Chapter 357: Katen Kyōkotsu (2)
"Oh?"
In response to Shunsui’s regret-laced words, Mazuru remained eerily calm.
Shunsui squatted low, his twin blades of Katen Kyōkotsu plunging firmly into Mazuru’s shadow beneath the searing Hueco Mundo sun. His eyes didn’t waver as he continued, voice quiet but resolute.
"If I had known back then that you harbored such ill intent... if I had known you would one day betray the Soul Society, I would’ve stopped Nanao-chan from getting close to you—no matter the cost."
The name Nanao caused the faintest flicker in Mazuru’s otherwise unreadable expression. A tremor, so brief it vanished like a speck of dust under a sandstorm. Yet when he spoke, his tone held its usual indifferent chill.
"But there are no ’ifs’ in this world, are there?"
"...Yeah." Shunsui muttered. "No ifs."
If only. If only they’d made different choices—perhaps the tragedies wouldn’t have unfolded the way they did. But regret was a currency they could no longer spend.
"You already know you can’t stop me for long." Mazuru said, turning his gaze toward the horizon. His voice carried the soft resonance of inevitability. "And the reason you came to Hueco Mundo this time—you know it’s doomed to fail."
Shunsui smiled, lips twisting wryly beneath his straw hat. "That’s not necessarily true..."
He rose to his full height, his shadow stretching under the unforgiving Hueco Mundo sun.
"Maybe you’ve grown too arrogant, Mazuru. Maybe it’s because you became King of Hueco Mundo, or maybe it’s because you took down old man Yama that you’ve gotten overconfident."