"Aizen Sōsuke…" Ishida Ryūken murmured the name, his voice carrying both contempt and unease. His brows knitted together, shadowing his sharp gaze.
To him, whatever happened in Soul Society was of no concern. The world of the dead and its politics were nothing he cared to involve himself in. But if Aizen's ambitions extended into Karakura Town, that was different. That was his world, his home, and the domain where his son lived.
Could he entrust such matters to the Shinigami? Ishida Ryūken's lips curled in a bitter smile. No—he had neither the trust nor the faith to rely on them.
'That foolish boy Uryū… there's no doubt he'll throw himself into this.'
He was proud of his son's sense of righteousness, of the kindness that refused to look away from suffering. Yet at the same time, he resented it. Ishida Uryū's idealism, his reckless will to act, was a dangerous trait. Ryūken wished the boy would focus on saving the living, as a Quincy should, instead of following the Shinigami down their path of saving the dead.
But if Aizen's shadow threatened the entire town, Uryū would never turn his back. That was inevitable.
'Then I have no choice but to hasten his training… and as for this boy, Amamiya Miyako…' Ryūken's eyes narrowed. The memory of Miyako's words lingered. After a long moment of silence, he finally gave his answer.
"Next time you come, tell me everything you know." His tone was clipped, decisive. Without waiting for a response, Ishida Ryūken turned and walked away, the click of his shoes fading into the night.
Miyako stood quietly, watching his back disappear. "…I understand."
It was just one sentence, but he knew the meaning behind it. Ishida Ryūken had accepted his request. That alone was progress.
'Good. Then the next step is… the Hōgyoku…'
Miyako's thoughts sharpened. He would go straight to Urahara. With his spiritual imprint not yet fully restored, the timing was delicate. But there was no room for hesitation now.
"Miyako! Are you okay?!"
The familiar voice cut through his thoughts. He turned to see Rukia rushing toward him, Ichigo close behind her. Both looked tense, their eyes sweeping over the ruined alley.
"Me?" Miyako raised a brow. "I fought with an Arrancar, but he was dragged away by Tōsen Kaname. I'm fine." His clothes were torn, and there were cuts along his arms and shoulders, but nothing severe.
"That's… a relief." Rukia exhaled, her small shoulders easing with the breath. "The spiritual pressure here was terrifying. When I felt it, I didn't know who was fighting… If Tōsen hadn't taken him away, then—"
"Then you would've been in over your heads." Miyako's tone was blunt. His gaze flicked from Rukia to Ichigo. "Listen carefully. The Arrancar have a ranking system. The top ten, the Espada, are monsters. Even Captains would struggle against them. The one just now wasn't even at the top, and yet I had to fight with everything I had."
That was a lie—he had been holding back—but they didn't need to know that. What they needed was to understand the danger.
Ichigo clenched his fists, his jaw tight. The words hit him harder than Miyako realized. He hated it. Hated standing by, hated being protected. Every moment tonight reminded him of how weak he still was.
"…I see," Ichigo muttered, his eyes dark with frustration.
"Alright," Miyako said at last, his tone softening. "The other Arrancar have already been dealt with by Captain Hitsugaya and the others. Nothing else will happen tonight. I'll report what happened here. You two should go back and rest."
But Ichigo didn't hear the reassurance. His chest burned with urgency. Wasn't this just like before? Back when he had no power and could only watch others fight in his place? He had sworn never to feel that helpless again.
'I need more training. If I keep hesitating like this… I'll lose everything again.'
His mind was already made up. Tomorrow, he would ask for leave from school. He couldn't waste time pretending to be a normal student anymore. He would go straight to Hirako Shinji and demand training. He had to master the Hollow within.
…
That same night, at the Urahara Shop. Though the hour was late, the lights were still on. Kisuke Urahara had been following the spiritual disturbances across Karakura Town all day, and his fan tapped lightly against his shoulder as he mulled over the events.
He had anticipated Aizen would create Arrancar. But the reality of their strength had exceeded even his worst expectations. Each battle tonight had been messy—victories snatched at the last second or cut short by interruptions. None had been clean. None had been secure.
His worries deepened.
And then, at last, the one he had been waiting for arrived.
"Welcome, welcome, Amamiya Miyako! You finally came—kept me waiting long enough!" Kisuke's voice was cheerful, exaggerated as always, but there was tension under the surface.
