The Tenkai Kechu—the barrier designed to swap the real Karakura Town with its fake counterpart—was meant to provide a battlefield where the Captains of the Gotei 13 could fight the Arrancar army at full strength. Instead, the World of the Living was now witnessing an unprecedented natural disaster.
"What... what is that...?"
A trembling voice rose from the allied ranks. No one blamed the speaker for faltering. Every Soul Reaper standing before the enemy was paralyzed by the same sense of awe and horror.
『—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH—』
It was a colossal monstrosity, towering nearly two hundred feet high.
Countless delicate girls were twisted and entwined together. Long, knotted segments that could be called fingers, hands, necks, or wings were connected in unnatural patterns to form a singular thing. It resembled no legend—neither dragon, nor demon, nor phoenix. It was a beautiful, grotesque "monster" in the truest sense of the word, letting out a chorus of screams that oscillated between agony and ecstasy.
Everyone was captivated by the earth-shattering sight.
However, no one here was a novice. The veterans of the Gotei 13 immediately began analyzing the enemy's strength. But almost instantly, they were shaken by a localized impossibility.
"Impossible... There's no Spiritual Pressure...!"
"That's insane! Then what the hell is that pink light raging over there!? Is this more of Aizen's hypnosis!?"
In the spiritual realm, Spiritual Pressure is the gauge of existence itself. Yet, one man among the Soul Reapers knew the truth: the monster towering over them existed on a dimension that transcended their very standards of reality.
"We're just ants to her, you know," Kisuke Urahara muttered.
"Ants...?"
"Just as an ant cannot tell if it's walking on a rock or the back of an elephant, our senses cannot comprehend the scale of Hinamori's soul right now. When the gap in power is this vast, it causes a paralysis of spiritual perception. We literally cannot 'feel' her because she's too big."
Everyone was silenced by Urahara's explanation. Some turned away in denial. They were Captains—the pinnacle of soul evolution who had achieved Bankai. To be called "ants" was a blow to their very existence.
"If that's the case..." Captain Unohana whispered, her voice cold. "This is a matter for the Royal Guard."
"Good grief," Shunsui Kyoraku added, his usual laid-back demeanor gone. "The Head Captain is going to do more than just yell at us for this one..."
They bit their lips. This was a failure that shook the pride of the Gotei 13 and the Research and Development Institute alike. To allow a comrade's betrayal to escalate into the birth of a monster that defied the logic of the world was a disgrace to their names as Soul Reapers.
"I gave the permission for the extraction that led to this," Unohana said, stepping forward. "First, we must rescue Captain Hitsugaya from the center of that transformation. Since the Head Captain is currently occupied by the enemy's trap..."
"—I will take the lead."
The moment Unohana drew her Zanpakuto, her usually gentle presence vanished. A sharp, piercing scent of death—like a blade held to one's throat—surged from her, causing her fellow Captains to instinctively retreat.
But then, an interloper appeared.
"Shoot to kill... Shinso."
A blade extended at blinding speed. Gin Ichimaru, the traitor's lieutenant, had launched a surprise attack. Unohana parried it effortlessly and turned her gaze toward the attacker.
"The 'Hundred-Blade' Gin Ichimaru..."
"Now, now, forgive me, Captain Unohana. I can't have you ruining Captain Aizen's mood right now."
"You bastard!!" Soi Fon and Komamura lunged at the traitor. Gin evaded them with a fluid movement, keeping them at bay with a flurry of strikes.
"You really won't move, will you?"
"I told you," Gin smiled, his eyes closed. "I'm much more afraid of Captain Aizen than I am of all the Captains of the Gotei 13 combined."
The Captains' hostility flared at the provocation. The tension was at a breaking point, only to be interrupted by a massive surge of energy.
"Way of Destruction 88: Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!!"
A colossal blast of blue spiritual lightning tore through the air. Head Captain Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, while still dealing with the last of the Arrancars, had unleashed a high-level Kido at the Hinamori-monster. The light consumed everything in its path, resulting in a massive explosion that enveloped the creature's giant form.
"Incredible...!"
"If his flames won't work, he goes for Kido... I hope Momo isn't too startled by that."
They watched with bated breath. But even after such a powerful spell, the chorus of screams did not falter. As the smoke cleared, their eyes widened at the figure standing in the sky.
"STOP IT! DON'T HURT HER!"
Clad in a pitch-black Bankai, with orange hair and eyes full of resolve, the human miracle—Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki—stood in front of the monster, shielding it.
***
"Damn it... how did this happen? Why is it like this!?"
Ichigo Kurosaki had returned from the Garganta with Captain Unohana. He had expected to find Toshiro and Hinamori together, but the reality he found was a nightmare of malice.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, TOSHIRO!?"
Ichigo's vision had been distorted by Kyoka Suigetsu. The perfect hypnosis had overlapped Aizen's form with Hinamori's, leading to the tragedy where the person who wanted to save her most—Toshiro Hitsugaya—was the one who had run her through.
