Bleach: I Can’t Get an Amen
Episode 6 - Shinozaki Mia
If beauty is a sin,
Then my very existence is my family’s eternal punishment.
What reflects through the transparency is not the truth,
But my own scream, frozen before it could reach anyone.
I trap the world beyond the sights,
And lock myself within a prison named perfection.
Inside the 2nd Division Headquarters.
“…”
Azuma stood before a door.
On the other side, the Captain of the 2nd Division, the officers from the 3rd to 8th seats, and the 10th seat were all gathered, waiting for him.
“…”
He swallowed hard and knocked slowly on the door.
“Excuse me… It’s Azuma, the 9th seat.”
As soon as he spoke, footsteps approached and the door swung open.
It was Tetsuo, the 10th seat, who greeted him.
“You’re here, Azuma?”
“Ah, yes…”
“Good luck in there.”
“Thank you…”
Giving Tetsuo a cautious bow, he stepped slowly into the room.
The silhouettes of the officers came into view.
At the center sat Captain Soi Fon.
Flanking her were Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda; the 3rd seat and Vice-Commander of the Punishment Force and Patrol Unit, Shinozaki Genma; the 4th seat and Head of the Secret Remote Unit, Shiranui Kaede; the 5th seat and Head of the Information Unit, Shizuka Kyogo; and the 6th seat and Head of the Detention Unit, Fujimaru Saizo. Additionally, the 7th seat, Oboro Itsuki, and the 8th seat, Kageyama Rin, were seated as if guarding her.
“G-Good morning, everyone.”
He offered a respectful greeting.
However, the moment his eyes landed on Soi Fon, his cheeks flushed a deep crimson.
The words died in his throat.
He faltered for a moment before forcing himself to snap out of it.
“…Ah, I mean…”
“Focus, 9th seat.”
Sensing his hesitation, Soi Fon spoke with a slight frown, her voice tinged with reprimand.
“…I… I’m sorry…”
Azuma lowered his head, face burning. Fearing he might get scolded again, he quickly looked back up.
“…Begin your report.”
“Ah, yes… So, the killer has been identified as Isse, a former 9th seat of the Stealth Force…”
He proceeded with various details of the report.
He covered Isse’s actions, the items recovered from the cave, and the proposed plan for future handling.
But because of Soi Fon’s presence, he couldn’t fully concentrate.
With flushed cheeks, he struggled to continue the report while doing his absolute best not to look in her direction.
Even though Soi Fon likely wasn’t paying him any personal mind at all…
“…Therefore, Isse, who has been confirmed alive, is scheduled to be imprisoned in the Special Underground Detention Center.”
After ten minutes, the presentation—which felt like hell only to Azuma—finally came to an end.
“Well done. You may go.”
At Soi Fon’s brief dismissal, he bowed once more and stepped outside.
Tetsuo was waiting for him in the hall.
“Good work, Azuma. From now on, you’ll be the one sitting in those seats, listening to reports like this.”
“Ah, yes…”
He nodded in response, but then it finally registered in his mind that Soi Fon had told him he did well.
That thought made his cheeks flare up again.
His heart began to race.
He knew it was just a standard professional comment. But to Azuma, such logic didn’t seem to matter much.
“…I-I’ll be heading out now.”
“Sure, see ya.”
Leaving Tetsuo with a polite farewell, he turned and hurried away.
He needed to calm his heart somehow.
Checking the time, he saw he had a moment to rest.
Azuma headed toward a quiet street, hoping to feel the breeze blowing through the trees.
“…Whew…”
It was while he was walking down that street.
“Compared to your brother, the 3rd seat, what exactly have you accomplished?”
He heard a man’s voice along with a familiar spiritual pressure.
Azuma looked toward the source of the sound.
It was a house with the name ‘Shinozaki’ engraved on it.
“The future of our clan is bright only if our children succeed… We must be a family that provides elite talent to the Fon and Shihouin clans. But compared to your brother, have you even put in the effort? Do you even have talent? Getting excited over being the 18th seat… If you’re satisfied with that, you’re not worthy. Don’t get cocky just because you have a Zanpakuto…”
SLAM.
The sound of a door closing echoed loudly.
In the silence that followed, the sound of footsteps coming outside reached his ears.
The person who opened the door and stepped out was Mia.
“Ah…”
Mia froze for a moment when her eyes met Azuma’s.
“A-Azuma-sama…”
“…Ah, hey… Mia. Are you okay?”
Azuma asked cautiously.
Mia merely nodded her head.
“Yes, of course…”
“Right… I see…”
Azuma simply nodded back.
