"Why are you here?"
When Higashino Shuuichi shed the Musashi Kojirō gigai he'd been using as a disguise, Shiba Kaien spoke through the wound his Fullbring opponent had left—still not healed.
From his tone, there wasn't much hostility—maybe even a flicker of… surprise?
At least, that's how Shuuichi read it.
"We traced some tech that leaked from Soul Society into the Human World, so we followed the trail here."
Shuuichi said nothing about Kyōraku Shunsui. He didn't believe Shunsui would admit to meeting "Soul Society traitors" off the books anyway.
"Leaked Soul Society tech? So that's it…
I knew there was more to this."
Shiba Kaien braced himself upright against the headboard.
"But those humans we fought weren't Shinigami, right?
They never used Kidō, had no Zanpakutō. Their reiatsu was low, but they used strange abilities."
From behind Shuuichi, Ayasegawa Yumichika asked.
"No," Shuuichi shook his head. "They call themselves Fullbringers, and their abilities are 'Fullbring.' As far as I know, those abilities can, to a degree, ignore the gap in reiatsu between them and us."
"Fullbring…"
The word tugged at a half-memory for Kaien, but as someone who hadn't yet inherited the Shiba clan headship, he hadn't touched many of Soul Society's buried secrets. Truth be told, he'd never cared much. If he got home alive this time, maybe he should start.
"Exactly. That's why I sent a warning ahead of time, in the name of the Shihōin clan's former head, Shihōin Yoruichi, to your investigation team.
"And I need to apologize to you two, Ikkaku, Yumichika. I did use you to probe those Fullbringers' abilities."
Shuuichi turned and bowed to Ayasegawa Yumichika and Madarame Ikkaku, earnest.
"That's nothing! Small stuff! I just want to know—when do we fight for real again?!
I lost last time—and the time before—but I've got some new ideas. I won't lose to you again!"
Ikkaku thumped his chest at Shuuichi's sincerity, and Yumichika's favor toward Shuuichi doubled beside him.
Hard to imagine: a Shinigami branded a traitor by Soul Society not only didn't sabotage them—he'd been helping them for free.
And the swordwork he'd taught them these past two days had been the real thing.
More than that, a Shinigami of his strength bowing to rookies and apologizing—unthinkable back in Soul Society.
After all, in Yumichika's eyes, fighting Fullbringers was their job as Shinigami.
If anything, Fullbringers should be allies to Shuuichi and the other "defectors."
"So, Shuuichi-kun, what did you find? Is there a Shinigami named Yokozawada Tsuna among them?"
Unlike Yumichika and the other rank-and-file, Shiba Kaien—like most of the Shiba—had never believed that these captain- and lieutenant-class Shinigami had truly betrayed Soul Society, nor that the Central 46's story about Urahara Kisuke masterminding everything held water.
So while Shuuichi's stance surprised him, it was still within the range he could accept. He cared more about their mission target.
As for leaked tech, he filed it away. When this was over, he'd report to the Head Captain in person.
"Yokozawada Tsuna?" Shuuichi shook his head, a touch regretful. "Sorry. No trace of him."
"I see…"
Coming up empty, Kaien smiled at himself. He felt greedy now—these people had been cast away by Soul Society. He shouldn't heap another burden on them.
"What's your plan now, Kaien-kun? From what I see, your team's down to just the three of you."
Shuuichi asked.
Yumichika's eyes slid to the bed as well. The same question weighed on him.
The reality was plain: three Shinigami weren't enough. The best move was to abandon the mission, return to Soul Society, and report.
But Kaien wasn't thinking that way. This was his first major assignment since joining the 13th; he didn't want to slink home.
"What about you? What are you going to do? Need us to coordinate?"
"Kaien-kun…" Shuuichi frowned—pretending worry, secretly pleased. "Given your situation, to be blunt, I think it'd be better if you headed back to Soul Society soon…"
"Sorry, Shuuichi-kun. I don't fully know your situation. I'm guessing if you're planning something big, you'll need to shed those disguises you're wearing, right?
"If I'm here, I can cover you. If it comes to it, I'll hold off any Shinigami who come to arrest you."
As the next clan head, Kaien had the perspective for it.
He knew these Hollowfied Shinigami in the Human World were "illegitimate" in Soul Society's eyes; he knew the Shiba's voice among the nobles was weak; he knew the odds of clearing their names were slim.
But if it was just buffering Shuuichi from Soul Society for a time, he could do that.
If Shuuichi was too polite to ask, Kaien would volunteer.
Sure enough, when Shuuichi heard the straight pitch, he fell silent, as if wrestling with the implications.
Kaien didn't push. He knew Shuuichi would be weighing the promise's credibility.
He couldn't imagine how deeply the previous incident had scarred them. But he believed he could prove—with action—that there were still those in Soul Society who would stand by them.
"…Then I'll take you up on it, Kaien-kun. We may need a few days."
