"Turn ourselves into different people? How are we supposed to do that?" Kyoraku was the first to ask. With his genius mind still busy playing with spinning tops, the question was currently beyond him.
Ukitake thoughtfully rubbed his chin beside him, his mind racing. "Could he mean we should learn makeup and disguises?"
Lin Nan lowered his head with a sigh. "You're making it too complicated. We can just pretend to have different personalities.
"For example, if you're the kind of person who keeps himself in check, you could pretend to be a womanizer... That way, we'll lull any potential enemies into a false sense of security.
"Besides, we've only just started school, and we don't know each other well yet. That gives us the perfect opportunity to disguise ourselves."
Lin Nan laid out his plan, partly explaining it to the other two and partly thinking through whether it would work.
"First of all, the image the three of us need to shake is that of Gen Style disciples.
"If the people behind this find out who we are, they'll naturally be on their guard."
"But people already know we're Gen Style disciples. How are we supposed to shake that image?" Ukitake suddenly remembered how their connection to Genryūsai had been revealed on the first day of school and hurriedly asked.
"If our identities are already known, then we'll create an image that no teacher or school could possibly approve of."
Lin Nan brushed a lock of hair from his forehead, as if helping himself organize his thoughts. "Take me, for example. I'll pretend to be arrogant and unruly—the kind of person a teacher would hate at first sight..."
Kyoraku and Ukitake were intrigued by Lin Nan's description and leaned closer.
"Isn't this just like playing pretend? Sounds fun!" Kyoraku clapped softly. "What other kinds of people could we pretend to be?"
Lin Nan smacked his lips as he considered it. "Bloodthirsty... no. A gambler? The Academy doesn't have that kind of atmosphere... A womanizer? Hmm... Someone obsessed with women, lacking ambition, and neglecting his training. That should be the kind of person a teacher would give up on pretty easily..."
At the last suggestion, Kyoraku hurriedly raised his hand. "I can do that one."
Lin Nan paused, then spread his hands. "Pretend to be a womanizer? Just remember to keep it under control."
Kyoraku's smile froze, and he fell silent.
"Whenever you see a female classmate, throw yourself at her. Be as lazy as possible in class. As long as people think you're a student that Old Man Yama is bound to give up on, you've succeeded," Lin Nan continued. "That one should actually be pretty easy for you, Kyoraku. Just exaggerate the laid-back side of your personality as much as possible."
Listening to Lin Nan's instructions, Kyoraku felt that his character had been insulted just a little. "Let me make one thing clear: I'm not a womanizer!"
Lin Nan humored him. "Sure, sure."
Thinking about it, though, Kyoraku did sometimes act like a lovesick gorilla whenever he was around female classmates, but he had never actually crossed the line.
Ukitake was also interested in Lin Nan's idea. Pointing to himself, he asked, "What about me? What kind of personality should I pretend to have?"
Lin Nan looked at Ukitake's kindly face and slowly shook his head.
"You should just stay as you are. Your face is too gentle-looking to pull off a different image. And if all three of Genryūsai's disciples were hopeless cases, it would seem a bit unreasonable. We should at least spare the Captain-Commander's reputation."
Seeing Ukitake's disappointment, Lin Nan quickly added, "You could make yourself seem even more approachable. Because of your connection to the Captain-Commander, people will want to cozy up to us. Your image could help you get close to them more easily."
After agreeing on their roles, the three decided to put the plan into action at once. To make sure it seemed more believable to anyone watching, Lin Nan also came up with a plan to split into two groups—
The "lazy womanizer" Kyoraku would team up with the "kind and approachable" Ukitake. Their contrasting personalities should help put the others at ease.
As for the "arrogant bully," Lin Nan would go solo from now on, emphasizing his lone-wolf image to make his personality seem convincing.
After a few days of laying the groundwork, they gradually got their classmates to accept their new personas.
Lin Nan grew increasingly aloof. He looked at everyone as if they were no different from stray dogs, and he was genuinely good at fighting. Whether in Hakuda or Zanjutsu, none of the boys in his year could match him.
Kyoraku Shunsui was one of the boys' favorite companions, but the moment he saw a pretty girl, he turned into a gorilla who'd spotted a banana. The girls all steered clear of him.
Ukitake, meanwhile, came across as very approachable. Though the boys looked down on him a little because of his background, quite a few girls gradually developed a crush on him. Many of them even found all sorts of opportunities to slip him love letters in secret. This left Kyoraku Shunsui deeply wounded and jealous.
Time flew by, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The three had settled into their new roles.
Lin Nan stuck to the original plan, no longer going around with Kyoraku and Ukitake. He also made a conscious effort to become more short-tempered.
