Tap… tap… tap.
Tap… tap… tap.
Once again, crisp footsteps echoed through the silent underground corridor of the Senzaikyū—steady, rhythmic… like a drumstick carved from holly wood, striking against the strings of Gin Ichimaru's heart, one beat at a time.
She… really came.
Gin narrowed his eyes slightly, staring into the endless darkness ahead, as if trying to make out the figure walking toward him—
Matsumoto Rangiku.
She had always been the person he wanted to see most.
And now… she had become the one he least wanted to face.
Yet—
She came anyway.
"Gin…?"
Rangiku reached out with trembling fingers, brushing against the iron bars that separated them, her voice soft and unsteady.
"Gin…?! You… you really came back?!"
Gin turned his back to her.
His hands slipped into the sleeves of his prison robe as he stared silently at the bare wall, refusing to answer.
"Gin!"
Gripping the bars tightly, Rangiku shouted at his back.
"You bastard! Do you think staying silent will make me forgive you for disappearing without a word last time?! Don't even think about it!"
"…"
"Gin! You idiot! You absolute moron! You damn jerk!"
She shook the bars violently, her voice breaking with anger.
"You're always like this! You never say goodbye properly! Why?! Why?! Did you never once think about me?!"
"…"
At those words, something flickered in Gin's eyes.
His frail body trembled ever so slightly—the walls around his heart, long sealed shut, had finally been shaken.
After a long hesitation, he slowly turned his head.
Looking at Rangiku outside the cell, he gave a faint, familiar smile.
"Sorry, Rangiku… There won't be a next time."
"Gin… you really are… the most infuriating man alive…"
Rangiku clutched the bars with both hands, staring at his smiling face as tears suddenly poured down her cheeks—years of grievance, pain, and disappointment dissolving in that single moment.
"Rangiku…"
Gin slowly closed his eyes.
Memories spread like wild grass, surging uncontrollably—leaping past the Senzaikyū, beyond Soul Society itself, back to that little lakeside cabin in the Rukongai…
—
At the same time—
After receiving the guards' report, Chōjirō Sasakibe arrived at the scene with over a dozen First Division members. At a glance, he spotted the instigator—Fūjin Taichi—leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, as if he had been waiting for them all along.
"Fūjin Taichi! You dare violate the Captain-Commander's confinement order and brazenly cause trouble at the Senzaikyū?!"
Having learned from his last encounter at Sōkyoku Hill, Sasakibe didn't rush in recklessly. Instead, he shouted from a distance:
"If you don't stop now, I will report every one of your crimes to the Captain-Commander—and he will personally deal with you!"
"Vice-Captain Sasakibe, you might want to get your facts straight."
Fūjin smirked lazily.
"The Senzaikyū falls under Ninth Division's jurisdiction. So technically… I haven't violated the old man's confinement order at all."
"Fūjin Taichi! Even if that were true, assaulting patrol members and trespassing into the Senzaikyū are already grave violations of Soul Society law!"
Sasakibe gripped the hilt of his Zanpakutō, Gonryōmaru, his voice stern despite the tension beneath it.
"Given your repeated offenses and refusal to reform, I hereby order you—in my capacity as Vice-Captain of the First Division—to surrender immediately!"
"Sasakibe… it's only been a while, but you've somehow gotten even more amusing."
Fūjin didn't bother hiding the disdain in his voice.
"Let me be clear—even if the old man himself showed up, I wouldn't be afraid. And you?" He scoffed. "You think you're worthy of making me surrender?"
"Then what about me?"
A sharp voice cut through the air.
With a heavy impact, Hitsugaya Tōshirō descended from above, landing in front of them. A powerful surge of spiritual pressure burst outward, whipping up waves of pale mist.
Whoosh!
Whoosh—!
Dozens of Fifth Division members appeared behind him in perfect formation, each gripping an asauchi and aiming straight at Fūjin Taichi.
"Oh? Tōshirō. Long time no see… You've gotten a bit taller, haven't you?" Fūjin teased casually, clearly unfazed.
