Yoruichi's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Masatsuki Aozaki, watching the mix of grievance and self-reproach appear on his face. Her heart trembled for a moment.
W-what…?
Masatsuki did all this… for me?
He went to the 12th Division to find Kisuke for me, had him make a protective suit for me, and now he's even apologizing… all for me?
What a load of nonsense!
Does he take me for an idiot? Like I don't know what kind of person he is?
Yoruichi Shihōin felt touched for exactly one second before snapping back to reality. She rolled her eyes in frustration.
There's no way this guy put that much thought into it.
He definitely just couldn't resist Kūkaku Shiba's looks, so he went to Kisuke for help.
Damn him, he's never even given me a present before. Am I worse than that woman?
She glanced down at herself.
Just a little shorter, a little less curvy, that's all.
I'm not even two hundred yet—I'll grow into it!
But seriously, what's Kūkaku's deal?
We're the same age, so how the hell did she end up looking like that?
People say the Shiba family has all sorts of secret techniques passed down through generations… could it be that she—
The thought sent a shiver down her spine. Yoruichi instinctively hugged herself, burying her head as a faint blush crept onto her face.
Seeing this, Masatsuki Aozaki assumed his nonsense had actually worked, so he decided to push his luck.
"Actually, I have a present for you too."
Still covering her face with her arm, Yoruichi mumbled, "Where is it?"
Masatsuki glanced down and caught sight of her slender neck, adorned with a ribbon tied into a neat bow. In that moment, she looked like a small, vulnerable kitten, and his eyes lit up.
"It's just a little piece of jewelry, but I haven't finished preparing it yet. Give me some time."
Yoruichi's thoughts had long drifted elsewhere—to Junrinan in the First District of West Rukongai—so she didn't press him further and quickly agreed.
She then casually said, "See you," before dashing off toward the western part of Seireitei.
Masatsuki Aozaki stared after her, dumbfounded.
Why is she so excited…?
I mean, she's not the kind of person to overreact to a gift. She knows better than that.
There's definitely something else going on. Something big.
But what?
Whatever it was, Masatsuki found his curiosity piqued. The more he wasn't supposed to know, the more he wanted to find out. People are always drawn to the unknown, after all.
Masatsuki Aozaki thought it over but still couldn't make sense of it. Rather than dwell on it, he decided to suppress his curiosity for now and ask Yoruichi about it tomorrow.
He had more pressing matters to handle.
Casting one last glance in the direction Yoruichi had gone, he vanished with Shunpo, swiftly heading in the opposite direction.
...
District 76, Sakahone, East Rukongai.
Under the cover of night, Masatsuki Aozaki concealed himself in the shadows and sprinted toward the outskirts, where he found a dilapidated house in a small village.
He didn't rush in.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi had been gone for over a century, yet Masatsuki could sense the presence of living people inside.
A faint light flickered through the window, casting blurred silhouettes against the glass.
Suppressing his Reiatsu, he crept closer and peered inside.
Five men sat cross-legged in the room, surrounded by rusted swords. Their clothes were stained with dried blood.
They were eating food stolen from who knows where—some of it still had fresh blood on it.
More than that, Masatsuki could feel the lingering scent of blood on them. These men had killed plenty of people.
It was common in the lower districts. The lawless outskirts were barely livable—food and water were scarce, and killing was often the only means of survival. It was a hellish existence.
No wonder they were eating bloodied food. In this place, people became ruthless out of necessity.
If they didn't kill, someone else would kill them.
Here, there was no distinction between good and evil. Survival was the only rule.
"Just a bunch of thugs, huh?" Masatsuki drew his Zanpakutō. "I guess this rundown house is valuable property to them."
Ever since he'd left the 6th District, where the 2nd Division's barracks were located, Banshō Senran had remained in Shikai.
With an expression of calm indifference, Masatsuki pulled the door open and stepped inside.
"A Shinigami? Why the hell are you here?"
The five men turned pale.
They had killed many people, but an actual Shinigami was a different story. Normally, they'd go out of their way to avoid one.
Now, one had walked in armed and ready—it was clear he wasn't here for a friendly visit.
"Don't worry. This won't take long."
Masatsuki pointed Banshō Senran's tip downward.
The men's eyes widened in horror as they watched the Shinigami before them shatter like fragile porcelain.
In the next instant—
Agonizing pain ripped through them. Blood splattered across the room as thin, precise wounds appeared on their bodies.
The air filled with the sharp scent of iron.
"You won't die for nothing."
A calm voice accompanied the sight of Masatsuki's hand plunging into one of the men's chests.
Screams of agony filled the room. Masatsuki watched impassively as he sealed the final soul into a transparent container.
Five men. Two had the aptitude to become Shinigami—a probability that shouldn't exist in a place like District 62.
As expected, the harsher the environment, the easier it was to find talent.
After all, in a place like this, those without talent didn't survive long.
It was like raising parasites—only the strong made it to the end.
Aizen might not need these souls anymore, but Masatsuki still did. The ones he had stashed away weren't nearly enough to create the Hōgyoku.
Without a shred of sympathy or remorse, Masatsuki sealed the container.
Not a single one of them had clean hands.
If he had time to pity them, he might as well start thinking about what to eat for tomorrow's meals.
Besides, as a member of the Gotei 13, keeping order was part of the job. Killing these criminals—who disrupted the already fragile peace—was practically an act of justice.
If old man Yamamoto found out, he'd probably even commend him. Maybe he'd award him a banner or something.
...
Masatsuki waited a moment until the corpses fully dissolved into Reishi before searching the house.
Retrieving Mayuri Kurotsuchi's note from his pocket, he followed its instructions out of the living room and into the bedroom.
Outside, the moonlight was swallowed by thick clouds. In the dim light, Masatsuki spotted a hidden mechanism in the wall.
He pressed it, and a low rumble echoed from beneath the bed.
Unfazed, he pushed the wooden bed aside, revealing a hidden passage below.
Raising Banshō Senran, he gathered Reishi into the blade.
A soft blue glow radiated from the Zanpakutō, illuminating the darkness below.
Peering into the depths of the passage, Masatsuki let out a small chuckle.
"Let's see what you've been up to, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Don't disappoint me."
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake