(Owwwww, it hurts like hell, but Toshiro's radiance is the absolute BEST!!)
I, Momo Hinamori—the Queen of Ryona—desperately fought the urge to scream from the combined sensation of agonizing pain and pure, sticky pleasure. I used Healing Kido to numb the wound, barely maintaining my performance.
"To... shi... ro..."
I finished my scripted line and collapsed onto the ground exactly as planned, waiting for the right moment.
Not yet... don't laugh yet... hold it in...! But... but!
I lay there faking death, every second feeling like an eternity. Then, it happened.
"What!? She vanished!?"
Yes! It's here! Kyoka Suigetsu has been activated!
Unable to contain myself any longer, I used what little sanity I had left to glance at Lord Aizen. The moment I received his subtle eye contact, I let it all out.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
It was a scream of pure, unadulterated joy—one hundred and fifty years of pent-up obsession exploding in a single cry. And I did it with a hole in my lung!
"Haaah... haaaah... Toshiroooooo! You're the best! More! Give me more, Toshiro! Show me more of your radiance! TOSHIROOOOOOO!"
I immediately pulled out the "Toshiro-Special Elixir" I'd prepared for this very moment and tossed it into the mouth of the Toshiro who was currently looking around for me in a panic. This would instantly restore his depleted spiritual pressure! Best of all, thanks to the Perfect Hypnosis, he wouldn't even notice the anomaly.
That's right! This is my personal theme park—the "Yuetsu Land" where only I, the one unaffected by Aizen's power, can run wild. It's a world outside the Perfect Hypnosis that even the genius Kisuke Urahara or Ichigo—who is still trying to "reclaim" my Momodama thinking it's the Hogyoku—cannot perceive.
I danced with joy, my voice a high-pitched squeal of delight as I admired Toshiro's perfect expression of despair from a distance.
Suddenly, a pleasant, baritone voice reached my ears.
"Well now. Allow me to offer my congratulations, Momo."
I spun around to see my angel—the man who had supported this heaven of pleasure with everything he had—standing there with the face of a grinning demon. His expression was almost as twisted as mine... actually, no, mine was definitely worse. My apologies.
"CAPTAIN AIZEEEEEEEEN!"
"Whoa there."
Overcome with emotion, I used my newly mastered Sonido to lung into his arms. Thank you, Captain Aizen! Your assists were so perfect I nearly broke character a dozen times! You covered every single one of my blunders—you're such a reliable man! I love you! Marry me! Can I call you "Dad"!?
"Hehe. I'll decline both, thank you. Regardless, you shouldn't run around like that with such a wound while inside Kisuke Urahara's barrier. You may be an immortal transcendent now, but your spiritual pressure has been sealed back down to the level of a fresh Academy graduate."
Lord Aizen caught my joyful dive with effortless grace. However, the cold, faux-gentleman wouldn't indulge in my celebration, instead choosing to observe my weakened soul and offer a distant compliment to "Ura-emon" for his impressive intellect.
...I'm starting to feel a bit embarrassed about being the only one acting like a lunatic.
"Ahem! Anyway, thank you so much! Please, handle the final touches for me!"
He nodded with a smile and a simple "Of course." I pulled away from his chest and gave a deep bow. Hiding my flushed face from him, I turned back to savor the sight of my glittering Toshiro in the distance.
Honestly, I could die happy right now, but the "main course" was yet to come. I couldn't afford to be full yet.
Look at him. Look at my Toshiro over there, swinging his sword at thin air and screaming insults at a phantom Aizen while glowing with radiant despair. Just looking at him makes my face ache from smiling so hard. That is his greatest charm—that damp, humid radiance of sorrow... (Ecstasy).
"It's nearly time for Ichigo Kurosaki to arrive. Are you ready?"
"Wait, wait! Just a second. I need to fix my face... it... it won't move!?"
You've got to be kidding me! Is my face so stuck in a grin that my "Heroine Persona" is breaking? This is bad—my true nature might be exposed before Toshiro's mental health even has a chance to fully collapse!
