Spirits Are Forever With You - Ishida’s parts (2012-10, translation by

verduistering@bleachasylum a.k.a. tenshiscave@tumblr)

Narita Ryougo wrote 2 BLEACH novels, Spirits Are Forever With You I & II, in June 2012. I translated
Ishida’s parts years ago, but never posted them publicly, so I’m doing that now.
[In brief: Don Kanonji runs into a troubled Arrancar girl, Roca. He decides to help her. Ishida gets
added to the mix and mayhem ensues, because Azashiro (the 8th Kenpachi and Muken Prison escapee)
and Cien (Szayel-clone-ish-being) are after her powers.]
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(Volume I, p.159-163)
Karakura Town, Mashiba District: "Sunflower Sowing" Karakura Shop.
The 24-hour dressmaker's shop Sunflower Sowing, which carried countless different dressmaking tools,
was a shop loved by a wide variety of people, from local housewives to out-of-town dressmaking lovers.
Many of the customers left the store with warm smiles on their lips as they imagined what they would
make for their families and lovers with their newly bought tools.
But in contrast to those smiles, a young man was using the pay phone in front of the shop with a serious
look on face.
A young man with sharp eyes hidden behind glasses --- Ishida Uryuu continued speaking calmly into the
receiver.
"Yes, I also sensed last night's Arrancar. But it was already gone before I got there. ...No, the reiatsu was
different from that other female Arrancar's reiatsu. Judging from the traces of reiatsu left behind, I think
the Arrancar used a normal Garganta to disappear."
A special human who carries the power to exterminate demons --- It seems Ishida, who continues to hunt
Hollows on his own as the successor of the Quincy, also noticed the arrival of the Arrancar children.
"...Yes, it'd be best to not inform Kurosaki. It would only upset him. Eh? Yes... I haven't seen Sado-kun
around either. It seems he's out of town a lot lately. ...Either way, leave things here to me. You should go
and cheer on Arisawa-san at the Spring Tournament, Inoue-san. Arisawa-san is also not unrelated to
Hollows, after all. Being in a different town doesn't mean there's no possibility she won't be attacked."
The person on the other line of the phone seemed to be Inoue Orihime and Ishida spoke a little softer than
he would when speaking to Kurosaki Ichigo or his other classmates.
But he spoke more tensely than usually precisely because of last night's Arrancar arrival.
"If something happens over there, please call the Urahara Shop. Urahara-san will contact me when you
do."
Ishida had called Inoue because last night's events weighed on his mind but it seemed Orihime was going
out of town to cheer on Arisawa Tatsuki, a member of the karate club. She had also sensed last night's
reiatsu and was hesitating whether she should stay in Karakura Town or not, but Ishida's words "You
should protect Tatsuki" helped her make up her mind.
Ishida knew Urahara Kisuke had the tendency to be absent but vice-shopkeeper Tsukabishi Tessai was
often in the store. Even if the shopkeeper were to be absent, he would still get Inoue's call.
He ended the phone call after talking some more and turned his eyes to the town.
He couldn't feel even a trace of last night's Arrancar anymore.
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But he shouldn't drop his guard.

After all, the case concerning the "Skull Masked Woman" who had been continuously spotted for over a
year was still not solved. Ishida had also felt her presence time and time again but she was always already
gone when he got to the scene and sometimes he'd only see the afro-haired Shinigami making a fuss.
Kurosaki Ichigo had probably also heard the rumours about a masked ghost.
But he had never brought the subject up and Ishida, Orihime and Sado had never approached Ichigo about
the issue.
---- That damn Kurosaki.
---- Do you think you can get rid of your regret if you fake not to care long enough?
He definitely wasn't ridiculing him, rather, Ishida was angry at his own inability to do anything for him.
He had too once lost his reiryoku.
He had regained it thanks to his father, but that method didn't seem to work on Shinigami.
Precisely because he knew what it's like to lose your powers, he was extremely vexed that he couldn't do
anything but fight in Kurosaki's place.
Ishida walked into the store with these thoughts on his mind, but then ----
He noticed the poster pasted on the shop window with the caption "Don Kanonji is coming!"
"Don Kanonji, huh..."
According to Kurosaki and Inoue, the man could really see spirits and he had heard that Don Kanonji had
been in Karakura Town during the fight with Aizen, but Ishida had only seen him during a public TV
recording and had never interacted with him face-to-face.
Judging by what Ishida had seen during the public TV recording, the man could really see spirits,
although his exorcising method was completely mistaken. A psychic medium who isn't a Shinigami or a
Quincy. Glaring at the poster with an outlandishly flashy dressed Don Kanonji on it, Ishida whispered
softly to himself.
"His fashion sense isn't too bad, but... his colours lack any sense of unity. He should focus on cold
colours."
(Volume II, p.76-78)
Karakura Town, Mashiba
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On his way back from the dressmaker's shop Sunflower Sowing to his house on Kitakawase 7th Street,
Ishida Uryuu sensed the faint reiatsu of an Arrancar.
It was the reiatsu of the Skull Mask Woman that he had felt time and time again this past year.
"...Again?"
Even Ishida couldn't sense her unless she was close to him because she would always let only a tiny
amount of reiatsu be felt. Furthermore, whenever he would approach, the Arrancar would notice him and
disappear. And afterwards only the townspeople, left bewildered at the Skull Mask Woman, would be
left. That pattern had repeated itself again and again.
He thought the same thing would happen again this time but he still couldn't possibly ignore it.
And there was also the possibility she had some kind of connection to the hundreds of Arrancars that had
appeared last night.
When he thought about those kinds of things, Ishida noticed her reiatsu felt different than usual.
---- !?
---- She's... coming this way!?
The Skull Mask Woman, who normally wouldn't make a single move, was now moving at a speed far
faster than any human could run.
Ishida left his bag on the ground and grabbed the Quincy Cross which he always wore.
He started collecting his surroundings' reishi to create his reishi bow Ginrei Kojaku and enter into battle
mode.
---- There's a reiatsu nearby that's different from a normal human's.
---- Is that person being chased by the Arrancar?
Deciding he couldn't just stand around waiting, Ishida quietly started running.
Choosing empty streets and occasionally jumping via roofs and telephone poles, he headed towards the
Arrancar reiatsu.
---- But I feel like I've felt that other reiatsu before too...
Just when this thought crossed his mind, the "answer" appeared before him.
