Chapter 18

Most of Michibane Aura's life had been one of apathy, passivity, with nothing changing; a life of inertia, stretching out before her, undulating. She had no attachment to anything, she was not even particularly fond of her lifestyle either. Thus, she had no reason to refuse Tokinada's invitation. She was interested only in perfecting her Fullbring. She had accepted Tokinada's proposal because it provided her with ample opportunities to exercise what she was interested in. But, in the beginning, she did not understand what Tokinada was trying to do.

At first, she was instructed to defeat Hollows. As she continued to defeat Hollow after Hollow like she was told, she felt as if her senses were slowly fading away. She felt that perhaps she had been dead right from the start and that her body was moving on its own due to some mistake. Every day, this feeling grew as she kept on mechanically doing the things she was told. Eventually, she began embracing this very illusion. However, contrary to her lack of enthusiasm, her fundamental ability of Fullbringing grew at a rapid rate. Then one day, Aura became aware that she had become incredibly strong, almost monstrous. With her ingenuity, she could have led a comfortable life, but she was uninterested in both wealth and status; and she had no reason to want them either. So she decided to just go with the flow and follow Tokinada's orders.

Tokinada's ambitious games had changed from mere 'games' to a clear vision from around the time he stole a zanpakuto from its owner, brought it back to the Soul Society and transferred it to his own clan. The zanpakuto controlled the raging torrent of temporal and spatial currents and had discovered a vast Kyogoku in the Garganta. Tokinada then dedicated himself to the analysis of the Tenkai Kecchu created by Urahara Kisuke. Aura stole the prototype from its safe and handed it to Tokinada. It was then mass-produced in thousands. In order to honour the birth of a new king, followers were necessary. And thus, a religious organization had emerged in the World of the Living. Aura gathered hundreds and thousands of followers by showing them various 'miracles' and dedicated the cult to Tokinada to serve as his puppets.

{*T/N: The religious group was a suicide sect; so that's why she was killing them off and sending them to the Soul Society so that they could be the new king's subjects. How ghastly!*}

A throne representing the 'new world' was also necessary. Aura built a huge castle in the sky inside the Kyogoku and offered it to Tokinada. Tokinada had wanted the palace to be up in the sky so that it became a symbol of majesty. It was possible for Aura to control and reconstruct the excessive amount of pure reishi in order to create but, but she did not understand why she was asked to do so. Tokinada had wanted a throne built, but who was it for? He told her that she would get to know soon. During the war between the Shinigami and the Quincies, the Four Great Noble Houses were also attacked by the Soldat and there were a lot of casualties, but Aura had taken care of the Quincies. Tokinada himself was not present in the mansion at the time; he was at the Hooden {*T/N: Phoenix Palace*}, busy stealing a zanpakuto using the power of his own zanpakuto. As soon as the battle ended, Tokinada set his plan into motion.

{*T/N: You may have noticed that the guard on Kuten Kyokoku, as seen on the front cover of book 3, is different from the guard on the zanpakuto carried by Tokinada, as seen in Kubo's sketch in book 1. I may be wrong, but I think that Tokinada has two zanpakutos now, his own, as well as the family heirloom.*}

"I'll have you create the king's body."

"Does that mean I have to give birth to a child?"

Aura asked in complete seriousness. Tokinada rocked with laughter.

"Hahahaha! No, no, of course not! Do I look like the kind of man who views women as objects useful only for giving birth? And besides, I had a wife once; she's deceased now, but I maintain chastity. This is just a toy for you to play with and break as you please. Enjoy as much as you like."

While talking about the lowest of deeds, he also praised the hero of the war, Ichigo.

"You know, his existence is very intriguing indeed. Although Aizen played a big role in the circumstances surrounding his birth, a lot of it was attributed to vague things such as the 'miracle of love'."

Aura realized that both the throne as well as the followers were for the king, undoubtedly. Only, in this case, the order was reversed. Tokinada was going to create a king after preparing a kingdom.