The combination of Toshiro's brilliance exceeding the original manga, the fulfillment of my long-held ambition, and the sense of superiority on the verge of victory was a triple-threat to my sanity.
...Damn, what do I do? I was planning to collect two more "Toshiro screams" during the scene where Urahara tries to "reclaim" the Hogyoku (Momodama) from me. But if I try to transform in this mental state, there's a real chance Toshiro and I will both be overkill-ed by tragedy and pleasure respectively.
Besides, there's a slight issue with the Momodama itself...
(It's been silent for a while... maybe it's so moved by the scene it's gone into a daze?)
It (or they) seemed to have taken quite a hit from Urahara's specialized barrier, though it was still snickering happily during my "I don't want this..." line. They're thought-forms without life or death, tougher than tardigrades, so I'm not worried about them, but...
If you're knocked out, I'm skipping the transformation, okay? Is that alright with you?
Tobime, are you okay with that too?
『Hehe... hehehe... hahahaha...』
...Ah, she's still savoring the feeling of trashing Hyorinmaru. She clearly doesn't care about the future.
Alright then! Since the guest of honor is failing to attend the meeting, the "Momodama Transformation" is cancelled! I'll stick to the original plan and end with "I'm sorry, I love you!"
The end! Court is adjourned! That is all! Everyone, dismiss!
"Mmm... mmm... okay! My face is fine now, Captain Aizen!"
I finished massaging my frozen facial muscles and gave Lord Aizen the go-ahead.
A short while later, I sensed the precursor to the Garganta opening. He's a bit late, but the entry of our protagonist, Ichigo, is only seconds away!
"Then stand perfectly still over there."
"Yes, sir!"
I took my position as ordered. Now, all he has to do is lure Toshiro and overlap me with an illusion of himself, and we'll have a perfect recreation of the manga's most famous scene.
But...
(Ah, I see. This is the end...)
The pleasure.
The villain role.
Recreating the original events.
So many memories flashed through my mind. The fun, the fear, the joy, the embarrassment, the hard work. And the sight of Toshiro's ultimate radiance today and three days ago...
Before I knew it, I was calling out to the man beside me.
"Captain Aizen!"
The final boss turned his head slightly. "What is it?"
I wasn't going to say thank you. This was the courtesy I owed the man who wanted me to be his rival.
"It's a contest, Captain Aizen!"
"Oh?" He turned his entire body toward me.
If I were to tell him that as a thanks, I was going to sacrifice Ichigo... and the original plot of Bleach... he would surely be disappointed in me. He'd say something stylish about how "equality" only exists through the collision of two opposing justices.
That's why my "thanks" for his support in my quest for pleasure will take a form he prefers.
—A final battle against an Ichigo Kurosaki who is stronger than the one in the original manga.
"I'm sure you already know, but I've been making Ichigo stronger! Stronger than the one in your 'script'!"
I stood as tall as I could, declaring it with a smug, "Hinamori-Doya" face. No more words were needed.
This wasn't just for the sake of recreating the plot. I was adding a new interpretation: a reason to satisfy Lord Aizen.
To the man who always seeks higher ground with infinite ambition, I would set the "Protagonist" of his world upon him. A "Protagonist" whose destiny of victory I had personally cultivated, from his parents' meeting to his talent and experience. A version of Ichigo Kurosaki perfectly refined and buffed by me.
Will Lord Aizen shatter the heroic tale of Bleach and reach a true height? Or will he fall before the fate of the protagonist and my love for the series?
What do you think, Captain Aizen? If your Hinamori clone was your challenge to me, then this is my challenge to you...!
The wind blew between us as we shared a look.
Whether he understood my intent or not, after the slightest movement of his eyebrows...
"I see. That is truly, truly something to look forward to."
With a spiritual pressure far more vicious than the one he showed during my "Hueco Mundo Interview," he smiled back with a wickedly joyful expression. I could tell—he had completely forgotten about the Spirit King.