He felt it wasn’t his place to pry in this situation.
---
A day passed.
The next day, Azuma was assigned a new mission.
Once again, it was to eliminate a Hollow lurking on the outskirts of Rukongai.
It felt somewhat repetitive that his missions always involved dealing with Hollows or suspicious Soul Reapers.
However, this time he wasn’t taking Ren and Sora with him.
The order was to deploy only two people, citing the need for a discreet elimination.
Azuma chose Mia, who held the highest rank among the three rookies.
However, the image of Mia he had seen in front of her house yesterday weighed heavily on his mind.
“…”
The two of them set out on the road together.
The path to the outskirts of Rukongai was familiar now.
Unchanging scenery flowed past them.
“…!”
As they reached a point further out from the Rukongai border, they finally began to sense a spiritual pressure presumably belonging to a Hollow.
Azuma gripped his Zanpakuto, tracking the direction of the pressure.
“Mia, get ready…”
Mia nodded.
Her expression seemed the same as usual.
But he could faintly see her pushing herself too hard, driven by the thought that she mustn’t fail.
“You go this way first.”
Mia moved in the direction Azuma pointed.
Azuma began to move in the opposite direction, Zanpakuto in hand.
But as he moved, a strange sensation prickled his spine.
Driven by a sudden flash of anxiety, he threw a glance toward the other side.
Though he couldn’t see the needles clearly, he could feel a movement in her spiritual pressure—as if Mia had thrown them prematurely without permission.
“…Mia!”
It seemed her heart was racing too fast after being scolded by the man who appeared to be her father yesterday.
It was a different kind of instability compared to her previous arrogance.
The needle missed, flying just past the Hollow.
Sensing the attack, the Hollow turned its head toward Mia and immediately launched a counterattack.
The Hollow’s shadow began to envelop Mia.
Panicked, Mia froze in her tracks.
‘What exactly have you accomplished all this time?’
‘You are nothing but a weapon. A tool of the Shinozaki family where neither emotions nor mistakes are permitted!’
‘Can’t you please try to follow your brother’s example?’
The voices overlapped and echoed in her head.
Mia’s hands began to tremble violently.
If she could just snap out of it and throw another needle now, she could overcome the situation.
But her mental state was currently in no place to do so.
Before she could even realize it, the Hollow’s weapon slowly aimed for her throat. And just as it was about to strike—
“Mia, get back!!”
BOOM!
With a Flash Step, Azuma blocked her path.
He took the Hollow’s weapon with his left arm while simultaneously pulling Mia into his embrace and rolling to the side.
“Mia… are you okay?”
“Ah… Azuma-sama…”
Mia stared at him with a dazed expression for a moment before guilt over what she had done slowly spread across her face.
“Mia… listen to me. This is a mission. I’m not someone who can completely block out personal feelings during a mission either, but…”
Droplets of water began to rise slightly over the field.
Azuma’s Zanpakuto was reacting.
“Still, it’s a mission, so let’s try to focus a little. And… you’re my comrade, and a precious friend to Ren and Sora. I don’t belong to a clan, so I don’t know exactly how you feel. But… I’ll try to understand, I really will. Let’s show this Hollow what your needles are made of.”
Azuma gave a light smile while clutching his left arm.
“…Yes. Understood.”
Mia sniffled slightly, then stood up and faced the Hollow.
“…I’ll draw its attention. Get ready.”
“Yes…!”
Azuma gripped his Zanpakuto and began to move toward the Hollow across the field where the haze was rising.
His blade relentlessly pressured the Hollow.
The Hollow let out a monstrous shriek.
He had to finish this before it made any more noise.
“Now, Mia!”
After a few minutes, Azuma shouted toward Mia.
“…”
Mia closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath.
Her tension was at its peak.
But beneath it, something began to quietly stir.
It was the desire to show her true self for once.
“Pierce, Piercing Mirror.”
Her Zanpakuto transformed into a long blade in the shape of a needle.
Across the hazy ground where Azuma stood, thousands of arrows of light began to pour down all at once, like reflections from shards of a mirror.
The moment Azuma heard the release command, he leaped out of the attack range.
The Hollow didn’t even have time to realize what was happening.
Countless light arrows from Mia pierced through it.
Without even a chance to scream, the Hollow vanished into nothingness.
“Huff… huff…”
Mia exhaled deeply.
Then she slowly turned her head toward Azuma.
“Azuma-sama… your arm… your arm…”
“…It’s not like it was cut off. I just bled a little. Let’s finish the mission and get to the 4th Division quickly.”
“…Yes, Azuma-sama…”
Mia simply nodded her head.
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