Bleach: Love and Bonds Make Me Stronger!

What happened?

Even as her body was locked in a near time-stopping 'stasis,' Louise couldn't comprehend what had befallen her.

Her will had completely lost control over her body.

She could only remain rigid, watching as Makoto stepped closer.

"Antiquated relics like you probably haven't heard of something called the 'King's Game,' have you?"

Makoto's voice was soft, his fingertips gently lifting Louise's smooth, sharply defined chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"It's a foolish game where, once certain conditions are met, you can issue 'absolutely binding commands' to others in the game."

"And in this game, the condition for issuing a binding command is…"

"Killing your enemy five times."

"And then… the loser eats dust."

Almost as his words fell, petrified hands erupted from the ground.

They tightly grasped Louise's slender limbs.

Her crescent-moon-like porcelain eyes widened, her gaze toward Makoto filled with intense disbelief. The ominous premonition in her heart grew stronger.

"You can't kill me!!"

Driven by unknown fear, Louise's proud and beautiful face twisted into a near-feral expression. Her incoherent shouts were laced with vulnerability.

Hearing her, Makoto's face broke into an involuntary smile.

"Indeed."

"Who can make a dead person die again?"

"Honestly, even now, I'm not confident I can kill you with this zanpakuto."

"But…"

"If I bring you back to life, would you thank me?"

"Louise-san."

At his words, the pure white woman's expression froze.

Makoto's smile grew brighter, radiant, like an innocent, naive boy unaware of the world's cruelty.

"A body with… three thousand times the sensitivity."

"A living body."

In that moment, Louise's heart plummeted as if encased in ice.

[Revive, my love!]

[Let's make things lively!]

[Make it really lively!]

His zanpakuto's childish voice roared with excitement, as if ready to raise a flag.

A corpse?

So what if it's a bit cold!

We'll heat things up!

Turn everyone into onahole!

No one escapes!

"Damn you, Shinigami-"

Louise struggled desperately, as if fighting for her life.

But, save for her still-functional mouth, her entire body was anchored in place.

She couldn't move, not even tremble.

Fear crept uncontrollably into the pure white woman's eyes.

Yet, the world seemed determined to defy her wishes.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A muffled sound emanated from within Louise's body.

One beat, then two.

The drum-like rhythm seemed to drown out even her screams.

But to Louise, those heartbeats, symbols of life, vitality, and vigor, sounded like a death knell.

For someone already dead, 'life' itself was their greatest weakness.

And the 'weakness' manifesting in her wasn't limited to this.

Almost simultaneously with the heartbeats, the pure white woman's snow-pale skin, warmed by pulsing blood vessels, began to thaw.

It took on a translucent, crystalline hue, like that of an ordinary beauty.

"How… can this be…"

In her vision, Louise saw the shifting colors of her body, felt the rapid changes spreading within. A fear that pierced her very soul grew ever more intense.

It was a thought that nearly shattered her faith in 'His Highness, the omniscient and omnipotent.'

This man before her had achieved something even His Highness hadn't!

Her emotions and sense of life, dulled by death, surged back in an instant, vivid and overwhelming.

Even Louise herself had forgotten how long it had been since she'd felt such 'living' thoughts.

I want… to become onahole!

"Hm?"

The moment the thought arose, Louise realized something was off.

What am I thinking?

But…

I want to become onahole!!

Louise hurriedly cut off the thought.

Something's wrong with my mind.

As she puzzled over her shifting thoughts, snap, snap.

One, two, three… countless petrified arms suddenly climbed up her immobilized legs and unnaturally dangling arms.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Louise's smooth back.

As if realizing something, her eyes strained to turn.

Sure enough.

The stone sculptures of women, which Louise had dismissed and trampled over as mere background, now rose like puppets under the control of that damned Shinigami, slowly standing and seizing her limbs.

Even more absurd, while these stone figures were carved with feminine contours, certain parts of their bodies bore a high-resolution, mosaic-covered protrusion resembling an eggplant.

'What is that?'

'Wait…'

'No way?'

The moment she noticed, a horrific possibility dawned on her.

Extreme fear, like wild grass spreading after rain, consumed Louise's soul in an instant.

Her gaze toward Makoto was that of a devout believer staring into the fiery depths of a demon from hell.

Reason and fear clashed in a searing battle within her will, her nerves stretched taut.

"Shinigami!"

Until the end, Louise clenched her teeth, glaring at him with resolute hatred.

Gone was the arrogance and scorn from her earlier demeanor.

Like a gambler who'd lost everything, she fixed her bloodshot eyes on Makoto, her voice hoarse. "You think this will defeat me?"

"His Majesty's power is invincible!"

"Mere trials cannot shake our faith in His Majesty!"

"And your fate is nothing but death!"

Her voice was like the wail of a wild dog on a cliff's edge, devoid of any real threat.

Yet Makoto responded with kindness. "Relax."

"I have no interest in cold corpses."

At those words, a flicker of relief stirred in Louise's heart.

But his next sentence drained the color from her face. "However…"

"I'm very curious about how to truly kill you."

Makoto's voice was calm. "Yuseiboushi is actually a very gentle ability." 

"Rather than physically destroying an enemy, it leans toward making them experience the agony of social death while alive."

"Though it occasionally leads to embarrassing outcomes, it only torments the mind."

"How many rounds can you endure against it?"

"…"

Listening to his even-toned words, Louise's expression grew increasingly bleak.

The next moment, the eggplant stone figures surrounded her completely, tearing at her limbs and torso, pulling her into a spread-eagle position under her despairing gaze.

Dust exploded around her.

