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Chapter 285 B
🕑 Added 2025-03-12 16:00:18 +0000 UTCChapter 285
2-in-1 chapter:
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Kuchiki Sōjun had a dream.
In the dream, he was killed by a Menos while on a mission to protect civilians. After his death, his father placed rigorous demands on Byakuya, and through countless efforts, Byakuya eventually grew into a Shinigami skilled enough to serve as a Captain. Later on, Byakuya married. Because his wife came from the Rukongai, weak in spiritual power and of low birth, the nobles clashed with Byakuya and tried to stop him multiple times. A few years after that, his wife passed away, and Byakuya changed from the lively child he’d once been to a quiet, solemn adult.
Watching his son, who used to run around stirring up trouble, become so silent and withdrawn tore at Sōjun’s heart. As he grieved, Sōjun suddenly realized something: Where was Kaelith?
With Kaelith’s personality, if he saw Byakuya being bullied, there was no way he would remain on the sidelines.
But as the dream went on, Sōjun came to see that something was wrong. Within the Gotei 13, it was as if Kaelith had never existed. The Captain of the Eleventh Division was Kenpachi Zaraki, who had once been vice-captain of the Eleventh. Yamada Seinosuke wasn’t in the Fourth Division—he worked at a special noble’s hospital known as the Shin’ō Medical Bureau.
Aizen was still the Fifth Division’s lieutenant, but completely different from the Aizen Sōjun knew. In reality, Aizen seemed distant yet held a sliver of warmth in his core.
Here in the dream, he was the opposite—courteous on the surface but cold as ice within, showing no sign of interest or concern over Byakuya’s troubles.
Sōjun felt disheartened. He longed for Kaelith to appear from somewhere, to use that defiant swagger of his and pull Byakuya out of this misery. Yet little by little, he realized that in this dream world, Kaelith simply did not exist.
The previous Eleventh Division Captain was known as Guiyanjō, a fierce fighter from the Rukongai who ultimately fell to Kenpachi Zaraki. Even further back, it was Gojō Kenpachi. Nowhere had there ever been a Captain named Kaelith. Yamamoto-Genryūsai’s disciples were only Kyōraku and Ukitake; Kaelith wasn’t part of that picture at all.
Time sped by, and Sōjun’s perspective blurred. He saw Byakuya wounded in some battle while trying to save someone. He saw Byakuya become friends with an orange-haired, spiky-headed boy. He saw Byakuya enter Hueco Mundo, engaging in a flash-step contest with a humanoid Menos and emerging victorious. He saw Byakuya fight Kuchiki Kōga to protect the Kuchiki family’s honor.
Finally, he saw Byakuya fight a Quincy from the Wandenreich. In the fierce battle, Byakuya unleashed his Bankai. It was beautiful, like drifting sakura petals. But somehow, the Quincy took that very Bankai away and turned it against him.
In Sōjun’s shocked gaze, the Quincy summoned Byakuya’s Bankai themselves. A tide of countless petal-like blades swallowed him whole. When the wave of cherry blossoms receded, Byakuya was mangled beyond recognition, nothing more than a lump of battered flesh.
“No…no!!”
Sōjun jolted awake with a cry, gasping for breath, his face pale. Still trapped between dream and reality, his mind was spinning when a gentle hand reached over with a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.
Following that slender arm, Sōjun looked up at his wife. Standing by his bedside, she continued to dab away his sweat while telling the servants to call for a medical Shinigami.
“Sōjun, you’re finally awake…thank goodness. Did you have a nightmare? Don’t worry. Everything in the household is fine, and the Soul Society is peaceful…”
Sōjun nodded first, then looked up sharply as if he’d just remembered something.
“Where is Byakuya? Where did he go?”
“Captain Kaelith took him away,” she said. “He said you need rest, and Byakuya makes too much noise. It might disturb your recovery, so he took him out.”
Sōjun froze for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.
“That rascal Kaelith…”
Still sitting in bed, he reached out and guided his wife to sit down next to him.
