"—I'm going."
When Hitsugaya Toshiro heard that rumor, he reflexively answered that way.
Combat between Shinigami Substitute Kurosaki Ichigo and mature Arrancar. When the boy heard that Abarai Renji was being dispatched as reinforcement to Karakura Town in the mortal world after an attack by traitor Aizen Sōsuke's faction, he was the first to volunteer to accompany him.
The reason was, of course, the additional report from the Twelfth Division.
—Hinamori Momo's spiritual pressure detected during combat between Arrancar and mortal world forces.
Toshiro wasn't mature enough to stay still after hearing her name. Having laid the groundwork with his lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku, he successfully organized an official unit—the Hitsugaya Advance Team—and headed to the mortal world alongside Rangiku and Renji, plus Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika from the Eleventh Division, and Kuchiki Rukia from the Thirteenth Division—five members total.
Their mission was to build cooperation with local forces and gather enemy intelligence in preparation for the coming decisive battle with Aizen. Naturally, the six headed to the person who'd fought the enemy—Kurosaki Ichigo.
But what awaited Toshiro at the Kurosaki residence was an unbelievable, tragic truth.
"—Hinamori is... the General commanding the Arrancar...?"
"Y-yes. The enemy's large man said something like that for sure..."
The advance team held their breath at the testimony of Inoue Orihime, Ichigo's companion who'd had the longest contact with the raiders.
Hinamori Momo's involvement with the Arrancar spanned nearly half a century. If the words of that Arrancar called Yammy were true, that meant...
"I-impossible, no way! Fifty years ago would be—"
"When we were still at the Spiritual Arts Academy...!"
Her classmates Renji and Rukia trembled in shock.
Of course they would. The idea that a schoolmate who'd attended the same sword, fist, flash step, and kido classes in the same building and classroom had simultaneously been secretly leading an army of their mortal enemies, the Menos Hollows—who could possibly believe such a thing?
Naturally, this applied to Toshiro, who prided himself on being closest to Hinamori.
"...A mere academy student couldn't do something like that. It's Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu ability."
"R-right! There's no way she could do something that messed up!"
"Commanding Hollows is itself unprecedented. No matter how talented Hinamori is, impossible is impossible...!"
The classmate group of Renji and others voiced their agreement with Yumichika's reasoning. For them, there was naturally the desire to believe in their friend, but also the pride that refused to admit a girl they'd thought of as a rival training alongside them had actually been looking down on them from an overwhelming height all along.
But having learned of Aizen's terrifying acting ability, they couldn't completely dispel the doubt: "What if Hinamori really was..."
"—I don't know how dangerous this Kyōka Suigetsu thing is, but Inoue isn't lying. But I also... can't believe that person is a villain."
"Ichigo...?"
At that moment, the other young man who'd encountered Hinamori recently—Kurosaki Ichigo—spoke up. And his account, though he stumbled over words in places, settled comfortably in the hearts of the Hitsugaya Advance Team members who'd been on the verge of doubting their common sense and friendships.
—That person is forcing herself to act like a villain.
An impression from a mere sixteen-year-old human boy. Yet the image of her that he described from as objective a viewpoint as possible showed many moments that suggested extraordinary internal conflict, like deliberately missing powerful kido spells.
She also showed glimpses of her good nature, scolding the Arrancar for their outrages while worrying about their injuries, and the mortal world group of Ichigo and Orihime who'd actually been there held no negative impression of Hinamori Momo.
"...Hmph. Villain or saint, an enemy's an enemy. We kill traitors. If there's leeway, we capture them for the Central Forty-Six to judge. On the battlefield, the ones who hesitate die first—better steel yourself."
"That's right. No matter the reason, we Gotei Thirteen are not permitted to show mercy to those who've become Soul Society's enemies."
Of course, unlike amateur children, they were Gotei veterans. The calm opinions of the Eleventh Division duo Ikkaku and Yumichika represented how Shinigami should be, and naturally captain-class members like Toshiro understood this too.
...Yet their clenched fists trembled because Hinamori Momo's actions—unlike Aizen's—secretly conveyed her unchanged goodness. Those who still couldn't accept the fact that Hinamori had betrayed Soul Society simply couldn't let go of those countless scattered fragments of hope.
Even while their reason understood it was "hesitation"...
"—No matter how much we think about it, we won't get anywhere. For now, prepare for the next attack."
"Captain..."
