"Rukia!"
Yoshio shouted, but at this moment Rukia could no longer hear him. She vanished in an instant.
The sisters Homura and Shizuku possessed the ability to warp through space—an ability forcefully engineered by Szayelaporro through biotechnical modification.
Such modification is never good for a soul.
True, you gain power—but you lose something else.
Just like Wonderweiss Margela, engineered specifically to counter Yamamoto, yet bereft of almost all emotion and intellect.
And that was with the Hogyoku.
Even without the Hogyoku, it's not that Aizen couldn't make Wonderweiss Margela, only that what it would cost—what would be lost—would be even greater.
Szayelaporro's Homura and Shizuku were naturally far less perfect or powerful than Wonderweiss Margela, and not tailored to any one person—but they still bore defects.
Defects didn't matter to Yoshio; he only needed them to finish this performance.
Watching Dark Rukia vanish before him, Yoshio turned and sprinted toward the Seireitei.
…
Although Dark Rukia had spatial warping, it wasn't unlimited. She couldn't just hop anywhere in the world without constraint.
After a few jumps, she arrived at the Seireitei. The Barrier meant nothing to her.
The first place she appeared: the Kuchiki manor.
If you want to erase every trace of Kuchiki Rukia in the Seireitei, you start with Byakuya, the one who spent the most time with her.
It was late at night—tonight darker than usual.
After the Twelfth District Catastrophe, a scent of ruination drifted above the Seireitei.
The clouds were thick and heavy, ink-black, like some primordial behemoth; even stars and moon were swallowed whole.
Guards still patrolled the Kuchiki estate, but no one noticed the white-clad woman who appeared on a tree.
Fixing on Byakuya's position, Dark Rukia warped through the gates in the next instant.
Byakuya was asleep, breathing evenly on his futon.
Dark Rukia's gaze chilled. She extended her hand, and a black spiritual pressure gathered and spread, shaping itself into a vast reaper's scythe.
Its menace dwarfed that of any zanpakuto. No one would doubt its power.
She didn't hesitate—she stabbed for Byakuya's head.
Boom!
The massive blade pierced Byakuya's sleeping skull. Blood splashed everywhere in an instant.
A thrill curled Dark Rukia's lips.
A Captain? That easy?
"Who are you?"
In a heartbeat, everything became illusion.
Byakuya's split skull, the geyser of blood—gone.
The sleeping Byakuya vanished. A cool voice sounded behind her.
A zanpakuto touched Dark Rukia's neck—any move, and it would slice her throat.
What…?
Dark Rukia frowned. In her memory, Byakuya's blade wasn't an illusion type.
But confusion was quickly consumed by a rising, visceral fury.
"Rrgh!"
Her reason dimmed again; she snarled like a beast and vanished from Byakuya's front.
A great scythe arced from the side. Byakuya, calm in his shihakusho, moved Senbonzakura with nimble poise.
Their clash shattered the room and spilled into the courtyard.
"O, ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, all things—spread your wings, you who wear the name of Man! Heat and strife; across the sea surge south; step forth! Hadō #31. Shakkahō!"
Once outside, Byakuya finished the chant in an instant, and a red blast roared toward the shadow attacking him.
But in that firelight, his pupils tightened.
That face…
Some details differed, but it was undeniably Hisana.
So this was the Kuchiki clanswoman Yoshio had mentioned?
Who was she?
If she was Kuchiki, why attack him?
No—her state wasn't normal.
Byakuya felt the evil pressure pouring from Dark Rukia—like a Menos: chaotic, brutal, corrupt, steeped in every negative taint.
He closed his eyes. When he opened them, resolve had set.
It didn't matter who she was.
Since Hisana's death, he had sworn at his parents' graves never again to break the rules.
If the opponent had fallen to hollowness and was attacking him, then…
Crush her; if not possible, kill her.
He had escaped from bed to outside using Utsusemi—an Onmitsukidō step technique Yoruichi once taught him.
With so stark a dark pressure, there was no way he wouldn't notice her approach; he'd simply waited to see what she wanted.
She wanted him dead. There was nothing left to say.
Boom!
Shakkahō was useless, smashed apart by Dark Rukia. She cleaved the air at range and sent blade after blade of darkness at Byakuya.
He flash-stepped through them.
