goyya 1162-1166

Chapter 1162 Choices

AN: A little bit late, but thank you for waiting~!

I've decided that this will the concluding volume of the Bleach episodes.

I planned it so that it'll be 3 volumes worth of content for this universe, but some big changes to the plot shortened the overall length.

The build-up will be quite slow since there's a lot of set up that needed to happen for the climax so it'll be a long volume.

Please enjoy and have a good day~!

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The pope stopped combing his beard with his hand and could only stare at Serafall with wide-open eyes.

On their flight towards Rome, Serafall contemplated how she should handle the situation and how she could have the pope direct the current Holy Power. She thought that she could pretend to be an Angel but immediately discarded it due to the high risk of the Holy Power rushing into her. As she's not someone like Claire who was already an irregular in the first place, only death awaits her the moment she takes the faith of billions of people no matter how strong she is.

She could technically do it if she stopped being a 'Devil', but it's just not realistic to be 'Ice' all the time and she'd hate to do that too.

Without much choice, she decided to reveal her true identity as that would also indirectly prove the existence of heavenly beings, 'If only Irina-chan or Akeno-chan were here with us, it would have been a lot easier...'

But after a moment of silence, the pope suddenly started chuckling, "Young lady, if you're going to joke around, pick a good one. But you shouldn't really joke around and just tell what you're here for instead of wasting both of our time."

"..." Serafall's smile grew wider, 'Alright. Let's freeze him until he understands.'

Serafall slowly stood up and released her massive Demonic Power while manifesting her Devil Wings.

The thick Holy Power was instantly triggered by the presence of Demonic Power, but without any direction, all it could do was push against it. In turn, that only gave a dreadful feeling that washed over the whole City State like a tsunami. If the explosion of Holy Power from days ago was like a flame of hope, the current one reminded everyone in the vicinity of the flames of war and destruction even if they hadn't experienced it at all.

At the origin of this wave, the pope didn't speak, or more specifically, he couldn't. The suffocating feeling and the horrifying smile of the young beautiful girl in front of him only reminded him of one word, 'Devil. He fell off from his chair and tried scrambling away but soon enough, he found himself unable to move and when he looked down, he was alarmed to see that his whole body, neck down, was enclosed in a thick sheet of ice. Although strangely enough, he didn't feel its coldness.

"W-what are you going to do?" The pope nervously asked the winged lady.

It was Serafall's turn to chuckle, "Nothing. But I'll return later."

After saying that, the lady started turning into dust and disappeared with the wind blowing, leaving behind the immobilized pope. A few seconds later, the pope could hear his security shouting in the background and multiple footsteps approaching his doorstep. However, he couldn't care less about them right now as his mind raced to understand what the 'Devil' was trying to say.

He had a lot of questions, but one thing that's for certain is that he can't disregard her claim of being a 'Devil' anymore.

.

.

.

"So you went and joined Claire's group after that?", asked Kisuke.

"There's nothing more I could do aside from waiting for them to get themselves together. Besides, Claire-chan's current state of mind is much more important."

"How is she, by the way?"

"She's looking good right now and has mostly returned to her previous self, but it's better if I can watch her closely in case something else is up."

"And the real reason why you took Claire with you?" Kisuke knew that it wasn't just because Claire was not in her right state of mind. He already guessed the reason but he wanted to hear it from her directly.

Serafall sighed and turned her head up to face Kisuke who was looking down on her, "The real reason is that Claire-chan could kill those from Hell. Although it's just the two of us now from this side, that guy she fought is still a source of information and soon that information would reach this side. We could defend against Soul Society who will seek to use her, but to what extent? Unless you can find a way to end them without relying on Claire-chan, I won't permit her to return to Japan."

"Roger that." Kisuke smiled and agreed with her, 'Soul Society was not really the problem but the all-knowing monk. I don't know what he'll do... I should do something to limit his range of movement.'

