If Hitsugaya could only slightly restrain the anger rising in his heart over Hinamori right now, he would understand that Kōe's indifference was actually closer to a kind of helplessness—a completely speechless helplessness.
The stars were still the same stars, and the moon was still the same moon. Even with Kōe's unexpected presence in this world, Hitsugaya couldn't escape a single bit of the suffering he was destined to endure.
*As expected of you, Hitsugaya Tōshirō! Could this be an irresistible fate?*
*No, that can't be it.* Kōe thought about it and realized the problem lay with the brat himself; he was far too easily influenced by Hinamori.
Take Aizen's suicide note, for example. He believed in himself, so he doubted the authenticity of the letter. He believed in Hinamori, so he only doubted the latter half of the letter's authenticity.
Hitsugaya's world was too small—so small that it only contained him and Hinamori. With such a narrow field of vision, how could he possibly handle the complexities of the human heart?
*I can only say he deserves to be used by Aizen. Moreover, looking at him, he seems to be quite enjoying it...*
Actually, Hitsugaya had already realized his mistake. However, this mistake wasn't that he doubted Kōe, but that he had actually leaped into the air.
To avoid hurting Hinamori, he never intended to strike her. But now, suspended in mid-air with Hinamori swinging her sword at him once again, he had absolutely nowhere left to dodge.
Silently apologizing in his heart, Hitsugaya delivered a whip kick. Striking later but landing first, his foot connected with Hinamori's neck before she could complete her swing.
This kick was enough to incapacitate her. Although she would be slightly injured, it absolutely wouldn't endanger her life.
"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"
His body couldn't stop trembling. Kira Izuru actually felt cold. Feeling cold on an August night was truly an unbelievable sensation.
Even more unbelievable was the frost-blue giant dragon hovering in mid-air. The chill radiating from its body seemed capable of freezing the very sky.
This was Captain Hitsugaya's Zanpakutō, hailed as the strongest ice-snow type—Hyōrinmaru. It was Kira's first time seeing it with his own eyes. The fact that merely its Shikai could affect the weather was simply terrifying.
Hitsugaya gripped his sword with both hands and slashed through the air. The ice dragon hovering beside him lowered its head, its eyes flashing with a crimson light, and violently dive-bombed toward Kōe and the other two.
"Retreat."
Not knowing who gave the warning, Kira subconsciously followed the voice and quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the terrifying dragon's maw.
Just as Kira was rejoicing in his heart, a rope of light quietly wrapped around his waist, the other end connected to Kōe's hand.
Strictly speaking, the ice dragon created by Hyōrinmaru wasn't made of ice, but water—water that could freeze into ice at any moment. Therefore, its most dangerous aspect wasn't its seemingly fang-filled mouth.
The massive dragon head crashed into the open ground, instantly exploding into a surging tidal wave. The splashing water turned into arrows that were about to pierce Kira in the blink of an eye.
Kōe pulled his left hand back. The short sword at his waist had barely left its sheath before it transformed into a pair of pitch-black gauntlets. He swiped horizontally at the incoming wave, and a wall of ice subsequently materialized, freezing all the incoming water.
"Th-thank you, Mr. Shihouin," Kira panted heavily. Only the puffs of white breath hitting his face gave him a slight feeling of warmth.
If it weren't for Mr. Shihouin, he would definitely be like a bug trapped in amber, sealed in ice and unable to even breathe.
Kōe calmly clenched his fist, and the thin layer of ice on his gauntlet shattered and fell to the ground. "Step back, Kira. Get as far away as you can."
"Attacking a comrade without cause is a grave offense, Tōshirō," Kōe said, his five fingers suddenly hooking like claws as he grabbed the ice wall in front of him.
A cold light flashed, and the towering ice wall collapsed with a crash, revealing Hitsugaya's fury-filled face. "For doing this to Hinamori, you should have died a long time ago, Shihouin Kōe!"
Kōe's mouth curved into a smirk, as if he had just heard a joke. With a grab of his right hand, he forcefully caught Hyōrinmaru barehanded, preventing the blade from advancing even a single inch further.
"I didn't do anything. The reason Hinamori is lying there is entirely thanks to you."
"Bastard!"
Hitsugaya roared, the Hyōrinmaru in his hands glowing with a faint white light. Starting from the palm, Kōe's gauntlet was encased in ice at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. The Hyōrinmaru that had been firmly grasped slid forward, thrusting straight toward his throat.
*He's got some skills. While not quite masterful, Hitsugaya's use of Hyōrinmaru is at least passable.*
*But to declare he's going to kill me with just this level of skill is still too naive!* Kōe slightly tilted his head, dodging Hitsugaya's highly imaginative thrust, and swung his right arm in a wide arc.
Hitsugaya only felt the ground vanish beneath his feet as his entire body flew upward uncontrollably. Immediately after, a tremendous force violently yanked him back down, as if dragging him into an abyss.
The ice shattered and the floorboards splintered, but in Kira's mind, there was only a deafening boom. He was even a little worried that the building beneath their feet would instantly be reduced to rubble by Mr. Shihouin's slam.
*If I were slammed like that, I probably wouldn't be able to stand up, right?* Kira estimated inwardly. *Even if the target is Captain Hitsugaya, it can't feel good, right?*
*If he can't even handle this much of a beating, what kind of captain is he?* Kōe felt the Hyōrinmaru trapped in his right hand twitch violently. *Not only is this brat unfazed by the blow, but he's also still vainly attempting to slash me. He needs to be taught a further lesson!*
Hitsugaya naturally wouldn't back down. At this moment—no, probably ever since Hinamori broke out of prison—he had subconsciously felt that he was invincible.
And as his last shred of rationality was washed away by the desire for revenge, he no longer knew the meaning of retreat. As long as he could kill Kōe and Ichimaru Gin, he didn't care whether he lived or died.
Pulling out Hyōrinmaru was his first priority. Unfortunately, the Hannya that had already bitten into the giant dragon's body didn't seem to have any intention of letting go. It chased after him with even greater speed, declaring that at this moment, *it* was the true owner of Hyōrinmaru.
Hitsugaya tried to get up and retreat, but Kōe was already closing in from a half-crouch. His left hand was tightly clenched, the pitch-black fist continuously filling Hitsugaya's entire field of vision. Just the wind from the punch alone gave off a suffocating feeling.
*I can't dodge it.* Hitsugaya subconsciously pulled up the crescent-moon chain attached to his sword's hilt. He didn't know if he would be in time, much less if it could withstand Kōe's punch.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō!"
He had forgotten. There was still a poisonous snake hiding on the sidelines, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
A fierce tiger in front, a poisonous snake to the side, and he himself was deeply trapped in a quagmire. Hitsugaya had already anticipated his own end. Even if he could block Kōe's frontal punch, he had no way to deal with Ichimaru Gin's sudden blade.
*It truly is a despair-inducing final straw that breaks the camel's back.*
Hitsugaya glanced toward the direction where Hinamori had fallen, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through everything. Fear? Despair? He felt none of these emotions. If he had to name one, it was only regret.
*In the end, I still couldn't avenge you. What a shame.*