenge this," the crow said coldly.
Taichi watched him silently.
Meanwhile, his mind churned.
The extermination of the Fūma Clan… that revenge is something I must claim as well.
But this guy…
Is he an enemy?
Or an ally?
"Fūjin."
The crow lifted his head and gazed up at the moon hanging in the night sky.
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"Do you know why I came to you?"
"…Why?"
Truthfully, Taichi was wondering the same thing.
Why him?
"Because…"
The crow paused before answering.
"Because Yukihime told me something."
"What?"
"She said…"
"There is a mysterious power hidden within you."
"And that power seems closely connected to the Royal Clan."
"So…" Taichi finished the sentence for him, "you think I'll become your ally and help you take the throne back from Momonosuke one day."
"Exactly."
The crow nodded.
Taichi chuckled softly.
"To be honest, I'm not interested in getting involved in your royal family drama."
"And even if I were, I don't have the strength to do anything about it."
He lay back down on the bed, resting his hands behind his head like a pillow.
"So yeah…"
"I think you've got the wrong guy."
"Is that really how you feel?"
"Yep."
"Absolutely."
"…I see."
The crow suddenly flew down from the windowsill and landed on the bed.
Its black eyes stared straight into Taichi's.
"In that case," it said coldly, "I'm afraid I can't let someone who knows this secret stay alive."
"So…"
"Die."
"Just die."
The crow's beak suddenly split open into a grotesque, monstrous maw.
In one horrifying motion—
It bit off Taichi's head.
Blood erupted everywhere, soaking the white bed sheets crimson.
"AAAHHH!!!"
Taichi screamed.
Then—
He shot upright.
Sweat poured down his face as he frantically looked around.
The familiar surroundings of the academy infirmary came back into view.
Only then did he exhale shakily.
"…Just a dream."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
But suddenly—
A sharp pain pulsed from his chest.
Taichi frowned and looked down.
And froze.
Stamped clearly over his chest—
was a sixteen-petaled black chrysanthemum crest.
"…What the hell just happened?"