"How… how could this be?"
Shusuke Amagai gasped for breath. He couldn't comprehend it. Even after sealing Head-Captain Yamamoto's Zanpakutō, he was still no match for the old man.
"Boy, my strength doesn't solely rely on my Zanpakutō."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto knocked Shusuke Amagai to the ground with a single punch. He didn't press his attack, instead studying Amagai face for a moment before speaking again.
"As the son of Shinetsu Kisaragi, I endured one of your attacks. That was the price I had to pay."
"But as the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, I cannot die yet. Therefore, this punch is my punishment, on behalf of the Seireitei."
Yamamoto ripped off his heavily scorched captain's haori, revealing his surprisingly well-defined muscles.
"And boy, you were wrong."
"I didn't order the deaths of Shinetsu Kisaragi and his family."
"On the contrary, I sent people to protect them."
"After all, Kisaragi was my third disciple!"
"What?"
Amagai looked up sharply at Yamamoto in disbelief. He had anticipated the consequences of failure, but he hadn't expected this shocking revelation. His father was a disciple of Yamamoto? That meant Yamamoto had no reason to kill him. Then how did his father die?
"Now that I know your true identity, I understand how you managed to get here."
"This was all your doing, wasn't it, Kyōraku?"
But the surprises weren't over. As Yamamoto turned his gaze towards the entrance of the First Division barracks, Amagai saw Shunsui Kyōraku, the captain of the Eighth Division, enter the courtyard.
"Oh dear, oh dear. I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Captain-Commander."
"Your presence here suggests you already knew Captain Amagai's true identity, didn't it?"
"Ah, to be honest, I was quite surprised when I discovered it."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Yamamoto stepped forward, drawing Ryūjin Jakka that had been sealed by Amagai's Bakkōtō.
"What could you have done even if I had told you, Captain-Commander?"
Kyōraku adjusted his straw hat and shook his head.
"Captain-Commander, Captain Amagai is Shinetsu's son. This was your mistake, and it was also Ukitake's and my arrogance."
"Therefore, whether he sought revenge against the Kasumiōji family or you, it was his right."
"I simply wanted to save him, should he fail."
"This…"
Amagai finally understood. His identity had been known all along, likely since the surveillance had ceased. But even then, Kyōraku hadn't intervened. And now, it seemed, he was even willing to fight Yamamoto to protect him.
"Have you lost that much faith in me, Kyōraku?"
"No. It's precisely because I trust you that I'm here. In my memory, you're someone willing to sacrifice everything to protect the Seireitei."
Yamamoto fell silent. His ideals had never changed. He lived to protect the Seireitei, to protect the Soul King Palace. However, having become the Soul King's first line of defense, he had grown attached to the Seireitei. Therefore, to maintain its stability, he had repeatedly compromised with the nobles, abandoning the ruthlessness of his youth.
"So, Kyōraku, do you intend to fight me?"
"Roar!"
At Kyōraku's words, Yamamoto swung Ryūjin Jakka, and instantly flames erupted from the blade. A powerful inferno engulfed the First Division courtyard.
Firestorm!
Amagai was stunned. Even heavily injured, his Bakkōtō was still active, draining his reiatsu. How could Yamamoto still release his Zanpakutō under these circumstances?
"No. I'm no match for you, Captain-Commander. I simply sent a distress call to the Fifth Division."
"I assumed that, as the rescue squad, Captain Ailin would respond immediately. He's the one who will fight you."
"What?"
…
Boom!
In the Fifth Division barracks, Ailin sensed the clash of reiatsu emanating from the First Division. He knew Amagai had finally confronted Yamamoto.
He couldn't blame him. The Kasumiōji family, after several attacks, was reduced to a single teenage girl. Amagai, no matter how much he hated them, couldn't direct his vengeance towards an innocent child. His only remaining target was Yamamoto.
However, Ailin hadn't anticipated that Amagai, during his investigation, would be mistaken for his father by Gyōkaku Kumoi due to their similar appearance. Kumoi had then manipulated Amagai, twisting the events of two centuries ago, turning him into a pawn in his game. While the outcome, Amagai confronting Yamamoto, aligned with Kumoi's plans, the motivations were drastically different.
"Captain Ailin, I've received an urgent request. The First Division is under attack. They're requesting immediate assistance."
Momo Hinamori rushed into Ailin's office, holding a mission order.
Ailin took the order, glanced at it, and shook his head. Kyōraku was clearly trying to drag him into this mess. Such a manipulative personality was truly… unpleasant.
…
"Kyōraku, if you continue with these baseless accusations, I'll have to report you for slander."
Ailin's voice echoed from within the flames as he appeared before Yamamoto, Kyōraku, and Amagai.
White reiatsu enveloped his body, shielding him from the inferno.