The horror only increased when the "monster" emerged from his fallen benefactor. Even Ichigo, who had felt all kinds of power, nearly recoiled from the alien Spiritual Pressure and the nightmare-inducing appearance of the creature.
But when he saw the massive Kido attack heading for her—
His body moved on his own.
Protecting the monster, Ichigo intercepted the Kido with a Hollowfied Getsuga Tensho. He turned to the Captains below, shouting for them to stop. He was confused, but seeing the monster letting out those pained, scream-like roars, he knew his instinct was right.
This thing isn't trying to attack us.
Then, at the peak of the monstrosity, Ichigo saw the boy cradling the original Hinamori's body.
"Toshiro!?"
Ichigo gasped. The young Captain was slumped over, shaking violently. His pupils were dilated, his eyes unblinking and streaming with tears. Saliva and mucus ran from his face, unheeded.
It was the sight of a child whose every hope and dream had been pulverized.
"Toshiro! Hey, pull yourself together!"
Ichigo pushed through the sea of the monster's Spiritual Pressure and grabbed the boy's shoulders. Toshiro didn't respond; he just swayed in Ichigo's grip. The months of accumulated pain had finally reached their breaking point, turning the boy's heart into a cold, dead stone.
"Toshiro—wait, what's happening!?"
A massive vibration shook the spirit energy in the air. The monster's power was swelling even further. Below them, the scorched ground began to turn into pale white dust and vanish.
"This is bad! The matter is decomposing into spirit particles!" Urahara shouted.
"What!?"
"The physical matter can't withstand the surrounding Spiritual Pressure! If this continues, Hinamori will become a bridge connecting the World of the Living and the Soul Society directly. The pressure difference between the two worlds will cause a cataclysmic explosion!!"
A bridge between worlds without the buffer of the Dangai or the Garganta was like a needle piercing a balloon filled to the bursting point.
"The world will be destroyed...!"
"If it has come to this, we have no choice," Unohana said. "I will request the immediate deployment of Squad Zero."
"Wait, Captain Unohana!" Urahara cut in. "I can seal her Spiritual Pressure one more time! Everyone, you have to weaken the monster's resistance!"
"And how long will that last!?" Soi Fon screamed. "This is all happening because of your suspicious techniques!"
"Calm down, Captain Soi Fon!" Komamura barked. "We must take the best course of action available! Urahara, we don't know how long we can hold, but we will use our Bankai to suppress it!"
"Tch... my Bankai doesn't even have half its power left...!"
The allied forces reached a grim conclusion. But as they prepared their Bankai, Ichigo stood in their way.
"You idiots, stop!! Hinamori and Toshiro are still right there!"
"Get out of the way, Ichigo Kurosaki! Do you want to be erased along with them!?"
"Ichigo! Rescue Captain Hitsugaya and get out of there! We don't have a second to lose!"
Amidst the shouting match, Ichigo bit his lip and looked back at Toshiro. The poor boy was still staring blankly, cradling the girl who had become a monster, unable to save her.
He had failed at the Hill of Sokyoku. He had failed in the World of the Living. And he was failing now.
But...
"Not yet. It's not over yet!"
Ichigo flew back to Toshiro's side. Not to take him away, as Komamura suggested—that wouldn't save either of them. Instead, Ichigo pulled back his head.
He needed to see that look in the genius boy's eyes again—the one that swore to save her.
"THWACK!!"
"GAH—!? ...What!?"
"You damn idiot!!" Ichigo yelled, having delivered a full-force headbutt to wake the boy up. He grabbed Toshiro by the collar, shouting a sermon that only he could give.
To Toshiro, lost in the void, those words were more precious than any law or logic.
"YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE SUFFERING! HINAMORI IS CRYING, TOO!!"
The moment Ichigo screamed those words, Toshiro's tears finally stopped.
"It's not just you! She was lied to! Betrayed! Forced to fight her own friends! She's been through hell over and over, and now she's turned into... this! If you'd just listen to her screams, you'd know she's in pain!!"
"Ah... h..."
"And yet you're just going to sit here and stay broken!? Are you only capable of shaking like a coward!?"
Ichigo poured his soul into his next words.
"THE GIRL YOU LOVE IS CRYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, TOSHIRO!?"
The roar shook Toshiro's very soul. It was as if his world had been flipped right-side up again, pulling him out of the bottomless darkness. In the midst of the confusion, he finally recovered something.
"I... I..."
The weak boy was still afraid to look for the hope that had betrayed him so many times. But then, a wave of intense heat washed over them.
"Wh-what's that?"
"Tch! They're doing it anyway!"
Ichigo let go of Toshiro to protect him, moving to intercept the Captains who were trying to attack the monster. Ichigo fought them off, parrying Soi Fon's strikes and blocking Komamura's giant blade.
He was fighting to protect Toshiro. To protect Hinamori.
"What are you doing, Toshiro!?" Ichigo's voice boomed. "If you're awake, then save her! You're the only one who can!"
"The only... one..."
"Can't you hear her? She's calling for you! Why won't you answer her!?"