The clash of their reiatsu quickly drew Kuchiki guards and nearby patrols.
Seeing this, Dark Rukia knew she couldn't kill Byakuya now. She moved to flee—but her body tightened.
"Carriage of thunder, gap of the spinning wheel—divide this light into six! Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō!"
Byakuya pointed, and six rods of light pinned Dark Rukia.
The next instant, Senbonzakura became a storm of petals racing toward her.
"—!!!"
Her pressure swelled darker.
Boom!
Something within seemed to crack, like breaking glass. She opened her mouth and poured out a savage surge of reiatsu.
Through brute force, she broke a fully chanted Rikujōkōrō.
Her body was slender, delicate—yet in this instant she did what even strongmen couldn't.
Then, with her maw open, she gathered a mass of dark spiritons.
"A cero?"
Byakuya frowned slightly.
She wasn't merely close to hollow in pressure—she could even fire a cero?
A parasitic hollow?!
But it didn't match Mayuri's description.
According to Mayuri, a parasitic hollow that infests a shinigami doesn't provoke such drastic changes; even the reiatsu remains shinigami-like, undetectable—that's what makes it terrifying.
If infestation gave you away by pressure, what would be the point?
But this Dark Rukia was all wrong.
Even speech seemed beyond her.
Rampant?
Byakuya flash-stepped away from the cero. The missed beam tore through the estate wall, carved a deep gouge down a street beyond, and finally erupted far away in a roaring blast.
Boom!
The explosion flared like a newborn star in the deep night.
"Whoever you are, I will execute you."
Byakuya finally decided. He released his grip; the zanpakuto slipped from his hand.
Bankai.
Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.
Captains rarely use bankai—because it's their trump.
Using it usually means: the opponent must die.
Boom!
A sea of pink petals bloomed, gorgeous yet deadly. Each petal was a blade; each blade could kill.
Thousands, tens of thousands, millions of petals—all to consign a person to endless ruin.
Dark Rukia's deep-violet eyes darkened further, a profound black pouring forth, lacquer-deep.
She swung the vast scythe, batting down the petals.
Senbonzakura was fierce; Dark Rukia was too. She slipped through the sea of petals; black streams of spiritons clashed with pink, making the air quake.
"Captain Kuchiki…"
Many shinigami had arrived now, staring in shock at a woman who could fight Byakuya to such a degree.
Boom!
Their collision smashed another wall; they spilled into the streets, fighting through the Seireitei.
The surge of reiatsu drew captains from their beds; they donned their haori and rushed to the source.
Yoshio, too, raced for the Seireitei.
"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hadō 63: Raikōhō!"
As Dark Rukia broke through the petals again, Byakuya thrust out his palm, a raging lightning beam hammering down.
Boom!
The radiance swallowed her and slammed her underground.
But space warped; she reappeared above him, scythe in both hands, chopping down.
"…Not shunpo, nor sonido—it's a form of spatial transfer. Mayuri's dossier didn't attribute that to parasitic hollows… so that's your own ability?"
Byakuya analyzed while fighting.
If she could spam this movement, she'd be hard to handle.
The good news: as she fought, her wits seemed to degrade; she used the space hops less.
As the scythe neared, Senbonzakura rushed back, forming a petal shield around Byakuya. Steel met storm—stalemated.
Byakuya then sent petals to pincer.
Dark Rukia warped back—into an open spot where an old man stood.
White beard and long mustache, a scarred brow, commanding even in stillness.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
"The Seireitei has had enough incidents lately. It's time you calmed down."
Indeed—lately held too many events. For Yamamoto, a century still counts as recent.
In the last hundred years?
Urahara Kisuke's hollowfication of several captains and lieutenants.
Then his open deployment of the Reigai and the masked and Arrancar to attack the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
They'd suffered few casualties, but Tenth Division Captain Shiba Isshin vanished, and the Twelfth District was destroyed.
Were it not for Fifth Division Lieutenant Yoshio's composure and discovery of Mayuri's backup memories, they'd have lost another captain.
After they contained the Twelfth's vengeful spirits, two figures disguised as hollows snatched them away—organized, disciplined terrorists willing to discard even captain-class pawns at mission failure. Chilling in their resolve.
That had barely ended when someone attacked Sixth Division Captain Byakuya.