...Honestly, what a contrarian. Most people would see this as repaying kindness with hostility, but for this hyper-competitive seeker of evolution, being presented with a "wall to overcome" is the greatest gift of all.
His Momodama, my plot recreation. It seems that to maintain a good relationship with this man, you need a certain level of complexity—a dynamic where both the giver and the taker have their own hidden agendas to test each other.
That's why I'm keeping my true feelings to myself: the "Ichigo, please win! ♡" and "Make it a better fight than the original! ♡"
Just as he is helping my "Tragic Heroine" performance to trick Urahara and the others into thinking I have the realHogyoku.
"Then, Momo, go and fulfill your hundred-and-fifty-year ambition."
"Yes, sir!!"
With his support, I took to the air.
In front of me, Toshiro was charging toward me with a half-crazed scream, likely provoked by a phantom Aizen. Oh, the hatred and rage. I wonder if Aizen—who is always on the receiving end of this—is actually a total masochist.
But the contrast of this hatred instantly turning to despair... it's so exquisite. No, it's the absolute best. Just imagining it... I... oh!
...Ah, my dear, sweet Toshiro. I'm right here.
Yes, just like that. Come straight to me.
Come.
Come!
COME!
COME TO ME!
"DIE, AIZEN!"
...I have no regrets in this life.
***
The boy's horrific wail echoed through the empty town. In his arms, he held the silent, tragic remains of the girl he had grown up with like family.
Witnessing her cursed fate—the years of suffering, pain, tears, and her gruesome end—every Soul Reaper present stood paralyzed by the weight of the tragedy.
It was too much.
Whether for the girl who had died smiling in the arms of her beloved friend, or for the boy who had lost her before his very eyes, the hearts of those watching became one.
『AIZEN!!』
The disappointment of failing to save her. The sorrow of their comrade. Sympathy. Pity. All these feelings, guided by the existence of the root of all evil, transformed into a righteous fury.
"What demonic deed! How can such a monster exist!? Are you even human, Sosuke Aizen!?"
"The poor boy... he's still just a child!"
"Words are useless. Leave your corpse here right now!!"
What kind of protector would they be if they didn't stand up for their fallen friend? Forcing their exhausted bodies to move, the Soul Reapers swung their blades at the grinning monster.
However, hidden in their shadows, others were moving differently.
"Bring her to me. I will do everything I can."
One was Retsu Unohana, the Captain of Squad 4, who had returned from the Garganta. As the ultimate authority on Healing Kido, she sought to fulfill her duty beside her grieving colleague.
And there was another who sought to fulfill his mission.
"Listen to me, Captain Hitsugaya...! She isn't dead. No—she can't die."
It was Kisuke Urahara, the creator of the substance that had claimed the fallen girl.
"It's the Hogyoku. A soul that has fused with the Hogyoku—even partially—becomes the Hogyoku itself. It is impossible to kill Hinamori with a Zanpakuto now that she has been reborn as a transcendent being of a higher dimension."
"What!? Then she can still be saved... she can wake up?"
To the skeptical Unohana, the man offered a ray of hope. And that hope lit a fire of revival in the heart of the broken boy.
"Sa... ved...?"
His eyes were swollen with tears, his face was a mess, and his gaze was still unfocused. Yet the boy—Toshiro Hitsugaya—clung to those words with a desperate, dying strength.
"Can she be saved...? Momo... can Momo really be saved!?"
Like a man clinging to a spider's thread in the depths of hell, he grabbed onto Urahara. No one blamed him for his undignified state.
But.
"She can be kept alive, yes. But that is not a fundamental solution."
"Kept alive...? What... what does that mean!? Can she be saved or not!?"
As Toshiro spiraled back into panic, Urahara presented him with the hard truth.
"Unless the Hogyoku is separated from her soul, Momo Hinamori will never return to her normal life."
