bleach chapter 131The True Will
"...I don't know... what I should do anymore... Shiro-chan." - Hinamori MomoI am most likely no longer alive by now.
So, for the sake of you, whom I trust the most,
I’ve inscribed here all of the truths that I've uncovered.
Why must Kuchiki Rukia be executed?
Why does the execution date keep being pushed forward?
While investigating that, I arrived to a single truth.
The true aim of the execution is not the killing of Kuchiki Rukia.
This execution was planned for the sake of robbing something.
That something is
the Dual Terminus.(1)
The Dual Terminus, whose seal is only undone during an execution, is composed of a spear which is gifted with a destructive power that is worth a million Zanpaku swords and an execution block with a defensive power to guard against an equal number of Zanpaku swords.
Moreover, during an execution, by which a Shinigami's body is crucified(2) and pierced, it is said that its power swells up several dozen times its strength for a brief moment.
The one who concocted this execution is conspiring to use that power to destroy Seireitei as well as Soul Society itself.
The name of that loathsome creature is
Hitsugaya Toushirou.
10th Captain Hitsugaya stands in shock as Hinamori Momo recites these words to him - words which are carved deep into her memory.
A stray tear traces a path down Momo's cheek with the promise of many more to follow.
Hitsugaya stares at Momo as the edge of her blade hovers steadily over his shoulder. "That's what... was written...? In Aizen's letter..." he asks breathlessly as sweat trails down his face.
"It is," Momo's hard glare is mixed in with grief and betrayal as she speaks, "...Then it continues like this."
Tonight, I have called him out to meet me in front of the Eastern Wall. I must hinder his schemes at all costs. If he does not back down, I am prepared to cross blades with him. However, if I were to die, Hinamori-kun,
"'Could you please carry on my will'," Momo recites, "'and strike him down?'"
She continues as the tears flow down her cheeks, some trailing past her lips to give a bitter, salty taste in her mouth. "'...That is my... final wish... Not as the Captain of the 5th Division... but as a man...'" her hands begin to shake as she grips the hilt of the sword, "'...I ask this... of... you...'"
Suddenly, Momo leaps up with her sword held high, screaming, "AAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Hitsugaya stands there in disbelief as she attacks him.
An explosion occurs as the strike hits, causing dust and debris to billow into the air. Gin watches silently as the dust cloud thins out.
Forced back by the explosion, Hitsugaya skids back on the floorboards. "Hinamori, you stupid idiot! Think this over!!" he shouts at Momo as she approaches him through the dust cloud, "'I'm dead, so fight in my place'!? How could you think Aizen would say such a thing!! That's not the Aizen I know! Not a fool who'd go into a fight alone when he has no chance of winning! Not a coward who'd make his subordinate take on that dirty work!"
"But!" Momo screams back as she charges at him, "That's what was written! There's no way I could've misread it!!" Despite the tears blurring her vision, she swings her blade in a wide arc, "That was Captain Aizen's handwriting!!"
Distracted by her words, Hitsugaya dodges the wild swing with mere inches to spare.
"I didn't want to believe it!! But that's what Captain Aizen told me!!" Momo keeps advancing on him as he keeps backing away. Her attacks are frenzied and deadly. Her words becomes choppy and broken, "I!! Captain Aizen, he!! I...!! I..."
Momo stops running and holds her sword to her chest protectively. "...I don't know... what I should do anymore..." she looks up at her childhood friend with tears poring from her eyes. Her expression is pained, lost and heart-broken as she calls to Hitsugaya, "Shiro-chan..."
Seeing her in this broken state catches Hitsugaya off guard. The momentary lapse is nearly enough to be his undoing.
"...uuh...AAAAAAAAAHH!!!" Momo screams again and swings down. Her attack causes another explosion - one which Hitsugaya barely dodges by leaping straight up into the air.
"Shit...!" Hitsugaya curses as his leap takes him high above the battleground. Hinamori's too confused for me to reason with her... he thinks, There's no way Aizen would've written such a letter...! Someone tampered with Aizen's letter!! In order for Hinamori and I to destroy each other... Something odd catches his sight and Hitsugaya glances down below, where two men stand on the boardwalk. The white-haired man, Ichimaru Gin, lifts his head slightly to meet Hitsugaya's gaze. The grin on his face widens into a smile that is as vicious as it is sadistic.
The message is clear. "...I see... This, too," Hitsugaya speaks through grit teeth right before his body's decent spins in Gin's direction, "This, too, was your handiwork, huh!!!" He screams out in rage, "ICHIMARU!!!"
