After escorting Shiba Ganju back to the Shiba residence and delivering Rukia's heartfelt thanks to Shiba Kūkaku, Amamiya Miyako and Ishida Uryū found themselves wandering aimlessly through the quiet wilderness outside the Seireitei.
"Oi, what are you looking around for?" Uryū asked sharply, frowning as he noticed Miyako scanning the horizon, eyes sharp like he was tracking something unseen.
"Ah… sorry, Uryū-san. I guess I'm just a little on edge," Miyako replied, scratching his cheek with a sheepish smile. "Anyway, let me answer your earlier question. Out here, we should be safe enough."
"Safe? You mean you're worried about being overheard inside Seireitei?"
Miyako nodded lightly. "That's right. You never know who might be watching… especially if the Wandenreich have already begun moving in the shadows."
Uryū's expression tightened, his glasses glinting coldly. "Then hurry up and explain. What exactly do you know?"
"Fine," Miyako said, his tone dropping to a serious edge. "I'll start with what you're most desperate to hear. The Quincy powers you've lost… they're not impossible to restore."
Uryū's eyes widened behind his lenses. "How do you know… that I lost my Quincy abilities?" he demanded, voice heavy.
Miyako's gaze didn't falter. "Because I saw it. I witnessed your battle against Mayuri Kurotsuchi from beginning to end. That form of yours, that desperate light you unleashed… it was dazzling."
Uryū's jaw clenched. "Even if you saw the battle, that doesn't prove my abilities vanished afterward."
"Your reiryoku… it's barely traceable at all," Miyako answered calmly. "That alone tells me enough."
Hearing those words, Uryū's fists trembled at his sides. If Miyako had noticed, then surely Kurosaki Ichigo and the others had, too…
"Still," Miyako continued, "though I said there is a path to recovery, the method doesn't lie with me."
"Then who?! Who can restore my Quincy powers?!" Uryū snapped, his urgency breaking through.
"Your father," Miyako replied without hesitation.
Uryū froze, his breath catching. "…My father? Ryūken?!"
The name tasted bitter on his tongue. He almost couldn't believe it.
Miyako didn't flinch at the disbelief. He had anticipated this reaction. Uryū Ishida had been ensnared in the whirlpool of fate ever since that night six years ago. For Miyako, guiding him now was just another step in ensuring that the attention of the Wandenreich shifted exactly where he wanted it to.
"That man? Don't be ridiculous!" Uryū spat, shaking his head violently. "He abandoned that power long ago! There's no way he could do what you're suggesting!"
"You don't know your father as well as you think, Uryū," Miyako said, his voice steady. "Ryūken Ishida is far from simple."
Uryū staggered back a step, his thoughts in chaos. "…Impossible…"
The memories came flooding back. His father's cold eyes as he dissected his mother's body… his refusal to save Sōken Ishida, Uryū's beloved grandfather… and now Miyako was telling him to beg that man for help?
"Ridiculous! That man—he let my grandfather die, he desecrated my mother, and now I should crawl to him for power?!" Uryū's voice shook with fury.
Miyako let out a quiet sigh. Ryūken Ishida… a father who would carry the weight of being despised if it meant protecting his son from the shadows. Truly… yare yare da na.
"Uryū," Miyako said softly, "this world is layered with lies and concealments. But facts… facts never change. If your father refuses to tell you the truth, then the truth you see will always be nothing but fabricated illusions."
Uryū's eyes narrowed sharply. "…You mean to say Ryūken has been lying to me? Hiding things all along?"
Miyako looked up at the dim sky. "If I could, I'd tell you everything myself."
"Then tell me now!" Uryū shouted, grabbing Miyako by the lapels, anger pouring out of him. "Whether it's about the Quincy or Ryūken—tell me everything you know!"
But Miyako's expression didn't change. He placed a hand over Uryū's fist and said firmly, "Your father once saved me. Because of that, I cannot speak without his permission. If you truly want answers, you must seek him out yourself."
Uryū's grip loosened, and he shoved Miyako back, teeth grinding. "Chikusho…!" His frustration burned, but words failed him.
"Your father doesn't even know you slipped into Soul Society, does he?" Miyako asked quietly.