The tiny light in the boy's eyes flickered. But before he could fall back into despair, the genius turned to him. "However, there is one way to fulfill all your wishes."
—The extraction of the Hogyoku.
"Now, while she is extremely weakened, is likely our last chance. If we miss this opportunity, the Hogyoku will finish its learning process and achieve a deeper level of fusion."
"Of course, the extraction itself is a dangerous gamble," Urahara noted, his eyes narrowing beneath his hat. "There are too many unknown factors. As a scientist, I cannot recommend it."
"Will you still do it?" he asked.
Unohana, who had been listening in silence, interrupted with a look of displeasure. "I give my permission—no, I command it. Do it, Kisuke Urahara."
"Captain Unohana?"
"Good grief. What more do you intend to pile onto Captain Hitsugaya's heart? Protecting life is the duty of my Squad 4. I will take full responsibility."
She had correctly read the man's intentions.
Urahara had failed by creating the Hogyoku and letting it fall into evil hands. He didn't trust the Gotei 13 or Central 46. Therefore, he wanted to get Toshiro's consent to minimize interference from the Soul Society and keep the Hogyoku issue under his own control. It wasn't just for selfish reasons; it was the best course of action given the current state of Central 46.
"Forgive me. I overstepped."
"No. Given our failure to see through Aizen's conspiracy for a hundred years, your suspicion is natural. That is why Captain Hitsugaya, who was not involved back then, should not be the one to face the brunt of the Council's blame. One cannot save others if they discard their humanity on the battlefield."
"Ouch. That hits close to home," Urahara said with a wry smile. Unohana smiled back at the trembling Toshiro.
"I will save Hinamori's soul. I promise."
No one could doubt the word of the Soul Society's greatest healer. With a tearful nod from the boy as a signal, the genius Kisuke Urahara finally moved.
"Then let's begin immediately. Prepare yourselves...!"
"What is the method?"
"First, we must maintain the strength of her soul. I will release the barrier that is suppressing her spiritual pressure!"
In that moment, a chill ran down Urahara's spine. But he swallowed his "what if" and, seeing the resolve of Toshiro and Unohana, spoke his ultimate move.
"—I will separate only the soul of Momo Hinamori."
Was it the right choice? Was there another way?
Looking back, everyone would agree it was the best choice based on the information he had.
The beloved Lieutenant of Squad 5, "Momo Hinamori."
The mysterious, mad Hollow researcher, "The Bookworm."
The brainwashed, fused weapon of Aizen, "The Final Battle Weapon."
It was common knowledge in soul research—among Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Humans—to view these as distinct personas or internal powers. To a Soul Reaper who fights alongside a Zanpakuto, or someone who knows the Visoreds and Ichigo, no other thought would occur. It was absolutely correct according to the logic of the world.
Even if all three personas were nothing but an illusion of Kyoka Suigetsu.
Even if all three personas were nothing but an act by Momo Hinamori herself.
Urahara's method—to return Momo Hinamori to a single soul—was, without question, the correct one.
"Ah..."
There was only one miscalculation.
『—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH—』
Due to a horrific experiment, Momo Hinamori's soul...
...Was no longer one.
