Prison Visit

Next came the moment to witness a miracle!

I would give every one of you wings to fly!

"Bankai—Hookless Punishment Muramasa!"

At Ailin's call, immense spiritual pressure surged from his body.

The dense spiritual pressure sent ripple after ripple through the Inner World.

"So this is the power of Bankai."

Feeling the overwhelming spiritual pressure within himself, Ailin even felt like he was invincible.

However, Ailin did not lose himself in this power.

"Muramasa!"

"Master."

At Ailin's call, Muramasa appeared at Ailin's side.

"Begin!"

"Yes, Master!"

A violet radiance spread from Muramasa's body. Before long, this violet spiritual pressure had expanded throughout the entire Inner World.

Under the effect of this spiritual pressure, blue spiritual energy rose from every weapon in Ailin's Inner World.

Then, the spiritual energy gathered around the Zanpakuto, forming one figure after another. Once these figures solidified, they drew their true forms and dropped to one knee toward Ailin.

"Greetings, Master!"

"Greetings, Master!"

"Ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha..."

At the summit of Sword Hill, Ailin spread his arms and laughed wildly.

Behind him stood a white-haired half-demon in a red fire-rat cloak, a cool black-haired, red-eyed girl, a gentle woman with the bearing of a Yamato Nadeshiko, a palm-sized, tsundere Young Lady, a lazy yet noble black cat...

Sure enough, obtaining Muramasa had brought a qualitative leap in his strength.

Of course, every gain came with a loss.

At the very least, Ailin would absolutely never want to pull Hirako Shinji into his Bankai again.

When the weapons had not been materialized, Hirako Shinji's Bankai had posed little threat to Ailin.

But now...

Ailin could only say that dealing with a mere Hirako Shinji did not require his true Bankai!

"Vice-Captain Ailin, someone is here to visit you."

Sensing the call from the outside world, Ailin withdrew from his Mindscape and opened his eyes, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Oh? Someone actually came to visit me in prison? Captain Furuta or Little Soifon?"

In the Second Division, Ailin was fairly well-liked thanks to his decent Healing Art.

But if it came down to it, only Captain Furuta and Third Seat Sui-Feng had interacted with him more often.

If someone had come to visit him in prison, it could only be Captain Furuta Aoki, who cared about him the most, or Sui-Feng.

Yet the person who finally appeared before Ailin left him utterly astonished.

"Why are you here?"

Standing outside Ailin's cell was a beautiful young girl with her hair tied in a bun, her long locks reaching down to her waist.

Haruko Kuchiki.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

The moment she saw Ailin, Haruko Kuchiki knelt before his cell and bowed low in apology.

The previous night, just as the conflict had begun, Haruko Kuchiki had been escorted to safety by retainers of the Kuchiki Clan. This morning, when Ginrei Kuchiki asked Haruko Kuchiki about Ailin, she guessed that the Vice-Captain of the Second Division whom her father had misunderstood might have been the person who had protected her at the Izakaya.

Thus, Haruko Kuchiki directly confessed to Ginrei Kuchiki that, because of some of her father's actions, she had developed a rebellious streak and wanted to do things at the Izakaya that she would never normally dare to do.

After entering the Izakaya, Haruko Kuchiki's courage had failed her, and she had been too frightened to take another step.

Fortunately, because Ailin was there, no tactless people had come to offend Haruko Kuchiki.

Only after learning this from his daughter did Ginrei Kuchiki realize that he had misunderstood Ailin. That was why, when Haruko Kuchiki wanted to visit the prison, he personally sent word to Kensei Muguruma.

Otherwise, given Haruko Kuchiki's status alone, it would have been difficult for her to enter the prison for a visit.

Ailin understood all of this after a moment's thought.

He immediately asked Haruko Kuchiki, "Captain Kuchiki knows?"

"Yes. I explained everything to Father this morning."

"Ailin, on the day of the Trial, I will attend and testify for you. I will explain to everyone that it was all because of me..."

"Hey, hey, hey..."

Hearing that Haruko Kuchiki seemed about to reveal her embarrassing past, Ailin hurriedly interrupted her.

After all, it was hardly good for a noble Young Lady who was engaged to go alone to an Izakaya.

If Haruko Kuchiki had not come today, and the people of Central 46 had wanted to convict Ailin, he would not have minded tearing away this fig leaf of the Kuchiki Clan.

But since Haruko Kuchiki had come, and had even said she would testify for him at the Trial, Ailin would not drag someone else down with him.

"I admire Miss Kuchiki. I happened to meet her alone on the street, so I escorted her home. What could I possibly be put on Trial for?"

"If those lords think admiring someone is a crime, then all the Shinigami in the Seireitei who admire Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Captain Unohana would probably have to be sentenced as well."

"Pfft..."

Haruko Kuchiki was amused by Ailin's final comparison, then abruptly came to her senses and quickly covered her mouth with both hands to keep herself from further losing her composure before him.

Of course, Haruko Kuchiki also knew that Ailin's claim that he admired her was merely cover for her. He did not want the matter of her visiting the Izakaya to become common knowledge.

"So, Miss Kuchiki, don't worry. I believe the lords of Central 46 will give me justice."

"As for the one who attacked me, openly using Bankai within the Seireitei and violating the Captain-Commander's ban... heh heh..."

While Ailin and Haruko Kuchiki were chatting happily here, Hibiki Hoshino on the other side was listening with towering fury.

During this period, Ginrei Kuchiki and Hibiki Hoshino had both been willing, and everyone had tacitly understood that they were getting to know each other.

If nothing unexpected happened, Hibiki Hoshino would have met Haruko Kuchiki yesterday under Ginrei Kuchiki's arrangements. Today, he would have announced that he was marrying into the Kuchiki Clan and changing his name to Kuchiki Hyōga.

But at this moment, Hibiki Hoshino felt humiliated.

Haruko Kuchiki, who had originally been his fiancée, actually knew that despicable man.

And in order to clear that despicable man's name, she was even going to testify for him.

He had acted for the reputation of the Kuchiki Clan, only to be punished for violating the Seireitei's ban.

What did that make him? A clown?

At that thought, a trace of red light flashed in Hibiki Hoshino's pupils.

"Miss Kuchiki, your visiting time is over."

Ailin and Haruko Kuchiki seemed to have returned to their time at the Izakaya. Back then, they had silently shared drinks in mutual understanding; now, they had begun talking instead.

It was not until someone from the Ninth Division came to remind them that they realized their visiting time had passed without them noticing.

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