Under everyone's puzzled gaze, Lin Nan held the Asauchi flat, its tip pointed straight at the water sphere formed by the Azure Wave Barrier. "Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden!"
In a dim corner of the Spirit Arts Academy beneath the night sky, a flash of blue light suddenly lit up.
Everyone from the Noble Rights Protection Association, including Marechiyo, collapsed to the ground in agony, their bodies twitching uncontrollably. Those with weaker constitutions even had wisps of black smoke drifting from their mouths.
Lin Nan walked over to the incapacitated Omaeda Marechiyo and looked down at the others, who were still trembling nonstop. His voice was as icy as shards of ice. "I used to believe that if no one bothered me, I wouldn't bother them. Do you understand now? I don't even need my sword to deal with you."
Marechiyo still couldn't stop himself from shaking. All he could do was nod, trembling.
"Since that's the case, I'll let you off this once."
Lin Nan couldn't be bothered to spare them another glance. He left them with those words and headed straight for the dormitories.
But before he'd gone ten minutes, he spotted Amamiya Keiji struggling to his feet beside another secluded path.
He went over to help and pulled Amamiya up from the ground. In the faint light of a streetlamp, he saw that the other boy's face was bruised and swollen.
"What happened to you? Don't tell me you fell."
Amamiya lowered his eyes, burdened by his troubles. He gingerly touched the purple-black bruise around his eye, winced in pain, and said petulantly, "Just leave me alone. I might as well die."
"Oh? Got some fire in you. Can't you recognize a kind word?"
Lin Nan had a terrible impression of Amamiya. He tossed out those words and started to turn away, but before he could, a thought flashed through his mind.
"The Noble Rights Protection Association just went by... They didn't beat you up, did they?"
Amamiya blushed as if Lin Nan had exposed some humiliating secret.
Watching his expression, Lin Nan had already figured out most of what had happened.
"They wanted you to join them? You refused, so they bullied you?"
Amamiya's face twisted further. His knuckles turned deathly white as his hands clenched tight. "Those bastards... ganging up on me!"
"Weren't you pretty interested in sucking up to nobles? Why didn't you say yes?" Lin Nan asked, watching him with interest.
"Who wouldn't want a noble to back them? But I can't stand the way they do things. It's despicable! And..." Amamiya trailed off.
"And what?" Lin Nan noticed his complicated expression and prompted him.
"And some of them used to be my friends! Now they've cozied up to their upperclassmen, and they turn around and beat me up! They even threatened that if I didn't give in, they'd come beat me up again tomorrow!"
Amamiya grew more and more indignant as he spoke, until he began trembling uncontrollably.
Lin Nan sighed. "At least now you know who your real friends are and who your fake friends are. They're probably just like you used to be, always looking for someone powerful to back them. Now that they've found a big tree to shelter under in the Noble Rights Protection Association, they can afford to abandon you.
"You need to relearn how to make friends, classmate!"
Amamiya Keiji lowered his head. Tears welled in his eyes, and he forced them open wide to keep the tears from spilling.
Lin Nan was right. He needed to learn how to make friends.
When school started, Ukitake, who was a commoner, was bullied, but Kyoraku, a great noble, came to his aid. Even Lin Nan, also a commoner, had stepped in right away, unafraid of offending a rich merchant's son like him.
Despite being the Captain-Commander's disciple, either of the other two could have simply stood by and done nothing.
And what about his so-called friends? On the first day of school, when Lin Nan had beaten him up, not one of them had stepped forward to help. And today, they had...
Before he'd come to the Spirit Arts Academy, his father had grabbed his hand and said, "The future of the Amamiya House is in your hands. Make sure you make some useful friends at school!"
But what was a friend? What did friendship even mean?
Lin Nan quietly watched Amamiya, who had fallen silent, as if he could guess what was going through the other boy's mind. "Don't be upset. It's a good thing to learn early whether someone's really your friend."
