BURN THE WITCH (one-shot)

This is a special pilot chapter of BURN THE WITCH, Tite Kubo's first manga series since the end of Bleach. It was released in the July 16th, 2018 edition of *Shonen Jump*.

Accompanying the release of Bleach JET, *BURN THE WITCH* was compiled in a special, limited-issue volume that was given to those who purchased the artwork collection at launch and contained the one-shot, several sketches of Noel Niihashi and Ninny Spangcole, and data about some of Ichigo Kurosaki's previously-unnamed classmates in addition to concept art of characters and scenes from many different media across the Bleach franchise.

## Summary

As Noel Niihashi walks down the streets of London in her school uniform while musing on how uniforms tell others who she is, she comes across Osushi sitting on the ground and prepares to give him a dog treat, only to be accosted by Balgo Parks, who wishes to see her panties as usual. Kicking Balgo away, Noel notes that he is now able to finish his sentences even after being kicked by her and throws a pipe at him, which he frantically dodges, before brushing off his claim that it could have hit someone by stating that if he could dodge it, even an elderly man could. Emboldened by her challenge of never being able to best her, Balgo tells her to not underestimate him, only to be swiftly incapacitated by a strike to the jaw. Noel enters a nearby phonebooth and deposits a coin emblazoned with the emblem of the Western Branch before saying that she is clocking into work to the receiver, causing the phonebooth to drop into the ground below, much to Balgo's bewilderment.

In Reverse London, standing beneath the partially destroyed gate of the Western Branch, Ninny Spangcole berates the repairmen for not fixing the gate in the week since it was damaged while her latest advertisement plays on a large monitor in the background. When she is told that the installation of the monitor was prioritized, Ninny claims this is just an excuse and, upon being interrupted by the arrival of Noel behind her, demands to know why Noel is late again, leading Noel to state she had to fight off Balgo at the entrance as usual, to Ninny's chagrin. It is revealed that the dragons of ancient fables are not fictitious, but not quite real either: centuries ago, 72% of all deaths in London were caused by dragons, which is why London's coat of arms features dragons on it. The residents of London cannot see dragons, but needed to be protected from them nonetheless; therefore, the residents of Reverse London, hidden under "Front London", took it upon themselves to protect and control the dragons.

As she and Ninny enter the Wing Bind headquarters, Noel points out that Ninny is the one who told the repairmen to prioritize the installation of the monitor, prompting Ninny to defend her actions by claiming everyone wants to see her advertisements. When Ninny reminds her that she asked not to be called "Ninii-chan" because she is Noel's senpai, Noel tells her to call her by her first name, leading Ninny to say "Niiha-chan" is cuter and that Noel is a boy's name, which Noel counters by stating that it is a girl's name in Japan. Billy Banx Jr. walks up and notes that they seem to be having fun as usual before brushing off Ninny's ensuing insult of him being bald. After having them stamp their attendance sheets, Billy walks Noel and Ninny to their Broombuggy mounts before revealing they will be going to Ninebrook Pastures and claiming that it is a fun place. As Ninny grows increasingly frustrated with her boss's remarks, Noel states that they should get going, and the two of them take off on their mounts.

Elsewhere, in London, Balgo sits with his friend Shelby and tearfully states that he wanted to see Noel's panties, prompting Shelby to berate him for being sad about such a thing. When Balgo reminds him that he rejected the story of Noel disappearing into thin air, Shelby confirms this because he considers the idea of people going to Reverse London preposterous, as it is a "fairy tale" like Santa Claus. Foisting Osushi onto Shelby, who is overwhelmed by his cuteness, Balgo convinces his friend to listen to his woes. Meanwhile, in Ninebrook Pastures, Noel feeds her mount while Ninny complains about not being able to join the **Sabre Squad** and protect the streets of London, leading Noel to note that she is content where she is in the **Conservation Rangers**. Upon being approached by a farmhand, Noel introduces herself and Ninny, prompting the farmhand to request that they help him harvest a crop today. It is revealed that the people of Reverse London rely upon various types of domesticated dragons for their utilities, such as textiles, electricity, and even meat.

