"—What... is this...!?"
In the office of the Squad 5 Captain.
While examining the personal effects of the late Captain Sōsuke Aizen, Toshiro Hitsugaya had found a letter addressed to his Vice-Captain, Momo Hinamori. As he read the unfolded message, he was left speechless by its contents.
Opening a letter left for another person was a disrespectful act he would never normally commit. But with his mind swirling with suspicion from the series of unsettling events, Toshiro, after a long moment of hesitation, had decided to inspect the contents, offering a silent apology to both Aizen and Hinamori.
Perhaps the fact that this breach of etiquette led to this result was an omen of the turbulent destiny that awaited the young boy.
"What is it, Captain!? What in the world does it say—Wha-This is...!"
"You're telling me... Aizen wrote this...?"
He and his vice-captain, Rangiku Matsumoto, who was peering over his shoulder, read the letter over and over again.
—The one who killed me was Captain Hitsugaya.
It began with a preamble written in elegant calligraphy, expressing concern for the well-being of its recipient, Hinamori—a touch so characteristic of the man. But what followed was a complete fabrication, presented as a truth the writer had uncovered.
"Captain... this is a fake! Someone must have replaced it...!"
"...But the handwriting and the subtle considerations... if it's a forgery, it's a feat that could only be accomplished by someone extremely close to him."
"!"
Someone extremely close. Rangiku, who could think of only one man who fit that description, froze, her eyes widening in realization.
Toshiro's false accusation was not the only thing written in Aizen's letter. It also detailed a massive conspiracy surrounding the execution of Squad 13 member, Rukia Kuchiki. It was a terrifying plan to steal a spiritual tool equivalent to the power of one million Zanpakutō—the Sōkyoku—and destroy the Soul Society.
Of course, Toshiro had no intention of doing such a ridiculous thing. In his mind, he substituted the name of the culprit mentioned in the letter with another person: the most likely suspect, who had been at the center of every incident these past few days—the Captain of Squad 3, Gin Ichimaru.
"...Matsumoto, I know how you feel. But it's a fact that he's dragged Hinamori into some kind of plot and is making her suffer. I don't know what he's thinking, but that's the one thing I will never forgive...!"
"...Yeah, I have no intention of forgiving him either...!"
"That idiot..." Rangiku murmured, her voice pained, revealing her complicated feelings. She and Ichimaru had come up through the ranks together. Though she often claimed to have cut all ties with him, her superior, Toshiro, knew she still cherished her memories of him.
Into this awkward atmosphere, a small, black shadow suddenly fluttered.
"A Hell Butterfly...?"
The boy let the messenger land on his finger. The report it delivered made him cry out in disbelief.
"—What!? Hinamori has disappeared from the squad jail!?"
The Squad 10 jail was where Toshiro had placed his most stringent security measures, specifically to guard against Ichimaru. For his childhood friend, who was being protected there under the guise of confinement, to vanish was a major crisis.
"We're heading back immediately, Matsumoto!"
"Yes, sir—Wait, Captain, hold on!"
"Tch, what is it!"
The boy turned back at Rangiku's sudden cry.
"It's another Hell Butterfly! What now..."
Rangiku received the new report, her voice filled with irritation. Then, her expression slowly shifted to one of shock.
"Hey, what's wrong, Matsumoto? What happened!"
"...They're reporting that Kuchiki's execution has been moved up again. The date and time... is August 6th, at noon..."
"The 6th!? That's today!"
Hit with the unexpected news, he instinctively checked the time. The clock hands pointed to 9 a.m. There were only about two hours until noon.
"Captain, what are your orders...?"
Toshiro bit his lip at Rangiku's anxious question. If he could, he would prioritize finding and protecting Hinamori. But if Aizen's forged letter contained even a grain of truth, he had to stop the use of the Sōkyoku at all costs.
Toshiro closed his eyes, conflicted. He hesitated, agonized—and then opened his eyes, now filled with resolve.
"Matsumoto, go to the Squad 10 jail. Follow Hinamori's trail and secure her, no matter what."
"...Captain!"
"Ichimaru will probably try to contact her again to make her do something. When he does, you will stop him."
It was an order based on logic and consideration for his subordinate. He conveyed with his eyes that he was implicitly telling her to "talk with Ichimaru one-on-one." Rangiku nodded, abashed.
"Th-Then, Captain, you'll...!"
"It's obvious, isn't it? I'm going to negotiate directly to have the execution canceled. The ones who sent this ridiculous order..."
Only those of captain rank were granted an audience with the highest powers of the Gotei 13.
