Your Name

In the World of the Living, on the streets of Karakura Town.

Some time has passed since the Modified Soul incident, Soul Society has gradually returned to normal operation. After entrusting the team's affairs to Renji, Byakuya Kuchiki once again came to the World of the Living.

Unless there's a special mission, Byakuya usually doesn't come to the World of the Living, but this time his trip is unusually for personal matters.

After donning the Gigai, Byakuya wore a black and white bespoke suit. His destination was the luxury hotel where he had last vacationed in the World of the Living.

When Byakuya last came to the World of the Living, he ordered a whole set of Italian-style luxury furniture. Coincidentally, the house where the Decimo lived was burned down, so Byakuya decided to adopt the Italian style for the newly built residence.

These pieces of furniture, along with the renovations to the new house, were all designed to make the Decimo more comfortable and accustomed to living there.

Since it concerned a rare friend, Byakuya decided to personally go and escort all the furniture to Urahara Shop, and watch Urahara Kisuke transform them into Reishi and take them to Soul Society.

Therefore, Byakuya did not find it troublesome to personally make a trip to the World of the Living; when it comes to giving gifts to friends, no amount of effort is too much.

Byakuya did not use his spiritual pressure to move quickly through Karakura Town. Instead, he walked the streets like an ordinary person, but his unconsciously emanating noble aura always made him the focus of attention in the crowd.

He could always hear the praise and admiration of passersby, but as the head of the Kuchiki Clan, Byakuya wouldn't let himself be swayed by these words. Until...

"Byakuya? Are you Byakuya- sama?"

A gentle voice sounded behind Byakuya. The tone of the question seemed familiar. Only one person would speak to him in this tone, the one who had long been buried deep in his heart.

With a mix of excitement and trepidation, Byakuya immediately turned around. "Is it you? Why are you in reality? Weren't you already...?"

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Byakuya turned around and found a girl he didn't recognize standing behind him.

In contrast to her gentle and intellectual tone, the girl was dressed in a World of the Living JK uniform, with her purple hair tied in a single pineapple bun, exuding a youthful and vibrant aura.

But what clashed with this demeanor was the girl's eyes; they were filled with memories and disbelief. Byakuya actually saw love in her eyes?

The girl trembled as she raised her hand, wanting to touch Byakuya's face. Illusion and reality intertwined, and she couldn't believe that the familiar face from her memories was appearing before her once again.

"Who are you?"

Byakuya's icy voice interrupted the girl's actions. The hand that had been in front of Byakuya was quickly withdrawn, and she clasped her hands to her chest, her expression snapping out of her reverie.

Byakuya's words not only stopped the girl's behavior, but also woke her from that strange state. Her expression changed to a quirky and cute look, and even her voice became more lively instead of gentle.

"My name is Akina. My intuition tells me that I seem to know you. Can we be friends?" The girl, Akina, asked Byakuya in a generous manner, extending her hand.

Byakuya looked the girl named Akina up and down, and he was quite certain that he had never seen this person before in his memory.

But since she could accurately call out his name, Byakuya had to take her hand in order to figure out the girl's purpose.

"Byakuya Kuchiki." Byakuya shook hands with the front half of his hand in a very gentlemanly manner to show respect.

"I know, I know," Akina said casually. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have stopped you."

Just as Byakuya was about to ask why Akina knew his name, a strange spiritual pressure caught his attention.

What he didn't notice was that as he turned to look in the direction of the spiritual pressure, the girl beside him ran off in that direction before he could.

Watching the girl's retreating figure and feeling the strange spiritual pressure, Byakuya decided to put aside what he was doing for the time being. Both the spiritual pressure and the girl who had suddenly called his name were too much to bear.

Because he was wearing a Gigai suit, Byakuya didn't foolishly run towards the direction of spiritual pressure like Akina did. Instead, he walked into a corner where no one noticed him, took off the Gigai, and then started chasing after them.

With the combined advantages of Flash Step and invisibility in his soul form, Byakuya's brief pause was not a waste of time; after a few Shunpo Flash Step, he caught up with Akina's back.

Byakuya then discovered the source of this strange spiritual pressure: a huge commercial plaza where a dense swarm of ghost-like objects were wandering. They wore red pointed hats and white robes, resembling the ghosts described by humans in the World of the Living world.

However, Byakuya, as the captain of the Seireitei Division, certainly didn't believe it was a ghost. Rather than a ghost, it was more like a living being, a living being without consciousness.

They wandered aimlessly around the square, seemingly searching for something, but their disorderly movements made it hard to believe they were actually looking for something.

Having just finished observing the strange ghosts, Byakuya saw Akina, a girl he had just met, foolishly rushing towards the center of the ghosts.