Gin stands on the floorboards with the same horrid grin on his face. Hitsugaya rushes down through the sky at the 3rd Captain and reaches for his blade.
But then Momo appears in mid-air between him and Gin. Her sword it balanced to strike and the tears still haven't left her eyes.
"...Hinamori...!" Hitsugaya gasps, caught between his rage at Gin and his shock at her sudden appearance. He lets go of the hilt as she lashes out at him. I can't dodge... in midair...! he realizes as his arm swings out and he curses, "Shit!!"
The smack is deafening as it knocks Momo away from him. She goes crashing to the floorboards.
Hitsugaya lands safely and spins around, shouting urgently, "Hinamori!!"
She lays there on her side, non-responsive. Hitsugaya stares down at her as he is hit with the realization of what he has just done.
"...Oh dear. That's horrible, Sir Captain of the 10th," Gin strides up behind him, amused. "You didn' have to hit an upset, wounded girl all that hard."
"...Ichimaru..." Hitsugaya snarls with his back still facing Gin. He recalls the short exchange Gin and Aizen shared when the intruder alarm went off in the middle of the Captain's assembly.
"It's quite convenient for you that the warning went off," Aizen said as he passed Gin.
"...What are you after," Hitsugaya demands through clenched teeth.
"Haah..." Gin sighs as he walks out of the departing Aizen's earshot, but still well within Hitsugaya's hearing range. "...He's the same as ever... It'd be better if he'd listen carefully to the final warning," Gin tilts his head to look back as a cruel smile stretches across his face. "After all, he won't be listenin' to much else soon enough."
"Aizen just wasn't enough, huh..." Hitsugaya looks down at Momo's fallen form with his fists clenched. "You even pulled Hinamori... into this damned mess..." he studies her bloodied fingers wrapped loosely around the hilt of her sword. "You even drove her to the point of clenching her sword tight enough to ooze blood."
"...Oh, my," Gin speaks, unperturbed, "Such talk."
Hitsugaya turns and steps forward with his left leg, settling into a battle stance as he reaches for the long sword slung across his back, "...I warned you, Ichimaru."
"If you caused Hinamori's blood to run, I'd kill you!!!" He crouches forward and, instead of using the conventional way to unsheathe a Zanpaku blade, he rips straight through the sheath itself to free his sword. (3)
"...Ahh," Gin's grin turns fiercer as her reaches for his sword hilt. "...I can't allow that, Sir Captain of the 10th. If you draw your sword on me at a place like this... I've got no choice but to stop you."
(1)As you'll see, this is the name of the execution stand on the cliff where Rukia's death sentence will be carried out.
(2)The word "haritsuke" is the noun for "crucifixion", while the verb "haritsuku" means "to stick." I just wanted to let you know that, since the wording in the sentence makes it difficult to tell whether KT's using the noun form or the verb form - so either the Shinigami's body is crucified or it's simply stabbed... either way, I felt the need to explain the context of the word since this stuff may turn out to be real important later on (i.e. when Rukia's time runs out 0_0).
(3)That answers my question as to how he's able to draw a blade that's much longer than his arm's length. ^^; I keep forgetting that this is Soul Society. Of course he's able to rip through a solid sheath with ease - everything seems to be composed of condensed spiritual energy over there, not tangible material.^^;
Notes:
-Ooh, nice fake out at the end of last chapter, ne? It had me doubting about what would happen next - but it turned out just to be a minor cliffhanger. Either way, it still turned out to be worthwhile (for me at least).
-So... now the question is: Is the entire letter a fabrication or is only portions of it fabricated? Is all of that stuff about Dual Terminus true?
-The first part of the letter (the stuff before the lj-cut) isn't actually in this chapter - I just re-posted it to give it a better sense of context. In the process, I realized that my translation style has altered slightly over the past several months, so some of the content in that part of the letter is a bit different than how I wrote it last year. ^^;
-I think I'm starting to like Gin more... now that it's a lot clearer how much of a dangerous, scheming badass he is - I really want to see what he's capable of next.^^
-Gin vs. Hitsugaya!? Ooooohhhhh, I can't wait for the next chapter! XD
-Momo rocks.
-What the hell is Izuru doing? Impersonating wallpaper!? His only appearance in this chapter was a bit of his right leg! You'd think he'd do something nutty when Hitsugaya struck Momo down... but no, nothing yet. I hope some of the next chapter is from his point of view. I'm looking forward to it! ^_^
"...I don't know... what I should do anymore... Shiro-chan." - Hinamori Momo
Hinamori-kun,
If you are reading this letter, then it must mean I was not able to return.
