Chapter 61: Old Love and New Sadness
Tuesday, November 3rd
Soul Society invested a considerable amount of manpower in this cross-border crusade against the "traitors" - only later did Kurosaki Utsuki hear that this was a "strong suggestion" from the Central 46th Office, saying that "anyone with a grudge or just wanting to fight can go ahead," and it was immediately clear the tone of the head of the Gojo family.
However, at that time, she was finally liberated from the "confrontation with the Hogyoku in Gin Ichimaru's spiritual world" and finally regained her freedom. Apart from embracing nature and catching up on the TV dramas she missed, she had no motivation to explore anything else.
The flow of time in the spiritual world is different from that in the outside world. Even if it is the same, there is no clock inside, not even the alternation of day and night that can be used to simply calculate the date. It is just a matter of enduring.
She controlled almost all of Ichimaru Gin's spiritual power. Because of the Collapsing Jade, she couldn't leave, but Ichimaru Gin outside couldn't get in either. Only the sword spirit of the divine spear could barely keep her company, but that sword spirit wasn't very friendly, and until she left, it was cold and lonely.
By this point, she had been lying on the bed in the 12th Division for a whole day after waking up, and had eaten two meals in between.
At the start of the crusade, Urahara Kisuke, whose exile sentence had been rescinded a century earlier, returned to Soul Society. Donning his white researcher coat for the first time in a long time, he bustled around her all day. He must have been busy like this throughout her two months in a coma, striving to help her overcome the Hogyoku.
Although in the end, she didn't know whether she had overcome the will of the Broken Jade and made it her "sword", or assimilated into it and became a "king and mount" like her brother and Xu Bai.
"I think it's the wishing machine, the essence of the Hogyoku." The orange-haired girl sat up in bed, rubbing the back of her neck, which was sore but actually felt nothing special. "The 'Pseudo-Hougyoku' has a similar effect, which is why I have my own spiritual power, and my friends around me have also awakened theirs."
Looking out through the transparent glass, I saw the researchers from the 12th Division in the next room coming and going, and I didn't know what they were researching.
Urahara Kisuke offered a counterexample: "But Miss Utahiki also has friends who haven't awakened their spiritual powers."
Kurosaki Utsuki pouted, "Perhaps it's because, having assimilated the 'Fake Collapse Jade', I don't want them to know about this world in advance."
But before the end of summer vacation, she had already told Rei Furuya and the others about the "truth of the world." Her mentality had changed, no longer resisting or hiding secrets. Whether their spiritual powers would surge in the future was uncertain.
"I agree with Ms. Utahiki's theory, but I believe the Hogyoku isn't an all-powerful wish-granting device," Urahara Kisuke said. "It possesses the ability to stimulate corresponding talents based on individual will. For example, Ms. Inoue and Mr. Chadari both awakened their abilities after close encounters with Ms. Kuchiki in the past, driven by their desire for combat power. But they already possessed this potential."
Does she have talent herself?
...That's right. After all, she's the child of a captain-level Shinigami and a pure-blooded Quincy. She should have some talent.
Kurosaki Utsuki smiled and said, "That's probably what Mr. Urahara said. Anyway, Mr. Urahara, thank you for your help these days."
Although she was in the spiritual world, she didn't feel anything special.
"The person Ms. Utaki should be more grateful to than me is Ms. Inoue," Urahara Kisuke said. "Ms. Inoue has come to Soul Society with Mr. Ichigo every weekend for the past two months to treat Ms. Utaki's soul. Ms. Inoue's abilities are more effective in stabilizing Ms. Utaki's soul than the Soul Society's technological means."
“Eh…I see…”
Soul Society's technological methods, Edo style? ... She really wanted to complain.
"Last week, Ms. Inoue brought Ms. Utaki's friend to visit." The person on the other side suddenly changed the subject, then pulled out a small fan from somewhere and waved it happily. "Ah~ That boy, his voice is really similar to mine~"
Kurosaki Utsuki's movement to get out of bed faltered.
Urahara Kisuke rubbed his chin again, as if thinking: "Come to think of it, today is the birthday of the living world, maybe he will come today-"
“Wait a minute!”
