"You should be well aware, your Bankai has already disappeared. If a Bankai vanishes against its master's will, it means the master's death is near. You will soon breathe your last. If you try to stand again, I will kill you. I'll ask you once more, even so..."
"Do you still dare to clamor about saving Rukia?"
Byakuya looked down coldly at Renji kneeling before him.
'Hah... such strong Reiatsu, even breathing is difficult... It feels like my body is turning to ash... I can't move a single finger now... No use... The gap is too great... As I thought, I still can't defeat him...'
Facing the overwhelmingly powerful Byakuya, Renji, kneeling on the ground, felt despair regarding his desire to surpass him.
However, even so...
"Of course."
Renji suddenly spoke with difficulty.
"What?"
Byakuya asked.
"I swore... I would definitely save Rukia."
Renji struggled, trying to stand once more.
"You speak of swearing? To whom?"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious.
"Not to anyone... To my own..."
"Soul!!"
Renji roared, suddenly lurching to his feet! And in one motion, he slashed at Byakuya.
Shlk!
A flash of the blade, blood splattered.
Yet it wasn't Byakuya who bled.
Although the attack was sudden, Renji's slash did indeed land on Byakuya. However, due to the severity of his injuries, Renji's attack was feeble.
While it struck Byakuya, it couldn't even penetrate his defenses. Instead, the recoil split the webbing of Renji's own hand, and the movement caused blood to gush from all his wounds.
At this moment, Renji, drenched in blood, looked utterly pitiful.
Crack!
The Zanpakuto that had struck Byakuya developed cracks and then shattered into several pieces.
Clatter!
The broken blade fragments fell to the ground.
Renji gritted his teeth: "I'm not satisfied..."
"Thud!"
His strength spent and injuries severe, Renji crashed to the ground again, filled with extreme unwillingness.
Byakuya stared at the blood on his own clothes for a long moment, stunned. The blood on his clothes wasn't his own, but Renji's, splattered onto him.
Yet even so, Byakuya was somewhat incredulous. Renji's attack had actually... actually touched him.
After a long pause, Byakuya praised, "Remarkable. Your fangs..."
"Have indeed touched me."
Shunpo!
Byakuya suddenly tore the scarf from his neck and draped it over Renji, then drifted away.
…
"Renji..."
Rukia, about to be escorted to Sokyoku Hill, had just left the Fourth Deep Prison and stepped onto the bridge connecting the Repentance Palace to the outside world when she suddenly stopped.
'No way... I couldn't identify whose incredibly powerful thing it was before... But the Reiatsu that just vanished was clearly Renji's...'
'Why... Why did you...'
"Renji!!"
Rukia suddenly shouted, her emotions agitated.
Tap, tap, tap...
The sound of footsteps suddenly came.
Rukia turned to look and felt a chill.
Captain of the 3rd Division, Ichimaru Gin, was leisurely walking towards her across the bridge.
"Good morning! How are you feeling today, Rukia?"
Gin said with a smile, his eyes narrowed.
"Ichimaru Gin!"
Rukia said with some fear.
"Ara, that won't do. Your tone is too rude. What's with 'Gin'?"
"It's 'Cap-ta-in I-chi-ma-ru Gi-n'. That's how you should address me."
Gin said, enunciating each syllable.
"If you're always this rude, you might get scolded by your big brother."
Gin curled his lips into a chilling smile.
"My apologies... Captain Ichimaru..."
Rukia apologized, sweating profusely.
"Ha! I'm just joking. Don't worry about it. I won't tell your brother. That would ruin the relationship between you and me."
Gin waved his hand dismissively.
"Why... Why is Captain Ichimaru here?"
Rukia asked.
"Ha! It's nothing really. I was just out for a walk and thought I'd come tease you a bit."
Gin made a mischievous expression.
Looking at his malicious grin, Rukia felt a mix of disgust and fear.
'I don't like this man. Before I joined the Gotei 13, my brother had already become Captain of the 6th Division, and at the same time, he became Captain of the 3rd Division.'
'Whenever I walked with my brother and we ran into him, he would always come over and talk. To others, it was just casual conversation between Captains, the topics were very ordinary.'
'But for me, it felt completely different. The first time I met him, I was terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. His fingers, his lips, even the slightest change in his eyes... everything, everything seemed like a snake flicking its tongue.'
'Although he was talking to my brother, I felt as if he had his hand around my throat, not even blinking. I just couldn't like him.'
'Poison gas dissolves the small cracks in daily life, seeping in unnoticed like an illness. I sensed this kind of fear from this man. For some reason, from the very beginning, something inside me rejected everything about him. This hasn't changed even after talking with him several times. Until now—'
"You alright? You suddenly look like you spaced out."
Gin asked Rukia, who stood there dumbfounded.
"Right..."
Rukia snapped out of her memories.
'Still hasn't changed...'
"Oh, right. Looks like he's still breathing, that Abarai."
Gin suddenly said, seemingly casually.
Hearing his words, Rukia immediately became agitated: "What? You mean..."
Concentrating, Rukia did indeed sense Renji's Reiryoku, though faint, she could feel it.
'But at this rate...' Rukia couldn't help but worry.
"He probably doesn't have long to live."
Gin spoke as if reading her mind.
Seeing his gloating expression, Rukia glared fiercely at him.
Undeterred, Gin said, "Abarai is really pitiful, insisting on coming to save you, Rukia..."
"!"
Rukia's expression instantly turned to shock.
"Impossible! You're talking nonsense!! Renji wouldn't come to save me—"
"Are you afraid?"
Gin narrowed his eyes.
Rukia's expression showed fear: "Wh-what do you mean?"
"You don't want them to die, do you? Abarai and the others. When you don't want others to sacrifice themselves, the fear of death erupts instantly. Isn't that right?"
Gin spoke smoothly, as if he had completely seen through Rukia's heart.
"..."
Rukia didn't refute further, just glared fiercely at this man who toyed with people's hearts and filled her with disgust.
"Do you want me to save you?"
Gin suddenly said.
"What!"
Rukia's expression shook.
"Cap-Captain Ichimaru... what did you just say?"
The few previously invisible escorts quickly asked.
If Gin just talked with Rukia, they wouldn't say anything given his status as Captain. But if he intended to rescue Rukia, they couldn't ignore it.
"How about it? If I wanted to, I could rescue you right now."
Gin paid no attention to the escorts, just looked at Rukia.
"Not just you, but Abarai and the others too."
Gin added.
'What... What is he really saying? Could it be true? What benefit would saving me bring him? What benefit would saving Ichigo and Renji bring him? No... Maybe it is true...'
Thinking this, a glimmer of hope ignited in Rukia's heart.
Suddenly, Gin placed a hand on Rukia's head, leaned close to her face, and gave an extremely malicious grin: "Just kidding!"
In an instant, Rukia's expression turned to despair, frozen in place.
"Bye-bye, Rukia. See you at Sokyoku Hill."
Gin waved and walked away.
'I should have been in despair long ago, long since lost my reason to live, with no attachments, no fears. Yet my heart is so shaken. Just that faint glimmer of hope easily shattered my will to continue living—'
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh——!!!"
Rukia let out an agonized, despairing wail.