Late one night, after his evening class, Lin Nan was stopped on his way back to the dormitory by more than a dozen people.
They called themselves the "Noble Rights Protection Association," or the "Association for the Protection of Noble Rights" for short.
The association was made up mostly of upperclassmen. It claimed to defend noble rights, but its real goal was to curry favor with the nobility. Its president was supposedly a sixth-year student who was about to graduate.
Surrounded by more than a dozen people, Lin Nan wasn't the least bit nervous. He'd been waiting for this moment for days.
At an academy like the Spirit Arts Academy, where noble and wealthy students ran rampant, it was practically inevitable that students from different walks of life would form all kinds of little cliques.
Still, a gang with such an oddly shameless name as the "Association for the Protection of Noble Rights" was beyond what Lin Nan had expected.
The dozen or so people slowly closed in around him.
Their leader was the association's president. Nearly two meters tall and powerfully built, he came from the family of a wealthy merchant in the First District of Rukongai.
"What's your name?" the president asked lazily, his hands tucked inside his lapels as he parted his thick lips.
"What's it to you? If you want to call me Dad, you should check our ages first. I'm too young to be your father."
Faced with the man's imposing height, Lin Nan didn't even look him in the eye. He replied coolly.
"Hm? Can't you speak properly? Looking to die?" The tall man's usual line had been thrown off by Lin Nan's unexpected response. At a loss for words, he quickly grew furious with embarrassment.
But remembering why he'd come, he forced down his anger. "I'll ask you again. What's your name, and what family are you from?"
Lin Nan yawned. "You're so annoying. My name's Lin Nan. What do you want?"
As the tall man searched his memory for noble families with the surname Lin, he also began bragging about himself.
"I'm Omaeda Marechiyo, voted 'Most Handsome Rich Young Master in the School' for five years running and 'Man Who Makes You Feel Safest.' I even ranked first in the 'Man You'd Most Like to Be With' poll! And I'm the founding president of the Noble Rights Protection Association!"
"Oh? My apologies, then!" Lin Nan looked at the man's boxy, pockmarked face and struggled not to laugh. "How long had the people who voted been blind?"
Omaeda flushed bright red. He glanced at one of his underlings, and when the man gave him an affirmative nod, he turned on Lin Nan and shouted, "We've already checked. There are no noble families with the surname Lin. That means you're just a commoner?!"
Lin Nan curiously glanced at the underling and saw him carefully slipping a small notebook into his pocket.
"You even made your own register of noble families? What experts in sucking up you are!" Lin Nan instantly understood what the notebook was for and clapped without a hint of enthusiasm. "Spit it out. You've already wasted five minutes of my sleeping time!"
Omaeda Marechiyo approached menacingly, resting his right hand on the hilt at his waist as he looked down at Lin Nan. "We're here because we heard you're living in one of the Tsunayashiro family's exclusive luxury single rooms?!
"You're a lowly commoner. How dare you live in a single room?!"
One of his underlings immediately chimed in, sucking up to his leader. "Apologize and join us, kid, and you'll be rewarded. Otherwise, you're in for a rough time!
"The president's a sixth-year student. He can already use his Zanpakuto! Just look at his build—he could cut you in half with one swing!"
Omaeda grinned at Lin Nan. "You can't draw your Zanpakuto until you're at least in your fourth year. In other words, you'll have to wait another three years before you're qualified to stand against me.
"For now, all you have is a Zanpakuto you can't even draw. I suggest you learn to accept the situation."
Lin Nan remained expressionless. He even felt like laughing. "You've spouted a load of nonsense without getting to the point. What do you actually want from me?"
Omaeda drew his Zanpakuto with a sharp swish. "What do we want? For you to stop infringing on the Tsunayashiro family's rights!
"Move out of the dormitory right now and clean it up. Then we'll return it to Lord Tsunayashiro! Understand?"
"Got it. You want me to give you the chance to kiss the Tsunayashiro family's ass." Lin Nan spoke coolly, then added in case they didn't understand: "By 'ass,' I mean the butt. The butt is the ass."
Omaeda Marechiyo could hardly believe his ears. In six years, Lin Nan was the first person to talk back to him to his face!
"What? You dare defy me, President Omaeda? My Zanpakuto will chop you to pieces!"
Lin Nan sighed impatiently. Judging by that repulsive tone and way of speaking, this Omaeda Marechiyo had to be related to the other Omaeda from the manga. No doubt about it.
"To be honest, I don't even feel like fighting you. You all look so weak. But I've decided to teach you a lesson anyway."
He casually scanned the people surrounding him, then drew the Zanpakuto at his waist with ease, pointing its tip at Omaeda's nose.
"That's all there is to it. Your association is sticking its nose where it doesn't belong."
Before you continue