Bleach: Reborn as Hinamori

Throughout history and across cultures, fantasy worlds have always featured some form of supernatural ability fueled by mysterious energy. Whether it's magic, demonic power, or divine and mystical forces, these energies shape entire worlds.

In BLEACH, it's spiritual power. The higher one's spiritual power, the stronger the individual becomes, and the spiritual pressure emitted by souls—or highly concentrated spiritual power, is what we call "reiatsu." This is the same concept behind that phrase you often see online: "The spiritual pressure of ○○ has disappeared..."

In the BLEACH world, nearly all battles are decided by spiritual pressure. Therefore, the first step is to increase one's spiritual power to directly boost reiatsu.

That's what I thought... no, what she thought. To start, she tried to sense her own spiritual power through meditation, following the teachings of her older brother from the early chapters of the series...

"—I'm hungry."

Careless. I suddenly remembered that setting and clutched my head in frustration.

This drawback is a matter of life and death for a newbie like me. I ate the rice ball I bought with the meager pocket money I received at the gate, but if I don't find a way to earn money soon, I'll starve to death. This afterlife is way too harsh.

"...I guess I should focus on staying alive first."

You can't trade your life for food. I'd rather not get involved with other homeless kids like in the original story, so I'll just use my official cute face and work as a shop assistant.

No need to rush. I need money to save Shiro-chan and her grandmother, just like in the original story.

──And so, a year has passed since I made a fresh start, and my daily life as the most popular girl in the neighborhood is bustling with activity.

"Momo-chan, what do you think of this?"

"Wow, it suits you perfectly, Suke-san!"

"Momo-chan, you're so cute today! Why don't you come marry me soon?"

"Eh...!? Ah, um... I'm in trouble!"

"Hinamori Momo, you might just be the woman who becomes my wife..."

"Ah, yes, the red-dyed haori. I'll take it!"

Playing the role of the bright, innocent, and shy girl from the original story, the live-in tailor's shop became a huge success from day one. It's a shame I can't see my own cute body, but for fans, having that Hinamori-chan take measurements while selling clothes and occasionally touching your body must be heaven. I'm so jealous.

"Phew, finally done. Momo-chan, you can rest for today."

"Ah, okay! Thank you for your hard work. I'll be heading out first."

After greeting the old man, I retreat to the back of the store.

This place pays well and offers a wonderful environment where I can relax in the evenings. It's hard to believe this is the chaotic Rukongai district. No wonder it's called the Divine District.

...Well, I am a woman with a secret identity as a seeker of spiritual power.

Today, I'd like to talk a bit about my secret training method.

First, to become stronger, one must master the "Zan Ken Souki" training, which includes the liberation of zanpakutō. But doing that in my public area would be noticed immediately.

As a secret technique, there's Hollowfication and the Soul King's palace training, but both involve fusing other souls into one's own soul to elevate one's spiritual rank—an ultra-advanced technique. Unfortunately, it's beyond my reach.

When I was at a loss, I suddenly recalled another piece of original knowledge about spiritual power.

(...and...)

That's right. The soul's spiritual power is governed by an imaginary internal organ. The heart, which corresponds to the circulatory system, and the bone marrow, which corresponds to the blood-producing system.

Of course, what they govern is not blood but spiritual power.

(If none of the original training methods work, maybe I should come up with a way to directly train this organ...)

For a year, I tried various crazy ideas. The training method I eventually arrived at was—extremely dangerous, with no regard for bodily safety.

"Suuu... Ugh!"

I focused with all my might. Unlike training muscles, this involved putting strain directly on the organ itself.

Specifically, I manipulated my spiritual energy to increase the density of spiritual pressure inside my body to several times its normal level. Moving something thick and viscous is much harder than moving something thin and fluid.

"Ugh—ugh…"

However, it was simple yet extremely dangerous, difficult, and above all, incredibly grueling. I tried to adjust the intensity to avoid mistakes, but even the slightest error caused excruciating pain that made me lose consciousness. There have been times when I didn't wake up until noon the next day, causing a commotion at the shop.

That said, the suffering is worth it, as it seems to trigger the manga world's famous "super recovery," and afterward, it becomes much easier to manipulate spiritual pressure. It's a highly effective training method.

"Haa... Haa... Alright, next."

And then there's the other organ—the hakusui. It's the organ that produces spiritual power itself, and if you aim to become stronger, this is also essential.

The training method for this was inspired by the recent light novel template of "depleting one's spiritual power." The idea is to intentionally create a state of spiritual power depletion within the body, stimulating the survival instinct to enhance spiritual power generation.

However, there's one problem: there's no suitable "training location" to deplete one's spiritual power.

(After all, I'm hiding my spiritual pressure, so using it in public would defeat the purpose.)

In baby reincarnation stories, this problem can be overcome somehow thanks to the love and understanding of the parents, but ultimately, the protagonist's uniqueness is still exposed. But who are we dealing with here? For the legendary Mayuri, "love" means reducing the dosage of experimental drugs by a few milligrams during human experiments.

If we're discovered, we'll become that madman's playthings.

...The hint to break out of this bleak situation was hidden in an unexpected place.

Changing the subject slightly, this was during my search for a method to hide my spiritual pressure.

This "spiritual pressure concealment technique" was just as important to me as spiritual power training, but since there were no detailed descriptions in the original work, I had to figure it out on my own. Excluding the kidō arts mentioned earlier, the only real clue was the image of "turning off a faucet" from Ishida's early dialogue.

However, no matter how I tried, I couldn't completely block it, so I resorted to a brute-force solution, relying on Hinamori's talent for kidō: "If I just constantly manipulate my spiritual pressure and keep it adhered to my body surface, that should work, right?"