Uryū glared away, disgust in his tone. "…He doesn't need to know my business."
"Then at least carry one message for me," Miyako said, voice calm but heavy with intent.
"A message…?"
"The timing is perfect. His return is inevitable. And as the only Quincy hybrid still unharmed, he must at least retain the strength for self-preservation."
Uryū furrowed his brows. "What the hell are you talking about…? What does that even mean?"
"Don't think too hard about it," Miyako shook his head, a shadow passing over his eyes. "Just deliver the message. It's an agreement between me and your father. If Ryūken chooses to tell you the truth… then I'll tell you everything as well."
With that, he fell silent and turned his attention forward, searching for his destination.
"Oi, where are you going?" Uryū pressed.
"To find a lake… or a river. If you're willing, I'd be glad for your company," Miyako said plainly. Deep down, he knew Uryū's past with the Sanrei Glove could be useful to him now.
"A lake?" Uryū muttered, suspicion in his eyes but curiosity pushing him to follow.
It wasn't long before the two found a secluded lake deep within the Rukongai.
The surface rippled faintly, glowing under the dense atmosphere of Soul Society.
"What do you even need a lake for?" Uryū finally asked.
"To train… to achieve Quincy: Letzt Stil."
"W–what!?" Uryū's eyes widened. "You can't be serious…"
"All matter in Soul Society is made of reishi. The air itself is saturated with it. If the Sanrei Glove forces one to disperse reishi to the very limits, then the water here is no different. It's like being submerged in an overwhelming concentration of reishi, nearly impossible to control or draw in."
Hearing that, Uryū immediately understood what Miyako was after. He wanted to immerse himself in a crushing reishi environment and train until he reached the ultimate form of the Quincy.
"No… How do you know about the Sanrei Glove, and about Letzt Stil? I've never spoken of it," Uryū said warily.
Miyako's expression didn't falter. "I can tell you this much: Soul Society's knowledge of the Quincy isn't limited to Mayuri Kurotsuchi. In fact… Mayuri's understanding is shallow compared to the deeper records I've seen."
"Tch… Soul Society really…" Uryū muttered. The more he heard, the heavier the truth felt.
"What do you think? Is my method feasible?" Miyako asked, his eyes serious.
"Why should I tell you?" Uryū shot back, still unwilling to place full trust in him. Even the mention of his father—he wanted to believe it, but doubt remained.
"Yare yare… you're stubborn, Ishida-san," Miyako sighed. He reached into his robes and pulled out something that glimmered faintly.
The Quincy Cross.
"This thing can't appear within Seireitei. But here… I'll show you."
As he raised it, reishi began to gather, spiraling into his hand before condensing into a shining blue-white bow.
Uryū's eyes narrowed. "That's… a Quincy Cross. And that technique…"
"This Cross was given to me by your father," Miyako said softly. "Do you understand what that means?"
Uryū froze, lips tightening. A Shinigami holding a Quincy Cross… no, not just holding it, but using Quincy techniques naturally. It was unthinkable. And yet, here it was.
In the Human World, he had thought himself the last Quincy. But standing before him now, another one existed—though born of contradictions.
"…If what you say is true," Uryū finally muttered, "then yes. Underwater, the density of reishi would act much like the Sanrei Glove. Training there could push you toward Letzt Stil."
"So, I wasn't wrong after all," Miyako smiled faintly. "That's good to know."
"But remember this," Uryū's voice grew stern, "even if you do reach Letzt Stil, once you use it, your Quincy abilities will be gone forever. Why risk everything for that?"
Miyako looked down at the glowing bow in his hand. Slowly, he let it dissolve into light. "Some questions… don't need an answer, Ishida-san."
The silence between them stretched before Uryū finally turned away. "Do what you want. Just don't drag me into it."
"Fair enough," Miyako replied quietly.
As Uryū walked back toward Seireitei, Miyako watched his retreating back, the water's reflection wavering in his eyes.
"Ishida-san… your son was born extraordinary. He can't run from it." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And I'm the same. Except… my extraordinariness began with death."
His gaze lifted skyward, piercing the heavens above the Rukongai.
"Or perhaps… you're watching me as well, Soul King…?"