Kensei Kenzuru trudged out of the First Division barracks, his head hanging low as he pondered how to fulfill Yamamoto's four demands.
"What did the Captain-Commander say to you? You look like the soul has been sucked right out of you."
Yoruichi was leaning leisurely against a tree outside the First Division, her hands nimbly braiding the hair of Soi Fon, who stood before her. A mischievous smile played on her lips as she indulged her whims. Though she didn't know what had happened after Yamamoto kept Kensei back, the fact that Kensei had walked out in one piece meant it wasn't anything too serious.
Kensei looked up at Yoruichi and let out a long, heavy sigh. "The Captain-Commander has ordered you and me to get married immediately. Otherwise, he's going to use his Zanpakutō to chop me to pieces."
Yoruichi lost control of her strength for a moment, yanking a section of Soi Fon's braid askew. Soi Fon hissed in pain, but at that moment, she could hardly care about the discomfort. Her big eyes darted back and forth between Kensei and Yoruichi.
If Lord Kensei and Lady Yoruichi get married... wouldn't that mean I could serve both of them every day? That's wonderful! The Captain-Commander truly is wise and decisive.
"Are you sure Old Man Yama really said that?" Yoruichi narrowed her eyes. "You're not satisfied with marrying a beautiful young lady like me?"
"Sigh!" Kensei clutched his chest, stomping his foot in despair. "To think I'd really fall prey to an old cow eating tender grass! Old Man Yama has doomed me!"
"Oh?" Yoruichi suddenly smiled, a smile that sent a chill down Soi Fon's spine. "Then you'd better just give in to me. I'll take you to register right now and then use the Shihōin Clan's influence to announce it to the entire Soul Society."
Yoruichi reached out, hooked her arm around Kensei's neck, and yanked him down forcefully.
"Let me think... We'll have Aizen officiate as the witness. For guests, we must invite Captain Unohana and Captain Hikifune to sit in the front row..."
"Wait! I was joking!" Kensei's eyes were starting to roll back from the pressure of Yoruichi's arm. "Please, have mercy."
"But what if I took it seriously?"
"We'll definitely do it in the future! We'll do everything exactly as you want then!"
Only after hearing this did Yoruichi release Kensei, nodding in satisfaction. At least Kensei had some sense of responsibility.
Rubbing his neck, Kensei forced a dry chuckle before recounting the four conditions Old Man Yama had laid out for him.
After listening, Yoruichi stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Finding three Captain candidates isn't too bad. Soi Fon can compile a list from the Stealth Force's personnel files for you to consider. As for the rest... you're on your own."
"Forget it. We'll deal with it tomorrow. We still have two weeks anyway."
Though they say today's tasks should be finished today, Kensei was utterly spent. He decided to procrastinate for a day.
If push came to shove, he could always go seek advice from Uncle Kyōraku and Senior Ukitake when they returned in a few days. When it came to dealing with Old Man Yama, those two had far more experience than he did.
After bidding farewell to Yoruichi and Soi Fon and returning to his dorm, Kensei lay on his bed, staring at the Zanpakutō placed beside him.
I eat, sleep, and live with this sword every day. It even responded to me during that Jinzen meditation before. So why won't it tell me its name? Am I so special I don't even need a name for release? But at least it should let me see its physical form.
"Could it be that the spirit form is just too ugly, feels unworthy of my handsome visage, and that's why it doesn't want to show itself?"
Kensei poked the hilt and muttered to himself. Feeling the familiar vibration from the Asauchi's blade, he paid it no mind. This wasn't the first time.
He deftly dodged the scabbard's swipe and only lay back down after the Zanpakutō had calmed.
Looks like the Zanpakutō is a dead end. I'll have to use my brain and develop a new technique. But all I really know right now are Shunkō and Hakuda. If I try to develop those further, my current body probably can't handle it. It'd be a huge loss if I ended up completely crippled.
Should I go to Hueco Mundo and capture some Hollows to see if I can achieve Hollowfication? That would definitely shock the old man.
Exhausted from having had little rest since the day before, Kensei drifted into a deep sleep, still mulling over these thoughts.
In the laboratory, Aizen, working alone, had uncharacteristically halted all experiments for the day. He sat before a monitor flickering with data, his fingers tapping incessantly on the desk. His eyes, hidden behind his glasses, were deep in thought.
The Soul King's so-called omnipotence was undoubtedly false, or at least not as all-knowing and all-powerful as imagined. Otherwise, why was he now sealed away as a specimen? After using his power to shape the Three Realms, he could have just gone somewhere no one knew about.
More importantly, where did Kensei learn all this? It certainly wasn't from Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Leaving aside whether Yamamoto even knew such things, even if he did, he wouldn't tell Kensei without a special reason. As for the other Captains, it was even more impossible.
The currently recorded history of the Soul Society all flowed from the Great Spirit Library managed by the Tsunayashiro Clan. With exclusive control, the Tsunayashiro could freely alter history. Only Soul Reapers who had lived long enough would have any chance of knowing the truth.
Aizen's mind continuously retrieved, disassembled, and analyzed information from his memory. Could Kensei have really learned this from meeting the Soul King in a dream? If so, the Soul King's taste is rather poor to take a liking to a brute like him.
Aizen recalled Kensei's behavior when they first met. It was as if Kensei had known him for a long time, and in Kensei's impression, Aizen must have done something that shook the entire Soul Society. Otherwise, Kensei wouldn't have lost his composure like that.
But the biggest thing he was likely to do now was related to the Hōgyoku, and that was still in its nascent stages. So, it must be something his future self did.
Yet, with Kensei by his side, he probably wouldn't do anything to harm the Soul Society. Unless... Kensei and I have a falling out?
Aizen shook his head, feeling he was overthinking. The possibility of Kensei suddenly dying seemed higher. It was fair to say Kensei had changed many of his perspectives. As long as he and Kensei were together, nothing major would happen.
So, hypothetically, without Kensei... would he still care about the fate of the Soul Society? The answer was naturally no. Even now, deep down, he only recognized Kensei as being on the same level as himself.
Aizen's mind began simulating what would happen if Kensei didn't exist in his life: secretly collecting Soul Reaper souls to research the Hōgyoku, conducting experiments on other Soul Reapers for efficiency's sake, finding that pure Soul Reaper power might not satisfy him, thus attempting to research Hollow power. And once he gained sufficient power...
Hiss. Thinking about it this way, the things he might do really were quite shocking.
Having finished his deductions, Aizen felt he had grasped the crux of the matter. Either Kensei possessed an ability akin to foreseeing the future, or Kensei's soul was not from this world. Perhaps he had glimpsed the Soul Society's future from the Soul King, or maybe he had witnessed everything in the Three Realms by observing parallel universes.
Furthermore, the parallel world Kensei observed might not be identical to this one. Otherwise, how could he not know Aizen's true gender?
With everything now clear in his mind, Aizen's eyes filled with pure excitement. He almost wanted to rush back and drag Kensei out for answers immediately, but for now, he suppressed the impulse.
I'll wait for Kensei to tell me this secret himself...
Shaking his head to dispel thoughts of studying Kensei, Aizen threw himself back into his research, though the slight, irrepressible curve at the corner of his mouth remained.
***
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