Faced with Sōsuke Aizen's outstretched hand, Soifon simply deactivated her Bankai and sheathed her blade, but she did not take it.
This behavior left Aizen somewhat perplexed. She clearly had no desire to continue fighting and had already exposed her identity to them; why, then, was she still unwilling to agree to a collaboration?
Until...
"I am willing to collaborate, Captain Aizen." Soifon looked up at the bespectacled man before her. "But I am a lesbian, so I have no interest in shaking hands with a man."
"..."
Sōsuke Aizen's hand froze mid-air, and the smile on his face stagnated.
Was it really such a... simple reason?
Taking half a second to stabilize his emotions, Aizen acted as if nothing had happened. "I see. My apologies for the intrusion."
How was it that in the mere half-day since he had met Soifon, his emotions had fluctuated more times than they had in the past hundred years?
For a genius of his own caliber, Sōsuke Aizen was always quite tolerant.
Given Soifon's age, the fact that she could reach this level of Spiritual Pressure—combined with the mysterious Quincy power she possessed—meant that, sooner or later, she would be a being capable of standing in the heavens alongside him.
On the way back, with Aizen and Soifon leading the way, Gin Ichimaru followed behind them carrying the heavily injured Kaname Tōsen, the emotions in his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
*
The top-floor meeting hall of Las Noches.
"Is black tea acceptable?"
Aizen sat at one side of the long table, lifting a teacup as he politely inquired of Soifon beside him.
"It's fine, I'm not picky about such things." Soifon picked up the black tea brewed by Ulquiorra and took a sip. "Let's get straight to the point."
Setting down his cup, Aizen looked at Soifon with an appreciative gaze. "And where exactly should we begin our discussion?"
Truthfully, there were so many topics between the two of them right now that Aizen didn't even know where to start.
It was like walking a dark road in the freezing cold all alone, only to find a fellow traveler emerging from a crossroad to join the journey.
Kaname Tōsen certainly counted as one, but his strength was too meager; Aizen had already dispassionately judged that the man would not be able to make it to the end.
As for Gin Ichimaru, Aizen could only wish for his plan to succeed.
"Then I'll start."
Soifon lightly tapped her finger on the table.
Aizen nodded slightly. "Please, proceed."
After weighing her words for a few seconds, Soifon spoke. "I hope... Captain Aizen can extract that specific Soul King nail from within the Hōgyoku."
As her words fell, the smile on Aizen's face remained as constant as ever, showing not a single trace of anger.
On the contrary, it was Gin Ichimaru who glanced at Soifon in surprise before squinting his eyes and laughing again, seemingly to mask his momentary lapse in composure.
"I see. I understand." Aizen crossed his hands, resting his elbows on the table. "Captain Soifon, you are doing this for Rangiku Matsumoto, aren't you?"
Combining this with Soifon's earlier admission regarding her sexual orientation, Aizen preliminarily concluded that her reason was to restore the integrity of her lover's soul.
He shook his head inwardly; although Aizen felt a slight sense of regret that Soifon was so troubled by sentiment, he did not show it.
"So then... what price can Captain Soifon pay in return?"
Gin Ichimaru, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up with a smile, intentionally facilitating the transaction between the two.
"Of course, I won't take Captain Aizen's Soul King fragment for nothing."
Soifon turned her gaze toward the silent Kaname Tōsen.
"The Tsunayashiro Clan," she uttered the name. "They possess a Soul King fragment that can replace the Soul King nail."
Kaname Tōsen's body jolted violently.
With that, Soifon had officially completed her achievement of 'Collecting the Entire Hueco Mundo Trio's Shocked Expressions.'
Aizen's gaze moved between Tōsen and Soifon. "The Tsunayashiro Clan... I once 'visited' them in order to enter the Great Log Gallery..."
Visited? You mean a secret infiltration.
Soifon found it somewhat amusing; even Aizen cared about such trivial semantic details?
"Does Captain Aizen remember what I said during the Captains' Council?"
"Captain Soifon mentioned that the Tsunayashiro Clan was conducting human experiments..."
"Exactly."
Hearing Soifon's firm confirmation, Aizen stared at her intently for a second.
"I see. The Tsunayashiro Clan seeks out those who possess Soul King fragments and forces members of their branch families to marry them..."