Even Yamamoto, who weathered the Age of Chaos, found the cadence vexing.
Again and again, the Seireitei took the blows—like invisible hands playing chess with their lives.
Sensing this new surge, Yamamoto came at once.
Dark Rukia tried to resist and felt an immense pressure—not merely reiatsu, but an overwhelming will, a spiritual force.
Her pupils widened; in the next moment she clenched her teeth as her pressure grew more violent.
"Captain-Commander."
Byakuya stepped forward. "She may have some relation to the Kuchiki clan."
"Oh?" Yamamoto glanced at him. "Is she the one Mayuri said had memories cut out by a parasitic hollow?"
"Possibly," Byakuya said. "Fifth Division Lieutenant Yoshio found leads and went to the Rukongai to investigate. Then she appeared here."
"Hm… looking closely, the resemblance is real."
Yamamoto eyed Dark Rukia.
Byakuya knew he meant Hisana.
He said nothing as captains arrived one by one.
"…"
They all were surprised by her appearance.
Back then, Byakuya's marriage to Hisana had rocked the Seireitei—noble heir weds a commoner from the Rukongai, breaking noble convention.
As upper echelon, they all knew.
So seeing Dark Rukia, they thought of Hisana.
Who… is she?
Ukitake frowned; something about her felt familiar. He glanced at Byakuya; Byakuya must have felt it too.
"Since she's connected to the Kuchiki, I'll ask your opinion."
With ten captains present, she couldn't escape. Yamamoto asked Byakuya unhurriedly.
Byakuya said coolly, "Even if she is Kuchiki, she has already wrought great damage upon the Seireitei, and…"
Gazing at her swelling, wicked reiatsu, he concluded without mercy, "She is beyond saving. Execute her."
!
Ukitake's pupils shrank. He hadn't expected Byakuya to say that.
He hadn't yet recalled Rukia, but he sensed this wasn't right.
"W-wait!"
"Byakuya just said Yoshio went to the Rukongai to investigate, didn't he? Perhaps Yoshio has found something!"
He couldn't argue identity, so he invoked Yoshio.
Yamamoto didn't decide immediately.
He valued Yoshio—after all, he found Mayuri's backup memory.
Perhaps Yoshio truly had a lead.
He looked again at Dark Rukia, frowning.
Even if there were leads—this woman was beyond saving.
Her reiatsu was almost wholly hollow; her personality seemed destroyed.
He set his hand on Ryūjin Jakka.
Seeing the motion, Ukitake winced. He knew what his teacher meant to do.
He was about to speak when Byakuya said, "Ukitake, this is a Kuchiki matter. An outsider need not interfere."
"…But—" Ukitake tried again, but Kyōraku pulled him back.
"Kyōraku?" Ukitake asked.
Kyōraku said, "In this state she's fully parasitized. Mayuri's data says once fully parasitized, the hollow replaces the shinigami's original consciousness."
"No matter what you say, she won't come back."
"Hmph. Precisely," Mayuri added. "But I object to execution. Hand her to me—no further risk, I assure you. Or is it…"
He eyed Byakuya. "The noble heir of the Kuchiki is… reluctant?"
"Oh?" Byakuya glanced back, voice flat. "Amusing. You claim that taking her to your department ends all risk. Strange words for the one whose incompetence led to this."
Simple enough—the incident sprang from an attack on the Research Bureau. If once, then twice; how could Mayuri guarantee safety?
Byakuya's tone was level; the barb was not. Mayuri's gaze chilled. "Care to test me?"
"Enough."
Yamamoto was used to such squabbles. Kenpachi and Mayuri were worst foes; next most hostile to Mayuri was Byakuya. And Byakuya and Kenpachi despised each other too.
One thought the other a noble fop; the other thought him a brainless brute.
With such subordinates, Yamamoto's job was tiring.
He would not agree to Mayuri—if she might be Kuchiki, appearances alone forbade it.
Byakuya could consent to execution, but would never consent to handing her to Mayuri.
Having lived millennia, Yamamoto understood.
So he chose the simplest path:
Reduce the parasitic hollow and its host to ash—together.
Sensing danger, Dark Rukia thrashed, tried to warp—but the space seemed locked, her transfer sealed.
