Selective Forgetting

Kaien Shiba suddenly clutched his head and crouched down, his face contorted in pain. What had happened? Who was he? Why was he here?

Joy, pain, satisfaction, confusion, anger, sorrow...

Extreme expressions appeared on Kaien Shiba's face; he looked as distorted as could be, completely unaware that the Trident in his hand had fallen.

Rukia wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, stood up, and walked step by step to Kaien Shiba, smiling as she asked, "Aaroniero?"

"What?"

Rukia saw Kaien Shiba's empty eyes, and her smile deepened. Kaien Shiba clearly reacted to the name Aaroniero, but he didn't know why he did.

Rukia's strike erased all memories associated with the name Aaroniero, leaving even Aaroniero himself unaware of who he was.

This is the terrifying power of Rukia's Hollowfication. Her Hollowfication power may not be comparable to the captains' Bankai, but it is impossible to completely ignore the power of the scythe.

If Rukia uses the power of her scythe effectively, her opponents will find themselves constantly hampered.

Kaien Shiba's confusion didn't last long; he soon went berserk, firing Cero. Countless voices rang in his mind; he had no idea what he should do.

The only thing he can do is follow the instinct of the void and destroy everything that can be destroyed. However, because he possesses so many abilities, his attacks are always aimless, and every attack is hindered by a sound at the location where it is attacked.

Rukia calmly withdrew from Kaien Shiba's presence; Kaien Shiba's state was within her expectations.

From the moment Rukia learned that Aaroniero possessed everything from Kaien Shiba, she guessed that Aaroniero must have other powers within him. And so, with a single strike, she plunged Aaroniero into the abyss.

If it were any other opponent, after being Rukia's attack, they might still be able to recall their own name through sheer willpower.

But Aaroniero was different. He had devoured far too many Hollows, and because of his greed, he didn't digest those powers; instead, he retained them all.

This resulted in countless voices appearing in Aaroniero's mind after Rukia erased Aaroniero memories, completely severing any possibility of Aaroniero remembering his own name.

Rukia's next move was simple: she strolled leisurely through the flashing beams, gracefully raising her scythe and slashing it across Kaien Shiba again and again.

Rukia needs to do is not to discern how many memories are currently in Kaien Shiba's mind; she only needs to selectively pick out Kaien Shiba's memories and erase all the remaining unnecessary ones.

With Rukia's continued efforts, Kaien Shiba's behavior gradually stabilized, and he seemed to have recognized the person in front of him.

"Rukia?"

Kaien Shiba was about to smile, a bitter expression returned to his face when he saw Rukia's appearance. He hadn't expected that the member he cared about most would turn out to be a Hollow.

Fine, let her kill him...

Kaien Shiba's reason prevailed; he closed his eyes, opened his arms, and welcomed what he perceived as death—his final act of tenderness towards Rukia.

A hint of emotion flashed in Rukia's eyes. Even though Vice-Captain Shiba had just regained consciousness, he was still taking such good care of her.

That's good, this way Rukia can focus all her attention on attacking. Her scythe moves like the wind, swiftly dancing across Kaien Shiba's body, each strike taking away a memory unrelated to Kaien Shiba.

After a long while, Rukia stopped moving, slightly exhausted. She was starting to feel the strain of forcibly activating her Hollowfication ability too many times. Fortunately, Aaroniero's absorption of memories was limited, and she finally achieved her goal.

"Rukia, thank you," Kaien Shiba said gently. As his mind cleared, he understood what Rukia was doing.

"How are you feeling, Vice-Captain Shiba?" Only now did Rukia truly acknowledge Kaien Shiba's identity.

"Good, and bad..." Kaien Shiba's smile was somewhat forced. "I can feel that I have complete control over this body, but right now, am I just an illusion..."

"Vice-Captain Shiba, the power of Hollowfication is no longer a taboo in Soul Society," Rukia explained as she deactivated her Hollowfication, reverting to her Bleach form.

"How... how long has it been?" After thinking for a moment, Kaien Shiba finally voiced his doubts, "Who else is it?"

Uryū kept his bow pointed at Kaien Shiba, protecting Rukia's safety at all times.

"That's my comrade, Ishida Uryū, a Quincy." Rukia shouted to Uryū, "Uryū, don't worry, he only Shiba the memories of Vice-Captain Shiba now."

"Oh? A companion..." Kaien Shiba squinted, asking somewhat mischievously, "Rukia's gotten this age too."

They didn't say anything, but it was as if they said everything.

"No! It's not what you think!" Rukia quickly explained, blushing. "Vice-Captain Shiba, please don't cause Uryū unnecessary trouble!"

"Alright, alright, I'm not the Vice-Captain anymore, just call me Kaien." Kaien Shiba made an apologetic gesture to Uryū.

