At last in the World of the Living, after Kisuke picked a hideout and tinkered around with a chorus of clanks, Shuuichi—who had dropped Dual Bankai but was still holding Bankai (Final Release)—followed Yoruichi inside.
From the outside, it was just a nondescript shack. But once the door down to the "basement" opened, a cavern tens of thousands of cubic meters stretched below.
"Soul Society has tech like this?"
Standing on the open floor, Shuuichi crouched and set the exhausted, unconscious Kisaragi Shūsuke down. He pressed a palm to the "earth" and found it was only a simulated surface.
"Strictly speaking, it is Soul Society tech—just not from our side. From the other," Kisuke said, strolling in behind him with Tessai and the still-Hollowfied Shinji's group in tow.
Rangiku came in last.
"West Administration?"
Shuuichi hadn't forgotten. Back then, the West Administration's Development Team Captain, Kapu Holmes, had been the push that made him choose Hell.
"Remember the trophy you 'salvaged' from the battlefield—the one you brought back from Mayuri a month ago? This space tech is reverse-engineered from that jewel," Kisuke said, almost disarmingly frank.
"I see."
When he'd taken the jewel from Mayuri, Mayuri had mentioned it could open pocket dimensions. Shuuichi hadn't expected Kisuke to back-solve the underlying engineering in just a few years.
No wonder Mayuri looked so sour when he handed it back; clearly his progress lagged behind Kisuke's.
"So—what now, Kisuke?"
Yoruichi's eyes moved over the floor of the cavern, taking in all the Shinigami lying there—Hollowfied, their fates unknown. Her worry showed; after tonight, they'd burned their bridge to Soul Society.
"First, we hunker down and see if we can bring Shinji's group back—and, if possible, help them master the Hollows inside. Then, at least we can prove Hollowfication's controllable.
After that… we find leverage on Aizen."
He stopped there. The rest wasn't for an "outsider" like Shuuichi. Of everyone present, probably only Yoruichi would hear all of it.
"So—you're saying you can help us control Hollowfication? Without borrowing the Zanpakutō stuck in me now?"
Shuuichi asked what his current "role" should ask, though he knew the answer.
"Barring surprises, yes."
The more he used the Hōgyoku (Breakdown Sphere) to stabilize Shinji's group, the more certain Kisuke became: if Aizen had managed this, he had a Hōgyoku too. If Aizen could do it with one, Kisuke could counter with the other.
"Then I'm in your hands."
Relief finally cracked Shuuichi's voice. He was at his limit.
He released Bankai.
A tidal fatigue rushed his brain. The body that had looked pristine a moment ago came apart, blood sheeting from everywhere.
Weightless weakness—he could barely feel his limbs—
Until Rangiku scooped him up.
"Shuuichi-sama…"
Her eyes were wet and frantic. It was the first time she'd seen him this broken. It hurt to look.
Kisuke had told her the whole plan, so she knew what he'd faced alone: a storm of captain-class enemies.
Isolated. Outnumbered.
He'd laughed it off earlier—"If I live, it's a win."
"Right… one more question—controlling Hollowfication… does my body… have to be intact?"
The words came ragged.
Yoruichi's brow pinched. "Shuuichi, you aren't thinking—"
Kisuke caught it too; his look for the wrecked but resplendent man gained a shade of respect. "No. It doesn't."
"Then…" Shuuichi tried to smile, but couldn't—talking was all he had left. "Rangiku… pull the Seyabasa from my chest…"
Rangiku's eyes blew wide; she shook her head hard. Since Kisuke had brought her into the plan, she wasn't the clueless Rangiku from before. She knew what Seyabasa meant now.
It kept Shuuichi from slipping deeper into Hollowfication. So long as it stayed lodged there, he wouldn't suffer what Shinji's group had.
"Shuuichi-sama, there's no need to risk this! When Kensei and the others recover, then we can decide—there's no rush!"
She clutched him tighter, not even noticing the pearls sliding from her lashes.
But Shuuichi was unmoved. "Time's time, Rangiku. And I trust Kisuke—if he says he can, he can…"
Their breaths filled the silence.
Shuuichi knew the story. Kisuke wasn't lying; with the Hōgyoku, Kisuke could save both him and Shinji's group.
Saying it this way let Shuuichi snap a moral shackle around him.
Look—I'm trusting you. If you cut me open while I'm out, what kind of man are you?
To a man like Kisuke, that might not mean much. But he did have a soft spot.
Truthfully, the line was meant for Yoruichi. Kisuke might shrug off "ethics," but they still had a certain sway over Yoruichi.
"Rest easy, Shuuichi-kun. You bled for our escape; from here, leave it to me and Kisuke.
Believe me—when you wake up, it'll be better."
Right on cue, Yoruichi answered with conviction.
Kisuke nodded along. "Mm. Shuuichi—leave the rest to us."
"And me—Shuuichi-sama, don't worry. I'll take care of you!"
With Yoruichi and Kisuke on board, Rangiku stopped resisting and made her own promise.
Only Tessai stood a little apart, awkward as a guest at a family talk; he and Shuuichi weren't close.
With those promises, the last stone dropped from Shuuichi's chest.
His biggest fear was Kisuke "making the most of it" while he was comatose—cut here, probe there, for science.
He'd even swung by his secret room on the way out of Soul Society to retrieve the Bakkōtō Raika (Thunderfire) and hand it to Rangiku for safekeeping. Without Yoruichi's vow, he'd never have dared to close his eyes; Rangiku didn't have the wits or the strength to outplay Kisuke.
At last, Rangiku's hands—shaky but determined—drew Seyabasa from his chest.
In a heartbeat, the flood returned—bottomless negativity, feral force—swallowing him whole. In his total exhaustion he had no strength to resist.
Kisuke, unhurried, lifted his Hōgyoku and knelt by Shuuichi—soothing the ravenous Hollow power that wanted out but found a host too drained to give it.
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