Roaring, she swelled her reiatsu to break the many bindings—yet these were woven by the assembled captains; no matter her power, she couldn't break so many Bakudō.
Yamamoto's blade awakened; flames seared the air, as if to burn heaven and earth.
She struggled harder.
Byakuya watched. Only Ukitake moved to speak—but then—
"Wait!"
A voice rang out.
The captains started; Yamamoto paused, blade held.
He looked—at a plainly dressed man panting as he ran up.
"Yoshio…"
Yamamoto recognized him at a glance.
"Yoshio-kun…"
Captains turned, including Byakuya. "You're late. Even if she's a Kuchiki, she's beyond saving. No need for more words."
"No! You're wrong!"
Yoshio blurted, "The ones parasitized aren't Rukia! They're two residents of the Rukongai—who fused themselves into Rukia with some method!"
"Rukia…" Yamamoto murmured. "So that's her name?"
"Yes. Captain Kuchiki—if you kill Rukia, you will regret it! She is what Lady Hisana entrusted to you!"
Yoshio had arrived—only lieutenant among captains.
He moved to stand behind Aizen. "Captain Ukitake, Rukia is a Thirteenth Division shinigami and the important junior of Kaien. Have you forgotten how Kaien died?"
At Kaien's name, Ukitake frowned; images flickered in his mind.
"Yoshio, have you recovered your memory?" Aizen asked.
"Yes, Captain Aizen," Yoshio said respectfully. "Because I saw the culprit with my own eyes. I asked around in the Rukongai."
"Rukia was from Inuzuri. As a child, she once took in two stray souls."
"But those two were attacked by shinigami and disappeared; Rukia later entered Shin'ō Academy."
"Now it seems those two gained power somehow, assaulted Captain Kurotsuchi, obtained the parasitic hollow, and—using its power—fused with Rukia!"
Reasonable enough—but the key point…
"I only care whether this Rukia can be restored," Yamamoto said flatly.
Yoshio glanced at Mayuri. Mayuri sneered, "You think I'll help you? Don't think finding my backup memory lets you order me around."
Yoshio's eyes shifted. "In that case, entrust Rukia to me."
"To you?" Ukitake asked, puzzled. "Do you research as well?"
"Not at all. But I have the simplest way."
"I'll make those two come out themselves."
"…"
No one answered immediately.
Dark Rukia could warp; a misstep and she might escape, after which catching her would be trouble.
"Captain-Commander, please trust Yoshio-kun," Aizen stepped up first. "I don't know this Rukia, but I trust Yoshio-kun."
"So do I," Ukitake said. "Since Rukia ties to Kaien, I can't stand by."
"Yoshio's finally showing his real stuff, huh? Knew this guy wasn't simple," Kyōraku chuckled, clearly siding with Yoshio.
"If we get to see Yoshio act, I've no objections," Gin smiled, eyes narrowed.
Tōsen said, "Yoshio is a key author of Seireitei communications. I choose to trust him."
Unohana said nothing—only nodded.
In Yoshio's camp stood Aizen, Ukitake, Kyōraku, Unohana, Tōsen, and Gin—six captains.
With Isshin absent, even unanimous opposition from the rest would only make six votes; Yamamoto wouldn't publicly oppose here, and only Mayuri voiced clear dissent.
So Yoshio could proceed.
The captains withdrew—but raised a strong Kido barrier around the area.
As the bindings weakened with their retreat, Dark Rukia snapped the Bakudō and lunged at Yoshio.
He drew his zanpakuto—and like Byakuya, released it to fall. Jigozoku plummeted and vanished into the air.
"In the solitary hell, all things have distance."
Yoshio murmured.
His field of solitude spread, an empty darkness filling the Kido ward.
"Yoshio's ability is rather unfair," Kyōraku sighed, tilting his hat. "I wouldn't want to fall into that lonely hell."
The other captains agreed.
Jigozoku wasn't invincible—one could crush it with overwhelming reiatsu, kill the user before falling fully, or be one who neither fears nor has not yet tasted the essence of solitude.
Against the weak, it allowed no resistance.
Against Dark Rukia, a full fall would take time.
Though the gap felt like it grew, the actual distance didn't change.
Dark Rukia roared and charged.