Seeing that smile, Serafall became concerned because it was the same smile he made when he was about to face Chaos, "Are you going to do something dangerous again?"

"It's something that must be done."

"Can't you let me help you?" Serafall asked, however, she already knew the answer. If she could help, he would have already asked for it without her offering.

"Please ensure the safety of the kids. More than anything, don't let Claire be scared of her own power."

"...Hmmm... That's true, isn't it? It might even be the source of her current problem, or at least, a part of it."

Serafall then sat up and waved at Soifon who just arrived and opened the door to the two of them, "I need to go. It's about time I show Claire-chan what it means to be a big sister." She then stood up before teleporting away.

As soon as she disappeared, a knife went flying towards Kisuke's face and he caught it between his two fingers.

"I was under the impression that you and Yoruichi-sama are together... But what is this? After bragging about your relationship with her to my face the other day, are you actually cheating on her?" Soifon, with a glare that could kill, asked him.

Kisuke laughed wryly before tossing the knife back and sighing, "It's complicated. Without the people involved, it's futile for me to explain so I'll spare you the ear rot."

In an attempt to escape from him awkwardly explaining that he actually developed a harem, Kisuke immediately changed the topic, "How did your practice go?"

Soifon glared at him for a few more seconds before walking and taking a seat on the couch in front of him, "All good. I've been practicing ever since Kurosutchi distributed the instruction books but your instructions and device are way better. Why not just give this to them?"

"For free? No way. It's one of the currencies we can exchange with Soul Society so I'm not willing to be this helpful with them this early."

Soifon immediately realized his intentions, "So you fed us just enough that we'll ask for more..."

"Well, that's the gist of it." Kisuke then stood up, "Going back on topic, you should have already noticed that there's no way for you to use this Magic Power."

Soifon stayed silent. She tried controlling this newfound energy like she would with her Reiatsu but only hurt herself in the process.

"In fact, it's almost impossible for someone like you who has a Spiritual Body. That brings me to offer two choices to you. Learn how to use Ki instead or join me in an experiment for you to use Magic."

"The first one." Soifon instantly answered.

Kisuke almost tripped on nothing, "Hold on! Listen to me first! That's not even everything yet!"

Editors:

28th00: Soifon has zero trust in his experiments. Smart cookie.

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Chapter 1163 Choices part 2 | Patreon



Soifon gave Kisuke a fed-up expression and said, "Why would I give you a chance to experiment on me? That's equivalent to throwing my life away. I know I owe you, but I'm not ready to leave this world yet."

Kisuke was about to refute her words but stopped himself just as he opened his mouth, 'I can't blame her for thinking like that , can I?' He thought back to what he did when he was still in this world, 'I'm only a bit better than Kurotsuchi-san because I actually ask for permission.'

In the middle of his thoughts, Soifon continued, "If you know why then give it up."

Kisuke stayed silent for a few moments to think how he should go about this. It's the research that he had been developing for almost a decade now so its importance to him couldn't be expressed with just a few words. And while he could ask and trick any Shinigami or Arrancar to join him, getting ahold of someone on Soifon's level just isn't really realistic.

"Soifon-san." Kisuke suddenly addressed Soifon which made her jump slightly.

"What?"

"It seems that your senses have still not adapted to this place, but take a closer look at me. Examine me closely like how you would do in your stealth missions."

Soifon wanted to smack his head but fought off the urge and just did as he said, 'What is he trying to say...? ...!?' As she noticed the strange anomaly, her thoughts started trailing off. Soifon hurriedly stood up and walked around Kisuke, trying to confirm what she was actually seeing, "You... Do you have a physical body? It's indeed very well made, but why are you trying to show off your Gigai?"

While muttering, her attention briefly landed on his clothing, 'Wait... Shihakushou?'

At that moment, realization dawned on her and she walked around Kisuke with wide-open eyes, "Did you have this Gigai on when we fought?"