“Ayako, let’s suppose…if things had gone badly and I hadn’t pulled through—ah, I’m sorry, I don’t mean it that way, but just hypothetically—if I were gone and Byakuya grew up only to be bullied by the family elders or someone else, what do you think would happen?”
Kuchiki Ayako frowned slightly, disliking the grim subject matter. But since her husband asked, she thought it over. A few seconds later, a subtle smile crossed her face.
“If it really came to that, I imagine Captain Kaelith would be the first to object. Knowing his temperament, he might just waltz in and start hitting people.”
She pictured Kaelith storming into the Kuchiki estate, knocking down any elder who dared boss Byakuya around, and couldn’t help smiling. Sōjun laughed along.
“Yes, if it’s Kaelith, he’d definitely do it.”
His thoughts now clearer, Sōjun realized what he’d just seen was no ordinary dream. It all felt too real. Possibly…he’d hovered briefly by the banks of the River Sanzu and glimpsed events in another world. In that world, Kaelith didn’t exist. He himself truly did die, and Byakuya suffered that tragic fate, ultimately having his Bankai stolen by the Quincy and cut to pieces…
He sighed, chest tight at the memory. Rising from the bed, he stood on shaky feet.
“My lord,” Ayako said, concerned, “your injuries aren’t fully healed yet. You shouldn’t be walking.”
He raised a hand to stop her. More than anything, he wanted to find Kaelith and discuss what he’d seen. If anything magical or unexplainable happened in the Soul Society, Kaelith was the one he trusted to figure it out.
Seeing there was no convincing him, Ayako decided to accompany him to the Eleventh Division. Fortunately, she’d learned some footwork as a noble and wouldn’t slow him down too much.
When they arrived, the gate guard recognized Sōjun and offered what he probably thought was a friendly grin—but it came across rather ferocious. He waved them through without question. Along the way, several Shinigami who knew Sōjun greeted him warmly.
Ayako was taken aback by their enthusiasm.
“I’d heard the Eleventh Division despises nobles. When I was young, my father always told me never to go near the Eleventh’s barracks.”
Sōjun chuckled. “In the old days, that was mostly true. Actually, it’s still basically the same. They’re only this friendly because I’m Kaelith’s friend.”
She paused in surprise. One person influencing an entire division’s behavior?
Soon, they reached the door of Kaelith’s study. Out of nowhere, Soifon appeared in a blur of Shunpo. At the sight of Sōjun, she looked surprised—she knew he’d been taken to the hot spring just yesterday with serious wounds. Though that hot spring was amazing, it still seemed too soon for him to be up and about. Not to mention, that scoundrel Kaelith had snatched the child away…now both parents had come knocking.
As Soifon prepared to open the door for them, Sōjun raised a hand, signaling her to wait. He’d heard voices from inside. Kaelith’s voice drifted out first:
“Byakuya, how about it? Any romance on the horizon lately?”
“Romance?”
“You know—falling for a girl, wanting to be with her, maybe having a kid someday…”
“Of course I know what romance is! I’m just wondering why you’re bringing it up all of a sudden!”
Byakuya snapped, sounding offended.
“Because you’re training every day to be the strongest Shinigami, right? No time to chase after girls?”
“Exactly,” Byakuya grumbled. “I’m busy. I can’t waste time on something like that.”
“Huh…makes sense. No wonder my people couldn’t dig up any rumors. In that case, using you as a reference was pointless.” Kaelith paused, then muttered, “Well, you are a noble after all, so a…late-blooming relationship would be perfectly normal. Maybe she’s still too young and isn’t even in the Rukongai yet…”
Listening to Kaelith’s puzzling chatter, Byakuya peppered him with questions. Outside, however, Sōjun went rigid, his breathing unsteady.
A moment later, the door slid open, revealing Kaelith’s face. One hand on the frame, he blinked in surprise.
“Sōjun? Are you all healed up already? What brings you here?”
Byakuya rushed up, bowing to both parents. “Father, Mother!”
Sōjun ignored his son’s greeting, instead fixing his gaze on Kaelith. Under Kaelith’s puzzled stare, Sōjun asked his wife to take Byakuya out of the room. When the door shut once more, he gripped Kaelith’s shoulder.
