Chapter 7: Enjo

Bleach: I Can't Get an Amen

Episode 7 - Blaze

Washing away sins is not done with tears,

But with the searing flames that erase all form.

In the ashes of that day you fled from,

I still see His shadow burning.

Do not seek forgiveness.

Do not try to forget.

The reason I thrust my heat deep into your lungs

Is to carve into your body His noble will,

Which turned to ash without even a scream.

Burn, and burn,

Until the moment you finally become ash.

Then, and only then,

Will you be perfect within His embrace.

This was the outskirts of Rukongai District 78.

Azuma had been leading Ren, Mia, and Sora on a search, following orders to investigate the current state of the 78th District's outer perimeter.

Years ago, this area had been the site of a mass murder followed by a massive conflagration.

Though it was now a ruin where almost no souls remained, they had been dispatched to confirm whether any malicious entities were hiding within the wreckage.

"Man..."

Azuma frowned as he gazed at the landscape devastated by fire.

To his eyes, the scene looked utterly horrific.

"Nothing much on this side, sir!"

Ren approached Azuma and reported.

"Nothing here either."

"Same here."

Mia and Sora joined them, reporting in turn.

Mia sighed as she scanned the desolate surroundings.

"I wonder when this ruin will ever be restored..."

"The Central 46 would actually have to care about a place like this for that to happen..."

Ren nodded beside her, adding to Mia's lament.

"Let's go... I don't particularly want to stay here."

Azuma turned his back on the wasteland, intending to leave.

Ren, Mia, and Sora nodded and began to follow him.

But then it happened.

Black smoke rising behind them caught their eyes.

Azuma, Ren, Mia, and Sora all turned around at the same time.

The moment he confirmed it was black smoke, Azuma reflexively covered his nose and mouth with his arm.

Anxiety began to bloom slowly from deep within his chest.

"Be careful...! That smoke is extremely dangerous."

He gripped his Zanpakuto and stared toward the source of the smoke.

His intuition told him this was no natural phenomenon.

"Sora, I'm going to send a request for support from here, but go and request additional backup in person just in case. Ren, Mia... provide rear support. I'm going in first."

After confirming the three had moved to their positions, Azuma headed forward alone.

With every step, the sense of dread grew thicker.

"..."

He arrived first at the source of the smoke.

"It's been a long time. I'm not sure what I should call you, though..."

"...Just as I thought."

Azuma frowned as he saw the figure emerging from the smoke.

He should have expected this.

One look was enough to tell that this was not a positive presence for him.

The entity had burn scars just like Ren's.

However, they covered a far greater area than Ren's did.

"I'm surprised you managed to survive. To survive somehow and even reach the 9th seat under that prickly Captain of yours."

"Did you know I was coming here...?"

"I barely managed to find out."

"Are you saying there's a spy?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"What?"

Though he watched with confused eyes, he did not loosen his grip on his Zanpakuto.

Azuma had clearly not expected to encounter this person.

"Your father was cruel, but he didn't stab people in the back like a coward as you do. Aren't those water droplets that come out when you swing your sword actually the vengeful spirits of the people you burned to death that day?"

A provocation delivered in an instant.

It was a statement that might very well have been the truth.

Azuma's eyes began to waver, and the hand holding his sword started to tremble along with them.

"..."

He lowered his head, unable to find any words.

Was it true...? His mind was filled with chaos.

"Yes, you must remember. Back then, Ku—"

The moment that sound reached his ears, Azuma snapped his head up and tightened his grip on his sword.

The first syllable of that name set fire to the edge of his reason, and paradoxically, the emotion dragged his mind back into focus.

"Shut up!"

He swung his Zanpakuto with all his might.

The entity blocked it effortlessly.

"The attack I saw back then wasn't anything like this."

"...No! That kind of attack... never existed in the first place!"

He shouted in protest.

The hand holding the sword trembled even more violently.

"Indeed, you would hate for that story to be brought up. Even though you've lived your life listening to everyone else's pasts."

"No! They were the ones who brought it up first. I... I..."

"That is nothing but self-justification."

"What... what do you know!"

"The one who knows nothing is you, who abandoned His grand will!"

Heat haze began to shimmer around Azuma once more.

His sword pointed firmly at the entity.

---

Meanwhile, hearing the sound of clashing blades, Ren and Mia increased their speed and ran toward Azuma.

"...Master Azuma!"

Ren ran toward them, his face pale with shock.

Mia cautiously drew her needles.

What unfolded before their eyes was the sight of Azuma being brutally overwhelmed by the entity.

Blood dripped from his mouth and hands as he barely managed to hold his Zanpakuto with a single hand.

"You're like a little rat that only knows how to hide. You aren't the person you were back then, Azuma."

"The me from back then was..."

"You were nothing but a cursed doll. Farewell, enemy of His."

Just as the entity's blade lunged toward Azuma's chest—

Ren threw his entire body forward to block the path.

The blade pierced through Ren's right shoulder.

"What...!"

The entity faltered in surprise.

"To think your subordinates possessed such a spirit of sacrifice..."

"Now's the time!"

Ren gritted his teeth and shouted toward Mia.

"Pierce, Piercing Mirror!"

Mia's mirror fragments poured toward the entity in a rapid torrent.

The entity hurriedly withdrew his sword to block them.

Not missing the opening created by his confusion, Mia grabbed Azuma along with Ren—who was squeezing out the last of his strength—and they fled the scene.

"Ren! Are you okay? Your arm is bleeding...!"

"It doesn't matter! Master Azuma comes first!"