***
『—Hehe... hehehe... hihihihi—』
『—Haaa... haaa... haaa—』
『—Toshirooooooo—』
『—Wait... wait, what?—』
『—Oh, we can move our spiritual pressure now?—』
『—We can!—』
『—Forget that, look at Toshiro!—』
『—Ah! Urahara is...!—』
『—He's restoring Toshiro's mental health!—』
『—Toshiro's despair face is going away!—』
『—Don't underestimate us!—』
『—We still have THAT!—』
『—Toshiro's radiance will not vanish!—』
『—It will return again and again!—』
『—So, as planned?—』
『—Are we doing the Moonlight Butterfly?—』
『—It IS the Moonlight Butterfly!—』
『—MOON! LIGHT! BUTTERFLY!—』
『—Those are all different references...—』
『—Is it White Dragon Mama... or Papa?—』
『—He's a Duke and he's bald, so he's Papa, right?—』
『—How dare you say that...!—』
『—Even after falling into the worms, the curse of baldness remains...—』
『—Trans★form into the Lunar Butterfly with the tragic father!—』
『—Big sister!—』
『—Big sister!—』
『—Give us the order to transform!—』
『...』
『...』
『...Ah, here it comes.』
『What did she say?』
『"Emergency situation, permission granted."』
『What!? Really?』
『We couldn't do it without Urahara's intervention!?』
『Oh... wait, what?』
『Urahara is trying to do something else.』
『What now?』
『He wants to take out the "Hogyoku"?』
『"Separate Momo Hinamori's soul"?』
『Oh... (indifferent).』
『Fusion is already complete, it's im★possible!』
『NDD? NDD?』
『Oh... wait.』
『Isn't that bad?』
『Why?』
『Well, you see, we're...』
『We're clones of Big Sister, right?』
『We're all "Momo Hinamori's Soul," right?』
『Yeah.』『True.』
『...』
『...』『...』
『...』
『...』『...』
『—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH—』
***
"LOOK OUT!!"
A burst of pink spiritual energy erupted from the body of the girl who was supposed to be dead, accompanied by a deafening scream. It was a spiritual phenomenon that made the previous events look like a breeze—a massive tsunami swirling like a tornado.
"What is happening!?" everyone shouted. But their shock was only the beginning of the birth of the monster that would herald the end.
The quality of the scream changed. One by one, more screams of the same voice overlapped until it became a horrific soprano chorus of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.
And when that tragic hymn reached its peak...
"What... what is that!?"
It emerged from the girl's back.
From her bare skin, sounds that defied logic began to spill out, hidden by the screams.
Squish, crack, slop, slide. White masses began to grow out, accompanied by sounds that triggered every instinctive disgust.
It was a mass that resembled a large egg. Half of its double shell fell away, revealing a ridge along the center, holes, and two symmetrical depressions. This mass, which looked like a human head made of plaster, was—unmistakably—
The head of Momo Hinamori.
"Ah... h..."
The only reason Toshiro didn't drop the girl's body in horror when he recognized what it was, was his bottomless love for her.
But because of that, the poor, lovestruck boy was the one who witnessed the transformation from the closest possible distance.
It wasn't just a head.
Where there was a head, there was a neck, shoulders, arms, and a chest. A pale, alabaster form emerged—a feminine figure of Momo Hinamori, covered in a thin membrane, delicate and elegant.
—One after another—
"Wh-what...!"
"What the hell is that!?"
Faces twisted in horror, eyes widened in shock, jaws dropped in silence. While everyone stood paralyzed, the girl at the center of the vortex was rapidly becoming a nightmare.
Clinging to the first white clone, a second appeared, then a third, then ten, then twenty... an endless chain of girls stretching into the sky.
With the corpse in Toshiro's arms at the peak, a massive structure—like a giant "human tower" of girls—towered into the heavens. Combined with the girl's beautiful features and the radiant pink spiritual pressure, it was a sight that could almost be described as beautiful.
But regardless of how one described it, the truth was simple.
"A... a monster..."
The beauty of these nearly naked, delicate girls entwined and melting together was the very definition of decadent, forbidden aesthetic. It was a grotesque, blasphemous existence—a monster in the truest sense of the word.
And then.
The girl... the girls... the monster.
Countless eyes and mouths opened simultaneously.
『—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH—』
The chorus of screams became a spiritual shockwave that blasted across the area.
Whether they were screams of agony or madness, it was the roar of an apocalyptic beast. It was a natural disaster that no puny human could hope to stop.
"Urahara! What is that!? Is that also the effect of the Hogyoku!?"
"...I don't know. That... that thing... is not in any of my research records! I have no idea if it's the power of the Hogyoku or not—this is completely beyond anything I imagined!"
