Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 129 - The Fractured Soul

Once a person goes idle, the mind grows restless. All manner of thoughts begin to spring up, and while some may not translate into action right away, they take root in the heart like seeds, quietly sprouting.

Over the long passage of years, worn down by endless change, ideas that were once held in contempt may one day become the prevailing view.

Setting aside the Fullbringers for now, Kugo Ginjo, who carries the power of a Soul Reaper, has a lifespan comparable to a spirit being's, even as a human.

Ginjo was silent for a long moment, head lowered, his expression unreadable.

"Ginjo..."

Riruka called out to him softly. She wanted to say something, her mouth opened, but the words wouldn't come.

As the third member to join the Fullbringer organization, Riruka understood Ginjo's true nature well. Every now and then, without even trying to hide it, he would reveal a way of thinking that held the ends justified the means.

It was true he'd never laid a hand on innocents. But Ginjo had once proposed killing any Fullbringer whose power had been stripped away, because there was no way to take the Fullbringer's core essence, a Soul King Fragment, without killing that person first.

Everyone had opposed it, and so it was quietly dropped.

The Fullbringer organization was, more than anything else, a group of people making use of one another. Their escape from the Soul Reapers the previous night was proof enough, they'd only managed it by leaving two members behind. One of those members had possessed the ability to manipulate space.

"I'm not here to lecture anyone." Ichigo Kurosaki's gaze swept across the Fullbringers. "What you do with your own power, and how you do it—that's your freedom."

"But do not disturb the balance."

"Sounds exactly like something a Soul Reaper would say, Kurosaki." Ginjo said flatly. "Didn't you call yourself a human?"

"Preserving the balance of the Three Realms is something every living being ought to do," Ichigo said. "Not just Soul Reapers. Hollows, quincy, Fullbringers, ordinary humans, if you have the power, even if you choose not to actively maintain that balance..." He paused. "You must not be the one to destroy it."

"Destroy the balance of the Three Realms, and you make an enemy of me."

The words were delivered lightly. The weight behind them was anything but. Not a single person in the room dared to voice an objection. Something deeper than reason told every one of them: to challenge those words was a straight road to death.

"Let's set that aside."

When attention shifted to Nozomi Kujo, the group finally noticed: she had taken on the appearance of a Soul Reaper. Black Shihakusho, a Zanpakuto hanging at her waist.

"She really is a Soul Reaper." The blond-haired youth murmured. "Can't believe it. We've been living under the same roof as a Soul Reaper for three whole days. That's a serious oversight."

"Speaking of which, Ginjo—is this kind of healing technique something you can do?"

"This isn't healing, Yukio." Ginjo shook his head. "It's completely different from what I do when I distribute power. This is giving a portion of one's own soul and strength to Nozomi, to nourish and elevate the quality of her spirit."

"If it truly works the way my power does, Kurosaki could take that power back at any time. And furthermore..."

"And take the recipient's own power along with it." Ichigo said, perfectly open about it. "Depending on how much was given, I could even take the recipient's life."

"And the power I've given away will grow stronger as the recipient grows stronger."

"...Is that really how it works." Ginjo asked. "So your own power takes no damage?"

"If you take a cup of water from the ocean, what effect does it have?"

"Besides—the concept of taking damage stops existing once you become a Transcendent."

"...A Transcendent?"

"You don't need to understand it." Ichigo looked Ginjo up and down. "You do have several types of power mixed inside you, but the purity of all of them is far too low. Reaching the level of a Transcendent is beyond any hope for you."

"All you need to know is that for a Transcendent, killing you is no different from stepping on an ant... maybe that's putting it a bit strongly. But that's the truth."

"Now then, Nozomi Kujo. That's right, isn't it." Ichigo looked toward the green-haired girl, who wore an expression of complete bewilderment. "It's normal that you can't remember anything, because you are not a Soul Reaper, and you are not a proper soul."

"You're only half a soul."

"Half a soul?" Kon was thoroughly baffled. "Is that even possible? Even we Mod-Souls don't get counted that way!"

"To be precise, Nozomi Kujo was split off from a certain Soul Reaper." Ichigo took a moment to work through it before continuing. "In my perception, her soul is fundamentally incomplete, missing the other half. That other half should be the original body."

"How it was done is genuinely difficult to understand, and there's no telling why it was done that way. But what's obvious is that that Soul Reaper managed it."

"It's related to souls again." Yasutora Sado said suddenly. "Looks like the guesses you and the others made earlier, Ichigo, were basically right."

"Yeah. To have researched souls to this level, the original body is probably one of those people copying the Captains."

Soul Society. Within Seireitei.

"You are all useless!"

The man with short black-and-yellow streaked hair had abandoned his usual brooding composure entirely. He was howling at the Soul Reapers standing before him.

"Three Captains! You still failed to catch a single soul?!"

Standing before him were Captain of Squad 4 Retsu Unohana, Captain of Squad 6 Byakuya Kuchiki, and Captain of Squad 10 Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Their combat strength placed them at the very pinnacle of Soul Society. Yet in the face of his berating, not one of them showed any reaction at all. They simply stood and listened.

"What use are any of you! Truly useless! You're all stronger than the originals, so why can you only manage this much!"

"The opponent's abilities were also considerable." Retsu Unohana said, eyes lowered. "And as it happened, Isshin Kurosaki was nearby. We were concerned that involving him would draw out Ichigo Kurosaki ahead of schedule."

"...Kurosaki...!" The man ground his teeth and turned to the white-coated figure beside him. "Yamada! How much longer until it emerges?!"

"Don't be impatient, Inaba." The white-coated figure, director of the Mao Herbological Institute, answering directly to the nobles, Seinosuke Yamada said, without inflection. "There is only one final step remaining. It will be ready soon."

"Damn it!"

"Also, even if they are copies, I would ask that you refrain from insulting Captain Unohana."

"Tch... they're just fakes." Kageroza Inaba, seventh seat of Squad 12, gave a dismissive curl of the lip. "Where is Tsunayashiro? Where has he gone?"

"Lord Tsunayashiro is in the basement. The final calibrations require his power. Without it, even after it emerges, it would be no match for Ichigo Kurosaki. Not even close."

"I see." Inaba glanced at the three 'Captains.' "When does he plan to make his move against the Gotei 13?"

"Very soon."

"Good." Inaba's expression darkened. "According to the reports, that Shiba Clan kid is with my other half."

"After being attacked this time, he'll definitely go looking for Ichigo Kurosaki. Squad 12 discovered long ago that something is wrong with the Dangai. My measures won't hold much longer."

"That is enough."

"Good then..."

➤ Next: The Beginning of the Anomaly