Chapter 8: Death Squad

I think you all know why I've gathered you here today.

We'll be going over last night's incident and how to handle things moving forward. Though...it seems Captain Kurotsuchi has yet to grace us with his presence.

He has the gall to be tardy in a situation that calls for a rapid response? We were attacked!

Well, he has his reasons. He did call ahead to say he'd be a little late...

I don't need to hear excuses. There is much I wish to discuss. We should begin immediately.

*sigh*...You're probably right. Nanao, if you'd be so kind.

Yes, sir.

These are the order of events based on the testimonies of those involved.

Last night, mass outbreaks of Corpseshades born from the remnants of Yhwach occurred in various locations.

At the same time, a militant group thought to be the Stern Ritter invaded the Seireitei.

Lieutenant Kuchiki, along with four recently inducted court guards, pursued and engaged them in battle.

The invaders consisted of Meninas McAllon, Bambietta Basterbine, and an unknown thief...

All three were forced to retreat.

Following that, a fourth member of the militant group attempted to revive Yhwach...

...only to be thwarted by Lieutenant Kuchiki, and a recent graduate, <param=player_first_name> <param=player_family_name>. However...

What is it, Lieutenant Ise?

...However, during the battle, Lieutenant Kuchiki's vital functions were determined to have ceased.

.........

Thank you for the report, Nanao.

I'm sure you've all got enough questions to last until morning.

But could you perhaps hold them until you've heard what comes next?

You cannot be serious.

The Quincies agreed to a ceasefire.

Invading the Seireitei voids that agreement.

And if they are attempting to revive Yhwach, can that not be interpreted as a declaration of war?

If I'm not mistaken, the one called Bambietta should already be dead, no?

Who could have defeated someone as strong as Lieutenant Kuchiki? I want more details.

More importantly, Shuhei reported that he saw Ichigo Kurosaki during the commotion yesterday.

What...?

Exactly what was he doing here? Is he involved with all of this?

......Ichigo was not involved.

How can you be so sure?

I was about to explain... But no one would listen to me...

Such an intolerable racket. I distinctly instructed the Head Captain to await my arrival.

Or have you already forgotten how your Bankai were stolen solely because you failed to heed my instruction to wait in the previous war?

Honestly... The depths of your stupidity is truly astounding.

I thought we HAD been waiting.

.........

Hmph, No matter. Now, observe.

Auswählen...

Did Ichigo...really do that?

How did you get this footage?

It was recorded by the surveillance bacteria I had prepared in advance.

Culturing them and extracting the data required some time, hence my earlier delay.

Tch.

There's more.

Getsuga...

Jujisho!

He took the form of Ichigo?!

A Stern Ritter in red...?

We cannot assume they are the Stern Ritter we've dealt with before.

Perhaps I shall name them the "Scarlet Rebellion".

What is that supposed to mean?

It means I lack sufficient evidence to fully evaluate the situation.

.........

...Do you have intel on the last enemy Lieutenant Kuchiki fought?

Oh? Are you curious?

.........

......Heh.

What the...?

No, !

Ngh?!

Ahh!

...Become a vessel...

.........

...of the King's power... Rukia...Kuchiki...

Aaaaugh!

She was taken over by Yhwach's power?!

No need to stop on my account.

I assure you I had no such intention.

......

Upon discovery, the Lieutenant's body temperature was recorded at minus 273.15 degrees Celsius. In order words, absolute zero.

You should understand what that means without my having to spell it out, Captain Kuchiki.

......Hakka no Togame.

While she still had control over her body, Rukia used Hakka no Togame to freeze herself...and seal Yhwach.

A convincing theory, considering her strong sense of responsibility...

However... Yhwach's power was not present within her body.

So, it disappeared...?

If only matters were that simple. No, this power managed to escape the freeze, and disperse yet again.

......Therein lies our problem.

We now find ourselves face-to-face with a new crisis.

In regard to this "Scarlet Rebellion" that plans to revive Yhwach...

We must find them at once, uncover their identities, and shed light on their motives.

And of course...we must do everything in our power to stop Yhwach's revival,

so that we never experience a war like that again.

Okay...both Spiritual Pressures have stabilized. Everything looks good.

Only because you fixed us up in no time, Third Seat Yamada. Thank you.

Just doing my job as a member of Squad 4.

Still, Hando here sure did put up a heck of a fight...

If I'd handled things better, I might've been able to talk him out of it...

Nah, I think it's okay to be a little reckless sometimes...

Maybe don't go saying that to Hando. He might run out and do something crazy again...

And when that happens, we'll be there to heal him back to fighting shape.

By the way, did you hear anything about <param=player_family_name>?