"What do you mean 'I don't know'!? Isn't this your fault!?"
"What... is that thing!?"
Urahara and Unohana stood in a daze as Shinji screamed at them. It was natural; according to their common sense, such a thing was impossible. One or two clones would have been understandable—they could be explained as internal powers forced out.
But this...
"AIZEN!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?"
Urahara turned to the monster in the distance and roared with unprecedented fury. This wasn't just the Hogyoku. The Hogyoku he had created didn't contain a single spiritual factor capable of causing such a phenomenon.
"ANSWER ME! AIZE—"
Urahara stopped mid-sentence. He gasped as he looked at the face of his enemy standing in the sky.
Meanwhile, on the side of the great villains.
Momo Hinamori's transformation—she who had been one of their top generals—had caused quite a stir even among them.
"What is that... a mass of countless naked Momos? This is the first I'm hearing about her having the Hogyoku... but this is definitely bad, isn't it?"
Gin Ichimaru, the slit-eyed subordinate of the Demon King, instinctively placed his hand on his sword.
With the oldest and most loyal of their generals gone, only the three of them knew the truth: everything that was happening was a "script" that had been carefully prepared for over fifty—perhaps a hundred and fifty—years.
Gin had been watching the fruit of that obsession and twisted love with a mixture of fear and amusement, but even he was stunned by this development.
"Wait, Gin. Let's see how this plays out...!"
While everyone else reacted with negativity, this man was different.
"Momo... you really do exceed my expectations at every turn...!"
It wasn't his usual cold, mocking smile. Sosuke Aizen wore an expression of intense, joyful anticipation, as if he had found the ultimate jewel.
"Uh... Captain Aizen? That spiritual pressure is seriously bad. The replica of Karakura Town is already dissolving back into spirit energy. If we leave her like that, she's going to become a real monster—"
"Quiet, Gin. Immediately eliminate anyone who could interfere with Momo's transformation."
"Ah... yes, sir."
Aizen didn't even listen, his eyes fixed on the supernatural phenomenon as he began his "observation." His cold, amber eyes sparkled like a child's.
"Well, this is bad. There's no stopping him when he's like this."
Gin sighed at his superior's bad habit whenever it involved the lovely yet grotesque Lieutenant. He shrugged and dived into the chaotic battlefield as ordered.
"Shoot to kill... Shinso."
His mind was focused solely on how to use this chaos to his advantage.
"You're in the way, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto."
While his subordinate sowed further chaos among the horrified Soul Reapers, Aizen narrowed his eyes at an old Soul Reaper in the distance who was secretly preparing a massive technique. Hinamori couldn't be killed now, but the old man had enough firepower to be a nuisance.
"Wonderweiss."
Aizen summoned the "Anti-Ryujin Jakka" modified Arrancar he had prepared for this very moment.
"Keep him occupied. Fight as far from the center as possible."
"Aaa... uuuh!"
The Arrancar Wonderweiss Margela took off at god-like speed to intercept the oldest and strongest of the Soul Reapers.
"Hehe..."
Aizen stood alone. In a perfect environment where no one could disturb him, he watched the apotheosis of his celestial maiden.
Toshiro Hitsugaya—the doll of her obsession. And the true transcendent, awakened by the influence of the genius Kisuke Urahara.
Was this the true form of her transcendent mind? Or was it the rampaging of a Hogyoku born of a rare chain of causality?
"By offering Ichigo Kurosaki as bait under the guise of a 'contest,' you've truly made the ultimate move to distract me, Momo. You really outdid yourself...!"
Regardless of the cause, she was the ultimate subject of observation. Aizen basked in the sight of a phenomenon he could never have achieved on his own.
He looked down at the tragedy unfolding below.
Sosuke Aizen trembled with the peak of his joy.
"Now, Momo. My celestial maiden. Please, show me everything."
The hundred-and-fifty-year divine comedy you've written.
And for the grand finale...
The Descent of the Goddess.
***
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