Kisuke shook his head and Soifon sighed in relief. If she was correct, that would be extremely weird and would open various possibilities, good and bad in the Human World.

While Fullbringers and Quincies can use their Spiritual Power despite having a physical body, their organizations aren't large enough to cause a sizable ripple in the Human World, 'Except for that one Fullbringer with the support of the disgraced Tsunayashiro Clan.'

"I'm not wearing a Gigai. Not yesterday and not now." Kisuke continued.

Soifon looked at him strangely, "Did you give it a new name after changing a few bits of its features or production?"

Kisuke smirked at her and said, "Please don't look away from reality."

Soifon froze for a bit before returning to her seat, "...How?"

"It has something to do with the place both Yoruichi and I ended up with after the war. If you agree to become an experimental subject, along with an oath of secrecy, I will tell you everything about it."

Soifon became more hesitant before shaking her head, "No."

She already knew that she wouldn't be able to leave this place without restricting her ability to reveal the information about them, that's a given and she was trying to know more about them so that she could at least negotiate the terms, 'If he's willing to reveal their hidden story, it could lead me to more useful information and actually figure out the origin of their Magic Power.'

Nonetheless, that slight hesitation from Soifon is already enough for Kisuke.

"Now then, allow me to expand on what I just said earlier. In exchange for you not telling a soul anything about this place, its inhabitants and me being alive, I'll teach you what I can regarding 'Ki' including how to utilize it and how to combine it with your Reiatsu. And with just that, depending on how good you are, you could double if not triple your combat effectiveness. You can even take on Baraggan's miasma without much problem once you've achieved mastery."

"...You're not lying, are you?" Soifon replied.

"If you think I'm lying, we can stop here."

"...Please go on."

Kisuke nodded, "Your second choice is, including everything in your first choice, I'll also teach you about 'Magic' like how I would with 'Ki'. It could also increase your combat effectiveness, but I'm not sure how much due to its incredible versatility. In addition to that, I will give the Gotei 13 detailed information about Magic and Ki, increasing the Seireitei's overall strength. Of course, this also includes my promise of telling you what Yoruichi and I were doing this past decade and where exactly we went."

Soifon thought hard about it and asked, "What are you researching?"

"A Gigai... No, I can't call it a Gigai anymore. I want to see if someone from the Soul race could have a physical body without limiting their characteristics or abilities while also opening up various possibilities in their future.

Soifon glared at Kisuke, "What for?"

But Kisuke was unaffected by that and answered, "I'd like to keep that to myself for now. But if you really want an answer, all I can give you is that if things go the way I'm expecting, it'll be necessary in the future."

Soifon became silent once again for a few moments before sighing and standing up, "Give me a day or two. And I'd also like to borrow the training ground."

"You're free to use it however you want."

Without saying another word, Soifon left Kisuke and headed for the training ground.

After making sure that she wouldn't be able to detect anything he would do, Kisuke immediately put up a barrier around him and answered the phone that had been secretly ringing since earlier, "Kyouraku-san, I'm sorry for not answering immediately. I was talking with someone."

[It's fine, but I'd like to ask first, how is our precious 2nd Division Commander? It has been a few days and the guys concerned about her are getting restless.]

"She's fine and she has already made a full recovery. Though there's just a tiny problem."

[Problem? What is it?]

"Due to my carelessness, she saw me."

[...] Kyouraku on the other side went silent for a few seconds, [...I didn't think you'd make a mistake like that... Or is it really a mistake, Urahara-san?]

"Please, it's a real mistake on my part. If I really wanted her to stay here, I could do so without risking myself."

[...I see. What's her future like?]

"I'm still trying to figure that out but obviously, she can't leave without me making sure that she won't trash everything I'm working so hard for."

[But that can't be for too long.]

"I know. That's why I'm thinking of appearing in our house in Karakura Town sometime after this. Of course, as the 'white-suited man'. I'll leave it to you so that it won't turn into a siege situation."

