Hinamori Momo, dressed in rough linen, bounced excitedly beside him as if she had just received a long-lost treasure.
"Enough, Momo," the white-haired boy muttered, trying to pry her hands off his sleeve.
Sombravida instantly recognized them.
Hinamori Momo.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
He silently repeated their names.
Then he began reconstructing the timeline.
Aizen's Hollowfication experiments occurred roughly a century before Kurosaki Ichigo's era. At that time, Aizen was still a lieutenant. Shinji Hirako had not yet been exiled.
Momo and Tōshirō had not entered the Shin'ō Academy yet.
That placed the current period somewhere around 70–90 years before Ichigo's story.
Sombravida estimated—
He had likely reformed several decades after his death.
The exact number would require confirmation.
"So, what's your name?" Momo asked brightly.
Sombravida paused.
He could not use "Sombravida."
A foreign name would stand out in Rukongai.
And someday—
It might reach Aizen's ears.
"…Tsukishiro," he answered after a moment.
Moon.
White desert.
Return.
The name formed naturally.
"Tsukishiro?" Momo tilted her head.
Then she beamed.
"Great! From today on, you're Hinamori Tsukishiro! You're my big brother!"
Tōshirō clicked his tongue.
"Who forces someone to take their sister's surname?"
He folded his arms.
"I'm Hitsugaya Tōshirō."
Sombravida stood slowly.
He reached forward—
Pretending to search—
And touched Tōshirō's shoulder.
"Sorry."
The two children froze.
Momo waved her hand in front of Sombravida's face.
"…You can't see?"
Sombravida nodded calmly.
"I'm blind."
A lie.
But a necessary one.
Kyōka Suigetsu's complete hypnosis requires sight of its release.
If Sombravida never relied on vision—
If he trained perception through reiatsu and hearing—
He could eliminate the greatest vulnerability from the beginning.
Right now, he had no Reiryoku.
But that would change.
"Don't worry!" Momo said quickly. "We'll figure something out!"
Her optimism was genuine.
Tōshirō looked at Sombravida more carefully now.
Rukongai was not kind to the weak.
But Momo had already decided.
"Let's go home first," she said. "You're family now."
They walked through the dusty streets of West Rukongai.
Simple wooden houses.
Clotheslines.
Worn sandals.
This was nothing like Seireitei's polished white stone.
They lived in District One of West Rukongai—Junrinan.
One of the more peaceful districts.
That alone was fortunate.
Momo guided his hand to the wooden nameplate outside her home.
He traced the engraved characters.
A small gesture—
But it stirred something inside him.
He entered.
Tatami flooring.
Low wooden table.
Clay bowls.
No luxury.
But clean.
Ordered.
Alive.
Rukongai residents without significant Reiryoku do not require food.
Those with spiritual power feel hunger.
That was canon.
That meant—
If Sombravida felt hunger, he possessed spiritual potential.
"If you don't feel hungry," Tōshirō said bluntly, "that's better for us."
Food was scarce.
Spirits with Reiryoku starved more easily.
Even in peaceful districts.
Momo shot him a glare.
But she didn't deny it.
Sombravida smiled faintly.
"I'll know soon enough."
After they left to tend to the watermelon patch at Tōshirō's house, Sombravida stepped into the courtyard alone.
A water barrel sat beneath a tree.
He stared into the surface.
Gray-white hair.
Sharp features.
Purple eyes.
Human.
Completely human.
He drank from the ladle.
No surge.
No Hollow instinct.
Reishi in Soul Society functioned differently from Hollow absorption.
Hollows devoured.
Shinigami refined.
He sat cross-legged and tried to gather spiritual particles instinctively—
Like he once did as a Vasto Lorde.
Nothing responded.
Different system.
Different structure.
He exhaled slowly.
"I need to relearn everything."
In Soul Society, Reishi saturates the atmosphere.
Those with spiritual aptitude unconsciously absorb it.
But control requires training.
Academy training.
Zanjutsu.
Hakuda.
Hohō.
Kidō.
All different from Hollow instinctual combat.
He would have to start from zero.
But zero—
Was better than death.
He returned inside and lay on the tatami.
Blind.
For now.
He replayed the names in his mind.
Gotei 13.
Yamamoto.
Unohana.
Shunsui.
Ukitake.
Aizen.
Gin.
Tōsen.
The Shin'ō Academy classes.
If Momo eventually enters the 2066th class—
He must enroll before or alongside her.
He needed proximity.
Not to serve Aizen.
But to reach him.
To reach the Hōgyoku.
And reclaim what was stolen.
His thoughts drifted.
Nel.
Harribel.
Jacain.
Timd.
The Hollows who once followed him.
Now—
He would become the very thing that hunted them.
The irony was not lost on him.
But strength required sacrifice.
If he remained weak—
He could save no one.
Not himself.
Not them.
He closed his eyes.
Sleep came slowly.
In Soul Society, sleep also draws in ambient Reishi.
His breathing steadied.
In dreams—
He saw the white desert again.
Nel laughing.
Harribel silent but watching.
Battles beneath the crescent moon.
Then—
Blue sky.
Rukongai streets.
A path forward.
The dream was long.
The road was far.
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