What came around the corner towards him was a flashy imported car.
And the person sitting in the driver seat was a man who was far flashier than the car.
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The man, who he had just seen on the dressmaker's shop poster, was driving and laughing. The woman
next to him was hiding her face with a hat and scarf but was definitely giving off the reiatsu of an
Arrancar. At the same time Ishida noticed that the reiatsu of the driver was that of the spirit medium who
had caused trouble at Tsubakidai Hospital once before. He raised his voice without thinking.
"Do... Don Kanonji!?"
(Volume II, p.101-104)
Karakura Town
"Hey, hey. Will you... play with us?"
A young Arrancar looked down on Kanonji while standing on top of a traffic light.
And there was a person who observed that Arrancar from an even bigger height.
---- That Arrancar... It definitely has the same reiatsu I felt last night.
---- It seems there's only one this time.
The Quincy Ishida Uryuu stood on the rooftop of a nearby building.
---- I was convinced that Don Kanonji was being chased by an Arrancar....
Remembering the scene he had seen before the car had stopped at the traffic lights, Ishida thought:
--- But it looked like Don Kanonji was driving the Arrancar around, didn't it?
That in fact was true but Ishida had no way of knowing the duo's circumstances. He had seen the newly
arrived Arrancar and had checked whether he could sense any other Arrancars nearby, whilst he stood
ready to attack at any moment.
But what he sensed was something completely different at a slightly distant location in the sky.
Something which Ishida was more wary of than of Arrancars, depending on the situation.
Namely, the reiatsu of a Shinigami.
---- Why?
(Volume II, p.114-115)
[...]
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But Kanonji words were cut off by a violent aura that swelled up in the sky. It probably came from the
same location as before --- A location in the sky one kilometre away.
A sudden crack appeared in the sky and a vast amount of reishi started pouring out.
"What's that!?"
Ishida, who had expected a Senkaimon to open in the sky, widened his eyes at this unexpected happening.
He considered flying over there with Hirenkyaku, but there was no way he could ignore Kanonji and the
Arrancars.
---- ...Should I take Kanonji and leave this place for now?
Ishida considered it, but...
Thanks to his high reiatsu sensory skills he sensed more beings appearing.
---- ....!! More Arrancars?
Reiatsu poured out from the Garganta that opened near the traffic lights beneath him.
He could sense roughly ten Arrancars with the same reiatsu as the boy on top of the traffic lights.
Assuming a battle would start soon, Ishida moved to stand on the edge of the rooftop and tried to
materialise his Quincy weapon and reishi bow Ginrei Kojaku.
But his body froze in place.
A remarkably big Garganta opened last.
A cold, sharp pain ran though Ishida's body when he saw the man that appeared out of the Garganta.
For a split second he relived the pain of having his organs crushed.
"What's... going on...?"
Though his reiatsu was slightly different, the man who appeared last looked exactly like an Arrancar that
Ishida knew very well --- Szayel Aporro Granz.
(Volume II, p.117-120)
[The Szayel look-alike says his name is Cien and he tells Roca (the female Arrancar) that he's going to
kill her]
The moment Cien tried to release a Cero----
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A shock ran through Cien's right hand.

"......."
Though it didn't leave a single mark, Cien dissolved his Cero and looked at where the arrow had come
flying from.
"That's right... You live in this town, don't you... Quincy."
Ishida glared at the Arrancar who whispered as if he was something trifle and groaned out:
"Szayel Aporro... You're supposed to be dead! Thanks to Kurotsuchi Mayuri's so-called superhuman
drug!"
Szayel Aporro Granz was a nemesis to Ishida.
Memories of how the man had made a clone of him with his zanpakutou and had crushed several of his
organs flashed to mind.
"Won't you please say things properly? What caused my death was not the drug but his blade piercing my
heart. Besides, the one who died isn't me but Szayel Aporro, true?"
"What...?"
"A hundred years of pain is not something a person wants to experience."
---- He's... someone else?
Ishida studied the Arrancar who he couldn't see as anyone but Szayel Aporro closely again.
The face was definitely the same but his reiatsu was slightly different. It was like Szayel Aporro's reiatsu
was being covered by another Arrancar's reiatsu.
Ishida thought that maybe this man wasn't Szayel Aporro after all as he investigated his reiatsu more
closely.
---- What's with... this reiatsu...?
It seemed like the man wasn't releasing his full power yet, but Ishida stiffened subconsciously when he
traced the reiatsu he could feel on the surface.
Because what he felt was a reiatsu even far more atrocious than that of the higher ranking Espadas he had
seen in Hueco Mondo.
Cien started speaking to Roca again, looking like he had no interest in Ishida.
[...]
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(Volume II, p.117-129)

[Cien chats some more to Roca and asks her "btw, who is that clown next to you?" Kanonji strikes a pose
and introduces himself, while calling Cien"Smart Glasses Boy #1".]
Ishida's face went stiff as he watched Kanonji.
---- ...Doesn't that spirit medium realise just how dangerous the situation he is in is?
---- ...More importantly, he said Smart Glasses Boy #1... Does that make me Smart Glasses Boy #2?
Kanonji left the same impression on him that Pessche had done but he had no time to be agitated.
Ishida quickly got Ginrei Kojaku ready and started collecting more reishi in his hand for a bigger attack.
For a second he hesitated which Arrancar to attack. The animated child-like Arrancars? The Arrancar who
looked exactly like Szayel Aporro? The female Arrancar named Roca next to Don Kanonji?
---- I can exclude the female Arrancar. I can't sense any hostility from her.
He would ignore Roca and shoot a volley at those other Arrancars who she seemed to be afraid of. His
attack probably wouldn't do much damage but it would be enough if they simply thought his attack was
"annoying" and focused on him instead.
He took another quick look at the "hole" in the sky filled with Shinigami reiatsu but felt no changes for
now.
---- I have to lure those Arrancars away from here.
And with a swift movement he drew his spirit bow taut, but ---
A certain disturbance forcibly cut off his attack.
The rooftop ledge he stood on suddenly deformed and, as if it were alive, it tried to coil itself around his
wrists.
"Wha...?"
Widening his eyes in shock, Ishida jumped away from the ledge.
Did Szayel Aporro do something?
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This wasn't Las Noches, Szayel Aporro's territory. This was Karakura Town. There was no way he
could've set up some sort of device in such a short time.