"What do you mean, 'kept me waiting'…? I'm pretty sure you started monitoring me the moment I arrived in the Human World," Amamiya Miyako muttered, his eyes narrowing. He didn't buy for a second that Kisuke Urahara had been sitting quietly, waiting politely like some shopkeeper with manners. No, this man was the type to dig into everything the moment he caught wind of it.
If it weren't for the chaos with the Arrancar earlier, Kisuke probably would have come poking around the second Miyako set foot in Karakura.
"Ahh, Amamiya-kun, you're so suspicious! How could I ever do such a sneaky thing?" Urahara replied with his usual wide grin, waving his fan and laughing shamelessly.
"Tch. Thick-skinned as ever," Miyako sighed, brushing past him toward the shop. "Forget it. I don't have time to waste on your jokes. Let's go downstairs—we'll get straight to business."
The two descended into the underground training ground. The wide cavern, reinforced with barriers, was filled with strange machinery. These weren't ordinary tools for training Shinigami. Just one glance told Miyako everything—these devices were for probing, measuring, and analyzing spiritual matter.
'He really is desperate to examine the Hōgyoku…' Miyako thought, frowning slightly.
"Ohhh, what a coincidence!" Urahara exclaimed theatrically, snapping open his fan. "Would you look at that, Miyako-kun! There's actually a soul analysis device right here. How lucky you are! As the proud manager of the Urahara Shop, I'll give you a thorough check-up, free of charge!"
"…Baka," Miyako muttered under his breath, his fist twitching. It was so obvious what Kisuke was trying to do, and yet he insisted on hiding behind ridiculous excuses.
'Hmph. Fine. I want to see if you can even detect it,' Miyako thought, stepping into the circle of the device without resistance.
Seeing the young man cooperate so readily, Kisuke's face shifted from joking to serious. He adjusted his hat, stepped over to the console, and began his careful examination. For several long moments, the hum of the machine filled the cavern.
But gradually, Kisuke's expression changed. His brow furrowed, lips pressing into a thin line.
Nothing.
Not a trace. Not of the Hōgyoku… not even of Miyako's own spiritual structure.
The red warning symbol on the monitor flashed clearly: Detection Impossible.
Kisuke exhaled slowly, shoulders tensing. "…Amamiya-kun. Could you… lower your defenses? If you resist the scan, any abnormalities won't show up." He forced a smile, but his tone betrayed unease.
'So that's it… Aizen couldn't detect it either. It's not that the Hōgyoku isn't there—it's being concealed by something. Something that even cancels out direct probing.' Kisuke's mind raced, the implications pressing down heavily.
Miyako smirked faintly. "Doesn't failure to detect anything mean I have no problems?"
"Ahahaha… if only it were that simple," Urahara replied awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. His eyes, however, never left the boy. "Alright, enough jokes. Please lower your guard, Amamiya-kun. I need to check the true state of the Hōgyoku."
"Tch." Miyako rolled his eyes but then sat down cross-legged at the center of the chamber. His voice was calm, but firm. "You set up a barrier already, right? The next part might cause… a bit of noise."
He wasn't exaggerating. Miyako's innate ability—his Kojin—was always active. Keeping the Hōgyoku hidden was nothing more than a minimal expense of reiatsu. Still, when he deliberately released his guard, it would be impossible to suppress the eruption.
"Of course," Urahara said quickly. "Tessai and I set up a reinforced barrier beforehand. No one will notice a thing."
Satisfied, Miyako closed his eyes and reached for his Zanpakutō.
The sound of steel resonated through the cavern as he drew the blade. At that moment, the air itself seemed to tremble. The oppressive weight of his reiatsu surged outward, sweeping across the training ground.
Even without the aid of machines, Kisuke felt it immediately. His fan slipped from his hand. His heart pounded as the aura washed over him—dense, otherworldly, and unmistakably infused with something far beyond natural Shinigami power.
The Hōgyoku's pulse.
Kisuke's pupils shrank as he stared at the boy in disbelief. The aura wasn't dormant. It wasn't restrained. It was alive.
"How… How is this possible?" Kisuke whispered, his face paling. "It's already awakened…! But… I put it into a dormant state myself before…"
His words trailed off, drowned beneath the overwhelming pressure that now filled the chamber.