Shattered » bleach

xiv.

Regret
Kisuke Urahara

It was strange not knowing what was going on in the Soul Society. Gaia could be executed or defeated in battle and I would never know. Though I knew it would take more than a Captain to subdue her, my fear was Aizen Sousuke. I knew he was up to something, and I knew that Gaia helping Ichigo rescue Rukia felt like the perfect opportunity for him to strike.

While everyone was lured into battle over there, I made some preparations of my own. Gaia's true power would awaken any day now, and I needed to be ready for that. Tessai and I utilized the help of the Visored to come up with a prototype that would be able to stabilize her power. Once Gaia unleashes her zanpakuto, the strength of her Soul Reaper and Hollow abilities will clash and if left unchecked, she could destroy everything in her path.

There were two factors we faced with the prototype. Gaia's zanpakuto Reigetsu, was a strength-type zanpakuto. When released, her brute force is nearly tripled in its Shikai state. With that force comes a tripling in Spiritual Pressure. The second factor was an unknown. I have never learned what Gaia's Hollow powers are.

When I discovered her in the Rukon districts that night, her entire body resembled that of a Hollow. Her skin grew pale and tough like iron, and Hollow-like material encased her body. Though I never saw what she was truly capable of. That rose an issue for us.

Based on my previous knowledge of Masaki and Ichigo's Hollowification, it was easy to say that her strength in that state would be unmatched. We just had to figure out how to control that.

"Say, Kisuke. Don't you think all of this is a bit premature?" Shinji Hirako questioned. He was the most skeptical of Gaia. After all, the Visored came into existence because Aizen had let Gaia slip away. I'm sure they resented her for that, and perhaps even feared her in a way.

I turned to face Shinji, who was leaning against the wooden post of the porch.

"What do you propose is the best case scenario if Gaia and Aizen cross paths over there?" I asked. He sighed in defeat, knowing Aizen's cruelty firsthand.

The best possible scenario if they were to meet, Gaia would attack Aizen without a doubt. With that, there's no telling who will try to stop her.