[I'll do my best on that part, but I can't promise that it'll be totally peaceful after what you just displayed down in Hell. Lisa-chan and the people who went with her are still having nightmares, you know? Not from their enemies but from your Zanpakuto.]

"Well, I'll believe in what you can do for now."

.

.

.

Shunsui and Kisuke talked for a few more seconds before they both hung up.

And as soon as Shunsui put away his phone, soft footsteps rang out from behind him, "...Captain."

Shunsui turned around and saw Nanao with an extremely concerned expression, "Oops. It looks like you heard me."

Nanao knew that if he really didn't want her to hear the conversation just now, she would never be able to, "...What was that? And why did you allow me to hear all of this?"

Shunsui started walking and walked past Nanao while saying, "I don't know what you're talking about. But you know me, I'm really afraid of plans going smoothly."

And before Shunsui closed the door behind Nanao, he added, "That's why I'd like my own insurance. But setting that aside, it seems that the white-suited man will appear within a few days. I'll send you out with the envoys. Your mission is to keep things from going violent."

Editors:

28th00: Well, at the very least, Nanao is incredibly loyal, especially since Shunsui is her uncle and her Captain(commander too).

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Chapter 1164 Contract | Patreon



Two days later, Soifon finally agreed to become Kisuke's experimental subject but with additional conditions that Kisuke would provide equipment and resources for the Gotei 13 for them to adapt faster to the changes and allow her to leave from time to time.

After pretending to hesitate for half a day, Kisuke agreed to her terms.

Naturally, Soifon is aware of the risk that Kisuke would instead send bugged equipment but it doesn't really matter since he already does it on his own.

Within the training ground where Soifon spent most of her time to further enhance her detection abilities and improve her Shunkou, "I have one final condition."

"Depending on what it is, I might add more conditions on my side to balance it out." Kisuke, who had been helping her, answered.

"It's nothing much, but allow me to confirm first. Since you're allowing me to leave, do you have a way to enforce secrecy on my side?"

"Through Magic, yes. It's a form of contract that both of us have to fulfill."

"And the price for the breach?"

"Death." Kisuke answered without pause, "Any less would make the contract too light."

"That's fine. That's already what I was expecting." Soifon nodded, "Then I want to add a single condition that you won't plant a 'Trojan Horse' within Soul Society."

Kisuke didn't say anything immediately and after thinking about it, he modified her condition, "I'd like to limit that to within the Seireitei."

Soifon immediately frowned and thought, 'Is he planning to do something in the Rukongai? There are few important places within it but...'

After internally deliberating on it, "Fine."

"It's my turn to add a condition then."

"What? I only asked for a small thing and you're still going to add something else?"

"It's nothing too big. I just want the contents of this contract to be a secret between us."

"...Why?"

"Let's just say I don't want others helping you find a loophole within it. Is that fine?"

"No, because it also means that you're already considering taking advantage of a loophole."

"I won't deny that since it's indeed a possibility. However, you added a condition so it's only a fair trade for me to add my own." Kisuke then shrugged his shoulders, "We can also just forget about this section if you don't want it. In any case, I'm already perfectly fine with the contract as it is."

Although Kisuke was acting calm, he's quite nervous that Soifon would back down, 'If I can't keep the contents of the contract a secret, then the fact that I proposed to limit the 'Trojan Horse' to outside the Seireitei is going to raise some eyebrows from sharp people. She must be thinking that I'm about to do something within Rukongai, but that's not the only place outside of the Seireitei within Soul Society.'

Soifon contemplated and after a few seconds, she started scratching her head in frustration. "Alright. We'll have it your way." Thankfully, her duty and desire to protect the Seireitei won.

With Soifon finally agreeing, Kisuke took out two scrolls with their previous conditions already written on them. After adding the last part that they'd just discussed, the two of them spent about an hour tweaking the words of the contract to make it more precise and specific to avoid as many loopholes as possible.

