Bleach: I Can't Get an Amen
Episode 14 - Marionette
To live is merely noise
Trailing toward decay.
When my second hand binds your heart
And my bell stills your time,
You finally ascend the frozen stage of eternity
As the most perfect doll.
Silence the unstable pulse
And yield to the rhythm of stainless clockwork.
Behold,
The doll upon the stage
Knows neither despair nor betrayal.
"So, you've finally arrived."
A man stood behind Azuma, holding a pocket watch and synchronizing his movements to the ticking of the second hand.
"...You..."
Azuma's brow furrowed deeply the moment he saw the man.
The realization that this individual was the source of everything fueled his immediate loathing.
"I was looking forward to seeing how high-ranking an officer they would send to capture me, and I must admit, I was a bit disappointed to see it was only a 9th seat. Of course, you've shown me a far more surprising performance than I expected, so that disappointment has vanished."
Azuma simply glared at him.
"Are you proud of kidnapping Soul Reapers and performing unwanted experiments on them?"
The man raised his left index finger and wagged it slowly from side to side, as if to refute Azuma's words.
"Do not think of it that way. Do you truly believe this sight is merely a worthless, cruel experiment? No. This is a blessing. It is the process of sublimating souls—which never know when or how they might vanish—into stainless machine parts to keep them in a permanent, stable state. Miss Ren and Mr. Sora over there will also soon be supplied with stable souls."
Eternal life? Why would anyone want that?
Azuma's mind raced.
The days he had lived flashed before his eyes.
He thought of the value that comes from a finite life, and the tragedies that come with it as well.
But in that moment, his eyes fell upon Ren and Sora inside the glass tubes again.
Their faces were deathly pale.
How could this be considered an act for the sake of a "stable soul"...?
Azuma raised his sword.
He could not let his comrades be sacrificed.
"No, this is wrong... Release my comrades!"
"Azuma!!"
The moment Kon's shout ended, Azuma activated his Zanpakuto's ability once more.
A mist began to envelop the surroundings.
"Ho... It feels like summer."
However, the man also drew his own Zanpakuto.
"Ring out, Vesper Bell."
As the release command echoed, the tolling of a bell resonated throughout the entire factory.
Azuma attempted to close the distance using Flash Step combined with his Mist Rain.
It was the very moment he lunged out from the mist right in front of the man to swing his blade.
As the bell's chime filled the factory, his sword-swinging speed plummeted instantly.
"...!"
It didn't feel like his sword had become heavy.
It was the sensation of his hands and feet being bound, as if a puppeteer above were pulling strings to control a marionette.
The man watched Azuma, the corners of his mouth curling into a mocking smirk.
"Speed is not everything. Within this space that I tune, your time flows slower than my second hand."
Azuma's head hung low. His pupils trembled.
The man immediately drove a fist into his stomach.
A heavy impact slammed into his abdomen.
Azuma clutched his stomach and collapsed to the floor.
"Urgh... Ugh..."
It seemed the stamina he had exhausted during his training with Yoruichi had not yet fully recovered.
The pain felt like it was burrowing deeper into his body.
"I shall give you the opportunity to become my sacrifice without killing you either."
The man raised his sword, preparing to pierce Azuma.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Sudden footsteps erupted from the side.
Azuma and the man turned toward the sound simultaneously.
Kon was charging toward them at an incredible speed.
Even in a space where time flows slowly, he can move like that? the thought flashed through Azuma's mind.
The moment Kon closed the distance, he leaped.
Soaring high, he thrust his foot toward the man's face.
The man failed to react properly to the surprise attack and took the hit directly to the face.
Under the force of Kon's strike, the man was sent flying to the far side of the factory.
His pocket watch fell to the floor.
He had been sent flying much further than expected.
"Azuma, you idiot!! Making me step in like this!"
Kon looked down at the doubling-over Azuma, his words a mix of nagging and genuine concern.
"Ugh... Ack... I think I'm starting to feel okay now..."
"Hurry up and save your two comrades! Are you really going to let a single attack stall you when you're supposed to be saving lives!? Didn't you say your Soul Reaper justice was about standing up whenever you can?!"
Something in Kon's words must have struck a chord; the moment he finished speaking, Azuma managed to take a step and successfully pull himself up.
"Phew... I was just momentarily caught off guard."
"Take those stairs over there! That's where those guys' glass tubes are! Follow me!"
"...Right!"
Azuma nodded and ran in the direction Kon led.
As expected, the navigation provided by Kon—who had been modified by Kisuke—was precise.
Passing through the sounds of heating iron and flying sparks, they reached the glass tubes holding Ren and Sora.
"Just hold on a little longer...!"
Concentrating his spiritual pressure into the tip of his Zanpakuto, Azuma struck Ren's glass tube.
The glass shattered into pieces.
Coolant poured out in a deluge.
Ren slumped into Azuma's arms.
Normally, the machine would have attempted to fit a mask on her, but perhaps due to the impact of the battle, Ren's mask was nowhere to be seen.
Azuma held Ren so that her face was tucked against his chest.
"Mr. Kon, could you use that kick of yours to break Sora's tube as well?"
"You're buying me something delicious later, you hear!?"
"Of course."
Kon delivered the same kick he had used on the man into the glass tube.
The tube shattered instantly.
Azuma sheathed his Zanpakuto and caught Sora in the same manner he had caught Ren.
"...So you've saved them after all...!"
The man had returned at some point and was shouting up at Azuma and Kon from below.
"..."
Azuma looked down at him in silence.
He had to figure out how to escape with Sora and Ren.
At the same time, the thought that he should save every Soul Reaper here began to surface.
It was then.
A thunderous roar echoed as the ceiling in the center of the factory collapsed.
Through the ruined ceiling, familiar faces revealed themselves.
"...Mr. Kisuke, Captain..."
It was Kisuke and Yoruichi.
And beside them, three more figures—whether subordinates or allies—could be seen.
Kisuke did not look at Azuma.
His gaze was fixed solely on the man.
"It has been a long time, Captain... Has it been about 120 years? I missed you. Truly..."
The man turned his head toward Kisuke.
"I missed you as well. I truly hoped it wasn't you... but it seems reality is harsh. Mr. Soya."
Kisuke stared at the man named Soya with an unreadable expression.
Story not bad so far