I never understood how, but I always forgot that the air seemed to taste different between the World of the Living and the Soul Society. It wasn't a proper taste per say, it wasn't like going to a forest or beach where you could pinpoint the various scents of the wild or the salt in the air. Nor was it like going to an area with less pollution, not that Karakura had much of that, where the greater purity of the air was noticeable. The best way I could decipher it was the air being more…full. Like there was something extra to it, and not in the sense that I could feel the reiatsu. That was a separate feeling. The taste was like there was 110% of everything. Almost like I could breathe a little less and suffer no consequences. I knew for certain that it wasn't the reiatsu, as the Royal Palace didn't carry that same taste of 'extra'. The Palace air was thick, it always took a moment to adjust to how dense the air was with reiatsu before I would be able to breathe normally, and I've been told that it was like trying to breathe sludge for weaker Shinigami. Once again, I was reminded that the Soul Society was most certainly a land meant for departed souls to relax, even if it didn't end up being so. I turned my head to Yoruichi.
"Yo, if you want, you can go say hi to Kukaku. Only thing I got planned for this trip is Amagai, I want to be back home for dinner if we can. Yuzu's making some breaded chicken she heard about." I announced. A wide smile curled onto her face.
"Sure! Mind if I let her know you're her cousin?"
"As long as you make sure she's aware that I am planning on visiting and having a few drinks with her, so she doesn't go hunting for me."
"Will do." She nodded before zipping off in shunpo.
"So how will we be finding Amagai-san?" Unohana wondered.
"Uhm…" I looked up in thought as we began walking through the streets of the Rukongai towards the Seireitei gate. "Last time, he was the Captain of the 3rd in replacement of Gin, so I figure stopping by there should be a good start. I never actually found out what position or division he was in before he became a Captain. Though, we shouldn't be on any time limit or anything. As far as I can recall, the only thing that could potentially tip him off that we're onto him is the fact that the Seireitei knows I'm from the future, but it's also common knowledge I'm here for a war against the Quincy. There shouldn't be a reason why we can't take our time."
"What if he catches word that we're looking for him and realizes you likely know of his plans?" I shrugged uncaringly.
"His one goal is to kill Yama, if he realizes that we're gunning for him, I don't see the guy trying anything other than moronically rushing him and getting his ass beaten to a pulp. He doesn't realize it yet, but his two options are 'die fighting someone that once put Yhwach in a super coma' or 'die fighting someone that killed Yhwach after he ate the Soul King'." She pouted adorably.
"Not even considering me as an option for his demise, how rude."
"He's over-reliant on his zanpakuto's abilities and the gimmicks of the bakkoto." I monotoned.
"I see." Her voice turned predictably bored. "You are right that I have no interest." We waved politely to a passing patrol of Shinigami, who waved back. "Exactly how difficult do you think it's going to be to kill him this time?" Once more, I shrugged to emphasize my lack of care.
"If a fight breaks out? Dunno, I might need to release Shikai? If he goes straight into his Bankai and uses his bakkoto at full power? I could probably take him on with my sealed sword. He got me to use my Hollow mask, but it was the sort of difference where he was just barely stronger than my false bankai, so pulling out my mask gave me a clear advantage." I tilted my head in thought. "Though, I also had just gotten my mask under control, so it might've been more of a case of me being overeager to use it." She hummed in understanding.
"So far, we've dealt with Kusaka and now Amagai. For both instances, you've displayed that you reasonably have little concern due to the overwhelming difference in strength. Is there anything beyond the Quincy we have to actually worry about in the future?"
"Not…really?" Ossan pulled up a mental image of the notes we took in class. "There's a few events where there's a lot of enemies and I can't be everywhere at once, but that's about it. Honestly, the Quincy were such an overwhelming threat that the few times something did try to interrupt the Blood War, it was the Quincy themselves that usually dealt with it. They were pretty indiscriminate with their mass slaughter. I can…actually tell you outright that the Quincy namedropped several enemies that they had taken out during the war that we would have never been aware of otherwise. It was one of the very rare moments of levity, that they would try to say 'hey we just took out these guys, bet you didn't know we knew about them', and we would just kinda stare and tell them that we didn't know about them." She frowned at that information as we stepped into the third division.
"Exactly how often did that occur?"
"It wasn't that often. It happened enough times that they weren't really memorable, though that's probably aided by the fact that I still don't actually know who it was they took out. I do know that Orihime and Chad recognized some 'Ginjo' guy. They weren't that hung up about it, so I figured he wasn't all that close to them." We came up to Gin's office, and I knocked in greeting before sliding the door open. Inside, Gin and Izuru were sitting at their respective desks, both scribbling away at paperwork.