"So do we just sign this paper?"

Kisuke shook his head, "We rip it at the same time. After that, it should take effect."

While Soifon still had questions on how this would work, both of them ripped the paper, and as soon as they were ripped in half, the four pieces caught on fire with blue flame, startling Soifon for a bit before letting the two pieces in her hand go.

Kisuke did the same and the four flames started floating above their heads before combining into one. The next moment, it changed into a bright red flame and divided into two, entering each other's chests respectively and disappearing.

Even without Kisuke explaining, Soifon knew what that flame meant, "So this is the death you were talking about."

Kisuke nodded, "It only works when both flames are present within the contractors. If one is extracted through any method, the other would be alerted and if you're unlucky, it'll kill you before you can fully remove it."

"...I see. I'll make sure to remember that." Soifon then looked back up to Kisuke, "What should we do now?"

"Take this." Within his sleeve, Kisuke took out a paper and pen, "Write something that'll make others believe that you're not in any danger. I'm going to the Human World today and I'm sure they're waiting for me there."

Soifon thought for a bit before writing a few words and passing it back to Kisuke after injecting her own Reiryoku within.

Kisuke received it and read it for a bit before making a wry smile, "Are you sure someone's going to understand this?"

"Omaeda will."

"Alright. I'll leave right away. Let's continue once I return."

Kisuke disappeared with his Teleportation Magic and Soifon thought that this technique was really convenient but also dangerous.

She sat down on the couch and heaved a long sigh while thinking, 'He didn't notice... I hope someone on that side notices it.' As much as she didn't want to admit it, Kisuke and her are quite 'close' and she was betting on it, 'I'm sure that he'll be sent out to meet him. I'm betting on you, as someone who discovered Sosuke Aizen's traitorous intentions first.'

.

.

.

Kisuke, while wearing a white suit, white fedora, and white blank mask that greatly contrasted his long black and straight hair, came out of a certain alley. As he walked the streets of Karakura Town, nobody could seemingly see him while he went with the flow of the crowd. However, people wearing Eastern black attire standing on top of the building saw him and immediately started contacting their superiors.

Around half an hour later, Kisuke entered the house that Serafall and the young girls had found.

After another half an hour, Kisuke could feel numerous presence appearing and gathering around the house, '...Hmm, aside from more than a hundred soldiers, they also sent two Captains. They're treating me as a bigger deal than I thought.'

Kisuke stood up from the couch and walked to the main door. And when he opened it, he could see four individuals standing beyond the gate, "To whom do I owe the pleasure of receiving such an important entourage?"

The tall man with jaw-length blonde hair with a straight cut who was standing in front of the group replied, "We're here on behalf of the Gotei 13's Captain Commander and the members of the 2nd Division. Do you have some time to talk?"

"Of course. Please head inside." Kisuke turned around to head back in, but the main gates of the mansion automatically opened for his guests.

Before entering, Shinji first checked on the people coming with him, "Rukia, I'll do most of the talking. Make sure that you keep in contact with our men outside. If you lose connection, immediately alert me."

"Leave it to me."

Shinji then turned to the other two, "Ise, Omaeda, your job is to observe the surroundings without being too obvious. If you find something, keep it to yourself for now, but if it's something urgent, inform both me and Rukia."

" "Understood." "

While answering in acknowledgment, Nanao's eyes were on Kisuke's leaving back.

Editors:

28th00: Whenever I think of Shinji, I always laugh a bit at how he self-sabotages himself so fucking badly that he only takes L's. Nanao knows exactly who he is though. Her super cursed bloodline and family zanpakuto is made to kill gods specifically too, which is sorta fucking wild.

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Chapter 1165 Shinji Hirako | Patreon



The four individuals entered the mansion and the door behind them automatically closed. Shiji and Rukia immediately observed their surroundings and when they found nothing unusual, the two of them looked at each other and nodded before following the strange man inside.

