Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 73 - Silent Malice

Golden light blazed across the sky, illuminating the night that had just fallen. A massive crescent slash tore free from the tip of the long blade as it came down.

"Uwaaaaaaah!"

The crescent swallowed the nearest large, heavyset figure whole. One cry of agony, that was all. The next instant, the crescent erased him entirely.

It didn't slow. Carrying enough force to destroy everything in its path, it kept streaking upward into the sky.

"W-wait a second!"

The golden light bore down on them. The others were so crushed by the terrifying spiritual pressure that not one of them could speak. Only Ganryu, as the leader, managed to roar out loud, body lurching into motion.

Too late. The golden crescent had already arrived. The four retainers in front didn't even get a scream out before they were reduced to ash. Ganryu's eyes went wide, watching the crescent close in.

"Uwaaaaaaah!"

After swallowing every last enemy, it shot straight into the sky. Only the lingering echoes of screams circled overhead, carrying endless resentment and agony.

"That... that was terrifying..." Renji's cold sweat wouldn't stop. Staring at the crescent that refused to disperse, unable to help himself: "Just now... were we almost... attacked by something like that?"

"Relax." Toshiro Hitsugaya offered the reassurance, though his mouth twitched anyway. "Kurosaki wouldn't go that far against us."

"As long as we don't provoke him like that."

"Felt pretty close, though..."

"Probably still a fair ways off."

"Who... who knows?"

The two exchanged awkward laughs, trying to break the atmosphere that had nearly hit rock bottom. None of the Soul Reapers knew how to approach Ichigo anymore. The ringleader was already dead, if they pushed for Senna on top of that, it would make them look completely unreasonable.

"Tch!" Unexpectedly, Ichigo clicked his tongue, frowning. "That guy isn't dead."

"What?" Sui-Feng asked immediately. "Not dead?!"

"Yeah, he slipped into that strange Senkaimon at the last second." Ichigo looked toward the sky. "The crescent hit him, but it didn't finish him off. He should still have a breath left in him."

"Hey—the blonde one. You got all of that recorded, right?"

"My name is Rangiku Matsumoto." Rangiku pulled a compact device from that generous chest. "Your spiritual perception really is something else, Ichigo. Got everything."

"Well, I had someone teaching me since I was little."

"Captain Isshin Kurosaki...?"

"That's right." Ichigo nodded. "You should look into their backgrounds. That kind of Senkaimon probably leads to what they call the Valley of Screams."

"Spatial matters are outside my reach, so I'll need you all to figure out how to open a passage there and see what's actually going on."

"Understood." Sui-Feng gave a nod, then shifted. "But next time something like this happens, please try to leave one or two of them alive. Interrogation is faster than digging through records."

"Well... my bad. I was going for a clean sweep." Ichigo scratched his head. "Doesn't matter much, though—that guy won't last. He's been tainted by my power. No treatment will work on him."

"Is that so..." A brief silence, then: "Then there shouldn't be any major problems. Without the Shinenju, the Valley of Screams will settle down eventu—hm?!"

Beep beep,

A sharp alarm cut through from Sui-Feng's body. Brow furrowing. This was an emergency communication device newly developed by the Research and Development Department, performance unstable after crossing dimensions, single use only. The fact that it was going off now meant something serious had happened.

"Captain Sui-Feng! Captain Sui-Feng!"

"I'm here!"

Listening carefully, Sui-Feng recognized the voice: the Third Seat of Squad 12, a veteran researcher.

"Has the Shinenju been taken by the enemy?!"

"It has not!" Sui-Feng's expression flickered. "The Shinenju is under the protection of World of the Living Special Operations Squad Captain Ichigo Kurosaki, completely safe! What has happened in Soul Society?!"

"The Shinenju is safe?!" Disbelief saturated the voice on the other end. "But according to our observations, the stimulus on the Valley of Screams has been pushed to near maximum! The distance between Soul Society and the World of the Living is closing at an alarming rate!"

"What?!" Sui-Feng's voice cracked out. "Have you determined the cause?!"

"Not yet! We're still, what?!" The voice shot up sharply. "You're saying there's a Kototsu response coming from inside the Valley of Screams?!"

"...K... Kototsu?!" Sui-Feng's expression froze. "That Kototsu?"

Toshiro Hitsugaya had mentioned it before, the Valley of Screams was composed of Blanks, and Blanks were special souls that had gone astray in the cracks between dimensions. A considerable portion of them had been formed after being swallowed by the Kototsu, as was the case with the true owner of Mirokumaru.

So the Kototsu, a rule-bound entity that should only ever appear in the Dangai, was also capable of stimulating the Valley of Screams. And at what amounted to a near-maximum level of fearful agitation.

"The Kototsu stimulated the Valley of Screams?" Ichigo's expression went rigid, a muscle jumping in his brow. "No way..."

Back to where it all began. Ichigo had assumed Senna was a Soul Reaper whose crossing had gone wrong because the Kototsu had disappeared, an assumption that had been mercilessly shattered a few minutes ago.

He had just been thinking that aside from accidentally giving rise to Senna, the Kototsu's destruction hadn't caused too many other problems. He had even let out a quiet breath of relief. But now, the consequences of the Kototsu's destruction were right here, waiting for him.

"Tch!" Toshiro couldn't hold it back. "Didn't think it would come to this! Damn it!"

"What do we do now?!" Sui-Feng demanded. "Is there any way to calm the Valley of Screams?!"

"Just a moment... I..."

"There are currently two methods." A familiar voice cut through, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi interrupted the Third Seat without ceremony. "The first is for Soul Society to fire the Kido Cannon and destroy the Valley of Screams outright."

"However, this method is far too crude. The Kido Cannon's range is difficult to control. The spatial fabric between Soul Society and the World of the Living will be damaged, causing massive harm to both realms. In the worst case, one fifth of each realm's area would be affected."

"...The second one."

"The second method is much simpler." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice carried none of its usual peculiar inflection, perfectly flat. "The Shinenju carries the memories of the Blanks, and the Valley of Screams is composed of those very Blanks."

"That is to say, if the Shinenju were to dissolve its own existence into memory, it could soothe the Valley of Screams and stop its agitation."

Ichigo went silent.

"The Kido Cannon is currently in preparation. Estimated time to strike: 10 minutes." The mockery and malice stayed buried deep, voice still perfectly flat, yet there in the Research and Development Department, the corner of Mayuri Kurotsuchi's mouth curled upward. "Now then, Ichigo Kurosaki. The choice is yours."

"I don't care what you ultimately decide. But as a friendly reminder, the place where the Shinenju first appeared is where the spatial fabric is thinnest. Very soon, a passage leading to the Valley of Screams will open there."

➤ Next: The Cause and Effect of the Shinenju