Bleach: The Forgotten Captain - The Memoirs of Akari Miyazaki

Chapter 24: A Fateful Decision

My heart raced in my chest. For so many years, I had been lost, not knowing who I truly was. Searching for myself, I had never found the answers I sought. But how could I have foreseen that the revelation awaiting me would be so shattering?

Memories of my life in the Soul Society washed over me like torrential rain. My mother. My brother. The etiquette school. The academy. Byakuya. Gin. Rangiku. 

Kisuke.

I disentangled myself from his embrace. His face hung above me, and I could see the myriad of questions in his gray eyes.

"I mourned for you," he said in a hushed tone, and I swallowed hard.

"I know," I replied with a trembling voice. I had died, allowed myself to be killed by Aizen, to lull him into a false sense of security. Poor Byakuya had witnessed it all and likely informed Kisuke, along with my other friends. The thought of what they must have gone through because of my death had paralyzed me even back when Suzaku explained his plan.

"I'm so terribly sorry, Kisuke. It was the only way."

"The only way for what, Akari? We defeated Aizen. You didn't need to die for that!" Anger now mixed with his voice.

With a swift motion, I looped the chain holding my golden engagement ring around my neck, freeing both my hands, and then raised my sword. With a touch of my Reiatsu, it changed its color to a shimmering translucent pink. It was the ability I had imitated from Suzaku, the one ability that allowed him to transfer powers to others.

"I hope this works," I murmured and cut my hand. I dripped my blood onto my blade and let the pink, gaseous blade pass through Kisuke's body. He touched the spot with his hand, then looked up. I turned to Ichigo, approaching him with a swift movement, brushing him and Orihime as well.

"In your last battle against Aizen, he did something that you weren't aware of, Ichigo Kurosaki," I said, and Ichigo's eyes widened in horror.

"What? What the hell is going on here? Who are you, and what did you just do with your sword?" He bombarded me with questions.

I didn't answer his questions.

"Ichigo... Aizen showed you his Shikai. It was just a brief moment, a moment of distraction, and it was done."

I heard Kisuke's groan. "So, all that... we defeated him, the whole battle against him, was that all just a illusion? Did we just imagine it all?"

My eyes found Sato, who had silently stood in the background, and he immediately understood my silent plea.

I held back, as I could only guess at what had happened. While we had a rough idea of what Sosuke might do when he united the Hogyoku, I didn't know the exact outcome. After all, I had been killed in Seireitei almost twenty years ago and had grown up as an ordinary human girl afterward. It was only thanks to Suzaku's ability that my soul was reborn with the same composition and powers in the world of the living.

"We don't know exactly how much of what happened was part of Sosuke's original plans. But one thing is clear: at some point during the battle, he decided to go underground. Maybe it was because he felt threatened by Ichigo Kurosaki's power and realized he could truly lose this battle. But yes, it was all just an illusion. He made you think you had won and withdrew to plan his next move. And now it has obviously begun."

I raised my head and studied the many cracks in the sky that I had noticed for some time. But before I regained my memories, I had feared the sky so much that I didn't dare to look at it further.

Now I knew why, unlike everyone else, I had been able to see these eerie signs on the horizon. I was not affected by the illusion that convinced everyone else that the world was fine. These rifts probably floated not only over the world of the living but also over the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, maybe even the realms of Hell.