As Kisuke was not hiding his Reiatsu, the group was able to follow him without a guide and they soon reached the living room where he prepared the drinks and seats for them, "Welcome. Please have a seat."

A brief silence descended upon the room as the two sides observed each other without moving. After a few long seconds, Kisuke smiled under his mask and said while looking at Shinji's robe, "As expected of the Captain of the 12th Division. He was able to immediately make an improvement to the detector. It's much more sensitive than before."

A smile also appeared on Shinji's face, "You can tell?"

Kisuke nodded, "My mastery over Magic is enough to tell that there's a disturbance in the surrounding Magic Power. The device you have absorbs the leaking Magic Power from me but doesn't bother to rearrange its information back to how it was before."

"Is that so?" Shinji whipped his right arm slightly and a black cube that was silently vibrating fell into his hand, "I'll pass that feedback to Mayuri." Leading the group, Shinji approached the table and sat down. Rukia did the same and sat beside Shinji while the other two stood up behind them.

Seeing that, Kisuke poured three cups of tea and placed the two in front of the Captains before sitting down, "But I'm surprised. To think that he didn't send out his bugs for this."

Without any hesitation, Shinji picked up the cup and drank its contents which made the other three incredibly worried, "It was a hassle to stop him. Thank goodness he still listens to the Captain Commander. And even if he did send some, it's not like you wouldn't notice it."

"That's true." Kisuke also picked up his cup and the cup went through his mask as if it wasn't there to take a sip of his tea. He eyed everyone carefully if they were hiding something else but found nothing. However, a certain individual captured his attention, 'What's with her?'

The person in question was Nanao Ise, one of the two 1st Division Lieutenants, 'All of them are looking at me suspiciously, that's obvious... But what's that expression?' Although very subtle, Kisuke noticed that there was something different in her demeanor that didn't match the other three, 'It's as if... She knows something?'

However, Kisuke didn't have any proof for that and it could be anything else. He set it aside for now and restarted the conversation, "I apologize but I can't entertain the envoys of the Seireitei for long due to my busy schedule so allow me to get straight to the point. What are you here for? Although I certainly have an idea, I'd like to make sure."

Shinji drank the rest of the tea and put down the now empty cup, "There are two main things we want to know. First and foremost, where's the Captain of the 2nd Division and what happened to her?"

Kisuke didn't say anything and instead took out a piece of folded paper from his inner pocket and placed it on the table.

Shinji and the others were confused and the former picked up and opened it up because he could feel Soifon's familiar Reiryoku from it only to become confused even more, "[I'll be out for a bit, but if I return and find the discipline within the barracks deteriorate even for a bit, I'll dunk you into a boiling water and you'll have to run around Seireiheki (Pure Soul Wall) ten times without rest.]"

While listening to Shinji read the note out loud, Omaeda shuddered and the blood left his head, "C-Captain Hirako! C-can I see that paper!?"

The confused Shinji first checked if there was nothing else on the paper before passing it to Omaeda. Omaeda hurriedly and rudely grabbed the paper and instantly stuck his head in it, reading it a few times each time, more blood drained from his face making him very pale, "T-there's no mistake! This is from Captain!"

"...Are you serious?" asked Shinji.

Omaeda lifted his head up and down vigorously, "I'm serious! And I might actually die!" Right now, the important meeting in front of him flew to the back of his head as he was more concerned about how to maintain the 2nd Division's dignity and discipline, 'Knowing the Captain, she'll really do it!' He wanted to return immediately but had enough thinking capacity that that wasn't an option.

To supplement Omaeda's words, Kisuke added with a sigh, "She intends to uncover my secrets so she doesn't want to leave."

Shinji, Rukia, and Nanao turned back to Kisuke with strange expressions, "...Somehow, I can't deny that." Shinji commented.

