"What the... You just punch people in the nose without a word. How barbaric." Kyoraku Shunsui pressed a damp handkerchief to his nose and muttered under his breath. "Just you wait. I'll prepare a real treat for you!"
An hour earlier, Lin Nan had punched him out cold. When he came to, he found himself lying all alone in the middle of the foyer, with a handkerchief stuffed up his bleeding nose to stop it.
Meanwhile, Lin Nan was wandering around as if nothing had happened. Over the past hour, he had almost finished touring every corner of Gen Private School.
The first courtyard was where guests were received and meetings held. The decorations and furnishings had clearly been chosen with care, reflecting the host's respect for his visitors.
The second courtyard was the heart of the martial arts school. Two rows of weapon racks stood along either side, holding an assortment of bamboo swords, wooden swords, wooden spears, and other weapons. The rooms here looked exactly as you would expect in a martial arts school: neatly arranged uniforms and wooden sandals, along with the bold, dignified calligraphy on the walls, all reflecting the master's character.
"Yamamoto's handwriting is pretty dignified. He really is meticulous." Lin Nan looked at the three handwritten characters, "Genryūsai," on the wall and thought to himself.
Behind this room was a modest little courtyard, with a small pond surrounding a slightly spindly willow tree. Beyond the tree, he could see a room directly across from him with its door firmly shut. The kitchen and a storage room stood nearby.
"That must be Yamamoto's residence, and the place where Kyoraku Shunsui found the portrait of Genryūsai in Bankai when he was a child." The scene before him gradually overlapped with the one in his memories from the original story. Lin Nan nodded thoughtfully and turned to explore elsewhere.
He had no intention of entering Yamamoto's room. Based on his years of reading novels and manga, experts as powerful as Yamamoto could usually tell if someone had been in their room.
Time passed, and the sky gradually darkened.
"Kyoraku Shunsui still hasn't woken up?" Lin Nan rubbed his slightly hungry stomach and wondered aloud, "He's been lying there for over an hour, hasn't he? Is the future Captain-Commander really that frail? He's hopeless. I'd better go easy on him next time..."
He thought back to how hard he had punched just now. It hadn't been that hard. Ever since waking from his coma, he had felt that his body's reflexes and strength had weakened slightly, though he couldn't figure out why.
"Maybe I haven't fully recovered yet?"
The signs had already appeared when he sparred with the 8th Division members. He still had the advantage over ordinary Soul Reapers, but his performance had dropped considerably compared with when he fought Unohana.
Still, Lin Nan now had one point of proficiency, and his grasp of Hakuda was improving rapidly. During the four days Katori spent giving him intensive training, she had been amazed by how quickly he learned more than once.
In short, although his physical condition hadn't recovered, he was making up for it with technique. Overall, Lin Nan was still confident in his current fighting strength.
He hesitated for a moment, then decided to head back to the kitchen and see if he could find something to eat. He might as well bring some food to Kyoraku Shunsui, too.
Kyoraku was far more of a bastard than he was in the original story, but that timeline was still a long way off, and people changed.
As a friend, the future Kyoraku was a pretty decent guy, so Lin Nan didn't want to sour their relationship right after meeting him.
Well, he'd just consider that punch a greeting. He couldn't help himself from hitting the guy.
As night deepened, Lin Nan made his way to the courtyard at the very back, guided by his memory. He rummaged through the kitchen but found no prepared food—only ingredients that had already been washed.
He sighed. It looked like he'd have to cook for himself. By the dim light of the kitchen's oil lamp, Lin Nan found some flour and vegetables. After weighing his options, he decided to make oil-splashed noodles. Compared with other methods, boiling the noodles, adding the seasonings, and pouring hot oil over them was quick.
Thanks to living alone after he started working, Lin Nan had become quite skilled at satisfying his appetite, and preparing a meal like this was well within his abilities.
After spending a few days with the 8th Division and eating his fill, Lin Nan never wanted to go hungry again. He hadn't had a proper meal since entering Rukongai. He hadn't been in danger of starving to death, but once he'd tasted food, he never wanted to experience hunger again.
He boiled the noodles, drained them, and put them in a bowl. Then he added the vegetables and minced scallions and ginger, and neatly arranged some red chili peppers on top. He poured in the heated oil. With a sharp sizzle, an intense fragrance immediately filled the air.
Lin Nan added a little vinegar and soy sauce to the bowl, took a sniff, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Kyoraku! Kyoraku Shunsui! It's dark out. Time to wake up! Eat your fill so you can go back to sleep!" He poured the remaining oil over another bowl of noodles beside him and called out loudly.