[<gender I'm afraid I haven't. As far as I know he never got sent to Squad 4... I hope he's okay.../I'm afraid I haven't. As far as I know she never got sent to Squad 4... I hope she's okay...>]

Ughhh... I totally lost again.

But it was a close fight. You almost had me.

Thanks for training with me, Kuonny. I felt like I was gonna explode if I stayed cooped up, y'know?

Trust me, I completely understand.

We just experienced our first real battle since becoming official Squad members. And things turned chaotic faster than anyone could have expected...

...Girry and Mai-pie were beat up pretty badly, and no one knows what happened to <param=player_first_name>...

.........

My hands...haven't stopped trembling...

You're not the only one.

Oh? You too, Kuonny?

Indeed...

(I can't calm down... I can still feel it. That surge, the thrill you can only get from a real fight...)

Kuonny?

Jurinna, let's go another round.

O-Okay... I guess the only way to get stronger is through training! Right?

That's right.

Kyoraku. I believe you still owe us an explanation.

An explanation?

During last night's emergency, you were nowhere to be found. What were you up to?

You also stated with confidence that Ichigo Kurosaki took no part in these recent events. What makes you so certain?

Hey now... Don't look at me like that, I was about to explain... Honest.

The truth is...I just got back from the Royal Palace this morning.

The Royal Palace?

Yeah. It's kind of a long story, but hear me out.

In the footage, we saw the fake Ichigo holding up a black sphere, right?

That imposter was holding a concentrated mass gathered from Yhwach's remains.

The truth is...the high priest of Squad Zero and I intended to use Yhwach's remains as a substitute for the next Soul King.

You tried to turn Yhwach into the Soul King?!

During the war, Yhwach successfully absorbed the previous Soul King.

And although his soul was destroyed, his remains possess enough power to maintain the balance between the three worlds.

That is, until they were recently stolen...

...by a member of the Scarlet Rebellion taking the form of Lieutenant Kuchiki.

So, with that in mind...it seems Squad Zero will be arriving shortly to retrieve Yhwach's remains, which we've been storing on-site.

The Head Captain has also informed me that you'll be accompanying them to the Royal Palace.

Right. I'll be on guard duty until it reaches its destination.

All clear.

Rukia? What are you doing here?

Me?! What are YOU doing here?!

Kyoraku asked me to help out.

Hey, Yhwach's remains are missing!

What the?! That feels just like Yhwach's Spiritual Pressure...

Rukia, what exactly are you holding there?

That is none of your business.

Hado Number 73: Soren Sokatsui!

Augh!

...!

You okay, Akon?!

I'll be fine! Follow her, Kurosaki!

On it!

Ichigo cornered the imposter posing as Lieutenant Kuchiki, but they managed to slip away at the last moment.

Unfortunately, we couldn't afford to search any longer. With the Soul King gone, the three worlds were already at their breaking point.

...There were no other options. We had to make a decision...

What did you do...?

We had Ichigo...become the new Soul King...

I'll spare you all the details, but Ichigo has the necessary qualities for the job.

And it's because of him that the three worlds are stable. For now.

But I got word from the high priest that something went wrong, so I headed up to the Royal Palace.

Did something happen to Ichigo?

This was a stopgap measure at best. He was only supposed to serve as a substitute Soul King until we located Yhwach's remains...

According to the high priest, however, Ichigo's consciousness is already beginning to fade, and far sooner than we had expected.

Meaning...?

Meaning...that our substitute Soul King will soon settle into his new role. Once that happens, he'll never return to his original form.

How long do we have before that happens?

As of today, we're down to... 44 days.

Was Ichigo Kurosaki aware of this possibility?

Of course. Ichigo made his choice despite the risks.

If that's what it takes to protect our worlds, I'll do it.

Still, I trust no one here intends to abandon young Ichigo to his fate, do they?

Of course not.

We can't keep relying on Ichigo to solve our problems.

I say it's about time we let him go back to being a regular high schooler.

Yeah, he has exams coming up soon, after all.

Enough with all the yapping. What's the plan?

Right. The plan is simple...

We recover Yhwach's scattered fragments and once again install his remains as the new Soul King.

At the same time, we must discover the identity and objectives of the Scarlet Rebellion....and eliminate them...

...all within 44 days.

For that reason, I hereby assign a special mission.

This joint operation, transcending squad jurisdictions, will be known as...

...Deadline Squad 44.

To move past the Great Soul King Protection War, and onward to the next era,

this is the first trial we must overcome.

For the Seireitei! And the comrades we hold dear!

What the hell happened?!

Raaaargh!!

*pant*...*pant*...

Why...? Why did Rukia have to die...?

