Chapter 36

Miyako Amamiya turned to the captains who had recovered and once again put a hand on the sword at the waist.

Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki's battle began to move elsewhere, while everyone on Sōkyoku Hill stared at Miyako Amamiya and Rukia, ready to strike.

Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku stepped in front of Miyako Amamiya and shielded the two of them.

"Jūshirō, Shunsui... Do you know what you're doing?" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai opened one eye and asked the two men before him.

"...I do, Master Genryūsai. I'm prepared for this," Ukitake said firmly.

"Is that so... But as captains, you've done such a thing. Even if you are my students..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto opened both eyes. "I cannot forgive you!"

"We're done for. Looks like our only choice is to run!" Shunsui Kyōraku said, feigning panic as he grabbed Ukitake and prepared to leave.

"Wait, Shunsui, Miyako and Rukia are still over there..." Ukitake tried to say more, but Shunsui Kyōraku immediately pulled him off Sōkyoku Hill.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto looked in the direction they had gone without rushing after them. He considered the captains Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku the ringleaders. As for the lieutenants Miyako Amamiya and Renji Abarai, someone would naturally deal with them.

"Shunsui, we haven't taken Rukia with us. If we do this..."

"Calm down. If we fight the old man on Sōkyoku Hill, everyone will die. All we can do is lead him away."

"I understand... We can only trust Miyako now." Ukitake couldn't help feeling relieved that he hadn't brought Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu along. Otherwise, it would have been even harder to resolve this.

The next moment, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai vanished from where he stood and pursued the two.

Miyako Amamiya stood protectively in front of Rukia and drew a sword, facing the captains and lieutenants who remained.

Damn it, if only I could fight too. Rukia looked at Miyako Amamiya standing before her and couldn't help feeling anxious.

"Rukia, he's here too." Sensing a Reiatsu approaching at high speed, Miyako Amamiya smiled.

A figure appeared beside Miyako Amamiya the next moment.

"Yo! I'm not too late, am I?" Ichigo Kurosaki said calmly, wearing the Shihōin Clan's Heavenly Gift Armaments.

"A little late, but maybe the timing's just right." Miyako Amamiya looked at the people ahead.

"I-Ichigo..." Rukia stared blankly at Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Sorry, Rukia. I was a little late because I had to get stronger. But now, I won't lose to anyone," Ichigo Kurosaki said confidently.

"Miyako Amamiya, lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, and that Ryoka..." Soi Fon looked at the two of them. "Even with the Captain-Commander gone, you won't escape. Ōmaeda, attack."

Soi Fon didn't rush to attack herself, instead sending her lieutenant in first. Retsu Unohana, however, stopped Isane Kotetsu and shook her head at her.

Chōjirō Sasakibe, who had also stayed behind, released his Zanpakuto.

"Pierce! Gonryōmaru!"

"Crush him, Gegetsuburi!"

Ichigo Kurosaki vanished from where he stood and knocked both men down the instant they released their Shikai.

"How is that possible? The lieutenants went down in an instant..." Isane Kotetsu, whom Retsu Unohana had stopped, couldn't believe what she had seen.

Seeing this, Soi Fon couldn't hold back and prepared to attack, but Miyako Amamiya called out to her.

"Captain Soi Fon, an old friend seems to want to see you."

"What?" Soi Fon was still wondering what that meant when a blow struck her from behind. She was carried all the way down Sōkyoku Hill.

When Soi Fon struggled to open her eyes and see who had attacked her, an unexpected face appeared before her.

"Yoruichi Shihōin?!"

Miyako Amamiya looked at Retsu Unohana and Isane Kotetsu, the only ones left, but didn't attack immediately.

Ichigo Kurosaki returned to Miyako Amamiya's side and asked, "There are only two left. How about we take one each?"

"Idiot, don't say something so presumptuous." Miyako Amamiya knew Retsu Unohana's true strength all too well. If they really fought, the two of them might be finished in an instant...

"Captain Unohana, I have no intention of fighting you. I'm sure you can see that there's something wrong with this execution."

"Miyako Amamiya, lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, what are you trying to say?" Retsu Unohana asked with a frown. She had suspected the cause of the chaos. The Ryoka alone couldn't possibly have thrown the whole Seireitei into disarray. And the chaos had clearly worsened at that point...

"Captain Unohana, did you know that I'm very familiar with the Ryoka? Whether in the World of the Living or when they first entered Soul Society, I knew what they were doing. So I can assure you that they never went near the Fifth Division Barracks."

Retsu Unohana understood what Miyako Amamiya meant and turned to leave.

"Let's go, Isane."

"Huh? Captain? But Lieutenant Amamiya and that Ryoka..."