In the end, Shuuichi seemed to make a hard choice.
"Count on me, Shuuichi-kun. I only ask—if you find a Shinigami named Yokozawada Tsuna, please do your best to hand him over to us."
Kaien promised, solemn.
"Absolutely."
Shuuichi promised back.
After using Kaidō (Healing Kidō) to treat Kaien, Yumichika, and Ikkaku, Shuuichi left the safehouse.
He had to ferry the Fullbringers he'd captured over the last two days into the pocket space. When this was over, he'd find a chance to deliver them to Kurotsuchi Mayuri in Soul Society.
What Shuuichi didn't expect—pleasantly—was that, when he returned to the pocket space beneath that basement, Kisaragi Shūsuke was locked in a fierce struggle against the Bakkōtō.
"Forgive me, Shuuichi-kun. I gave Shūsuke-kun permission to handle it…"
Beside him, Kabuma Sayako lowered her voice.
She couldn't know how long Shuuichi had been waiting for this—how many times he'd tried nudging Shūsuke over the past year, how many hints he'd dropped—only for that blockhead to keep "forgetting" there was a Bakkōtō available and to keep grinding Kidō with his trash talent.
Shuuichi had nearly coughed blood from exasperation. If not for the role he had to play, he'd have just shoved the Bakkōtō into Shūsuke's hands.
Because Shuuichi, as a traveler, knew the truth: the Bakkōtō Raika (Thunderfire) was perfectly compatible with Kisaragi Shūsuke—almost as if it were made for him.
Letting Shūsuke claim it carried nearly no risk.
"You don't need to apologize, Sayako. I trust you—like you trust me. If you agreed to let Shūsuke try, it's because he wants it, strongly. It's his choice. I don't want to see this happen, but I support it."
With that, Shuuichi turned away.
Mastering a Bakkōtō was something only Shūsuke could do. No outsider could help.
He had a more immediate problem anyway:
How to deal with the Fullbringers left in Osaka.
From the investigation he'd done as "Musashi Kojirō," plus the intel Kaien had shared, Shuuichi was confident: aside from the seven Fullbringers he'd already subdued, four remained.
One was a foreign-born, mixed-blood cleric returned from overseas: Johanse Nosavich—a "bishop" who had shown the people of Osaka a miracle of raising the dead.
One was a general temporarily transferred from Tokyo Prefecture: Satō Takeo. Ability unknown—but rumored to have routed tens of thousands alone, without a scratch.
One had come with Johanse Nosavich but was a rōnin, not a priest: Yuki Seisui, who had challenged all 33 dōjō of Osaka Prefecture without a single loss.
The last had, before all eyes, performed a "rebirth in fire"—but that one was the most mysterious; Shuuichi couldn't learn a name.
"I'm taking the last one. Most mysterious, most likely strongest. This time, I'll get my revenge!"
Muguruma Kensei, hearing that Shuuichi was launching a final offensive against the remaining Fullbringers, picked his target like a man possessed.
Shuuichi had no objection.
He'd never planned on Kensei actually winning—he just needed him not to lose too fast.
If the remaining Fullbringers hadn't consolidated around the central cathedral, Shuuichi wouldn't have let Kensei lift a finger; he'd have kept trimming them in the dark.
But since the enemy had sniffed something out and tightened their lines, he'd stop playing coy.
Four Fullbringers. With Kaien stalling Soul Society reinforcements, and if Shuuichi went all-out, a bit of time should be enough.
This time, the Fullbringers of Osaka were as good as his. Even if Jesus came, it wouldn't help.
Dusk crept in. After the faithful finished their service and drifted out of the cathedral, Shuuichi finished placing every last reiryoku-masking barrier node Urahara Kisuke had left him—encircling the central cathedral.
Kaien's cover was nice, but Shuuichi wouldn't stake everything on anyone else. If Soul Society never sensed any of this, even better.
Another reason he'd herded them together: easier to net them all inside one barrier.
Urahara Kisuke wasn't yet the man who could forge a fake Karakura Town from whole cloth.
Wrapping the cathedral and its immediate neighborhood was about Shuuichi's limit for now.
"Time to cut loose, Shuuichi!"
At the barrier's edge, Muguruma Kensei flipped his Zanpakutō to a reverse grip and stared up at the cathedral's towering cross, practically shaking with anticipation.
He'd been bottled up in the Human World far too long. The thought of using Shinigami powers with no restraint set his blood on fire.
Standing beside him in Musashi Kojirō's form, Shuuichi also watched the church ahead.
Sometimes, action is the best language.
Left foot slid a half-step forward; body leaned in; right hand settled on the faintly visible hilt at his waist.
Nadegiri (Cleaving Stroke).
A blade of pure reiatsu screamed out, shearing the great iron cross from the cathedral's peak.
As the cross crashed down in a roar, Osaka Prefecture's final battle began in earnest.
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