I’ve caused you to worry about many things, it seems.
No matter how many words of gratitude I could offer, I don’t think it would be enough.
Up till now, I never spoke to you about the anxiety I've felt.
However, I want you to understand that this was because I didn’t wish for you to get involved.
So I hope you will forgive me somehow.
Since I am getting you mixed up in this, now that you’ve come this far.
So, for the sake of you, whom I trust the most,
I’ve inscribed here all of the truths that I've uncovered.
Why must Kuchiki Rukia be executed?
Why does the execution date keep being pushed forward?
While investigating that, I arrived to a single truth.
The true aim of the execution is not the killing of Kuchiki Rukia.
This execution was planned for the sake of robbing something.
That something is
the Dual Terminus.(1)
The Dual Terminus, whose seal is only undone during an execution, is composed of a spear which is gifted with a destructive power that is worth a million Zanpaku swords and an execution block with a defensive power to guard against an equal number of Zanpaku swords.
Moreover, during an execution, by which a Shinigami's body is crucified(2) and pierced, it is said that its power swells up several dozen times its strength for a brief moment.
The one who concocted this execution is conspiring to use that power to destroy Seireitei as well as Soul Society itself.
The name of that loathsome creature is
Hitsugaya Toushirou.
10th Captain Hitsugaya stands in shock as Hinamori Momo recites these words to him - words which are carved deep into her memory.
A stray tear traces a path down Momo's cheek with the promise of many more to follow.
Hitsugaya stares at Momo as the edge of her blade hovers steadily over his shoulder. "That's what... was written...? In Aizen's letter..." he asks breathlessly as sweat trails down his face.
"It is," Momo's hard glare is mixed in with grief and betrayal as she speaks, "...Then it continues like this."
"'Could you please carry on my will'," Momo recites, "'and strike him down?'"
She continues as the tears flow down her cheeks, some trailing past her lips to give a bitter, salty taste in her mouth. "'...That is my... final wish... Not as the Captain of the 5th Division... but as a man...'" her hands begin to shake as she grips the hilt of the sword, "'...I ask this... of... you...'"
Suddenly, Momo leaps up with her sword held high, screaming, "AAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Hitsugaya stands there in disbelief as she attacks him.
An explosion occurs as the strike hits, causing dust and debris to billow into the air. Gin watches silently as the dust cloud thins out.
Forced back by the explosion, Hitsugaya skids back on the floorboards. "Hinamori, you stupid idiot! Think this over!!" he shouts at Momo as she approaches him through the dust cloud, "'I'm dead, so fight in my place'!? How could you think Aizen would say such a thing!! That's not the Aizen I know! Not a fool who'd go into a fight alone when he has no chance of winning! Not a coward who'd make his subordinate take on that dirty work!"
"But!" Momo screams back as she charges at him, "That's what was written! There's no way I could've misread it!!" Despite the tears blurring her vision, she swings her blade in a wide arc, "That was Captain Aizen's handwriting!!"
Distracted by her words, Hitsugaya dodges the wild swing with mere inches to spare.
"I didn't want to believe it!! But that's what Captain Aizen told me!!" Momo keeps advancing on him as he keeps backing away. Her attacks are frenzied and deadly. Her words becomes choppy and broken, "I!! Captain Aizen, he!! I...!! I..."
Momo stops running and holds her sword to her chest protectively. "...I don't know... what I should do anymore..." she looks up at her childhood friend with tears poring from her eyes. Her expression is pained, lost and heart-broken as she calls to Hitsugaya, "Shiro-chan..."
Seeing her in this broken state catches Hitsugaya off guard. The momentary lapse is nearly enough to be his undoing.
"...uuh...AAAAAAAAAHH!!!" Momo screams again and swings down. Her attack causes another explosion - one which Hitsugaya barely dodges by leaping straight up into the air.
"Shit...!" Hitsugaya curses as his leap takes him high above the battleground. Hinamori's too confused for me to reason with her... he thinks, There's no way Aizen would've written such a letter...! Someone tampered with Aizen's letter!! In order for Hinamori and I to destroy each other... Something odd catches his sight and Hitsugaya glances down below, where two men stand on the boardwalk. The white-haired man, Ichimaru Gin, lifts his head slightly to meet Hitsugaya's gaze. The grin on his face widens into a smile that is as vicious as it is sadistic.
The message is clear. "...I see... This, too," Hitsugaya speaks through grit teeth right before his body's decent spins in Gin's direction, "This, too, was your handiwork, huh!!!" He screams out in rage, "ICHIMARU!!!"
