Katori was both startled and embarrassed. She bent down to study Lin Nan's face closely, then said through gritted teeth, "Pretending to sleep and eavesdropping on me. Tell me, how should I kill you?"
Lin Nan finally had a chance to get a good look at Katori. For a moment, she seemed like a stranger to him.
He quickly searched his memories of the manga for a character who matched her, but realized he knew nothing about Katori Batsunsai, the first captain of the 8th Division—
The original Thirteen Divisions had only ever existed in the original author Tite Kubo's notes. Their personalities, histories, backgrounds, and combat abilities were all a complete blank.
Facing Captain Katori, who had a youthful face but a hint of mature-woman charm, Lin Nan felt his heart sink. They said the first-generation captains were all ruthless killers. Now that he'd offended one, what was he supposed to do?
He blinked and hesitated. "Could you let me die of natural causes?"
Katori raised an eyebrow and lifted her hand as if to strike him. "Such a silver tongue! I'll send you on your way right now!"
Lin Nan hurriedly scooted backward, blurting out a lie as he moved. "I think there might be some misunderstanding between us. I'm just an ordinary resident of Rukongai..."
He stopped halfway through. Who was he trying to fool? She already knew who he was.
But then he thought again: She doesn't know that I know she knows yet!
He had to come up with a plan fast and turn the situation to his advantage.
Watching Lin Nan's movements and the lie he'd blurted out without thinking, Katori gave him an inscrutable smile. "You're pretty cautious. If I hadn't personally snatched you away from Unohana, I might have believed you. What's your name?"
At her question, Lin Nan looked down at his bandage-wrapped body. The bandages were neat and snug, neither too loose nor too tight. Whoever had done it had real skill. Had she wrapped them herself? No, that wasn't what he should be thinking about right now!
He needed to strike the right pose: he couldn't let her know he'd overheard everything, but he couldn't put himself at a disadvantage, either!
Lin Nan's thoughts raced. As Katori's gaze roamed over him, he couldn't help feeling as if he were about to break into a sweat.
Think fast! Make it sound reasonable!
"My name is Lin Nan. These..." Lin Nan thought for a moment, then discreetly swallowed before asking hesitantly, "These bandages... did you wrap them for me?"
Great. That sounded perfectly reasonable. Lin Nan silently covered his face in his mind.
Seeing his somewhat awkward expression, Katori couldn't help laughing to herself. She narrowed her eyes and studied his gaze from up close.
Lin Nan felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny and edged farther back. "What is it?"
"Why did you ask that?" Katori hid her smile, her big eyes shifting back and forth in front of Lin Nan as if searching for a crack in his story.
"Well... does it matter? I just thought the bandages were wrapped really well. It must've taken a thoughtful, skillful young woman to do such a good job." Lin Nan delivered his lie with righteous conviction.
Great. That sounded more and more reasonable.
Katori's face suddenly flushed. Her heart seemed to skip a beat.
In all her centuries, no one had ever dared speak to her like that. She felt as if he were teasing her, but couldn't think of how to strike back.
Fortunately, a woman's intuition came to her aid.
She gave a light cough, trying to suppress the blush spreading over her cheeks. "I'm starting to think you woke up a long time ago and heard quite a lot."
Lin Nan forced himself to stay calm and changed the subject. "Huh? I don't understand what you mean. Where are we?"
Seeing Lin Nan's reaction only strengthened Katori's suspicions. A scrutinizing look gradually appeared on her face.
"This is the 8th Division. I'm Katori Batsunsai, captain of the 8th Division. You got those injuries in a sword fight with Unohana Kenpachi. Do you remember?"
Lin Nan nodded. "I remember that. So... did you wrap these bandages or not?"
He was really not going to let that question go, was he?
Katori's breath caught, and her thoughts grew muddled. She nodded helplessly. "I did. The medic wasn't skilled enough to handle the spiritual pressure Kenpachi left in your wounds, so I took care of the bandages myself."
Lin Nan thanked her earnestly. "I really appreciate it. If you ever get hurt, I'll bandage you up too."
Katori stared at him. "You haven't even recovered, and you're already asking for trouble?"
"Don't—don't get the wrong idea... I just couldn't think of any other way to show my gratitude, so I thought I'd repay you in kind... Besides, girls are bound to get a few bumps and bruises... And I'm pretty good at bandaging wounds, too. I used to learn how to make wraps from someone..."
A martial-arts-obsessed young woman like Katori had spent centuries getting good at killing people. She'd never tried flirting with anyone before. Now she'd let her true feelings slip in front of the handsome Lin Nan, only to realize he'd heard every word. Her heart was fluttering, and her reason was failing her at every turn.
Lin Nan's perfectly serious nonsense thoroughly scrambled her already unguarded thoughts.
Seeing the dazed look behind her round glasses and the confusion in her bright, flirtatious eyes, Lin Nan felt his heart give an inexplicable little jolt.
Such a pretty, adorable girl, and she's a killer, too...
"...Oh, right. Besides wraps, I'm pretty good at making noodles, too. Once I've recovered, I'll take you out for some."
"Great! It's a promise!" At the mention of food, Katori finally managed to follow his train of thought and nodded. "But I never said I'd let you leave!"
