Bleach 516: The last words 3: The truth revealed.

Scene opens in the present in Ichigos cave

Ryuken is sitting in front of Ichigo cross legged, he is holding his hands out towards him. They have a faint glow around them. Uryuu is standing with his back to his father facing Yoruichi who is sitting, leaning against the cave wall.

Uryuu: They almost destroyed the world?
Yoruichi: The fall of the Quincy arose due to two main events.
Ryuken: The first was the balance.
Uryuu:…
Ryuken: You've been told that Quincy destroying hollows could upset the balance and irreparably destroy the world…that is a lie.
Uryuu: What?!
Ryuken: The truth is that the imbalance of the souls in the world would have caused all the worlds to merge into one...Can you imagine, Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the physical world trying to cohabit together?
Uryuu:…
Ryuken: Yamamoto, who at the time due to his strength and power was the unofficial leader of the shinigami received his first missive from the soul king.
Uryuu: the soul king?
Ryuken: Yes, the order was not to allow for the worlds to merge under any circumstances.
Uryuu:...so the Quincy were no longer allowed to fight...so that is why they revolted.


Scene change back to the captain commanders quarters 2 days ago.

Yamamoto: No, if only things had been so simple.
Kyoraku/Ukitake: ...
Mayuri: Yes the Quincy could no longer kill hollows, but this did not mean they had no place on the battlefield anymore. They were still skilled companions who could be trained with, exceptional medics whose skills were greatly needed out on the field and could always provide support to the shinigami in battle without having to strike the killing blow. No, though it required a drastic change from the norm and for the Quincy to take on a supporting role but this was not a reason for the eventual revolt that happened.
Ukitake:...I thought that could not be the case since the timelines did not match, the battle with the Quincy happened a lot closer to our time...
Kyoraku:...but yamaji if that was not what created the conflict then what was?

Yamamoto takes a deep sigh and drops his head as if in shame.

Yamamoto: ...it was our arrogance.


Scene change back to the present in the cave.

Yoruichi: The Shinigami never thought to consider the strain that sharing powers with humans would have on them.
Uryuu: strain?
Yoruichi: Our powers come from within us but they have their own presence, in a way they have their very own existence and consciousness and are very much individual as they are a part of our spiritual energy.
Ryuken: When they transferred their powers over to the Quincy they also transferred over some of that presence.
Uryuu:...

Uryuu looks at Yoruichi with a very confused look, Yoruichi sighs

Yoruichi: Try to imagine how it is Uryuu, our Zanpaktou are a part of us but they still don't give us an easy ride, we have to show, to prove that we're worthy to wield them. Now imagine a part of that, a conscious, proud part that is being trapped in something else, something completely alien to them that they have no consideration for.
Uryuu: ...
Yoruichi: and then try to imagine more than one presence being trapped in one person.
Uryuu:!
Ryuken: It was something akin to schizophrenia but a lot more real with a lot more real and serious consequences.
Uryuu: But Ichigo...he's never mentioned anything like this happening to him.
Yoruichi: Kuchiki Rukia's powers weren't developed enough at the time for much of the presence to transfer through when she transferred her reitsu to him. He also never had them long enough to find out what might have happend as Byakuya removed them on his first encounter with Ichigo.
Uryuu: ...but now-
Yoruichi: the technique Kisuke devised to return Ichigo's powers removed the presence from the reitsu for the most part, though it was'nt foolproof the affect they have on him should have been much less...anyway by the time it became apparent what was happening and why, the number of shingami any given disciple might have shared powers with could easily have topped 100.
Ryuken:...It drove them mad. Imagine extremely powerful and deranged Quincy loose all over the world.
Uryuu: so they had to be killed for the sake of peace
Ryuken:...No, not just that...
Uryuu:?
Yoruichi:


Scene change back to the captain Commander

Yamamoto: Every single Quincy that had shared powers, no matter if just once, every single disciple however strong or weak, every single one of them was cut down.
Kyoraku/Ukitake:!
Mayuri: Every single one...but one!
Yamamoto:...
Mayuri: the disciple of Genryusai Shikeguni Yamamoto, Juha Bach was left alive.
Yamamoto: 1000 years ago I met him on the field of battle and defeated him...but I was not strong enough to land the killing blow on him, I could not, would not, and so he still lives today.
Ukitake: Juha Bach? Just who is he?
Yamamoto: A man of royal lineage, destined to be the next king of the Quincy, a man of unique skill and power chosen to be the sole disciple of the leader of the shinigami, a man born once in generation...that was my disciple, that was Juha Bach!