Piles of konpaku were placed in front of her. Corpses, after corpses; of Shinigami, of Quincies, of humans.

"I collected these corpses from the battlefield. This should be plenty. There are also corpses of Fullbringers among this pile. Use them however you see fit."

Another 'component' was provided by Tokinada; it was distinctly different from the others. It was not alive but it seemed to have a will of its own. Aura felt herself resonating with its dense presence. But she did not know its identity, it puzzled her. Tokinada told her,

"Now get to work. It doesn't even have to be in the shape of a person. We don't have to worry about the brain cells since we already have a fine component for it. In any case, as long as the Saketsu {*T/N: Soul Chain*} and Hakusui {*T/N: Soul Sleep*} are functional, the body can be kept alive under any condition."

This was something new to Aura. The creation of a god; giving life to a new king.

{*T/N: So, the original sin was something even more unpleasant than this? Since we know that there were no corpses back then to model a king out of, as death was non-existent.*}

Kyogoku; present time:-

"They're here."

Tokinada smiled as he stood staring up at the castle floating in the sky.

"This reiatsu... Oh my! I didn't think that the Captain Commander would be here in person!"

Judging from the vigorous quality of the reiatsu, Tokinada had never known Kyoraku Shunsui to be so forceful.

"What are you going to do?"

Aura, who stood beside him, asked.

"I'm going to welcome them. Anyway, once they enter this place, they can never return."

Shiba Residence:-

"Aren't you going?"

Shiba Ganju asked Mayuri. Mayuri was given the role of keeping the Garganta open. He found Mayuri's question tiresome.

"I am staying here to secure a way back home."

"Can't you leave your main body here and send your body-double there?"

"When the two are separated by a great distance, controlling it becomes a bit of a problem. Also, it has been designed to self-destruct if those Arrancar or Quincy fools let something accidentally slip to the enemy. Now don't bother me."

Ganju looked worried. Mayuri looked at him with a pitiful glance, then resumed work.

"Hey! Don't ignore me! You think I'm stupid and not worth explaining to, don't you?"

"Not at all. I'm sure you must have some intelligence, even if they're nothing to boast about."

Totally ignoring Ganju's indignant sputter, Mayuri informed them of his own findings.

"There's a trap."

"Trap?"

"Tokinada is the administrator of the Visuals Department after all. He has already figured out that we have gathered here at the Shiba Residence."

"What?"

Kukaku, who had been leaning against the wall, arms folded, now shifted her position. Mayuri told her,

"I did consider the possibility of Tokinada interfering with the opening of the Garganta, but he didn't go through with it. That means that he must've wanted our group to enter the Garganta and walk straight into his trap."

Mayuri checked the reiatsu fluctuations within the Garganta using instruments placed inside his own body and spoke nonchalantly,

"Yes, all evidence points to them having been trapped inside a special barrier."

"Whaaaaat?"

"As soon as they entered the Kyogoku, all transmissions in and out were blocked. Even the return route has been sealed off."

"How can you be so calm about it? Don't you want to go help them?"

Mayuri seemed unconcerned.

"Why should I go help those who willingly walked into the trap?"

"What was that?"

"Ganju, shut up. Didn't you hear what he said earlier? He has a role to play. His job is to secure them a way back here."

"But sis..."

"Old man Kyoraku and Yoruichi are there with them. Let's have faith in them. I'm sure they can break out of the barrier."

Mayuri looked at Kukaku curiously.

"You know, if you had followed Tokinada, then your family would have been reinstated into the Nobility."

Kukaku had heard about the meeting from Yoruichi, but Mayuri had his own sources of information. Kukaku let out a small sigh. But before she could speak, Ganju said loudly,

"I am not interested in returning to the Nobility. I only do what I feel is right, so that I have no regrets. My brother, Shiba Kaien and my uncle, Shiba Isshin, were like that too."

Kukaku smiled at Ganju's words.