"It's all right. Once the Captain-Commander returns, none of them will escape. We have more important things to do now."

Ichigo Kurosaki looked at Miyako Amamiya in surprise. "You're amazing. All you did was talk and..."

"Don't be stupid. It's just that we don't matter right now."

"Ichigo, go help Renji first. He's not strong enough to beat Byakuya Kuchiki," Miyako Amamiya told him.

"Byakuya Kuchiki?" Ichigo Kurosaki was surprised to find that Byakuya Kuchiki wasn't there. Had Renji led him away?

"You're not thinking of fighting Byakuya Kuchiki one-on-one, are you? I'll warn you now: even though you've learned Bankai, you still might not be able to beat him."

"Is that so? I don't think so. I'll leave Rukia to you for now." Ichigo Kurosaki spoke confidently as he looked toward the rumbling coming from not far away.

Sōkyoku Hill, which had been so crowded just a moment ago, now held only Miyako Amamiya and Rukia.

"Miyako, are we going to..."

"Wait. We just need to wait. If he doesn't expose himself, even if we escape, we'll only be caught again."

"I see..." Rukia recalled what had happened that day and remained silent for a long time.

Back on the day Rukia was about to be transferred to the Senzaikyū, Miyako Amamiya had met with her alone while she was still at the Thirteenth Division.

"Miyako! You're back! What's happening out there?" Rukia asked eagerly.

"Ichigo Kurosaki and the others have already arrived in Soul Society. It won't be long before they enter the Seireitei."

"What? Ichigo and the others really... That idiot. I told him not to come," Rukia said regretfully.

"Rukia, there's something I need to do next. I hope you'll cooperate," Miyako Amamiya said, changing the subject.

"Huh? What is it?" Rukia was puzzled, unsure why Miyako Amamiya was bringing it up now.

"Once it's done, I'll tell you everything... We're running out of time. I'm going to remove the real culprit that made you a target."

"What? You mean that Gigai? But the Technology Development Bureau already took it away."

"No. Although Kisuke Urahara's Gigai kept you from recovering your Reiryoku, that was only to conceal something else. The real culprit is buried deep in your soul. As long as it's there, the person targeting you will never give up."

"Kisuke Urahara?! It really was him. Miyako, what exactly happened? Why..."

"Rukia, let's take it out first. I'll explain afterward..."

Rukia looked at the calm Miyako Amamiya and ultimately chose to trust Miyako. "...All right."

Miyako Amamiya took out all the tools Kisuke Urahara had given Miyako in the World of the Living. One was a tool for removing the Hōgyoku, another was a barrier to block all fluctuations, and the most important was a sealed box invented by Kisuke Urahara that could temporarily conceal the Hōgyoku's fluctuations. There was also a fake Hōgyoku to put inside.

Miyako Amamiya took out the tool, and an unknown green substance coated Miyako's hand. "Rukia, don't resist. I'm going to take that foreign object... out."

A hole appeared in Rukia's chest. Miyako Amamiya reached inside and finally removed it, then put the fake Hōgyoku in its place.

The black hole in Rukia's chest slowly closed, and she gradually regained consciousness, seeing the object in Miyako Amamiya's hand.

Looking at the Gemstone shining with a blue-black light, Miyako Amamiya couldn't help murmuring, "So this is the Hōgyoku..."

"This is..." Rukia looked at the Gemstone before her with a complicated expression.

"Rukia, I'm going to tell you everything now, including why you were targeted and everything that followed..."

Just as Miyako Amamiya was about to put the Hōgyoku into the box Kisuke Urahara had provided to temporarily block its fluctuations, the Hōgyoku burst into light and flew straight into Miyako's body...

After the Hōgyoku entered Miyako Amamiya's body, Miyako worried constantly. Miyako's soul was not that of an ordinary person and couldn't hide the Hōgyoku's fluctuations.

So during the later meeting with Aizen, Miyako Amamiya had been covered in cold sweat. But Aizen seemed not to have noticed anything unusual about Miyako and continued playing the nice guy, allowing Miyako to breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

Miyako Amamiya had originally only intended to borrow the Hōgyoku afterward and hadn't expected it to enter Miyako's body directly.

As long as the Hōgyoku remained inside Miyako and Aizen remained hidden in Soul Society, Miyako couldn't truly be at ease.

So now, there was only one thing Miyako Amamiya had to do: keep Aizen from obtaining this Hōgyoku and make him leave Soul Society, so he would have no choice but to keep perfecting his own Hōgyoku in Hueco Mundo. That way, Miyako would have more time to draw on the Hōgyoku's power.

The Hōgyoku is both a danger and an opportunity. Now that it's inside me, there's no reason to hand it over, Miyako Amamiya thought firmly.