The name of the Seireitei's supreme authority was...
"—The Central 46."
***
The Central 46.
It was the judicial body of the Soul Society, composed of forty sages and six judges gathered from across the land. Though nominally a judicial body, it was, in fact, the highest decision-making authority, a bastion of the conservative nobility whose primary goal was to maintain the status quo.
It was precisely because Toshiro knew this negative side of the institution that he had sensed something was amiss with the series of exceptions being made for Rukia Kuchiki's execution.
Something was wrong here. His suspicion hardening into certainty, the young captain visited the Central Underground Assembly Hall... and witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"Wh... what is this...!?"
Having reached the heart of the Soul Society's leadership with surprising ease, despite it supposedly being under the highest security, Toshiro was met with the sight of the brutally murdered bodies of forty-six men and women.
—The entire Central 46 had been annihilated.
"What's going on... You're telling me Ichimaru did all this...?"
From the dried blood, he estimated that the incident had occurred at least a week ago. This meant that every order from the Central 46 sent to the Gotei 13 since the invader attack had been a forgery. But he couldn't imagine a single Soul Reaper being capable of carrying out a conspiracy of this magnitude.
And then, as he stood there stunned, Toshiro suddenly felt an impossible presence.
"...Hinamori?"
It was her spiritual pressure. It wasn't an illusion; it was the familiar pressure of his friend.
"Hinamori...!"
Why was she here? He followed the presence with all his speed, bursting into the completely restricted Sanctum of the Seijōtō, and...
"—Well now, Hitsugaya."
There, he met the man who was supposed to be dead: Sōsuke Aizen.
"Ai... zen...!?"
The gentle smile, the intelligent-looking glasses, the low, kind voice. Toshiro doubted his own eyes and ears, asking again and again if it was really him, but the man's replies only confirmed his survival.
"You've arrived quite early, I must say. Perhaps I was too careless, Gin."
"What—Ichimaru!?"
Toshiro whirled to look where Aizen was gazing, toward the entrance of the Sanctum. Standing there was the man he had deduced to be the root of all evil.
"—My apologies, Captain Aizen. It seems that letter only managed to hook one of 'em."
Gin Ichimaru, who had appeared out of nowhere, apologized to Aizen with a look of regret. The victim and the perpetrator were interacting like a superior and his subordinate. Confused, Toshiro's gaze darted between the two of them.
"Planned? Hooked? What the hell... What the hell are you two talking about!?"
"We are merely discussing tactics, Captain Hitsugaya."
—Dispersing the enemy's forces is a basic tenet of warfare, is it not?
As Aizen spoke, his usual gentle smile twisted into something chilling. A terrifying grin, seeping with black malice, sent a shiver down Toshiro's spine. But then, he suddenly realized something.
"Hina... mori...?"
She was gone. The spiritual pressure he had been tracking until just now had vanished.
"Are you looking for Hinamori? Now, where could she be?"
Aizen's amber eyes held the cheerful glint of a child who had just played a prank. An unusual sense of dread creeping into his heart at Aizen's strangely casual tone, the boy's eyes scanned every corner of the room and...
"————!"
Behind Aizen, whom he had just passed with a Shunpo, he saw the figure of his precious childhood friend, collapsed in a pool of her own blood.
"A pity. It seems you've found her."
Her large eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and filled with tears. Momo Hinamori was submerged in a puddle of crimson. A faint spiritual pulse was the only sign that she was still breathing. But... but...
"Why..."
Unable to comprehend the scene before him, Toshiro could only stand there and tremble. Aizen offered him a nonsensical apology. "My apologies."
"I did not mean to startle you. I had intended to keep her hidden so she would not be found. It was my mistake to have underestimated the intellect and resourcefulness of the boy genius."
Sōsuke Aizen spoke with the same gentle tone as always. What does he mean, so she wouldn't be found? What does he mean, he intended to keep her hidden?
And then, after a long period of confusion, Toshiro was finally forced to confront the unacceptable reality.
The man Hinamori admired, Sōsuke Aizen—was an enemy of the Soul Society...
"...You were in this together... both of you...! Since when!?"
All of Ichimaru's suspicious actions up until now had been under this bastard's orders. The humiliation of having been played like a puppet erupted into boundless rage within his chest.
"From the very beginning, of course. Since the day I became captain, I have never once thought of anyone but him as my vice-captain."
The shock of his words was like a vice gripping his heart. That meant... that meant this whole time, he had been—
"I never intended to deceive her. It is simply that none of you actors... ever understood my true self."
"Tch, understood... you...?"
