“Ugh…”
Hisagi, who had regained consciousness, quietly gritted his teeth.
“Damn it…are you telling me to kill the enemy again?”
Since he had first learned its name, Kazeshini had requested blood and life countless times. Though he was a far cry from the ranks of captains such as Kenpachi, Hisagi had enough combat experience to be called a veteran by the general soldiers. He had killed enough enemies that he could no longer count them, but his zanpaku-to’s voice never waned.
“Are you saying I should have killed Hikone?”
Or perhaps it was that the zanpaku-to’s voice was pointing out his own vulnerability.
“Like I’d let you use me. The only ones I swing my sword for are the Court Guards.”
He didn’t intend to say that his own actions constituted an act of justice. He didn’t have the qualification to say that. However, the one thing he could not do was renounce his beliefs.
He was a Soul Reaper.
Soul Reapers did not kill Hollows out of hatred. They killed them in order to purify them.
As he considered whether certain actions were appropriate as a Soul Reaper, Hisagi thought that slaying Hikone was not the correct choice for him as a Soul Reaper, or personally as Shuhei Hisagi. Then again, he didn’t think that Hikone was an opponent he could kill even if he resolved to do so.
But still, I can’t run from this.
Hisagi rose unsteadily and immediately started to search for the exit.
“There aren’t any doors. How’d Hikone even get out?”
The walls around him as well as the ceiling were all sealed, and he couldn’t even guess how someone would exit or enter from outside.
“Ah well, guess I’ll just have to break through.”
Hisagi prepared himself to smash through the wall using kido…
“I believe it will be difficult for you to destroy that wall with your abilities.”
“Huh?!”
Hearing a woman’s voice behind him, Hisagi put himself on guard and turned around, only to find the woman he had just met in the world of the living standing there.
“Aura…Michibane!”
“It is such an honor that a prodigy assistant captain such as yourself would remember my name.”
“At this point, that doesn’t even qualify as sarcasm.”
Hisagi had been extolled as a prodigy in his Shinoreijutsuin days and had cultivated an excellent record. However, when compared to the genius of Hinamori’s kido and Hitsugaya’s sword techniques, he understood that his natural gifts were next to nothing.
He hadn’t been dispirited by that revelation and had reached his current position by continuing to study without pause, but Hisagi himself was saddled with the anxiety of wondering whether he deserved to be an assistant captain. Consequently, he never shirked his training, in order to ensure he was worthy of holding the title.
Even so, there were certainly domains that existed that he would never be able to reach.
Hisagi recalled Hikone’s words from earlier.
It’s true that someone like me might not be able to win against Hikone or this woman.
However, for Hisagi, that wasn’t a reason to stop walking the path he was on.
Once he readied his zanpaku-to, he turned to Aura and asked, “Where is Mr. Urahara?”
“Please don’t be worried. We have not harmed him in any way. Our goal isn’t to hurt him.”
“I see… Then I’ll change my question. Where’s the exit? And where the heck is this place?”
He wanted to pressure her to release Kisuke Urahara immediately, but Hisagi decided to gather information first instead. Even if he did manage to defeat Aura here, he wouldn’t be able to just walk out of the place, which made this plan a nonstarter.
“This is the protective throne. It has been made so only Lord Hikone and Lord Tokinada may enter or leave, to ensure Lord Hikone is not attacked by insurgents. Though I can pass through the walls to enter.”
Aura chuckled as she said that, but Hisagi kept up his guard. “So you really do intend to make a Hogyoku to make Hikone the Soul King.”
“Because that is what Lord Tokinada wishes.”
“So you’re planning on using the Hogyoku’s power to destroy the current Reio? You’re trying to do the same thing as Aizen…”
“Hm?” At that point, Aura seemed puzzled, then after a few seconds, she nodded as though she understood. “Oh…I apologize. It seems that you are not aware, Mr. Hisagi. You seem not to know what kind of being the Reio is.”
“Hm? No, I know that. The previous Soul King was killed by Yhwach, but thanks to Mimihagi…the right arm of the Reio that was in Captain Ukitake, I thought things turned out fine in the end.”
Though in truth Hisagi had not readily believed the thing that had risen from Ukitake’s body into the sky had been the Reio, the fact that the world continued to exist even now meant that he must still have been supporting it even after Yhwach died.
Yet Aura’s words troubled him.
“What? Are you saying that’s not true?”
“I see… While you are not entirely incorrect…with Lord Hikone becoming the Soul King, the world will become even stronger. What would you do if that were the case?”
When Aura asked that as though changing the subject, Hisagi answered seriously, “That’s not something I can decide lightly. But if Hikone said that they wanted to become the king on their own, then first of all, I’d try to stop them.”
“And why is that?”
“Because…that kid still doesn’t know anything.” Hisagi gripped his sword and spoke in a somewhat regretful tone. “Hikone told me that they have only the world that Tokinada gave them. If that’s what the kid decided after seeing the whole big world on their own, then I wouldn’t say anything. If, after that, they said they were going to become the Soul Reapers’ enemy, then I’d be ready to stand in their way as an enemy too.”
After stating that clearly, Hisagi continued, “But that kid only knows the world through Tokinada. It’s like he’s being manipulated. So…I need to teach the kid that there’s a lot more world out there.”
At that point, for some reason, Hisagi remembered Tosen’s face, and after hesitating slightly, he added, “Well…on the other hand, I’d like to know what the world looks like to that kid. Then I’d decide whether I approve or not.”
“…”
“So I’ve got to see this Tokinada guy face to face.”
“Are those your words…as a journalist? Or as a Soul Reaper?”
When Aura asked that, her smile gone, Hisagi affirmed, “All together, those were my words as Shuhei Hisagi.”
Aura heard him out, then continued after a slight pause. “You can’t be sure Hikone would be happy after learning about the great big world.”
“Huh?”
“In some cases, happiness is to live and die confined in a tank without knowing anything. There are some who realize they are unhappy only when they find out about other worlds.”
Aura’s words, which seemed oddly sincere, left Hisagi bewildered for a moment. Then, as though something had just occurred to him, he scowled and said, “You’re not…talking about yourself, are you?”
Aura neither confirmed nor denied his suspicions and continued as though testing him. “Don’t you think that’s the case for Hikone Ubuginu?”
“I thought so too until just earlier, but…that kid has their own will too. It’s just…the kid’s lacking one thing. I just want to tell them that, is all.”
“…”
“If you’ve come here to kill me, I’ll fight with all I’ve got. In exchange, if I win, I’ll make you release Mr. Urahara.”
When he turned the point of his zanpaku-to toward Aura, she appeared to be deep in thought. Then she broke into a smile and walked toward Hisagi.
“Huh? Hey, what’re you going to do?”
“Please don’t get the wrong idea. I simply have one request for you.”
“A request?”
He was cautious, but he didn’t feel anything like hostility coming from her. Not knowing what her intentions were, Hisagi was apprehensive as the woman gently brought her face close to his.
“--------------”
She whispered something only Hisagi could hear.
“Huh?”
Not understanding what she meant, Hisagi was perplexed for a moment. However, before he could ask, she disappeared.
“Hey, where did you…”
When Hisagi looked around, he noticed something.
A door that hadn’t been there just a moment ago had appeared in the wall of the room and was partially open.
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