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"Where is the Captain of the Eighth Squad headed?"
Early in the morning, while Gosuke Shigure was wandering the inner districts of Seireitei, he happened upon Kyoraku Shunsui.
Today, Kyoraku Shunsui appeared unusually formal. Though still dressed in his familiar layered kimono with a pink haori and his ever-present kasa hat, there was a rare seriousness about himâan air that contradicted his otherwise carefree demeanor.
Sometimes, a person's temperament speaks louder than their words.
"It's you, Gosuke. Still finding yourself with time to kill these days?" Shunsui quipped with a soft chuckle.
Gosuke responded with a smirk. "Yeah, honestly, I'm not quite used to the sudden freedom."
Shunsui gave an exaggerated sigh. "Ugh, you're infuriating sometimes."
Then his tone lightened, his gaze turning sly.
"Still, credit where it's due. Appointing Zaraki as your vice-captain and dumping all the combat responsibility on him⊠Well, it's a stroke of genius. You've practically delegated the entire Eleventh Division's purpose. Must be nice."
Gosuke chuckled lightly but then grew thoughtful.
"You haven't answered me. Where exactly are you heading, all dressed up like that? You meeting someone important?"
Shunsui's expression shiftedâhis lazy smile replaced by a rare solemnity.
"As a matter of fact⊠yes. Someone very important."
That caught Gosuke's interest.
"Oh?"
Sensing the curiosity in Gosuke's eyes, Shunsui tilted his head and smiled faintly.
"Well, Gosuke, since you clearly have nothing else planned, how about tagging along with me?"
Gosuke blinked in surprise, then nodded with casual acceptance.
"Sure. Lead the way."
Kyoraku Shunsui began walking, with Gosuke Shigure falling into step behind him. They wandered through Seireitei and eventually approached the outer edges of the noble districtâwhere the forest line begins to swallow the sprawling white stone architecture.
Few lived this far out. Only minor noble families resided hereâthose bound to larger houses in loyalty or service.
Eventually, they arrived at a secluded and majestic compound nestled among ancient trees. The building was traditional, with gracefully sloped eaves, vermillion beams, and elegant stone lanterns dotting the courtyard.
It looked more like a shrine than a private residence.
"Where are we?" Gosuke asked, narrowing his eyes, an odd look of recognition forming in them.
Shunsui gave no explanation.
"I'm going in to speak with someone. Just wait here and look around. Try not to cause trouble."
Gosuke gave a nod, but his expression had already turned introspective.
As Shunsui stepped through the torii gate and into the shrine courtyard, Gosuke caught a brief glimpse of a graceful woman emerging to greet him. He turned his gaze away.
Kyoraku might've believed it was Gosuke's first visit to this place.
But it wasn't.
In his past life, Gosuke had once stood in this very courtyardâthough it hadn't been located here at the time. Back then, this place was known as Ise Jingu, a sacred compound of immense spiritual significance.
That name hadn't been random.
In the World of the Living, Ise Grand Shrine was a holy site devoted to the divine Yata Mirrorâa sacred symbol of imperial lineage.
The Ise Jingu in the Soul Society was clearly inspired by that mythos. But in this realm, it served as the ancestral home of one of the Five Great Noble Houses: the Ise Clanâperhaps the most secretive and spiritually unique among them.
The Ise family was different.
While the Tsunayashiro, Kuchiki, Shihouin, and Shiba families held wealth, history, and status, the Ise family held something more esotericâdivine authority.
Officially, they were known to serve directly under the Soul King. But in truth, there never had been a royal family. The Soul King, long ago sealed and segmented, existed now as a puppet of spiritual balanceâa figurehead, upheld by the Five Houses for their own ends.
The Ise family's legacy was tied to a sacred weaponâYata no Kagami, or as it had come to be known in this world: the HachigyĆken (Eight-Mirror Sword).
Unlike traditional ZanpakutĆ, the Eight-Mirror Sword was a divine weaponâa blade that existed before the concept of ZanpakutĆ even formed. It was designed specifically to harm and restrain divine entities, and it played a crucial role in dividing and sealing the Soul King.
The curse of this weapon was severe.
Every child born into the Ise family was bound to the Eight-Mirror Sword from birth. No matter how strong their potential, their soul was tethered to that one weapon. They could never manifest a ZanpakutĆ of their own. They could only wield theirs.
This came with a heavier price.
Because the sword was crafted to slay gods, it carried the lingering resentment of the deity it had once struck down. As a result, the Ise family had become cursedâonly women were born into each generation, and any man who dared marry into the family would mysteriously die once his wife became pregnant.
This was why Gosuke Shigure knew all of this.
In his past life, he had loved someone from the Ise family.
But because he himself was a high noble of the Tsunayashiro line, their union was forbidden. The Ise could not allow a daughter to marry out, and the Tsunayashiro would never accept a woman into the line who carried such a curse.
Even now, revisiting this place, the memory still ached.
Back then, Seireitei had not yet been fully constructed, and the Ise Shrine stood elsewhere, deeper within the wilderness. It had been relocated after Seireitei's foundation to this more secluded edge of the noble district.
Though the setting had changed, the architecture, atmosphere, and weight of memory remained exactly the same.
Gosuke Shigure took a slow breath and began walking the outer perimeter of the shrine.
To Shunsui, this may have been a routine visit.
But to Gosukeâit was a return to a place marked by love, loss, and one of the many truths that the Gotei 13 and the Central 46 had long chosen to bury.
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