The sensation that surrounded Tsukiro was that of him floating on air. It was like his soul was perfectly balanced in between dead and alive.
He reached out for the one thing he knew would always be there.
Kotaishi…
I’m here master.
Oh… good… Am I… dead?
Almost.
Tsukiro scoffed. Almost as in I’m about to die, or almost as in someone found me?
When you wake up, you will have Retsu Unohana to thank.
I see… So I’m not dead… and Captain Unohana and her staff are healing me…
Do you remember anything?
I got stabbed by my own captain, Tsukiro growled. Rat bastard. Making me let my guard down then stabbing me in the back. Literally.
Before you go bad-mouthing your superior, why don’t you try and understand why he did it?
Tsukiro searched his memory of the event. He had seemed in his right mind when he came through the window. He was his normal self.
Or was that an act?
No. If there was one person Toshiro Hitsugaya hated most in the world, it was Sosuke Aizen. Captain Hitsugaya had called him “Lord Aizen.” Tsukiro knew that there would be no way he could say that so easily without feeling like cutting out his own tongue, as gruesome as that sounded.
Something’s wrong with the captain…
Exactly what I was thinking.
So… how do I tell people what happened to me when everyone thinks he’s a traitor? “Oh, yeah, I let in this really friendly Arrancar that sounded like Captain Hitsugaya and he stabbed me in the back.”
Kotaishi couldn’t help but laugh at his master’s humor in the face of death. Well, not exactly like that.
Kotaishi… am I doing the right thing?
What do you mean?
I mean looking for revenge for Mother and Ryushiro, and trying to prove to Father that rank doesn’t matter. Or am I just making a fool out of myself? I got into this mess because of my insightfulness, but I accepted Ukitake’s offer because of my goals. Did I make the right choice by wanting revenge and closure. The killers were never even caught. So what kind of revenge will come from this?
Kotaishi was silent for a long while. Then he said, Everyone’s goals and desires change. Some more often, some less. Accepting that a goal is out of your reach or just plain wrong isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. Reassess your goals and desires as needed.
Right…
Master.
Yeah, Kotaishi?
Time to wake up.
