"Cap... Captain?"
Matsumoto froze. The sudden news caught her off guard, making her wonder if she had misheard.
"Yeah, the execution is in twenty-nine hours." Hitsugaya nodded, confirming Matsumoto hadn't misheard. "So, what exactly did Shiba Kaien say? And what is this second Hollowfication incident? Matsumoto!"
*I really want to just stop and rest, but... I can't keep running away from this, can I?*
Matsumoto pinched her fingertips, forcing herself out of her somewhat defeated state, and gave Hitsugaya a brief, clear explanation of the second Hollowfication incident.
According to Shiba Kaien, the true mastermind behind the second Hollowfication incident was none other than Kōe Shihouin. Upon returning to the Seireitei, he used the research data Urahara Kisuke had left behind to continue the twisted experiments. Shiba Miyako, who had originally been the prime suspect, was actually a victim.
The problem was that Kōe hadn't taken a single step outside the Seireitei back then. Because of this, Yoruichi—who had rescued him—deduced that someone inside the Seireitei had been assisting Kōe ever since. To this day, exactly how many accomplices he had remained completely unknown.
*That connects everything. The one helping Kōe back then must have been Gin, right?*
Actually, there was one thing Matsumoto left unsaid: those who had the most contact with Kōe were the most suspicious. Hitsugaya, having come from the Shin'ō Academy, was a prime suspect. From Kōe's perspective, he absolutely wouldn't have passed up such a perfect opportunity.
*But Captain Hitsugaya?* Matsumoto glanced at Hitsugaya, who was deep in thought, and then shifted her gaze to Hinamori on the hospital bed. *The Captain should be innocent.*
Hitsugaya still couldn't see the connection between that Hollowfication incident and the matters Aizen had been investigating. *Could stealing the Sōkyoku be a backup plan after the Hollowfication experiments failed?*
But if everything Shiba Kaien said was true, the faction led by Kōe still had hidden forces within the Seireitei. Worse yet, this testimony was nowhere near enough to convict Kōe. The reason was simple: the source was Shihouin Yoruichi, a convicted criminal.
*Should I investigate an incident from over forty years ago? Or should I stop Kuchiki Rukia's execution first?* If not for the news brought by the Hell Butterfly, Hitsugaya might have hesitated for a while. But now...
"Let's go, Matsumoto. We're going to stop the execution!"
Hell Butterflies fluttered their wings, carrying the finalized execution date to every corner of the Seireitei, including the Squad 6 barracks.
Upon hearing the news, Kuchiki Byakuya remained as impassive as ever, acting as if Kuchiki Rukia had absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Byakuya!"
However, not everyone shared his calm composure. Byakuya paused his steps; no one in Squad 6 would ever address him so informally.
The arrival was Ukitake Jūshirō. He had rushed over the moment he heard the new announcement, shouting before he even got close—completely unlike his usual self.
"This is terrible! Kuchiki's execution..."
"I know. A Hell Butterfly already came by." Byakuya cut him off promptly, having no desire to let Ukitake continue his clamor.
"Then that makes things easier."
"But so what if I know?"
*So what?* Even though he had anticipated Byakuya might react this way, seeing it in person was still unacceptable to Ukitake.
"The execution is tomorrow. Since it has been decided, I can only accept it," Byakuya said dismissively, feeling that Ukitake could never understand his true feelings. "Do not bother me over every little thing. Excuse me."
*People must take responsibility for their mistakes. If they can be easily forgiven just out of affection, who would ever do the right thing?*
Naturally, Ukitake couldn't comprehend Byakuya's mindset. He grabbed Byakuya by the arm and shouted, "You're taking this joke too far! How can you still say things like that?! It's tomorrow! This is real!"
"Tomorrow at noon, your sister is really going to..." Ukitake grew increasingly agitated, but before he could utter the word 'die,' he clutched his chest and broke into a violent coughing fit.
Yet to Byakuya, the scene unfolding before him truly seemed like a farce. "Do not agitate yourself. It will shorten your lifespan, Ukitake."
Byakuya's seemingly concerned words reached Ukitake's ears, but they sounded more like cold mockery. This wasn't the end of his disappointment, but merely the beginning. "I have already left my subordinates to die once. What does it matter if it happens twice or three times? It makes no difference."
*Is he saying he's grown accustomed to life and death?* Ukitake hunched over, glaring fiercely at the apathetic Byakuya. It was true that as captains, they were used to seeing death, but this time was different. Rukia was a child who deserved to live, and they had the power to save her!
"Regardless, she is a member of my Kuchiki clan. Whether she wishes to die or is to be killed, as her older brother, I have no desire to interfere. You should mind your own business, Ukitake."
Byakuya's retreating figure grew further away. Perhaps it was just as he said—no one's life was worth his attachment. Not his subordinates, and not Rukia either.
It wasn't until Byakuya completely disappeared from sight that Ukitake felt a little better. Actually, it was for the best that things were made clear. Time no longer permitted any hesitation.
Ukitake clenched his fists, staring in the direction Byakuya had left. *To you, the life and death of your subordinates might not matter, but to me, every life lost for the Seireitei breaks my heart.*
*If you, as her brother, won't intervene, and the Kuchiki clan won't intervene... if I don't step in either, that child's fate would be far too pitiful...*
*With so many people who care about you, I must be a terrible older brother, right?*
Contrary to what Ukitake thought, Byakuya's heart was far from tranquil at that moment. *If I had stayed near that man any longer, I might have lost control and disgraced myself by shouting.*
*I should have stopped it long ago. When Rukia first met Shiba Kaien, I should have intervened. Following a man like that, she was bound to learn nothing good.*
*And Kōe Shihouin... that willful, irresponsible bastard. I knew it all along, yet I still let it happen...*
Byakuya walked alone down the long corridor, his mind flooded with everything that had happened in the forty-plus years since Rukia entered the Seireitei.
*If I had carefully guided her myself, none of this would have happened. And Rukia wouldn't have to die, right, Hisana?*
*But... if I had truly done that, Rukia would have smiled far less, wouldn't she? I have to admit, those two were very good at making girls laugh. You were the only one who could ever love a man like me, Hisana.*
*As her older brother, seeing Rukia happy should have been enough. I once thought that was all that mattered. And yet, the result is that I now have to watch Rukia die.*
*I am truly lost, Hisana. If I had forced Rukia to live the way I do, would that have been the right thing?*
"Captain Kuchiki, the prisoner Rukia is requesting to see you!"
"I will not see her."
*I am so sorry, Hisana. I fulfilled your dying wish, yet it feels as though I have destroyed her with my own hands. I don't even dare to face her now.*
*I can't bear it.*
*I can't bear to hear another dying wish.*