Chapter 61: Arrow of Shattered Cherry Blossoms, Invisible Shadow
Spirit Arts Academy dorms.
The doors to rooms 001 and 002 slid open almost at the same time.
Takeru and Ichigo stepped out, turned by reflex, and locked eyes.
"You look like a completely different person in a Shinigami uniform," Ichigo commented first.
"I think you finally look normal in a Shinigami uniform," Takeru shot back.
"You make it sound like I usually dress like a weirdo…" Ichigo scratched his cheek. "But after seeing other people wear these for so long, putting one on myself feels surprisingly comfortable. Like it was made for me."
He patted the hilt of the massive blade on his back and grinned.
Takeru glanced down at his own uniform.
Because they were about to stir up a huge incident, Aizen had specially prepared these for them.
He had originally planned to hand them out when they graduated.
No one expected they would be put to use before early graduation even happened.
The uniforms, crafted by Shutara Senjumaru, responded to a Shinigami's power. Their most basic function was to channel spiritual pressure into defense.
That alone was reason enough for Takeru and Ichigo to go out of their way to put them on before this battle.
The two left the dorms and headed to the back gate of the Spirit Arts Academy.
Two people were already there waiting.
Hachihara and Rindo Yu.
"It's starting?"
Hachihara was not surprised by their arrival, or by the uniforms.
If you asked why, it was because she and Rindo were already involved.
"The ryoka have invaded. Seireitei is in chaos," Takeru said as casually as if he were talking about skipping dinner. "We need to use the Divisions being busy chasing intruders to get to Sōkyoku Hill ahead of everyone and set up an ambush."
"Oh, I really wish I could go with you," Hachihara said, a hint of regret in her voice.
"You two have already done more than enough."
Takeru looked at them.
"Hachihara bribed the Twelfth Division in secret and bought a Gigai. Rindo used his Zanpakuto to adjust it until it looked exactly like Vice Captain Hinamori. With sensei's disguise ability on top of that, the result is flawless.
"Even if Captain Unohana notices something off during a thorough examination, she will only find the second layer of misdirection we planted. It looks exactly like Captain Hitsugaya's handiwork, so she will blame her unease on that instead.
"Then she will move against Captain Hitsugaya. That is one more Captain who will not attend tomorrow's execution, and one of the hardest to handle at that."
Takeru could not help but sigh in appreciation.
This was the strength of a group working together.
It was worth mentioning that the suicide note had been written by Ichigo with everything he had, guided personally by Hinamori Momo, then reviewed and approved by both Takeru and Aizen.
The fake body had been smuggled to the Great Eastern Wall by Takeru himself.
"But we still don't know what is really going on." Ichigo frowned.
"Sensei says the Third Division Captain is up to something, and it is connected to Central Forty Six. He says our actions might actually be saving Soul Society. But if anything goes wrong, we will not be able to stay in Seireitei."
"Do not worry, Rindo and I won't act recklessly."
Hachihara patted the silent boy on the shoulder.
Rindo nodded slightly.
"As we agreed before, we will stay on the edge of the battlefield and quietly observe through Rindo's animal friends, then look for chances to support you. We are the backup, the ambush force in the shadows. We lend a hand when it truly matters."
"Honestly, I really like this mission," Hachihara added. "It is easy to steal the spotlight at the climax. By then the overall situation should be clear, the truth should be out, and I can make a dazzling entrance with peace of mind."
"I will look forward to that… assuming you even get the chance to appear," Takeru said dryly.
"Same here," Ichigo chimed in.
They both threw a jab, then walked past Hachihara and Rindo, like two drops of ink falling into the sunlight over Seireitei.
Instead of fading, they stood out even more, their presence surpassing even that unchanging light that had shone for a million years.
…
Boom.
The impact sounded like a meteor smashing into the earth.
In reality, it was not far from that.
"Ow, ow, ow… Where did I land this time?"
Kisuke rubbed his messy hair and hauled himself up out of the crater.