"O ruler, mask of flesh and blood, all things—spread your wings, you who wear the name of Man! Truth and moderation—stand with claws upon the dream-wall of ignorance! Hadō 33: Sōkatsui!"
He fired a fully chanted Sōkatsui; flames rushed toward her.
Dark Rukia opened wide and devoured it with a cero.
"Hadō 63: Raikōhō!"
The lightning beam met the cero and canceled it.
She was on him.
Facing the scythe, Yoshio didn't move.
Her blow didn't land.
"Because there is only you and me before your eyes—if you kill me, no one remains for you to interact with, so you held back instinctively?"
"It seems you know what comes next. Rukia knows my ability, and you, monster, rifled her memories."
"Irony—something as far gone as you, barely able to communicate, still feels loneliness?"
!
Her pupils flicked; she screamed.
Her black reiatsu howled; the scythe's edge wrapped in a hurricane of pressure.
She swung with everything—as if to smash his words.
But before the blow landed, her body pitched; the slash cut air.
Yoshio hadn't moved.
"Even a united heart divides in the hell of solitude."
He watched her collapse. "Even fused inside Rukia, you two remain different individuals. Now… do you feel alone? Can you feel each other?"
"If not, then…"
Her body seemed to warp; a low keening rose from within. Black reiatsu streamed out, spiritons flowed, and two women took form beside her.
Rukia's body returned to normal—eyes soft violet, shihakusho replacing the pallid garb, hair black instead of that evil gray.
The scythe became a refined zanpakuto in her hand.
By her side: the sisters Homura and Shizuku.
They clung to Rukia as soon as they emerged.
"Rukia! Don't leave us! Don't leave us!"
Rukia slowly opened her eyes. She felt their despair.
"Yoshio… senpai."
She looked at him, puzzled. "This is…?"
"They have fallen into the hell of loneliness. They cannot perceive your existence."
Yoshio said softly.
!
Rukia's pupils widened. She more keenly sensed Yoshio's power.
The sisters clung to her—and yet could not sense her, only sobbing and pleading.
"I…"
She was at a loss.
She had even lost her memories of them; only after seeing them did she remember.
A kind of self-protection—when trauma is too severe, the brain chooses to forget.
Yet they remembered—and, for her sake, struggled from Hueco Mundo back to Soul Society, causing all this.
"I don't ask the Seireitei to forgive them," Rukia said quietly. "But, Yoshio-senpai, could you…"
"Impossible," Yoshio said gently. "Captain-Commander Yamamoto won't forgive them. You know that."
"…" Rukia fell silent, darkening.
"But for you, I'll make an exception," Yoshio said.
Hope kindled in her eyes.
He drew his blade from the void.
Jigozoku began to contract.
As the lonely domain drew in, the two women, seemingly stripped of all, contracted with it—and vanished.
The heavy pressure lifted; the field collapsed.
In Yoshio's hand lay a necklace.
"This is…?" Rukia looked at it.
"This is likely the best way for them," Yoshio explained. "Rukia, I entrust to you the artifact those sisters have become."
"From now on, they will be with you forever."
He hung it around her neck. She cupped it, eyes full of gratitude.
Something was missing…
"A name."
Rukia whispered, "Their… names."
"One is Homura; the other, Shizuku."
As she spoke, the characters appeared on the pendant—Homura on the front, Shizuku on the back.
"They will become your strength. Call them in danger, and they will protect you," Yoshio said.
At that moment, with Rukia restored, everyone's memories returned; the captains rushed over.
"Rukia! You're back!" Ukitake cried. "Thank goodness!"
"I worried you, Captain Ukitake," Rukia said gratefully.
She looked at Byakuya.
He said nothing; one look—and he shunpoed away.
"The leading man exits stage left. I thought we'd get a scene," Gin smiled, disappointed.
"Rukia, congratulations," Aizen offered.
"Thank you, Captain Aizen. It's all thanks to Yoshio-senpai!"
Yoshio was delighted—the result was as planned.
Rukia's affection skyrocketed—past ninety, to ninety-five.
His highest yet!
Uh-oh—would that affection… shift?
While Yoshio daydreamed, a decree made him wince.
"Yoshio Kamado, since you have mastered bankai and displayed it before us," Yamamoto said, "you have fulfilled the conditions for a captaincy."
"As Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, I appoint you Captain of the Tenth Division!"