"This is a nice surprise." Kensei snickered as Toshiro walked into his office and sat down. "Came looking for a smoking buddy, kid?" He didn't seem like he was in the mood for jokes but then again, when was he?

"I have questions about zanpakutōs." He said

"Don't think I can help you much there," Muguruma sighed. "All I got is records that you looked at."

"Is your division in charge of changing the information?"

Kensei laughed. "Fuck no! That's a naïve way of looking at things. You know Soul Society keeps a tight lid on that shit."

"Then how do they get updated?" Hitsugaya asked.

"The Tsunayashiro clan makes the records every year after the kids down at the Shinō academy graduate. It's easier. I simply make the notes of what changes and submit it but otherwise, I don't have any control over that." He said

"I've never heard of this clan." He said. "Are they nobles?"

"Kind of." Kensei said. "They're like the Ise Clan. They're very important to Seireitei but if they were to be considered great nobles then that would be a conflict of interest. Like Zerobantai, they only take orders directly from the royals." Hitsugaya frowned. "What you looking for exactly?"

"... My zanpakutō's previous owner." He said

"That's a mystery." Kensei said and Tōshirō looked confused. "It's the strongest ice zanpakutō in Soul Society. With the exception of Yamaji, the most powerful zanpakutōs are reserved for old noble families since that's how they started out."

"So... what's that supposed to tell me?"

"That I have no clue what you're looking for." Tōshirō glared at him and Kensei laughed. "Listen kid, if you want info like this, ask a noble."

"I doubt Kūkaku knows anything... and Mashiro isn't here." He said

"Well, I don't know anything either." Kensei sighed. "Look kid, I'm afraid I can't help you."

Hitsugaya paused for a second. "What are the odds that Hyōrinmaru belonged to a noble beforehand?"

"Can't say." Kensei said. "Most of the old noble families are still in tact even if they aren't at the status they were at before: Shiba, Shihōin, Tachibana."

"And the Ryodoji clan?" Hitsugaya asked. "Their symbol was the dragons, was it not?"

"That's true." Kensei said. "But I'm afraid no one is old enough to give you that answer... maybe except two options and that's if they're willing to answer that."

Hitsugaya sighed. "The sōtaichō... but who's the second one?"

Kensei smirked. "This calls for a trip to Central 46."

How did everything go so wrong? Yuzu wondered as she did the dishes rather absentmindedly after school that afternoon. Karin never came back to class after lunch that day and Yuzu was left to face her confused shocked friends. Many knew Karin to have a short temper and a sharp tongue but what she had said was too far out of character. And Yuzu knew that she meant every word she said.

I hope you fucking choke...You're dead to me. The words echoed in her mind all day.

I warned you. Kyōgetsu echoed in her mind. You are the bearer of the truth yet you have darkness in your heart.

I don't need you to tell me I messed up. Yuzu quieted her zanpakutō.

You can't dispel hatred with hatred. Kyōgetsu said.

And who exactly do I hate?

Yourself. Kyōgetsu did not hesitate to call her out. And you projected that hatred onto your sister and now she despises you just as much as you despise yourself

Yuzu brushed her zanpakutō off before focusing on the dishes once more so that she could cook. She wished she could take back what she said and keep her mouth shut. She wished she could go about this whole incident differently. There were so many regrets but none of them mattered because Karin now hated her. And Yuzu couldn't blame her.

Yuzu hated herself because she was concerned with trivial things... Karin hated her because she expressed more concern over her own trivial pursuits than her sister's wellbeing. Yuzu didn't even know how to get out of this one. She noticed her phone light up: another text message from Kei. More questions she didn't have answers to. She wishes the earth could just swallow her whole.

The front door opened and Yuzu turned to look. It was Karin... but who else could it be? She lived here. Yuzu walked out of the kitchen to catch her twin taking her shoes off. "Welcome home." She tried to greet but Karin ignored her. "I... uh, I'm making dinner. Any requests?" Karin looked up at her and scoffed before putting her shoes back on. She called out of her grandmother in Spanish before picking up her book bag and walking back out the house, slamming the door behind her.

Grandma Sofia walked down the stairs in confusion. "And what happened? Why is she acting like this?"

"... what did she say?" Yuzu asked

"She said that she's going out for food with a friend." Sofia said and Yuzu puffed out a breath of air before covering her face in her hands. "She's been angry since this morning. What happened?"