...In reality, this method was madness, equivalent to suicide, as it went against the spiritual power circulation system where released spiritual pressure absorbs surrounding spiritual particles and returns them to the source.

(This incidentally connected well with the previous training...)

Right. Now, returning to the topic of "hakusui," the key point of this spirit pressure concealment technique was the method of "constantly manipulating spirit pressure and keeping it adhered to the body's surface."

First, the spirit pressure released outside the body is reduced by absorbing surrounding spirit particles. When spiritual pressure is stuck to the body surface, this cycle is blocked, and the spiritual power inside the body decreases. This creates a pseudo "spiritual power depletion state," which is the desired effect, and my hakusui strengthens its function to replenish the spiritual power.

That's how it works.

(You can hide your spiritual pressure, train your hakusui, and improve your spiritual pressure manipulation skills as a bonus. It's dangerous, but it's a three-for-one training method. It's stylish and efficient, just like BLEACH.)

Well, I'm secretly proud of myself, but it's a super dangerous technique that could cost me my life, and it's a desperate measure because I can't let my spiritual pressure escape. If I'm too careless with it, I'll end up like Rukia-chan with her floating spiritual energy balls, which would be too conspicuous.

I'll try my best not to die...

(Though it's lucky things are going smoothly, this growth pace is a bit unexpected... is this some kind of power-up cheat?)

Recently, I noticed that the spiritual pressure of the Seireitei Gate Guardian I met in the neighborhood is actually lower than mine, which made me realize my power has risen significantly without me noticing.

I need to perfect my spiritual pressure concealment or else the Shinigami will detect me, which would be troublesome, and more importantly, it would cause trouble for my uncle's shop and the market. Even if I'm recruited by the Spiritual Arts Academy, I want to wait until the 2066th term when the flag for Aizen-sama is raised. I haven't even met Shiro-chan yet, so this is a serious problem.

(Niki. You're the first original character I've met...)

A kind-hearted but not very bright gatekeeper Shinigami with a wide network of connections. Maybe I can secretly ask him to teach me the art of Zan Ken Souki through his friends and acquaintances. It wouldn't hurt to get close to him.

(Speaking of Shinigami, I wonder if Gin is already in Rukongai Street...)

About a hundred years until I can enroll in the Shinō Academy. About fifty years until I can meet my favorite character. I hope I can make good use of this long time until the past arc of the original story begins, even if it means trial and error.

And so, time flies like an arrow.

During the day, I live a double life as a local idol and a seeker of spiritual power. I finally hear rumors about the silver-haired, blue-eyed boy I've been waiting for...

***

He is a taboo child.

I don't know why. But at least all the heartless people living in nearby Junrinan say so. Therefore, for the young boy, everything in his life was his kind grandmother, who protected him from thugs and bullies.

Their daily life was just the two of them. The empty house with the cold wind blowing through it was the complete world for Tōshirō, and it remained the symbol of peace above all else.

But on that day, an intruder appeared in his paradise.

"Are you okay, Grandma? You shouldn't be carrying such a heavy load."

"I'm sorry, Momo-chan. You've been such a great help. Thank you so much."

The unfamiliar yet familiar voice speaking to his grandmother at the entrance made Tōshirō frown. Judging by the voice, the intruder was a young woman. Thinking that the gossiping neighbors who occasionally talked about the "Ice Boy" at the well had finally come to his house, the boy grabbed a stick and headed toward the entryway to drive her away.

There, Tōshirō met her.

"—What... how cute...!"

The intruder who had made such a rude remark upon first meeting was a young girl.

She had shoulder-length black hair that was different from his grandmother's, and although the young Tōshirō had no concept of beauty in the opposite sex, her sparkling eyes, flawless white skin, and above all, her radiant smile were extremely shocking to him, who lived in such a narrow world.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hinamori Momo! What's your name?"

Looking back now, it was probably because he was so captivated by her at that moment that their power dynamics were set in stone.

"...Do you know her, Grandma?"

After the girl, who had apparently just helped an old woman with her heavy luggage, left with a smile and a "See you later!", Tōshirō couldn't help but ask his grandmother about her.

"Oh, you didn't know? Hinamori Momo is the shop girl at the tailor's in the market. Your kimono is also from her shop."

"Really?"

Apparently, she was quite famous, a kind-hearted popular girl who had offered her hand to help when his grandmother was resting by the roadside. His grandmother's rare smile as she talked about the outside world seemed to be proof that this woman named Hinamori was a good person.

"They say Momo-chan has spiritual powers too. I hope you can get along with her, Tōshirō."

"...Really?"

"The tailor's husband said she works as a saleswoman to become a Shinigami. She was born with power and wants to use it to protect everyone."

As his grandmother marveled at how noble it was for a girl to say such a thing, Tōshirō couldn't help but think about the girl.

She has the same spiritual powers as him. She describes that bothersome power as something meant to protect others and seems to want to use it for that purpose. For Tōshirō, who is despised by those around him as an outcast, it's a value he struggles to understand.

"See you later..."

But why?

The smile etched in his mind, the great ambition of a girl who should be around his age, seemed so dazzling and beautiful to his jaded eyes.

Repeating the words of their farewell in his mind, Tōshirō couldn't help but relax his cheeks.

The rude intruder who had suddenly invaded the boy's paradise became the third inhabitant of that world from that day onward.

"Hey, Shiro-chan! Don't be picky!"

"Ugh, shut up, you idiot! It's all your fault I hate dried persimmons because you keep feeding them to me every time you come here!"

"Hehe, sorry, sorry. Oh, I got some eggs from the tailor's regular customer. Should I make you some tamagoyaki?"

"Ugh, damn it... Don't forget the grated radish."

The days were no longer quiet. The new daily life centered around a young girl had become the most precious treasure in Tōshirō's heart.