Another Bleach chapter is out, so let's talk about it.
Spoilers and strange friendships after the cut.
I was skeptical that Haschwald had friends prior to becoming a Stern Ritter. And Bazz-B was one of them? Maybe his only friend?
Weird as it might sound, it does seem plausible. It makes for an interesting flashback in a series that tends to utilize them, even when they're not terribly important.
One thing I was trying to nail down is a precise timeframe. Given the lack of definitive dating, aside from a scant few events, it's hard to say with certainty when Haschwald and Bazz-B were children playing together. Since Zeidritz is still around, it appears that this part of the story takes place before Bach's first incursion into Soul Society.
If true, that means that Haschwald and Bazz-B aren't exactly spring chickens themselves.
Their objective was to kill Bach in retaliation for burning a forest. The implementation of said objective? Joining the Stern Ritter and taking Bach down from the inside, apparently.
Flash-forward to the current battle inside Wahrwald. Something has obviously changed for Haschwald. My guess is that his unique position (vis a vis Bach) in the hierarchy overrode the plans he and Bazz-B had as children.
Haschwald's fidelity and subsequent lack of interest in Bazz-B's objective therefore leads me to think that Bazz-B will look to another Quincy to take down Bach: Ishida.
I don't think Ishida was given power for no reason. And it is not for nothing that he was assigned "A". Perhaps we will see him take the reins shortly.
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing how the Stern Ritter were established. Maybe we'll get a closer look at how they fared against the Gotei 13 of that time as well.