He was immediately surrounded.
"We found the ryoka… Wait! He's…!"
The Shinigami who had first discovered him were full of fighting spirit, eager to earn merit.
But the moment they saw who they were facing, their expressions changed completely.
It looked less like they had cornered Urahara Kisuke, and more like Urahara Kisuke had ringed them in by himself.
"It's Urahara Kisuke! Notify the Captains, now!"
"Oh my, you recognize me and still aren't running?"
Kisuke eyed the dozen Shinigami around him and deliberately put on a mischievous expression, trying to spook them.
"Silence! We are from the Eighth Division. How could we flee from a ryoka on our own turf?"
The seated officer leading them gripped his Zanpakuto. Cold sweat streamed down the side of his face, but he still ground his teeth and refused to back down.
"Eighth Division, huh… No wonder this place feels familiar."
Kisuke glanced around, then suddenly understood.
"I get along pretty well with your Captain, you know. So I will let you off this time. Just do me a favor and don't chase after me."
"Thank you for showing mercy to my subordinates, for old times' sake. In return, I will not stab you in the back from the shadows… though I suspect you already sensed my spiritual pressure and said that on purpose."
The new voice made Kisuke sigh inwardly.
He turned slowly.
The Eighth Division Shinigami had already stepped aside to clear a path.
Kyōraku Shunsui walked in, with his Vice Captain Nanao Ise at his side.
"Well now, if it isn't Captain Kyōraku. What a coincidence, being caught by you right away," Kisuke said with a smile, fingers tightening slightly around his Zanpakuto.
"Hey now, don't praise me like that."
Kyōraku scratched his cheek and smiled bitterly.
"If people find out I 'caught' you without even lifting a finger, they will think I am conspiring with you. That is a bit too much to take."
He shrugged.
"Besides, I do not think I could capture you on my own anyway."
Even so.
The smile faded from Kisuke's face.
He looked to the other side of the street.
A white haired man was walking over with a calm, steady pace, but his expression was anything but calm.
One glance was enough to tell that he was furious.
"So I called Ukitake too," Kyōraku added lightly, as if he were just filling in a detail.
Kisuke looked left and right.
The Eighth Division members had all withdrawn to a safe distance, but the pressure weighing on him only grew heavier.
"Gentlemen, how about we talk this out?"
"Of course," Ukitake said quietly. "But Urahara, you will have to give me an explanation. One that can make me forgive what you did to my subordinate."
He stared straight at Kisuke.
"…Sounds like there is no room to negotiate after all."
Kisuke exhaled and let his smile fall away completely.
"Believe it or not, I am here to save Kuchiki."
"Save her?" Kyōraku's tone cooled. "You are the one who embedded the Hōgyoku in her, who made her the way she is now, and you still have the face to say that.
"Captain Urahara, after more than a century, your shamelessness makes you feel like a stranger to me. It also makes me wonder whether the bizarre death of the Fifth Division Vice Captain, and the suspicious behavior of Captain Ichimaru, might also lead back to you.
"Whether your hand has ever truly left Soul Society."
Ukitake remained silent, but the anger in his eyes deepened. He clearly agreed.
"Eh? No, hold on…" Kisuke stared. "I will admit the first part, but I really do not know anything about the rest… No, not completely nothing… uh…"
He realized he had said too much, and simply gave up on trying to explain.
"In any case, I am here to atone for my mistakes."
Hearing that, Ukitake finally reached for his sword.
"Urahara, that is exactly what I cannot stand about you."
He drew the blade halfway, eyes narrowing.
"There are things you did not have to do. You chose to do them anyway. Only when the backlash hits do you think about making amends, and even then, you already have hundreds or thousands of 'atonement plans' prepared in your head.
"I know that is the conflict between a scientist's greed for truth and a human being's conscience.
"But I will not pity you. Someone who knowingly commits a wrong does not deserve pity."
He lifted the sword fully.
"The ones who deserve my sympathy and my protection are the people who got hurt because of you."