---- Is it a new power?
---- I don't know what else he might do if I get closer.
Still unable to fully believe that Szayel Aporro and Cien were not the same person, Ishida widened the
distance between them while staying wary of any of Szayel Aporro's old attacks.
But the Arrancar also looked his way with a strange look on his face.
"...Hmm. I have a very old recollection of this reiatsu."
".....?"
Not understanding what Szayel Aporro was talking about, Ishida tried to ask something but then ---
A third voice made Ishida's eardrums "quiver".
"Ishida Uryuu... The last Quincy, if I remember correctly."
The moment he heard that voice, all the nerves in Ishida's body stood on edge.
Because he couldn't predict at all where the voice was coming from.
It felt like the air touching his eardrums let the voice speak directly to him. It was an unsettling sensation
which he had never felt before.
He even wondered whether someone was speaking directly into his head, but ---
The voice's owner immediately entered his field of vision.
The man appeared at a height exactly between the rooftop and the traffic lights where Cien stood.
Above Don Kanonji's car a single Shinigami appeared, wearing a captain haori.
"....? Who.... are you?"
He was a man who Ishida had never seen before.
Ishida had only stayed in Soul Society for a short period of time but he knew the face of every single
captain. And the slender man before him didn't overlap with any of the vice-captains or other seated
members in his memory.
The Shinigami indifferently informed the bewildered Quincy:
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"Arguing the pros and cons afterwards would be a waste of time, which is why I will tell you in advance
why I oppose you."
"What?"
"The balance of souls will crumble if you, a Quincy, exterminate these Arrancars. It's the duty of the
Shinigami to stop this."
"...To hear such strictness to the rules in this kind of situation."
Ishida's words were sharp but a drop of sweat ran down his cheek.
That's because the Shinigami before his eyes gave off a different air than anyone he had seen before.
Cien, on the other hand, happily spoke towards the mysterious Shinigami:
"That Quincy could exterminate me and the Pikaro, you say? There's a limit to how groundless a fear can
be, you know."
[Cien and the Shinigami, who Cien identifies as Azashiro, chat some more. Azashiro says he'll
exterminate Cien but will let Roca live and use her powers for his own goal. Roca frets some more:
everyone either wants to kill her or use her a tool.]
Moving his gaze from the woman to Ishida, the Shinigami gave him one warning.
"Well then.... This case has nothing to do with you, Quincy. If you throw away your weapons and live
like a normal human, you won't be an enemy to us Shinigami."
The way Azashiro emotionlessly and condescendingly spoke to him, made Ishida's "hatred towards
Shinigami" well up from the bottom of his heart for the first time in a long time.
"Sorry but I don't trust Shinigamis enough to be able to say this case has nothing to do with me and to
simply walk away."
"I see. I will have you give back the title you stole from us Shinigami then."
"....?"
Ishida furrowed his brow, but ---
Before he could answer, a sharp pain ran through his right hand and Ginrei Kojaku's manifestation
collapsed.
"What...!?"
Blood poured out from his sliced right hand and his Quincy Cross fell down.
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"Ugh....!"
He tried to grab it without thinking but the fingers of his right hand wouldn't move the way he wanted
them to.
There was no sign of his fingers and bones being severed. It seemed the minimal necessary amount of
damage had been done only to the tendons that allow his fingers to move.
Ishida widened his eyes in shock at the preciseness of the attack from such a distance while his face
contorted in pain.
---- What... did he do just now?
---- I couldn't sense a blade... or a hadou....!"
The Shinigami continued speaking indifferently towards the Quincy.
"...The title of Kama Itachi* is said to be given to the strongest shooting-weapon master, but... originally
it was merely a nickname I was once given."
[T/N: * See the battle between Ishida and Jiroubou Ikkanzaka.]
Azashiro pulled Ishida's Quincy Cross to him with an invisible power and nimbly avoided Ishida's charge
when Ishida kicked to air to try and get his Cross back.
"I'll be holding on to your Quincy Cross. Rest assure, I'll return it to you later. Having you quit your
Quincy profession is of foremost importance but the power of a Quincy like yours might be necessary for
careful mediating between the amount of souls later on."
The power of a Quincy seemed to be nothing but a mere tool to him --- His eyes looked at Ishida the same
way they did at Roca.
[Azashiro chats to his zanpakutou some more, then the 11th Division shows up.]
Zaraki Kenpachi.
Seeing his wide grin, not only Kanonji and Roca, but also Ishida, who knew him, felt cold sweat run
down his back.
Has the world ever seen such a fiendish smile before?
The image of a certain man floated to Ishida's mind as he felt the reiatsu that poured out of Zaraki.
---- Kurosaki... actually survived fighting such a guy...?
A captain of the Gotei 13.
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Having once fought the Gotei 13 captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Ishida should know that power.
But the reiatsu of the man before him was very unusual.
If you assume that lava has a level of purity, then Zaraki was pure magma, devoid of any impurities and
concentrated to the maximum. That was the image Zaraki gave Ishida.
[Kanonji races off with Roca.]
(Volume II, p.200-215)
[Kanonji and Roca shake their pursuers. Roca feels guilty for getting Kanonji involved in her mess.]
"...Please don't sacrifice yourself anymore for my sake."
Kanonji was about to say something to Roca, but...
Before he could, a young man spoke up from the top of the stairs.
"Excuse me, but... could you please explain the meaning of those words more clearly?"
When Kanonji and Roca looked up --- They saw a young man who looked like a senior high school
student.
"Hmm? You're the boy who was on top of that building just now. Smart Gla---"
"I'm Ishida Uryuu."
"I-I see. It's seems you're a normal human. Well then, here's my signatu---"
"No, thank you."
Ishida smoothly cut Kanonji off and pushed up his glasses.
He asked Roca, as he came down the stairs one step at a time:
"Why are you, an Arrancar, with Kanonji, a human...? What are the Shinigami who is targeting you and
the man who looks like Szayel Aporro after? Could you please explain those things to me, in order?"
To Ishida and his condescending tone, Kanonji said:
"Boy, it's no wonder you're entranced by this mysterious woman and trapped in a momentary passion but
firing so many questions at the lady will only trouble her. Women are a dangerous sweetness: they carry
hidden flowers in their hearts and ruffle our hearts with beautiful thorns."
"...If anything, I think you're the one who's fallen into a troubled state."
