Though he had known she had married a Soul Reaper, he hadn’t heard she had married into a family as distinguished as one of the five noble clans.
The Soul Reaper kept talking to the bewildered Tosen. “He isn’t part of the main family, just a descendant from one of the branches. So he doesn’t have any significant authority. But a man can get a reduced sentence for murder if he is an aristocrat. Had he been part of the main family, they might have just pretended no one had died or claimed that Kakyo had been executed for treason.”
“But! But... That’s preposterous...!” Tosen unintentionally raised his voice.
In his heart he had considered the possibility the moment he had heard that the man who had killed his friend would receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist. But he hadn’t wanted to believe that the organization his friend had proclaimed “power for the sake of justice” could let something like that happen. That was why—because he didn’t want it to be true—he had risked his life and ventured all the way here for a personal audience with the Central 46.
“Isn’t a Soul Reaper—aren’t the Thirteen Court Guard Companies meant to protect the peace of the Soul Society and the world of the living?! Aren’t the Central 46 meant to embody the world’s logic?!”
“They did protect the peace. The nobles are a part of the world, and they protected their peace. The current Central 46 symbolizes that absurd world.”
“What?!” Tosen froze in bewilderment at the Soul Reaper’s declaration.
The Soul Reaper’s face contorted with regret as he said, “I am painfully aware of how you feel. No matter how you look at it, charging the man who killed her with a minor crime makes no sense. But that’s the Soul Society. The Central 46 are the five noble clan’s yes-men, especially when it comes to the powerful Tsunayashiro house.”
The man spoke sorrowfully and clenched his fists just as Tosen did. After he made sure no one was near them, he asked in a quiet voice, “Based on all of that, there’s something I’d like to ask you specifically, since you were her closest friend.”
Though Tosen’s heart had been incessantly gnawed at by anger, he closed his mouth and listened to the man’s words as though overawed by the man’s earnest tone of voice.
“If either of us had the ability to seek revenge, should we actually go through with it?”
“That’s—”
“It’s an issue of how we treat her wishes and what we do to honor her. Do you think that she ever wanted you to seek revenge, Tosen?”
Though Tosen could not see the other man’s expression, he could sense violence creeping into the Soul Reaper’s words. Oddly, it allowed him to regain his composure.
He was barely able to suppress his own anger as he strung together a sentence while recalling his friend’s words. This world was far from what she had wanted if her colleague spoke with that kind of hostility in his voice. He desperately tried to reach an understanding within himself as he replied to the Soul Reaper’s question. “I don’t think she would want revenge. And if that’s how she felt, then I...”
But he stopped there. Then I don’t want revenge either.
He couldn’t manage to say it, even to himself. He knew she would never have wanted another person to sully their hands seeking revenge for her. But the emotions pulsing deep in his gut wouldn’t accept that as justice.
Her wishes have nothing to do with this. Seek revenge for yourself.
The lump of darkness that bubbled up within him was appealing, but Tosen could not follow that voice. Because he knew. The moment he or anyone else chose to follow that hatred, she would die again.
It would be like trampling on all the proof that she had ever lived. He would be snuffing the life out of her wishes with his very own hands. He could not do that. By purging his own emotions, Tosen was able to string together his next words. “I…would like to respect her wishes for peace and justice.”
“I see. You’re right. She certainly did love peace. That is exactly why she lost her life, but... But I don’t believe she was weak because of that.”
The hostility had ebbed from the Soul Reaper’s voice, and he spoke now with detachment. “If we can prove that her dream was a strength rather than a weakness, how will you live your life from now on?”
“...”
“Please take up the torch and uphold her dream. Make sure no more blood is shed in vain.”
Tosen could not accept the Soul Reaper’s words at his core, but he realized that this man had understood his friend the same way he had and was thankful to the man for preventing his heart from being permeated by hatred. “Thank you very much.”
“No, I need to thank you since you are upholding her wishes.”
“I don’t think I have it in me to do that.” He wasn’t capable of protecting her dreams when even now he was desperately suppressing the rage and hatred that bubbled within him.
Even as the thought settled in Tosen’s mind, the Soul Reaper spoke to him with a kind smile. “You don’t need to have it in you to uphold her dream. She once said, ‘My hope isn’t anything special. It’s just a paltry wish to protect something that continues to shine like the stars in the sky.’”
“...”
If she had spoken of that, she must have truly given her hopes to her Soul Reaper colleagues to embrace, this man included. Having determined that, Tosen was relieved that there were Soul Reapers who respected her virtues.
“Um...if you would be so kind, what is your name?” He asked so that he could etch into his heart the thought that the world wasn’t cruel. There were others who had seen her for what she really was, and the world was not merciless.
The man gave his name in a calm voice without hesitation. “Yeah, my name is Tokinada. Tokinada Tsunayashiro.”
“Yes, so...Mr. Tsunayashiro...?” Tosen’s mind froze for a moment. He had a strong sense of something amiss. He remembered hearing that name earlier from this very man.
No, it can’t be. I must have misunderstood.