In the now-ruined laboratory, the air was still tinged with the scorched residue of the Hollow's frenzied spiritual pressure and an almost palpable awkwardness.
Kensei Kenzuru's arms were still held in a cradling position. The warmth in his palms and the utterly unfamiliar feel of the body in his embrace burned into his nerves like molten lava.
"Haha, so Hollowfication is that dangerous, huh? It even changes your sex..."
Once this absurd thought surfaced, Kensei clung to it like a lifeline.
Right, that must be it! The Hollow's power distorted the flesh, altering gender characteristics! Fine, I won't practice Hollowfication anymore!
"Hmph."
A clear, cold snort shattered Kensei's desperate self-deception.
Yoruichi stood a few steps away, arms crossed, her gaze shifting between the rigid Kensei and Aizen, who seemed unconscious in his arms. Her expression was extremely complex—a mix of astonishment at Aizen's successful, self-endangering gamble, and a feeling of "I knew it."
As someone who had known the truth all along, Yoruichi hadn't expected Aizen to choose this moment to reveal her secret.
"The spiritual pressure that just leaked out might attract nearby Hollows. I'll stand guard on the perimeter."
Yoruichi's voice snapped Kensei's brain back online. His arms instinctively started to loosen but froze when he felt the faint tremor of weakness from Aizen in his embrace. He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. "Yoruichi-nee, I... you... this..."
"Enough. You two sort it out yourselves."
Yoruichi cut him off, turning crisply on her heel. Though thoroughly displeased, she vanished from the lab in a few breaths.
Only two people remained in the lab. Or rather, one brain-shorted fool and one seemingly vulnerable hunter.
No wonder her chest felt soft that time I touched it, and she got angry and scolded me...
No wonder I sometimes thought Sōsuke was quite feminine... Turns out it wasn't my testosterone going wild, but Sōsuke being a woman from the very start...
Silence spread between them. Kensei could even hear his own heartbeat, and feel Aizen's gradually steadying, warm breath against his neck, weak though she was.
"Sōsuke..." Kensei rasped out, "Are you... okay?"
Aizen didn't answer immediately. She seemed to take a slight breath, then slowly pressed her hands against Kensei's chest, pushing herself slightly away from his embrace.
The motion forced Kensei to look down, meeting Aizen's eyes.
The Hollowfied mask had dissipated. Aizen's face was still pale with exhaustion, her brown hair a messy cascade. Without the Kidō disguise, Kensei could clearly see her features were much softer, but the familiar, calm eyes confirmed she was still the Sōsuke Aizen he knew.
"As you can see," Aizen spoke slowly, her voice still hoarse, "the Shinigami Hollowfication experiment has achieved a stage of success. Though not without risk, it is now preliminarily controllable."
"Ah? Oh."
Kensei had no mind to process Aizen's words right now. His eyes drifted to her disheveled collar.
You know... this might not be so bad after all?
Aizen took in his furtive glance. She didn't adjust her clothes. Instead, taking advantage of this distance where they could clearly see each other's expressions, she launched her offensive. "Kenzuru. After seeing this, does it contradict certain things you were familiar with?"
"Anyone would find it absurd to see their good bro, who they spend all day with, suddenly turn into a woman!"
Aizen slowly shook her head, her gaze fixed on Kensei. "For people like us, is the superficial shell truly more important than the resonance of souls?"
"Now, I have shown you all my secrets. Is there not something you should tell me as well?"
Aizen's voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable weight.
Kensei understood her meaning. He looked into her eyes, seeing the familiar trust and the unconscious acceptance she showed only towards him.
Having never intended to hide it anyway, Kensei led Aizen to a still-intact couch and began to tell his story.
It was a shame he didn't have a gambling dad or a drug-addicted mom, wasn't some victim of a tragic family background—he could have added some extra pathos to the tale.
He simply recounted his original world, his knowledge of the Bleach universe, and then being pulled here by the Soul King.
The story wasn't long, but it was certainly bizarre.
