EPILOGUE 4: FORESHADOWING
[Human world; Karakura Town]
Somewhere in an abandoned factory, a blonde-haired man wearing a black coat lowered the hat on his head, hiding the frustration and helplessness on his face.
All he could do was curse at his own powerlessness as he watched his friends keel in agony, doing their best to not groan because of the pain that afflicted them.
A white viscous substance was slowly covering their face, transforming into a white mask.
The more time passed the more distorted their expression became, and they seemed to be on the verge of losing control.
"That's enough… Tessai."
"Understood."
Standing next to the blonde man was a tall and muscular tan man wearing a pair of glasses.
Taking a step forward, Tessai advanced his finger before crossing them,
"Bakudo #99: Kin!" [1]
Immediately, dark fabric extended from the shadows before binding all the people whose faces were covered by masks.
Once they were covered from head to toe, iron shafts were added to make the binding even more solid.
Any members of the soul society with enough knowledge on Kido assisting at this spectacle would let their jaws fall in astonishment.
The higher ranked a Kido was, the longer it took time to prepare.
It required complete focus, a large amount of Reiatsu, and a long and complicated incantation.
Only people at the master rank in Kido, the highest rank in all of the soul society could use Kido at such levels without even bothering to use an incantation.
Sitting on Tessai’s head, a black cat murmured lazily, "You really weren't the captain of the Kido corps for nothing. Your skills are as impressive as always."
"Please, Yoruichi-Sama, your praise humbles me."
Yoruichi scoffed at the false humility before gazing worriedly at Kisuke. It had been a little more than sixty years now, since the time they fled from the Soul Society and searched for a way to help their friends.
At this moment, none of them could effectively use their power without the risk of losing control. They were forced to use artificial bodies specially created by Kisuke and while it didn’t stop them from living a normal life, for people like them who were either captains or vice-captains in the past, being forced into such a state was no different from cutting the wings of an eagle.
‘It’s the first time I see him being stumped for so long.'
Kisuke had been working on how to help them to use their shinigami power as well as the Hollows power they unwillingly obtained.
But so far, it has been nothing but a complete failure.
Turning her head aside, she could see that one of the cocoons created from the binding shadow seemed to tremble. It was followed by cracks covering the cocoon before a hand extended out of it.
*Cough* Cough* “Damn, I will never get used to waking up in those bindings."
Shaking his head, Shinji complained while walking out of the shadow.
Watching him like this, Yoruichi sighed and thanked all the gods that even though he and the others lost control when trying to use their power, they were unable to use their Bankai.
Shinji's Bankai more than anyone. His Bankai was a conceptual one that affected the concept of allies and enemies. He was really not the kind of man one would wish to fight against during a war.
'Really an insidious zanpakuto.'
They said that the power of a zanpakuto showed the personality of its wielder. She really wondered what it meant about him.
Shinji, who knew nothing of Yoruichi’s thoughts, looked downcast.
"So it was a failure again, huh?"
No one tried to comfort him. They weren't children who couldn't accept reality.
"Well, at least we can last longer without losing control."
Shinji liked seeing the good side of everything. After all, whining and crying wouldn't change the situation. It was better to stay optimistic and search for a solution.
"So, what do we do now?"
Behind him, the others also began to break out of the shadows.
Kisuke had helped Tessai modify the Bakudo in such a way that it only reacted to hollow powers and as such, would be easy to break once they took back control.
Looking at the eight people now standing with firm resolve in their eyes and the other two with him, Kisuke couldn't help but feel emotional.
Shinji Hirako, former captain of the 5th division.
Love Aikawa, former captain of the 7th division.
Rojuro Otoribashi, former captain of the 3rd division.
Kensei Muguruma, former captain of the 9th division.
Masahiro Kuna, former vice-captain of the 9th division.
Lisa Yadomaru, former vice-captain of the 8th division.
Hachigen Ushoda, former Vice-captain of the Kido corps.
Hyori Sarukagi, former vice-captain of the 12th division.
Tessai Tsubakishi, former captain of the Kido corps.
Yoruichi Shihoin, former captain of the 2nd division and the secret force.
Finally, himself, Kisuke Urahara, former captain of the 12th division and the research department.
Even though currently eight out of them were unable to use their full power, it was a group powerful enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
But they lacked something,
"Hey, Shinji."
"Hum?"
"What would you think of creating a name for what you and the others represent?"
"A name, huh…"
Shinji placed his hand on his hips and pondered.
He understood what Kisuke was trying to do.
People sometimes underestimated how important a name was for unifying a group.
It represented a collective pride. Something that could bring a large group of people under a banner.
This was even more so for the eight of them. After all, they didn't just lose their identity as officers of the Gotei 13. They could not even call themselves Shinigami anymore.
"What do you guys think?"
He addressed the others who stayed mostly silent because they could still feel the aftereffects of the near loss of control.
"Heh! Why don't we call ourselves Hollow Rang—Ouch!"
A green-haired woman, Masahiro Kuna, asked excitedly before keeling in pain
The reason was that she had just been rewarded by a fist on her head from her former captain, Kensei, a very tall and muscular man with silver hair and the tattoo 69 inscribed on his chest.
"Stop playing around and be serious!"
Ignoring the teary eyes of Kuna, Kensei crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at Shinji.
"I believe I speak for everyone in seeing you as our leader. So, you decide."
The other nodded.
Even Hiyori, a blonde short girl who was usually rather loud did not speak against what was proposed.
Shinji, happy at the trust extended to him, began to think seriously.
While doing so, his sight landed on the debris of masks on the ground, the result of their transformation.
"Since all of us are former soldiers forced to wear masks… Yeah, let's go for the name—Visored."[2]
----
After another lengthy discussion with the Visored, Kisuke came back to his shop with Tessai and Yoruichi.
He understood perfectly well that while the eleven of them were fugitives and friends, the relationship between the two groups couldn't go past a certain level.
It was important for the Visored to become closer and form higher bounds as people who could understand each other.
Sitting down on a chair in his garden, he asked the tall man behind him,
"Are you sure about the movement in Soul society?"
"Indeed. You know very well that I still have access to information from the Kido corps. It seems like Soi Fon and Satoru Gojo will enter the Dangai in a few days. I couldn't discern why though."
Kisuke nodded and mumbled, "Well, I do have an idea…"
Thinking about it for a few seconds, he finally spoke,
"I am on the verge of succeeding in my new experiment about the creation of life. As such, I cannot leave. Yoruichi…"
"No. I can already see where this is going and the answer is no."
Kisuke placed his hands in prayer, "Please! Okay? Also, don't you wish to meet your cute little follower?"
Thinking about Soi Fon, Yoruichi sighed, "Okay, open a gate when you need me."
The black cat proceeded to ignore him and vanished at incredible speed under the moonlight.
She could already feel a great amount of trouble.
[1]: Prohibition
[2]: Masked army.