For Shiba Kūkaku, the recent days couldn't really be called anything special. At best, they were simply… dull. So dull that she felt this stretch of time would end up being the most insignificant piece of her long shinigami life.
"Nee-chan, I'm heading out!"
As always, today began with the same opening line. Shiba Kūkaku had barely gotten out of bed when she heard her younger brother, Shiba Ganju, calling for her permission.
"No. Absolutely not! Ganju, why are you always itching to run off to Rukongai? I don't mind you playing with those commoner brats, but could you at least try to learn from your big brother Kaien?
I'm not asking you to be like him—graduating from Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy in just one year, and becoming a fukutaichō in less than five. But you could at least manage to pass the entrance exam for Shin'ō, right?"
Today, though, Kūkaku was clearly in no mood to let her mischievous little brother slip past discipline the way she usually did.
Because last night, for some reason, their father, Shiba Mura, had come to find her very late and brought up the subject of their clan's branch-family elder, Shiba Isshin.
Kūkaku had heard of Isshin-ōji before. Supposedly, among the branch family's last few hundred years of descendants, he was the most outstanding of them all, with talent not much inferior to her brother Shiba Kaien.
But his personality was extremely low-key. Even after he acquired captain-class reiatsu, he was still willing to remain a mere seventh seat in the 10th Division, a complete small-fry nobody there, until he achieved bankai.
And that was that. Because at the end of the day, Shiba Isshin was a member of the branch family, not the main line. No matter how strong he was, in theory it had nothing to do with the main family.
Under normal circumstances, anyway.
But for some reason, in that late-night talk, her father had told her to reach out more to Shiba Isshin from now on.
And from his tone, Kūkaku even faintly heard his concern for her big brother Kaien.
Although she'd asked about Kaien's situation, her father hadn't answered. But his expression had already betrayed him.
Having never officially joined the Gotei 13 as a seated shinigami herself, Kūkaku still couldn't understand what kind of danger could trouble her big brother, when he was already a fukutaichō.
To her, "fukutaichō" was already synonymous with "powerful."
In all of Soul Society, the number of shinigami stronger than a fukutaichō was barely in the double digits.
But these doubts did nothing to stop Kūkaku's mood from souring the moment she woke up today.
And a bad mood for Kūkaku meant that her little brother Ganju could forget about trying to bluff his way past her.
"You're kidding me, right, Kūkaku-nee-chan? You know exactly what I'm capable of. You really want me to go study at Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy?
Getting in isn't the issue, but the problem is Shin'ō has a six-year graduation system!
No matter if my grades are good or bad, after those six years, I have to graduate. Then I'll be assigned to some random division as a lowly grunt, and face who knows what kind of danger every single day.
Nee-chan, could you really live with that?"
Ganju's argument sounded pretty convincing at first glance.
For a second, even Kūkaku felt like she didn't have a solid rebuttal. But as his older sister—especially as the one who'd practically taken on the role of father and mother, in charge of disciplining him—Kūkaku had the same special privilege every elder had.
"Ah! Ouch, ouch! Nee-chan, easy! That hurts!"
Kūkaku pinched Ganju's right ear, dragged him bodily back into the room, and he immediately started begging for mercy.
"Yes, I know exactly what you're capable of. Which is why you're going to tell me who taught you to say all that!
There's no way you came up with such a neat, logical excuse with that brain of yours!"
What can elders do to their juniors?
Simple—be unreasonable!
She was the older sister, so what she said, went.
No reason? Then who needed a reason!
"Okay, okay, I'll talk! It was the Gotei 13's 5th Division taichō, Aizen Sōsuke!
Last time I went to Rukongai to hang out with my friends, I just happened to see the 5th Division's Aizen-taichō there, playing with the kids from the district. He was even happily teaching them calligraphy.
He seemed like such a nice guy that I went up to talk to him, and he actually didn't put on any airs at all! He really chatted with me!
We talked about all sorts of things, and when I mentioned I didn't want to study at Shin'ō, he gave me this idea."
Ganju covered his reddened ear, wincing as he spoke.
"The 5th Division taichō, Aizen Sōsuke?"
The moment Kūkaku heard the name, her expression darkened. Whatever kind of man Aizen Sōsuke really was, in her mind now, he had already been firmly set as the image of a scheming "bad advisor" who put dumb ideas into her brother's head.
