Chapter 64: I Want to Live
First Division Underground Great Prison.
Rukia had never imagined she would one day be confined in a place like this.
A cage reserved for truly grievous offenders.
No torture, yet everything about it stripped hope away. The stale air, the oppressive darkness, the silence that pressed on the chest.
Even if a prisoner walked out of that cage on the day of their execution and finally bathed in the long absent sunlight, their heart would feel no warmth at all.
Only numbness.
Despair only comes after hope is lost, and she had already passed that stage long ago.
Her breathing was mechanical. Her footsteps were mechanical as she walked toward the execution platform.
Only when she was hoisted dozens of meters above the ground, the fierce wind whipping against her cheeks, and she strained to look out over the vast Seireitei spread beneath her, did the still surface of her heart finally ripple.
So she was really about to say farewell to this world.
Rukia lowered her gaze to the crowd below and almost immediately found her elder brother.
She had never once considered that he might not come.
Seeing Kuchiki Byakuya's calm, distant expression, Rukia felt a faint sense of comfort.
Her only remaining hope was that her death would not cause any more sorrow to those around her.
"Renji…"
She also spotted the red haired man standing beside her brother.
His face was tight and anxious, but there was not much sadness there.
Did he still think there was some chance?
Impossible. Central 46 would never overturn their judgment.
Rukia still did not fully understand what the Hogyoku was, but she understood the logic of killing a carrier of a deadly plague.
Sometimes such unavoidable decisions left no room for objection.
"Begin."
The Captain Commander raised his hand. The members of the Kido Corps moved as one, unleashing Sokyoku.
A spear that pierced heaven and earth descended.
Its mere appearance carried a biting sharpness.
The tip of that spear held destructive power equal to a million Zanpakuto.
It was also called the King of Destruction.
If it had truly been a Zanpakuto, then its wielder would have possessed strength beyond imagination.
Layer after layer, the bindings around the spear unwound, falling like blazing ropes and latching onto the base of Sokyoku Hill, anchoring it firmly in place, so that even when the King of Destruction was released, it would not simply fly off.
The spear itself transformed into a colossal phoenix that screamed as it spread its wings. Every beat sent waves of heat rolling outward. Many of those assembled frowned, some even raised their arms to shield their eyes, so blinding was that burning shape against the sky.
"… "
Rukia slowly closed her eyes.
At the moment of death, she could not help but wonder one last thing.
Was the Hogyoku really inside her?
Why could she not feel anything at all?
Such a terrifying, dangerous thing.
Would it truly appear only when she was pierced by Sokyoku's beak?
By then her soul would have already dissolved and scattered.
She would not even have the chance to see what that thing actually looked like.
Dragged to her death without even knowing the face of the executioner.
"What a ridiculous life."
Rukia seemed to finally understand why her elder brother refused to interfere. A commoner like her being accepted into one of the Four Great Noble Houses was already a kindness beyond measure. To ask that such a person be protected further would be shameless.
With that thought, her heart calmed.
Above, the phoenix regarded its tiny prey with casual disinterest and prepared to strike.
The heat waves roasting her skin made Rukia unconsciously recall the past.
If there was anything that had left the deepest impression on her, it was probably the first and second wandering souls she had performed Konso on after being stationed in the World of the Living.
It was good that they were not here to see this.
To die as a criminal in front of such admirable people.
For her, their so called senior, to fall like this would be utterly disgraceful.
The screech of the phoenix sharpened.
Its beak was about to touch her frail body.
"Rukia!"
Renji could not hold back any longer. Inwardly he cursed those two bastards who had promised him a flawless plan days ago.
Where were they now?!
He gripped the hilt of his sword and stepped forward, but Byakuya's hand stopped him without the elder brother even turning his head.
"Hmm?"
Yamamoto Genryusai's perpetually narrowed eyes opened a fraction wider. His gaze suddenly lifted to the sky.
Boom.
At the same time, two overwhelming spiritual pressures fell from above like meteorites.
They slammed into the phoenix's aura, forcing its body to freeze for an instant.
And they shocked everyone below.
"Wha… what is this!?"
Omaeda's burly body trembled uncontrollably, his voice cracking as he spoke.
Soi Fon's pupils contracted. She stared intently at one of the rapidly descending figures, feeling as if something impossible had just appeared before her, especially in this manner.
"They are here…"
Byakuya's expression grew solemn, as if he had expected this development.