"So…"
He suddenly broke off, clutching his chest as a fit of coughing wracked his body.
"Ah. Well, that settles that. I will handle it."
Kyōraku watched him with a helpless expression, then stepped forward and drew his long and short swords.
"Before we fight, let me ask you something. Is my former Vice Captain doing well?"
"Miss Yadōmaru?"
Kisuke's brows drew together.
"That is… hard to say."
"From your face, I can more or less guess." Kyōraku sighed. "If you manage to crawl out of this alive, remember to say hello to Lisa for me."
The instant he finished speaking, the black Zanpakuto clutched in his hand shifted shape.
A great blade came crashing down from above.
Kisuke's pupils shrank and he swung his own sword up to meet it.
…
Clang.
A shower of sparks scattered through the air.
Orihime was sent skidding back more than ten meters by the impact.
Before she could fully right herself, the rampaging beast in front of her had already raised his sword for another strike.
The pressure and killing intent he released were so heavy she could hardly breathe.
Even so, Orihime stood her ground and activated Santen Kesshun again.
The enemy in front of her was powerful. Terrifying, even.
But when she thought about what Rukia was about to face, the terror in front of her felt insignificant.
She could reject the pressure he exerted on her.
Every last bit of it.
"Santen Kesshun."
The chipped blade hacked down onto the barrier.
The impact screeched as spirit particles scraped, and sparks flew from the point of contact.
"A shield, huh?"
The man grinned.
"Let's see how many hits it takes to smash it."
The bells attached to his hair rang faintly as he moved.
His towering frame, his chest full of old sword scars, the eyepatch covering one eye.
None of that was as terrifying as his feral, beastlike smile.
The Captain of the Eleventh Division.
Kenpachi Zaraki.
He looked at the prey in front of him with obvious delight.
Woman or man.
Age, build.
None of that mattered to him.
All that mattered was whether the person in front of him was strong.
If they were, then the fight began.
And it would not stop until one of them fell.
"Inoue!"
Yoruichi's heart tightened as she sensed Orihime's spiritual pressure spiking.
Santen Kesshun's regeneration was formidable, but its spiritual power recovery was limited. She could not afford to let Orihime fight Kenpachi to the bitter end here.
Yoruichi was about to rush in, grab her, and escape.
But a tidal wave of cherry blossoms swept in from behind, forcing her to dodge aside.
The storm of petals that rushed in was not actually petals at all, but countless blades, swirling toward Orihime and Kenpachi together.
"Tsk. Byakuya Kuchiki, what do you think you are doing?"
Kenpachi's blade crashed down with heavy pressure, carving open a path amid the petal storm.
He looked up, displeased, at the noble young man standing on a distant rooftop.
"That is what I should be asking you," Byakuya replied.
His tone was icy.
He looked at Kenpachi the way one might look at a stray dog that would not listen to human words, a mixture of impatience and disgust hidden in his eyes.
"This is the Sixth Division's jurisdiction. Why are you here? Why are you interfering with my apprehension of the ryoka?"
"Ha. I do not care whose turf this is," Kenpachi laughed. "I was just out for a walk and an enemy happened to fall right in front of me, so I swung at them.
"You say I am getting in your way? You are the one in my way. This is my prey. Back off."
His grin grew wider, and there was a faint malice in it.
"At most, after I win, you can take them away.
"If they survive."
"If they are dead, you can just collect the corpse. You have to clean your own streets anyway. Do not expect me to thank you for it."
Byakuya slowly raised his right hand.
The cherry blossom tide gathered around him once more, ready to move at a word.
"You can relax. That situation will not come to pass. I will eradicate every last one of them, you included."
"So now I have three people to fight. Things just keep getting better."
Kenpachi's spiritual pressure exploded.
Golden Reiatsu shot into the sky like a pillar of light.
While the two Captains squared off, Yoruichi flashed to Orihime's side, ready to snatch her away and retreat.
However, even while facing each other, neither Byakuya nor Kenpachi had ignored her presence.