And given that the two of them were unlikely to ever interact again, that image would only grow more and more negative over time in Kūkaku's heart.
In short: favorability, -20.
"In that case, you'd better stay away from him from now on. Just from the sound of it, that taichō doesn't seem like a good one at all!
Look at someone like the 6th Division's Kuchiki Sōjun-taichō, the 8th Division's Kyōraku Shunsui-taichō, the 13th Division's Ukitake Jūshirō-taichō, the 4th Division's Unohana Retsu-taichō, or the 2nd Division's Soi Fon-taichō—those are good taichō!
Even if you really have to, you'd be better off going to the 11th Division to find Zaraki Kenpachi-taichō instead!
Anyway, I don't ever want to hear about you having anything to do with that Aizen-taichō again, got it? Especially not about you going to him for advice!"
Hands on her hips, Kūkaku issued her decree to Ganju.
"Got it, Kūkaku-nee-chan."
Of course, Ganju only agreed on the surface. Inwardly, he was thinking the exact opposite.
He'd just head straight to the 5th Division barracks later and ask that kind-hearted taichō for more pointers.
Based on the "deep bond" the two of them had built that day, Ganju was sure Aizen wouldn't refuse such a reasonable request.
I really am a genius!
He secretly complimented himself in his heart.
Unfortunately for him, today he was destined not to make it to the 5th Division.
On the one hand, Kūkaku forbade it. After a solid scolding, she forced him to stay under her direct supervision to practice kidō and shunpo.
On the other hand, Seireitei was anything but peaceful today—especially for the Shiba clan.
Not long after Kūkaku began drilling Ganju, a massive garganta tore open high above West Rukongai, District 1.
Countless menos-class Hollows poured out one after another, and the gathered, suffocating reiatsu was so overwhelming that even someone like Kūkaku—who had never gone through formal training at Shin'ō and was essentially a "fake" shinigami who inherited their clan's special techniques—could feel the crushing pressure.
The last time she'd felt something like this dated back nearly twenty years, to the Kasumiooji clan rebellion.
And the time before that was even further back, to that noble-hunt incident that had since been banned.
Both times, Soul Society's losses had been anything but small.
This time, however, was different from the Kasumiooji rebellion that had practically wiped out half the noble population in Seireitei. The horrifying reiatsu signatures this time were appearing outside Seireitei's walls, and so—
"This time shouldn't be as serious. If they're outside, it's not so easy for them to get in. Even if they do, the Gotei 13 taichō will at least have time to react."
Kūkaku tried to comfort herself with that logic.
After the Kasumiooji incident, Central 46 had written up a full review.
As for why the situation had escalated to such an extent back then, Central 46 had given three core reasons:
First, they had underestimated the danger posed by the Bakkōtō group.
Second, the incident had erupted far too suddenly.
Third, at that time, more than half of Soul Society's taichō had been trapped inside Central 46's compound. Because of that special location's restrictions, most of them couldn't exert their full power.
And right now—at least in Kūkaku's eyes—none of those three conditions applied to the current Gotei 13.
Therefore, the advantage was on their side!
But soon, report after report of bad news nearly made Kūkaku faint from anger.
"What? You're telling me that starting last night, the Gotei 13 has already deployed seven taichō to the World of the Living?"
"What?! The 6th Division taichō, Kuchiki Sōjun, was found dead in front of his own home?!"
"What?!! The 10th Division taichō has gone missing, and is most likely dead as well?!!"
With Kaien currently away and Shiba Mura gradually starting to hand off all clan affairs, the Shiba's current de facto head with the most authority was—Shiba Kūkaku.
Staring at the stream of emergency messages in her hand, only one character flashed bright red in her mind:
Danger.
And when a lower-ranking minor noble, one of the few still standing by the Shiba, dragged himself in with grave injuries and brought her the news that "that group of Hollows is advancing toward central Seireitei, and every Shiba estate and affiliated minor noble residence lies along their path," Kūkaku could no longer sit still.
"Notify everyone in both the main family and the branch families—immediate emergency evacuation! Ganju, you get somewhere safe right now too!"
Though Kūkaku wasn't strong by combat standards, she'd long since developed the bearing of a family head. After all, Kaien had been buried in 13th Division duties for years, and had temporarily entrusted all Shiba affairs to her.