"So they were hiding in the sky all this time, making me worry for nothing…"
Renji was both stunned and elated.
Though, putting that aside, how on earth had they managed it?
In the weightless air, two calm but fast paced voices crossed paths.
"Ever done a free fall without a parachute before, Kurosaki?"
"Of course not. My family is not rich, and I do not have a death wish!"
"Then this is your first."
"Flying up to the edge of the Soul Sealing Barrier with Inoue's shield and then jumping down instead of breaking in from outside. Only you could come up with something like that, Takeru. Yoruichi teach you that trick? Go on, you can tell me. I promise I will not laugh, really."
"Just answer this. Did it work or not?"
"Obviously. Give me more good ideas like this next time. But what we need right now is not good ideas, it is… Getsuga…"
"Seven Flash."
The two figures descended like falling stars, bickering even as killing intent burned in their eyes. They hit the phoenix's back like hunters using all of gravity and momentum to take down prey. It was sudden, brutal, and perfectly timed.
"…Tensho!"
Ichigo reversed his grip on his Zanpakuto. Wrapped in massive spiritual pressure, the blade became a black harpoon that drove straight into the phoenix's head and blew it apart from within.
"Draw Sword."
At the same moment, the huge body that remained was shredded by seven consecutive slashes. Takeru unleashed the full speed of his Seven Flash, carving through the phoenix in barely a second until it was nearly unrecognizable.
It did not even have time to cry out.
Phoenix blood scattered like a rain of fire, a beautiful yet terrifying downpour that dazzled the eyes.
"The King of Destruction… was carved to pieces…?!" Omaeda gasped.
"It will not die that easily," Tsuchibone said in a low voice.
Sure enough, the burning fragments of the phoenix began to gather themselves again. After all, a flame could not be killed by cutting.
But just as everyone's attention was fixed on the ambush from above, two more figures shot out from the cliffside.
Yoruichi and Orihime.
"Soten Kisshun. I reject."
With a sweeping motion of her blade, a streak of orange gold light cut across the remnants of the phoenix. Wherever the light passed, the shattered remains drew together and compressed, reverting into the sealed spear as if time itself were running backward.
Sokyoku's release was forcibly canceled.
"What?!"
There were not many witnesses present, but every single one of them was stunned by what they had just seen.
So this was the true killing move.
"Well done, Inoue!"
Having finished his attack, Ichigo flipped down and landed on the execution platform. Seeing the plan proceeding smoothly and that monstrous spear suppressed once more, his eyes lit up.
"Indeed. First step of the plan complete," Takeru said as he dropped to the platform as well, sword in hand. The wind whipped his Shinigami uniform as he narrowed his hawk like eyes and swept his gaze over the faces below.
"So few people showed up. First Division, Second Division, and Sixth Division only."
"Not even one third of the captains. Does this count as a big success?"
Ichigo naturally followed his lead, adding on with a teasing tone.
"Well…"
Takeru was about to answer when the person caught between them finally snapped out of her daze.
Rukia stared up at the two silhouettes above her with wide eyes and let out a hoarse shout.
"You… idiots! Morons! What… what do you think you are doing?! And why is Inoue here too? Who told you to come save me? Do you even understand what you are doing?"
"Someone like me is not worth the trouble. You two have bright futures. You should not throw them away for my sake. We have barely met a few times. I am going to die anyway, and I am not anyone important. If killing me will protect the Soul Society, then Central 46 cannot be wrong!"
Ichigo said simply, "Sorry, but no matter what you say, I cannot accept a judgment that unreasonable."
Takeru followed with an equally flat tone. "Sorry, but no matter what you say, I cannot stand by and watch people be killed just because they say it is justice."
The two looked at each other, eyebrows raised, as if silently accusing the other of stealing his line.
"You… you two…"
Rukia's lips trembled. Her heart shook violently.
"Do not say anything more. Talk after this is over. If you really have to say something right now, there is only one line that suits you."
Takeru's expression turned completely serious.
"Yeah," Ichigo added, his brow furrowing as his voice dropped. "I want to live."
"No matter who comes to save you or whether they can save you, you only need to say that.
"After all, you were the one who said you were not anyone important. So how could someone so ordinary be truly willing to calmly accept death?"
"Inoue came because she believes, from the bottom of her heart, that you want to live. Are you really going to disappoint her?"
