Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

To be able to discover and cherish the beauty in life, and not spend a lifetime harboring resentment over missed possibilities for perfection—Kōe had always believed that such people were worthy of respect, and Rukia was exactly that kind of person.

”You are the same, Kaien. And you too, Miyako. Therefore, I am incredibly sorry for what I did to you both. I truly apologize.”

Inside the Shiba household, Kōe bowed deeply in apology to the Shiba family sitting opposite him. From the bottom of his heart, this was absolutely the most sincere apology he had ever given in his life. Yoruichi could vouch for that; after all, even she, the one he had run away from marrying, had never been treated with such sincerity.

However, Yoruichi turned her head to look at the other side. Kaien’s expression was somewhat heavy, and Shiba Miyako beside him averted her gaze. It was obvious that she still harbored misgivings toward Kōe.

This wasn’t to say that Shiba Miyako was deliberately driving a wedge between them, using the Shiba family as her backing to collectively reject Kōe’s presence. On the contrary, if she hadn’t honestly recounted the circumstances of that time to Kaien, Kōe would never have been able to simply walk through the doors of the Shiba household after taking only a single punch from Ganju, nor would he have met Kaien so smoothly.

As the third person hiding in the Seijōtōkyorin on the eve of the battle at Sōkyoku Hill, Shiba Miyako understood that everything Kōe had done at the time was to save her.

But intuitively, she couldn’t feel any genuine care from him. It was true over forty years ago, and it remained true right now. All Kōe wanted to mend was his relationship with Kaien; in this equation, she was merely an accessory, a dispensable pawn.

Kōe, who had used her, and Aizen Sōsuke, who had used the entire Seireitei—fundamentally, there was no difference between the two. To Shiba Miyako, they were both successfully apathetic manipulators.

Even though Kōe had saved her, it couldn’t change this fundamental nature, nor could it make her trust him.

Because of Kaien, he wouldn’t abandon her, but without Kaien, she was a pawn that could be discarded at any moment. Applying the same logic to Kaien: Kōe couldn’t abandon Kaien for certain reasons, but if those reasons were to disappear, what would happen then?

Shiba Miyako didn’t know the answer to this question. This stemmed from her lack of understanding of Kōe, which was perfectly normal. Who could ever truly see through a man like Kōe until the very last moment? And who could know if the moment he suddenly changed was the last moment?

Subverting the trust forged by time was called betrayal. Even if one returned to their original intentions from the past, that trust would have already transformed into the most impenetrable estrangement.

Estrangement—this was the emotion currently filling Kaien’s heart. He once thought he understood Kōe very well, but looking at it now, he had been completely played for a fool.

When did he become like this? Or rather, had he always been someone so impossible to read?

”I won’t blame you, but I won’t forgive you either. If this is what you came for, you can leave now.”

It was still too difficult. Hearing Kaien’s words, Yoruichi couldn’t help but shake her head. Even though Shiba Miyako had managed to calm Kaien down, mending this heavily scarred relationship was simply too hard.

”Kaien...”

Kōe reached out to stop Yoruichi. He pulled a string-bound envelope from his robes and slowly pushed it in front of Kaien. *’Letter of Appointment.’* Looking at the large characters on the envelope, Kaien already understood a few things.

With his abilities, taking up the position of Captain was something that should have happened long ago. Was this Letter of Appointment Kōe’s compensation to him?

Working alongside Kōe had been one of Kaien’s childhood wishes, but now...

”Apologizing is just to give myself some peace of mind. The power to forgive naturally rests with you, and you shouldn’t forgive me.” Just as Kaien was about to voice his refusal, Kōe’s voice rang out again. ”This is also what I want to see the most. Only then can I hand this Letter of Appointment over to you with peace of mind.”

*’What kind of scheme is this?!’* Yoruichi remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, she was startled by Kōe’s sudden nonsense. Although it might just be a childish provocation, she faintly felt that these were Kōe’s true feelings—he genuinely didn’t want to mend his relationship with Kaien!

”You can’t forgive me because you feel there was a better way to save Miyako and Rukia. At the very least, I could have discussed it with you, right?”

Kaien didn’t answer, but his silence at this moment proved that his thoughts had been laid bare.

”But I didn’t choose to do that. Do you know why, Kaien? You are special. Your capacity for acceptance and your infectious sincerity are things that none of us possess.”

”Urahara and Yoruichi didn’t tell you the truth because of this unchangeable uniqueness of yours. Similarly, I won’t try to change you—or rather, I don’t dare to try. Because if I succeeded, it would inevitably become my lifelong regret.”

It was true. Facing all sorts of complexities with a rare and precious innocence, a romance akin to a moth drawn to a flame—this was Shiba Kaien.

He had walked into Rukia’s world simply because he sensed that her world was too desolate, so much so that even Rukia herself was suffering in it.

Imagine if Kaien had approached Rukia just for the Hōgyoku? Yoruichi couldn’t even fathom it. Beautiful things faded with time, leaving one only able to mourn their past passions—there was nothing more lamentable than that.

”But the truth will always be exposed one day. Your protection is far too self-righteous,” Kaien said, gritting his teeth and enunciating every word. ”Even if I had died without succeeding, at least I wouldn’t have gone against my own heart. I would have been proud of my actions! But now, compared to you all who manipulate everything, I look as ridiculous as a child.”

”Then keep being one! Don’t you understand, Kaien? If looking at the world solely through the lens of pros and cons is what it means to grow up, then I’d rather that kind of growth never happen to you!”

”Treading carefully to avoid potential threats isn’t a problem in itself, but applying that to people is unreasonable. Just like a Zanpakutō—it can be a sharp weapon to harm others, but it can also be a power to protect. Everything has two sides, and what determines which side is shown is actually the human heart.”

”The Seireitei only sees the negative side of the human heart, lacking tolerance and trust for the other side. I wanted to change that, but I failed, and so did Urahara. As long as someone understands the Seireitei’s logic, stopping all of this is child’s play.”

Kōe pointed at the Letter of Appointment on the floor. ”Now, this breach has been opened. Through this opportunity, Squad 5 will become a bridge of communication between Shinigami and other powers. As long as the friendship with Ichigo and the others still exists, no matter how worried Central 46 is, they will be forced to maintain a state of tolerance.”

”But what will ultimately become of this bridge born from friendship, I don’t know. You could say I have absolutely no confidence in my ability to guide it in the right direction.”

”All I can do is open the breach.” Kōe shook his head in self-deprecation, looking at Kaien with full expectation. ”The only one who can decide its path is you, Kaien.”

”Your sincere heart toward your comrades, that unique charm that awakens the kindness in people—that is what’s most likely to guide it in the right direction, and thereby bring change to this unreasonable place. This is something I can’t do, Urahara can’t do, and even Shunsui and Ukitake can’t do.”

”We would all compromise with unreasonable mistakes, but you won’t. So stop saying things like it would have been fine if you died. If you die, then everything I’ve done will be completely meaningless!”

”People like us might be able to save many, but our power is ultimately limited. There will always be people we cannot save. But you are different. You can inspire more people to yearn for peace and beauty. That is something no amount of Reiryoku can achieve.”

As Kōe spoke, he suddenly lowered his head and pushed the Letter of Appointment on the floor a bit further forward. ”Even if it’s just to prevent the world from falling into the hands of someone like me, accept this, and then...”

”Try to make this world a little more romantic.”