There was no response. The vast Gen Private School seemed completely deserted.
Just as the last drop of oil fell into the bowl, a small object suddenly came spinning out of the darkness. It sliced through the air with a gust of wind, heading straight for Lin Nan's head!
Lin Nan raised an eyebrow and nimbly tilted his head, just dodging the unidentified object.
Thud! The oil lamp behind him was knocked over, and its flame went out.
Lin Nan clicked his tongue. "You've got to be more careful. What if you start a fire?"
Kyoraku's voice came from nearby in the darkness. "That's fine. If the house burns down, my family can pay for it. How am I supposed to eat if I don't teach you a proper lesson?"
Lin Nan glanced up at the pitch-black ceiling and sneered. "That's fine. If you can't eat, I'll shove it down your throat."
Dim moonlight spilled in through the doorway. The object that had knocked over the oil lamp lay motionless at the edge of the shadows—a metal spinning top, its surface reflecting a faint glimmer.
Lin Nan set down the ladle he'd used to pour the oil and teased, "You're a grown man and you still play with spinning tops? Isn't that childish?" As he spoke, he picked up the chopsticks he'd used to boil the noodles and took a quiet step toward the darkness beside him, careful not to give away his position.
A soft laugh came from the darkness. At the same time, the spinning top on the ground suddenly sprang into motion, bouncing a few times before flying at Lin Nan again, aiming straight for his face!
Lin Nan hurriedly tilted his head to dodge. "Holy crap, do you have an aimbot?"
The next moment, Kyoraku's voice murmured from behind him. "In the shadows, there isn't a game I can't win."
Hearing a sharp whistle as something hurtled through the air toward his right cheek, Lin Nan quickly ducked and rolled forward to avoid it. A moment later, he heard dishes and bowls shattering behind him.
Kyoraku Shunsui let out a surprised chuckle. "You're quick when it comes to running for your life. What happened to that tough act from earlier? Or are you scared, and all you can do is run?"
Lin Nan darted to the doorway and stood in the bright moonlight, frowning into the pitch-black room. "What's there to be afraid of when it comes to a fight? I just don't want to knock over the noodles I just made!"
Kyoraku emerged halfway from the darkness. The spinning top rested in his left palm, and his right hand held the short whip used to launch it.
"Then let's have a proper fight before you worry about eating! I'm a genius, recognized by everyone, and the Captain-Commander's personal disciple. I can't leave that punch unanswered! Whoever loses doesn't get to eat!"
Lin Nan gave him an incredulous look. "Why should I have to listen to you? I made the noodles. You think I won't eat just because you tell me not to? And can you stop being so dramatic? You're going to fight me with a toy?"
"I like playing. So what? What are you going to do about it? I can beat you up with a toy just as easily!"
Kyoraku lightly tossed the spinning top into the air with his left hand. It floated off and disappeared into the darkness beside him. At the same time, he darted forward, his whip slicing through the air with a whoosh as it shot straight toward Lin Nan's face.
His intention was clear: You made my nose bleed, so I'll make sure you get hurt, too!
Lin Nan used the long chopsticks in his hand to knock aside the whip, then tilted his head to dodge the spinning top as it flew back at him from behind. The two of them darted and weaved around each other through the kitchen, then soon fought their way out into the courtyard.
Lin Nan didn't fight back. He easily deflected most of Kyoraku's attacks through defense and evasion alone. At the same time, he was quietly trying to figure out why Kyoraku was called a genius.
"Can he use spiritual pressure to control small objects and make them attack? I never saw him launch the spinning top, but it keeps flying back and forth to attack me..."
The bright moon cast dark shadows from the houses and thick trees across the ground. Two figures clashed and darted through the patchwork of shadows, the sounds of their fight ringing out without pause.
As time passed, Kyoraku's attacks grew more frequent. The spinning top in particular zipped around them at high speed. It still wasn't much of a threat to Lin Nan, but he could no longer deflect it as easily as he had before.
Lin Nan knocked the flying top aside with his long chopsticks, then came to a stop beneath the mottled moonlight. He held one chopstick in each hand and said solemnly, "You can control objects with spiritual pressure?"
Kyoraku drew the spinning top back into his left hand and smiled, nodding in approval. "No wonder Old Man Yama took you on as a disciple. You've got some skill. But you guessed wrong. I'll tell you after I beat you!"
As he spoke, the spinning top shot away in an instant and vanished into the shadows;
at the same time, Kyoraku leaped high into the air, his short whip roaring through the air as it came crashing down at a speed almost too fast to see!
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