"What?"
"The Hōgyoku is actually inside my body?"
Kuchiki Rukia looked shocked. She stretched out her hands in disbelief as the rain struck her palms, streaming down her smooth skin and sliding away with the water's flow.
For someone as ordinary as her to carry the Hōgyoku-it was unimaginable. No one would have expected it.
Even Rukia herself struggled to believe it. She had lived without displaying anything unusual, and now, to learn that this thing was hidden inside her felt surreal.
"How... how do you take out the Hōgyoku?"
"It's simple," Yuta answered, "but the process might not be easy for you."
"Go ahead. I'm not afraid of pain."
Rukia opened her arms slightly, stepping back just enough to bare her chest without hesitation, silently indicating that Yuta could begin. Her dark eyes reflected the dim sky but remained fixed on him without fear. Even knowing the procedure would involve reaching into her soul, she showed no hesitation-her faint smile was filled with trust.
She believed Yuta would not hurt her. That belief made her surrender everything without reservation.
Yuta raised his right hand as spiritual power gathered in his palm.
Suddenly, between the two of them, a magic circle spread outward on the ground. Six pillars of spiritual power rose from the hexagonal points surrounding them.
Spiritual energy coated Yuta's hand in layers of light as he slowly reached toward Rukia's chest.
As he moved closer, lightning-like streaks of energy danced through the circle, casting illumination across her face. Rukia's eyes gently closed as she waited with calm resolve. When his hand finally reached her chest, the surface reacted-not as solid spirit matter, but as if it were liquid-rippling gently as his touch passed through it.
His hand entered without resistance, and from within her soul, he retrieved the Hōgyoku-a black, mottled orb suspended in transparent casing, wrapped in faint light. Its surface looked infinite, resembling the dark sky of deep space.
As it emerged, it pulsed with strange energy.
It gave the impression that it could evolve endlessly or realize any desire-but its glow flickered, unstable, and clearly incomplete.
Rukia gasped softly as Yuta's hand passed into her chest. Her face flushed lightly, and her breath trembled. "Uh-huh…"
When Yuta withdrew his hand, the entry point slowly began to close. Rukia's energy seemed drained; her body collapsed gently into Yuta's arms, her strength failing her momentarily.
As she took deep breaths and slowly recovered, she remained resting against him. Her hands lightly gripped his clothes, wrinkling the fabric. Her ear rested against his chest, close enough to hear his heartbeat clearly, while her eyes stared at the Hōgyoku in Yuta's hand.
"So this is the Hōgyoku?" she asked softly, her tone laced with curiosity. "Such a small thing has the power to break the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow?"
Yuta looked at the object glowing faintly above his hand. In its light, Rukia's face looked peaceful, resting against him.
Though he had known of its existence for some time, this was his first time seeing it up close. And the moment he laid eyes on it, the world around him changed.
Within the Hōgyoku's glow, Yuta saw not just its form-but its components, its structure, and even fragments of its origin. It was as if the object peeled itself open before him, layer by layer, showing him its entire truth at once.
In that instant-or perhaps over what felt like years-he absorbed every detail. A flicker of knowing crossed his expression as he spoke under his breath:
"So this... is the Hōgyoku?"
Satisfied with what he had discovered, Yuta stored it away and turned to Rukia. "Let's return to Soul Society and meet Aizen Sōsuke."
He unsheathed his Zanpakutō, slicing through the space before them and opening the path through the void.
Lifting Rukia in his left arm and placing Yoruichi Shihoin over his shoulder, Yuta stepped into the portal.
They crossed the barrier and emerged within Soul Society-some distance from the main districts. The area resembled the outskirts: rivers ran calmly nearby, trees bent with the breeze, and wooden buildings marked practice fields and small pavilions along the water's edge.
Kuchiki Rukia's eyes lit up when she looked around. "We're near the Thirteenth Division."
She turned to Yuta with hope in her tone. "Do you want to come with me?"
Yuta shook his head. "You go first. I have somewhere else to be."
"Oh… then be careful." Rukia watched him closely, hesitating. She took one small step forward-then stopped again.
"What is it?" Yuta asked her gently.
Without answering, Rukia rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek.
"… Thank you."
It was brief. Gentle.
Her lips brushed his skin with cool softness before she pulled away quickly. Her face turned bright red-even the tips of her ears colored with warmth-and she fled without meeting his eyes again.
Shihoin Yoruichi, standing nearby in her feline form, observed it with her amber eyes and gave the faintest chuckle. "Didn't think you were that popular with girls."
Yuta glanced after Rukia, then simply smiled.
He reached down and ran his hand along Yoruichi's head.
Her ears perked at the touch, and her body leaned slightly into his palm as they turned and headed toward the Great Spirit Library Annex-the place where Central 46 awaited.
Yuta's thoughts were already on the Kido beyond number ninety.
Those Kidō spells were undeniably powerful and appeared to belong to the category of forbidden techniques-skills that most high-ranking soul reapers weren't even eligible to study.
Yuta soon arrived outside the Central 46 Chambers.
