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"Ichigo, we are saved."
At the sight of Jūshirō Ukitake, relief flickered in Rukia's eyes. With Jūshirō's temperament and strength, there was hope—hope that Kurosaki Ichigo would not be lost to Byakuya Kuchiki's blade.
"Captain Jūshirō."
Shiraha smiled faintly as he greeted him. At the same moment, his sharpened perception picked up a figure racing toward them from tens of thousands of meters away, a blur of Shunpo tearing across the distance.
"Captain Jūshirō."
Kira Izuru bowed deeply as well, his voice steadier than the unease in his eyes. Jūshirō, in turn, smiled and nodded at both of them.
"What is the meaning of this, Jūshirō?"
Byakuya Kuchiki slipped free of Jūshirō's restraining hand, his gaze flat, his voice cutting.
"Is that not what I should ask you, Byakuya?" Jūshirō replied with a smile that carried both kindness and admonition. "To liberate a Zanpakutō here is a Class-One forbidden act. Even if you claim to be handling travel accidents, the rules do not bend so easily. What exactly are you thinking?"
"According to the wartime special order of the Commander-in-Chief, Zanpakutō liberation is authorized." Byakuya's tone remained cold, each word precise.
"Wartime special order?" Jūshirō's eyes widened slightly. "Has the Ryoka invasion escalated so far? Could it be… the intruders even killed Captain Aizen?"
Surprise stirred across his calm features. For these past days he had been occupied with the Heaven-Given Armor Fan—an artifact borrowed from Shihōin Yūshirō Sakimune—and had ignored all outside affairs. Out of fear of disturbing him, Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu had deliberately withheld the news.
"Jūshirō, now that you are aware, step aside." Byakuya's words were flat, final.
"Byakuya, wait. Let us resolve the Ryoka matter only after proper investigation." Jūshirō's tone softened into plea as his eyes fell on Ichigo, still collapsed and paralyzed at their feet.
Jūshirō and Byakuya had known each other since childhood. Though Jūshirō addressed him as Captain Kuchiki before others, in private he still used the name Byakuya, a trace of familiarity that time could not erase.
"This boy has nothing to do with the man you imagine," Byakuya said, gaze fixed on Ichigo. "He is only misfortune incarnate—a reckless substitute who robbed Rukia of her Shinigami power."
Byakuya had seen the thought in Jūshirō's eyes: Ichigo's resemblance to Shiba Kaien. That similarity had caught him off guard during their first encounter, but for Byakuya, it had ended there.
"So… he is the one who took Rukia's power?" Jūshirō murmured, eyes lingering on Ichigo's still form.
Byakuya offered no further explanation. Instead, he stepped forward. Senbonzakura's scattered blades regrouped into his sword, the petals of death vanishing as its Shikai sealed.
"Long time no see, little Byakuya. Him—I will take away today."
A sudden voice, light yet commanding, cut through the tension. A figure appeared before Byakuya, blocking his path.
"Shihōin… Yoruichi."
Byakuya's gaze flickered, his composure unbroken, but the faint surprise in his eyes betrayed him.
Jūshirō, too, was caught off guard. Yoruichi Shihōin—missing for over a century after fleeing Soul Society with Urahara Kisuke and Tessai Tsukabishi—now stood before them, alive, unchanged, and determined.
"Poor Ichigo. You've fallen to a miserable state."
Kneeling beside him, Yoruichi examined Ichigo, her head shaking. The paralysis mirrored the same effect Kisuke had once suffered—unmistakably Shiraha's doing. But with others present, Yoruichi did not acknowledge Shiraha; she merely masked recognition with silence.
"Who is she?" Hanatarō Yamada blinked, bewildered.
"I've… heard that name before," Rukia murmured, brows furrowed in thought.
"Captain Shiraha, an unidentified intruder has appeared. Shall we aid Captain Kuchiki?" Izuru's hand rested on his Zanpakutō hilt, his body tense as he eyed Yoruichi warily.
"Kira, calm yourself." Shiraha's smile held amusement. "The identity of this woman is far from simple."
"What do you mean, Captain?" Izuru asked, suspicion not leaving his eyes.
Byakuya answered instead, his words deliberate. "Former Captain of the Second Division. Former Commander of the Stealth Forces. First Corps Commander of the Punishment Force. Shihōin Yoruichi. Missing for one hundred and four years. I believed you long dead."
"Brother Byakuya," Yoruichi said with a sly smile, lifting Ichigo with ease, "I will take him away today. You know well you cannot stop me."
"What do you intend to do with him?" Jūshirō demanded, alarm stirring as he stepped forward.
"Jūshirō…" Yoruichi met his eyes, her gaze layered with complication.
"No one leaves here," Byakuya declared coldly.
"Oh?" Yoruichi's smirk widened. "A century apart, and you've grown arrogant. Don't forget, little Byakuya—I was the one who taught you Shunpo."
With those words, she vanished, Byakuya disappearing the same instant. The air cracked where they had stood.
"Kira, it's our turn." Shiraha's calm smile never wavered.
Izuru gave a short nod and drew his Zanpakutō.
"Shiraha, I beg you, let him go." Jūshirō blocked Shiraha's path, his voice earnest.
"Well," Shiraha exhaled lightly, "he is insignificant anyway." To him, whether Ichigo was taken or left mattered little. His check-in mission concerning Ichigo had long been completed. The substitute had fulfilled his use.
"Thank you, Shiraha." Relief washed over Jūshirō's features. Even with Yoruichi's skill, escaping against both Byakuya and Shiraha would have been near impossible.
Meanwhile, on a distant rooftop, Yoruichi's steps blurred into emptiness. With Kurosaki Ichigo in her arms, she evaded Byakuya's blade using the Triple-Step of Shunpō—Utsusemi, one of the Four Techniques of Shihōin Shunpō.
"Three days," she whispered, eyes fierce. "Give me three days, and I will forge you stronger than Byakuya. Until then, leave the pursuit to him. If he wants to catch me, let him try. The Flash Goddess cannot be so easily caught."
Her words faded into the night as she disappeared with Ichigo.
Byakuya landed silently, sheathing Senbonzakura. "Shiraha. I will depart first." Without waiting for a reply, he left.
"Very well. Kira, let's go." Shiraha's smile lingered as he turned back toward Jūshirō. "Captain Jūshirō, the aftermath is yours." With that, Shiraha and Izuru vanished into the wind of Shunpo.
"The Kuchiki brothers are truly merciless." Jūshirō shook his head with a weary smile. "Sentarō, Kiyone, hurry and treat the wounded Ryoka."
"Yes, Captain!" The two lieutenants rushed forward at his call.
Far away, beneath the chambers of Central 46, Aizen stood before a desk in the hidden archive. His eyes glimmered as he studied a passage in the Great Spirit Book Corridor.
"At last… the method of forging the Ōken." His voice was soft, almost tender, his smile gentle. Yet behind it stirred a quiet storm. "It seems the plan must change…"
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