Chapter 25: Change and Invariance
I didn't sleep for long, and when I woke up, everything was over.
After the battle, the devastated port was eventually believed by the outside world to have been the result of an explosion. At the same time, some of the recently missing psychics were rescued by Sister Rangiku and others, and should have been discovered by the police and sent to the hospital.
According to Mr. Urahara, the Hollow who calls himself Aronilo Eluruyeli is likely trying to further evolve by devouring the souls of esper beings. Previously, he primarily operated at night because he feared sunlight, which negated his camouflage abilities.
"Well, we're actually in a very delicate balance with Hueco Mundo, so they'd be troubled by something like this. Especially since the Hollow riots happened in Dangai, I'm afraid this guy took advantage of that opportunity to slip into the human world."
It is in a very delicate balance with Hueco Mundo???
"Hey, stop staring at me like that. This is going to be complicated. Are you sure you want to hear it now?"
Never mind, I'll have plenty of time to ask later.
"So what happened to that guy?"
The people in the living room looked at each other.
"Abandoning part of the body and escaping is probably a disaster. The Seireitei have already begun to increase the intensity of the patrols in the Dangai."
"Because Homura had already hurt him, that guy didn't want to fight after seeing the captain unleashed his Zanpakutō. Wow, you have no idea, the captain's face was horrible at that time. The last time I saw him with that expression was--"
"Matsumoto!"
"Tsk~ Okay, okay, why are you getting shy at this time? Captain, you're not good enough."
"You..."
"puff……!"
Even though Toushirou has become the captain, it feels like Rangiku-san's relationship with him hasn't changed much. They used to bicker and fight in the captain's room, but that doesn't seem to be the case now.
But, "What are the Espada?" Why is this a word I haven't heard of? "If it's a complicated topic, then I'll skip it. Oh, right! My swords!"
"After rescuing you, I informed Kimura and Ishigami. They are your representatives in the Time Government, right? They should have gone to your house and Honmaru by now."
“…Uh, thank you.”
I have to say, Urahara-san made the right move. If they knew I was so badly injured, those overprotected swordsmen would have definitely stormed out and fought the Hollows, possibly even causing a bigger commotion.
Besides, the Hollows aren't creatures that can be defeated so easily. What if one of them gets broken while I'm unconscious...
I can’t even imagine it.
"Mr. Kimura and Ms. Ishigami, do you know anything about me?"
The room suddenly became quiet.
Urahara Kisuke snapped open his folding fan. "As expected of Miss Jiu Jing, you figured out the key to the problem so quickly!"
Nonsense! I've already remembered everything, so of course I'll notice something's wrong.
"After all, it was Toushirou who rescued me from the sanatorium fire."
Look, he closed his eyes, that means he agreed.
"Then someone from the Time Government found me. After I went to Honmaru, my health improved a lot. And not long after that, I met you."
Looking at it this way, those guys from Seireitei had a lot of influence during those ten years or so when I didn't recover my memories.
"Oh, yes, I need to explain this as well." The hat merchant waved his hand. "Do you know why you were in such poor health as a child?"
"...Because of spiritual power?"
"That's right."
Although the profiteer was cunning, his explanations of complex theories were easy to understand. When I died, the essence of my soul, reincarnated into the present world, remained unchanged; it was more akin to rebirth than reincarnation. However, my physical body had actually grown from its infancy, resulting in a mismatch between my spiritual pressure and my physical form.
There is still room for adjustment for the artificial body, but this is not always the case for the flesh and blood body.
"After receiving feedback from Captain Hitsugaya, the Captain-General decided to place you in the Time Government. Maintaining the Honmaru consumes some spiritual energy, which is a relatively good way for you to relieve it."
"Master Shan?"
"No, it's Captain Kyoraku."
Eh?
Captain Kyoraku? Captain-in-Chief? Huh? That's not right. I remember Captain Kyoraku was supposed to be from Squad 8...
"Homura." Toshiro looked at me, frowning slightly, which gave me a sudden sense of foreboding. "Like I said before, Soul Society went through a great war a few years ago, right? At that time, Captain-General... Captain-General Yamamoto—"
"Died in battle."
"..." I suddenly felt something was unreal. Was I still dreaming? "Are you kidding me?"
I tried to find some clues from Toshiro's face, then looked at the silent Rangiku-san, Urahara Kisuke, and even Mr. Tessai, but everyone had a stern face and didn't say anything.
"Captain? The old man..."
"He died heroically in battle against the King of the Quincy of the Invisible Empire. Not even his body...was left behind."
Really?
That old man, that unreasonably strong old man who loved to soak in hot springs, who trained me so hard that I couldn't even stand up and still asked me to massage his shoulders... Is he really dead?
"Captain Ukitake and Captain Unohana also died in the war."
This is impossible!
"No, even if you say so." I suddenly felt a little short of breath, leaning against the table. "No, I..."