To dispel the heavy atmosphere, Toshiro temporarily dismissed the group. He himself was already at the limit of his reason after being told one dark revelation after another about Hinamori.
"Whatever you want to do about Hinamori, if you're weak it's all pie in the sky. If you've got time to hesitate, try capturing even one enemy. With more information, the means we should take will naturally become clear."
"Yes, sir!"
Determination kindled in his subordinates' eyes at Toshiro's words. That's right—worrying here wouldn't solve anything. To learn Hinamori's true intentions, they had to get close enough to reach her from far away.
"...Thanks for the advice, Third Seat Madarame. That should help those guys find their resolve."
Shortly after leaving the Kurosaki residence, Toshiro—who'd ended up imposing on Orihime's home along with Rangiku—said that to the Eleventh Division duo as they parted.
Ikkaku and Yumichika looked somewhat surprised at his thanks.
No wonder—it was common knowledge throughout the Gotei Thirteen that Toshiro was more desperate than anyone to bring Hinamori back. Still, his appreciation for their step-back perspective was worthy of a captain.
"N-no. Actually, sorry for speaking so presumptuously, Captain Hitsugaya."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"...Huh?"
But the Zaraki Squad duo's confusion was misplaced.
Because Toshiro had from the start...
"Madarame, next time you talk about Hinamori in front of me—"
Even toward allies, he felt clear killing intent toward anyone who spouted things like "kill Hinamori"—that's how much he placed her at the center of his world.
—Choose your words more carefully.
That same night, the Arrancar army attacked.
The battle with the enemy, beginning with no time to breathe after arriving in Karakura Town in the mortal world, was exactly what Hitsugaya Toshiro—who thirsted for information about his precious childhood friend—wanted.
"—I am Arrancar Number Eleven, Shawlong Qufang."
He cornered the slim, tall Arrancar who'd introduced himself into single combat, and they clashed after both playing their trump cards—Bankai and Resurrección. The boy barely kept up with his opponent's ability while biting his lip at his own weakness.
The identification signal sent from the Twelfth Division Spirit Particle Observatory was orange. In other words, these guys had spiritual pressure far inferior to those two mature Arrancar who'd served Hinamori the other day. Even with his limiter on, struggling against opponents of this level meant he'd never be able to save her.
"...Tch, who the hell are you?"
"Pardon? I've already given my name."
"Not your name—your rank. You said Number Eleven or something. Does that mean you're the eleventh strongest from the top, Shawlong Qufang?"
Suppressing his impatience, Toshiro aimed for information gathering. This type of insolent fellow tended to show off their own or their organization's tremendous power, trying to shake opponents and gain advantage in battle. Or they enjoyed watching that and feeling superior.
"Hardly. Our Arrancar numbers are the order we were born."
Apparently he was one of those. To encourage him to keep talking, Toshiro relaxed his stance.
"Shall I explain it simply? We are first reborn from Hollows into Arrancar through Aizen-sama's Hōgyoku, and according to that order, we Números—numbered ones—starting from Number Eleven are given our seats."
"...So you're saying your number and the other Arrancar's numbers have nothing to do with strength rankings?"
"Correct. Though—that only applies to us Números."
The boy frowned at the loaded words. Seeing this, Shawlong proudly disclosed his organization's structure.
"We 'Números' have numbers from eleven onward. And from among us, ten specially selected for exceptional killing ability are given the special numbers one through ten."
"...What?"
"They're called the Espada. The strongest Arrancar granted authority to rule over us 'numbered ones,' their strength is—on an entirely different level from ours."
Toshiro caught his breath.
Enemies that an Arrancar with this much power described as "different level" would definitely be captain-class or above—in other words, none other than Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar.
"And furthermore... one of those Espada has come with us right now."
Shawlong spread his arms and solemnly spoke the name of a certain man—Sexta Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.
...But Toshiro's consciousness caught a different word. The moment he heard that grandiose title Inoue Orihime had mentioned, the boy reflexively swung Daiguren Hyōrinmaru down at the Arrancar before him.
That title belonged to the very person who'd given Grimmjow his Number Six—
The General.
"What!"
"...Finally got you to say it, that word!"
A raging blizzard of spiritual pressure that surged and expanded massively, fanned by emotion. While freezing both of the shocked Shawlong's arms, Toshiro made no effort to suppress his rushing feelings and pressed the attack all at once.
