"Argh! What a pain, this is such a pain!"
On the long staircase of the Squad 2 barracks, Suì-Fēng and her lieutenant, Omaeda, walked down side by side. They were also preparing to head to Sōkyoku Hill.
"First a Ryoka invasion, then a murder—just those are annoying enough. And now people are actually arguing over whether the execution should happen? That's a decision from the higher-ups, arguing is completely pointless!" Omaeda said, acting as if he were dictating the affairs of the world. "So stupid! Right, Captain?"
On the other side, if Hitsugaya could hear Omaeda's words, would he know they were talking about him?
"Still no response from Central 46?"
Matsumoto shook her head. From the moment they received the notice about the execution date change until now, they had first reported the situation truthfully to the Head Captain, hoping to suspend Kuchiki Rukia's execution.
Unfortunately, they were decisively rejected by the Head Captain without any explanation, leaving them completely in the dark about where the problem lay.
Left with no other choice, Hitsugaya could only report directly to Central 46. But up until now, all of his petitions had gone completely unanswered.
Why? Hitsugaya didn't understand. With this execution already shrouded in suspicion, why were both the Head Captain and Central 46 acting as if they didn't care at all? Were they just going to sit back and watch a tragedy unfold? He feared that by the time they realized it, it would be too late.
He couldn't figure it out; he completely failed to understand what those old men were thinking. But he knew one thing—he couldn't afford to wait any longer!
"We're going to Central 46, Matsumoto."
"But...?"
Ever since the Ryoka set foot in the Seireitei, the entirety of Central 46 had been completely sealed off. No one was allowed inside. Even if her captain went to Central 46 right now, he would only be able to make his requests from the outside again.
"We have to see Central 46 and stop Kōe and Ichimaru's conspiracy!" Hitsugaya looked at Matsumoto, his expression grave. "At all costs."
*'At all costs, huh? If we fail, the Captain and I definitely won't be able to escape the consequences, will we?'* Matsumoto offered a faint smile. "Understood, Captain."
...
*In light of the aforementioned reasons, I, Squad 10 Captain Hitsugaya Tōshirō, implore the wise sages of Central 46 to reconsider the sentence of the criminal Kuchiki Rukia, and to launch an investigation into Kōe Shihouin and Squad 3 Captain Ichimaru Gin.*
One letter, two letters, three letters... The petitions Hitsugaya had sent to Central 46 were quickly flipped through Kōe's hands. They all contained roughly the same message.
"He certainly seems full of motivation," Kōe casually tossed the stack of letters onto the table, bluntly summarizing the situation. "He's just applying it in the wrong place."
Leaning back with his hands behind his head, Kōe half-reclined against the wall. He was probably the most relaxed-looking person in the entire Seireitei right now.
"If he had headed straight for Sōkyoku Hill to stop the execution, that would have been quite a headache for you, wouldn't it, Captain Aizen? After all, you don't exactly have any spare forces to keep Hitsugaya occupied right now."
Aizen, however, appeared completely unconcerned. Setting aside the fact that Hitsugaya wasn't an out-and-out rebel by nature, even if he had coincidentally made the right choice, it wasn't true that Aizen lacked the forces to keep him in check, despite Kōe's claims.
"Hinamori Momo."
Aizen only said a single name, and Kōe's stomach started hurting again. For Hitsugaya, that was a tried-and-true recipe for failure. Of course, the same could be said for Hinamori.
*'So, just sitting back and letting them walk right into the trap actually works...'*
"Unexpected variables may exist, but Hitsugaya will not be one of them." Aizen smiled as he picked up the papers from the table, turning them to dust with a casual wave of his hand. "I made my preparations well in advance, did I not, Kōe?"
"So, that's why you sent Tōsen and Komamura to intercept Zaraki."
"Kenpachi does possess far too much instability. That terrifying, beast-like intuition of his... even if he cannot see the truth, he remains far too dangerous." Aizen said, pointing a finger at Kōe across from him. "The same goes for you."
Kōe didn't answer, closing his eyes as if he were tired. *'I'm not the same. The dark is far too unfamiliar to me. And I don't have any beast-like intuition either—at least, not compared to them.'*
However, it seemed there were things even beasts were bad at. Zaraki's group, having broken Ganju and the others out of Squad 4, found themselves lost in the Seireitei once again.
The White Tower was clearly visible from anywhere, so why had they turned into another dead end?
"Just let my big brother lead the way!" Ganju yelled loudly, pointing at Kaien. He had originally thought that having a captain lead them would guarantee a smooth journey to the White Tower. Now, it seemed that was a mistake.
Zaraki Kenpachi certainly didn't look very smart; when they told him Ichigo would definitely head for the White Tower, he believed them without question. But why did they have to listen to that little girl when deciding which way to go? Sure, she was cute, but cute people could make mistakes too!
"Looks like we have to find another route." Yumichika shook his head. This was an old problem. If there ever came a day when they didn't take a wrong turn, that would be the real surprise.
"Captain, we went the wrong way!"
Zaraki acted as if he hadn't heard her, remaining still and looking around. The surroundings were quiet, and he couldn't sense any Reiatsu, but he just had this feeling of being watched. *'There's someone here...'*
"You sneaky bastards, how embarrassing. Come out. Hiding your Reiatsu and skulking about—that's no way for captains to act."
Captains? Here?! Ganju was in disbelief. No matter how he looked at it, this place didn't seem to have anyone around, let alone the kind of oppressive presence Zaraki had brought with him earlier.
Besides, shouldn't all the captains be heading to Sōkyoku Hill to await the execution right now?
If Ganju had paid attention to Ikkaku and Yumichika, he would have realized the gravity of the situation. Although they were still smiling, a trace of solemnity had already surfaced on their faces. After all, their captain's intuition was incredibly accurate.
*Tap, tap, tap, tap.* Accompanied by four continuous, soft sounds, four figures of varying heights gradually appeared on top of the wall. The two in the middle were wearing white captain's haori.
"C-c-c-c-captains!" Ganju stammered, before letting out a shriek the next second. "And there's two of them!!!"
"Keep it down!" Yumichika turned his head and shouted. "There are only four of them. If we're talking about a numbers advantage, we're the ones with the upper hand here!"
That actually made a lot of sense. Ganju thought about it—the other side only had four people, while their side had seven, even if he didn't count himself and Inoue. It would definitely be a crushing victory.
*'But, is it really okay to just count the numbers?!'*
Of course it wasn't okay. Kaien raised a hand, smoothly shielding Ganju, Ishida, and the others behind him. Squad 7 Captain Komamura Sajin, Squad 9 Captain Tōsen Kaname, and both of their lieutenants were here. The situation was looking a bit grim.
Furthermore, he had a question: why did it seem like these two captains had brought their subordinates here specifically to wait for them? It was as if they had known all along that Zaraki would bring people this way.
*'Is it just my imagination? If not, could they have been ordered here by someone all along...'*