Bleach TYBW Episode 37

 

In the past, at their home, Shunzan Kyōraku gives a set of hairpins to his wife, Isuzu Ise, but is surprised when she only accepts one of them. When Shunzan ask her why, Isuzu tucks the one she accepted into her hair and asserts that she wants him to hold onto the other one because it will give her comfort to be holding one alongside him when he is fighting Hollows away from her. Leaning against a nearby post, a young Shunsui Kyōraku smirks at his brother, who headbutts Shunsui in irritation for wearing such an expression and orders him to go home and study, prompting a laughing Isuzu to get up and head inside.

In response to Shunsui observing that he has grown much calmer, Shunzan claims that he only appears this way because of Isuzu's kindness making it so. In the present, as he attempts to tell Katen something while lying in her lap with his Bankai, Katen Kyōkotsu: Karamatsu Shinjū, still active, he is suddenly shot through the stomach by a beam of energy from Sternritter "X" Lille Barro, deactivating his Bankai, to his and Katen's shock. In the past, a young Shunsui naps on the porch of Shunzan's home before being woken by Isuzu, whom he sees is now wearing the hairpin that Shunzan gave her.

In the present, Shunsui watches in astonishment as Lille's headless body teleports into the air above him with its Quincy: Vollständig, Jilliel, still active and shifting in color from green to golden, where Lille's face begins reforming from energy rising out of the stump while he reprimands Shunsui for believing a Shinigami's Bankai can kill God's messenger. With an owl-like head with a new Heiligenschein on a long neck growing out of Lille's stump, Shunsui expresses disbelief at him still not being dead even after decapitation, leading Lille to declare that this is what despair feels like.

Reminding Shunsui that his weapon could not harm Lille and severing Lille's head with his Reiatsu could not kill him, Lille twists his neck around and states that those who are sinful feel despair when they see him because he is God's immortal and invincible messenger, granted special privileges, before proclaiming that there is nothing sinners like Shunsui can do against him. After forming a pair of long arms on either side of his torso, Lille raises the right one and fires Sabaki no Kōmyō at Shunsui's location, destroying several buildings and piercing through the underside of the city with a powerful beam of energy.

In the aftermath, Lille looks around the area and deduces that Shunsui is hiding behind a nearby tower, leaving him impressed at the latter still having the strength necessary to escape his attack even with his stomach shot through and praising Shunsui as being worthy of the title of Captain-Commander. With Lille's eyes narrowing vertically as he calls this sinful, Katen tells a panting Shunsui that they should run away because there is nothing more she can do if Katen Kyōkotsu: Karamatsu Shinjū could not stop Lille and Shunsui has fought hard enough now that he can barely stay conscious or breathe anymore.

Once Katen concludes that no one will fault him for running away and tells him to get some sleep while she takes him to safety, Shunsui closes his eyes and begins to drift into unconsciousness, only to hear Isuzu asking him to wake up before his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, shakes him away while begging him to wake up. Initially shocked by her arrival, Shunsui expresses relief at her not getting caught up in Katen Kyōkotsu: Karamatsu Shinjū, but begins to cough up blood from the effort of speaking, leading Nanao to assure him that he does not need to say anything and urge him to hand over her Zanpakutō because there is no time to hesitate.

Though a startled Shunsui remains silent at this, Nanao insists that he forget the promise he made with her mother, to his further astonishment, just before Lille appears behind Nanao and states that he thought it was getting noisy over here. Musing that Nanao clearly does not know the preciousness of life even though Shunsui tried to get her to safety, Lille calls her sinful, and with Shunsui addressing Kyōkotsu, Lille fires another Sabaki no Kōmyō that rips through the city, though he deduces that Shunsui and Nanao managed to escape it before complaining about how his eyes are drying out from looking at sinners.

Within Lille's shadow cast on the wall of the tower behind him, Shunsui sits in Kageoni with Nanao, where he inquires if she knew about her mother all along. Once Nanao confirms this, Shunsui admits that she never ceases to amaze him and decides to return her Zanpakutō as Kyōkotsu stands behind a startled Nanao. Outside, Lille wonders where they are hiding and flattens his head into a disc shape to move his eyes across it and look at the surrounding area from different angles. Upon looking down at his shadow on the buildings below, Lille reforms his head into its previous shape and notes that Kageoni allows Shunsui to stay within it for a while.