"Correct. Captain Tōsen's close friend, Kakyo, was someone who possessed a Soul King fragment."
Following Soifon's answer, Tōsen's breathing suddenly became heavy. His fingers unconsciously gripped the armrests of his seat, and the white stone chair let out a groan under the unbearable pressure.
"After Kakyo was murdered by her husband, Tokinada Tsunayashiro..." Soifon continued, "that fragment was likely hidden away by Tokinada himself."
Nodding as he listened, Sōsuke Aizen was truly curious as to how Soifon had obtained so much classified intelligence.
Once Soifon stopped speaking, he leaned back against his chair, his posture relaxing. "So... Captain Soifon, do you intend to join me in destroying the Tsunayashiro?"
Soifon shook her head.
"Moving against the Tsunayashiro Clan right now would cause too much of a stir." She looked Aizen directly in the eyes. "We only need to retrieve the Soul King fragment from Tokinada Tsunayashiro's hands."
"Does Captain Soifon mean..." Tōsen asked while pressing down on his shoulder wound, "that you will act against the Tsunayashiro family in the future?"
At this moment, Tōsen gradually began to acknowledge Soifon's status as a collaborator; the slash she had dealt him earlier was already pushed to the back of his mind.
"Isn't that why you all came to Hueco Mundo in the first place?"
Soifon countered.
*
Resting his chin on his hand, Aizen quietly listened to Soifon's statements, reading the general meaning from her words.
Soifon did not intend to cause too much of a commotion in the Seireitei; she was also implicitly suggesting that he keep a low profile and continue acting his part as the Captain of the Fifth Division.
"I don't understand, Captain Soifon..."
Sōsuke Aizen felt that Soifon's actions and the words coming out of her mouth were completely contradictory.
She possessed the forbidden power of a Quincy and had come alone to Hueco Mundo to speak with him with such candor; why, then, was she always so unwilling to consider a future break with the Gotei 13?
Did she still harbor illusions of reforming the world in a gentle manner?
"Speaking of which, Captain Aizen hasn't seen this yet, has he?" Soifon pushed the envelope containing the photos across the table toward Aizen. "The history of the Quincies. Have a look."
*
Tap. Tap. Tap.
After finishing the photos Soifon had taken of the archives, Aizen's fingers rhythmically tapped the cold stone table. An eerie chill reflected off his lenses.
These records concerning the Quincies were things that even the Great Log Gallery had not documented.
The records of the war a thousand years ago were far too vague. Sōsuke Aizen had also attempted to seek out the truth, but unfortunately, the Quincies in the World of the Living hid too deeply. The occasional weaklings from minor families he encountered knew nothing of the core information.
"Captain Soifon..." Aizen looked up, removing his glasses to meet Soifon's gaze. "If the intelligence you provided is accurate, then this so-called King of the Quincy will make his return in just over a decade?"
After all, the time recorded in the Kaiser Gesang was drawing very close.
Of course, even if those weak Quincies had told him these preposterous details himself, he would only have regarded them with skepticism.
But a powerhouse like Soifon was a different story.
"Yes. Most of the Quincies in the World of the Living are merely mediocre nonentities."
"This is Blut Vene, an ability that only pure-blood Quincies and a few half-bloods can use freely."
Soifon raised her right hand, and the blue Spirit Particle circuits of Blut Vene surfaced on her skin.
"Hmm..."
"To think Captain Soifon could obtain Quincy power within a Shinigami's body. Truly remarkable..."
Aizen observed the Blut Vene on Soifon's hand without blinking. After a moment, he grasped the principles of the ability; it was indeed a very practical and powerful strength.
Though he understood it, Shinigami and Hollows could not replicate it; it was a limitation of bloodline.
"Who knows? Perhaps I have Quincy ancestors?" Soifon retracted the Blut Vene, having no intention of explaining. "This power awakened around the time I became a Captain."
"Is that so?"
Sōsuke Aizen gave Soifon a deep look but pressed no further. "It is getting late, Captain Soifon. As for Vice-Captain Rangiku Matsumoto's Soul King fragment, we shall discuss it further once we return to the Soul Society."
With that, he rose and used the Hōgyoku to open a Garganta, inviting Soifon to return to the Soul Society with him.
____
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