[sheshira]

***Because I am discussing the special chapters, it goes without saying that it is very spoiler heavy so if you continue to read, please read with your own discretion.***

I also love speculating. It's a favorite past time. I find that when I think of all possibility even one I think is too crazy our out there, it tends to be more accurate. xD;

This is mainly a speculation thread but these thoughts (well theories) have been nagging my brain for a few days now. I need to share my thoughts on Urahara. I'd love your own thoughts and take from what you gathered from these special "past" chapters. Also if you have facts (canon preferably and it can be from an interview, the manga, special excerpts etc) or plot that support various ideas I'd love for you to post them! :D

From the beginning I always felt that there was more to Urahara than met the eye. ( I am assuming that most feel this way ). Though I admit that it was not necessarily in a good way. With my reading the special chapters I got a funny feeling in my stomach. It was as if I felt there were many things I felt were leading into something far more complicated than the story we've been told so far.

Please note, that while I may appear to vilify Urahara, I am by no means bashing his character. He still is a very interesting character and has many great points. However I cannot ignore these things that have been nagging my brain. So please no bashing about my making Urahara out to possibly being a bad guy or in the very least a good guy with an interesting ethical view on things.

***

The special chapters cover the past and reveal a time when the Vizards were mere shinigami that because of Urahara's research either connected with their hollow half inside them or connected with another hollow/the hollow that was dispelled when they went to soul society. We also learn that Aizen is on the move planning the very thing that he is currently doing in the story. (This is a very brief synopsis but I hope you get the idea ;D )

***

Now come the things have been nagging me more than my grandma growing up..

1) The maggot's nest reminds me of Minority Report in that it locks up those who the Gotei believe would be a menace to society. Please note that Mayuri is one who is placed in isolation. When you compare Urahara and Kurotsuchi there is no doubt that they have a similar love of science and research. The very thing that made me breathe a bit uneasily of chapter 106 (and consequently 105) is that not even a genius like Kurotsuchi escapes the Maggot's nest. Yet someone like Urahara does not end up in the Maggot's Nest even prior to earning his position of watching over it. That means that he's the ability to disguise himself in such a way, to hide anything incriminating that all of Gotei would not suspect him in any way and from what I know based on the information we have, without a zanpaktou. Even Aizen is not completely able to do this on his own and has to use his zanpaktou to do a mass hypnosis. Which means that essentially Urahara can be more dangerous than Kurotsuchi and Aizen.

2) Urahara is much stronger than ever thought possible. He controls Maggot's Nest with his bare hands and add to the fact that despite he is very similar to Kurotsuchi (in terms of research with very little ethics involved) he was able to evade Maggot's Nest prior to his being placed to control it. That means he is very strong, very cunning and very clever.

3) We see that Urahara is very different from Kurotsuchi in one way. He does not seem to place much value on life in terms of research. In that, Urahara and Kurotsuchi have the same ethics when it comes to research however Urahara does place these ethics on his own life whereas Kurotsuchi will go so far as to make his own life a test subject. This speaks loudly for me because it means that Urahara does not hold other lives only his own in high regard. Both of these men have a sort of "the ends justify the means." Evidence of Urahara having these beliefs would be when he is creating the gigai. What we subsequently learn about the gigai was that when Rukia came to this world, his intention was that it'd eat her riatsu so much that the Hōgyoku would remain hidden forever. This means that without a doubt we're shown he has an ethic system that devalues life either for the sake of protecting himself, protecting his research or for the cause of research.

4) The Hōgyoku was placed within Rukia which means that again Urahara chose someone who he felt was from a district that if something were to happen to Rukia it not have been that devestating. This too illustrates his lack of consideration for life overall.

5) (This is pure speculation and I admit is very out there) I cannot get over the coincedence (because XXXholic tells me there is only hituzen) of the fact that Rukia had the Hōgyoku locked inside of her and the fate of her sister. Hisana happened to marry into the Kuchiki household which to be honest doesn't seem to add up well. From the characterization we're given, I don't know if Hisana's marriage was solely on "love" at first sight. Byakuya is one who very much believes in nobility and maintaining his nobility. I feel that then it's really odd that he'd take in someone like Hisana who came from a part of soul society that was more common than an average commoner. If say for instance the Hōgyoku had to have been placed personally by Urahara that would have meant that Hisana was around when he did this.

Perhaps given his being in Gotei, she allowed Urahara to place the Hōgyoku into Rukia in exchange for being allowed to enter the Gotei. It would make sense then why she'd have this unsurmountable guilt, and why she'd be so adamant that Byakuya would find Rukia. In fact that could have been why she fell ill, the guilt was too much for her to bear. Also, it would make sense why Hisana would want Byakuya to find her since she knew that the Hōgyoku was inside Rukia. Who better to protect the Hōgyoku inside Rukia than a future captain?