"I... don't even know how to explain it to you." Yuzu said, ashamed and Sofia frowned before placing her hands on her shoulders.

"Come here, amorcita." She said, pulling her to the couch. "Just calm down and tell me everything, okay?"

Hitsugaya waited out in an interrogation room and the door on the other end of the room opened and Nakamura Benjiro walked in, grinning wickedly before sitting down. "Well, well, well... it's the younging who caught me. Did you want me to give you a congratulations?"

"I'm here for answers." He said

"I thought the little girl told you, I can't tell you a dammed thing." Benjiro said

"I don't want information about Aizen." Hitsugaya said before putting his katana in front of him

"Want me to skewer you?" Benjiro joked and Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at him

"Do you recognise this katana?" He asked. "You fought against me."

"Yes, I did. And I want a rematch." He chuckled. "No, I don't know your zanpakutō... or at least I don't remember seeing it. But I recognise the design."

"Is that so?"

"The fact that it is longer than most katanas but it isn't a nodachi either." He said. "And the four pointed star at the guard, the pattern on the hilt. This is a Ryodoji sword."

"Sure?"

"What's its name again?" Benjiro asked

"Hyōrinmaru."

"Ah, maru. A dragon." He nodded. "My old bosses' zanpakutō was Fūrinmaru. It was a wind type zanpakutō."

"So... do all the noble zanpakutōs follow that naming scheme?" He asked

"Nope. Just the Shibas and the Ryodojis." He clarified. "But there are certain naming schemes in all old noble families. Like that Yamamoto with the poetic zanpakutō."

"The sōtaichō isn't a noble..." He said

"Technicalities." Benjiro said. "His ancestor was gifted a zanpakutō like the other nobles. He chose to... divest from his family to follow his purpose while his family stayed in the shadows, close to the royal family where they were positioned. He didn't take their family name either."

Sounds like he was a Tsuyanashiro... Hyōrinmaru noted

Indeed. Hitsugaya agreed. Unless he is related to Mashiro or Yoruichi but I doubt that is possible.

Hitsugaya frowned. "So... what happened to the Ryodoji clan?"

"I died, remember?" Nakamura laughed

"You survived." Hitsugaya corrected him. "And you followed the affairs of this place for years."

"True." He said. "They were all banished but you know that."

"And their zanpakutos?"

"Stripped away from them." He said.

"Then... do they just stay in the spirit realm doing nothing or do they re-enter circulation like the others?"

"Can't tell you something I don't know." He said. "But seeing that you snagged one without being a noble, I'm guessing they re-enter circulation."

Hitsugaya picked up his sword and stood up. He bowed before turning and silently leaving the room, letting the guards take Nakamura back to his jail cell.

Not sure how this helps anything... Hyōrinmaru said

It does. Because if it is who we suspect it is, we need to establish how we both got control over you in the first place... and whether we both ever had control over you. He said

Why do you doubt the control? He asked

Do you remember anything from that period?

Other than being your zanpakutō spirit, no.

How about now? Do you feel controlled by two different beings? Do you feel pulled to two different places?

No...

Then if it truly was him and Karin saw him use you, then you would have known. Hitsugaya said. But now that we have a better understanding of zanpakutō corruption and seeing how dangerous Seireitei believes it to be, we're getting closer to understanding exactly why they executed him in the first place.

Karin quietly ate her meal with Sachiko staring across the table from her. Karin looked up at her as if to silently ask 'what?' before Sachiko shook her head and dipped her chopsticks into a bowl of noodles. "You keep staring at me." Karin finally spoke

"Because I'm worried about you." Sachiko said and Karin scoffed. "But you won't talk about it so what's the use?"

"Well, I don't want to." Karin said

"Fine..." Sachiko shrugged. "But don't look at us like we're crazy for being concerned."

"Well, I didn't ask for pity."

"We can't pity what we don't know." She clarified. "That's why I said concerned, dumbass."

Karin raised an eyebrow at her before shaking her head. "Well, I don't want your concern, bubble butt."

"You can't pick and choose what your loved ones feel. That's just common sense."

"I hope this isn't an attempt to defend Yuzu." Karin said. "I'm sure Kei told you what happened."

"He did." Sachiko said

"And he asked you to talk to me."

"He did." Sachiko agreed

"So... what next?"