"Heyya, Ichigo-chan, Unohana-chan." Gin waved. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Any timey-whimey shenanigans involving my squad you're fixin' up today?"
"Uh, kinda? I accidentally messed it up a little bit." I began. "So, there's this guy that was supposed to be your replacement since you originally left with Aizen. Obviously, since you're still Captain of the 3rd, that can't happen, so we're trying to figure out where he is now." The snake's head tilted in interest.
"Got a name?"
"Yeah, Amagai…" Ossan reminded me of his name. "Shusuke." The silver haired man brought his hand up to cradle his chin as he hummed in thought.
"Sounds familiar. I think he was on the list of potential captains that were being examined yesterday. I'm still on probation, so they showed it to me, but didn't let me join. I know that someone got approved to be a captain, but I don't know who and I don't know which division."
"So that should narrow it down to either the Fifth or the Ninth divisions. Thanks Gin." I smiled.
"Whatcha gonna do with the guy when you find 'im?" He asked as we turned to leave.
"Kill him." I announced over my shoulder. We shut the door as he burst in laughter.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you, Kid!"
It didn't take much time at all before we reached the Fifth Division, and even less to find Momo training a group of unseated officers. Shiro was lounging around next to where the officers kept their swords during training, blending in easily with the white walls and black sheaths around him. The sun was shining upon him, the spirit visibly on the edge of falling asleep and not having a single problem with that. Unohana and I strolled up to Momo, making sure we remained to the side so the rest of the squad could mimic her form.
"Hey Momo, how's it going?" I asked.
"Business as usual, or the new usual, I guess." She spoke between swings of her practice sword. "Yamamoto-soutaicho demanded that all squads increase their daily training, some of the squads are struggling to meet the new standard. It hasn't been too hard for Squad 5 to keep up with it."
"Good, good. How's it going with Shiro? He's been keeping me updated, but I wanna hear it from you."
"He's been visiting me everyday, like he said. It's nice, seeing him napping next to the training grounds is weirdly comforting. Though, he scared me pretty good when he popped out of a Garganta right in front of my desk the other day." We shared a small laugh at that.
"Yeah, he loves to scare people. Next time you go to the World of the Living, he'll probably try to get you to watch a horror movie with him."
"Sounds like it would be fun." She huffed. "Are you just checking in on everybody or is something going on?"
"Does the name Shusuke Amagai ring any bells for you?"
"The new Captain of the Ninth? Why?"
"Well," I laughed at how easy that turned out to be, "I've been looking for him. In my time, he was the Captain of the Third after Gin, so we've had to do some searching."
"I see. Gonna give him the same 'gotta get you stronger for the future' talk?"
"Eh, more like I'm gonna kill him so he doesn't cause unnecessary problems." Momo froze halfway through a practice swing. Her head slowly turned to face me, her eyes wide. "I don't actually remember why, but he has a grudge against Yamamoto and is planning to try to kill him the first chance he gets. I mean, he failed miserably when he tried it in my time, but it's still better if he doesn't try."
"…You know, we went twenty years since the last time anything happened out of the ordinary."
"Yup."
"You've been here a month."
"Yeah." She stared at me in disbelief for a long moment. A very long moment. She then mechanically returned to facing the confused members of her squad.
"This is my new normal." She breathed in horror. A bellow of laughter rumbled out of me.
With how the Seireitei was laid out, it took less time to get to the Ninth from the Fifth than it did to the Fifth from the Third. Just like in the previous two divisions, everyone was bustling around as normal, about two dozen sparring with each other on the sparring mats, half that practicing Kido on dummies and targets, officers running around to deliver paperwork, and most sitting at desks filling out said paperwork. Thankfully, Shuhei and Amagai were walking through the division, deep in conversation with each other and easy smiles on both of their faces. I tapped someone on the shoulder to get their attention. They turned and stiffened upon realizing who I was.
"Kurosaki-san!"
"Hey, could you go and grab some towels? We're gonna need them really soon." I explained.
"If you don't mind my asking, why are we going to need towels?"
"I think it's better if I don't tell you. Come on, times-a-wastin'." I patted them on the back and they quickly rushed off. With the necessary preparations on their way, I began sauntering towards the Captain and Lieutenant duo. Shuhei noticed me first.
