"It doesn't look like anyone is stopping the Sōkyoku's release, Yoruichi."
At the base of Sōkyoku Hill, if Yoruichi hadn't been physically holding him back, Ichigo would have charged out long ago. The giant fire phoenix overhead simply looked far too dangerous.
*What do you mean, 'doesn't look like'? There's absolutely no one stopping it!*
Although Yoruichi maintained a calm exterior as she held Ichigo back, the tension within her was pulled taut as a bowstring. *Just what the hell are Shunsui and Ukitake doing?!*
"Yoruichi!"
A resonant, piercing cry of a phoenix suddenly echoed from above. Sounding like a declaration of execution, it completely shattered the last of Ichigo's patience.
"Go!"
Yoruichi pointed her index finger at the fire phoenix that was already flapping its wings overhead, looking as though she wished she could poke it right out of the sky.
*Stop the Sōkyoku, but don't stand inside the execution stand, and definitely don't try to destroy the stand first like we planned, or you're dead!*
These instructions only had time to flash through Yoruichi's mind before she realized Ichigo had already vanished. The kid was certainly resolute in executing orders, but perhaps a bit *too* resolute.
*Looks like it's up to me when it counts.* Yoruichi rolled up her sleeves, preparing to charge straight up Sōkyoku Hill herself, when she spotted a familiar figure carrying a shield-like object, rushing frantically toward the summit.
*Ukitake? Did he oversleep?!*
*What is going on here? This is a matter of life and death, so why is everyone acting so sloppy? If Urahara were here, even he wouldn't be able to laugh at this. And if he did, it would be a forced smile...*
Up on the execution stand, Rukia had no idea that people were fighting so hard for her safety. She had already slowly closed her eyes.
Only by doing so in these final moments could she see Lord Kaien, Ichigo, Renji, and all the others who had left significant marks on her life.
*I feel no fear, nor do I feel any regret. Because I have never regretted coming here.*
*Regrets... there shouldn't be any more regrets, right?* As face after face flashed before Rukia's mind's eye, her world returned to darkness. It was time to say goodbye.
Unfortunately, the searing light of the Sōkyoku seemed unwilling to grant her even a moment of peace. Unlike the morning sun that peeks through the curtains to wake you and herald a new day, the Sōkyoku was here to tell you that your life had reached its end.
*How ironic. It's so cruel it's disgusting...*
*At least let me have a moment of peace at the very end,* Rukia thought. Suddenly, a pitch-black shadow descended from above. In an instant, it scattered the hateful light. Yet, it felt as though it was falling in slow motion—first a pair of feet, then a broad chest...
*Is it a person?*
"Yo, Rukia."
*It is a person. A very familiar person, at that.* Rukia slowly opened her eyes. She had been terrified that upon opening them, she would only see that blinding death again. Thankfully, it was a Shihakushō. For the first time, she realized just how cool a Shihakushō could look, especially when worn by this guy.
"Ichigo?"
"What's with that dumb look on your face?" Ichigo smiled. "Isn't this normal? I told you, I'd definitely come save you."
The world seemed to have become gentle once more...
Rukia never imagined that Ichigo would appear in such a manner at the final moment. The captains below were even more shocked, especially Suì-Fēng.
To think someone could block the Sōkyoku with a blade! The Sōkyoku's halberd, possessing the destructive power of a million Zanpakutō, had actually been stopped by a single Zanpakutō. *Just who is this brat?!*
If the captains were reacting this way, the lieutenants were even more at a loss. Intervene? Setting aside the fact that flying was impossible in Soul Society, their subconscious fear of someone capable of blocking the Sōkyoku paralyzed them.
Shunsui, however, wore an expression of 'just as I thought'. The Sōkyoku wasn't a conventional weapon; its sole target was the person on the execution stand. Therefore, rather than saying Ichigo blocked the Sōkyoku, it was more accurate to say the Sōkyoku actively retreated, triggering its baseline mechanism to avoid friendly fire.