What was this man talking about? Who had tried harder to understand him than Hinamori? Toshiro had watched her single-minded devotion with bitterness, but he had sealed away his own feelings and continued to watch over her, telling himself that it was her wish, that he just had to endure it until he surpassed the man himself.
Hadn't she joined Squad 5 just to be near the man she admired? Hadn't she worked herself to the bone to be useful to him? Hadn't she spent her nights forgoing sleep to meet expectations in the Kidō Corps? Hadn't she supported this man as his new vice-captain for the past ten years?
And he...
"I am well aware. There is nothing easier to control than one who admires you."
"What..."
But the man brushed aside fifty years of the girl's feelings as if they were trash. And to Toshiro, lost in a storm of confusion and rage, the traitor Sōsuke Aizen smugly offered a lesson.
"This is a good opportunity. You would do well to remember this, Hitsugaya."
Those words snapped the last thread of the boy's reason. His explosive fury, having found its rightful target, instantly sublimated into violence. An arctic spiritual pressure, cold enough to shatter his sanity, erupted from him.
"Bankai..."
—Daiguren Hyōrinmaru—
The Zanpakutō of Toshiro Hitsugaya, hailed as the strongest of all ice and snow types. Freezing the entirety of the vast Sanctum, the boy, with a majestic dragon of ice at his back, pointed the tip of his blade at his childhood friend's nemesis.
"Aizen... I'm going to kill you!!"
But Aizen, who treated Toshiro's killing intent as if it were a gentle breeze, twisted his infuriatingly handsome face into a mocking smile.
"Don't use such strong words. It makes you look weak."
Toshiro fell for the taunt, a provocation so infuriating it felt like a blood vessel in his head would burst. All calmness and tactics were gone. With a crazed roar, he reached for the future where this man would die in the shortest distance, in the shortest time, and it seemed, for a moment, that he had grasped it...
"Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō."
"What!?"
A Kidō spell, fired from an unknown location, suddenly bound Toshiro's body.
Impossible, what's happening? He was sure he had run the man through with his sword and frozen him solid. As he struggled with his confusion, the Aizen he had just stabbed dissolved into smoke, a smile on his face.
"I was asked not to harm you. Stay put and be a good boy for a little while."
"Im... impossible! An illusion...!?"
He frantically unleashed his spiritual pressure, trying to break the restraints, but Aizen's spell didn't budge. His vaunted Bankai was completely sealed by a mere Kidō spell, cast without an incantation.
In the midst of this, new actors appeared on the stage of the Sanctum.
"—The arch-traitor, Sōsuke Aizen."
With the little movement he had in his neck, Toshiro saw the two captain-class Soul Reapers from Squad 4, Retsu Unohana and Isane Kotetsu. But even seeing these reinforcements, Aizen didn't so much as raise an eyebrow.
"A pleasure to see you, Captain Unohana. Your arrival is exactly as expected."
"...So it was all your conspiracy from the beginning."
The exchange with Unohana that followed was a terrifying reveal of the true power of Aizen's Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu. He boasted that faking his own death, and making everyone believe that all was well in the Central 46, was all due to its power—complete hypnosis.
The condition for Kyōka Suigetsu's activation was to witness the moment of its Shikai release. Anyone who saw it even once would be captivated, and thereafter, whenever he released his Shikai, they would fall under the spell of complete hypnosis.
But that wasn't the only horrifying truth.
"It seems you've realized. Kyōka Suigetsu does not work on those who cannot see. In other words, the one who has been blind from the very beginning..."
—Kaname Tōsen is my subordinate.
Toshiro gasped at the incredible revelation. Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tōsen. From the proud Gotei 13, from the thirteen captains who should be its pinnacle and its paragons, three traitors had emerged at the same time.
Satisfied by the sight of the three of them trembling in horror, Aizen gave a magnanimous nod.
...Immediately after, a white sash that Ichimaru produced from his robes began to swirl around the two traitors surrounding Hinamori.
"Well now, we are pressed for time. We shall take our leave here."
"W-What is that...! Give Hinamori back!"
Immobilized, Toshiro screamed at Ichimaru, who was lifting the dying girl into his arms.
Why did they need to take her with them after stabbing her themselves? She needed urgent medical treatment from Captain Unohana, but pathetically, Toshiro could do nothing but howl like a beaten dog, with no way to stop this great evil.
But the helpless boy's desperate protests were in vain.
"Captain Hitsugaya."
As he was enveloped in the swirl of the white sash, Aizen offered a provocative smile and a single, meaningful parting word before the three of them vanished.
—If you wish to say your goodbyes to her, you had best hurry.
***
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