Scene change back to the cave in the present:

Ryuken: the victors write the history, the strong rule the weak. The shinigami made their choice...and I cannot say they chose wrong.
Uryuu: But they massacred hundreds of-
Ryuken: They were wild animals!
Uryuu:!
Ryuken: the only mistake they made was to let HIM live and now he's come back to exact revenge.
Uryuu: Him?
Ryuken: a light that sunk so low that now it only spreads the darkness. Juha Bach...

A man suddenly appears on the other side of Ichigo, he pulls back the cowl of his cloak revealing a battered hat.

Kisuke: he's your uncle in point of fact.
Uryuu: Urahara-wait? What?!
Kisuke: well, add in a few greats for the sake of accuracy and you get the idea.
Uryuu: my uncle?!

Ryuken: (sighs) you always know how to spoil a good story don't you Kisuke.
Kisuke: aha sorry,
Ryuken: fine then, you finish off the story, I was getting tired of it anyway.

Urahara walks over to Yoruichi and puts a hand to her shoulder as if consoling her.

Urahara: You are the last in the line of the Quincy royalty dating back to over 2000 years.
Uryuu: Royalty?!
Kisuke: yes, and Juha Bach, your...ancestor, was the man destined To be the next king a thousand years back.
Uryuu:...
Kisuke: The massacre of the Quincy is what led to the tipping point. Only the brightest, the strongest, the leaders and members of the royal family were chosen to become disciples of the Shinigami. Without them the remaining Quincies, no not just them but everything fell into disarray. In an attempt to bring that disarray to an end the Gotei 13 were created.
Uryuu:?
Kisuke: By decree of the soul king the thirteen squadrons were formed. Their job was to maintain the balance and supervise and manage the passing of souls. Yamamoto allowed the Quincy to manage and police themselves, the only rule laid down to them, to never fight again.
Ryuken:...
Kisuke: for a while this seemed to work, many Quincy built normal lives and disappeared into the world, but some could not let go of the past. Then Eventually that resentment built to a boiling point and you know the end result.
Uryuu: the Quincy began to kill hollows and the shinigami were forced to kill them all.
Kisuke: Yes...
Ryuken: Bach was the only man a thousand years ago that did not become insane... though he may have lost his sanity. How he managed it we don't know.
Kisuke: whether through power, dominance or sheer will, from what we do know he was certainly capable, but, the process did not leave him unchanged.
Uryuu: ...why?
Ryuken: He wished to let the worlds collide and become one. He felt it was better for us all to become one and the shinigami and Quincy to rule and govern them.
Kisuke: for that reason he stood against the captain commander a thousand years ago, to decide the fates of the worlds.
Yoruichi: and now he has come back to fulfil his ambitions.
Uryuu:...

The cave suddenly shakes as a tremendous amount of reitsu is released. Ichigo's back arches up off of the floor and a loud roar of a scream fills the cave.

Kisuke: I guess its about that time, at least we've managed to give him a fighting chance.
Uryuu: a fighting chance?
Ryuken: to bring them under control, to make them a part of his own reitsu and Zanpaktou.
Kisuke: unfortunately not all our plans went as expected. Ryu-Jin Jaka joined with Ichigo directly without any filter...
Yoruichi: and the strongest Zanpaktou for the last 2000 years is not one to be trifled with.


Scene change back to the captain commander.

Ukitake:...once again we seem to be dragging him into our conflicts, how pitiful.
Yamamoto: No, he chose the path of being a protector when he could have walked away. Since it is the physical world that would suffer the most it is fitting that its protector also be human.
Kyoraku: i don't think he would want it any different, don't you think Ukitake.
Yamamoto: If you have the resolve to protect you must have the resolve to endure and he will have to endure much. I have not left him alone in this... if he survives there are those that will rally around behind him and you must too.
Kyoraku/Ukitake:...
Yamamoto: He will need your guidance and your support if he is to defeat Bach and his army.
Kyoraku: Yamaji, you sound as if you've already buried yourself.

Yamamoto turns his back to all 3 captains, he walks out onto the balcony once more as the bright light glares onto his face. He places his hand on the stone rail and looks out.

Yamamoto:...If he comes he will come directly for me, if he comes he will have prepared for everything, if he comes I will die...and if i die, the whole of soul society will be turned to rubble.
Mayuri:...
Kyoraku/Ukitake:!
Yamamoto: But this must not stop you, this must not slow you down, not a tear must be shed, not a step back must be taken. Bones can be mended, stone can be rebuilt, do not think on yesterday but stand tall and true, for the peace of tomorrow... will rest on you!

Next Week: Bleach 517 - Ichigo vs Ryujin Jaka