"I'm not going to do that." Sachiko said. "If anyone has full context to why you're acting weird... it's Yuzu. And for full context as to why you called her a quote unquote: "vapid bitch", that's on Yuzu because I don't think you'd call her that out of thin air just as she would never call you anything of that sort out of thin air.

"I'm guessing whatever vulnerability you have right now, Yuzu took advantage of that to make herself feel better from the context of what I heard. But that's just pure speculation." Sachiko said and Karin frowned. Sachiko and Yuzu never got along. While they didn't outright dislike each other, they avoided situations where they would have to converse. Yuzu described Sachiko as too "intense" and Sachiko believed Yuzu to be vain. Karin never agreed with that but now, she could see the truth in what Sachiko thought.

"... I trusted her." Karin said. "It's kind of hard to trust anyone else now."

Sachiko nodded. "I'm not going to drag the truth out of you. You're seeing your aunt for therapy so I think the unboxing of your feelings is being dealt with by a professional who will be of better help than me. But, as your friend, if you want to get out of the house and eat then play football then I'll be out of my house as soon as you mention it even if I'm having one of the best naps of my life."

Karin smiled softly and the two went back to eating their lunch in silence.

"Great, what do you want?" Kūkaku asked as Hitsugaya walked into her house and Kūkaku closed the door behind him.

"I won't take too much of your time. How do Zanpakutōs circulate amongst nobles?" He asked and Kūkaku looked confused. "Is there process any different than regular souls with high reiryōku?"

"... somewhat." She relented. "Zanpakutō spirits... imprint on souls for a lack of better words. That's why their personalities are so distinct when compared to their wielder, as if to serve a purpose."

"However..."

Kūkaku huffed. "However..." She stressed through her teeth in annoyance. "Familial zanpakutōs imprint differently. Whereas a regular soul starts to see it's zanpakutō at some point after they start training or harnessing their abilities, at a point where their personalities and goals are distinct, nobles start seeing them from childhood before they are aware of their own spiritual awareness,"

The young captain looked taken aback and sighed. "So... I was right."

"Right about what?" Kūkaku asked.

"I just have one more question..." Hitsugaya said. "You and Mashiro told me about negative splitting is how natural corruption begins, correct? At least from the perspective of how other zanpakutō spirits were born."

"Yes?"

"... What of duplicate zanpakutōs?" He asked. "This will sound wild but... zanpakutōs can also be corrupted by a wielder because of the negative influence but the very nature of a zanpakutō is to be neutral... or at least moral because of how it was born. Therefore, a zanpakutō is like a soul but with different physicalities. So, let's suppose an evil wielder dies and the zanpakutō is left back in circulation, dormant for several centuries. Would it be possible for the zanpakutō to split into it's neutral phase and it's corrupted phase?"

Kūkaku blinked at the boy before laughing. "Where on earth are you getting these stories? The most absurd part of that little tirade was duplicate zanpakutōs. That's impossible."

In the midst of her bolstering laughter, she heard him say: "Hyōrinmaru is a duplicate zanpakutō." She paused, looking at him in disbelief. This was actually the first time he has said this information out loud since the incident. It was... jarring almost. "... Do you have any idea on how to get me into contact with Mashiro if you are unsure? This is very important."

Kūkaku scoffed in disbelief. "Kid, you're joking, right?" Tōshirō shook his head.

"I just learned that Hyōrinmaru is a remnant of the Ryodoji clan and we know what they were doing, experimenting with forbidden kidō and what not." He said. "I spoke to Nakamura Benjiro and he confirmed that Hyōrinmaru is one and that his old captain used a zanpakutō named Fūrinmaru. I went to Muguruma to confirm whether there were any zanpakutō in existence that used the same naming scheme and he affirmed that Hyōrinmaru is the only one.

"And what you just told me about nobles seeing their zanpakutō spirits during childhood confirmed it because that's how I first met Hyōrinmaru. If he was a familial spirit then he was likely operating in accordance to what he knew... but at the same time, he was out of a circulation familiar to him."

"Okay, so where does the duplicate come in?"

"... I knew someone. He was also executed by Soul Society because we both possessed Hyōrinmaru, or at least it seems that way from what I'm discovering about zanpakutōs and how they operate." He said. "Everything seems to fit perfectly in place: Aizen allying victims of failed executions, the corruption of Karin's zanpakutō... and the fact that the person who impersonated me used the exact same zanpakutō as me according to what she told me."

Kūkaku puffed, fixing her hands on her hips. "... Well this is a fucking mess."