"I'm simply here to respond to a rescue request. Fighting the Captain-Commander? I have no such intention."
He had heard Kyōraku's blatant lies the moment he entered Yamamoto's firestorm.
"Really? But I recall you mentioning a debt you owed to Shinetsu Kisaragi. Surely you intend to repay that debt?"
"I'm surprised you remember, Kyōraku. Such a remarkable memory. But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. While it's true I owed Kisaragi a debt, I've already repaid it. Otherwise, how do you think Amagai acquired his current strength?"
"What?"
The three men stared at Ailin.
Yamamoto was trying to recall when Ailin had become involved with his disciple.
Kyōraku was wondering what he would do if Ailin refused to intervene. Would he have to fight Yamamoto? He regretted not bringing Ukitake with him. Having Ukitake's support would have made things much easier.
Amagai, however, studied Ailin's face. The more he looked, the more familiar he seemed.
"You… you're the one who…"
"Yes, it's me."
Seeing that Amagai was about to tell him what he had taught him in Hueco Mundo, Ailin quickly interrupted.
He had entered Hueco Mundo disguised as Sōsuke Aizen. If Yamamoto and Kyōraku learned of his presence there, they would undoubtedly become suspicious.
"However, I didn't expect a single night of training would yield such… impressive results."
He approached Amagai and studied his monstrous arm, shaking his head.
"Such recklessness."
A golden ripple appeared beside Ailin, and he drew a Zanpakutō from the void, whispering its name.
"Sever it! O Talisman that breaks all laws!"
The blade changed colors and turned into a strange, lightning bolt-shaped weapon.
Without hesitation, he plunged the sword into Amagai's monstrous arm. A blinding light flashed, and the arm dissolved into a mass of writhing tendrils, severed from Amagai, reverting to their original form – a single, grotesque eye.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Boom!
A bolt of lightning shot from Ailin's fingertip, obliterating the Bakkōtō's core. Amagai's Zanpakutō crumbled to dust.
"Well, Captain-Commander, I'll take this… would-be assassin to the Ninth Division. You two can sort out your… family matters. Don't drag me into this."
With that, he grabbed Amagai and vanished, leaving Yamamoto and Kyōraku alone in the courtyard.
"Captain-Commander… I… well, I was… I had a bit too much to drink, and I… I seem to have lost my way. Do you… believe me?"
"Do you?"
…
"So, Ichigo, what are your thoughts on your time in the Soul Society?"
In the sunset, Ailin walked behind Ichigo, accompanied by Momo Hinamori. He had seemingly chosen a casual stroll to return Ichigo to the World of the Living.
Ichigo's two-day visit had been more eventful than months in his own world. Who could have predicted that Byakuya Kuchiki, the head of the Kuchiki Clan and the embodiment of noble ideals, would massacre the nobles attending the council and propose abolishing the noble system?
While the proposal hadn't passed, the nobles' power and influence had been significantly diminished. After much deliberation, the remaining nobles had agreed that only the current head of a clan and their designated heir would retain their noble status. All other clan members would be considered commoners, no longer enjoying the privileges of nobility.
The second major event had been Shusuke Amagai's attack on Head-Captain Yamamoto. No one had expected the Third Division captain, so dedicated to restoring his division's reputation, to be the one to tarnish it further.
Izuru Kira's investigation had revealed Makoto Kibune's collusion with Gyōkaku Kumoi, the Kasumiōji steward, their plot to destabilize the Seireitei and reinstate the Central 46's authority.
Byakuya, however, had personally thwarted their plan.
Kibune, even empowered by the Bakkōtō, had been defeated by Kira, finally showcasing his lieutenant's true strength to the Third Division.
Amagai, after taking Rurichiyo Kasumiōji hostage, had attacked Yamamoto, only to be swiftly defeated. Ailin, arriving later, had apprehended him and sent him to the Ninth Division's detention center.
The task of returning Ichigo to the World of the Living usually fell to Jūshirō Ukitake of the Thirteenth Division. However, Ukitake was ill, and Shunsui Kyōraku was also indisposed, leaving Ailin to escort Ichigo home.
"Thoughts?"
Ichigo paused, contemplating Ailin's question.
He, a teenager raised in a modern metropolis, found the Soul Society's feudal system somewhat… unsettling.
However, Ichigo, as always, only truly concerned himself with the people around him. The Soul Society, to him, was like a foreign country. He wouldn't presume to judge their customs.
"I'm sorry, Captain Ailin. I'm just a high school student. I don't really understand the Soul Society. Even if you ask me, I can't really say what I think of it."
"But…"
He remembered the friends he had made. "I think some of the people there, including you, Captain Ailin, are good people."
"Hahaha. That's a very… diplomatic answer, Ichigo."
"You see, Ichigo, the labels 'good' and 'evil' are simply judgments based on perspective, on who benefits from a person's actions."