Kyōraku Shunsui said faintly:
"Mayuri was originally imprisoned in the Maggot's Nest for committing serious crimes. The criminals held there are all extremely dangerous individuals. It was Urahara Kisuke who saw value in Nemu's abilities and pulled him out..."
"At the beginning, while Urahara Kisuke remained in Soul Society, mayuri was relatively restrained..."
"Later, after Urahara Kisuke left Soul Society, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi was promoted to captain, he became increasingly reckless. It became routine for him to force parents to burn their children alive..."
"Even members of the 12th Division could casually be sacrificed, turned into human bombs for his experiments..."
"It can be said that Mayuri is someone who will do anything to achieve his goals."
"If Kisuke Urahara had remained captain of the 12th Division, he probably would not have committed so much inhumane cruelty."
Yuta took a sip of wine and recited:
"The rolling waters of the Yangtze River flow eastward, sweeping away heroes. Right and wrong, success and failure fade like empty talk. The green mountains remain as countless sunsets pass. The white-haired fisherman and woodcutter by the river are used to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze. Over a pot of wine, they greet each other with joy. So much of ancient and modern history-discussed with a laugh."
"...But it's just the captain of the 12th Division. Why worry that no one else can serve as captain?"
When Kyōraku Shunsui heard this, his body stiffened slightly.
He raised his cup and looked directly at Yuta.
"It's my shortsightedness. I will punish myself with three drinks."
"So then, what do you think of what I've just said?"
Kyōraku Shunsui toyed with the sake cup in his hand, his rough fingers sliding across its smooth surface.
"Let me think about it."
"Alright."
With the sound of a chair scraping the floor, Yuta rose and walked out, returning later to the mansion on the hillside near the Ghost Master.
Matsumoto Rangiku and Kuchiki Rukia had already woken and dinner had been prepared.
After the meal, Yuta sat on the balcony, drinking tea while overlooking Seireitei from afar.
Kuchiki Rukia knelt opposite him. Her small frame was poised as she carefully picked up the teaware with slender fingers, pouring tea for Yuta with quiet precision.
Her voice was calm as she asked:
"Are you troubled by something?"
Yuta remained silent, though his eyes did not leave the city below. Rukia still sensed it clearly. She had always been sharp when it came to the emotions hidden within another's heart.
The tea she poured was refreshing and subdued. After drinking it, Yuta's restless thoughts eased slightly.
Rukia shifted gracefully across the mat and moved behind Yuta. Kneeling, she placed her hands on his shoulders and applied steady pressure.
"Look at you-you've worked yourself to the point that your muscles are all stiff."
She kneaded gently but firmly, her voice carrying mild reproach.
Gradually Yuta relaxed against her touch, his gaze lifting toward the pale moon.
"What would you think... if one day I had to do something beyond reason?"
Rukia leaned closer, pressing lightly against his back, her chin resting near his shoulder as she wrapped her arms softly at his waist.
"No matter what you decide to do, I'll support you. So don't worry about us. Just move forward as you see fit. I believe Rangiku feels the same... because I trust you completely."
Her hair slid against his cheek, carrying a faint fragrance that lingered in the air.
Later that night, Yuta opened his diary and wrote:
"June 16, 2001, clear skies."
"Killed Mayuri and Yammy today."
"Mayuri manipulated Ishida Sōken and turned subordinates into suicide bombs. With no humanity left in him, he was destroyed."
"Yammy devoured humans in this world, wasting their lives. He was cut down and cleansed of his sins."
"If I want to change the corruption of this world, I cannot do it with hesitation."
"To face darkness, I must answer with fire."
…
Closing the diary, Yuta let out a long breath before standing at the balcony railing, gazing into the city lights below as the night breeze stirred quietly.
Faced with the corruption in Soul Society, one could choose to drown it in alcohol like Kyōraku Shunsui, ignoring the world.
One could choose to follow Aizen Sōsuke and overturn everything, indifferent to the lives destroyed in the process.
One could choose to be like Yhwach and kill the Soul King, forcing the unification of the realms.
One could choose to be like Urahara Kisuke, satisfied with the world's rot as it was.
But to seek change meant a path of hardship.
Though Yuta did not yet know where this road would lead, he knew that he could act freely-without the need to posture as righteous, and without being bound by morality.
He would kill when he chose to kill, destroy when he chose to destroy, so long as his conscience guided him.
…
June 15, 2007.
First Division assembly.
This meeting centered on Yuta's slaying of Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
"What do you make of this?" Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni asked, his cane striking the ground with heavy force.
Yuta stood in the center of the captains, his expression unchanged, calm as though listening to a breeze pass by.
Ukitake Jūshirō spoke:
"Though Mayuri is dead, the reasons are not without merit. I have heard from Shunsui of his acts. His experiments were cruel beyond reason. He is indeed unfit to serve as captain of the 12th Division. Perhaps letting him rot in the Maggot's Nest until death would have been his most fitting end."
Kyōraku Shunsui's tone was steady as he added:
"If Yuta is to be punished, then what explanation will we give to the families of the 12th Division members who were killed as experiments? No one in the Gotei 13 objects to dying in service to the Gotei. But those deaths should come at the hands of our enemies-not at the hands of one of our own."
Yamamoto Genryūsai turned to Nemu Kurotsuchi.
"As the lieutenant of the 12th Division, do you have anything to say?"
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