"Ah, Kurosaki-san, Unohana-taicho! I thought you had left for the World of the Living?" I put on an easy smile myself, Unohana doing the same next to me.
"We did, actually. I'm just getting some business done really quick, we're hoping to be back in time for dinner." The tattooed man brightened with excitement.
"Did you record something for the Seireitei Bulletin?" I snapped my fingers in recollection that I still had the camera he gave me.
"Actually forgot about that. Still undecided." To my surprise, he gained a pleased smile.
"Undecided isn't a no, so I'll take it. If you're not here for the Bulletin though, why-" He smacked his forehead. "Ah, I'm so stupid! You're obviously here because of Amagai-taicho!" He stepped to the side so the man in question could step in.
"Someone's here for little old me?" The man was clearly at ease, not an ounce of concern in his body.
"Yes, Amagai-taicho, this is Kurosaki Ichigo. He's gotten some recent fame for being a time traveler here for a war against the Quincy." The ruffled man's eyes widened in shock. "He's been going through the Gotei 13, helping the Captains train so they're strong enough to handle the upcoming threat." A wide smile grew on the bakkoto-wielder's face, I was pretty sure he was thinking that I was gonna make him stronger and he would be better equipped to take on Yamamoto.
"Well, well, well, isn't that interesting. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. I promise, no matter what it is, you'll have no complaints from me."
"Great to hear. Don't worry, your training is nice and simple." I rested my left hand against the hilt of Zangetsu. Only Unohana noticed.
"Should be easy to follow, then!" The man chuckled. "What's the plan?"
"Die." He didn't get the chance to react before I had pulled Zangetsu out in a reverse grip and swiped the blade through his neck, his head sliding off his body. There were several screams. Shuhei stared, no discernable emotions on his face as his eyes remained stuck on the body that flopped to the floor. I patted the man's shoulder in sympathy. "Yeah, so Amagai actually had a grudge against Yamamoto. The whole reason he became a Shinigami and ascended to Captain was to try to kill him. Yamamoto would've handled him no problem, but it's better for morale if there's no attempts via other Shinigami to kill the Head Captain, you know?" I turned my head around and spotted the Shinigami I tasked with grabbing towels.
"Hey!" I called out. "We need those towels over here, thanks!" The Shinigami didn't move, frozen with a horrified look on their face as they stared at Amagai's still bleeding body. "They're not gonna come out of their shock, are they?"
"You decapitated their Captain with no warning." Unohana answered. I sighed in assent before stepping over and gingerly lifting the towels from their hands. Shuhei was still standing with his wide eyes focused on the flat, bleeding stump between the body's shoulders. A grunt of acceptance escaped me and I kneeled down to start wiping up the puddle. Thankfully, because of my preparation, the puddle wasn't that large yet, so only two towels were necessary for containing it. A third was used to cover his neck to stop the bleeding. The fourth was used to wrap up Amagai's head, and I smirked while proudly holding up the last towards Unohana. She snorted softly in response.
"Now that you've created a corpse, what do you plan to do with it?" Came her question. I opened my mouth to answer, only to find I had no response to that.
"Uh…didn't think that far? Most of the past two days has been a bit impulsive."
"I thought you said you were past that?" She smirked.
"I said I wasn't hotheaded." I corrected. There was a moment where the medic did nothing but raise an eyebrow. "Last night doesn't count." Her eyebrow raised further. "It does not." I remained firm.
"Fine. We will pretend that my body isn't sore from anything that you did." Her grin was victorious as I tested my jaw as I fought to answer that challenge. "You still haven't answered what you're going to do with the now-late captain." She switched with ease. My eyes rolled but I stood nonetheless, keeping the wrapped-up head in my hand.
"Well, it would be irresponsible to just have the Ninth take care of it." I thought aloud. "And the Fourth already is going to have enough on their plates, if Yama upped everyone's training." I closed my eyes in contemplation. "And, speaking of training, the way we've just torn through this inadvertently made it so that there's some fight experience my friends are now missing out on. So I want to get something out of this mess."
"Well, you did manage to arrange a meeting with the Vizard in two days thanks to this venture." Unohana offered. I waved that off.
"I was gonna get that done anyway." I opened my eyes as I tried to think of what I could do with a dead body that would be beneficial to someone's training. Giving it to Kurotsuchi wouldn't help him learn anything, ignoring that I couldn't get near the 12th Division. The same applied to Kisuke.