Two guards from the Secret Mobile Corps stood at the entrance, motionless. It was unclear how many reinforcements might have been posted in the surrounding shadows.
Rain had begun to fall harder now. What started as light drizzle had grown into moderate rain. The streets were empty; under the veil of the rainy night, it seemed the whole world was resting-but not Yuta.
He stopped walking abruptly, sensing the disturbance ahead before him.
His straw sandals splashed into shallow rainwater, ripples spreading with each step. Lightning cleaved the sky in half-and in that instant, Aizen Sōsuke's spiritual pressure became unmistakable to Yuta. Even if others couldn't perceive it clearly due to the influence of Kyōka Suigetsu, Yuta saw through it without effort.
Room 46 appeared to have already been eliminated.
Despite this, Yuta's expression remained unchanged. A faint, unreadable smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
It seemed the day Aizen Sōsuke would slick his hair back had finally arrived.
"Yoruichi. Step back."
Yoruichi tilted her head slightly and looked toward the Central 46 Chambers. In another time-before leaving the Gotei 13-she might have led Yuta inside herself. Now that she was branded a defector, setting foot in front of Room 46 could result in her arrest, even if she had once been the Commander of the Secret Mobile Corps.
"…Where I'm about to go, it's better if you stay out of it."
Yoruichi held his gaze for a long moment, said nothing, then leapt from his shoulder to perch atop the nearest roof. Her golden eyes followed Yuta as he approached the central building.
When he reached the entrance, the two guards made no effort to stop him. They moved aside and opened the doors without question-an unnatural gesture that hinted they'd already been compromised.
Yoruichi narrowed her eyes but didn't interfere as the doors closed behind Yuta.
Rain continued to fall steadily. She sat crouched beneath its rhythm, silently watching and waiting for Yuta's return.
Inside the chamber, slow footsteps echoed on stone as Yuta walked forward without hesitation.
Room 46 had become unrecognizable.
Blood pooled across the floor-the corpses of the Central 46 lay scattered, their life drained not long ago. The scent of iron and death hung over everything, and the chamber no longer resembled the Soul Society's highest judicial authority. It felt instead like the aftermath of carnage in some forgotten battlefield.
At the center of it sat Aizen Sōsuke, relaxed in the seat once reserved for the head of Room 46. Behind him stood Kaname Tōsen, hand resting on the hilt of his sword, body tense at Yuta's approach.
"You're finally here… Yuta," Aizen greeted calmly. "I've been waiting for you… for quite some time."
There was no surprise in his tone, only certainty. He had likely sensed Yuta's immense spiritual pressure from the moment he entered Seireitei.
Tōsen's posture remained rigid. Though blind, he could sense the dense spiritual energy coiling around Yuta's dual Zanpakutō-one associated with "absolute cutting," and the other carrying the destruction said to belong to Quincy soul manipulation. He clenched the hilt of his own weapon, the relic of Uta Kuang, now infused with spiritual pressure tailored to his own soul after inheriting it.
Yuta remained silent, his expression unreadable. Aizen's glasses reflected lightning from outside as he raised one palm to calm Tōsen.
"Don't be so tense, Tōsen," Aizen said. "Perhaps Yuta isn't our enemy... but someone who understands us."
His words were smooth and measured, as though nothing that had occurred thus far was beyond his control.
"Tch… Your Kyōka Suigetsu really is convenient," Yuta remarked, clapping his hands slowly. "Slaughtered the Central 46 without resistance and now you're sitting here like nothing happened. No one's even noticed."
"Yes…" Aizen smiled faintly. "And you... your two swords. One has the ability of 'absolute cutting,' and the other... tied to the Quincy's 'destruction of the soul,' correct?"
"Even possessing one of the two would be enough to stand above most," he continued. "To wield both-to harmonize them within your own body-means you've found balance between Shinigami and Quincy powers. You've surpassed death's boundary itself… terrifying potential indeed."
Tōsen tightened his grip unconsciously. To him, Yuta's strength wasn't built on Hōgyoku's power the way Aizen's plans were. Yuta had crossed into forbidden realms through his own will and ability-without support, without sacrifices, and without Hōgyoku. That fact alone made him dangerous in ways even they hadn't fully accounted for.
Yet another detail unsettled Aizen privately-Yuta's very existence wasn't recorded in the Great Spirit Book Corridor. A complete blank. That archive held records of nearly every spirit that had passed through the Soul Society since its inception. To find no trace of Yuta there suggested only one thing:
Yuta might have already transcended the very plane that bound the Soul Society itself.
"Yuta," Aizen said calmly, rising from his seat at last, "I've long wanted to speak with you."
"Perhaps you're the only one who truly understands what it means to look beyond what we've been given."
"If you're willing to join me-we would be unmatched in this world."
His arms opened slowly, as though welcoming the sky itself. Hair tousled by the wind drawn in through the high windows, he stood before Yuta with arrogant confidence.
"This decaying world has lasted long enough. It's time someone initiated true change." Thunder cracked overhead-and then the rain poured in earnest.
PS GOALS: 150 PS= 5-10 extra chapter on an update.
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