“Kaelith…what did you mean by all that stuff you said to Byakuya just now?”
“What stuff?”
“All that about expecting him to find love in the Rukongai. He’s the eldest son of the Kuchiki clan—the highest tier of Soul Society nobility!”
Kaelith gave a knowing tsk. “Wow, Sōjun, I never took you for the type who was hung up on lineage.” He smirked. “Sorry to say, but you’re out of luck. I, Kaelith, am a saint reborn, omniscient from birth! I see five hundred years behind me and five hundred ahead. I know the heavens above and the earth below—that’s me!
I’ve already calculated that Byakuya’s future partner is going to be some Rukongai girl. If that doesn’t come to pass, it would only be because you, his father, stuck your nose in and messed it all up!”
That last line sounded off, but Kaelith continued, “Whether you believe it or not, it’s fate. Unstoppable destiny! Keh-heh!”
He assumed Sōjun would dismiss it as raving nonsense. Instead, Sōjun flushed with sudden excitement.
“So you had that dream too! You saw Byakuya’s future, didn’t you?”
“Huh?” Kaelith gave him a baffled look.
Without delay, Sōjun told him everything he’d seen in his near-death dream. Kaelith understood instantly how valuable the information was. Sōjun had practically glimpsed the real ‘original story.’ When Sōjun got to the part about the Wandenreich and the Quincy who stole Byakuya’s Bankai, Kaelith’s eyes lit.
“Give me details, Sōjun! In that dream, what kind of forces did the Wandenreich have? What were their methods? How large was their army, and how exactly did they invade? Did Yhwach appear? And how did it all end?”
Taken aback by the barrage of questions, Sōjun blinked. “Did we not have the same dream? You act like you don’t already know.”
“It’s complicated…maybe we each picked up a different signal. No time for that, though—tell me everything before you forget!”
But after thinking for a few seconds, Sōjun shook his head apologetically. “I’m sorry. In the dream, I could only see things from Byakuya’s perspective. Much of it went by so quickly, and I don’t know those details. I only know that the Quincy Byakuya fought was able to snatch someone’s Bankai and turn it against them.”
Kaelith rolled his eyes. He might not have finished the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, but he’d at least read enough to know Quincy could do that. Still, the vision of Byakuya being shredded by a cloud of blades was disturbing. After all, Byakuya was a top-tier fan favorite in the original storyline—surely Tite Kubo wouldn’t kill him off so decisively. Perhaps someone saved him afterward—maybe Inoue Orihime’s Sōten Kisshun, or some refined version of the healing hot spring…
Kaelith brushed aside the thought for now and tugged Sōjun’s robe open to examine his wound. “Looks okay. Mostly healed, but you should still take it easy.”
Even so, the wound was gruesome by normal standards, still seeping a little blood. Before sending Sōjun on his way, Kaelith warned him not to reveal the dream’s contents to anyone else.
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m alive, I won’t let the world you saw in that dream come true,” Kaelith declared, patting his own chest.
Sōjun smiled. Since Byakuya wanted to spend the day playing around in Squad Eleven, Sōjun left him there. Heading out with his wife, he mused aloud, “If Kaelith had been a woman, I’d have married him into the Kuchiki family, no matter what.”
Ayako blinked. “Huh?”
Deep in thought, Sōjun muttered, “But if that were the case, it might not be so simple. Aizen would probably fight me for him, and I’m not sure I’d win. Perhaps it’s better if I were the woman instead—then Kaelith could become a Kuchiki heir through marriage.”
Ayako: “???”
She couldn’t help a half-exasperated laugh. “It looks like you’re recovering nicely if you can spare brainpower for such silliness. In that case, let’s spend tonight making an effort—maybe Byakuya can have a younger sibling soon.”
Sōjun froze, then broke into a smile. “All right.”
At sunset, the two walked off hand in hand.
Back at Squad Eleven, Byakuya’s indignant yells rang out as Kaelith teased him—business as usual.
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