Lille generates a ball of golden Reishi and expands it underneath himself, causing it to shine with a brilliant light, while questioning what will happen if he erases his shadow from the ground. However, he is interrupted when Nanao bursts out of a small shadow above his beak with a long wrapped object in her hands. Moments prior, Nanao expresses confusion within Kageoni after assuming that Shunsui is saying Kyōkotsu is her Zanpakutō even though she knows her and Katen are separate, but Shunsui clarifies that this is not quite the truth and reveals that Katen gave birth to Kyōkotsu in order to hide Nanao's Zanpakutō.

When Shunsui informs her this was her mother's request, Nanao is further bewildered, which prompts Shunsui to explain that the Ise Clan is matrilineal and has only ever born women. Observing that this led them to adopt sons-in-laws from other families, Shunsui reveals all men who married into the clan died prematurely from what was known as the Ise Curse, and though some mocked the idea of a curse, Nanao's mother took it seriously and attempted to evade it by marrying into another family, even though this would end the Ise bloodline. After recalling how her husband ended up dying soon after anyway, Shunsui states this was his older brother.

Shunsui admits him not getting along with his brother changed after Isuzu joined their family and recounts how their house became a much more comfortable place, which he frequently visited just to nap in, only to muse that Isuzu had to return to the Ise Clan after Shunzan's death, a fate common among noble families who are hard to escape. In the past, Isuzu visits Shunsui while wearing a flowery kimono and asserts that the women of the Ise Clan may be unable to escape the Ise Curse because of their sword, which is wrapped in her arms. In the present, Shunsui observes Isuzu was desperate to keep her unborn daughter away from the curse.

After Shunsui details how he had Kyōkotsu hide the sword because she loves playing hide-and-seek, Kyōkotsu reaches into the void of her mask and pulls out the wrapped sword. In the present, Lille is shocked at Nanao being able to emerge from such a small shadow and pushes the light sphere toward her, propelling Nanao back upon contact and damaging the wrapping on the sword in her hands. In the past, Nanao assures Shunsui that she understands why he does not want her to have the sword, but questions if this is truly for her sake and declares that she has decided to accept the curse just as Isuzu tried to evade it.

With Shunsui resigning himself to this, a smiling Nanao asserts that she believes the man she admires would probably just laugh off the curse as ridiculous, causing a startled Shunsui to smile and release his grip on the sword so Nanao can take it, as he is sure it will help. In the present, Nanao slides to a halt on a rooftop several dozen meters away from Lille, who realizes that only she has emerged and questions if she intends to fight him alone. While Nanao hoists her sword aloft, Shunsui ruminates on the Ise Clan being a collection of priests who perform their own rituals and do not possess individual Zanpakutō.

As Shunsui muses that the head of the Ise Clan passes down a single Zanpakutō to each generation, one that cannot injure people because it a bladeless sword used for rituals that is said to allow its wielder to confront a god by reflecting its power and dispersing it in all directions, the wrapping falls off to reveal a paddle-shaped sword that shines with brilliant light from four diamonds on either side, which Shunsui identifies as Shinken Hakkyōken while Lille wonders what this sword is and claims that the sword is shining quite garishly and is so bright he cannot even see the blade, which he considers unsightly.

Nanao affirms this and explains it is a sword which can reflect the power of gods, which means it appearing shiny to Lille means it is reflecting the light which he is emitting. Though he does not understand what this means, Lille admits he does not mind being called a god just before Nanao leaps up toward him. In the past, Shunsui refuses to take an item as valuable as Shinken Hakkyōken, but Isuzu assures him it only affects members of the Ise Clan and will not bring him misfortune. With a young Nanao listening from behind a nearby wall, Isuzu pleads with Shunsui to take Shinken Hakkyōken because he is the only person she can trust.

Years later, Nanao attends the Shin'ō Academy and sees Shunsui, now the captain of Eighth Division, walking through the courtyard with a flowery kimono and two hairpins in his hair, delighting the female students as Nanao observes that while his kimono was a common women's pattern found anywhere and simply looked similar to her mother's, the hairpins looked identical to the one her mother wore, to her surprise and confusion. Some time later, Gotei 13 acceptance results are posted for the students, with two ecstatic to learn that their friend joined the Eleventh Division while another is overjoyed to have entered the Fifth Division.

While the student states that she finds Lieutenant Sōsuke Aizen attractive, though her friend makes fun of Captain Shinji Hirako for having long hair, Nanao is perplexed to find herself assigned to the Eighth Division and returns to her foster parents, distant relatives of the Ise Clan who took her in after her mother's death and raised her like their own daughter, to show them her acceptance letter, which they are greatly pleased by. Nanao recalls how even though she was unable to imprint upon the Asauchi she was issued at the Shin'ō Academy, her talent for Kidō was recognized enough for her to take the enlistment exam early.

