"Tea, please," Tsukishima Shūkurō said timidly to the Shinigami seated across from him.
"Thank you," replied Vice-Captain Amamiya Miyako, accepting the cup. His sharp, observant eyes carefully examined the young woman before him.
'So this is the artificial soul, the Mod-Soul, Kisuke Urahara uses in his Gigai…' he mused internally. A more pressing thought followed. 'Just how much does Urahara know about the Soul King's condition to be this prepared? His foresight is… unnerving.'
"Alright, Urahara-san, don't be so tense," Amamiya said aloud, a relaxed smile gracing his features as he took a sip. "I said I wanted to talk. I'm not running away."
But Kisuke Urahara, his face shadowed by his striped hat, remained solemn. His fan was still. "Amamiya Miyako. Your thoughts on the Hōgyoku. Why do you insist on keeping it?"
'Of course I can't tell you the truth of what I think. If I revealed my true purpose for the Hōgyoku… you'd try to cut me down where I sit,' Amamiya complained inwardly.
Outwardly, he merely sighed. "Urahara-san, let me finish, will you? A question for you: if I hand the Hōgyoku back right now, how long will it take you to put it back into a dormant state? Will you use the same method? Find another Shinigami and seal it inside their soul? Inside their Gigai?"
Urahara was silent. That method was no longer viable.
"Furthermore," Amamiya pressed on, his tone growing more serious. "Once it's out of me, can you guarantee Aizen won't detect its presence? The Aizen of now is at his full strength. If he were to obtain this half-awakened Hōgyoku, he would have the complete article in an instant. Do you really want to hand him victory on a silver platter?"
Amamiya's logic was sound, leaving Urahara with little room for argument. Even if he retrieved the orb, Aizen's cunning was boundless. He would stop at nothing to seize it, and Urahara himself wasn't fully prepared for a direct confrontation.
"Kisuke," interjected Yoruichi Shihōin, her golden eyes glancing between the two men. "Is it so bad for the Hōgyoku to remain with Amamiya for now? You examined him yourself. Did you sense anything?"
"I… could not detect any fluctuation of the Hōgyoku from Amamiya-san," Urahara admitted with a wry smile, his shoulders slumping slightly.
"Then it's settled, isn't it?" Yoruichi said, her voice firm. "Our priority is Aizen. Who holds the Hōgyoku matters less than ensuring he never gets it. Instead of worrying about this, you should be calculating how long Aizen needs to complete his own version in Hueco Mundo. That process has undoubtedly already begun."
"You're right, Yoruichi-san," Urahara conceded, adjusting his hat. The overwhelming power of the Arrancar who had recently invaded the World of the Living had shaken him. The thought of Aizen wielding a complete Hōgyoku, creating even more terrifying Arrancar, had driven his urgency to hide the artifact away forever.
Seeing an opening, Amamiya leaned forward, his voice coaxing. "Urahara-san, while I'm here in the World of the Living, why not let me stay here? The Hōgyoku, right under your nose, is infinitely safer than in Aizen's hands, right?"
Kisuke Urahara fell deep into thought. Keeping Amamiya within constant observation would significantly mitigate the risk. And it was true—Amamiya's unique abilities concealed the Hōgyoku's signature more completely than any of his own Kidō seals could.
"…I understand," Urahara finally said, his decision made. "The Hōgyoku will remain with you for the time being, Amamiya-san. I can arrange a room for you here." Until the final battle with Aizen commenced, he would keep this enigmatic Vice-Captain within his sight.
"If possible," Urahara added, "I will communicate with Soul Society. It would be best for everyone if you remained here with me until the conflict with Aizen is decided."
"That depends on your persuasion, not my power," Amamiya refused flatly, waving a dismissive hand. "I don't command the Gotei 13. And I have… other duties."
He had his own plans to pursue; he couldn't languish in this shop indefinitely.
"…I'll do my best," Urahara said, his smile strained. The task was monumental: convince the Central 46 to leave a Vice-Captain stationed in the Human World, all without revealing the Hōgyoku's existence. It was enough to make his head spin.
"Then it's decided," Amamiya stated, rising to his feet. "I'll stay here tonight. During the day, my activities will be confined to Karakura Town." How late "tonight" would extend was, of course, entirely up to him.
"Understood. Ururu," Urahara called out. "Please prepare a room for our guest."
"Yes, sir," the quiet girl, Ururu Tsumugiya, bowed and led Amamiya away.
Once they were gone, Yoruichi fixed Urahara with a piercing stare. "Alright, Kisuke. Out with it. What's really going on with Amamiya? Your urgency wasn't just about the Hōgyoku."
Urahara glanced at Tessai Tsukabishi, who nodded and swiftly erected a simple anti-eavesdropping Bakudō barrier around them.
"Amamiya Miyako… his identity is something I haven't fully unraveled," Urahara confessed, his voice low.
"Identity? He's a Vice-Captain. A soul who died in the Human World and went to Rukongai. What's so complicated?"
"Yoruichi-san, you see… Amamiya Miyako was personally sent to the Soul Society by me. I performed the Konsō on his soul." Urahara revealed the secret he'd held close.
"What? You sent him? Then why the mystery?" Yoruichi's eyes widened.
"That is precisely the problem. I was only asked to do it. I did not find his spirit in the Human World myself. And judging by the identity of the one who requested it… I can only suspect Amamiya Miyako may have a connection to the Quincy," Urahara deduced, laying out his reasoning.
This profound doubt about Amamiya's origins was the core reason Urahara resisted entrusting him with the Hōgyoku. Yet, he had to concede the tactic's brilliance. Hiding the orb inside a seated officer, one openly operating in the Human World, was the last place Aizen would think to look. The most dangerous place was the safest.
"Quincy? His Shikai is a bow, true, but his arrows aren't formed from Reishi manipulation like theirs," Yoruichi countered, recalling Amamiya's Zanpakutō abilities.
"Exactly. That is the greatest contradiction. But that man… he wouldn't have appeared there without reason…" Urahara's voice trailed off.
He had never pressed Ishida Ryūken for details, respecting their unspoken truce. To disrupt that balance now was risky. The Pure Blood Quincy family held deep secrets, and while Urahara's curiosity was vast, he knew some lines shouldn't be crossed. Ryūken had seemingly abandoned the Quincy path for medicine, and Urahara wouldn't force him back.
'Perhaps… I should ask Isshin-san for assistance,' Urahara thought, a new plan forming. 'His Shinigami powers have returned. He could investigate discreetly. And his relationship with Ryūken-san is… manageable, isn't it?'
"Oi, Kisuke!" Yoruichi's voice broke his concentration, followed by a sharp thwack as she punched the top of his hat. "Are you going to wait until everything explodes in your face again before telling me the whole story? Leaving me to clean up your mess?"
"Ahahaha! Perish the thought, Yoruichi-san!" Urahara laughed, rubbing his head with a forced grin. "It's just… that person's identity is particularly sensitive. I can't speak freely yet."
"Then you'd better not come crying to me when it backfires," Yoruichi said flatly, crossing her arms.
"No, no! I'll tell you everything once the picture becomes clear. I already have a new lead to pursue regarding Amamiya Miyako's true nature," Urahara assured her, his mind already racing ahead.
'Yes… Isshin-san should be perfect for this.'