Amamiya struggled to rein in his emotions. He sniffed and said in a low voice, "Do I still have a chance to have friends like you, Ukitake, and Kyoraku?"
Lin Nan blinked, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Then he seemed to understand and smiled. "Sincerity for sincerity. You can have that, too."
"Then can I be your friend?"
"Uh... I don't see why not. But you can't keep looking down on the poor like you used to. Otherwise, we definitely won't get along."
"I can change! I'll become a better, stronger person! Then I'll make those bastards pay!" Amamiya growled, venting his pent-up anger.
Lin Nan said nothing, only watched him quietly.
"Thanks for staying with me all this time, Lin Nan. Sorry you had to see me like this." Amamiya wiped his face with his sleeve and bowed to Lin Nan.
Lin Nan waved him off impatiently. "Don't pull that on me. I don't like seeing it."
Amamiya stood up and looked back in the direction Lin Nan had come from. Then he suddenly asked, "Did you come from that way, too? You didn't run into them? They were just headed that way."
Lin Nan smiled faintly. "I ran into them, all right!"
Amamiya was confused. Whenever members of the Noble Rights Protection Association ran into a new student who wasn't a noble, they usually bullied them. They either forced them to join or subdued them with violence.
He knew Lin Nan was a commoner, so how had the Noble Rights Protection Association left him alone?
"Oh... They didn't dare touch you because you're the Captain-Commander's disciple?" Amamiya realized.
Lin Nan curled his lip. "What are you talking about? I can't go around bragging about my identity to everyone. I beat them all to the ground."
Amamiya stared at Lin Nan, unable to believe it.
One against more than a dozen, and he'd still won! No wonder he was Captain-Commander Yamamoto's disciple. He was incredible!
"Lin, you're so strong! Please help me with my studies from now on! I have to get stronger so I'll be worthy of being your friend!
"Please accept me. I swear I'll cut ties with that bunch!" Amamiya bowed to Lin Nan again without hesitation.
Lin Nan hurriedly caught him by the shoulders and helped him upright. "Didn't I tell you? I don't like seeing people bow."
Looking at Amamiya's expression, something stirred in Lin Nan's heart. His gaze was so earnest, so determined. It seemed he really did want to turn over a new leaf.
A thought suddenly occurred to Lin Nan. He found himself regretting how easily he'd let the Noble Rights Protection Association off the hook.
"Amamiya, if you're serious, the three of us are willing to be your friends."
"Really?! Don't worry, I mean it! I'm willing to do anything to prove myself! I'll cut ties with those so-called friends from before. I won't be like them, throwing my weight around or looking down on the poor!"
Lin Nan shook his head and spoke slowly. "Uh, actually, there is something I'd like to ask you to do. You might be the best person for the job."
"Just tell me. I'll do anything!" Amamiya nodded eagerly.
Lin Nan hesitated for a long while before finally speaking. "Tomorrow, if they come looking for trouble again, don't fight back. If you can't beat them, just join them."
There was no such thing as a secret that never got out. If anyone had ever taken an interest in the Zanpakuto inside the Spirit Arts Academy, they were bound to have left some clues behind.
The Noble Rights Protection Association had members from every grade, from first to sixth year. They were bound to have heard some rumors and gossip.
So Lin Nan decided to have Amamiya Keiji go undercover. Maybe he'd discover something. But to ensure Amamiya's safety, Lin Nan didn't tell him the truth.
Though Amamiya didn't understand, his hatred for the Noble Rights Protection Association made him willing to give it a try.
For the next few days, Lin Nan didn't approach Amamiya again, giving him plenty of time to blend into the organization. After all, he couldn't expect to find out anything early on. The priority was to finish infiltrating it and become a genuine member.
Meanwhile, Lin Nan and the other two also needed to stick to their plan and build up their personas, reinforcing their image so everything would go smoothly.
But things on Lin Nan's end were gradually starting to spiral out of control.
Before you continue