Raizen Kō extended his tail into the hollow and drew out two objects.
The first was a pure black Shinigami uniform, tattered and dust-coated, yet unmistakable in its form.
The second was a sheathed katana, its blade riddled with nicks and scars.
"…A Shihakushō," Raizen Kō muttered softly.
"And… an Asauchi."
He held the small Zanpakutō in the palm of his enormous claw, easily sensing that the strange Reiatsu he had detected earlier originated from this blade.
Compared to Raizen Kō's colossal body, the Zanpakutō was no more than a toothpick.
For a time, he idly turned the nicked Asauchi in his grasp, just as he once played with figurines in his former life, studying it with curiosity rather than reverence.
Then a thought struck him.
"…Can I use this?"
Tentatively, Raizen Kō channeled his Reiatsu into the blade.
Wisps of dark-golden spiritual pressure flowed slowly from his palm into the Asauchi.
The moment his Reiatsu made contact with the residual spirit within the blade
Fragments of memory surged violently into his mind, like a shattered film reel snapping back into motion.
A tall, purple-haired man stood proudly within the Forest of Menos, gripping a pitch-black spear.
His posture was upright.
His eyes burned with ferocity.
Groups of Hollows charged him relentlessly.
Yet each sweep of his spear carried terrifying force
every thrust felling a Gillian in a single strike.
His name was Itō Kai.
Once, he had been nothing more than a vagrant from District 77 of West Rukongai.
In that lawless district, where order barely existed and hunger was a constant companion, survival meant theft, violence, and cunning. Itō Kai wandered Rukongai for years, relying on his fists and long arms to live another day.
As he grew, his physique became imposing his reach longer than most men, his strength unmatched among street fighters.
The thugs of District 77 gave him a name:
The Long-Armed Ape.
Everything changed the day Hollows descended upon Rukongai.
The Gotei Thirteen responded swiftly.
And that was when Itō Kai first saw her.
A woman like a blazing sun.
Her name was Kasumioji Hikari, a noble-born Shinigami of the Kasumioji Clan, then serving as the Thirteenth Seat of the Eleventh Division.
She cut down Hollows with brutal elegance and saved Itō Kai from the jaws of death.
Dazed, bleeding, and half in awe, he actually dared to step forward and flirt with her.
The result was immediate.
"Bakudō #1 Sai."
With a single incantation, Kasumioji Hikari bound his arms and legs in invisible restraints, freezing him in place.
The accompanying Shinigami, enraged by his insolence toward a noble, were ready to execute him
But Hikari stopped them.
Her voice was calm. Her eyes unwavering.
"My name is Kasumioji Hikari. I only respect the strong.
If you truly admire me… then become stronger.
And if one day you can defeat me then we'll speak again."
Those words carved themselves into Itō Kai's soul.
From that day forward, he knew:
Only a Shinigami could defeat a Shinigami.
The carefree vagrant entered the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts.
He passed on his first attempt.
Years later, he graduated and chose the Eleventh Division where Hikari fought.
Decades passed.
The nameless commoner rose through blood and battle.
Itō Kai became the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division, a berserker among berserkers.
His strength eventually surpassed Kasumioji Hikari's.
They fought side by side.
And in time, they fell in love.
The Kasumioji Clan witnessed Itō Kai's talent and allowed their union
on one condition:
He must become a Vice-Captain.
Only then would their marriage be sanctioned.
Everything seemed within reach.
Until one day
Kasumioji Hikari vanished.
Without farewell, she joined a Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force assigned to exterminate Menos Grande.
For a noblewoman, even one of a branch family, such an assignment made no sense.
Itō Kai demanded answers from the Kasumioji Clan.
They gave none.
Powerless as a commoner, he resigned his seat and joined the next expedition into Hueco Mundo himself, hoping to find her.
Instead
Spatial distortion flung his unit directly into the Forest of Menos.
Encircled by Hollows, his comrades were slaughtered.
Only Itō Kai survived.
For years, he hunted Hollows in the forest, searching for Kasumioji Hikari.
He found only death.
Until two Adjuchas took notice of him.
They descended with an army of Gillians.
Yet Itō Kai broke through their encirclement alone.
Grievously wounded, he still fought both Adjuchas
And perished alongside them.
The final memory surged through Raizen Kō's mind:
"Fight to the death… Kamikazemaru!"
The Asauchi in Itō Kai's hand transformed into a pitch-black spear.
Gales howled as he charged into the Hollow horde
Unstoppable.
Then
The lingering Reiatsu within the blade dissipated completely.
Raizen Kō exhaled slowly.
"…Brother Kai was a real man," he murmured.
"Just… a pity his mind wasn't as sharp as his blade."
From the memories, Raizen Kō could tell with ease
Kasumioji Hikari's disappearance was tied to the Kasumioji Clan.
Why else would she rush into Hueco Mundo?
And knowing the darker side of Seireitei politics, Raizen Kō felt no surprise.
After all, in history, the Kasumioji Clan had never been free of controversy.
Itō Kai, as a mere Third Seat, had no leverage.
But what if he had become a Vice-Captain?
If that wasn't enough
What about a Captain?
A man wearing a Captain's haori, master of Bankai, would command respect even among the Four Great Noble Houses.
Itō Kai's lifespan had been tragically short for a Shinigami.
Yet he had possessed the potential to stand among the Captains.
That was precisely why the Kasumioji Clan once tolerated his engagement.
Raizen Kō let out a slow sigh.
"Brother Kai… if only you'd waited."
"If it were me, I would've hidden my claws until I was strong enough."
"Then every problem would've vanished with a single strike."
Though standing on opposite sides of life and death
Raizen Kō could not help but feel genuine regret for the fallen Shinigami.
The Forest of Menos remained silent.
Only the whisper of Reishi drifted between the ancient trees.