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Ishida continued speaking politely to the older man but deep down he started doubting whether he should.
"Also, don't you realise what that woman is?"
"Hahaha, you're an impatient boy! We're on a journey to figure that out."
Ishida quickly shot the "answer" at Kanonji who was shaking his head.
"You once fought together with Kurosaki against a bad spirit at that run-down hospital, right?"
"Oooh! Did you watch that event? You really are my fan----"
"I'm not. ...In any case, she's the same as that bad spirit, that Hollow. Normally she'd attack you because
of your high spiritual power."
"...What are you saying!? If she was going to attack me, she would have done so already! Don't say such
things to a lady based simply on speculation!"
Kanonji's strong denials slightly weighed on Ishida's mind. But, unable to identify the uncomfortable
feeling, Ishida continued speaking. His words may seem cold but the situation was grave and there was no
way he could beat around the bush.
"That's exactly why I want to know her reasons."
"Boy, I told you. You'll trouble her...."
Kanonji stood up from the driver seat and stood in front of Roca as if to protect her, but ---
"It's alright, Kanonji-san."
Those words came from the passenger seat.
"Everything is just like he said."
And then she slowly started explaining to Kanonji and Ishida "what" she was.
10 minutes later
"That's all I can say for now. I can't even imagine why Szayel Apo... Cien-sama wants to destroy me but
he said he wants to take the "spinning wheel" that's inside of my body. He probably plans to use the
power of my"threads" again."
[Roca apologises to Kanonji again and he stops her again.]
Roca made her face blank and turned the young Quincy again.
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"It might have been fate that you, a Quincy, came to me."
"....?"
"Thanks to you I could make up my mind."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're carrying... Seele Schneider right now... aren't you?"
"...Why do you know that name?"
Ishida was surprised she said the name of his special weapon but he remembered what she had told him
and corrected himself.
"I see. It's because of Szayel Aporro's record inside you. ...But what do you want it for?"
Ishida brought out a slender, hilt-shaped weapon from his back.
--- That strange Shinigami didn't steal it, huh.
--- He might not have known about it because I didn't carry it with me to Soul Society.
When he collected reiatsu in the palm of his hand a glowing reishi blade appeared out of the hilt that he
was holding.
"Wha... a light saber!? What a hero weapon... I see, you admire me and you're now trying to become a
hero yourself...."
"I'm sorry. Please be quiet for a moment."
Ishida cut off Kanonji and was reminded of Pesche again.
"Quincy-san... Please cut me with that weapon."
"What...?"
"W-what are you saying, Roca-jou!?"
She continued speaking to the surprised duo.
"I don't understand the situation but those people are targeting me. So if you eliminate me, they will have
no reason to stay in his town."
"I'm sorry but my weapon isn't for assisting suicide."
"I'm merely a Hollow who's been used as a tool. Eliminating Hollows is a Quincy's job. There should be
no problem."
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"....."
Ishida let out a small sigh.
It's true the Quincy first came together to take revenge on Hollows.
But he himself didn't have a strong grudge against Hollows. Back when his grandfather and master had
been murdered by a Hollow, he might've resented Hollows after Shinigami ---
But he thought differently now that he had been to Hueco Mondo and had met the female Privaron
Espada who carried pride in being a soldier and also Nel, Pesche and Dondochakka who carried no ill will
towards humans.
Grandfather would've ---
What would his master, Ishida Souken, have done if he was in Ishida's shoes right now?
--- Grandfather might have encouraged her to let herself be "cleansed" with a Shinigami's zanpakutou if
she really had to be eliminated.
As Ishida thought back on his master, who had trusted Shinigami, he himself pictured the image of the
Shinigami he trusted.
But that man no longer had any Shinigami powers.
He could send her to Hueco Mondo but her pursuers would probably follow her there.
And most importantly --- There was the possibility that the Szayel Aporro look-alike and the mysterious
Shinigami would gain a bad advantage if they accomplished whatever they wanted to do with her.
--- I should discuss this with a Shinigami that I know, but...
--- Kuchiki-san and Abarai-kun aside, why of all divisions, did the 11th have to come?
Even if he couldn't get a word in to Zaraki, it's not like he didn't know Ikkaku and Yumichika.
The problem was whether he could get a chance to talk to them before they would dispose of her.
--- ...Urahara-san's shop isn't far from here.
--- This weird reiatsu. Something might already be on the move again.
Unaware that Urahara Kisuke was absent, Ishida considered discussing things with him, but...
The man who watched Ishida pull a difficult face and watched Roca wait for an answer, raised his voice
as if he had thought of something:
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"I see! The boy's blade is the same as Ichigo's and Karakura Pink's weapons and can cleans a Hollow's
soul and allow it to pass on!?"
"......"
Ishida's eyes turned distant for a second at Kanonji's question which was actually on the point for a
change.
A Quincy couldn't cleanse a soul and send it Soul Society. He could only erase its existence and make its
reishi dissipate.
A Quincy's goal was the destruction of Hollows, not the salvation.
"...It seems... it can't."
Ishida didn't answer the serious looking Kanonji. He was not so veteran and cruel as to coolly state "that's
right".
Kanonji took Ishida's silence as an answer and turned to face Roca again.
"Are you okay with that!? You won't move on. You'll disappear!"
"I'm... ready for that."
"I don't care if you're ready or not! I'm asking whether you're okay with that!"
Roca unconsciously flinched back at Kanonji's rare seriousness.
[Roca and Kanonji exchange some more words.]
"If it helps you gain hope then you can use me and this boy as a stepping stone again and again. But
there's no need to make excuses to give up. Even if you give up, we Karakura Superheroes will never give
up on you!"
"Could you please not include me in weird organisations like that?"
Ishida softly interjected but, reading the mood, didn't cut off Kanonji loudly.
[Kanonji goes on about hero's. Roca is impressed and moved.]
Ishida, on the other hand, felt partly dumbfounded but didn't deny Kanonji's words and listened to the
end.
Ishida couldn't tell whether Kanonji was trying to act and sound hero-like or whether the other man was
trying to reassure Roca.
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Ishida decided it might be both and thought of his father after Kanonji's use of the word "rational adult".
His father had not followed Souken's footsteps, even though he was powerful, because he couldn't make a
living out of being a Quincy. His father might have eliminated Roca without even a blink.
