Inoue Orihime followed behind Aizen Sōsuke. She didn't know where Aizen intended to take her, nor did she understand what he wanted her to do.
Soon, the two arrived at a room inside Las Noches.
At the entrance stood two petite girls. One had black hair styled in twin ponytails and wore black boots-her name was Loly Aivirrne. The other had short blonde hair and wore the white uniform of Las Noches-her name was Menoly Mallia.
When the two saw Aizen, their eyes brightened.
"Lord Aizen, you're back!" they said together as they opened the door for him.
The room beyond was simple. Aside from a single seat, the space was empty. The walls and floor were bare, with no bed, table, chair, nor even tea utensils-there was nothing to suggest the occupant cared for comfort.
Once they had entered, Aizen turned to Loly and Menoly.
"You two wait outside."
The girls bowed and left the room without hesitation.
Afterward, Aizen set his hand upon one of the square tiles laid into the floor. One of the bricks held a faint circular swell on its surface. The circle rose gradually until it formed a cylinder.
The floor tiles in that room were identical, such that no ordinary person would ever recognize the hidden mechanism beneath one brick.
The cylinder unfolded bit by bit, its layered panels separating until at last a transparent frame was revealed-a black sphere floated within it.
The Hōgyoku.
The instant she saw it, Inoue Orihime stiffened and her hands balled into fists.
Her heart pounded at the sight.
When she felt the immense power radiating from the Hōgyoku, she finally understood why it was considered so dangerous.
"You should have guessed by now," Aizen said as his calm gaze turned on her. "I require your power to return the Hōgyoku to its complete state."
"It seems I relied on it too heavily before it fully awakened. Its strength is necessary for the creation of Arrancar, and I have made use of it often."
He regarded the sphere without emotion.
"As a result, the Hōgyoku has shown signs of weakness."
His eyes flickered back to Orihime.
"So I will have you restore it to its original perfection."
Then, in the same composed tone as before, he added, "If you refuse, I will simply kill you."
He said this without the slightest change in expression, as though her life meant nothing and her ability was only a tool.
Orihime did not argue. She silently summoned her power and focused it on the Hōgyoku, casting her technique to mend its fractures.
When the process ended and the sphere stabilized, Aizen's eyes softened slightly.
"Very good." He nodded, clearly satisfied. His voice carried a faint trace of amusement as he asked, "Do you believe someone will come to save you?"
Orihime lowered her head, offering no response.
"Then let me rephrase," he continued. "Do you consider yourself aligned with humans, with the Shinigami, perhaps even with the Hollows?"
When she refused to reply a second time, he ended the exchange with a dismissive gesture.
"Since you won't speak, I won't press the matter further."
He opened the door, revealing Ulquiorra Cifer waiting silently outside.
"Ulquiorra, return her to her quarters."
"Yes, Lord Aizen."
...
The white room Orihime was led into was as barren as Hueco Mundo itself. The emptiness of the desert was mirrored here, with only a sofa and a carpet to break the monotony.
Orihime knelt quietly on the carpet, staring out the tall window while her hands rested against her stomach. Hunger nagged at her-no food nor water was present.
But the reishi in the air was dense. She felt she could endure for a time by breathing it in.
Still, Aizen's words lingered in her thoughts.
Would anyone come to save her?
Could they?
She wrapped her arms tighter against herself as doubt settled in.
...
Rukongai.
Kuchiki Rukia, Matsumoto Rangiku, and Shihōin Yoruichi stood before Yuta.
When Yoruichi learned Yuta intended to train Rukia and Rangiku in the foundations of Bankai, she shifted into her cat form, leapt onto his shoulder, rubbed her head against his cheek, and insisted on joining as well.
So Yuta allowed her to come along.
"Next, I will teach you how to train for Bankai," Yuta said as his gaze swept over the three.
Rukia Kuchiki.
Matsumoto Rangiku.
And Yoruichi-who now returned to her human form before them, her body clad in clothes shaped from Yuta's reishi to cover her otherwise bare form.
"Begin."
...
"With stone in the right hand to maintain the boundary, with blade in the left to confine reality... let the black-haired shepherd bind the chair and summon the clouds-to strike the bird in flight!"
Urahara Kisuke traced his hand in the air and a Garganta opened, swallowing Kurosaki Ichigo, Ishida Uryū, and Chad Yasutora as he sent them into Hueco Mundo.
...
In Rukongai's outer districts, Nemu Kurotsuchi approached Yuta quickly.
"Lord Yuta…"
"You don't need to explain," he interrupted. "I already know. Come with me."
He led her to an area in Rukongai where a massive construction site sprawled-the incomplete replica of Karakura Town.
Nemu had hurried here because time was short and the Soul Society's plans needed to proceed without delay.
On the other side of the site, a communication screen flickered to life. Urahara Kisuke's image appeared, his usual composure troubled.
"Oh my... the boundary-transmutation pillars are already complete…" he muttered.
With a slight motion of his hand, Yuta activated his own ability-materialization of imagination.
In an instant, the incomplete replica of Karakura Town assembled fully into perfection before their eyes.
Kisuke fell silent at the sight, his fan lowering as his eyes hardened.
"You… have you analyzed the Hōgyoku?"
Yuta gave no answer. Instead, he opened a Garganta before him. As he prepared to step through, Rukia, Rangiku, and Yoruichi appeared behind him.
Though dust clung to their clothing, their expressions radiated confidence.
"We will come with you," Rukia declared.
Yuta's eyes shifted toward them.
"It seems you've completed your training."
"Thanks to my dear teacher," Rangiku said with a light smile before kissing Yuta on the cheek.
Rukia approached more quietly. Standing on her toes, she brushed her lips gently against his in a wordless acknowledgment.
Yoruichi simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly against him without speaking further.
Yuta turned and walked into the Garganta with the three at his side, leaving Nemu behind to oversee duties within the Twelfth Division under his orders.
...
Hueco Mundo.
Sand stretched endlessly across the landscape.
Upon arrival, Rukia stretched her arms lightly and glanced upward. The scarf at her neck stirred faintly in the heavy reishi of that world.
"The concentration of spirit particles here is even higher than in Soul Society," she murmured.
Before conversation could continue, Yuta stepped forward and raised his hand.
"Step back," he ordered.
He drew a blade that shifted form into the shape of a Quincy bow. Pulling it taut, he summoned spiritual energy into its string.
The air shuddered violently as dozens of arrows, each stretching over a thousand meters long, condensed in the void before launching outward.
Their trajectory was set directly at Las Noches.
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