At those words, Rukia instinctively lowered her head.
Far below, Orihime was looking up at her.
Their locked gazes reminded Rukia of the moment they had met in the World of the Living.
Back then, Orihime had been lying in a pool of blood, and she had stood before her.
Now it was still an overlooking perspective, but their positions had reversed completely.
Yet one thing felt exactly the same.
That desperate wish to save the other person.
Whether it was her wanting to save Orihime, or Orihime wanting to save her, the feeling was identical.
"Forget about appearances. Just shout it," Takeru said, his voice ringing with power.
"You can leave the rest to us."
A person with a spirit that strong was standing right beside her.
Rukia had no way to keep pretending. Tears welled in her eyes as she finally cried out at the top of her lungs,
"I want to live!"
Her voice was frail and trembling, so weak it seemed as if it would scatter on the wind.
Yet it echoed clear across all of Sokyoku Hill.
Everyone heard it.
Naturally, that included the two figures above.
"Now that is more like it." Ichigo grinned.
Takeru shifted his grip. With one powerful slash and an invisible shockwave, he severed the thick execution pillar that held Rukia, slicing apart the bonds that symbolized her sentence.
"Uwaaaaaah… you two…!"
Instead of pulling her up, they stopped there and let Rukia fall.
Fortunately, Orihime had been ready. She swung her sword and activated Santen Kesshun, catching Rukia in her triangular barrier. Otherwise, the fall alone would have been enough to smash her to pieces.
"Miss Kuchiki…!"
"Now is not the time to reunite. Fall back!"
Yoruichi grabbed both of them and sprinted away without hesitation.
She could already feel the oppressive killing intent closing in.
"What terrifying killing intent. Whose is it?"
What she sensed was only a fragment of the pressure being released.
The true weight of that killing intent was focused on the two reckless madmen standing atop the execution platform.
"Who else could it be…" Takeru murmured, watching Yamamoto Genryusai walk forward step by step.
"Time to change locations, Kurosaki."
"Right." Ichigo's mouth twitched.
The two vanished with Shunpo the next instant.
At the same time, Yamamoto Genryusai snorted softly and disappeared as well.
"What are you all standing around for? Chase them!" Soi Fon's eyes were wide with fury as she barked her order.
"Um… Captain, which direction are we supposed to chase?" Omaeda asked weakly.
The question left Soi Fon momentarily speechless.
Clang.
Overwhelming spiritual pressure crashed together as blades collided.
Renji was facing Byakuya head on.
"I will not let you catch up… Captain Kuchiki!"
"Is that so? I am not sure where your confidence comes from, but…"
Byakuya was about to release his Zanpakuto, planning to end the fight in an instant and pursue Rukia, when another figure stepped into his path.
"Captain Kuchiki, I have no right to interfere in matters of your household. However, Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryusai has granted me the authority to intervene in battles during emergencies. I will deal with this insubordinate subordinate for now."
"Vice Captain Tsuchibone…?"
The sudden appearance of the usually low key Tsuchibone surprised both Byakuya and Renji.
"I understand. I will leave him to you."
Byakuya looked briefly at the back of the man who had stood at the Captain Commander's side for countless years, then sheathed his Zanpakuto and left with Shunpo.
"Hey, I did not give you permission to leave…!"
Renji tried to chase him, but a cold gleam flashed toward his face.
He instinctively twisted away, cold sweat breaking out all over. If he had been even a heartbeat slower, there would have been another hole in his body.
"Wait…"
A chilling thought crossed his mind.
Renji stared at the Western rapier in Tsuchibone's hand.
Just now, he had not heard any release command at all.
"Vice Captain Abarai, draw your blade. Let me see where you found the courage to raise your sword against your superior."
Tsuchibone placed his left hand behind his back, let the rapier spin a few times between his fingers, then raised it upright before his chest.
His gaze had none of his usual stiff seriousness. It was deep, sharp, and quietly oppressive.
The spiritual pressure he released was so dense that one might doubt he was only a Vice Captain.
"I can make a guess. It is Bankai, is it not?"
He spoke in a calm, almost conversational tone.
"But if that is the extent of your hidden strength, then I can only say one thing.
"I reached that level a thousand years ago."
"Damn it…!"
Renji felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his temple.
The man standing before him was far stronger than he had ever imagined.
But now, there was nowhere left to retreat.
All he could do was grit his teeth and push forward.
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