Sealing Fate

Just what exactly constitutes willpower in this world? Willpower is the exertion of one's control over something. With a strong will, one could usurp their control over their emotions, their urges, and, in this case, their soul. Zangetsu was under Silas's control.

Unlike before, when Silas fought Acidwire, he instinctively uttered the command to release Zangetsu. There truly was no command for this Zanpakutō, yet Silas instinctively knew its awakening. This time, he mentally chose a different command and a different name, causing it to take on an unexpected form with only a small portion of its power released. But just that amount of spiritual pressure was still too much.

Silas was trying to make it look similar to Ichigo's first sword, but the form a Zanpakutō took reflected its wielder. That meant Zangetsu would take on the shape of what best suited Silas's personality. Silas might have looked like Ichigo, but he was, in fact, his own person.

If he had used the Zanpakutō's real name, it would have taken on the shape of a longsword again. But Silas wasn't going to reveal that to Aizen. What he hoped for was that Aizen wasn't aware that he had already awoken his Soul Reaper powers months ago.

Silas looked at his arm, concentrating on the amount of spiritual power flowing through him.

The fact that Zangetsu bestowed all his powers on him was overwhelming in itself. The amount of spiritual pressure that had leaked out was barely able to be contained. It was so grand that he was positive that spiritually aware people would have had to have felt it. Even Rukia could have passed out had Silas not suppressed most of it.

Straightening himself, he turned to see the stunned Rukia. Her eyes were so entranced by his Zanpakutō that she couldn't find any words to say.

"You alright?" Silas asked, approaching her after unreleasing his weapon. He then helped her up, seeing her amazement. Before she could ask anything, the two were suddenly interrupted by someone's running footsteps. When they turned to look, they saw Uryū.

"Ichigo!" he screamed. "I got your text and came as soon as I could."

Moments before Rukia's arrival, Silas had messaged Uryū to come. But when he looked at Silas, he was stupefied to see him wearing a Soul Reaper's outfit.

"Uryū, this is Rukia," he said. "She transferred her powers to me so I could slay a Hollow that almost killed Yuzu."

"Slay was an understatement," a voice said nearby. When everyone looked, they saw Kisuke approaching. Silas was, by no means, surprised by his appearance. Rather, he was expecting it after having already sensed him in the vicinity. Just like what happened in the story, he showed up only moments after Ichigo slew Fishbone D. The only problem for Silas now is that this part was never expanded on.

"It's been a while, Mr. Kurosaki. Come to think of it, I never introduced myself. You can call me Kisuke Urahara. I believe you visited my shop a couple months ago."

Uryū was just as confused as Rukia—all according to Silas's calculations. In a calm tone, he asked what Kisuke was doing here. Kisuke happily explained that he came to help by offering Rukia a Gigai. Much like Silas already knew about Gigai's, they were artificial bodies Soul Reapers could inhabit in order to interact with people in the world of the living.

However, the one he was offering to Rukia was special. Her Giga would prevent her spiritual pressure from being traced. But the true reason he gave this special one to her was to seal the Hōgyoku. And that was because the Hōgyoku was hidden inside Rukia's soul!

"What do you know about Gigai's?" Rukia asked. Kisuke didn't take long to explain his motives to her. While Silas and Uryū listened, Silas distinctly noticed Kisuke did not reveal the Gigai's true purpose. Uryū suddenly got on his knees and apologized for not having been on time.

"It's not your fault," Silas said, placing a hand on Uryū's shoulder. "Besides, this power's only being borrowed, am I right, Rukia?"

Kisuke congratulated Ichigo on his achievement, trying to make light of the situation. To ensure things fell into place, Silas instructed that Rukia should accept Kisuke's offer. Now that she was a Soul without her powers, she was vulnerable. Kisuke was truly the only one who could help her anyway.

While the two were in the process of moving her into the Gigai, Uryū asked if this was alright: that he use the powers of a Soul Reaper. Silas elucidated that there was no way for him to give it back, and what was done was irreversible.

"Will that stop you from working with me?" Silas asked. If Uryū says no, Silas would have no problems altering his plans, but to his expectations, Uryū made an excuse that since Silas technically wasn't a Soul Reaper, he would stick by his side. His answer couldn't have lined up more with what the real Uryū would have said.

By the time Rukia finished entering her Gigai, Kisuke approached the two, saying, "Tell me something, Mr. Kurosaki. Why did you buy that soul candy from me?"

'Kisuke, you…!'

Silas knew that this question would be brought up one day, but he hadn't expected it to be tonight. Why he was troubled was because Aizen was without a doubt spying on the group!

"I thought it would help me awaken my spiritual powers," he answered. "And to be honest, I should have returned it."

"Oh, and why's that?"

Silas explained that the candy began attracting more Hollows. But this only made Kisuke wonder, "Why'd you come to my shop to buy it then?"

'This character's asking too many questions,' Silas thought. But he was more than prepared to answer all of them. "Your shop has a high fluctuation of spiritual pressure around it. I could sense it all the way from my house. The candy, like all the items in your shop, looked appealing."

Silas neither revealed the truth nor lied. This caused Kisuke to fan his face in embarrassment, saying, "Well, I must admit, I'm gonna need to be more careful!"

It was good that Kisuke accepted his answer. In the story, Kisuke sought to help Ichigo by any means he could so as to prevent Aizen from gaining the Hōgyoku. And if we were being fair, during the epic clash between Ichigo and Aizen, it was truly Kisuke who had secured the victory. Kisuke was just such a character: a brilliant Soul Reaper.

Yet he wasn't who Silas was going to have problems with. It was still Sōsuke Aizen, who had likely witnessed this entire scene.