Bleach: Brave Souls story · Main story, Part 20: Thousand-Year Blood War VII
3-3 June Seventeenth
Part 20: Thousand-Year Blood War VII. Having lost his Soul Reaper powers, Isshin now lives the life of a normal human. However, that fateful rainy day is just around the corner.
3 scenes, 46 lines
1. Before the battle
22 linesA little later, as soon as she'd graduated from high school, Masaki left the Ishida family.
Her soul was mixed with a Hollow's now, so for the Quincies, it was an understandable decision.
As for me, I made use of the medical skills I'd picked up at the Academy to open a small clinic.
I still had a ton of things to learn, but with Urahara's help, I managed to get by, more or less.
Masaki went off to college, but she still found time to swing by and tease me now and then.
I never told her the truth. I told her I'd lost my Soul Reaper powers when I was banished from the Soul Society for screwing up.
I don't think she ever really bought it, though.
I've always been a terrible liar anyway, and her intuition was incredibly sharp. I don't know why I even bothered.
My lying was probably a pretty pointless exercise for both of us. I'm sure she knew all along it wasn't the truth.
But it was like a little game we played. I'd lie to her and she'd see through my lies and forgive me for telling them.
To me, Masaki was like the sun. She attracted everything, forgave everything, illuminated everything, and sent everything spinning in orbit around her.
Me? I was more than happy to be spun around. Then... You were born.
I think you already know the rest of it. Through Rukia, you gained your Soul Reaper powers. By training with Urahara, you gained your Zanpakuto.
And over the course of your many battles at the Soul Society, the Hollow in you was awakened.
The very fact that it was released meant that the Spiritual Pressure I'd been exerting all these years was no longer capable of suppressing it.
And so, the bond tying me to my Gigai and that Hollow was broken and I regained my Soul Reaper powers for the first time in twenty years.
You probably don't need me explaining things that you've already experienced yourself, do you?
But there's still one thing you don't know the whole story about. And you need to know about it.
It was on June seventeenth, nine years ago this very day, that your mother died.
That you know. But you don't know the real reason why your mother died that day.
Your mother... She wasn't supposed to die that day.
Whatta you mean she wasn't?
2. Before the boss
6 linesLet me explain. Your mother, Masaki, may have merged with a Hollow, but she was originally an Echt Quincy.
Her defensive ability, the Blut Vene, was exceptionally strong. Virtually impenetrable.
Not only should she have been able to easily defeat Grand Fisher that day, she could have done it without getting a single scratch on her.
But that's not what happened.
Graaaah!
...!
3. After the battle
18 linesWhy not?
Because on that day she lost her Quincy powers.
But how can that be?! What happened on that day nine years ago?
Auswählen. It's a Quincy selection process conducted by Yhwach himself.
...!
There's an old Quincy tale I've heard that tells about how their king was sealed away. According to the story...
"The confined Quincy King regains his pulse after nine hundred years... His mind after ninety years... And his strength after nine years."
Yhwach regained his strength by robbing those Quincies he deemed impure of their powers and making those powers his own.
It was this selection process that caused Uryu's frail mother, Kanae Katagiri, to fall ill and die. And it's what caused your mother to lose her powers and her life in battle.
What? How is Yhwach able to do that? Is it 'cuz he's their king? Who is he anyway?!
Yhwach is the Father of the Quincies. The Quincies all sprang from him. And every Quincy has Yhwach's blood running in their veins.
............
I get it now. Thank you, Dad.
Heh. Any time, son.
Oh! Ichigo... Here, you forgot this. I figured you'd want it back.
Thanks a lot, Ms. Ikumi.
You too, Dad. Right now, I've gotta go.
Right on time! Let's go.