Noel and Ninny climb up the neck of an extremely large, camel-like Dragon as Ninny notes that she actually prefers this domestication of the Dragons to Japan's policy of simply killing them all, but she does not know why they need to be harvesting grapes from this Dragon. It is revealed that the only absolute rule regarding Dragons is that ordinary residents of London are forbidden from coming into direct contact with them - the only ones who have the authority to do so are the witches and wizards who have passed the exam to join the Wing Bind agency. This rule is meant to protect both citizens and Dragons, and violating it is punishable by 100 years imprisonment or something else. Back in London, Balgo brings Shelby to the phonebooth Noel disappeared in and wonders what the WB that appeared on the booth meant. As Shelby begins to leave, Osushi suddenly distorts and transforms into an enormous Dark Dragon.

In Ninebrook Pastures, Noel receives a call from Billy, who asks her to finish up her harvest and perform an extermination for him. Though Noel decides to hang up on him, Ninny overhears and convinces Noel to go through with it. As they speed through the air on their mounts, Noel and Ninny learn that they were chosen because the **Sabre Squad** is currently doing field training in the north all day and the dragon in question is located in South Braxton, where Noel is from. Noting that they do not have time to go back to the phone gate, Ninny tells Noel to use her coin so they can open the **Coin Gate**. As she notes that Ninny seems very happy about this, which Ninny admits to being true because they might get promoted to the **Saber Squad** for defending London on their own, Noel tosses her the coin as Ninny opens the **Coin Gate**, which they go through.

Meanwhile, as they hide from the rampaging Dark Dragon, Balgo and Shelby note that something is definitely in front of them even though they cannot see it. Suddenly, Noel and Ninny burst out of the **Coin Gate** behind the Dragon. As it is revealed that Dragons become Dark by coming into contact with people and absorbing their negative emotions, which also gives them the power of human speech, the Dark Dragon demands to see Noel's panties, causing her to immediately realize Balgo is nearby and promise to kill him. Upon noticing the limp Osushi, Ninny deduces that he is dead and the Dark Dragon is a Disguiser, which takes over corpses. When Shelby tries to flee the scene, Ninny pursues him despite Noel's warning that there are two Dragons present, only for Shelby to suddenly unfurl his body and attack Ninny.

With her left arm broken by the attack, Ninny rolls to safety as Shelby reveals himself to be a Disguiser Dragon as well. Noting that he does not want to kill Balgo, Shelby declares that he will devour the witches and become immortal as he attacks Ninny once more, only for Noel to swoop in and rescue her. As Noel reveals that Shelby died when he was 7 while protecting Balgo from the impact of a train, Ninny remarks on the strangeness of a Dark Dragon living among humans for 10 years before Shelby suddenly appears next to them and attacks, sending Ninny crashing into the city below. When the dust clears to reveal Ninny landed next to Balgo, Shelby tells him to leave so he can devour Ninny and attempts to do so, but Balgo blocks his mouth with his arms and reveals that he is doing so because he still believes Shelby is his friend. Shelby prepares to devour them both, but is kicked away by Noel, who admits that Balgo was cool for a moment there before destroying Shelby with **Absolute Dragon Shatter**, to Balgo's shock.

Later, Noel and Ninny learn that Billy has been promoted to the **Sabre Squad** due to his decision to send them in to handle the Dark Dragon, while they have been given Balgo to take care of after he became a Dragon-Possessed One due to being bitten by a Dark Dragon after living with one for 10 years. While Ninny hounds Billy, Osushi, now a dog again, asks to see Noel's panties, causing her to chase after him and Balgo, destroying the now-rebuilt Western Branch gate once again in the process.

## Author's Notes

Having had a pet dog and being a *mangaka*, I challenged myself to put my dog in a manga.
Still, my desire to draw dogs hasn't disappeared, so I might draw them in some form again.
-Tite Kubo

## Trivia

* The last panel of this one-shot is emblazoned with the name **BURN THE WITCH**, but has select portions of the words (all of the letters B, E, C, and H, as well as the upper-right portion of the letter T and the middle of the letter W) shaded in, spelling out "BLEACH".
* The title of this one-shot is a reference to the song "Burn the Witch" by the band Radiohead.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.j-bleach.com/special/
2. ↑ *BURN THE WITCH* one-shot, page 61
3. ↑ Bleach JET; interview with Tite Kubo