Suddenly, Miyako Amamiya drew both swords and looked ahead. A powerful Reiatsu was approaching.

Rukia looked in the direction Miyako Amamiya was watching and couldn't help clenching her hands.

A figure gradually approached from the distance on Sōkyoku Hill.

He had brown skin, purple hair, and goggles on his face. His eyes were white, and it was clear he was blind.

"Captain... Tōsen," Rukia slowly said, looking at the man before her.

"So you didn't run. In that case, I'll deal with you first," Kaname Tōsen said.

Seeing that he had come alone, Miyako Amamiya realized Aizen had been held up at Central 46 for the time being. Before long, Aizen's true colors would be exposed.

"Then there's only one thing for me to do, and that's stop you." Miyako Amamiya pointed a sword at Kaname Tōsen and spoke without fear.

"You found out?" Kaname Tōsen was puzzled.

"Though we have no quarrel, for Lord Aizen's sake, please fall." Kaname Tōsen knew the plan had failed completely, so there was no need to hide it. All he could do was capture Rukia Kuchiki and carry out the backup plan.

"You're only a lieutenant. If possible, don't resist to the bitter end," Kaname Tōsen urged.

"Ah, you seem to have a point. But unfortunately for you, it looks like your injuries haven't fully healed, have they, Captain Tōsen?" Miyako Amamiya looked at the bandages wrapped around him and knew that, having just fought Kenpachi Zaraki, he couldn't use much of his strength.

Kaname Tōsen said no more and immediately released his Zanpakuto. "Cry, Suzumushi!"

"Separate, Divine Arrow: Severed Thought!" Miyako Amamiya naturally followed suit.

Suzumushi trembled violently in Kaname Tōsen's hand, emitting a sound like an insect's chirping.

Rukia covered her ears, a pained expression on her face.

"Suzumushi: First Form!"

Miyako Amamiya knew Kaname Tōsen's Suzumushi: First Form had a weak hypnotic effect, but it only worked on people with low Reiatsu. Rukia's Reiatsu had been sealed for too long, so she couldn't resist his Zanpakuto and fell into a hypnotic state.

Miyako Amamiya hesitated no longer and immediately fired an arrow, hoping to stop him.

Kaname Tōsen merely held his Zanpakuto in front of him. When the arrow struck it, the vibrations on Suzumushi's surface deflected the arrow to the side.

This is trouble. The vibrations on the surface keep my arrows from enveloping his Zanpakuto, so naturally I can't seal it either. As Miyako Amamiya thought this, Miyako ran swiftly to the side to keep Rukia out of the fight.

"You won't escape!" Kaname Tōsen leaped high. Although he couldn't see Miyako Amamiya, he could clearly sense the fluctuations of Miyako's Reiatsu. "Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō!" He swung his Zanpakuto, and a multitude of sharp blades appeared and flew toward Miyako.

Miyako Amamiya didn't panic at the sight of the countless incoming blades. Miyako's hands hadn't stopped moving while running.

"Licht Regen..." Miyako Amamiya fired an arrow at him, and it immediately split apart after being launched.

The blades and arrows collided, seemingly evenly matched. But Kaname Tōsen immediately increased the number of blades, and they were about to overwhelm Miyako Amamiya's arrows completely.

Seeing this, Miyako Amamiya immediately used Shunpo to leave that position, no longer continuing the clash.

Miyako Amamiya fired another arrow at him, but this time it wasn't aimed at him.

When the arrow came flying toward him, Kaname Tōsen sensed its approach but realized it didn't seem likely to hit him, so he hurried after Miyako Amamiya.

"Scattered beast bones! Spires, red crystals, steel wheels! Move and become the wind, stop and become the void! The sound of clashing spears fills the empty castle!" Miyako Amamiya made the arrow that had flown past change again, while continuing to form an arrow in hand and chanting aloud.

Kaname Tōsen thought Miyako Amamiya was about to use Kidō, so he ignored the arrow behind him entirely and continued closing in.

As the arrow passed Kaname Tōsen, Miyako Amamiya finished the incantation.

"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"

"What?" Kaname Tōsen sensed the disturbance behind him and tried to turn and defend himself, but Raikōhō, formed from the arrow, exploded at once.

Although it wasn't a direct hit, the blast from Raikōhō still left bloody marks on Kaname Tōsen's back.

"I'm terribly sorry, Captain Tōsen. If you could see, you'd have noticed that my hands weren't preparing to fire Raikōhō at you at all," Miyako Amamiya taunted.

"...Nothing but petty tricks." Kaname Tōsen seemed enraged and charged at Miyako Amamiya with a slash, moving even faster than before.