'Is that a butterfly?'
"White and pink... how beautiful." Ishida held out his hand. The butterfly seemed to understand his intent, folding its wings and landing gently on his palm.
"It must be spring in Soul Society right now, right?"
"How nice."
'Is he talking to a butterfly?'
'He must be...'
Off to the side, Ganju and Chad repeatedly exchanged glances. They didn't quite dare to disturb Ishida in this moment, harboring a sliver of worry in their hearts. If Ishida were to suddenly stand up and start chasing the butterfly around, they wouldn't be surprised in the slightest—even if the sight would be rather bizarre.
'Was his brain broken from getting hit on the head by that Chōzuka guy? Or is the atmosphere here just too peaceful?'
Ganju felt the latter was more likely. It was simply far too peaceful here at the Squad 4 barracks. Even though the three of them were prisoners, instead of being subjected to severe torture, their injuries had been completely healed. He was doing alright, but he'd heard that Ishida and Chad had been on their last breaths when they were brought in.
The accommodations were a bit uncomfortable, but the meals were surprisingly good, and the little girl who delivered their food every day was incredibly cute. It made it completely impossible to harbor any feelings of hatred! Therefore, Ishida having this kind of reaction wasn't strange at all!
'No, no!' Ganju shook his head. 'I need to pull myself together. If this keeps up, I'll be chasing butterflies too.' Besides, that forced smile the girl had given them when delivering food yesterday was a bit concerning. Was she pitying him?
'I definitely need to get some information out of her. Relying on my unparalleled manly charm, I might even be able to convince her to let us go! I just wonder what's for lunch today... To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to it.'
Just as Ganju was resting his chin on his hand, agonizing over which handsome pose to strike for their upcoming conversation, a flurry of chaotic footsteps suddenly echoed from above, accompanied by the faint sound of clamoring voices.
'Are they fighting? Over what to have for lunch?'
Before Ganju's brain could process the situation, something suddenly smashed into his head. A small pebble tumbled down. Before he could even reach out to catch it, a massive explosion roared, and the small cell was instantly engulfed in a cloud of dust.
'What's going on?! Why did the roof suddenly collapse?!'
Ganju covered his mouth, coughing violently. Through the haze, a raspy, arrogant voice that didn't belong to any of the three of them suddenly rang out: "Is this the place?" The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
'No, it couldn't be?' Ganju mechanically raised his head. Half of a ferocious face pierced through the settling dust, and that terrifying name blurted out of his mouth: "Z-Z-Zaraki Kenpachi! Captain of Squad 11!!"
To Ishida and Chad, the name Zaraki Kenpachi might have been somewhat unfamiliar, but the title 'Captain of Squad 11' instantly triggered a reaction. They both clenched their fists, bracing themselves for a fight. A captain—even having faced one before, the pressure was still overwhelmingly heavy.
"Who are you?" Kenpachi grinned, tilting his head in confusion, before shouting, "Is there a guy named Shiba Ganju among you?!"
'He's looking for me? He didn't lose to Ichigo and come to take it out on me, did he?!' Ganju instinctively shrank back. Although he was cursing Kenpachi in his head for bullying the weak while fearing the strong, his body was very honest.
Who knew that Chad and Ishida would simultaneously point their fingers right at him. 'These bastards, do they have no loyalty?!'
"Oh?"
"Wait! I-I'll state first that I'm not afraid of you! I—right, I don't have a weapon! This isn't a duel between men!" Ganju explained in a panic, probably not even knowing what he was saying himself.
"Hah?" Ganju didn't understand, and Kenpachi understood even less. He only knew that taking this guy with him would lead him to Ichigo, so he reached straight for the terrified Ganju.
"Ah! Don't come over here! No!!!"
"You scared him half to death, Ken-chan!" Yachiru tapped Kenpachi on the head. "If this keeps up, the poor guy is probably going to pass out. Right, Inoue?"
"I-It seems so." Inoue poked her head out from the other side, smiling and waving at Ganju. "Hello, Ganju-san. And Ishida, Chad, it's been a while."
"I-Inoue!" Ganju finally reacted. Those two guys had actually seen Inoue clinging to Kenpachi's back from the start, which was why they had decisively sold him out!
Turning his head, sure enough, Ishida was covering his mouth, snickering secretly. Although Chad was controlling himself better, the corner of his mouth was still twitching slightly, looking like he was struggling to hold it in.
"Why are you here, Inoue?" Ishida finally composed himself. If Inoue was appearing like this, then this Squad 11 captain likely harbored no ill will. It was even possible...
"I'm here to rescue you guys," Inoue replied with a bright smile. "And then, we'll go find Kurosaki-kun together."
"Woman, we're taking them out *so* we can find Ichigo," Kenpachi corrected her, though to Inoue—or anyone else present—there wasn't much of a difference.
'Inoue actually managed to turn a captain of the Gotei 13...'
Actually, Kenpachi wasn't the only one who had defected. At this moment, beneath Sōkyoku Hill, there was another person who shouldn't be here.
"Um, is there still enough time?" Renji glanced at Ichigo, who was training furiously in the center of the cavern, and asked Yoruichi beside him. "Can he really achieve Bankai before the execution?"
Renji had never imagined there would be such a place beneath Sōkyoku Hill. If it weren't for Sayo, he probably wouldn't have been able to find this place on his own.
However, this must have been Kōe-sensei's intention, right? Otherwise, he wouldn't have run into Sayo the moment he escaped his cell, nor would he have been guided here by the cat to inform Ichigo and Yoruichi about the execution being moved up.
Betray the Seireitei? No, to the current Renji, he was just doing what he was supposed to do. A stray dog had no master to begin with; abandoning a comrade was true betrayal.
Compared to the somewhat nervous Renji, Yoruichi appeared extremely calm. Even though she had been the most panicked one when Renji brought the news of the accelerated execution yesterday.
They had two secret bases in the Seireitei, both located near Sōkyoku Hill. If Kōe had thought of it, he would have instinctively abandoned this area after finding the familiar one empty. This was also why Yoruichi had chosen this place as their training ground.
But this red-haired brat had bypassed the Kidō she set up yesterday; that cat had probably played a crucial role.
This was enough to prove that Kōe had known about this place all along, and the fact that he hadn't come looking for them—or even appeared around Sōkyoku Hill—already made his stance clear. That nonsense about a third party stealing the Hōgyoku... Urahara, that bastard, was either stupid or lying!
And Yoruichi had finally figured out Kōe's bizarre behavior. She had once suspected that those two bastards had some secret method of communication they hadn't told her about, coordinating across worlds to play her for a fool, just like when he escaped his marriage.
There was clearly a precedent, yet she had still fallen for it...