My Days Standing Out in Soul Society (Part Two)

That force pushed him upward toward the light, closer and closer to its warmth...

"...This brat isn't really dead, is he? Why hasn't he woken up yet? That can't be right. The captain treated him herself, so he shouldn't have died!"

The familiar voice sounded in Liu Ziyun's ear, pulling him back from the chaos.

That's... Tazawa Kentarō's voice?

Am I still dreaming?

No, wait. After all that, how could this still be a dream?

I'm not really dead, am I?

Once the thought appeared, it spread like weeds. All the details began connecting in his mind—the real pain, the real blood, the real sensation of being on the brink of death...

How the hell did I die?! Did I die in my sleep? Well, that's not so bad. At least I didn't suffer... No, wait, I'm freaking dead! What's good about that?!

And how did I end up in Soul Society? It's a manga! A manga! I'm inside a manga!

I do like the Bleach manga, but I never wanted to experience it firsthand! People are always slashing each other up, and the two big bosses later on are each more ruthless than the last. Soul Society practically gets wiped out!

Panic began to spread, but then another, even more terrifying thought struck him:

Huh... No, wait, I transmigrated! My body's obviously different. I've turned into a kid, so I definitely transmigrated!

Hold on. If I transmigrated, who was the original owner of this body? No name, no background, not even any memories?

Then how did I get here?

And do I have a cheat?

He suddenly remembered the two voices he had heard cursing him in the chaos.

Those voices just now... Could they be my cheat?

He immediately tried calling out in his mind: System... System, are you there? Check-in? Quest panel? Status screen?

Silence.

Old grandpa? Are you there, old grandpa? An old grandpa in a ring? An old grandpa in a jade pendant? Any old grandpa will do!

Still no response.

Damn it! Nothing! What kind of rip-off is transmigration without a cheat?!

Just then, Tazawa Kentarō's voice sounded again, much closer this time. "Damn, this kid's asleep! He's even talking in his sleep! What the hell is a 'system'? 'Old grandpa'? I bet he misses his grandpa..."

A large hand patted Liu Ziyun's face. "Hey, brat, wake up!"

Liu Ziyun slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Tazawa Kentarō's face, wearing a teasing expression. Kiyōnosuke Yamada stood a little farther away, and beyond him, Retsu Unohana was holding a cup of tea and sipping it slowly.

"Uh... Tazawa Kentarō?" Liu Ziyun asked uncertainly. His voice was so hoarse that it startled even him.

"Not bad, you still remember my name." Tazawa Kentarō grinned. "Why aren't you calling me 'buddy' anymore? Have you figured it out now, kid? Still think you're dreaming?"

Liu Ziyun pushed himself up and found that he was lying on a simple but clean bed, dressed in plain linen clothes. The wound on his forehead had healed, leaving only a faint white mark.

He looked around. It was a typical Japanese-style room, simply furnished but neat in every detail. Through the window, he could see a garden with an artificial rock formation, running water, and several carefully pruned pine trees.

"I... I'm still not sure," Liu Ziyun said, rubbing his temples. "Am I really dead? I mean, dead is dead, but how did I get to Soul Society? And I look completely different from how I did when I was alive!"

He held up his little hands and examined them closely. "Tell me, if I'm not dreaming, even if I died and came to Soul Society, my body wouldn't turn into a kid's, would it? I lived for over thirty years, after all!"

"That's because your body has a relatively high level of spiritual power, which it releases constantly," a gentle voice came from the other side of the room.

Liu Ziyun turned and saw that Retsu Unohana had somehow moved to the window. With her back to them, she was looking out at the garden. Sunlight streamed through the paper window, bathing her in a soft glow.

"Your body is instinctively protecting itself by drawing its spiritual power inward to prevent unnecessary waste." She turned around, the same serene smile on her face. "Because in Soul Society, when people with spiritual power exhaust it, there's a high chance they'll lose themselves to hunger and become Hollows."

She walked slowly to Liu Ziyun's bedside and looked down at him. "But it's rare for someone to become a child as you have. Usually, the contraction of spiritual power only makes a soul look a little younger than its actual age. But to actually become young again... Your spiritual power is probably even more unusual than I imagined."

Liu Ziyun stared blankly at the beautiful face so close to his, his mind struggling to catch up.

She's... even prettier up close... he thought instinctively, but then shook his head. No, no, this isn't the time to be ogling her!

"But..." He struggled to put his thoughts into words. "Dying like this is just too unfair, isn't it? I don't even know how I died, or how I got to Soul Society. Could it be..."

He abruptly stopped halfway through.

A terrifying thought flashed through his mind:

If I really transmigrated into the world of Bleach, instead of dreaming...

Then I can't just casually reveal what I know about this world—the manga's plot, the relationships between characters, and future events!

Otherwise, I'll definitely be arrested and interrogated as a suspicious person! Soul Society has the Stealth Force! Those guys won't be gentle when they interrogate someone!

And right now... just how many years before the story starts is this? Sister Unohana is still alive, and Kenpachi Zaraki probably hasn't become a captain yet... This has to be at least a hundred years ago!

I have to be careful. Very careful...

Liu Ziyun's expression instantly turned serious. He looked up at Retsu Unohana and spoke in a tone as sincere as he could manage:

"Um... Sister... Captain Unohana, I might really not be dreaming. But as for how I died or how I got here, I really... don't remember a thing."

He paused, then added, "I only remember that my name seems to be Liu Ziyun. Everything else... is like a blackboard washed clean, completely blank."

It was the safest explanation he could think of—amnesia. It was cliché, but useful.

Retsu Unohana looked at him quietly, her deep eyes seeming to see right through him. After a long while, she gave a slight nod.

"Souls occasionally suffer memory loss when passing through the Dangai. It's nothing unusual."

She turned and headed for the door. "Stay with the Fourth Division for now. Fifth Seat Tazawa, find him a place to stay, and teach him the basics about Soul Society while you're at it."

"Yes, Captain!" Tazawa Kentarō answered, standing at attention.

Retsu Unohana paused at the door. Without turning around, she said softly:

"Oh, Liu Ziyun."

"Yes!" Liu Ziyun answered instinctively.

"If you really can't remember anything," Retsu Unohana said, turning her head slightly, the corners of her mouth curling into a meaningful smile, "then how did you know my name and call me 'Sister Unohana'?"

With that, she slid the door open, and her white figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The room fell deathly silent.

Liu Ziyun sat stiffly on the bed, his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.

I. Am. Screwed.

How could I make such a stupid mistake?!

Tazawa Kentarō and Kiyōnosuke Yamada looked at him with sympathy. Their eyes clearly said, "Kid, you're on your own."

Outside, the sunlight was still bright, and the sound of running water in the garden was crisp and pleasant.

But Liu Ziyun could only feel that his first day in Soul Society probably wouldn't end so easily.

And deep within his consciousness, the two voices he had forgotten were quietly talking:

"That kid's pretty good at putting on an act."

"But not convincing enough. His story's full of holes."

"Give him time. He did just 'die,' after all."

"True. The interesting days are only just beginning."

The two voices chuckled, then gradually fell silent, as though they had never appeared.

Only the faint white mark on Liu Ziyun's forehead shimmered with a barely perceptible light in the sun.