A frown fell upon my face as I glanced down at the bundle in my hand, the white towel slowly turning maroon as it soaked up the blood. It was starting to drip between my fingers, and the sensation was one I didn't like to think about the connotations of.
I shook the thought away and carefully readjusted the head in my hands so that I was holding it from a part of the towel that was still dry.
Orihime wouldn't gain anything from Amagai, she's never been able to outright resurrect someone. The closest she had come was healing me, but that was closing up a hole Ulquiorra punched into my chest and was less than five minutes after it happened. By the time I would be able to make it to her, at least half an hour would have gone by and decapitation was a little bit different of a wound.
Uryu either was in the middle of or was going to start training to reclaim his powers, and I knew he had already performed rasotengai before. And neither of us had ever been comfortable with the idea of controlling the bodies of someone alive, let alone dead. There was absolutely nothing I could do for training one of my friends where a dead body could in any way be useful.
'Perhaps it doesn't need to be useful for someone else.' Ossan suggested.
The frown on my face tightened and I couldn't help but look down. Though I looked away from what sat in my hand rather than towards. As vague as it was, it wasn't difficult for me to put together what he had in mind. In silent response, I shook my head, a bit more force than was probably necessary in it.
Now wasn't a good time. The Captains were at a point to train on their own but they only. I hadn't so much as suggested an idea to a lieutenant, Chad outright needed to get access to Hueco Mundo, I had to figure out how to give the Vizards advice for their hollows, there was too much that needed my interference. There was the now-introduced randomness of the side bullshit that happened through the years I had to watch out for.
'Are you referring to the Rebellion that could have been resolved without your involvement? The twins that meant to live quietly until you fought to be remembered? The sinners who only sought you out after catching glimpses of your final battle with Ulquiorra?' My jaw tensed and I swallowed down the building lump in my throat. 'Your family accepted you. Your friends have declared their interest in helping you. As you noted yourself, the Captains can already train themselves. The strongest are growing stronger. Getting the weaker up to par is nowhere near as vital, and the Head Captain is already seeing to that.'
I kept my mouth shut. It felt as though my teeth were about to break under the pressure I was putting them under as I slowly began to turn my head.
Now wasn't a good time. But it also wasn't a bad time. I held the bundle in my hands, feeling the cooling blood drip through my fingers and down my arms. My left hand came up to unwrap the towel, revealing the face of the man I just killed. His face was forever going to remain in the slightly excited grin of someone who was anticipating the future. An excitement I betrayed. A future I had taken away. My arms began to tremble, despite that the head weighed so little I could have forgotten it was in my hands.
How many futures have I taken away? This was the second time I had killed this man, yet I struggled to remember his name. I couldn't recall a single detail of any soldat I carved in two outside of the uniform they all shared. I couldn't be trusted to identify any Sternritter by name despite having put together and reread complete profiles of each one of them until I knew them as well as my friends. I couldn't name a single arrancar that wasn't an Espada or their closest fraccion. I had to be reminded of who Kusaka was.
A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and began pulling me somewhere. My gaze fluttered up to Unohana's sapphire orbs, filled with startled realization and mild panic. I allowed myself to fall back into the abyss of emotion.
Could someone that couldn't remember the names of anyone they killed be trusted to keep their friends safe? Could I really call myself different than Aizen or Yhwach when I knew for a fact I had taken more lives than the illusionist had? I may not have been attempting to become God, but was I not playing the part of one by traveling back in time because I didn't like how things turned out? Was I any different considering all the times I've declared that I would fix the Soul Society? Was I only deemed to be 'the good one' because I happened to be killing the people they wanted dead anyway?
Could I possibly be good if I let down everyone I ever cared about? If I was the reason they died? Was I any better than Aizen by intentionally keeping Amagai's guard down until I took his life? Was I any better than Yhwach by letting Byakuya and Renji take grievous injuries just so that I had an opportunity to kill Aizen? Was I not the same as them by creating a plan where everyone was just a piece on a board to go where I wanted, when I wanted? I knew that I was nowhere close to the amount of bodies Yhwach had racked up, but especially in this timeline, I was past Aizen by leaps and bounds.
Bile slowly clawed its way up my throat as I realized that I had been more focused on what I could do with a dead body than ever treating it like it used to be a person. Like it was something to use, rather than someone who had goals and aspirations and people that they cared about.
How many soldats had families? How many had friends? How many times had I acknowledged that the Sternritters had formed their own social circles? How many times had I taken advantage of the strained relationship that was between the 'Balance' and the 'Heat'? How many times have I seen the other Sternritters clearly be disgusted and disapproving of the 'Love'? How many times have I reduced all those people to nothing more than obstacles to cut down?