Even now, in a crisis, Kūkaku remained composed and decisive.
But the seriously wounded minor noble looked troubled after hearing her orders.
"Is there a problem?"
Kūkaku's voice sharpened.
"With respect, Kūkaku-sama, the Shiba main estate should be fine, but the branch family…"
He hesitated, then continued, "Most of the branch's combat strength has already followed Shiba Isshin-sama—the designated future head of the branch family—to the front lines to repel the Hollows.
Isshin-sama said that defending Seireitei is everyone's duty. Especially at a time like this, we of the Five Great Noble Clans must set an example…"
His voice was filled with admiration.
That was why he and the others still chose to follow the Shiba.
"That idiot uncle…"
Kūkaku's expression, too, held the same respect, but she still muttered under her breath from a more practical perspective.
A shinigami who hadn't even mastered bankai—what could he do in a situation where two taichō had probably already fallen?!
Still, that was only what she thought. Kūkaku didn't send out any order to drag Isshin back.
On the one hand, this was a decision made by the branch family's own candidate head. As the main family, she had already done her duty by thinking to warn them to evacuate.
On the other hand, Kūkaku was also secretly hoping that Shiba Isshin might achieve something.
So she didn't dwell on Isshin's matter any further. After finishing all the necessary arrangements, she headed toward the courtyard where her father lived.
The final step was to escort Shiba Mura to safety.
As for the rest—the fate of Seireitei and Soul Society—Kūkaku could only place her faith in the man hailed as the strongest shinigami in the last thousand years: the Gotei 13's Sōtaichō, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
However, as soon as Kūkaku stepped into her father's courtyard, she sensed something was wrong.
The smell of blood hit her face.
Pushing open the door, she saw bodies scattered across the yard—servants of the Shiba she knew by face and name.
"…No way…"
A heavy foreboding surged up inside her.
She just couldn't figure it out. Kuchiki Sōjun's home had been like this. Now the Shiba estate was as well.
Hadn't they said those Hollows would need time to break through the remaining Gotei 13 forces before they could reach the nobles' private estates?
Unfortunately, reality gave her no time to puzzle it out.
Rationally speaking, Kūkaku knew she should turn around and run immediately. The courtyard was far too quiet—meaning the battle had most likely already ended. And since her father had not appeared, the odds were high that he had already fallen.
Emotionally, though, her heart pushed her forward. What if her father had just finished off the intruder and was waiting for help?
In the end, as always, emotion triumphed over reason.
Kūkaku took a step into that silent courtyard, so quiet it made her spine crawl.
She hadn't gone far when a light breeze blew through.
In the height of summer, Kūkaku actually shivered.
It wasn't the air that was cold—it was her heart.
She checked her father's bedroom. Empty.
His study. Empty.
Only when she reached the artificial rock garden in the back, half-collapsed from battle, did Kūkaku finally find her father.
And in that moment, she truly understood the grief Kuchiki Byakuya must have felt when he sent out the message that his father had been found dead at his own front door—when that message spread to the other four noble houses and the Sōtaichō.
For her own father, Shiba Mura, was now floating in a pool of blood. His blood had dyed the entire pond red.
Unlike Byakuya, however, Kūkaku actually saw the killer.
In fact, she even felt as though this strangely shaped Arrancar had been deliberately waiting there for her.
He just stood in silence until she appeared, then slowly turned to face her.
"O King who rules the skies! Mask of flesh and blood, all things in the universe, the fluttering of wings, that which bears the name of man! Scorching heat and strife, crossing the seas, rolling southward, march forward step by step!
Hadō no 31: Shakkahō (Red Fire Cannon)!"
A red fireball formed in Kūkaku's hand and shot toward the Arrancar.
He merely raised one hand and tapped lightly. The fireball, like the flame of a match in a winter wind, was snuffed out almost as soon as it formed.
"O King! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, fluttering wings, that which bears the name of man—truth and temperance—stand upon the wall of dreams that knows no sin with only your claws!
Hadō no 33: Sōkatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down)!"
Still standing in place, Kūkaku recited another chant. Blue flames roared across the ground, surging toward the Arrancar and kicking up a wave of blistering heat before—
Being flicked away lightly again, and extinguished.
"Scattered beast's bone, tower and crimson crystal, steel wheels. Move and you are wind, stop and you are sky. The sound of spears striking fills the empty fortress.