"Address me as Captain Hitsugaya."
Hitsugaya's emerald eyes locked onto him, cold and unwavering.
"I've just received reports: Matsumoto has abandoned her assignment, trespassed into the Senzaikyū, and injured multiple patrol members—serious violations of Seireitei law."
His voice grew sharper.
"As Captain of the Fifth Division, I will take her back for judgment."
A brief pause—
"Fūjin… I'm warning you."
"Do. Not. Shield her."
Fūjin let out a low chuckle, his expression turning mocking.
"Heh… Tōshirō. That's quite the authority you're throwing around."
Fūjin Taichi frowned slightly, looking down at the "grade-school Shinigami" who barely stood over 1.4 meters tall.
"Let me make this absolutely clear," he said flatly. "Matsumoto Rangiku isn't here."
"Lies!"
Harano Kohai stepped forward, righteous fury written all over his face.
"We saw it with our own eyes—you brought Matsumoto Rangiku into the Senzaikyū! And after that, you stood guard at the entrance and refused to let anyone in!"
"Oh?"
Fūjin didn't look surprised in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to have expected this.
"Harano Kohani," he said lazily, "according to division regulations, slandering your captain without evidence is grounds for punishment… I believe it's a thousand needles down the throat."
"Cut the crap!" Harano shot back, emboldened by the presence of Chōjirō Sasakibe and Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto already stripped you of your position! So just be a good little criminal and hand over Matsumoto Rangiku to Captain Hitsugaya!"
"I've already told you—she's not here."
The smile vanished from Fūjin's face. His gaze turned cold, locking onto Harano like a blade.
"And let me remind you—spreading lies comes with consequences."
"Fūjin!" Sasakibe barked. "You dare threaten a witness right in front of Captain Hitsugaya and myself? Do you really think we won't act?!"
"Fūjin."
Hitsugaya's voice dropped as his right hand reached over his shoulder, gripping the hilt of his Zanpakutō—Hyōrinmaru.
"If you don't hand Matsumoto over now… don't blame me for what happens next."
"Heh."
Fūjin let out a low chuckle.
"You've already decided I'm guilty, haven't you? Then what's with all the talking?"
He raised a finger and beckoned to the two of them—once… twice.
"Come on, then."
"Captain Hitsugaya!" Sasakibe called out sharply. "Against someone as cunning and dangerous as Fūjin, there's no need to hold back—attack together!"
With that, Sasakibe raised his Zanpakutō before him and chanted:
"Pierce him—Gonryōmaru!"
A flash of white light burst forth as his blade released, transforming into a slender Western-style rapier.
"Tch…"
Seeing Sasakibe already move, Hitsugaya drew Hyōrinmaru as well. His left hand slid lightly across the blade as he spoke:
"Sit upon the frozen heavens—Hyōrinmaru!"
Crack—!
A biting cold surged outward, his immense spiritual pressure condensing into a massive ice dragon that coiled along his blade, stretching from his arm to his back.
Chains extended from the hilt, ending in a crescent-shaped blade that resembled the dragon's tail. Frost spread through the air as a chilling wind rose, and faint snowflakes began to fall from above.
"Oh? What a lovely scene."
Fūjin straightened slightly, glancing around with mild amusement.
"Season's completely wrong, but I won't complain about a little snow."
His gaze shifted back to the two captains, casual as ever.
"You sure you don't want to use Bankai?" he said lightly. "Otherwise… you might want to prepare yourselves to be killed instantly."
"…What?!"
Sasakibe's heart skipped a beat.
The memory of their last encounter at Sōkyoku Hill flashed vividly in his mind—how he hadn't even managed to release his Shikai before Fūjin had grabbed him by the face and slammed him into the wall like he was nothing.
This time… he wouldn't make the same mistake.
No more holding back.
If that was the case—
Then there was only one answer.
"Bankai—"
His spiritual pressure surged violently as his voice rang out:
"Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū!!"