How many years has it been since I was told the body count of the day and even was able to care? How many times have I seen a Shinigami die in front of me and felt irritation rather than mourning? How many times had I been angry that someone excused themselves from a fight because of a close death rather than understanding? How many times have I competed with the other Front Liners over who could take the most lives?
Someone grabbed my head and forced me to look into Unohana's eyes.
"Ichigo!" I was looking up at her. Since when have I been on my knees? When did we get into a bathroom? Why were we-oh, the smell of vomit just hit me. That made sense. "Look at me!" I did. Her eyes were filled with concern and suppressed irritation. "You are not a bad person because you killed people."
"I killed more people than Aizen!" I argued. "How can I pretend I'm not if I can even make that comparison?!"
"Aizen killed people to satiate a curiosity and become a god. You killed people to keep others safe."
"He wanted to be a god because the one we have can't do anything to make this world a better place. Yhwach wants to be a god because he thinks the world will be better off if no one can die." I fisted her shihakusho. "I've traveled back in time, and I've been basically manipulating things because I think I can do better. How am I not playing the part of a god?"
"You're playing the part of someone who understands the capability of a single person."
"I'm demanding that you all change!"
"You're inspiring us to do better."
"I'm 'inspiring' you to get strong enough to do what I want you to do!"
"You're helping us get strong enough that we have a chance at life." My eyes burned as I brought up my other fist to clench her clothes, and her hands came up to latch onto my wrists.
"You're all pieces on a chess board for me to move."
"You're the only person who could possibly know what we're in for."
"You're trusting your lives to someone that's already let you all get killed!"
"We're trusting our lives to someone that's in deep despair over being kept from saving us."
"I saw our enemies as nothing more than things to slaughter!"
"You understood they weren't the type that could be convinced to stop."
"I didn't even try to talk them down!"
"Was that before or after they massacred the citizens of the Rukongai, who had nothing to do with our conflict?"
"I couldn't be bothered to remember the name of someone I killed, by hand, twice!"
"You kept yourself from seeing the blood on your hands because you knew you couldn't bear the thought of taking another's life."
"And look where that got me; I've killed tens of thousands." My vision blurred as tears streamed without my consent. "And saved the lives of no one."
"You might as well blame Kisuke Urahara for failing to purge the Vizard of their hollows."
"He didn't have the means of doing that."
"You informed Yoruichi and I that Yhwach attacked on multiple fronts. Are you telling me you can be everywhere at once, or were your earlier words to me a lie?"
"I can be in three." My voice shook. Her eyes were unwavering.
"I don't need to know of war to know that could not possibly be enough." Her voice was soft, but firm. "And I don't need to see you as you are to know you tried to make it so."
"I ignored every sign in front of me that most of the Sternritter were just as human as myself." I sobbed.
"Is that a fault of yours when they did the same? When you sought only to stop them while they sought to cause you torment?"
"I don't remember the last time I cared when Shinigami died."
"Is that 'lack of care', or is that 'shielding yourself from the pain'?"
"I got pissed at them when they died in front of me!" My voice jumped.
"Because you understood it was avoidable."
"…I competed with the other Front Liners for who could kill the most soldats." The declaration was quiet, already waiting for the correction.
"You mean you tried to turn it into a game so that you could hide from the reality?" My head dropped onto my hands, still stuck onto her clothes.
"…I didn't have to kill them." Her hands let go of my wrists to circle around me.
"Is that something you know or something you wish was true?" My throat strained as I attempted to get more words out. More pain.
"…I…" She stroked my hair.
"…Have run out of denials?" She finished. My hands slipped from her shihakusho to around her back.
"…Want to go to sleep." I breathed, tears still falling from my eyes but sobs no longer shaking my form.
"…That works, I suppose." Unohana accepted.
"I'm sorry for dropping this on you."
"I'll admit, some warning would have been appreciated." The raven-haired woman sighed. "But we managed to get through the worst of it either way."
"We're gonna be skipping school tomorrow."
"Ah, good, I don't have to convince you of that."
Omake
The Original Blood War, Third Year
I roared as I unleashed a Getsuga at a group of soldats, quickly turning to bisect another that was coming up behind me. I felt an arrow shatter against the back of my neck so I continued to spin, charging a cero and blasting another three Quincy. A wall of fire burned an oncoming squadron and my Dad landed on the ground next to me, Engetsu wreathed in flames. I wasted no time in holding out Shiro's blade to block a Seele Schneider aimed at Goatchin's back, wherein he turned to face the Quincy that fired it and let loose a narrow Getsuga himself to kill the soldat.