...Renji.

Captain......

Spar with me.

...Yes, sir.

Raaaaaagh!

...!

Renji, in your present state you will not be able to avenge Rukia.

But Rukia's...! Even you, Captain... Wait... Avenge?!

...We have a new enemy.

!

Captain Hitsugaya. What can I do for you?

Kyoraku...you're hiding something.

By your tone, I'm guessing you know exactly what it is, too.

The one who killed Kuchiki...was <param=player_family_name>.

And what makes you so certain of that?

[<gender He was able to use my Bankai before./She was able to use my Bankai before.>]

Oh? That's news to me.

I'm assuming the same thing happened with Kuchiki.

Precisely, Captain Hitsugaya.

......

See for yourself.

Hold on a minute. That's supposed to be top-secret...

And we only know about this secret thanks to the opportunity provided by Captain Hitsugaya.

Once I learned that <param=player_first_name> <param=player_family_name> had used Daiguren Hyorinmaru,

[<gender I implanted my surveillance bacteria into his Zanpakuto./I implanted my surveillance bacteria into her Zanpakuto.>]

That's news to me too...

Who is <param=player_family_name> speaking to?

[<gender His Zanpakuto./Her Zanpakuto.>]

[<gender ...His Zanpakuto?/...Her Zanpakuto?>]

When did <param=player_family_name> master Shikai?

[<gender From what we can observe.../From what we can observe...>]

...it would appear that <param=player_name> is under the Zanpakuto's control.

...Is that even possible?

A Zanpakuto is a partial manifestation of a Soul Reaper's soul. It makes sense that its defensive instincts would activate in response to a threat.

That's...

[<gender The ability to store another's Bankai within his Zanpakuto, and use its power.../The ability to store another's Bankai within her Zanpakuto, and use its power...>]

That is <param=player_first_name> <param=player_family_name>'s Shikai.

The ability to store Bankai...

I've been a Soul Reaper for a long time, but I've never seen a Zanpakuto quite like this.

Fascinating...and extremely dangerous.

Left unchecked, it will inevitably consume its wielder and bring about calamity.

[<gender If the wielder manages to master this power, however, he could prove to be an unexpected and formidable asset./If the wielder manages to master this power, however, she could prove to be an unexpected and formidable asset.>]

.........

.........

Kyoraku, do you have a plan in mind?

[<gender I won't force anything. He'll have to seize control of that Zanpakuto with his own two hands./I won't force anything. She'll have to seize control of that Zanpakuto with her own two hands.>]

My apologies for locking you up in a place like this.

.........

But after what happened to Lieutenant Kuchiki, we had no witnesses, you couldn't remember anything, and the Senzaikyu was still standing, so...

We had to take SOME precautions.

And though it took a little longer than expected, we were able to confirm what happened thanks to Captain Kurotsuchi.

...I understand... I'll accept any punishment...

Oh? So eager? ...Does that mean...?

[<gender I remember...what I did...to Lieutenant Kuchiki.../I remember...what I did...to Lieutenant Kuchiki...>]

If your memories have returned, that makes things a lot easier.

Given the circumstances, no one can fault Lieutenant Kuchiki's orders nor your subsequent actions.

But ultimately, Yhwach managed to escape.

.........?!

Some might say it was beyond your ability to stop him. Others might claim that you were aiding the enemy.

Aiding the enemy?! Never!

Then answer me this, who was in control of your body back then?

...! I-I don't...

...Please, you have to trust me, Head Captain Kyoraku!

It doesn't matter if I trust you or not. Looking purely at the facts, you have not been cleared of suspicion.

So, what now...?

You'll be released.

Huh...?

Currently, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads have better uses for our manpower than proving the innocence of one new recruit.

Therefore, you will prove your own innocence.

......?

That's an order from the Head Captain, <param=player_first_name> <param=player_family_name>.

......!

*sigh* I tried asking around, but I couldn't find any leads on where they took <param=player_family_name>. I'm sorry.

[<gender That's okay. Thanks for looking into it, Mizuki./That's okay. Thanks for looking into it, Gandera.>]

[<gender But don't worry, I'm sure <param=player_first_name> is fine!/But don't worry, I'm sure <param=player_first_name> is fine!>]

......?

[<gender He may not look it, but he's pretty tough... He's fine. I'm sure of it./With that personality of hers, I'm sure of it. She's tough... Body and soul.>]

Yeah, you're right.

Ugh...!

[<gender Sanari! What's wrong?!/Migishima! What's wrong?!>]

Uurgh.....

[<gender Stay with me! Sanari! Sanari!!!/Stay with me! Migishima! Migishima!!!>]