"Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain."
Isane Kotetsu chanted loudly. Her fingertips dipped in specially prepared black ink as she drew a circle on the ground, filling it with strange characters and dividing it with a cross.
"Bakudō #58: Kakushitsuijaku!"
Blue light flared within the circle, and the black symbols inside began to shift.
"Thirty-one... sixty-four... eighty-three... ninety-seven... I've locked onto their positions!" Isane Kotetsu stared at the characters inside the circle. "East 332, North 1566... It's Sōkyoku!"
"Immediately search for and pinpoint the locations of all captains and lieutenants. Relay everything about Sōsuke Aizen and his whereabouts... and inform Muten and his companions as well." Retsu Unohana calmly issued her orders. "Leave things here to me. I'll begin emergency treatment for Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori."
"Understood!"
Isane Kotetsu swiftly drew curved zigzag lines across both of her arms to guide the flow of her Reiatsu.
"Silken net of black and white! Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowning sash; footprints, distant thunder, pointed peaks, revolving grounds, nightly prostrations, sea of clouds, the pale ranks of troops, complete the grand circle and surpass the heavens. Bakudō #77: Tenteikūra!"
A blue square frame flickered before Isane Kotetsu's outstretched palms. It trembled faintly with her voice, releasing strange ripples outward.
"To all captains, lieutenants, and acting lieutenants of the Gotei 13, as well as Muten and Muten's companions. This is Isane Kotetsu, lieutenant of the 4th Division. The situation is urgent. The following is an emergency message from Captain Retsu Unohana of the 4th Division and myself, Isane Kotetsu. What I am about to say... is all the truth."
The unbelievable message echoed in her ears.
After hearing that Tōshirō Hitsugaya had been critically injured, Rangiku Matsumoto immediately turned and ran toward the council hall.
"How could this be..."
Severely wounded, Izuru Kira leaned against the wall, unconsciously chewing his fingertips until they bled.
"Hinamori... she was innocent... why..."
Inside the 4th Division's comprehensive treatment center, Sajin Komamura let out a furious roar.
"Tōsen!"
"You heard everything, didn't you?" Nemu Kurotsuchi sat obediently in a chair, looking toward the blue-haired man crawling out of the cultivation chamber, his body covered in stitched scars. "Mayuri Kurotsuchi-sama."
"Is that even a question?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi's face was pale, his body drenched in cultivation fluid. "Of course I heard it."
"Then what are you planning to do?"
"Hmph!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi snorted coldly. "I have no interest in this."
Amid the roaring flames, Jūshirō Ukitake, his body covered in blood, murmured softly,
"Aizen... he..."
"What should we do now, old man Yamamoto?" Shunsui Kyōraku, equally battered, looked toward the elderly figure standing firm within the flames. "It seems... we shouldn't keep fighting."
"Ken-chan~"
Yachiru Kusajishi swung her short legs back and forth.
"Three captains have betrayed us."
"Something like that actually happened?" Kenpachi Zaraki tore the bandages off his body and gripped his newly repaired Zanpakutō tightly. "Including Muten Natsu, that makes four pretty good opponents to cut down!"
"A rebellion...?"
Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze drifted across the courtyard and settled on the pond. The morning dew on the white stone bridge had already evaporated under the sunlight.
A frail-looking woman seemed to sense his gaze and turned her head.
Her slightly pale face looked almost identical to Rukia Kuchiki's.
"Byakuya-sama..."
The woman returned a gentle smile.
"It seems you're heading out again."
Byakuya Kuchiki stood.
"I'm leaving, Hisana."
"Mm."
Hisana lightly waved her hand. The white three-colored ring on her wrist released a faint, pale glow.
...
Above the Sōkyoku cliff, a mass of swirling white cloth slowly spread open.
With the help of the Sentan Hakuja, Kaname Tōsen brought Rukia Kuchiki and her companions here.
The swirling white cloth settled onto the ground. Kaname Tōsen let out a long breath. At last, everything had reached its end.
It felt as if he had returned to that night many years ago, when the cool evening breeze carried her gentle voice to his ears.
["Look at the stars, Kaname-kun."]
["I love the night sky the most, Kaname-kun."]
["Because the night sky feels a lot like this world."]
["Everything is wrapped in darkness, yet there are many tiny lights."]
Kaname Tōsen could not see the stars in the sky, but he felt certain they must be beautiful.
He could not see her either.
["Clouds try to cover them, but I want to become... someone who parts those clouds."]
["So that those small lights can keep shining, I want to push the clouds away, Kaname-kun."]
["That sounds wonderful."]
Kaname Tōsen answered her dream like that.
Her voice was beautiful.
So Tōsen always forgot to tell her that he actually liked clouds very much.
He felt that he was like a cloud himself, drifting blindly.
Not knowing where he came from.
Not knowing where he was going.
If she were to reach him, even if it meant scattering him away, it would probably still be something worth being happy about.
["I'm getting married, Kaname-kun."]
["He's a Shinigami."]
["Yesterday, I also received my acceptance letter from the Academy."]
["I will become a Shinigami, fight Hollows, and bring peace back to this world."]
["These are the words... I most wanted to tell you, Kaname-kun."]
["That's wonderful. Congratulations."]
Just as he had expected, Kaname Tōsen thought. It truly was something worth being happy about.
["I only wish... there were something I could do for you."]
["Thank you, but Kaname-kun, you just need to be yourself."]
Her voice carried a promise.
["I'll come back often. I hope you'll still be here to listen to me talk."]
["Alright. I'll be myself and wait for you to come back."]
Kaname Tōsen answered her promise like that.
["Then it's a promise~"]
The cool breeze carried away her gentle voice.
From that day on, she never returned.
She died.
Killed by her own husband.
That man, over a trivial argument, killed his colleague. Even his own wife, who tried to stop and question him, was not spared.
She had longed for world peace, possessed a sense of justice unmatched by anyone, and had been willing to fight for it.
Yet before she ever fought a single battle, she died beneath her husband's blade.
What exactly had been missing?
Was upholding justice alone not enough to pray for peace in this world?
Kaname Tōsen picked up the Zanpakutō from her corpse.
If justice alone was not enough, then he would become justice himself.
With this power, he would make all evil in the world scatter like clouds.
Kaname Tōsen decided he would devote everything he had to walking the path of justice.
After all... he no longer needed to, nor was he capable of, simply being himself anymore.