Kensei's tone held a touch of pride, like a hero who'd saved a fantasy world and returned to brag to his friends back home.
"Don't think I'm lying or any—"
Kensei turned his head and saw Aizen looking at him. Her face held no shock, no doubt, only a kind of gentle serenity.
"So, we are the same." Aizen whispered, taking Kensei's hand, her eyes holding his. "A lonely soul from outside this world, and a lonely soul born within it yet forever out of place."
Not man and woman, but soul and soul. Aizen had elevated the relationship between them to a more fundamental level—that of unique "kindred spirits."
"You'd already guessed?"
"I had some conjectures." Aizen admitted frankly, a hint of a smile touching her lips. "There were some inconsistencies, but tonight provided the verification."
Kensei pouted, feeling a bit put out. He'd wanted to surprise Aizen, but she'd figured it out ages ago.
Having exchanged their secrets, the previous awkwardness between them was replaced by something tighter, more intimate—a resonance born between souls now fully known to each other.
Kensei looked at Aizen's face, so close now, at the clear, soft lines of her features free from disguise, and suddenly grinned.
"So, does that mean I don't have to worry anymore about having any strange feelings towards my good bro?"
Aizen gave Kensei a somewhat odd look. "Why do you assume you were the first to have such thoughts?"
Kensei froze, not quite processing Aizen's meaning.
Aizen moved suddenly.
She reached up, cupping Kensei's face in her hands. The motion was urgent, even forceful with an undeniable intensity.
Kensei looked into Aizen's eyes. Those eyes, once always filled with intellect and calm, now churned with a violent tide of emotion. Feelings long suppressed, grown potent and nearly dangerous, had broken their dam completely.
"Do you think a hunter would ever let prey that has let its guard down leave unscathed?"
Kensei's eyes widened. Suddenly, many things clicked into place.
No wonder Kū had so much resentment towards Aizen back then. No wonder I woke up feeling drained that morning... Poor me, just blaming the mattress.
"You..."
He had meant to accuse Aizen of doing such a good deed while he was unconscious, but his words were cut off, his mouth sealed.
Aizen's kiss was not gentle. It was assertive, almost aggressive, as if to brand her mark upon him. Kensei froze briefly, letting Aizen claim his breath with firm insistence.
Then, instinct took over. His arms slowly encircled Aizen's slender waist, pulling her tighter against him. All the emotions held within both their hearts seemed to weave and fuse within this kiss.
In the lingering aftermath, the air around them felt thick and warm.
Aizen rested her forehead against Kensei's, breathing softly, her fingers lingering to trace his jawline. Those always-deep, calm eyes now shimmered with unconcealed heat, gazing at Kensei's face with a focus that bordered on greed.
"I think... I should let you experience just how well I know your body."
Aizen murmured, her voice growing husky.
Her fingers slowly slid from Kensei's cheek, brushed his neck, and finally came to rest at the collar of his shirt.
Even though it was his first time seeing Aizen make such a move, Kensei's body reacted with practiced familiarity.
Don't blame me for being unscrupulous. Blame my bro for being too captivating.
What followed happened naturally. Though it was Kensei's first time seeing Aizen like this, his body cooperated seamlessly.
Aizen maintained a certain degree of control throughout. Every touch carried clear intent and a profound sense of possession, as if she were reaffirming and etching a claim she had long since decided upon—proof, too, of just how intimately she understood Kensei's body.
She knew every reaction, every response. She knew how to stir him, how to restrain him, how to guide this deep union toward the outcome she desired.
When the tide of emotion finally ebbed, they remained entwined, sweat-slicked and indistinguishable.
Kensei's arms still held Aizen, who lay against him, his fingers absently tracing patterns on her back.
After a long while, he spoke into the quiet, voice muffled. "Got the short end of the stick."
In the distance, atop a protruding dune, Yoruichi stood facing the wind. Even thinking with her toes, she knew what the two in the lab were up to now.
She let out a soft, disdainful snort, kicking a pebble away with her foot, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
" The petty have their moment of triumph."
***
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