However, that was a one-time opportunity. Now that he was tainted with the Sōkyoku's Reiatsu, if he continued to stand in front of the execution stand, it wouldn't hold back the next time.
But would it even get that chance?
The Sōkyoku's halberd, incarnated as a fire phoenix, pulled back—likely to create distance for another strike. At least, that was what Ichigo thought.
*If I can block it once, I can block it twice.* Ichigo gripped his sword with both hands, completely ignoring Rukia's frantic warnings from behind. He wouldn't be caught off guard this time; it was still up in the air who would destroy whom.
But it seemed he wasn't needed. A deep blue rope suddenly wrapped around the phoenix's neck. The long pole attached to the end of the rope looped around once before plunging straight into the ground.
Shunsui, who had been silent for so long, suddenly moved. With a single Shunpo, he stepped forward, resting his right hand on the long pole. He turned to Ukitake, who had hurried to his side at the exact same moment, and teased, "Hey, handsome, you really kept me waiting."
Showing up at the last second was certainly cool, but as the one waiting, it had been pure agony. Moreover, if Ichigo hadn't suddenly appeared, he and Ukitake wouldn't be looking cool right now—they would have made absolute fools of themselves.
"Sorry, releasing it took me some time." Ukitake was also quite ashamed. He had almost—no, he *had* been too late. "But this should do it, right!"
*What is that?* Suì-Fēng stared at the shield-like object Ukitake had slammed into the ground. It bore a crest with four stars and a crescent moon in the center. She was far too familiar with that emblem—it was the crest of the Shihōin clan!
Tenshiheisōban Shihōin. They possessed numerous secret spiritual tools and were intimately familiar with the functions of all ancient spiritual tools passed down in the Seireitei. That meant the item in Ukitake's hands...
"Stop them! They're trying to destroy the Sōkyoku!!"
Suì-Fēng's sudden shout startled Omaeda beside her. "W-What? You want me to go?"
Two captains were teaming up. Whatever they were trying to do, it surely wasn't something a mere lieutenant like him could interfere with, right? *So, you're just telling me to go die?*
The only ones present capable of stopping Shunsui and Ukitake were their fellow captains. But for Suì-Fēng and Byakuya, it was already too late to intervene. And those who truly had the power to stop them seemed to have no intention of doing so.
Yamamoto and Unohana looked as though they had been waiting for this very moment. They simply watched as Ukitake and Shunsui pierced the wooden shield with their Zanpakutō and simultaneously slashed downward.
Two streams of Reiryoku intertwined, rapidly surging up the long rope toward the Sōkyoku's halberd in the sky. The fire phoenix, which had been so majestic just a moment ago, now seemed to be enduring immense agony. It struggled desperately, violently shaking off the flames covering its body.
Finally, accompanied by a long, mournful cry that sounded like the wind, the flames completely dissipated. It reverted to the form of a halberd, but the shaft snapped in the middle—it was utterly destroyed.
*So this is the method to destroy the Sōkyoku that Yoruichi mentioned?* Ichigo looked at the ruined halberd, Yoruichi's warnings echoing in his mind once more. *Then my next step is...*
"What are you doing?" Rukia asked in confusion as Ichigo suddenly flipped backward and landed on the execution stand.
"Destroying this execution stand, of course."
"S-Stop, are you an idiot! Listen to me, listen to me, this execution stand..." Rukia explained in a panic, but Ichigo didn't seem to hear a word of it. Gripping Zangetsu with both hands, he viciously stabbed it into the stand beneath his feet.
"Just watch."
A blinding white light swallowed Rukia whole. But it wasn't hateful. Unlike the Sōkyoku, this light felt like the morning sun.
*Could it be a new day?*
An arm quietly wrapped around her waist. By the time her eyes adjusted to her surroundings again, Rukia saw a clear blue sky with a few white clouds drifting leisurely by. *It really is a beautiful day today.*
"I can do it, so I will definitely take you away, Rukia."
Just like the morning sun, the light from moments ago meant that she still had a new day ahead of her.
"Yeah."