After thinking about such things for a few second, Ishida told Roca:
"I would still have a reason to fight even if you were eliminated. I still have a score to settle with Szayel
Aporro and I need to get my Quincy Cross back from that strange Shinigami."
Ishida analysed the situation once more and shared part of his thoughts:
"The man who's called Cien but looks like Szayel Aporro is fighting Zaraki Kenpachi right now. That
Zaraki is certainly dangerous. Him winning against both Cien and that strange Shinigami would be the
easiest conclusion. Those child-like Arrancars are also a problem but they can probably be left aside for
now."
Ishida immediately rejected his own words.
"But... that's nothing but a hopeful prediction. Zaraki Kenpachi probably can't win against Cien. They're
too ill matched."
"Ill... matched?"
"If Cien can use all of Szayel Aporro's abilities, then a power-based Shinigami stands no chance. He
makes clones of his opponents and lets them fight among themselves. I don't even want to imagine a
dozen of Zaraki Kenpachi's running wild."
And he shared more predictions based on his own experience.
"Furthermore... he creates a miniature of his opponent and can crush his opponent's organs from a
distance. Even a captain can't win if his organs are crushed. Unless the Shinigami is a person with a
counter-plan in place like Kurotsuchi Mayuri had."
The more he thought about it, the bleaker Zaraki's chances of winning became. Moving away from that
thought, Ishida began forming a new strategy.
Though Ishida Uryuu was definitely well aware of Szayel Aporro's abilities ---
He didn't know.
He didn't know that the title "Kenpachi" was a title given to the strongest Shinigami.
Nor did he know just what kind of ridiculous power the strongest Shinigami possessed.
(Volume II, p.221-228)
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Karakura Town, Kinogaya.

[Zaraki and Cien are fighting in the Garganta somewhere.]
"...It kind of feels like the sky is trembling, doesn't it?"
Kanonji's casual remark made Ishida sense the disturbance in the sky as well.
It was as if the reishi in the town's air where quivering. It was an unsettling feeling.
Supposing the world was a sheet of paper, it was like something was raging on the other side.
"Don't tell me they're planning to move the town again like that time with Aizen....?"
Not realising the disturbance was being caused by the two men battling in the Garganta, Ishida felt he had
to do something quickly.
It might be best if Kanonji and Roca left the town for now.
Ishida turned to the duo to inform them of his decision.
But then he saw something move from the corner of his eye.
They were coming towards the trio from the other side of the road: several motorcycles.
Watching the vehicles approach with an unbelievable speed, Ishida wondered whether it was some kind
of motor gang, but ---- Once he saw who was riding those motorcycles, he quickly set his mind to battle
mode.
"This is bad... Run!"
"Wh-what's wrong, boy!?"
Ishida's shout made Kanonji and Roca turn around as well.
When they did, they saw a group of feature-less gigai riding on countless motorcycles.
Each holding weapons from the Living World --- that is, firearms. Though the gigai didn't hold on to the
steering wheels, the motorcycles drove just fine.
"....!"
It was an unsettling sight and it was impossible to judge on the spot whether it was the doing of the
Arrancar Cien or of the mysterious Shinigami.
And Ishida widened his eyes once he discerned the type of weapon the gigai were carrying.
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He wasn't familiar with military weapons so he didn't know the official name, but he did know what it
was.
--- A grenade.... launcher!?"
He didn't understand why an Arrancar or Shinigami would select such a weapon.
But he knew one thing: the current situation was extremely dangerous --- Ishida stood up on the backseat
of Kanonji's car to meet the gigai's incoming attack.
"What are you doing, boy?! You'll be thrown off if you don't sit down!!"
"I won't be. Please start the car."
---- For the love of... If I had my Ginrei Kojaku I wouldn't need a car.
Ishida grabbed a few of the gintou stored on the belt around his waist while feeling angry at the
mysterious Shinigami.
"But..."
"Just do it. Quickly!"
"G-Got it! Call the word Hero the moment you feel like you're about to fall!"
Overwhelmed by Ishida's sharp, angry tone, Kanonji hit the gas pedal.
He grabbed the clutch, changed gears in an overly flourish manner and sped up his beloved car Jeanne
d'Arc.
The acceleration added extra weight but it wasn't a bother to Ishida who was used to traveling at high
speed with Hirenkyaku. Regulating reishi at his feet, he balanced his body and held two gintou tubes
between his fingers.
A gigai who was driving at the front fired his grenade launcher.
With a sound as if the air had burst, the bullets came his way.
" ---- Goblet, tilt to the west!"
Ishida chanted a special Quincy incantation and threw the gintou.
A shockwave surrounded the gintou and repelled the grenades.
The grenades flew back to the motor gang, exploded and blew away several motorcycles.
"That will buy us some time! Please turn the corner and shake them!"
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"OK, boy! Be ready to get spellbound by my wonderful driving techniques!"

Kanonji turned corner after corner and drove south.
They went past Komatsu District and Sakurabashi District, and when they were near Kasazaki District,
Kanonji asked Ishida:
"Hahaha, how's that, boy! Those mysterious terrorists couldn't keep up, as expected!"
"That would've been nice, but..."
On guard, Ishida checked the area with his eyes and sensing skills.
After a few seconds he sensed engine sounds coming from around the corner, and the moment he focused
on that direction, Kanonji shouted:
"Uooh!? Unbelievable! They're coming from the front, boy!"
"!"
--- A pincer attack?!
Ishida saw several motorcycles coming from the front and pondered which side he should eliminate with
his gintou first.
Then the sound of a railroad crossing echoed through the air.
There was a crossing between the car and the motorcycles, and the crossing gate's lights started flickering.
"Alright, leave it to me, boy! I have a brilliant idea!"
"Wait a minute, don't tell me you're going to ---"
"I'm definitely going to, boy!"
Kanonji turned the wheel to the right to a 90 degrees angle into a drift.
"Nothing is impossible to a hero!"
He sped up the car again, trying to get on the tracks.
Jeanne d'Arc showed its explosive speed and started driving on the tracks.
"What are you doing!? There's a train coming!"
Ishida unconsciously stopped speaking politely but Kanonji didn't mind and simply held his thumb up.
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"Hold no fear! Karakura Station is nearby! The crossing gate closed only a second ago; the train shouldn't
have much speed yet! We'll be able to avoid it just fine, boy!"
"You just got that from a movie, didn't you!?"
