After hearing what he said, Aizen and Hinamori glanced at each other.
"Kira, your powers of observation are keen," Aizen said softly. "You've noticed… a world within the Seireitei that other Shinigami cannot see."
"What…?"
Kira froze, not understanding what Aizen meant.
"Do you want… to see the real world?" Aizen's voice was gentle. "It might still be a bit too cruel for you as you are now."
"But judging by how you've handled things so far, I think you can withstand the darkness of this world."
"The… darkness of this world?" Kira looked at Aizen, confused, as if this old captain had become a stranger to him.
"Captain Aizen…"
Behind Aizen, Hinamori spoke up, unable to bear it. "Are you really going to drag Kira into this dark world too?"
"Kira, what's your own choice?" Aizen asked for Kira's thoughts.
"I… don't really understand, Captain Aizen, Hinamori… What is this 'dark world'?" Kira said. "What is real? What is false? I don't get it… I can't tell them apart!" His eyes grew hollow. He murmured, "Were the things I saw before illusions? Or… what?"
"They're the past, the history—and the truth." Aizen's voice was light. "Go."
"…?!" Kira stared at Aizen in shock, unable to believe what he'd just heard.
Captain Aizen was letting him go?
He had just discovered their secret—though he didn't understand what it was, it was obvious the two of them shared some secret.
Kira had thought he'd be silenced. Well… based on what he knew of Aizen and Hinamori, they wouldn't go that far, but at least they'd wipe his memory, right?
But…
Now Aizen was telling him to go?
To leave?
Had he heard wrong?!
Even Hinamori was surprised. She couldn't help saying, "Captain Aizen… is this…?"
"Kira is my subordinate, after all. I respect his choice."
Kira felt a wave of emotion rise in his chest, and Aizen continued, "When you want to understand why you saw those 'visions'—what is truth, and what is false—come find me."
"I'll tell you everything, including why Hinamori and I chose to do this."
"Thank you… Captain Aizen."
Kira's heart was in turmoil. He desperately wanted to know what Aizen meant—but something inside him whispered a warning.
As if…
If he chose to seek out Aizen—if Aizen told him everything—his life would be turned upside down.
As if…
Something would vanish forever.
Lies are a useful thing…
Sometimes, it's not that people hate being lied to; in certain situations, lies are the only way to survive, the only way to maintain the life they have.
Once a lie is exposed, everything sustained by that lie shatters.
Kira's heart wavered. He didn't know if he should choose the truth—or the lie.
In truth…
The fact he could even think this way already meant…
His heart was leaning toward Aizen.
Because he had already accepted Aizen's framing of lies and truth.
Only…
He hadn't made up his mind.
Kira left in silence, slipping away like a shadowy mouse.
Watching his retreating back, Hinamori felt a pang of pity, but still said, "Captain Aizen, we still don't know what Kira saw earlier. If he saw our experimental work, then…"
"Then we'll leave the Seireitei," Aizen said quietly. "Kira is my subordinate and your friend. I can't bear to lay a hand on him."
"Captain Aizen…" A special feeling rose in Hinamori's heart. She looked at Aizen, eyes full of admiration.
Such a gentle Captain Aizen, forced to this point by the darkness within the Seireitei.
Shinigami…
How many within the Thirteen Court Guard Squads truly grasp the weight behind that word?
"All right…"
Suddenly, Aizen set his hand on Hinamori's hair, ruffled it, and said gently, "Don't worry about Kira. If anything really happens, I'll shoulder it all."
"No I won't let you…" Hinamori said softly. "Protecting my captain is my duty as a lieutenant…"
...…
What a nauseating sappy couple. Good thing they're not my captain and lieutenant, or I'd be mortified.
Yoshio had learned what happened here from Aizen and couldn't help feeling a bit of sympathy for Kira.
Aizen's in the wrong, sure—but at least when it comes to Kira and Hinamori, he hasn't said anything untrue.
He insulted the Seireitei?!
How did he insult it?
By stating what the Seireitei actually does!
Yoshio shook his head and summoned the members of Wings of the World.
He briefed them on the meeting between the Seireitei and Las Noches, then said, "Karakura Town is under scrutiny now. At this stage we don't need to butt heads with them. My opinion is: relocate first."