Hear her? Calling for me? Answer her? Toshiro's face twisted in agony. Time and again, he had failed to hear her heart. He had hurt her, betrayed her expectations, and failed her. After everything she had been put through—after losing her very humanity—how could she possibly want him? Even if she did, how could he possibly answer?
"SCREAM!!"
Toshiro's frozen heart vibrated at Ichigo's command.
"Hearts and souls are connected, aren't they!? Then—"
Ichigo turned back to the boy, a flash of memory in his eyes.
"Scream! Scream her name! Scream it loud enough for her soul—the soul inside this monster—to hear you!"
"Her... soul..."
It was childish. Abstract. There was no proof, no logic. It was just a stupid Ichigo Kurosaki sentiment.
But a heat began to boil in Toshiro's chest. It forced his dead heart to beat once more.
"Hi... na... mori..."
Toshiro called out tentatively to the girl screaming in his arms.
『—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH—』
There was no answer. Only the tragic, soaring hymn of the monster. But the heat in his chest wouldn't let him give up.
"Hinamori...!"
A second time. A third. Every time he called her name, his voice grew louder. His feelings and his strength began to overflow. He needed her to hear him.
"Hinamori...!!"
Finally, carrying a hundred years of shared memories and a love so powerful it defied words, Toshiro Hitsugaya roared from the bottom of his soul.
"HINAMORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!"
The desperate scream echoed across the battlefield.
It was a cry pulled from a scorched throat and lungs that had nothing left to give. It was the absolute effort of a boy who still loved her, no matter what kind of monster she had become. It was a voice that should have been lost to the void of a creature that had forgotten its own name.
But then.
『—...AH!?』
The monster's roar cut off abruptly.
***
The monstrosity became as still as a statue. The rumbling earth and the raging Spiritual Pressure fell silent. A stillness took hold, as if time itself had stopped.
In that hollow silence, Toshiro noticed a change in the air.
Light.
Particles of pale light were rising from the ground, drifting around Hinamori's massive form.
As if guided by the rising light, a single, translucent white figure appeared before Toshiro.
"Ah..."
It was a girl. One of the countless clones that had grown from Hinamori's back like the roots of a tree. She was a figure of pale peach-colored light.
Toshiro's eyes were blurred with tears, but he could see her face. From the curve of her eyes and her mouth, he knew she was smiling.
One by one, more clones followed. They turned into translucent light, separating from the massive creature and floating into the sky, each wearing the same peaceful smile.
"Hina... mori..."
He didn't know why he said it. These were parts of the monster that had defiled her, yet he felt that each of them loved him just as much as she did.
When the last of the countless clones had left the creature's body, Toshiro realized that the girl in his arms had returned to her original form.
"Hina... mori...?"
His voice trembled. He checked her back and her chest. The fatal wound Aizen had inflicted was gone. There was no blood, no torn clothing—it was her, perfect and whole, lying in his arms.
He felt it. Her spiritual pulse.
It was slow and rhythmic. Massive and deep. But it was definitely the heartbeat of a soul.
"Hinamori! Hinamori! HINAMORIIII!!"
She was here.
Momo was here.
His Momo.
His Momo alone!
"She's... alive..."
As the words left his lips, Toshiro's vision blurred again. Tears of pure, unadulterated joy overflowed from his eyes.
"HINAMORI! HINAMORIIIIII!"
It was a miracle. The girl who had been cursed by the world had finally found a hope that would never betray her.
A series of short, high-pitched sounds filled the air. Toshiro looked up, his eyes widening in awe.
The clones—those figures of pale pink light—were rising into the clouds. Surrounded by sparkling particles, they looked divine.
Toshiro had no words for it. These girls were dissolving into spirit particles, scattering like petals in the wind, all while smiling with total fulfillment.
Like celestial maidens flapping their wings as they departed. Like the children of man being called to the heavens. It was a scene of staggering beauty, like the gospel of a god depicted in an ancient play.
"A blessing...?"
"So beautiful..."
Friend and foe alike lowered their swords, captivated by the dance in the sky. They were lost in a world of light and fantasy.
"Can you see it, Momo...?"
Toshiro whispered to the girl in his arms, still enchanted by the sight. He had finally brought back the person he loved most in the world. He spoke with a voice full of love and affection.
Someone had called it a "blessing." But Toshiro watched the departing maidens with a hint of sadness. The poor monster that had done nothing but scream had recovered its heart because of his voice. Freed from Aizen's curse, they had smiled at him before leaving. They were thanking him.
Because if it were the Momo Hinamori he knew, that is exactly what she would have done.
"Goodbye."
Toshiro channeled the last of his strength into his blade, sending countless ice petals into the sky as a gift to the departing spirits. A Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto is a blade of salvation that washes away the sins of the dead. This was a Soul Burial—an offering of ice using his control over the heavens.
He prayed that it would be a fitting parting gift for the tragic children of destiny.
Slowly, his vision began to fade. The exhaustion was finally pulling him into the darkness of sleep.
But Toshiro was no longer afraid of the dark.
"Momo..."
Because she was here.
The girl in his arms.
The love he had finally reclaimed.
She would always be the one to sweep away the darkness in his heart.
***
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