What are you talking about? You guys in Soul Society, please be more careful and don't let living people in without permission!
·
The sun was about to set, and Kurosaki Utsuki swallowed the last bite of her rice ball. After a brief meeting with Captain Kuroda of the 12th Division, she left the 12th Division alone and began wandering the streets of Seireitei.
Fortunately, Urahara Kisuke was just teasing her before, and no one came today, neither her brother, Inoue Orihime, nor her human friends.
...But even if he came, she wouldn't have time to see him. She had to take advantage of the current opportunity when her physical condition was completely stable to fulfill her promise with Ichimaru Gin first.
We also need to recover the spiritual energy that was "gifted" to the many captains and vice-captains who participated in the previous Hueco Mundo subjugation war.
Although two months have passed since the gift, the amount of spiritual power given to each person at that time was not much, and it did not reach the upper limit of her ability to recover spiritual power. Referring to Captain Nie's situation just now, he was at the level of two or three high-level ghost ways, and the others should be about the same... probably.
Starting from the 12th Division, she first went to the 13th Division and the 1st Division not far away, visited Captain Ukitake and the Captain-General respectively, recovered her spiritual power, had a brief conversation with them, and received their gratitude. Then she set out again, passed the 11th Division, and finally arrived at her destination.
She was going to the Tenth Division.
This visit had nothing to do with her father. The person she wanted to see was Matsumoto Rangiku.
She was playing with the Death God Agent Certificate given to her by Ukitake Jushiro. It was an identity card that she had once rejected, but she did not refuse it a second time.
In fact, according to her brother, the new Shinigami stationed in Karakura Town did not recognize this proxy certificate, and was not told by his superiors that there was a substitute Shinigami living in Karakura Town who was considered a colleague - so this proxy certificate could probably only be used as a medal of friendship or meritorious service to the human spirits, such as the "Honorary Shinigami of Soul Society".
Maybe it has other special functions... such as monitoring their spiritual power and actions?
Considering that her brother could now flatten a mountain with a single swing of his sword, and that she had absorbed the Hogyoku that Aizen had worked so hard to obtain, she felt that being secretly watched was fine, as long as she didn't notice.
"Utsuki - you finally woke up!" The beautiful reaper with big orange curly hair hugged Kurosaki Utsuki tightly as soon as they met. The soft facial cleanser made her brain go blank for a moment, and then she remembered to struggle.
Hitsugaya Toshiro, sensing her reiatsu, watched the scene for a full half-minute before finally rescuing her, a frown streaking his forehead. The white-haired boy, seemingly having heard something, simply pointed in a certain direction, saying the training ground over there was empty and no one would be there until tomorrow morning. He then turned and walked away, stumbling as she withdrew her reiatsu.
A few minutes later, in the empty training ground, facing the confused Rangiku Matsumoto, Kurosaki Utsuki released her Zanpakutō.
What Ichimaru Gin wants her help with is to restore Matsumoto Rangiku's soul.
She still didn't quite understand the specific circumstances, but recalling Ichimaru Gin's position, the culprit who took away Matsumoto Rangiku's soul was most likely Aizen.
In fact, if you tell her this kind of thing, she might not refuse, and she might even take it more seriously than the so-called agreed terms. But that guy was just awkward, proposing a trade and poisoning her to force her to regain her spiritual power, but he just wouldn't tell her the truth.
...But that's true. After all, he was able to be undercover beside Aizen for a hundred years. How could he easily reveal his true purpose, and how could he easily bow to others?
"I see……"
Spots of light lingered around Kurosaki Utsuki's body. Unlike before, the crimson light was mixed with dots of purple. That was the part of the Hogyoku that she absorbed, and that part of the spirit particle was actually responding to her wish.
"Mr. Urahara said that Aizen fused his Hogyoku with his own Hogyoku into one, so I only found one in the Palace of Night."
The vice-captain of the 10th Division across from her still didn't understand her actions, nor did he seem to understand the meaning of her words.
"This belongs to you." Kurosaki Utsuki stretched out her hand, and a small ball of purple light was spinning in her palm, like a small vortex of air.
"mine?"