"Sorry. I shouldn't have gone to that guy," Hela said, dejected.
"It wouldn't matter. If you didn't go to him, he would've come to you," Yoshio shook his head. "And the bigger issue is: even without Barragan, the Seireitei's Shinigami will be investigating in Karakura."
"Yoshio's right," Azashiro Soya, said flatly. "And Brainleaf Co. is due for a move—frankly, long overdue."
Brainleaf Co.'s clean new energy was efficient and green. In just a few years they'd become one of the world's largest companies.
It was already time to open new branches…
A perfectly normal business move—nothing for the Shinigami to find fault with.
"Mm… here's the plan," Yoshio said after thinking a moment. "Move HQ to Tokyo, make Karakura a branch, and set up satellite offices in other countries."
"For now, Light Seed Energy is already the primary everyday energy source in this country," Azashiro added. "Even if we do nothing, it'll spread nationwide in time."
"Setting up branches abroad is a good idea."
"But we'll need people to stay in Karakura. Azashiro can't leave. As for the rest… Hela did appear before Barragan but didn't expose her true face. Gabriel, however, did show her real face to the Shinigami—so… Gabriel, you stay too," Yoshio said.
Hela had followed Yoshio's instructions: even in outside battles she never used her true appearance. It wasn't hard for her—she wielded the power of decay, could age herself up a bit and, with some light disguise, look like a different person. Later she'd just restore herself in a nutrient pod.
But Gabriel had appeared in Mayuri's surveillance footage with her true appearance, leaving her half-exposed.
So she would stay, serving as Yoshio's investigation material.
As he'd said—he had to produce some findings to hand in.
He explained this to Gabriel.
Gabriel thought it over and said, "I have no objections."
"That's it then. Withdraw from Karakura for now. We'll return when things quiet down," Yoshio concluded.
Karakura was still important—it was a heavy-spirit zone. Especially after their adjustments, it was on the verge of becoming a super heavy-spirit zone.
Though in the Living World, its high reishi concentration made it ideal for their purification work.
And Azashiro had already fused with the reishi of Karakura—no way to undo that now.
So they were just withdrawing temporarily. They'd be back sooner or later.
The Shinigami were probably just hot for the moment—give them a lead, fob them off, and it'd blow over.
Only, for long-lived Shinigami, a short-lived enthusiasm can mean a long time for humans.
Three years…
Three years should do it.
After adjourning, Yoshio stood alone atop a building, looking down at the view below.
Karakura had been an ordinary small town. But with the rise of a behemoth like Brainleaf Co., its GDP had shot up, and over the past few years it looked poised to grow from a town into a city.
Karakura was in central Tokyo, just out on the fringes, away from the urban roar. Now it was creeping closer to the Tokyo metro sphere.
Yet no matter how the town grew, its core still centered on a handful of people.
Yoshio shook his head again and returned to Hueco Mundo.
…
"Where's Starrk?"
Back in Las Noches, he found only Lilynette in Starrk's room. She lay bored on the bed, thumbing through a dog-eared book.
"Szayelaporro called him over. No idea why," Lilynette said, putting the book down, listless. "Yoshio, I want a new novel! You haven't written anything in ages!"
"I've been too busy. And now I have to investigate that mysterious woman who injured Barragan."
Yoshio left Starrk's room and returned to his lab.
"Yoshio-sama, I've done as you instructed."
Roka Paramia bowed respectfully.
Yoshio nodded, looking at the souls inside, and took a deep breath.
Before going to the Living World, he'd instructed Roka to find wicked souls in the Rukongai—and murderers in the Living World if needed.
Hollows were essentially like this, but he couldn't always experiment on Hollows.
Yes—he wanted to test whether the fragments split off by the Mind-Rending Blade had an intrinsic tendency to merge.
Hollows were gluttonous by nature—always devour, devour, devour.
So he wanted to try splitting arranged or Shinigami-like lifeforms instead.
He sealed the lab, summoned the Mind-Rending Blade, and began his research.
As for Aizen's assignment—there was no deadline. He'd take his time.
Come to think of it, he had quite a backlog of tasks:
This split–merge tendency experiment.
Disposition of Kurosaki Masaki's soul in Hell Solitude.
Follow-up research from Ishida Sōken on avoiding Auswählen and The Almighty.