-Well, he's carrying on the 'Shiba tradition' well enough.

Kyogoku:-

"It looks like we've been trapped in."

Kyoraku's group had arrived at a sandy region within the Kyogoku. The sand touching the sole of his sandals was dried up. The reishi in the air felt sharp against his body. As soon as they had arrived at such a place, the rift in space that had been open until then now closed up, as if forced shut. Hirako turned to Kyoraku,

"Did you predict that this would happen, Captain Commander?"

"Well.."

Surrounding them were a flock of Hollows of the exact same shape. They were of the same kind as those that were born out of Ikomikidomoe. There were hundreds and thousands of them. The army was divided into the airborne type and the terrestrial type; making the surroundings resemble a white sea; creating a huge cage in the wilderness to enclose it.

"Where's the main body?"

Not seeing Hikone and Ikomikidomoe on the scene, Hirako exclaimed in a tone of awe.

"It's absurd! The monster gave birth!"

"And that's not all, each one has a staggering reiatsu!"

Liltotto analyzed.

"These are Huge Hollows; occasionally their reiatsus spike, resembling those of Gillians and Adjuchas."

"It's possible that these Hollows are the kind that take in reishi from their surroundings to boost their reiatsu."

At Halibel's words, Neliel sighed.

"Then it is a little troubling. The reishi here is far denser than in the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo."

"This is bad..."

Hirako pointed towards the sky. Structures reminiscent of the Reiokyu were floating there.

"Talk about irony! The Reiokyu and Hollows; all in the same area!"

"Yes, but now we have confirmation, right? The answer to what's going to be swapped out by the Tenkai Kecchu?"

Kyoraku's tone was mild, but there was an undercurrent of wariness beneath it. In order to replace that huge mass floating in the sky, it is necessary for the pillars in Karakura to be on the same level as that structure.

{*T/N: They are planning to send the Reiokyu-like structure to the sky above Karakura Town, using the smaller versions of the pillars carried by thousands of Aura's followers*}

"It would have nice if the transition site had been in Rukongai or in Hueco Mundo. But we have to hurry a little since we know now where exactly it will take place in Karakura Town."

Kyoraku pulled out his sword. Ginjo, who was behind him, told him,

"I'm not saying that I won't cooperate. Our purpose is the same, but I would prefer to move individually."

Kyoraku nodded at Ginjo. Ginjo went on,

"But there are a ton of things I would like to hear once this is all over."

"The answer you seek... Tokinada is probably more familiar with it than I am.."

Kyoraku looked at Tsukishima meaningfully. Ginjo then noticed a clock dial embedded upon Giriko's clothes, a crystal clock-face floating behind him, with a combination of numbers and black spheres. He had set a timer.

"We have 20 seconds. The three of us will hide ourselves. As for those Hollows, they cannot attack us within this set period of time. Should they do so, it will be considered a 'breach of contract'."

As the three of them faded into thin air, Hirako muttered,

"That guy with the eye-patch is skillful.."

Kyoraku smiled wryly.

"There's another person with an eye-patch just beside you, so call him by name, otherwise it's confusing. His name is Kutsuzawa Giriko."

Hirako shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, thinking that Kyoraku knew everybody's name.

"You guys talkin' about me?"

Kenpachi broke into their conversation. He looked relaxed, but his reiatsu had been sharpened to match the circumstances. Not just him, everyone else had followed suit.

"These guys are small fry. I think I'll head over there."

Kenpachi looked at the castle in the sky.

"I'll leave the cleaning-up to you all."

"Kenpachi sure gets more and more selfish day by day. Oh well.."

Hirako murmured in disbelief. As Kenpachi rushed towards the castle, the Hollows swarmed in front of him, blocking his way.

"Out of my way!"

Kenpachi swung his sword, grazing the ground, which cracked open, causing lots of Hollows to fall in. Immediately, one of the Hollows dug its limbs into the ground and began to produce creatures of exactly the same shape and size from its back.