"Well, Ichimaru made a promise to me that he would tell the Shinigami everything about Aizen, and I need to do him a favor." She threw the ball of light at the person opposite, and the light disappeared the moment it made contact. "This was originally your soul, and now it has been returned to its rightful owner. With a little time, you too can cultivate Bankai and become a captain like him."
·
Kurosaki Utsuki only heard about the follow-up of the Hueco Mundo subjugation war after she returned to the residence prepared for her by the 5th Division in the evening.
Two months later, Mako Hirako, who looks like a bad boy and has a tongue piercing, has regained his identity as the captain of the 5th Division a hundred years ago. However, his aura is still as frivolous as in the present world. She doesn't know whether this is something he acquired in the present world or if he has always been like this.
In the middle of the battle that day, her consciousness faded as she grappled with the Hogyoku. Her last remaining memory was of her brother using a black and red Crescent Moon Sky Strike, sending the Arrancar, with the number 4 emblazoned on his chest, flying far away. On Aizen's side, the first person to find him was the captain-in-chief of the Gotei 13.
Amid the noisy background of jazz music, she finally heard the final outcome of the battle from Mako Hirako.
Some of the Shinigami were seriously injured in the battle, but thanks to the presence of the Fourth Division Captain Unohana Retsu, they had basically recovered enough to walk on their own when they returned at the end of the battle, and the death toll was fortunately zero.
Of Aizen's most formidable subordinates, the "Arrancar Corps" of Hueco Mundo, the ten great Hollows known as the "Espada," only the second and the third from the seventh onwards, a total of four, were killed. The fourth and sixth, who had fought against her brother, were fortunately able to survive, though their counterparts might not have been happy.
Aizen Sosuke was seriously injured in the battle with Captain Yamamoto. Captain Yamamoto, who was in Bankai, overthrew Kyonyomi with one sword. Aizen, who lost the advantage of controlling his five senses and suddenly lost the support provided by the Hogyoku, and his spiritual pressure was unstable, was finally defeated by the Zankai-dachi that was as hot as the sun.
At present, the Central Forty-sixth Chamber has issued a verdict on Aizen. He will face a prison sentence of up to 20,000 years, the kind where he will be tied to a chair.
As for the others, Tōsen was to die in battle, and Ichimaru Gin—
"Haven't you heard about Ichimaru's punishment from Kisuke?" The bob-haired captain of the Fifth Division glanced at her, a look of gloating written all over his face. "He's been stripped of his Shinigami status and exiled to the living world. Two Shinigami agents are responsible for supervising him. Ichigo agreed readily, so your help shouldn't be needed."
...In name, he was stripped of his status as the God of Death, but in reality, it was simply because there was no one left to capture him in the mortal world!
But it’s also good this way. It’s not difficult for the God of Death to travel between the Soul Society and the real world. If he wants to see his loved one, Matsumoto Rangiku can open the gate to the world at any time.
"By the way," Kurosaki Utsuki's eyes narrowed, "Does this supervisory job come with a salary?"
"Yes, there is." Hirako Mako curled her lips, "But I'm afraid there won't be a place for you until you die and officially come to Soul Society."
"Can't I buy a house and land and prepare in advance for my living environment after death?"
"Tsk, as long as you are happy."
Thursday, November 5th
It's time to leave Soul Society.
Urahara Kisuke was traveling with Kurosaki Utsuki, and most of the Shinigami she could name came to the gate to see them off.
In fact, just yesterday, the head of the Gojo family, who already controlled most of the Central Forty-Six Rooms, had expressed his desire to meet her, but because the invitation was not made through official channels, she had the opportunity to refuse, so she did not go.
But after that, when she accidentally met Geto Suguru, who had suddenly returned from his mission in the human world, she asked him to convey the message "Do a good job".
This morning she went to Rukongai to visit Shiba Kūkaku, who told her that her father had come not long ago, but the former captain of the Tenth Division, who had already become a father, was not planning to return to Soul Society. He claimed that what he wanted most at the moment was to live a happy life with his daughters, and his son was barely included in that group.
Just like her, she wasn't prepared to come here so early.
And now, the place she was going to was the windowsill of a young man who was praying that she could wake up safely.
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