Hadō no 63: Raikōhō (Thunder Roar Cannon)!"
Still rooted where she stood, Kūkaku pressed her palms together and thrust them toward the Arrancar. Thunder roared from her hands, crashing down in front of him and sending up a huge splash from the pond.
But when the steam cleared, the Arrancar stood there unharmed.
"Bakudō no 30: Shitotsu Sansen (Beak-Piercing Triple Beam)!"
"Bakudō no 9: Hōrin (Disintegrating Circle)!"
"Bakudō no 61: Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light)!"
"Hadō no 57: Daichi Tenyō (Earthly Rotation)!"
Like turns in some cruel, turn-based game, Kūkaku stood her ground and unleashed every kidō she knew, while the Arrancar took them all head-on.
But the more she attacked, the more despair she felt.
No matter what kind of kidō she cast, the Arrancar who had murdered her father swatted them aside without even trying.
Kūkaku's mind went blank.
So this… this was the gap between a taichō-class being and an ordinary shinigami…
At last, she understood why her father had been so obsessed with raising another taichō-class shinigami from the Shiba—why he was willing to accept even a branch-family member in that role.
Because the difference really was like heaven and earth…
So was this Arrancar—this damn Hollow—making fun of her?
Kūkaku knew there was no escaping this.
From the moment she stepped into this courtyard, her fate had probably already been decided in the Arrancar's eyes.
But she was a Shiba.
"Even if I die, I'll die standing tall!"
Kūkaku drew the small blade she usually wore at her waist like a mere ornament.
That was her Zanpakutō.
She was out of practice and her movements were clumsy, but for her now, proper swordsmanship didn't matter. As long as she could raise the blade, that was enough.
So she lifted her Zanpakutō and charged at the Arrancar.
As expected, her sword went flying.
With a lazy flick of his hand, the Arrancar knocked her Zanpakutō from her grip, sending it spinning away.
Kūkaku herself was thrown into the pond, choking on water thick with her father's blood.
It's over…
Floating on her back, Kūkaku watched as the Arrancar finally raised his blade toward her. She closed her eyes.
Her only wish now was that after she died, her good-for-nothing little brother, Ganju, would find the Shiba secret techniques she had left behind and carry on their inheritance.
But after waiting a moment, she realized—she was still alive.
She hurriedly opened her eyes, and in her field of vision, the right half was filled by a familiar white haori. The left half was occupied by her own Zanpakutō.
At this moment, her blade was held in someone else's hand, blocking the Arrancar's strike aimed at her.
"Grand Blade Hunter of the Katana-gari-shū, Higashino Shuuichi."
The man who had appeared out of nowhere wasn't hard for Kūkaku to recognize. Throughout all Soul Society, only one very special division's taichō—also called the Ōdatarigorichō, the Great Blade-Hunting Chief—wore a captain's haori with no division number on it.
"Shiba-san, a shinigami's Zanpakutō isn't something you can just carelessly throw away, you know~"
Higashino Shuuichi only showed her a suave profile as he spoke. As he handed Kūkaku's Zanpakutō back to her, his warm hand accidentally brushed her right hand, unintentionally stirring something in her heart.
In that instant, Higashino Shuuichi's silhouette burned itself deeply into Kūkaku's mind.
Then Higashino drew his own Zanpakutō.
"Advance, Heisha! Iya Heisha, Tōgen (War-Weary Heisha, Peach Blossom Paradise)!"
In a heartbeat, a transparent wall of reishi rose up, enclosing a huge area behind Higashino—Kūkaku and the already-dead Shiba Mura included.
World Isolation.
As long as Higashino didn't release his shikai, or as long as he didn't die, everything within this space would remain cut off from Soul Society.
"Picking on a young woman like that really isn't very gentlemanly. How about you play with this Great Blade-Hunting Chief instead?"
He leveled his blade at the Arrancar before him.
Of course, for Higashino—untouched by Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu—he would much rather call this "Arrancar," who appeared as one in Kūkaku's eyes, by another name.
Tōsen Kaname.
Tōsen's apparent laziness wasn't because he actually wanted to toy with Kūkaku. He didn't have that kind of taste.
For him, this was all just to wait for Higashino Shuuichi's "timely" arrival.
"Fight me."
Still clad in his captain's haori, Tōsen addressed Higashino without the slightest politeness.
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