The moment the thought of danger crossed Byakuya's mind, he instinctively wanted to help Akina. There was no particular reason; what drove him was not reason, but his emotion of not wanting Akina to get hurt.

Before Byakuya could act, he saw that Akina had also taken off her Gigai while running. In her soul form, Akina was wearing a Shinigami Uniform and had a Zanpakuto at her waist.

Bleach? A person from Soul Society?

The moment Byakuya saw the Shinigami Uniform, a whole host of questions arose in his mind. In Soul Society, there weren't many people who could directly call Byakuya by his name; these new cases only appeared after Tsuna appeared in Soul Society.

Most others call him Captain Kuchiki or Lord Kuchiki, all based on the Kuchiki Clan, one of the Four Great Noble Clans. Those who call him by his name and add "Lord" are undoubtedly very close to him.

On this basis, a gentle and intimate tone should be used, mentioning that Byakuya remember, there has only been one person: his deceased wife, Rukia's older sister, Hisana Kuchiki.

Due to health reasons, Hisana Kuchiki's health was always poor after she married into the Kuchiki Clan. She was bedridden for many years and Byakuya away at a young age.

And now, with his deceased wife, who had passed away many years ago, speaking in the same tone, how could Byakuya not be concerned?

Adding to that, Akina's earlier gesture of wanting to touch her face, everything was just a small, intimate act between husband and wife.

If it weren't for this face he had never seen before, Byakuya would have thought that his wife had appeared in front of him once again.

Byakuya didn't rush to make a move. Akina Zanpakuto, shouldn't be charging around recklessly like a fool; she should be confident in dealing with these ghosts.

Crimson maple leaves scattered with each step of Akina. She drew her Zanpakuto and shouted, "Let the night fall, Miroku Maru!"

The Zanpakuto in Akina's hand transformed into a golden Zen Staff. At the same time, her spiritual pressure created a whirlwind that carried maple leaves into the sky.

As she ascended into the air, Akina continued to wave her Zen Staff. The whirlwind grew stronger and stronger, and gradually, all the ghosts were swept into it and destroyed by Akina one by one.

Byakuya's eyes did not linger on Akina for long. He was more concerned with the strange ghosts and spiritual pressure than with this peculiar Bleach girl.

Suddenly, Byakuya narrowed his eyes. He vaguely saw a person wearing green armor among the chaotic white ghosts, whose hand was resting on the hilt of the sword at Byakuya's waist.

For some reason, Byakuya felt a sense of unease within him. He had experienced that feeling of anxiety and loss before, when he lost the most important person to him.

"Careful!"

After Byakuya subconsciously shouted something, he unleashed all the power he had learned in his life, using Flash Step next to Akina. Zanpakuto and slashed down a short sword that was emitting a green light.

"Eh? Byakuya, what are you doing here?" Akina asked, her eyes wide. Her tone was completely mischievous, showing no respect whatsoever for Byakuya.

Byakuya didn't immediately pay attention to Akina; his eyes remained fixed on the group of ghosts below. Clearly, his guess was correct: that person had launched a sneak attack on Akina.

But after missing his target, the opponent immediately fled, disappearing into the ghostly realm.

"Byakuya, wait for me a moment, it'll be ready soon."

As if completely oblivious to the danger, Akina continued to eliminate the strange ghosts. Before long, the entire plaza was restored to its clean state, with every single ghost vanished by her.

Akina leaped back into her Gigai, clenching her fists and waving them around like a child, celebrating her great victory.

After feeling smug, Akina flashed a victory sign at Byakuya. "How about that? I was awesome, wasn't I?"

Byakuya found it increasingly strange. Intellectual, decisive, brave, childlike, and even somewhat naive—all these distinct personalities were concentrated in one person. This Bleach named Akina was definitely not normal.

"Which squad are you Bleach from?" Byakuya asked, though he himself didn't realize that his tone had softened a bit, but to Akina it still sounded cold.

"Why are you so serious! I'm a hero who just solved a major incident, a hero!" Akina said discontentedly, looking like a child who had just saved the world.

"I'm sorry, I..." Byakuya didn't know why he was apologizing. His heart told him to show respect to Akina. After carefully choosing his words, he asked softly, "Could you tell me which squad you belong to? Perhaps I can help you."

"Squad? I don't know, what's that?"

However, Akina's words made Byakuya's pupils shrink. It was impossible for no Bleach not to know about the Gotei 13 of Soul Society. Even Ichigo and Ichigo Bleach from the World of the Living had been issued Substitute Badge.

Where did Akina come from? Or did some event cause her to suffer from temporary amnesia? Even if she had amnesia, she shouldn't be calling Byakuya- sama...

One question after another popped into Byakuya's mind like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. His conversation with Akina did not resolve his doubts; instead, it only increased his confusion.