Yoruichi Shihōin stifled a yawn as she stepped lightly back into the Urahara Shop. After the sudden appearance of the Arrancar, she had gone to check in on Ichigo and the others. To her relief, she found them all safe, their injuries already healed by Orihime's power. Satisfied, she had returned.
But the moment she entered, her golden eyes narrowed.
Inside the shop, Tessai Tsukabishi stood solemnly in front of the tatami floor, both arms extended as he carefully wove layers of kido into a powerful barrier. Reiryoku pulsed around him like waves.
"Tessai? What's with this barrier? Are we expecting an enemy attack?" Yoruichi asked, her tone sharp as she gauged the strength of the protective field. It wasn't just strong—it was near captain-level precision.
Tessai's stern face didn't move. "You will understand once you see Urahara-san, Yoruichi-sama."
Yoruichi frowned. "Kisuke's downstairs then, huh? Figures…" With a sigh, she turned and padded toward the hidden entrance to the underground training ground.
...
Deep below, the clash of steel and spirit pressure echoed.
Amamiya Miyako's blades whistled as he pressed the attack. "Urahara! Do you really believe the Hōgyoku isn't safe with me?"
Kisuke's voice, though light, carried an edge. "It's the same no matter who holds it, Miyako-kun. The Hōgyoku shouldn't exist in anyone's hands. That's the truth."
His figure blurred in an instant—Shunpo. In the blink of an eye, Kisuke appeared behind Miyako, slamming his cane-sword, Benihime, into the ground.
"Bind, Benihime!"
A crimson net of energy burst forth, surging toward Miyako like a living cage.
"Tch—!" Miyako vaulted backward, releasing two glowing arrows at Kisuke's feet. He raised his voice, chanting sharply:
"Stride forth, silver serpent! Shatter the stone bed! Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan!"
The arrows split into countless white rods of light, striking the ground and walls, surging toward Kisuke to pin him in place.
For an instant, the battlefield was chaos: Kisuke allowed the glowing rods to crash down, binding his body in a five-point seal, while at the same time his red net spread wider—catching Miyako mid-air and dragging him into its grasp.
Both fighters froze, restrained.
"…Could it be?" Miyako thought grimly, twisting his blades back into his hands, ready to cut his way free. But before he could act—
Kisuke's lips moved in a low chant from within the glowing bind. His spiritual pressure flared.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
With a thunderous roar, a massive blast of crackling lightning erupted from Kisuke's outstretched hand, obliterating the binding rods that held him and tearing through the training ground. The pillar of destruction surged straight toward Miyako, who still struggled against Benihime's net.
Kisuke's eyes hardened. I'm sorry, Amamiya-kun… but I can't let you keep it.
The spell closed in, point-blank. Miyako's muscles tensed. There was no room to dodge.
"…Then I'll stop it head-on!"
He crossed his twin blades before him, reiryoku exploding outward. "Domain—Full Release!"
The searing beam smashed forward—yet just centimeters from Miyako's body, it ground to a halt. Sparks and lightning arced violently, shredding the air, but not a single trace of the spell touched him. Inch by inch, the destructive wave unraveled into nothing, dispersing in the storm of Miyako's aura.
When the light faded, Miyako still stood there, blades raised, completely unharmed.
Kisuke's fan slipped slightly from his grip. "Impossible… At that range… a high-level Hadō should have—" His thoughts broke off. Could this barrier-like field also be part of Miyako's Zanpakutō's ability?
"What's wrong, Urahara?" Miyako lowered his swords with a smirk. "Surprised? Out of tricks already? Why don't you show me everything you've got… or maybe even your Bankai?" His taunting voice echoed through the underground hall, though his breath was uneven.
In truth, that last defense had consumed more than half his spiritual power. If the fight dragged on, he'd have no choice but to push his Zanpakutō further.
Kisuke's jaw tightened. He still hadn't fully deciphered the nature of Miyako's Shikai. Every exchange revealed a new ability—bow, blade, barrier. Even the strange sealing power he hinted at. And now this mysterious domain? Nothing about it aligned with Kisuke's calculations.
Before Kisuke could regain his composure, Miyako blurred forward in a flash of Shunpo.
"I won't give you a chance to call out Bankai!"
His twin blades crashed down, clashing against Kisuke's sword. Sparks erupted as Miyako pressed forward with sheer force. Kisuke held firm, meeting the blow with practiced ease—but in that instant, Miyako used the recoil to launch himself upward, vanishing into the air.
