Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 32 - The Clever (?) Ichigo

"After all, with invaders like us around, this would be exactly the wrong time to start suspecting your own people."

"That's true." Ichigo shook his head, then suddenly brightened. "Whatever, I've got a great idea!"

"Hmm?"

Inside the Eighth Division barracks, in the room set aside for receiving guests, Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake sat cross-legged on the floor. Tea cups and a few small snacks were arranged between them.

It was past noon. The two captains had just returned from the Fifth Division. Sosuke Aizen's room had yielded no obvious clues, though there were clear signs it had been searched. Combined with the disappearance of Fifth Division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori, whoever had gotten there ahead of them could only have been Hinamori.

"Who knows what clues were left behind?" Shunsui Kyoraku murmured, picking at the snacks. "I hear Lieutenant Hinamori absolutely idolized Sosuke Aizen. Hard to say whether that leads to something rash."

"Probably not." Jushiro Ukitake said, hesitantly. "Though the clues could have been planted. Lieutenant Hinamori should be able to keep a level head."

As a Soul Reaper who had lived and worked in Seireitei for decades, Momo Hinamori would be genuinely difficult to track down if concealment was the goal. And they couldn't go around loudly announcing that a lieutenant had gone missing, the situation was already unstable enough without adding more fuel to the fire.

"If Hinamori could keep a level head, Hinamori wouldn't have disappeared in the first place." Shunsui Kyoraku said, tone mild. "Whoever that clue points to, Hinamori will very likely look for a chance at revenge."

"But someone who could kill Sosuke Aizen—that has to be a captain."

"Yes... who on earth could it be..."

The conversation stalled there. Shunsui Kyoraku ate and thought. Too many things had happened recently, more than everything that had occurred in the past hundred years combined. Having served as captain for several centuries, Shunsui Kyoraku felt, for once, a faint unease settle in.

"Hmm?"

Mid-thought, Shunsui Kyoraku glanced sideways at an old friend and immediately stilled. Jushiro Ukitake's face was completely serious, every inch of that posture braced and on guard.

"...Something there, Ukitake?"

In an instant, Shunsui Kyoraku's gaze sharpened. The air around them shifted. This was the Eighth Division barracks, the thought that some unknown person or thing had slipped inside was, for a captain, an outright humiliation.

"Friends outside." Jushiro Ukitake spoke, voice warm and unhurried. "Won't you come in and take a seat?"

Silence.

Shunsui Kyoraku made no large movements, but both hands had already settled onto sword hilts, ready to move at any moment. Ukitake's capabilities were well known, for Ukitake to say something like that, there was absolutely something out there.

"That can't be right." A slightly rough-edged young voice rang out, and a Soul Reaper with orange hair pushed the door open and strolled in without a care. "I already suppressed my spiritual pressure as much as I could. With Orihime's barrier on top of that, we shouldn't have been detectable at all."

"This isn't a bluff, is it?"

Behind the orange-haired Soul Reaper, who looked very young, a girl with long orange hair peeked around the doorframe, also wearing a Shihakusho, quite beautiful. A small head full of bewilderment. Orihime Inoue was well aware that front-line combat wasn't exactly a strong suit, but in this newly developed power, Orihime Inoue had complete confidence. By any reasonable logic, they should not have been found.

"Indeed, whether in terms of spiritual pressure or anything else, you two had hidden yourselves very well." Jushiro Ukitake said slowly. "However, there is a certain rather unusual presence residing within this body, and its spiritual perception is extraordinarily sensitive. From a moment ago it had been issuing warnings without stop, that somewhere nearby, there was a terrifyingly powerful existence."

"Oh! I see!" Ichigo nodded, catching on. "A loss without even fighting, basically."

"Quite so." Shunsui Kyoraku turned around, smiling pleasantly. "You two would be the Ryoka who came from the World of the Living, yes? Welcome."

"Hey." Ichigo tilted his head with interest. "You're not going to attack?"

"Let's hold off on that, this humble place can't take that kind of beating." Shunsui Kyoraku said. "I'm curious, actually. As Ryoka, why come to our barracks? Isn't this walking straight into a trap?"

"Well—haven't you heard the saying? The most dangerous place is the safest place."

"Hiding in plain sight?" Shunsui Kyoraku nodded, catching on. "That's true. If you'd simply found some unused room in an outer barracks and settled in, it really would have been very hard to find you."

"Right?!" Ichigo puffed out his chest proudly. "I told you it was a great idea!"

"Just a bit of bad luck, we found you." Shunsui Kyoraku said with a smile. "So. How about we exchange information?"

"...Oh?" Ichigo paused, then smiled as well. "Not attacking is one thing, but exchanging information on top of that? This captain has real nerve."

"Well... you're not the one who killed Sosuke Aizen, are you. No motive, after all."

"As for motive—there is one, actually. A very sufficient one."

"Is that so..."

"Ahh, there's no point telling you anyway, you wouldn't actually believe it." Ichigo shrugged. "If I laid out the truth as I know it, you'd never buy it. The [facts] are right in front of you. Saying anything would only make you more hostile toward us."

"I see." Shunsui Kyoraku nodded. "I think I more or less understand."

"That said, Soul Society really is riddled with problems." Ichigo shook his head. "All these years, was there truly no sign that something was wrong?"

"Captains have a great deal of autonomy." Shunsui Kyoraku shook his head as well. "Being at the very peak of Soul Society, even those nobles who put on airs day-to-day wouldn't rashly make an enemy of any particular captain."

"True. And that's meant so many times, the trouble has come from within."

"Soul Reapers do live far longer than humans, after all." Shunsui Kyoraku remarked. "Even a once-in-a-century genius, over a thousand years, you'd have ten of them."

"That's true." Ichigo nodded, then shifted gears abruptly. "By the way, you two are the only dual-blade captains in Soul Society, aren't you?"

The moment Ichigo had walked in, both captains had been noticed wearing two Zanpakuto at their waists. As someone who also carried two blades, Ichigo had a keen interest in these two.

By common understanding, a Zanpakuto was a derivation of a Soul Reaper's own soul, one Soul Reaper, one Zanpakuto. Two Zanpakuto meant there was certainly something special behind it. The simplest explanation: dual-blade wielders all harbored something unusual within them.

"Indeed." Shunsui Kyoraku nodded. "You also carry two blades, don't you?"

"I do." Ichigo smiled, and extended the invitation.

"So, how about we give it a try?"

➤ Next: Three Dual-Blade Wielders (Part One)