Her eyes shifted, and she couldn't hide the amusement in their corners.
"You're the guy who showed up with a Menos Grande a while back, aren't you?"
Lin Nan hadn't expected Katori to ask so directly. A flicker of surprise crossed his face as he looked at her. "How do you know?"
Katori lifted her delicate little face. The round lenses of her glasses reflected the light from the window. "My squad members saw you when you and the Hollow appeared. After you mysteriously escaped twice, I became interested in you.
"You might not know this, but my lieutenant has been discreetly gathering whatever information he can and searching for you."
No, I know. Your squad members have been running around with wanted notices, looking for me. I even escaped a few times.
"Then why did you go to Unohana's place to rescue me? Weren't you afraid I might be working with the Hollows or the rebels?" Even though it had worked out in his favor, Lin Nan still found her decision hard to understand.
"Of course I was worried. When you landed, my squad members saw a Hollow nearly eat you. That was enough to prove you had no connection to Hueco Mundo.
"As for the rebels, I wasn't worried about them either. First, why would the rebels go to such an obvious effort to bring you back?
"Second, they didn't have the ability to control Hollows and make them carry you through a Negacion. And third, the rebels' experts excelled mostly at Kido and Hakuda. If anyone among them could go toe-to-toe with Sister Retsu in Zanjutsu, I wouldn't believe it for a second."
Katori gave a confident smile and lifted her chin at Lin Nan. "From now on, you're a secret member of my 8th Division. I'll train you little by little, and when the time is right, I'll make you a full-fledged squad member!"
"Don't you think you're being a little presumptuous? You don't even know me." Though Lin Nan already knew what Katori had in mind, he couldn't help asking.
"Surviving a fight with Kenpachi is the best way to get to know someone!" Katori waved her little hand casually. Her white haori swayed, revealing her impressive figure.
She hadn't planned to tell Lin Nan that he'd wounded Kenpachi. It was too bizarre, and people might doubt it was true. Besides, who knew what was going on in the kid's head? If he went around bragging that he'd cut Kenpachi, Unohana might chop him to pieces. Then all her effort would have been for nothing.
Katori's ample curves kept bouncing in front of Lin Nan's eyes. He kept his gaze from wandering and thought things over as they walked.
If Katori really didn't suspect who he was, then staying in the 8th Division was undoubtedly a good choice. For one thing, he could skip the Spirit Arts Academy's entrance exam. And he could stay in a division instead of having to find a place elsewhere afterward.
The downside was that his original wish for a peaceful life might be affected. But Soul Reapers had desk jobs, too. At worst, he could take one of those and still live quietly.
Seeing Lin Nan's expression grow calm, Katori picked up a robe from nearby and tossed it to him. "How are you feeling now? Can you walk? If you're up to it, I'll have the squad members show you around the barracks and help you learn your way around."
Lin Nan caught the robe and put it on, then tentatively moved his arms. He exclaimed in surprise, "I can't feel any pain! How long was I out?"
From their earlier conversation, Lin Nan already knew he'd been unconscious for less than a day. But based on his experience from before he'd crossed over, wounds like these would've taken at least ten days or half a month to heal.
Katori walked over, looking a little puzzled, and gently prodded his wound. "Doesn't it hurt?"
Lin Nan shook his head. "It feels a little itchy around the wound, but it really doesn't hurt."
Katori was delighted. "If it's healing this quickly, your spiritual-pressure potential really is impressive!"
Now that the wounds had healed, he'd be fine as long as he avoided strenuous activity. Lin Nan declined Katori's offer to have squad members support him, then cautiously got to his feet. With Katori beside him, he slowly headed outside.
Once they left the room, Katori returned to her imposing manner as captain of the 8th Division. She walked ahead at an unhurried pace, occasionally giving Lin Nan a brief explanation of the route. He followed quietly behind her, carefully committing it to memory.
"This is the main part of the 8th Division. You can take a closer look at the rest once you've recovered."
To avoid tiring Lin Nan, Katori chose the shortest route and showed him only how to get to a few of the barracks' main buildings.
They retraced their steps. Katori continued walking ahead, while Lin Nan followed slowly, memorizing the locations and routes around the barracks as they went.
Katori couldn't help imagining what life would be like after Lin Nan joined them. Her intuition told her that once this immensely gifted young man joined the 8th Division, he'd accomplish great things.
"You know, I founded the 8th Division, and you'll be one of us now. Do you know what I want most for the 8th Division?" Thinking about how the division's strength was about to grow, Katori wanted to share her hopes for the division and all its members with Lin Nan.
Lin Nan was still going over the barracks' layout in his mind. Hearing Katori's question, he answered offhandedly, "I know. You want to take lots of handsome boys out with you..."
Before he could finish, a powerful killing intent made Lin Nan clamp his mouth shut. He looked up in shock—
Katori's face was bright red. Her watery, flirtatious eyes were full of embarrassment and fury; she looked ready to bore two transparent holes right through him with her gaze.
So you really did hear everything!!
Lin Nan realized he'd let the words slip and gave an awkward smile.
"I... I was just saying the first thing that came to mind..."
Katori was so embarrassed and furious that she stomped her foot and gritted her teeth.
"Just you wait!"
Before you continue