But, true to Kanonji's words, he saw a train standing still at the station.
Kanonji turned the wheel to slip by the train, but ---
Ishida realised it.
---- It's standing still, that means.... there's a train coming from further back?
When he looked at the station's bulletin board in the distance, he saw four words written next to a red
lamp.
[Limited express. Passing through.]
A limited express train appeared with an furious speed before Jeanne d'Arc.
"Nuoooooo!?"
Kanonji's scream echoed inside the station. They were about to collide with the train right in the middle of
the station, getting the people on the platforms involved and causing a great tragedy, but then ---
"Please stay down!"
Roca moved in a flash.
She chanted something and a crack appeared in the air: the entrance to a Garganta opened in front of the
car.
The trio was sucked into the void, Jeanne d'Arc included, and the entrance closed. And the limited
express train passed that very same spot as if nothing had happened.
Leaving only feelings of shock to the driver who had seen a car disappear before him and the people on
the platform---
The trio disappeared from the Living World.
(Volume II, p.273-285)
Inside the Garganta
Let's rewind time back to before Kenpachi took off his eye patch.
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A high class car is driving inside a gloomy space.

Kanonji, Roca and Ishida, who had been about to collide with a limited express train, were sitting in that
car.
"W-where the hell are we!? Did a dormant power awake from inside of me and open the door to the
twilight zone!? Unbelievable!"
Ishida ignored Kanonji's outcries and spoke to Roca:
"I have to thank you. You really saved us."
Ishida said so in a plain and hurried manner as he confirmed the situation.
Kanonji's car was now driving in the space that Hollows use to travel --- the Garganta.
Normally they'd be swallowed up by turbulent winds and be lost forever, but ---
Roca had tied many "threads" together and the car was now driving on a ladder-like road.
"Coming here in a living body doesn't feel very pleasant."
"I'm sorry..."
"Ah, no, it's not you're fault. Excuse me."
You can't reach a spirit world like Soul Society unless you're in reitai. There was no way being in this
place would have a good influence on the body.
When Kanonji reclaimed his calm, he slowed the car down and looked at Roca's and Ishida's faces.
"...Possibly, the one who saved us was Roca-jou?"
"Well... It's hard to say "saved" in this situation..."
When Roca hung her head in shame, Kanonji stopped the car and grabbed her hand as he expressed his
gratitude.
"Fantastic...! I have to thank you and apologise to you, Roca-jou! I, who is supposed to be saving you,
was saved instead.... What a great failure for a hero..."
"That's... I didn't..."
"In other words... You are now not just being saved, you are now too a hero, no, a heroin who has the
power to save others! The power to move through space... Wonderful!"
"E-eeh!?"
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Those unexpected words surprised Roca and Ishida silently furrowed his brow.
"Don't worry, you're always welcome to the Karakura Defence Forces! Because you have golden
threads... no, gold is already taken... Yes! Combining those golden threads and your white mask: the title
Karakura Platinum is perfect for you! From now on you'll fight as a member of the Karakura Defence
Forces, right?!"
"Eh... Y-yes!"
"You say "yes", but you don't really understand what he's saying, do you?"
Ishida chided Roca who was overwhelmed and had simply answered in agreement.
Kanonji declared to Ishida:
"Hahaha, boy. Don't sulk, don't sulk! Relax, I've prepared the title Karakura Sky Blue for you."
"I've already told you: please don't include me in suspicious organisations on your own accord!"
"Preposterous! I'm leading that organisation, it's not suspicious in the slightest, boy! Are you unsatisfied!?
Maybe you're more of a Navy Blue!?"
"That's not it! Besides, your clothing colour combination is too flashy to not be suspicious! You should
make more use of the purity of blue and white!"
The conversation somehow went off the rails as both gave tit for tat.
"No! I respect your colour sense but if I only use matching colours, lost children can't find me!"
"...If you're going to raise a counterargument then please don't raise one that makes me sound like a
villain!"
Did the fear of the train leave their minds? The duo bickered in a way that couldn't be taken serious as
their nerves unwound --- But eventually they both calmed down and Kanonji turned to Roca again.
[Roca and Kanonji chat some more. Kanonji says he will save Roca; he doesn't care she's a Hollow.
Kanonji admits he "created" Hollows in the past.]
--- Is he talking about that TV recording?
Ishida had a feeling he knew what Kanonji was going to say, but he stayed quiet.
[Kanonji and Roca talk some more. Suddenly a shock wave runs through the Garganta.]
"These reiatsu... Zaraki Kenpachi and... Cien... No way."
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Ishida widened his eyes in shock.

The duo's reiatsu was unbelievably much higher compared to when he had seen them at the crossing a
short while ago.
"This insane reiatsu... It's on the same level as Kurosaki when he went out of control..."
A shiver ran down Ishida's spine as he remember his comrade in arms with a demon-like horned mask.
It seemed they were fighting and moving at the same time with a force that cut apart space itself; clashes
of reiatsu moved all over the place.
And after Ishida analysed the movement of those clashes, he yelled out:
"...This is bad, they're heading over here!"
At the same time as he yelled out ---
Two devils appeared on the scene.
[Zaraki and Cien are fighting with happy grins on their faces. The Garganta can't take the pressure very
well but Roca manages to keep the car from toppling over. Luckily, the fighting duo is too focused on
their fight to notice Roca and the others.]
[Kanonji notices that Cien is holding several Pikaro (children-like Hollows) with his tentacles, using
them to replenish his energy.]
Kanonji wouldn't stop even if Ishida would tell him that those children are Hollows.
Ishida knew that and, after heaving a heavy sigh, thought about how to accomplish Kanonji's "Children
Rescue".
--- In any case, there has to be a reason he's holding on to them like that.
--- He might weaken if we detach those Arrancar children from him.
In contrast to the silently thinking Ishida, Roca stabilised the car and nodded determinedly to Kanonji's
words.
"Please let me... help too."
(Volume II, p.314-325)
[Azashiro shows up, fighter-helicopters in tow. Cien, Azashiro and Kenpachi still don't notice Kanonji
and co. Kanonji's car approaches Cien at full speed.]
"Muu... What's with those helicopters!? It doesn't look like a TV coverage...."
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"...That is not a normal helicopter. I can't sense anyone in the driver seat."
Ishida, in the backseat, held a Ginrei Kojaku that looked a little different from usual.