Gin stands on the floorboards with the same horrid grin on his face. Hitsugaya rushes down through the sky at the 3rd Captain and reaches for his blade.
But then Momo appears in mid-air between him and Gin. Her sword it balanced to strike and the tears still haven't left her eyes.
"...Hinamori...!" Hitsugaya gasps, caught between his rage at Gin and his shock at her sudden appearance. He lets go of the hilt as she lashes out at him. I can't dodge... in midair...! he realizes as his arm swings out and he curses, "Shit!!"
The smack is deafening as it knocks Momo away from him. She goes crashing to the floorboards.
Hitsugaya lands safely and spins around, shouting urgently, "Hinamori!!"
She lays there on her side, non-responsive. Hitsugaya stares down at her as he is hit with the realization of what he has just done.
"...Oh dear. That's horrible, Sir Captain of the 10th," Gin strides up behind him, amused. "You didn' have to hit an upset, wounded girl all that hard."
"...Ichimaru..." Hitsugaya snarls with his back still facing Gin. He recalls the short exchange Gin and Aizen shared when the intruder alarm went off in the middle of the Captain's assembly.
"It's quite convenient for you that the warning went off," Aizen said as he passed Gin.
"...What are you after," Hitsugaya demands through clenched teeth.
"Haah..." Gin sighs as he walks out of the departing Aizen's earshot, but still well within Hitsugaya's hearing range. "...He's the same as ever... It'd be better if he'd listen carefully to the final warning," Gin tilts his head to look back as a cruel smile stretches across his face. "After all, he won't be listenin' to much else soon enough."
"Aizen just wasn't enough, huh..." Hitsugaya looks down at Momo's fallen form with his fists clenched. "You even pulled Hinamori... into this damned mess..." he studies her bloodied fingers wrapped loosely around the hilt of her sword. "You even drove her to the point of clenching her sword tight enough to ooze blood."
"...Oh, my," Gin speaks, unperturbed, "Such talk."
Hitsugaya turns and steps forward with his left leg, settling into a battle stance as he reaches for the long sword slung across his back, "...I warned you, Ichimaru."
"If you caused Hinamori's blood to run, I'd kill you!!!" He crouches forward and, instead of using the conventional way to unsheathe a Zanpaku blade, he rips straight through the sheath itself to free his sword. (3)
"...Ahh," Gin's grin turns fiercer as her reaches for his sword hilt. "...I can't allow that, Sir Captain of the 10th. If you draw your sword on me at a place like this... I've got no choice but to stop you."
(1)As you'll see, this is the name of the execution stand on the cliff where Rukia's death sentence will be carried out.
(2)The word "haritsuke" is the noun for "crucifixion", while the verb "haritsuku" means "to stick." I just wanted to let you know that, since the wording in the sentence makes it difficult to tell whether KT's using the noun form or the verb form - so either the Shinigami's body is crucified or it's simply stabbed... either way, I felt the need to explain the context of the word since this stuff may turn out to be real important later on (i.e. when Rukia's time runs out 0_0).
(3)That answers my question as to how he's able to draw a blade that's much longer than his arm's length. ^^; I keep forgetting that this is Soul Society. Of course he's able to rip through a solid sheath with ease - everything seems to be composed of condensed spiritual energy over there, not tangible material.^^;
Notes:
-Ooh, nice fake out at the end of last chapter, ne? It had me doubting about what would happen next - but it turned out just to be a minor cliffhanger. Either way, it still turned out to be worthwhile (for me at least).
-So... now the question is: Is the entire letter a fabrication or is only portions of it fabricated? Is all of that stuff about Dual Terminus true?
-The first part of the letter (the stuff before the lj-cut) isn't actually in this chapter - I just re-posted it to give it a better sense of context. In the process, I realized that my translation style has altered slightly over the past several months, so some of the content in that part of the letter is a bit different than how I wrote it last year. ^^;
-I think I'm starting to like Gin more... now that it's a lot clearer how much of a dangerous, scheming badass he is - I really want to see what he's capable of next.^^
-Gin vs. Hitsugaya!? Ooooohhhhh, I can't wait for the next chapter! XD
-Momo rocks.
-What the hell is Izuru doing? Impersonating wallpaper!? His only appearance in this chapter was a bit of his right leg! You'd think he'd do something nutty when Hitsugaya struck Momo down... but no, nothing yet. I hope some of the next chapter is from his point of view. I'm looking forward to it! ^_^