Some ideas for this thread, i.e. let the spooning begin, ohbby:

> So that it is not too specific, I'd love your thoughts on the chapters overall. Did it make certain characters stand out? Did anything outside the characters stand out for you? For example, wondering then when Ichigo's dad was a captain because so far we're not sure when he was or from which squad and attempting to figure out its possible relevance. Another example, it seemed Aizen was already trying to plan out his overtaking the Gotei? Yet another example, Gin Ichimaru's character development seemed that he went from quite the blood lustful character (even more than Kenpachi) to one who is cool and collected as a grown up; perhaps at the aid of Aizen?

> Did you notice any clues from the plot that lent why certain circumstances happened in the future? For example Shinji Hirako seemed to be one who could detect Aizen more than others, could his being defected from being a vizard might be the work of Aizen and company as to have an easier time working out his scheme? (This would then apply to all vizard).

Hope this isn't too long or dies off too quickly.. ^_^;

[sheshira]

The long-winded post above was taking into consideration chapters 108 through 102 though concentrating heavily on the later chapters. In the most recent chapter, chapter 101, my nagging feeling still continues. From what Kubo is showing us, he is giving us the story behind the vizards. Now something I noticed (and need to confirm and get opinion on) is that it seems the shinigami that go to this site to assist either meet with two endings: death, going through the process of becoming a vizard, or something all together different?

That leads to my thinking then Urahara might then be a vizard as well. If chapter 101 is leading to Urahara arriving at the scene then that is what I am thinking might happen.

Which supports, in my opinion, the whole process of how he helped Ichigo become a shinigami in the first place. It seemed that while it helped Ichigo become a shinigami, it also in turn, would help him become a vizard later on.

I'm not sure how long Urahara remains captain of the twelfth division however it could be that he uses this crisis to research the idea of "fusing" shinigami and hollow together or notices that even shinigami have hollow spirits inside them. I think that is bit of an important discovery in itself. It seems that if a shinigami awakes the hollow within and in turn loses to the hollow, they can in turn become a hollow. Now it may then be possible that once they are hollow and if they have a fighting spirit strong enough they can become arrancar?

I think that could be interesting since that would mean then the arrancar of today might have not only been shinigami in a previous "life" but that they could have been (well really, should have been) shinigami around that time.

So before I start rabbling, I do think that the "original" espada (the ones in manga/anime that were "111" etc or like Nell possibly) might have been shinigami in a previous life since it was my understanding that they had been in existance when Aizen escaped to Hueco Mundo. The only significance that I can think of is that if Urahara before he was defected from the Gotei was researching how to turn shinigami into vizards, Aizen could easily take that information and apply it to the hollows but by using the Hōgyoku Aizen seemed to have created a different kind of arrancar that were different from the first ones.. ones that had shinigami powers within them. To clarify, that is to say the first arrancar were only shinigami in a previous life, but with Aizen's aid, he gave the new arrancar some of a shinigami's power.

I have to re-read Nell's fight with Noitra. I remember he was explaining something about the difference from her when she was an espada with Noitra then when they had begun to fight each other again.

>_<;;; I'll be honest, it was hard to write/explain the above since in my head it was so clear.. xD;

[nadhare]

If U see the chapter turn back the pendulum 102... u'll see that actually in the past something happen at the soul society... where the former captain of thirteen gotei (actually only few) has change into some powerfull half hollow from the shinigami...
I believe that there's some phenomenon happen in soul society naturally that accidentlly could change some powerfull spirit force of shinigami into bigger and higher but with compensation losing his sense....

that why some captain change into vizard... and kisuke was one of person that change either along with yuroichi the flash god.... but since they have change they should leave the soul society like the others....

and kisuke as one of captain that smart enough (genious if not right) trusted to kept the secret about what happen and what could change a shinigami into a vizard

[highvolt4g3]

Well after ch98 we are about to find out what happens with the vizards and hougyouku. I'm disappointed Aizen got away from him so easily though, I want to see his bankai! He's definitely going to be framed for their hollowfication though by Aizen.

[Lady_Kit]

I think Urahara is one of the most interesting characters of Bleach... He is what I call "cruel to be kind". He protected the vizards from soul society, but used Ichigo and Rukia for is own plans... And i think there's even more to him that meets the eye. I'm hoping he joins the fight against Aizen, so i can see is true abilities, but i don't think thats going to happen anytime soon...

On another note, I'm starting to be a little on the Aizen's side, not on the whole "god" thing, but because the more time passes, the more I see that soul society are a bunch of f****** hypocrites, that have no honor.