"That was delicious!" Isshin smiled as he patted his full belly and burped. His mother-in-law smacked him on the head with a wooden spoon and he flinched.

"Where are your manners!" She said and Isshin bowed his head in shame

"I'm sorry, Masaki's mother." He sniffled

The older lady scoffed before standing up to remove the plates from the table but Yuzu beats her to it and insists on washing the dishes. This is the only way I can be helpful... She told herself. She bit in far too much than she could chew. She was not complacent with her strengths to the point of greed and now, she was in a position she could barely understand. She wanted to be hailed as a hero just as her siblings were but she was the villain in her sister's story — the person who she sought to protect.

Even Kyōgetsu remained silent. There were just no words to describe this one.

Yuzu did not even notice that she was done washing the dishes until she realised that everything was rinsed, dried and placed back into their respective place. She wondered whether she should clean the house next... but it was not as if anything would be left for her to do afterwards. She sighed, settling on throwing out the trash.

She went out of the building and was caught off guard by two people nearby playing football. There were high pitched giggles nearby as they did so and Yuzu could immediately tell it was girls... and when she caught sight of the big, fluffy head of hair, she recognised them as Sachiko and Karin. She hid behind a corner and watched them. Karin was laughing at a joke Sachiko cracked as the two juggled the ball in turns.

Karin kicked it high and Sachiko caught it using her head and balanced it. "Not fair, your hair helped."

"Not the bitch with flat hair telling me what helps." Sachiko said as she got it off her head and back to the ground to bounce before beginning juggling again. "My hair makes it six times harder."

"Then you're just bad at it then." Karin teased and Sachiko rolled her eyes at her before kicking the ball high towards Karin who caught it with her foot before kicking it straight up to catch it with the back of her neck, leaning her torso forward.

"Show off." Sachiko said and Karin laughed before pushing the ball off and letting it fall back to her foot as Sachiko's phone rang.

"Wait a minute." Sachiko said before picking up the call. "Moshi-moshi... oh, hey mom." Sachiko switched to English immediately. "I'm with Karin... yeah, just a minute..." Sachiko looked at Karin, switching back to Japanese. "My mom says hi."

"Hello." Karin replied as she kicked the ball around.

"Yeah, mom?... it isn't that late... okay, okay then. I'm on my way. Okay... bye." She hung up. "Sorry Karin, my mom says it's getting late."

"No worries." Karin picked up the ball and went over to give it to her before engulfing Sachiko in a hug. "Thank you so much for being there for me."

"You can always count on me." Sachiko reassured her before pulling away and taking the ball. "See you at school tomorrow."

"Bye-bye." Karin bid her goodbye as she jogged down the street and Karin turned back around, picking her book bag and walking towards the clinic. She didn't notice Yuzu standing there at all... watching herself get replaced as Karin's confidante. God I'm so selfish... She sighed, realising she made that whole interaction about her before continuing down the alleyway to the trashcan where it was hidden from the public eye.

Back at home, Karin was in her room, drawing and she heard a knock on her door. "Amorcita, can I come in?" Sofia asked and Karin sighed, standing up and opening the door. "Are you okay?"

"Never better." Karin shrugged before going back on her bed and Sofia followed, sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Yuzu told me everything." Sofia said.

"Which version?" She asked

"How many versions are there?" Sofia asked

"With her, it depends on who she is talking to." Karin said.

"Then tell me your version." Sofia said. "You're getting paler and I can barely feel your reiatsu anymore. It's dying down like a flame." Karin looked up at her with wide eyes. "Karin... you can't hide these things from me. The nosebleeds, the dizziness, the headaches... the seal on your back is flickering. Please tell me the truth."

"The truth is that I may not survive to see next year and I don't know what to do." Karin shrugged. "I'm tired of fighting anyways."

Sofia frowned. "Don't say things like that..."

"Abuelita, I can't do anything about it. Okay?" Karin sighed before reaching to her bedside table and pulling out a black book. "Here..."

"What is this?"

"It's a journal..." Karin said. "It's addressed to... someone but I'd like you to read it as well. I have been writing it down as I remember."

"Are you sure?" Karin nodded. "Would you like me to... give it to this person in case you can't?" Karin nodded. Sofia reached over and coaxed Karin to lie down on her lap. Karin accepted it, using her thighs to support her head as Sofia ran her hands through her dark hair. "My dear... what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Karin sadly said. "I don't know anymore."