5-6 The Quiet Loneliness of Dawn

I'm going to deactivate my Bankai, but no killing Hikone when I do so, okay?

What? Do I really look that diabolic to you?

Don't worry. I know well enough that if I did something like that, that young lady holding the building up in mid-air would let it drop.

It's starting to move again.

............

............

............!

Huh?

............

Ah.

A little longer and I could have eaten the whole Soul King fragment.

That bastard.

But for now, just one piece of the fragment is enough.

So this is a fragment of the Soul King! Haha, hahaha! That's right, I just remembered! I remember now!

Carve it into your body as you fall into despair! My true name is...

Hey!

What?

Don't waste my time.

What? Your name can be "small fry." That's enough for you.

Aura! Hold it together!

Pay no mind...to me. Treat...Hikone.

Aura?

It's all right. Please rest, Hikone.

Hey, what are you trying to do?

I'm doing what I need to.

Sorry to keep you waiting!

Yes, I've already made arrangements with President Vorarlberna to deal with this potentiality, too.

I've tried everything, but this is as big as I can make it right now.

Garganta isn't some landfill, but it can't be helped with the way things are right now.

That should be large enough.

Wait, you're leaving?

I was able to embrace him for the first time. That's enough.

All right, if you say so.

Yes. Be well, Shuhei.

Wait... Please wait.

Please take care of yourself.

Oh.

I couldn't fulfill the role that Lord Tokinada tasked me with.

Looks that way.

I tried to kill Aura for Lord Tokinada.

Even now I believe that was the correct thing to do, for Lord Tokinada's sake.

Is that so?

But why? Why did she save someone like me?

Don't overthink it. She did it because she wanted to. That's good enough.

Because she wanted to? There was no other reason behind it?

I heard that Aura is something like a mother to me.

Is that right? In that case, she definitely didn't need a reason.

Will I ever be able to call Aura "mother" one day?

No... Do I even have the right to call her that?

Well, if you don't know, I'll tell you.

Kids don't need a reason or the right to depend on their mother.