His Quincy Cross had been stolen so he shouldn't be able to summon Ginrei Kojaku, but ----
"I have data from your battle with Cirucci. I think I can reproduce it."
Roca had whispered those words and had managed to reproduce a shining bow with her 'threads'.
Readying the weapon he wasn't supposed to be able to use, Ishida thought:
--- I see. Data so specific that this kind of reproduction is possible was taken.
--- In that case, it's no wonder Szayelaporro could render my attacks useless.
--- Even so, this 'thread' power is... more powerful that I thought.
Of course it was just a temporary measure and the bow could only be used as long as Roca’s 'threads'
supplied the necessary reishi. Furthermore, the data was over a year old so the bow did not reach Ishida's
current 100% potential.
But to Ishida Uryuu, who even Kurotsuchi Mayuri had once called a genius, this kind of handicap didn't
hurt his aim.
The Quincy calculated the car's speed, fixed Seele Schneider to his bow and fired it without hesitation.
The shining blue-white blade charged ahead with enormous force.
[Seele Schneider pierces Cien's tentacles and makes him drop the Pikaro. Roca catches them with her
threads. Cien finally notices Kanonji and co. Cien turns icily calm, reluctantly stops his fight with
Kenpachi and chases after the car. Kenpachi gets annoyed and unenthusiastically starts fighting Azashiro
instead.]
***
Let's rewind time a few seconds.
With five Pikaro on the backseat, Kanonji's car raced through the Garganta at full speed.
"The children are alright, right, boy!?"
Kanonji called out to Ishida while driving the car.
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"I thought they were dead at first but their reiatsu is slowly coming back. I think they will wake up soon."
Ishida was worried whether the Arrancars would be friend or foe after waking, but he decided that getting
some distance took priority.
If they got entangled with those fighters and their insane reiatsu, he couldn't guarantee his or Roca's
survival, let alone Kanonji's.
"Anyway, let's return to the Human World while Kenpachi and Cien continue their death match---"
Ishida turned back while whispering those words, and ---
He saw a ominous light coming at them, and yelled:
"Cut the wheel!"
"W-what!?"
Not understanding what was going on but overwhelmed by Ishida's fury, Kanonji sharply turned the
wheel.
When he did, a Gran Rey Cero shot through the place where the car had been a second ago.
[Roca stabilizes the car with her threads. Roca sees Cien in the distance and is shocked by the sheer
hatred on his face. Roca tells Kanonji to slow the car, he complies. She smiles sadly and thanks him for
everything. She opens a door to the Human World, sends Kanonji, Ishida and the car over there and
closes the door again. Roca stays inside the Garganta.]
(Volume II, p.330-339)
Karakura Town, Tsubakidai Hospital: the roof.
Jeanne d'Arc was blown out of the Garganta and landed on the roof of a hospital.
"Nuoooooo!?"
Kanonji hit the brakes by reflex and the car stopped just before colliding with the fence.
He was breathing heavily, but got out of the car in a flurry, looked around and tried to locate Roca.
But he couldn't see her anywhere and the opening to the Garganta had already closed.
"This place is..."
Looking around the roof, Ishida also identified where they were standing and said:
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"She probably didn't have time to work out the coordinates. That's why we ended up in this kind of
place..."
"No. That's wrong, boy. She probably did this on purpose."
"Eh?"
"This roof... is the spot where Roca-jou and I met for the first time this afternoon."
After whispering so, today's events flashes before Kanonji's eyes and Kanonji clenched his fist in regret.
"Why, Roca-jou...? Why did you stay there alone...!"
"...She probably used herself as a decoy to let us escape."
Ishida said so, clearly and definitely.
Kanonji was about to say something but then he calmed his breathing and looked down, leaning against
his beloved car's door.
"Is it my... fault?"
"That's not..."
"It's alright, boy. Roca-jou probably decided to do so because I have no powers.... If I was a hero that
could set her at ease, things wouldn't be developing this sadly....!"
Hearing Kanonji curse his own powerlessness, Ishida hesitated to speak, but --- he noticed a certain out-
of-place-ness in Kanonji's words.
--- "Developing"?
--- Not "ending"?
True to that word, Kanonji raised his head and raised his voice with a strong look in his eyes.
"Let's go, boy! It's time to return to that dark road and save her! After all, I still have a secret technique
that Roca-jou doesn't know about!"
"I don't know what technique you're talking about, but it's impossible anyway! Only she can open a door
to that road!"
--- Is he still trying to save her even now?
To Kanonji, there is definitely no "end" as long as there is still a sliver of hope.
Ishida breathed out and slowly turned to Kanonji.
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"Please leave the rest to me. I will figure something out."

"Even you!? What are you saying!? It's obvious I'm going to think of a way too!"
Faced with such words, Ishida couldn't say "You'd just get in the way". Because he knew that without
Ginrei Kojaku, he was in the same boat as Kanonji.
Ishida let out a small sigh and opened his mouth to speak while feeling ashamed at having his Quincy
Cross stolen from him:
"This incident is something you should be involved with in the first place. Yes, you have reiryoku, but
you’re not excelled in fighting. The world she lives in... You shouldn’t be getting involved with
Hollows."
Those words were said to give him a way out, but Kanonji denied them gently.
"Your concern touches me, boy... But if I could make such clear-cut conclusions, I wouldn’t have gotten
involved with her in the first place."
Hearing those words, Ishida understood why he had felt something was out of place with Kanonji.
"I knew it... You knew from the start, didn’t you? That her existence was on the side of Hollows."
"Hahaha, who do you think I am? Make distinctions between ghosts is child’s play for a charismatic
medium like myself!"
"Then why!? Why are willing to go so far to try and save her?!"
Being asked this question be a young man with far stronger reiryoku than himself, Kanonji looked up to
the sky — and smiled:
"Boy. It may be true that my powers are nothing compared to yours and to my number one pupil Ichigo’s
powers. But running away is the only thing I can’t do!"
"What pushes you to go so far...?"
"It’s true I’m weaker than you all. At the most, what I surpass you in, is the number of years I have lived."
[Kanonji explains he knows he’s not god. He can’t stop wars, he can’t stop people from dying. But he can
help save the souls of those have died. That’s why he vowed to himself: He’ll never flee as long as
someone is in his reach. And she, Roca, was in reach. That’s why he can’t give up.]
"..."