However, this wasn't the only news. Furthermore, former Fifth Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen, along with Third Division Captain Gin Ichimaru and Ninth Division Captain Kaname Tōsen, defected from Soul Society after the massacre of the Central Forty-Six. The last two accomplices, one dead and the other missing, while the principal offender, Aizen, was imprisoned in Infernal Purgatory and sentenced to 20,000 years. Because this occurred before the battle with the Quincies, only the three captains were replaced at that time. The War of the Invisible Empire, which inflicted heavy losses on Soul Society, took place two years later.
Captain Yamamoto of the First Division and Vice Captain Suzube were killed in action. Captain Ukitake of the Thirteenth Division and Captain Unohana of the Fourth Division were also killed, and Captain Komamura of the Seventh Division was missing. Captain Kyōraku, blind in one eye, took over the title of Captain-General. Furthermore, many members, officers, and even vice-captains died, disappeared, or were incapacitated and on long-term leave.
"Because Hueco Mundo also suffered heavy losses, they now form a delicate balance with us. Furthermore, the Aronillo Eluruyeri you saw is a humanoid Hollow created by Aizen using his own technology, possessing powers similar to those of a Shinigami. We call them 'Arrancar'."
Only Hollows that have mastered the power of the Shinigami, or "Shinigami-transformed Hollows," are called Arrancar. It's said that only Hollows of the Grand Hollow level, Gillian, or higher, can evolve into this form. And Aaroniero is a unique figure among the Arrancar. He inherited the power of the Hollow that killed Oborozuki and his team, allowing him to evolve by devouring the souls of his own kind, even humans.
In addition, Urahara and Tessai are also Shinigami. However, more than ninety years ago, they were forced to flee to the human world due to Aizen's false accusations.
"Wait, what about Captain Isshin?"
Before the incident between Oborozuki and I, the captain of Squad 10 wasn't Toushirou-kun. Back then, our captain, Rangiku-nee's boss, was Shiba Isshin, a carefree, unconcerned, and passionate man who slacked off more than anyone else.
In the series of narrations just now, there was no news about Captain Yi Xin.
"A few years after your death, Captain Isshin was absent from the team for a long time and failed to return due to an incident. He was classified as missing and then expelled."
"Huh? Are you kidding me?!"
"Of course, this is just the 'official news' from the 13th Division. As for Captain Isshin's whereabouts..."
Toshiro glanced at Urahara Kisuke who was sitting next to him.
"Urahara knows better than Matsumoto and I."
"Captain Hitsugaya, you're so cunning! I didn't even say anything, but you're being pushed out to take the blame."
"Stop talking nonsense. I don't believe you didn't help cover up this matter."
"Alright, alright, Captain Hitsugaya is getting more and more difficult to deal with. He used to be so easy to talk to." Urahara scratched his neck. His hat obscured his eyes, but I could feel his gaze. "In short, he's still alive, living in the real world."
"If you want to know the details..."
"No."
Frankly, there was so much information that I was having trouble digesting what I was hearing.
"Let me think...let me think."
Although a long time had passed, it was just like a sleep for me. Whether it was the old man or the others, their faces could still be clearly seen before me.
Captain Ukitake was the kindest person to me, despite his poor health and frequent bedridden condition. Captain Unohana was gentle yet reserved. Aside from the Captain-General, her swordsmanship advice was the most helpful to me. Vice-Captain Suzube was a die-hard Westerner, the complete opposite of the Captain-General, yet they had a close relationship.
Are they all dead...?
And according to Urahara Kisuke, Captain Aizen has been cultivating his own power for nearly a hundred years, even secretly harming many of his colleagues. That Captain Aizen? I'm a little disappointed he seems less than amiable, but... Oh, and there's also Captain Ichimaru, Rangiku's childhood sweetheart. Rangiku would be heartbroken if he disappeared. Captain Tōsen might be blind, but his heart is. The 9th Division's "Seireitei Newsletter" is truly fascinating. Did they all betray him, too?
"I always feel like I just slept for a while, and when I woke up, everything outside had changed." I pulled the corner of my mouth, "It doesn't feel real at all."
Mr. Urahara seemed quite relaxed about this. "It's okay, it'll take some time to get used to it," he said, waving his fan. "By the way, Miss Jiu Jing, is it really okay for you to just sit and stare blankly in my little shop?"
“Eh? Ah—!”
Damn it! Mr. Kimura and my swords are still waiting for me at home! And my phone has been broken since yesterday, so I haven't been able to contact them at all!
The author has something to say:
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In fact, I thought about it for a long time, but I still can't rationalize the plot of the bloody battle part where the butterfly fell.
By the way, I feel really sad every time I watch the scene of the captain's death. I don't know why, but I just feel sad.
Ah, and to add, Kubo Tite explained in the fan club's official Q&A that in the original story, Haku and Rangiku knew about Isshin's existence in the real world. They knew about it at the beginning of the Hueco Mundo arc, when they visited Ichigo's house. Afterward, the two sides maintained a tacit understanding and didn't reveal the relationship.
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