"If you have anything to ask, just ask."
"Keeping it in your stomach—"
"That's not the character of the Flash Goddess."
Across the boundless desert, Aiyan walked casually and leisurely, as though this journey to Hueco Mundo was merely a scenic stroll, enjoying a world completely different from Soul Society.
"If I ask… will you really answer?"
Shihōin Yoruichi followed behind Aiyan, her expression complicated to the extreme.
"Of course."
Aiyan nodded without hesitation.
"Including the Shinigami transformation of a Hollow?"
Shihōin Yoruichi asked something unexpected.
"And the Hollowfication of a Shinigami."
Aiyan was added lightly.
"Aiyan, tell me—when did you start researching these things?"
Shihōin Yoruichi could no longer suppress the urge building within her.
"…Are you interrogating me?"
Aiyan asked in return, not answering directly.
"If it's just interrogation, then you can report me to Central 46."
"I just don't want to see you—someone once admired as a hero of Soul Society—ends up like Kisuke Urahara, cursed by everyone, hunted like a street rat."
Shihōin Yoruichi snorted. Her voice carried displeasure—but even more, it carried worry.
Clearly—
What made her angry was not Aiyan's research into Shinigami and Hollow.
What truly upset her was that Aiyan had hidden it from her.
"I won't."
"On the contrary, it was the very existence of Central 46… that forced me to pursue research that breaks the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow."
"Do you remember the Hollow incident at the Kuchiki family?"
"I could've reversed it all."
"But because of Central 46… things spiraled out of control, past the point of no return."
"Byakuya lost everything overnight."
Aiyan glanced sideways at Shihōin Yoruichi. Hearing the deeper meaning behind her words, he began spinning sweet lies without shame.
"If the Head Captain hadn't dragged Ryūjin Jakka into the council and forced those so-called 'judges' to listen—"
"Then I wouldn't have received the title of 'Shinigami Hero.' I'd have been sentenced as a First-Class Criminal instead."
"After that, I kept asking myself…"
"What if that Hollow attack didn't happen to the Kuchiki, but to the Shihōin?"
"What if the one targeted wasn't Tsunayashiro, but you—Shihōin Yoruichi?"
"If something like that Hollow outbreak happened…"
"If you were the one locked away in the Senzaikyū…"
"If you were the one sentenced to execution by Central 46—not Hikifune Kirio or Shutara Senjumaru…"
"…What then?"
Hearing that—
Shihōin Yoruichi froze.
Her focus instantly shifted.
She no longer fixated on the fact that Aiyan had hidden things from her.
She no longer stared at the forbidden research itself.
"If one day, what happened to Kuchiki and Tsunayashiro happens to the Shihōin…"
"If one day, the fate of Hollowfication like Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru befalls you—"
"And I can't do anything about it…"
"Then I'll never forgive myself."
"From that day forward, I vowed to use my talent to change the fate of Shinigami and Hollow alike."
"I had to master Hollow and Shinigami techniques."
"Even if the existence of such technology is labeled a sin—defined as evil—by Central 46."
"And so, I created the Hōgyoku."
"To me, it is simply preparation against the threat of Hollows."
"Having the Hōgyoku doesn't mean I'll use it."
"But not having it… means I can't use it."
Aiyan suddenly stopped.
He turned around.
Lowered his head—
And looked directly into Shihōin Yoruichi's eyes.
"If you want me to watch you—like Hikifune Kirio, like Shutara Senjumaru—executed lightly by Central 46…"
"…Then I would rather bear every sin and protect you to the end of time."
"Even if I have to oppose the will of Soul Society."
"Even if it means standing as an enemy to all Shinigami."
At some point—
Aiyan had lowered his forehead against hers.
The two of them stood close, eye to eye, breath to breath.
"…Then why…"
"Why did you make that woman a Shinigami?"
Shihōin Yoruichi raised her head slightly. Her breath carried the fragrance of orchids.
Clearly—
After Harribel had become a Shinigami, shedding nearly every trace of Hollow, she had begun to feel uneasy. Unhappy.
She couldn't say for certain—
Whether she felt that way as a Shinigami, seeing a Vasto Lorde become something nearly indistinguishable from them—
Or if it was as Aiyan's woman, seeing him grant such power to someone else…
And feeling… unsettled.
"The birth of any technology must be accompanied by experimentation."
"Though Shinigami and Hollows stand at opposite ends—they were born of the same source."
"But one walks the path of suppression, the other the path of destruction."
"If I don't use Hollows as test subjects… should I use Shinigami?"
"How could I ever use Hollowfication on you, without absolute certainty of success?"
Aiyan seemed to have understood her true thoughts.
He shook his head and laughed.
His experiences—both past and present—his throne, and everything he had learned taught him one truth.
Lies are always more acceptable than truth.
And he wasn't lying.
Not entirely.
What happened in Las Noches truly had been an experiment—granting Harribel the Shinigami form to test the evolved Hōgyoku embedded within Matsumoto Rangiku.
It was the first time he had used its power since it reached its full state—
To test what it could do.
After all, though he could wield the plug-in he'd prepared for himself—
He still couldn't fully understand or control it.
When Shihōin Yoruichi heard this—
She didn't say a word.
Instead, she simply stepped forward…
And embraced Aiyan.
Tightly.
Her cheek resting gently against his shoulder.
As though she wanted to hold this man—
By her side.
In her arms.
Forever.
Hollowfication?
Shinigami?
Soul Society's judgment?
She forgot all of it.
And didn't care.
She was—
Shihōin Yoruichi, the Flash Goddess.
And she was not bound by such things.
Time flowed like an arrow.
And in Soul Society—where life was measured in centuries—the days passed like fleeting dreams.
Especially for Shinigami, who live for thousands of years—
Twenty-five days was just a nap.
…
3rd Division Barracks.
At this moment, many Gotei captains and Lieutenants had gathered here.
"There are still three hours left until Captain Kirio's execution."
"If anyone wants to back out—"
"There's still time."
"No matter what decision you make, I won't blame you. Because no matter what we choose today…"
"…We'll both be right. And wrong."
Muguruma Kensei swept his gaze across the room.
His eyes passed over Aikawa Love, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, Sarugaki Hiyori, Kuna Mashiro, and Yadōmaru Lisa.
"Is there even a choice to be made?"
"Is there anyone sitting here who hasn't received Captain Kirio's kindness?"
"A hundred years ago, we were nobodies from Rukongai. Sure, we had Shinigami potential—but at best, we were just low-ranking foot soldiers."
"It was Captain Kirio who gave us everything—"
"She invented the Temporary Soul Insertion Technique that let us borrow strong bodies in emergencies."
"She cooked our meals."
"And thanks to her—each of us here became either a Gotei captain or Lieutenant."
Sarugaki Hiyori was the first to speak.
"I, Hiyori, swear this now—"
"Even if I stop being a Shinigami, I will rescue Captain Kirio."
"A Gotei captain who gave so much to Soul Society is now being executed because she was framed—by that bastard Urahara Kisuke!"
"If being a Shinigami means obeying this kind of judgment…"
"Then I don't deserve to be a Shinigami!"
Her voice trembled with rage.
Her words burned with fury toward Central 46—
And with hatred toward Urahara Kisuke.
...
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