"How're you holding up, Ichigo?" Dad wondered, his sword kept at the ready as he searched the area. We could still hear the sounds of combat around us, Unohana, Kenpachi, and Chad still audibly doing their parts. We had been going for the past three days, but the simple fact that there was time to catch our breaths meant the wave was coming to an end. I huffed as I rested my larger blade on my shoulder.
"I'm gonna enjoy the next break we get, that's for sure," was my response. "You?" He chuckled lightly, and I glanced at him to see his forehead dripping with sweat.
"Your old man's definitely feeling his age, but I can keep going." His smirk dropped into a small frown. "I'm concerned that I haven't seen any Sternritter though." I matched his visage.
"So, you noticed that too, huh?" I wiped my own forehead with the back of my left hand. "You'd think they'd at least send out Overkill or Zombie." He nodded in agreement. A soft thump snapped our attention to my right. Our eyes scoured for movement before we in unison locked sight onto a small spherical object that was bouncing our way towards us like it was thrown our way. It tumbled over bodies and debris until it came to a stop a few yards away. The object had roughed black hair a bit longer than itself that flowed from only one side, the other covered in heavy burn marks.
It was a head. The right side was burned to a crisp, almost nothing remaining outside of charred bone. The left displayed a feminine face, its lone grey eye still retaining the remnants of fear the person undoubtedly felt as they realized they were dead. There was a heavy stomp as the mohawked 'Heat' appeared standing behind the head, his head held high, a savage grin on his face, and his hands confidently kept in his pockets.
"You Shinigami bastards thought you could pull one over on us, huh?" His voice carried all the swagger of a man who couldn't lose. My Dad and I continued to stare at the head at his feet. "You thought that if you hid your little arrancar friends in the World of the Living, that we wouldn't know about them, huh?! I thought we told you already, we know everything about you! There's nowhere you can hide where we can't find you, no place for you to tuck away your 'secret weapons' for you to surprise us with! Let this be the prime example, Shinigami!" He emphasized his words by roughly stomping his boot onto the head, visibly refraining from crushing it under his heel. Dad and I remained staring at the head.
"Hey, Dad?" The Heat blinked at the tone in my voice, or lack thereof.
"Yeah, Son?"
"You have any idea who that is?"
"Honestly, I was hoping you would." The savage grin stuck on the mohawked man's face, but it quickly became hollow and forced.
"Hey, Sternritter-san," I spoke as I finally lifted my gaze from the head, instead choosing to lift a finger from my shorter sword's handle to point at it, "You said this was an arrancar, right? The face doesn't look familiar to me." The white-clad man's face slowly paled.
"She-she was hiding away in the World of the Living!" He accused. "We watched her route! She got shopping tips from Orihime Inoue!" Dad's and I's faces both turned green at that. "She bought merchandise from Urahara Kisuke! There's no way you've never met her!"
"Sorry, I don't know of any arrancar still alive that have dark hair." I tilted my head. "Actually, I don't think I ever met an arrancar woman with dark hair."
"Didn't Uryu once mention an arrancar girl with dark hair? Circuit Sandwich or something like that?" Isshin asked.
"Uryu said she had purple eyes, didn't he?" I argued. "This one has grey. And Uryu said he killed her, anyway, so she couldn't have been hiding in the World of the Living."
"Wait," Goatchin pounded the fist holding his zanpakuto into his open palm in realization, "Halibel had two fraccion that had dark hair!" My own eyes lit up at the revelation.
"You're right! Sun-Sun and…Apache!" I turned contemplative. "But neither had grey eyes? And they both had markings around their eyes." In unison, Dad and I looked back at the frozen in shock Sternritter.
"Hey Sternritter-san! Did you get the name of this arrancar?" I asked. The pink haired man blinked in incredulity.
"R-roka Paramia…" Dad and I remained in sync as our faces turned blank.
"Yup." I droned.
"Never heard of her." Isshin confirmed. There was a moment of silence between the three of us, before the sternritter removed his boot from the head. We all slowly looked down to stare at the remains of the arrancar.
Author's Note: I'm sorry for the emotional whiplash from the end of the chapter to the Omake, but there was no better place to put it.
Next Chapter: Ripping Off The Mask