The hem of the white haori fluttered wildly in the churning wind and waves. Hiroe's back resembled a solitary peak standing in the middle of the ocean, remaining steadfast and unyielding no matter how fiercely the wind tore or the waves crashed.
*Just looking at his back, he's actually a little handsome,* Riruka thought, unable to help but lower her head as Hiroe's face surfaced in her mind. *If his eyes were just a bit bigger and more expressive, he'd be really handsome...*
*I survived.* Kutsuzawa Giriko's legs gave out, and he slumped onto the ground. In that instant, he seemed to completely forget the so-called lines between friend and foe, dropping his guard entirely around Hiroe.
*Clang!* The crisp sound of a blade scraping against its scabbard shattered their momentary daze.
What yanked them back to reality were Tsukishima's gentle yet slightly terrifying words. "Ginjō created such a perfect opportunity for you all. How could you waste it spacing out?"
"What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?!" Riruka yelled angrily. "Giriko was almost killed by that guy!"
Being accused didn't bring even a hint of shame to Tsukishima's face. Instead, he replied as if it were a matter of course, "Y-you guys are fine, aren't you? Besides..."
"There were only three ways I could have reacted."
Hiroe cut Tsukishima off, continuing in a calm tone. "The first was to dodge, which would mean moving with Giriko again, naturally keeping him out of danger."
"The second was to take it head-on, which is exactly what just happened. Again, no danger."
"The third was also to take it head-on, but by using Giriko as a meat shield first. You'd probably argue that Ginjō could have pulled his punch in time, or maybe Riruka would have launched a sneak attack on me, saving Giriko just in time while also... killing me? A brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone."
With every word Hiroe spoke, Riruka's expression grew uglier. *Aren't we all comrades?* she thought. *This Shinigami, who Ginjō claims represents cold apathy, might have had many choices back there. But for us, shouldn't there have been only one choice—saving our comrade?*
Kutsuzawa Giriko looked as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself, his gaze shifting between Ginjō and Tsukishima. He knew very well that given the strength of those two, pulling off that so-called third option would have been incredibly difficult.
Jackie frowned, her expression equally grim. Ginjō and Tsukishima weren't exactly good people—or rather, none of them considered themselves champions of justice—but such a casual betrayal was still chilling.
Hiroe took in all of their reactions, and he didn't mind putting in a little extra effort to rub salt into the small cracks forming in their hearts.
"Mercy and kindness are massive taboos when facing an enemy, regardless of who that kindness is directed toward. So, from that perspective, I should offer you some praise. What a remarkably correct way of thinking."
Despite his words, Hiroe didn't look like he was praising them at all. Then, his tone sharply shifted. "However, to so casually use your comrades' lives, treating them as mere tools without a shred of remorse—that is the behavior of an evil spirit. Your revenge is destined to be a lonely failure, nothing more than a laughable farce, Ginjō Kūgo."
Ginjō's face was terrifyingly dark, but he wasn't the first to strike, nor was Tsukishima beside him. Instead, it was...
Yukio. This child, who appeared the most harmless on the outside. If one paid close attention, they would notice that his expression hadn't fluctuated much from the very beginning. He looked completely dismissive of Hiroe's words, clearly disagreeing with them.
And now, he suddenly chose to attack—not as a follow-up sneak attack to Ginjō's strike, but at this completely inexplicable moment.
*Does the brat think I've lowered my guard?* Hiroe loosely clenched his right hand, specks of crystalline light materializing in his palm. Without even looking back, he tossed it behind him. "Bakudō #19, White Fan!"
White icicles materialized out of thin air one after another, slowly spreading out like a giant, open fan to block Hiroe's back.
The pixelated arrows fired by Yukio crashed into it, carving out a network of fine cracks. Once the barrage ended, the ice fan shattered into pieces, revealing Hiroe's gaze behind it—a gaze colder than the ice itself.
"What's truly terrifying is that there are people willing to be used. Or, perhaps what's even more terrifying is..."
Yukio remained completely unfazed by that stare, even interrupting Hiroe's deduction to finish the thought himself. "I just wanted to remind certain idiots that you're an enemy who barged in uninvited. When facing you, of course we need to be prepared to die."
"It's just like a game. Losing a party member or two is always better than a GAME OVER. From that perspective, Ginjō did nothing wrong. Riruka, and the rest of you, snap out of it. We're not playing house here!"
"You!"
Being singled out naturally annoyed Riruka, but she found herself at a loss for words to retort. Yukio had all sorts of issues, but just as he said, the Shinigami standing before them was the one who had barged in and started this. And it didn't seem like he had any intention of letting them go, either.
"I really don't know whether to call you an obedient child or a smug little brat."
"Isn't this all thanks to you people?" Ginjō, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up, his tone dripping with disdain. "Treating people like lowly livestock, and then condemning us when we bare our fangs. That self-righteous attitude of yours really hasn't changed in all these years."
Hiroe could see that Riruka and the others, who had been wavering earlier, might still harbor doubts and dissatisfaction in their hearts, but overall, Ginjō had managed to pull them back in line.
Internal conflicts could be resolved internally when there was time. In the face of an external enemy, the most important thing was unity—and right now, that external enemy was him.
"Our most deeply rooted flaw is our fear and rejection of those who are different. Because of fear, we build walls early on. Because of alienation, we secretly rejoice in our prior fear and rejection. As for who is truly at the source of it all, it becomes an endless dead loop."
Hiroe spoke as if to himself, shaking his head with a bitter smile as he sighed. "But Ukitake is not the type of person to trouble himself with such baseless worries. If he were to see you as you are now with his own eyes, it would surely leave a bitter taste in his mouth."
"Shut up! Stop putting on this hypocritical act. You and that man are exactly the same—equally fake."
"No, no, no," Hiroe quickly denied. "There is only one Ukitake Jūshirō in the Seireitei. He and I are not the same."
"Furthermore, you're mistaken about one thing. My earlier words weren't just about you and me, or your group and ours." As Hiroe spoke, he suddenly turned around, sweeping his gaze across the others present. "I was also talking about all of you. Are you not fearing and rejecting each other as well?"
"Are you trying to divide us with words again, sir? How persistent," Tsukishima spoke up to remind the others. Yukio couldn't help but laugh. "More psychological attacks? For a boss, your methods are awfully repetitive."
Hiroe scoffed dismissively. "The Seireitei has a history of at least two thousand years, and the current Head Captain, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, has personally witnessed that entire span of time."
"Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō. Focusing on these four major disciplines, Shinigami have continuously honed themselves over these long years. And ultimately, what heights have they reached?"
Hiroe narrowed his eyes, scanning everyone as he asked softly, "Did Ginjō Kūgo ever tell you about these things?"
No one answered. Hiroe's increasingly cold voice rang out once more. "You only know who your enemies are, but you have no idea what they truly represent."
"That's fine. I'll show you right now..."
Before his voice even faded, Yukio's vision went dark. He looked up, meeting Hiroe's placid, unrippled eyes dead on.
"Starting with you!"
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