The blades fused back into a bow, red reiryoku swirling around it. He drew the string back fully, eyes sharp.
"Scatter… Licht Regen *Rain of Light!"
A storm of glowing arrows cascaded down like a deadly rain shower, flooding the battlefield with dazzling light.
Kisuke's eyes narrowed. He didn't dare take them head-on. Who knew which arrow carried Miyako's true sealing ability? With a swift motion, he expanded Benihime's defensive field.
"Chikasumi no Tate!"
A blood-red mist thickened into a shield, intercepting the rain as he danced across the ground with Shunpo, weaving through the storm of energy. Arrows slammed into the shield, exploding into smoke and dust, choking the air with blinding haze.
Exactly as Miyako planned.
Miyako blurred through the smoke, Hirenkyaku blending seamlessly with Shunpo as he closed the gap on Kisuke. Two arrows streaked forth from his bow, one carrying the true essence of Zetsuen, the sealing strike.
Kisuke twisted aside, dodging the first—but the second arrow grazed Benihime.
"Damn it…" Kisuke muttered under his breath, his heart sinking.
The blade shuddered violently. In the next breath, Benihime's crimson glow flickered out, its form collapsing back into the simple cane that disguised it.
Miyako pressed in with his twin blades, his strikes sharp and unrelenting. Kisuke raised the sealed cane, barely deflecting the steel aimed for his shoulder. But before he could counter, Miyako leapt back, retreating in a flash.
He lowered his blades, his breathing rough but steady. The sudden flare of reiatsu had reached him first.
Finally… the one who can break this deadlock has arrived. If this kept going, I'd be forced to reveal too much.
A voice rang out, firm and impatient.
"Kisuke! Miyako! Just what the hell are you two doing?!"
Yoruichi Shihōin appeared at the edge of the underground training ground, her eyes sharp as she took in the scene: shattered stone, smoke still hanging in the air, and the thick press of spirit energy lingering between the two combatants.
For Miyako, her arrival was a relief. On the surface it seemed like he held the upper hand, but in truth, his reiatsu had already been drained heavily when he stopped Kisuke's Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō. If Kisuke realized that his sealing arrow wouldn't last forever and chose to unleash Bankai… Miyako would be forced to reveal his hidden power. And that was something he couldn't allow—not yet.
Yoruichi's gaze narrowed. "Didn't you say you were going to examine the Hōgyoku? Why does it look like you're trying to kill each other? Kisuke, explain yourself!"
Kisuke chuckled lightly, brushing the dust from his shoulders as he retrieved his hat from the floor and placed it back on his head. "Ahaha… Yoruichi-san, you're exaggerating. This was just a little sparring match. Friendly, really."
Yoruichi deadpanned. "…Kisuke. Do I look stupid to you?"
Miyako sheathed his blades with a faint click, ignoring their exchange as he fixed his gaze squarely on Urahara. His tone was calm, but each word was deliberate.
"Urahara… the material you used to forge the Hōgyoku… it was Hollow-based, wasn't it? And Aizen is in Hueco Mundo. There, he has an endless supply of Hollows—different types, numbers, even Gillians and Adjuchas to experiment on."
The implication hung heavy in the air.
Kisuke's eyes widened beneath the shadow of his hat. He had been so focused on sealing and hiding the Hōgyoku that he had overlooked something terrifying. If Aizen used Menos Grande—or worse, the highest-level Gillian and Vasto Lorde—as raw material…
"…Yoruichi-san," Kisuke said suddenly, his voice unusually serious. "This is between Miyako-kun and me. Please… let me handle it."
Yoruichi's eyes darted between the two men, her instincts telling her there was more beneath the surface than either was saying aloud.
Miyako finally broke the silence, his tone casual but edged. "If you don't mind, why don't we head upstairs and talk like civilized people?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked toward the stone passage that led back to the shop above, his posture relaxed but his reiatsu still faintly coiled around him like a warning.
Yoruichi folded her arms, her sharp eyes settling on Kisuke. "…Alright. Then tell me, Kisuke—what the hell just happened down here?"
Kisuke exhaled softly, his usual grin nowhere to be found. A bitter smile curved on his lips instead. "…I think… I may have done something foolish."
The underground chamber fell silent, the weight of his words hanging like a shadow as the three figures made their way back to the surface.