Three thousand times sensitivity + the loser eats dust.

Makoto turned away, shaking his head slightly.

What a mess.

…

"Urgh-"

The culmination of extreme torment and ultimate humiliation was enough to shatter someone from the core of their spirit.

Even as the [Round 2] prompt reset her clothes, body, and mind to their initial state, Louise remained as wilted as a dehydrated husk, utterly depleted.

Even glancing at Makoto, her eyes betrayed an uncontrollable surge of intense fear and pain.

Gone was the transcendent arrogance of their first encounter.

She was merely an ordinary weakling.

The stone figures that had risen moments ago had turned to ash, scattered across the ground.

Yet, just looking at the stone dust, Louise's eyes filled with near-panic, as if her courage had been stripped away, revealing a tiny, trembling quail within.

"What are you looking at?"

Makoto's voice rang out again.

His warm, genial tone clashed so starkly with his actions that the woman before him jolted as if electrocuted, snapping her head up.

He stepped forward, approaching Louise.

Clenching her teeth, Louise watched his tall figure, her fear-filled eyes gradually giving way to a rising tide of resentment and malice.

"Kill you! If I kill you…"

"I can escape this wretched place!"

Her resolute words seemed to fuel her strength, propelling her toward Makoto.

But then, he spoke suddenly. "Ah, my apologies."

Louise, already on edge, froze instinctively, eyeing him warily.

Then, with a smile, Makoto said, "I almost forgot to mention."

"The second round's game is chosen by the winner."

"So, this time, let's play 'tag.'"

"I'll chase, and you'll run."

"How's that?"

Louise's eyes widened, her composure shattered.

Her confidence obliterated, she no longer dared challenge the rules. Without hesitation, she turned and fled.

Her blazing single wing fluttered, her body cloaked in flowing Blut Vene, driven by burning reishi as she sprinted toward the domain's edge, unleashing a ferocious wave of reiatsu.

Boom!

Her figure shot along the ground.

Makoto stood in place, watching her flee, a mocking smile curling his lips.

Run! Run! Run!

In an instant, Louise reached a speed she'd never imagined possible.

She hadn't known a person could be pushed to such power under inescapable terror.

Just like those who had died by her hand.

But just as she thought she'd reached her limit, swish!

Smoke and dust swirled.

Makoto's figure appeared before her without warning, landing lightly.

Louise's reishi scattered and reformed beneath her feet, her body veering sharply in midair, tracing a violent right angle close to the ground.

But it wasn't fast enough.

The moment she turned, a large hand gently rested on her shoulder.

"First."

A horizontal stroke marked her open chest.

Louise's pupils nearly dilated, her eyes losing their spark as she let out an instinctive wail. "No!"

Yet the rules offered no room for resistance.

Despite her desperate flight, despite her every effort, despite everything…

Within five minutes of the second round's start, Louise was caught five times.

Another 'counts' character formed rapidly on her body.

The moment it completed, her figure was anchored in place.

Her beautiful, refined face twisted in near-distorted agony.

This time, she could no longer speak.

In an instant, she was swallowed by a writhing mass of endless tendrils, vanishing from sight.

The third time, the fourth…

As the sole designated king of the [King's Game], Makoto could choose his desired 'game' each time. Stripped of the power granted by Yhwach, the Quincy was nearly powerless before him.

Zanjutsu, hakuda, shunpo, kido…

These skills, honed through Makoto's 'effort,' utterly dominated Louise in the 'fair' game.

The ensuing punishments were nothing short of torture.

At first, Louise reacted with wails, hatred, and fear.

But by the third round, her eyes lost all reason, leaving only a black void.

Yuseiboushi was a gentle game.

Its negative effects targeted only the mind.

For both its wielder and their opponent.

And, as Makoto had told Louise from the start, even he wasn't certain he could kill this woman, who had been 'dead' from the beginning, with Oharai Gougi.

But that didn't matter.

Makoto knew who could kill her.

[Round 5]

The moment the fifth round began, his zanpakuto's childish voice echoed in both their ears.

Louise, her body and clothes restored, knelt on the ground. Her expression vacant, she clutched her throat, choking out hoarse, whimpering cries.

Her beautiful face no longer bore human emotion.

Clearly, her mind had reached the brink of collapse.

This time, Makoto didn't rush into the game.

Instead, he approached the woman, now returned to her pure white complexion.

In a warm voice, he asked, "The game…"

"Shall we continue?"

As if jolted by the keyword, a spark of clarity flared in Louise's hollow eyes.

She crawled to his feet, clutching his ankles, her rationality shattered. "Kill me! Please, kill me-"

But Makoto gently pried her hands away, saying softly, "You know."

"I'm a very gentle person."

"Killing isn't something I do."

"…"

At those words, despair deeper than ever flooded Louise's eyes.

"But," Makoto continued, his tone shifting, "You know exactly who can grant you true release, don't you?"

"…Who?"

Louise snapped her head up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

After being broken in every sense countless times, her yearning for death had reached its peak.

But then, Makoto took her hand and guided it to her own cheek.

His expression was kind and warm. "It's you, of course."

"Louise."

Hearing his voice, seemingly gentle yet chillingly detached, Louise shakily touched her cheek.

Her left hand, her right hand.

And the soul that yearned 'never to be erased by anyone.'

Louise seemed to finally understand.

Oharai Gougi's script had silently unraveled.

Kneeling on the ground, the woman touched her body.

"Erase."

In a low, mournful cry, she dissipated into light.

Sometimes, for those in unbearable agony, choosing their own manner of death is a form of release.

***

Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

***

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