Having then requested to be assigned to the Kidō Corps since she would not have a Zanpakutō, Nanao and the other new members of the Eighth Division later stand before Shunsui, who greets them and claims he is nice to women but uncertain with men, causing them to laugh. During this, Nanao realizes he is wearing a different kimono and no hairpins, which allows her to deduce that he was the one her mother entrusted something to. In the present, with Nanao hurtling toward him, Lille inquires if she intends to kill him with Shinken Hakkyōken and confidently invites her to try since he does not believe there is any weapon that can hurt him.

However, Lille narrows his eyes at the last second and intercept her downward swing of Shinken Hakkyōken with his left wrist, which the blade cuts through, completely severing his hand in an explosion of light that sends Nanao flying backward again. Aghast at Lille blocking this, Nanao tumbles to one of the rooftops below as Lille inspects the stump of his left wrist, infers that Shinken Hakkyōken must be very dangerous despite its appearance if Nanao is willing to attack him with it, and expresses disbelief at it actually being able to harm him prior to raising his right hand and proclaiming it is over for Nanao.

After stating that Nanao should have made sure to kill him with that attack because a messenger of God never lets his guard down twice, Lille begins gathering golden Reishi above his outstretched index finger. Still sitting in Kageoni, Shunsui mentally recalls thinking it was his fault. In the past, Jūshirō Ukitake informs a shocked Shunsui that Isuzu was executed yesterday and reveals Central 46 convicted Isuzu for the misplacement of a sacred treasure, only to apologize and admit that he probably should not have told Shunsui about this. In turn, a smiling Shunsui claims that he is glad Ukitake told him when he did.

Shunsui bids Ukitake farewell as he walks away, with his smile disappearing while he tells himself this was his fault. Further in the past, Shunsui kneels by the bedside of a dying Shunzan, and with the latter handing over his hairpin, a somber Shunsui wonders why everyone keeps entrusting him with their precious possessions and then dying. Mentally questioning if they do not know he hates shouldering responsibilities, Shunsui looks up at the shining silhouette of Nanao's shadow in the present and asserts that he cannot bear to be left behind with Shinken Hakkyōken ever again before asking her to take the burden off his shoulders.

Requesting that Nanao let him protect her while emerging from her shadow, Shunsui clasps his hand over hers on the handle of Shinken Hakkyōken, and encouraging her to go with him. Moments prior, Nanao lands on the rooftop after Lille repels her and internally admits that she had no idea fighting with a sword would be so terrifying as she gets to her feet and trembles. While trying to steady herself, Nanao notices a large gash on her left leg, assumes it was cut by scattered light, and realizes that she had no idea getting cut would hurt so much. A sweating Nanao begins to lower her arms and mentally asserts that she is too scared to move her legs.

Despite this, when Shunsui appears behind her and rests his hand over hers, a startled Nanao begins to calm down. Above them, Lille continues gathering Reishi into a large sphere and peers down to see Shunsui, whom he reprimands as cowardly for hiding behind his subordinate, before telling him to listen to his Trompete and die while forming the Reishi sphere above him into a massive trumpet and holding his fist in front of his beak. On the rooftop below, Shunsui encourages Nanao to go with him and assures her that he has her back, causing Nanao to muse on the sensation of Shunsui's kindness flowing into her like this.

After recalling how she came back to support Shunsui and is now being supported by him, which he has always done even when she could not stand on her own, Nanao steels her resolve and looks up calmly at Lille, who blows the Trompete, unleashing a wide spherical blast of energy in several waves that completely erases a massive chunk of the city below in a multi-hued explosion of energy. Suddenly, Lille finds a thin strip of the left side of his body completely erased, severing his left arm and set of wings while exposing golden energy inside, and recalls Nanao saying that Shinken Hakkyōken can reflect a god's power back at it.

With cracks beginning to form across his body, Lille calls this sinful just before his body explodes outward in a shower of golden energy that falls beneath the city as widespread rainfall. While Lille's wings disintegrate into individual feathers that float past her, a stunned Nanao slips on the blood beneath her feet and nearly collapses, only for Shunsui to catch her by the arms and praise her performance. Setting Nanao down gently, Shunsui begins to walk away so they can catch up with the others, but stumbles, collapses into a sitting position, and admits that they should probably take a break first after Nanao expresses concern.