Senbonzakura Kageyoshi's Bankai covered an enormous area.
Some of the scattered "petals" had already drifted down and formed a loose net, hemming them in.
If she tried to force a breakthrough, she would definitely be blocked, and even the slightest delay would give both Captains enough time to unleash a storm of attacks.
"This is a pain… What kind of lousy luck is this, running into those two together?"
Yoruichi muttered under her breath.
Troublesome as it was, retreat was not impossible.
It would just come at the cost of some risk and some injuries.
"Inoue, in a bit you…"
She had only gotten halfway through her sentence, and Orihime was listening intently.
At that very moment, a crimson streak shot in from afar, punching straight through the net of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.
The resulting blast of wind ripped open a huge gap.
The streak slammed into the ground, erupting in a violent explosion.
All four combatants reacted at once.
"What…?"
"Huh?"
Dust billowed everywhere.
Yoruichi and Orihime instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces.
The next second, both felt arms wrap tightly around their waists, and the ground vanished under their feet.
The scenery blurred, racing away around them.
Powerful wind roared past their ears, like they had been swept away by a flood.
Kenpachi casually cleaved through the smoke and dust, eyes instantly locking onto the escaping figures.
His body moved before his mind did.
He stepped forward.
Just as he did, another crimson streak howled toward him, interrupting his Shunpo.
This time he saw it clearly.
A red blade with a chain trailing behind it.
Kenpachi's eyes lit up.
He was impressed that someone would fire something like that as an arrow.
More importantly, it proved the enemy was not just a coward who only attacked from hiding.
Maybe… they would be very good at cutting people too.
The arrow he flicked aside with a swing of his sword shot into the air and burst apart.
A rain of blood red light poured down over the battlefield.
Byakuya's intent to pursue was shattered at the same time.
It had to be.
Because in the few seconds it took him to shield himself from the shower with the sea of blades that was Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, the enemy had already vanished into the maze of buildings.
Soon, even their spiritual pressure had faded from his perception.
Their speed was astonishing.
Even more troublesome was the way they slipped in and out of the battlefield without leaving a trace.
And that arrow had been powerful enough to punch a hole straight through the encirclement of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and cover a retreat.
"This Shunpo… that spiritual pressure on the arrow…"
Byakuya narrowed his eyes, thoughts moving quickly.
"Hey, Byakuya Kuchiki, that was a ryoka too, right?" Kenpachi called.
"Use your own brain," Byakuya replied coolly. "And leave. The Sixth Division does not welcome you."
"Tch."
Kenpachi clicked his tongue as Byakuya dismissed his Bankai and departed without a backward glance.
He hefted his sword onto his shoulder and gave a bored snort.
Then a small pink head poked out from behind him.
"Ken-chan, Ken-chan! I know who they are. Want me to take you to them?"
"Oh? Really?" Kenpachi's grin came back instantly. "Then take me to the archer. I have a feeling he will be a good opponent, someone who can give me a very satisfying fight."
"You mean Ichi? He is over there. Hurry, hurry, he's getting away."
"Oh no you don't."
As Yachiru's innocent laughter rang out, Kenpachi turned into a golden flash and shot toward a distant watchtower.
On that watchtower, Ichigo lowered his black bow, a smile tugging at his lips.
It was similar to Kenpachi's, but carried a fiercer, wilder fighting spirit.
"So Byakuya Kuchiki did not chase me. I thought I would have to deal with two Captains at once, but it looks like I do not need to rush to run."
He looked down at the street below.
"Let's take one of them out here and now. That will be one less opponent for tomorrow's me. What do you say, my 'other self'?"
"Stop talking and let me handle it."
"Tsk. We agreed you would take the lead, but I still feel like something is off."
Ichigo's complaint faded.
His eyes changed.
More precisely, his pupils turned gold, and the whites of his eyes turned black.
A twisted grin spread across his face.
At first glance, it was even more terrifying than Kenpachi Zaraki's.
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