"Well, she indeed discovered something and I can't really allow her to leave until I can make sure that she won't spill it. So she'll be staying at my place and will be treated as an important guest. However, I'll be sending you an official receipt later for her living and medical expenses. After all, treating her wasn't exactly easy or cheap."

Shinji and Rukia couldn't tell if they could trust his words, but with Omaeda making a scene, they lost all the weight to question him.

Shinji wanted to ask if she'd be able to return soon, but all of a sudden, Nanao spoke out of turn, "Did she discover your identity?"

Another silence descended in the place and although there were no holes in Kisuke's pure white mask, the Captains could tell that he was directly looking at Nanao, or at least, his attention was on her.

Nanao's body tensed up when she felt his gaze on her but continued staring straight at him without backing up.

Soon, the oppressive stare disappeared and Kisuke picked up his cup again while saying, "That's correct."

While that didn't surprise the others, Nanao felt conflicted and most of this conflict stemmed from relief that Kisuke is the one who saved Soifon and the fact that he didn't return to Soul Society, 'What is he planning?' Nevertheless, Nanao chose to believe what she'd heard from Shunsui's secret conversation and finally realized how dangerous the man in front of them was if it turned out to be an enemy.

Shinji and Rukia felt relieved that nothing came out of Nanao's question but really found it weird because Nanao normally wouldn't do something as reckless as that.

"Anyways, can we expect her soon?" Shinji changed the subject.

"Probably. I just don't know when she'll be done with what she wants to do."

Shinji nodded in understanding and chose not to pursue this line of questioning any further, "Now onto the second main point."

There was a small pause and Shinji's eyes narrowed at Kisuke before asking, "I'm sorry for this rude question, but what are you?"

Editors:

28th00: Nanao knowing exactly who he is means she doesn't really fear him(unknown), but still fears him because she knows him. Also, Shinji's question may be rude, but's very fucking valid since I personally have no fucking clue what he is either. He's his own unique species now.

Goyya: Not to mention that unrecorded Zanpakuto.

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Chapter 1166 Shinji Hirako part 2 | Patreon



"I'm sorry for this rude question, but what are you?"

'Hmmm... How should I answer this?' Kisuke thought to himself while calmly sipping on his tea, "Will you believe me if I told you that I'm a Human?"

"No." Shinji instantly answered.

"That's too bad because that's my real answer. But what made you ask that question?"

Shinji sighed and shrugged his shoulders a little bit, "It's nothing much. It's just that the Divine General of the West came down to specifically ask about your Zanpakuto."

"Why are you making it sound like it's not a big deal?" Kisuke chuckled under his mask, "Though now I understand why the Gotei 13 sent two of their Captains. It must be quite a shock to hear about the [God of the Sword] asking about an unknown Zanpakuto."

"It truly is. You have no idea how long everyone froze when he asked all the details surrounding you when we thought we'd be able to figure out your identity with just your Zanpakuto." Shinji then looked outside while secretly signaling to Rukia to make the others retreat, "Tiamat, was it? It doesn't even follow the conventional naming scheme. With each discovery, we have only opened up more questions. Hence, the simplest question to ask is 'What are you?'"

"Even if you ask me that, I don't really have anything for you. Wouldn't it be better if you asked what my intentions are or if I'm an enemy or not?"

"We could but those are better answered by actions instead of words. Who knows what you'll say to hurt us."

"You say that but what's Central 46's true view on things?"

Shinji's next words made Rukia, Nanao, and Omaeda freeze on their spot, "They want to capture you and if that's not possible, they want you eliminated and that extends to Sitri Serafall and the young girls around her."

"Hirako-san!" Rukia shouted but Shinji ignored him.

Immediately after, a dense amount of 'weird' Reiatsu that eclipsed most of the Captains descended upon the whole area which made Nanao and Omaeda momentarily stop breathing and those retreating Shinigami hurriedly returned and pulled out their weapons while surrounding the whole mansion, ready to attack at any moment.