"Self-multiplication.."

Nanao gasped. Halibel narrowed her eyes.

"Is this similar to Rudbornn's ability?"

In Rudbornn's case, he transformed himself into a skull-like tree and bore fruit as his subordinates. But these Hollows seemed to reproduce an exact replica from the parent body.

"Absorbing the dense reishi of the Kyogoku and multiplying indefinitely... If this keeps up, we'll all be exhausted before long.."

"These things are quite fast. Even after breaking through, they catch up from behind."

A cascade of Hollows moved towards Kenpachi like an avalanche. He kept swinging his sword, cleaving a path. But the Hollows multiplied almost instantly, tightening the circle around them. The 'white wall' closed up the minute Kenpachi broke free and surrounded them again. Candice said impatiently,

"Look, we don't have time here. I'm going after that Kenpachi guy."

"No, wait!"

Kyoraku tried to stop her, but Grimmjow sprang up as well, attacking fiercely. But the Hollows rapidly multiplied, approaching them from all sides in overwhelming numbers.

"What are we going to do?"

"Let's try getting rid of them in one fell swoop..."

"Don't be stupid! There's no way we can handle hundreds of those things..."

"I'm not getting enough time to observe their reiatsu patterns..."

"Damn.."

Hirako reassured all of them.

"Don't worry. I guess I'll go ahead."

"Are you seriously planning to do this alone?"

Amidst all this chatter, Kyoraku looked at Hirako with a subtle expression.

"I really feel bad, having gotten you involved in all this mess created by the aristocrats.."

"Yep, I'm totally upset. But right now, I don't mind. So don't apologize."

Hirako grinned at Kyoraku. He walked forward, staring up at the Hollows coming closer. Then, he called out the name of his zanpakuto.

"Collapse, Sakanade."

--------

"The hell'd you do, man?"

"This is the ability of the enhanced version of Time Tells No Lies."

Ginjo watched from up in the air, as the sea of Hollows followed Kenpachi.

"What a savage reiatsu. They should have used his reiatsu as a decoy to draw away that herd of beasts."

"Is that anyone who can stand against that Shinigami?"

Giriko kept his eyes averted from Kenpachi's figure down below.

"What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing. One must always be calm before the cruel flow of time."

Ginjo did not press Giriko further. He rubbed his hands.

"Now then, let's get to work."

"Oh, you have a plan?"

Tsukishima asked Ginjo.

"It's not that I wasn't thinking ahead. I'm still not sure whom I should trust. For now, I'll stick to gathering information about that Tsunayashiro bastard."

"But what knowledge do you hope to gain in a place like this? As far as the eye can see, there is only barren wilderness."

Instead of replying to Giriko's question, Ginjo called out,

"Yukio! Answer me! I know you can hear me, Yukio!"

A noise was heard in a space that was never supposed to have existed. A boy's face appeared through the crack in space-time.

"It's been half a year, Kugo. So you noticed me?"

"Since I shared some of my powers with you, I could feel your reiatsu even though you decided to be bashful and hid yourself."

"Do you see that as an advantage or a disadvantage?"

"That depends on your answer, Yukio."

Ginjo transformed the pendant around his neck into a sword and pierced it through the ground, beginning to ask questions.

"What's all this I've been hearing about X-CUTION? Have you allied yourself with them? Is it really a religious sect or is it our X-CUTION?"

"That depends on Kugo's answer."

Yukio answered with a blank expression.

"What are you talking about?"

"All he's saying is that it depends on your wish."

An echo was heard from behind. Ginjo instinctively swung his blade behind him, but he had felt no reiatsu at all. When the sword slashed through the air, a young woman's figure became visible. The sword passed right through her body as if she was made of smoke. Neither a Shinigami, nor a Quincy. A Fullbringer.

"You are.....the religious leader of X-CUTION, I gather?"