"Sexta Espada—you said that title was given by the General!"
"Guh, you...!"
"Spill it, Shawlong Qufang! Everything you know about that General, about Hinamori Momo!!"
Even impulsive attacks surpass a master's strikes when backed by overwhelming spiritual pressure. Toshiro's inner thoughts as he charged ahead recklessly without thinking were singular.
"You're not getting away—Matsumoto!!"
"Perfect timing, Captain!"
And finally, the long-awaited permission from the Central Forty-Six came down.
—Limiter release—
At that instant, truly explosive massive spiritual pressure rose above Karakura Town.
The eighty percent of power sealed in Toshiro's limiter raged around him like a storm. Without missing the huge opening as Shawlong stood dumbfounded at the overwhelming spiritual pressure, the boy struck the decisive blow without a moment's delay.
"Bakudō Number Sixty-One: Rikujōkōrō!"
"What! That kido is...!"
Holding in his heart the small yet large back of that person from his memories, the boy refined the incantation with determination to end everything with this technique.
"Don't tell me you don't know, Arrancar! There's no way you Hollow-born would serve Shinigami through anything but force. Even I couldn't see through her spiritual pressure—how many of you must have gotten a taste of this?"
"Kuh...!"
"Curse your own bad luck for showing up before me, Shawlong Qufang. You drew... the worst lot!"
—Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel......Light, divide this into six!—
Recalling countless times the proud smile when she'd declared she'd "mastered" it, he completed the full-power binding kido through post-incantation.
Rikujōkōrō, taught directly by Hinamori who'd served as Third Squad Leader of Kidō Corps First Division, demonstrating a hundred times the restraining power of the spiritual pressure poured into it. Understanding his situation of being utterly unable to move, Shawlong finally seemed resigned and relaxed his shoulders.
Despite struggling with his limiter on, Toshiro achieved an almost perfect victory in the end. He released his Bankai and began interrogating his prisoner.
But...
"Now then, you're going to tell me everything—"
When Toshiro noticed that presence, everything was already too late.
What appeared with a unique movement technique showing no spiritual pressure when activating was a new Arrancar.
Black-haired with armor-like mask remnants covering the left half of his head, this man radiated a presence on an entirely different scale from Shawlong, looking down at Toshiro and the others with inorganic green eyes.
"U-Ulquiorra...? Why are you here?"
"The General's orders. I've also retrieved Grimmjow. Withdraw, Sexta Fracción."
Ulquiorra.
That name belonged to one half of the raiding criminals who'd attacked Kurosaki Ichigo and the others recently. From his statement, he was definitely an upper-rank Arrancar who had contact with Hinamori in Hueco Mundo.
The statue-like man waved his arm once. Just that shattered Toshiro's Rikujōkōrō.
"What! W-wait...!"
"...Foolish."
He immediately came to his senses and challenged with a wordless Shikai, but the ice dragon was blown away just as instantly. He somehow tried to find an opening, but having expended so much against Shawlong, the current Toshiro had no power left to repel the black-haired man's tremendous spiritual pressure. Only futile shouts echoed emptily in the night sky.
"—You are Hitsugaya Toshiro?"
But the black-haired Arrancar who'd opened a Garganta—that Hollow-unique spatial tear—suddenly spoke.
"...That's right."
"The General, Hinamori-sama, entrusted me with one message for you."
"—!?"
A bolt from the blue.
A message—words relying on the certain bond connecting two people even across separated worlds. Cruel thoughts she couldn't say herself, yet wanted to convey as soon as possible.
And the emotionless words the Arrancar's lips spun were still sufficient to convey the beloved girl's tears in a single phrase.
—You must live.
"I've delivered it, Hitsugaya Toshiro."
"Ah..."
Not a voice, not a scream—a faint, trembling breath. That was all Toshiro could return to the black-haired Arrancar.
With his mind blank, he repeated those words over and over, and with each repetition, blades of despair stabbed deep into his heart.
...What is that? Why say something like that now?
In a world where everything around them was stained with Aizen's poison, how much resolve and anguish must it have taken for her to speak those words? Overwhelmed by the tragic feelings contained in a message that sounded like a final farewell, Toshiro couldn't move a muscle.
With one last glance before disappearing into the depths of the Garganta, he watched Ulquiorra and Shawlong's retreating backs in a daze. The boy in love forgot even to stop the two departing Arrancar and could only stand there, frozen in place.
***
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