"My~ I was already expecting it, but to say that to my face... Is that a declaration of war?"

Rukia became nervous and her hand automatically moved to the hilt of her Zanpakuto. She's wondering what Shinji was trying to achieve by provoking this unknown man but when she looked to her side, she saw Shinji still had this placid expression as if he didn't see the white-suited man in front of them as a threat.

And just like Rukia, Kisuke wondered why Shinji is still very calm, '...He's sure that I won't attack?'

Shinji ignored their reactions and casually answered while leaning his head on his hand, "Of course not. While the majority of Central 46 did have that opinion, some of them are still cautious enough to not do something stupid. And with Captain Commander Kyouraku weighing in, there was no way for them to pass a directive like that without a unanimous vote. Besides, it's undeniable that you and your group saved the members of the attack squad and in addition to Sitri Serafall's help, Central 46 would need to prepare to lose a chunk of their authority if they were to continue with that line of thinking."

Shinji then stood up and lowered his head slightly, "And before we forget, we thank you for saving our comrades."

Rukia, Nanao, and Omaeda panicked at Shinji's sudden actions but they couldn't let him do this alone so Rukia also stood up and lowered her head, "We thank you for saving our comrades." Naturally, Nanao and Omaeda did the same.

A few seconds later, the oppressive and strange Reiatsu ceased to weigh on them, making the nervous three sigh in relief.

"Rukia, return first with Omaeda and take care of the units outside. Ise-san and I will be following after you."

"...Understood." Rukia knows what she has to do before it becomes a bloodbath, "If you'll excuse us. We'll return first. Thank you for having us."

"You're welcome." Kisuke's previous jovial tone returned too, "It was a pleasure to have you here."

Shinji and Nanao watched Rukia and Omaeda leave. Soon after, the presence outside also disappeared one by one as each of them retreated.

Shinji then sat back down and asked, "Can you stop the sound from leaking?"

Not just Nanao, but Kisuke also didn't know what he's trying to achieve now, nevertheless, it was not hard to comply. Kisuke snapped his finger and the black cube in Shinji's hand started vibrating more vigorously than before, "Done. You can say what you want and no one will be able to hear it besides us."

Shinji's expression slightly changed and that immediately started sounding the alarms in Kisuke's head, 'Huh?'

Shinji leaned back and stared at the white-suited man's white mask for a moment before asking, "What game are you playing this time, Kisuke?"

There was no release of Reiatsu by anyone, however, the oppressive atmosphere returned.

Nanao's eyes left Shinji and turned to the man in front of them who was staying silent.

And although he's appearing calm, Kisuke's mind is racing, trying to trace where he could have slipped up and if that slip-up has further implications, 'I can pretend that I don't know what he's talking about and I'm sure that he's still just guessing at this point... However, he sounds so confident that he's not afraid to call me out. Even if I can deny it now, he'll leave with suspicion, and that much is already dangerous enough.' His eyes then turned to Nanao, 'Not to mention, Ise-san has been acting weird all this time. She was surprised by what Hirako-san said but immediately turned to me as if she wanted to ask the same. Just what's going on?'

Kisuke remained silent as he weighed his options.

After a few more moments, Kisuke sighed and his entire body became blurred. As soon as it returned to its normal clarity, Shinji and Nanao were able to meet their former friend and acquaintance respectively, "What gave it away?" Kisuke asked with a wry smile.

Shinji grinned and replied, "It appears that you don't know what's been happening this past decade, or at least, you didn't have a close look at the current Gotei 13 all these years. You miscalculated Soifon."

Kisuke's eyes widened and asked again, "The note?"

Editors:

28th00: I mean, at least it's the ones that can keep a secret, eh?

Goyya: And out of all the characters in Bleach, Shinji is the sharpest when it comes to judging people in my opinion. There's a reason why he's the first one to move to contain Aizen before anyone else could realize that something is amiss. On top of that, he's also Kisuke's good friend.

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