Soon he'd have to fuse the Defrauder Node into Kūgo Ginjō.
And finally, dealing with Brainleaf Co.'s situation in the Living World.
Luckily, Yoshio was three people with three identities.
He could manage.
Since Yoshio was handling the split–merge problem, he'd have Angra Mainyu go to Hell Solitude to study Kurosaki Masaki's soul.
...…
While Yoshio was busy, a few days passed.
In the Seireitei—
Kira woke from another nightmare, climbing out of bed.
He walked to the mirror, haggard.
His eyes were bloodshot, his gaze ragged. He'd never felt so worn down.
Ever since the captains' meeting ended—ever since he learned Aizen and Hinamori had some plot—he was constantly on edge.
At night, he dreamed of everything he'd seen when he looked at those captains.
Even…
Even when he looked at Captain Yoshio—he saw horrible things.
"Haven't the Quincies already complied with the Shinigami's demands?"
"This is an order from Central 46. All you need to do is carry it out."
"Turn the Quincies' corpses over to the Department of Research and Development."
What would happen in R&D after that… Kira already knew from looking at Mayuri.
That was what truly made him…
Terrified!
Yes—terrified!
He had never imagined there was such darkness within the R&D Bureau. The tortured pleas of the test subjects, their screams of pain, their howls of despair—everything became a whirlpool dragging him under.
Then those wails merged with the dying screams of Rukongai residents being slaughtered, and he woke drenched in cold sweat.
Rangiku had once told him Captain Yoshio spent a stretch on a secret mission from Central 46. Could that mission have been… to exterminate the Quincies who'd already submitted to the Shinigami—and hand them over to R&D?
Captain Aizen's…
…darkness and truth—what did he mean?
Kira's mind was near the breaking point. Even with Gin giving him a few days off, he hadn't rested; he'd only grown more haggard.
Staring at his hollow face, taut to the limit, he thought back to when he'd confided in Aizen and Hinamori. For a moment—he'd felt a breakthrough, as if pouring out all the pain in his heart.
He clenched his fists.
He knew—perhaps only Aizen in the entire Seireitei could explain it to him, cure this madness!
Yes—he had decided.
He didn't bother to tidy up. He ran straight to the 5th Division.
Shinigami were going about their day.
Kira ignored greetings and rushed straight into the captain's room—without knocking!
Aizen seemed to be discussing something with Hinamori. Both were surprised to see Kira burst in.
"Kira… you…"
Hinamori was shocked by his appearance.
Was this still Kira?
The once-confident prodigy now looked so dark and haggard—like a homeless vagrant!
Aizen's tone, however, was meaningful. "So… you've made up your mind?"
"Yes!"
Kira said firmly, "Captain Aizen, I want to know the so-called truth. I want to know whether what I saw is real!"
"Before that, I want to know your bankai," Aizen said, pushing up his glasses. "I want to see whether your bankai is what caused this change in you."
"Bankai…"
Kira paused, then said, "My bankai is very dangerous…"
"It's fine. We can change locations," Aizen said, rising to his feet. "Hinamori, open the Gate of Shadow."
"Mm."
Hinamori nodded. Her shadow began to wriggle, then spread onto the wall, melding into it and forming a black entryway.
"This is…"
Kira stared, baffled. "What is this…?"
Aizen didn't answer; he stepped through.
"Let's go, Kira," Hinamori said. "Captain Aizen won't harm us."
Gritting his teeth, Kira followed Aizen through. Hinamori entered last, and the dark doorway vanished.
Passing through the Shadow Gate, Kira saw a world of flame-tinted blossoms.
"What is… this place?"
He couldn't believe such a world existed within the 5th Division's shadows.
"Here is fine. Kira, you can use your bankai now."
Aizen stood before him, his voice soft.
Snapping out of his awe, Kira looked at the two of them, hesitated, then said, "My bankai is too dangerous. Please, Captain Aizen, Hinamori, step back."
"No need," Aizen said. "Unleash it as you will."
Seeing Aizen so resolute—and Hinamori's absolute trust—Kira drew a deep breath and unsheathed his Zanpakutō.
"You two must be careful. My bankai… doesn't distinguish friend from foe."
"Bankai—Keishō Seijō Wabisuke!"