The woman replied,

"I did not plan on becoming a religious leader. And besides, X-CUTION is not a religious sect. It was created to turn the world upside-down."

-----------

The white avalanche of Hollows that pushed forward, trying to swallow up everyone in their enclosure, paused for a moment. Then, the group that should have moved in unison, suddenly fell into disarray and scattered. As soon as Hirako called upon the name of his zanpakuto, the sword changed its shape. Looping a finger through the hilt of the sword, which had now turned into a circular ring, Hirako made it swing round and round like a pendulum.

The Hollows, confused, now saw each other as inverted figures; their left, right, front, back switched. Hirako pulled away and faced backwards, but since the directions were reversed, he was able to land a blow.

"This isn't complete hypnosis like Kyoka Suigetsu; optical illusion it may be; but to those who rely primarily on vision, there's no chance against it."

Hirako, who was floating in the air, upside-down, tilted his head a little as he saw the new developments in the group in front of him.

"Hmmm?"

The Hollows began making strange insect-like noises. The sounds echoed for a while. Then, there was a visible change in their movements. The group, that had been in a state of confusion earlier, seemed to gradually overcome the confusion and became unified once more.

"Oi, oi.."

The Hollows had snapped their eyes shut. Then, by releasing the echoing sound, they had confirmed each other's positions and had begun to adjust their locations accordingly, using those strange noises to communicate. They tried to grasp Hirako's position using their reiatsu-perception senses and shot something like an acoustic ripple through the air. As the echo resounded, they could understand Hirako's position. They opened their mouths all at once.

"Are you all stupid?"

As the Hollows attacked all at once, the attack completely missed Hirako. Misreading his position, the Hollows had struck the rocky terrain, destroying a large chunk of their own fellows.

"Some~thing wro~ng?"

Looking at all the destruction, he spoke,

"Even the direction of the echoes and the attack were reversed."

Hirako started walking through the air, coolly strolling through the group of Hollows.

"I'd like to train a little more, so that even 'hot' can become 'cold'. Those rocks over there, though..the damage...oh well.. But look at you lot! Instead of chasing after Kyoraku-san's group, all of you are interested in yours truly.. So simple, isn't it, trying to kill one single person? Seems cowardly, if you ask me. Ah, how I wish I could go home and sleep."

While complaining, Hirako walked through, unimpeded. The Hollows tried to attack, one by one; but as if trying to prevent themselves from breaking their rigid colony, they deviated from their tight-knit formation, bumping into each other, crashing to the rocky ground, their body parts flying everywhere.

The meaning behind Hirako's words now became clear. These Hollows did not possess low intelligence. They were smart enough to maintain a very strong synchronicity and to realize that the Shinigami in front of them was looking down upon them, taking them lightly. They did possess enough intelligence to display anger. Hirako had not just declared the abilities of his zanpakuto. Each of his words are meant to be deceptive and can function as a weapon itself, confounding others. In the past, Aizen had been the only one who could completely overcome the deception. Others required time to try and get used to it. Whenever the other party begins working out the deception, Hirako switches the inversion, confusing them further. If someone figures out that since Hirako had approached from the left, they ought to strike from the right; Hirako notices the opponent getting used to the inversion, he changes it back, leading to the opponent's self-destruction.

The Hollows now stopped their way of thinking and halted in their actions. They pierced their limbs through the ground and began reproducing just as before.

"Yes, Sakanade certainly won't prevent you from reproducing and creating more of your kind.."

Hirako breathed in heavily and let it out. He ran a hand through his forehead, as if sweating.

"I shall have to increase Sakanade's range of attack and keep running away... Let's see how fast I can go.."

He kept watching the situation, his expression slowly turning to one of despair. As if in reverse, contrary to his situation, the Hollows kept increasing their numbers and clamouring around Hirako.

------------

"There numbers are increasing by the second.."

It was Liltotto who spoke. Nanao was of the opinion that reinforcements ought to be sent to back Hirako up. She said as much to Kyoraku.