Uryū didn't take Kaien Shiba's little joke to heart at all; at least he wasn't thinking about finding a partner right now.

"You two talk first, call me if you need anything." Uryū waved his hand and walked towards the door, leaving the two of them space to talk.

With only Rukia and Kaien Shiba remaining, the conversation returned to a more serious tone.

"Rukia, how is the Shiba Clan?" Kaien Shiba didn't dwell on the issue of time. In his eyes, he was no different from someone who had just died. In this limited time, he wanted to care more about the people around him.

"Kūkaku and Ganju moved to Rukongai and are currently living as pyrotechnicians. Captain Isshin was tricked by Aizen 16 years ago and left Soul Society, and now resides in the World of the Living."

"Seireitei... there are no members of the Shiba Clan left?"

Kaien Shiba was visibly downcast. He and Isshin Shiba, who had split from the Shiba Clan. They had thought that the Shiba Clan would achieve something even more remarkable than the Kuchiki and Four Great Noble Clans, possessing two Captain-level Bleach at the same time.

As it turned out, Rukia revealed that the Shiba Clan's glory was nothing but Kyoka Suigetsu. Rukia didn't mention the other members of the Shiba Clan, which Rukia Kaien Shiba with some suspicions.

"Actually, yes, he does. He's often active within the Seireitei..." Rukia said with some reluctance.

Kaien Shiba's eyes lit up. He couldn't recall any other outstanding talents in the Shiba Clan. "Who is it?"

"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki, the son of Isshin- senpai, and he is currently operating in the World of the Living and Soul Society as a substitute Bleach."

"Kurosaki? That's right. Isshin should indeed hide his original surname when facing Aizen." Kaien Shiba was essentially Aaroniero; he was equally aware of the situation at Las Noches and Aizen's strength.

"No! Rukia, you guys need to leave quickly, it'll be troublesome if Aizen finds out."

Rukia was touched. Kaien Shiba was still the same Kaien Shiba; even though he was no longer the Vice-Captain, he was still thinking about her safety.

"Don't worry, Shiba... Senior Kaien, we came to Las Noches for Aizen..."

Rukia and Kaien Shiba sat down cross-legged, with Kaien Shiba asking questions Rukia explaining, revealing to Kaien Shiba little by little the purpose of their visit to Las Noches.

Returning to the time when Tsuna met Kaien Shiba, they learned that Rukia had erased Aaroniero's remaining memories, so everyone genuinely regarded him as Kaien Shiba.

"Senior Kaien, Rukia must have told you about my plans for you, right?" Tsuna asked directly.

"Yes, but resurrection is still a bit too far-fetched," Kaien Shiba said, scratching his head.

"There are already successful cases, and given that your spirit body is preserved more completely, your success rate is much higher than that of Mrs. Kuchiki."

"Of course, you can choose to live as you are now. After Rukia's memories were erased, you have complete control over this body."

"However, you are still essentially Aaroniero. Remember not to use Aaroniero's devouring ability. Once you devour other powers, other memories may appear and compete with you for control of your body."

Tsuna had no intention of forcing Kaien Shiba to choose. If it weren't for his very good relationship with Ichigo's family, he wouldn't even have considered helping Kaien Shiba revive.

The choice is now entirely in Kaien Shiba's hands, and Tsuna will respect whatever choice she makes.

Kaien Shiba was also thinking that if the status quo were maintained, he would possess considerable fighting power. Rukia had also said that in the future, the Quincy might destroy Soul Society, and he would have the power to protect his family in Soul Society.

If Hollow were to revive and become an infant like Hisana Kuchiki, no matter how profound his understanding of Zanpakuto was, he wouldn't be able to possess any fighting power to his name in a short period of time.

"Um, Kaien... Brother..." Ichigo called out, still a little unaccustomed to it, "Please believe Tsuna and the shopkeeper. Only after you are resurrected will you be the real Kaien Shiba."

"I don't mean to disbelieve you, it's just..." Kaien Shiba expressed his concerns.

"To be honest, your considerations are completely unnecessary. If it were one of the top-ranked Espada, there would be some discussion, but the strength of the 9th Espada is simply not enough to even get a chance to be on the table."

"Rukia everything else aside, even without using her Hollowfication ability, and even if Rukia hasn't mastered Bankai yet, she could easily defeat Aaroniero," Tsuna said.

Tsuna didn't bring Rukia to Hueco Mundo entirely recklessly; he genuinely recognized Rukia's ability to fight Aaroniero before bringing her along.

"I see." Kaien Shiba smiled somewhat awkwardly. "Then I'll leave it to you two, Sawada Tsunayoshi and Urahara Kisuke!"