"To shake off the hand I once held, to act as if I never felt that sensation... that’s something I cannot do!"
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Seeing Kanonji shout like this with a strong light in his eyes behind his sunglasses, Ishida thought to
himself.
— ...Oh for the...! He’s supposed to be an adult, yet still shouts such childish ideals.
— Be it in a different direction than Kurosaki, they’re both the same kind of unreasonable fools. Really
now.
But he didn’t look down on Kanonji. Knowing that he’s also quite the fool himself, Ishida gave one
answer.
"...We have no way to chase after her as of now, but... I think I know someone who might know of a
way."
The duty of a Quincy is the destruction of Hollows. Normally Ishida would refuse to save a Hollow, even
if a friend asked him to. —- But, in this case, he was already involved and there would be great demerit if
Roca’s powers fell into the hands of others. While telling this to himself, Ishida decided he would
cooperate with Kanonji.
Kanonji’s eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, lit up after hearing Ishida’s words.
"What!? Really, boy?"
"Yes, so please wait here a moment."
—- Urahara-san... I wonder what face he’ll pull when I tell him I want to save an Arrancar.
Ishida recalled the face of the small-time candy store owner, someone who, as a Quincy, he shouldn’t get
involved with, but who he had a great debt to.
— He might tell me to make another outfit for the Karakura Raisers or something like that. Oh well, that
was an interesting task in itself.
Not knowing that Kanonji was also part of the Karakura Raisers, Ishida stepped out of Jeanne d’Arc and
looked east.
— Wait, before that, we have to deal with those child Arrancars...
Just as he turned to the back seat of the car, the Pikaro opened their eyes.
"Huh? What happened to us?"
"I can’t remember."
"Ehm, Cien grabbed me real hard, and bit my arm..."
"You mean we were almost eaten?"
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They checked their surroundings as they all stretched and yawned — they looked in Kanonji’s direction
and asked him.
"Hey, did you save us, ehm... Donkanonchi-san*?"
"No! No on two fronts! I’m not donkan, nor onchi! It’s Don Kanonji! And I didn’t save you alone! It’s
thanks to the teamwork with my number two pupil over there and Karakura Platinum... a.k.a. Roca-jou!"
[T/N: donkan means thickheaded and onchi means tone-deaf.]
"Excuse me, I won’t comment on the fact that apparently I’ve been degraded from Sky Blue to pupil, but
could you at least retract the "number two pupil" (lower than Kurosaki) part?"
His face calm, Ishida whispered those words as the veins on his forehead popped.
[The Pikaro ignore this interaction and decide to go find Roca.]
"W-Wait! There are still some things I want to ask you..!"
The Pikaro, who saw Ishida trying to stop them, didn’t listen properly ("We’re gonna play tag? Yay!")
and ran off using Sonido.
"I’ll chase after them while contacting my acquaintance. Please wait here for now, Kanonji-san!"
Ishida grabbed an unusual machine that looked like a mobile phone from his pocket and jumped off the
rooftop.
(Volume II, p.436-440)
[Ishida chased after the Pikaro, but they escaped inside the Garganta. He then passed by Urahara’s
shop. Tessai told him Urahara is absent, and also told him why the 11th Division is in the human world.
Ishida headed back to the roof of the hospital.]
As Ishida headed back to the disused hospital, he saw a kidou-like explosion in the distance. In a hurry,
he arrived at the rooftop of the hospital. What he saw was — A medium, yelling in a pose like some sort
of model, embraced strongly by an Arrancar and praised by over a hundred child- like Arrancars. The
scene was so strange it almost overthrew everything he thought he knew as a Quincy.
"...What in the world happened?!"
Desperately trying to stay rational, Ishida asks Kanonji.
"Oh, do listen, Cobalt Blue! I magnificently defeated the worst bad spirit, in cooperation with the
Karakura Whites, just now."
of 30 32

"...What?"
Ishida knit his brows and tried to ask again, but —
Before he could ask, something fell down with a loud noise.
"This is..."
He picked it up and realised it was his Quincy Cross, which had been stolen by Azashiro.
"I’ll give this back to you now, Quincy."
Kanonji, Roca and Ishida all froze at those sudden words.
When they turned their eyes towards the owner of the voice — they saw a man in a white Haori, bleeding
from all over his body, watching them.
"Nuooo!? Did you get lost!? Pass on!"
[Azashiro says Kanonji only managed to hit him once by sheer coincidence. But that doesn’t change the
fact that he still did. He thanks Kanonji for "letting him find his past again". Before they can ask what he
means, Kenpachi appears from the Garganta(?) and cuts him down. The hospital collapses.]
(Volume II, p.471-473)
[When Kanonji opens his eyes he’s in Urahara’s shop. He got caught in the hospital’s collapse and had
been knocked-out for half a day. Ishida is also safe. Roca and the Pikaro are nowhere to be found.]
When Kanonji asked about them, Ishida readjusted his glasses and whispered.
"The girl and those children can last without eating humans because they live Hueco Mondo, a place rich
on reishi. If they stay here too long there’s a chance they’ll lose to their instinct to eat humans."
After stating the truth, Ishida continued to explain, but mixing in his conjectures.
"They probably avoided staying in the human world so as not to inconvenience you. Even if they didn’t,
they’d catch the attention of Soul Society’s Shinigami if they linger in the human world too long."
Kanonji understood the boy was speaking ambiguously. He probably couldn’t confirm that Roca and the
other are safe.
[Kanonji remembers, when the hospital collapsed, he saw a bright light swallow up the Pikaro and he felt
Roca’s "threads". She had saved him again.]
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"Farewell, Blue Hawaii! Never forget courage and justice until the day we meet again!"
Having been healed enough, Kanonji bid his farewell and jumped into Jeanne d’Arc, which had been
parked in the yard of Urahara’s shop.
The open car had been involved in the explosion at the hospital and much more. It hardly had retained its
original form, but when Kanonji turned the key, the engine started up properly, be it with some strange
noises.
"When you’re in a crisis or when you’re lost in life, call my name! Heya!"
Seeing Kanonji drive away while yelling like a cowboy, Ishida forgot his worries and quips, and
whispered.
"What’s amazing... is the maker of that car."
The young man readjusted his glasses again and thought back on the actions of the weird medium. And
with a little respect and a slight smile, he whispered.
"I see... That man might really be Kurosaki’s teacher."
[End of Ishida’s parts]
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