"It's okay, Nanao-chan."

"But Captain Commander..."

Kyoraku assured her gently,

"Let's believe in Captain Hirako.."

--------------

Hirako suddenly stopped moving. Once he had reached a 'certain distance', ensuring that Kyoraku and the others were far away using his reiatsu-perception, he let out his breath.

"They're safe now."

He wiped the perspiration off his face. He stopped acting like he was in a state of panic and smiled, addressing the swarm of Hollows,

"You know, you're even more idiotic than I initially thought."

------------

The people who were running close to Kyoraku, heard his words and were surprised; sans Muguruma Kensei, who knew the full details about Sakanade's abilities. Kyoraku did not divulge all he knew for fear of being overheard in case there were enemies around. He addressed Nanao,

"You are acquainted with my Bankai, yes?"

Nanao had good intuitions, so she more or less guessed everything from that statement alone.

"So that means he cannot use it frequently?"

"Yes. It's a powerful zanpakuto but it has one glaring fault. It does not distinguish between friend and foe. Everyone in the vicinity of its reiatsu is dragged into it, without exception."

"Like the Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo?"

"It's something like that, yes. But Captain Kurotsuchi has modified it, though. Now it no longer spreads poison everywhere. Anyway, there's something else too. I had a friend a long time ago... He's dead now, but he used to be the 7th generation Kenpachi. His Bankai, Gagaku Kairo {*T/N: Hallway of pleasurable hunger*}, was so dangerous that its usage was prohibited by the Central 46. It, too, affected both enemies as well as comrades."

{*T/N: The 7th Kenpachi was Kenpachi Kuruyashiki; as mentioned in Spirits Are Forever With You; he lost to the 8th Kenpachi, Soya Azashiro, because he didn't use his Bankai, since Shunsui and his squad members were close by. His bankai caused a gigantic jaw with fangs to open up in the ground, crushing and devouring everything in its way; it had a huge area of effect*}

"Why did you let Captain Hirako go all by himself?"

"There are certain aspects about his Bankai that I trust in.."

Kyoraku smiled a little, directing his feet towards the location of the floating castle.

"We have to survive in order to focus on the task at hand.."

---------------

As the Hollows slowly started enveloping Hirako, their silhouettes like skyscrapers against the heavens, he murmured softly,

"If I could reverse even this state of despair, then that would be quite a miracle, wouldn't it?"

These Hollows moved in unison, thought in unison, acted in unison, communicated in unison. Born from Ikomikidomoe, they were a 'single entity'.

-For such a group that was so well in sync with each other, Sakanade confused them.

This Shinigami, who had walked through a world of deception, to whom the word 'lie' was irrelevant, spoke,

"Time for a miracle.."

And as he uttered a phrase, the world turned upside-down again.

"Bankai, Sakashima Yokoshima Happoufusagari."

{*T/N: Wicked inverted blockade from all directions; 'sakashima' means 'inverted/upside-down, 'yokoshima' means 'wicked', 'happoufusagari' means 'all doors closed/blocked from all directions*}

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P.S. That concludes this part. About the connecting chapter... Well.. the Shonen Jump App made a mistake. The chapter about Aizen and Tosen that was released with this installment is the same one as the chapter that was released a few weeks ago, about the Hogyoku, the Fullbringers and the 'nail'. Basically, Chapter 18 ends with Shinji calling out the name of his Bankai, followed by the connecting chapter.

P.S.2. I wonder what we'll do about Book 3. Will we get digital releases?

P.S.3. So, about final match-ups:

Shuhei ( Kisuke and Shunsui??) vs Tokinada ?

Ginjo ( Tsukishima??) vs Aura ?

Shinji vs Ikomikidomoe ?

Btw, (this is just a crack theory, though) do you think that Ikomikidomoe was the sword that gave birth to the first Hollows in the world? Before the realms were separated, there was no death, so there couldn't have been Hollows, right?

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