Meanwhile, Ōmaeda, who had been chased away, was about to go to the Fourth Division to treat his wounds.
As soon as he left the barracks, he ran into three Captains at the bottom of the hill.
White haori, powerful spiritual pressure, walking leisurely out of the night.
The oppressive feeling was far stronger than an Adjuchas, scaring Ōmaeda into standing ramrod straight on the spot, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.
“Captain Aizen, Captain Kyōraku, and Captain Kurotsuchi?”
“Oh, Lieutenant Ōmaeda, good evening.”
Kyōraku Shunsui casually raised his hand to greet him.
“Good evening… No! Why are the three Captains here?”
“Does a mere Lieutenant wish to inquire about the Captains’ private plans? If your curiosity is so strong, why not come back to my laboratory with me?”
Although Kurotsuchi Mayuri spoke with a disdainful tone, Ōmaeda dared not voice any objection.
“Captain Kurotsuchi, don’t be so harsh on a colleague who has just returned from the battlefield and is still busy with official duties. Lieutenant Ōmaeda meant no disrespect.”
It was Aizen who stepped forward and played the good guy this time.
He had done such things too many times, and even Kurotsuchi had implicitly accepted this, letting out a light snort and not bothering to argue further.
But before Ōmaeda could feel grateful, Aizen’s next words cornered him.
“Although our purposes differ, we are all here for the individuals involved who were recently detained by the Onmitsukidō.”
“?!”
Ōmaeda’s expression froze on his face, and he almost cried in his heart.
They had just brought the people back, and immediately after, three Captains showed up to claim them.
Although he expected trouble, he didn’t realize it would be this much trouble.
Aren’t Shinomiya, Kurosaki, and the others just students?
Or is it for the sake of the Shiba family?
Aizen’s eyes were deep, as if he saw through Ōmaeda’s thoughts, and he smiled: “Please don’t misunderstand, I have no intention of interfering with another Division’s internal affairs. However, Shinomiya-kun and Kurosaki-kun are both my students at the Spirit Arts Academy, and I’ve been guiding their training recently, so I’m rather concerned.”
The implication of his words was that he had a good relationship with these two, better than ordinary teacher-student relations, so he wanted to understand the situation…
Hmm, just simply understand the situation, no other intentions.
You can handle it as you see fit, please don’t give me any special treatment.
Even if Soi Fon were here, facing such flawless rhetoric, she wouldn’t get angry, and would subconsciously ponder whether there was room for discretionary handling.
Facing the sincere killer move of the good guy, Ōmaeda felt extremely ashamed.
He had merely said a few good words for someone who had saved his life, and now he saw how others treated promising juniors.
His own Captain too.
Compared to other Captains, she was too unfeeling!
Thinking of this, a strong surge of indignation welled up in Ōmaeda’s heart.
“Captain Aizen, with all due respect, I also feel that Captain Soi Fon has gone a bit too far. Those people are completely fine, and they even saved my life. Even if it’s to get firsthand information, you can’t just roughly and coldly arrest them for interrogation!”
“Allow me to ask an extra question, is there also a woman from the Shiba family among those arrested?”
Kyōraku interrupted.
“Yes, is that someone Captain Kyōraku knows?”
With Kyōraku, who was always friendly and had no Captain-like airs, Ōmaeda dared to ask a few more curious questions.
As he asked, he also felt a cold sweat on his brow.
After all, his relationship with Kūkaku wasn’t very friendly, and he had even whispered a few slanders to Captain Soi Fon earlier…
“That young lady’s older brother was Ukitake’s former Lieutenant, so when I heard she was also involved, I wanted to personally intervene, but he fainted while rushing to change clothes, so I had to come on his behalf.”
“Oh dear, I should have returned to the barracks earlier. While slightly tipsy, it would have been a good long-awaited sleep. Recently, Nanao has been bossing me around so much… Sorry, sorry, I accidentally said a bit too much.”
“Not at all, not at all, you’ve worked hard.”
Ōmaeda chuckled in agreement, wishing he could slap himself.
He only remembered that the Shiba family was a fallen noble family, and forgot that the former Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division who sacrificed himself was also from the Shiba family.
If that was the case, it meant that Kūkaku had at least two Captains, Ukitake and Kyōraku, as her backing.
Although the relationship wasn’t as strong as that of a master and disciple, with the advantage of numbers, their influence was still considerable.
“Captain Aizen is Shinomiya and Kurosaki’s teacher, and Captain Kyōraku and Kūkaku are old acquaintances. Then is Captain Kurotsuchi perhaps an elder of Hachihara or Rindō?”
Ōmaeda asked subconsciously.
He realized it too late to retract the question, but Kurotsuchi didn’t mock him. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Instead, he chuckled darkly, glancing at Aizen intentionally or unintentionally.
“I’m not here to be a good person. I heard that there was a problem with the assessment equipment the Spirit Arts Academy bought from the Technical Development Bureau.”
“Out of curiosity, I retrieved the equipment, extracted the data from it, and discovered some interesting things. Coincidentally, the two people who provided the data were arrested for committing a crime.”
“Rather than letting the Second Division execute them, it would be better to hand them over to me as experimental subjects.”
“That’s what I thought.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
Ōmaeda hated himself for asking, but he also knew that even if he didn’t ask, the other party would eventually say it.
Being caught between the tense atmosphere of the two Captains was even more terrifying than facing a Menos Grande.
Under Ōmaeda’s trembling gaze, Aizen’s smile faded a bit.
“Captain Kurotsuchi, I respect your scientific spirit, but please abandon that idea now, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?”
Kurotsuchi showed no fear; in fact, he seemed a little eager.
“I will use my methods to obstruct all of your research projects. This is the limit of what I can do, as a Captain must set a good example for his subordinates. Large-scale confrontations or even more intense verbal arguments are not permitted.”
Aizen sighed, a deep sense of helplessness mixed in.
It seemed he was admitting there was no good way to deal with Kurotsuchi, using this show of weakness to ask for the other party’s leniency.
But Kurotsuchi’s expression was even uglier than his.
It was evident even with his mask on.
“Aizen Sōsuke… one day I’ll make you take your disciple’s place in that chair for my research!”
With that, he turned and left.
“Eh?”
Ōmaeda was stunned.
He just left?
“Well, those few young ones haven’t committed any major crimes; on the contrary, they’ve performed meritorious deeds. So, no matter how unreasonable Captain Soi Fon’s attitude is, her idea cannot be realized. And besides, there’s Sōsuke-kun… Hahaha, if it were anyone else saying this, Captain Kurotsuchi might not even pay attention, but with Sōsuke-kun’s connections and influence, that becomes a fatal blow~”
Kyōraku’s smile was full of teasing.
“But then again, I also heard a little about the Spirit Arts Academy freshman assessment. Captain Kurotsuchi’s equipment is said to have been developed based on his own conditions, so if any problems arose, such as a failed detection, it would mean that the detected subject, in some aspect, exceeded Captain Kurotsuchi’s limits, right? That’s why it caught his attention.”
As he spoke, Kyōraku sighed again in front of Ōmaeda and Aizen, his gaze directed towards the west side of the Seireitei.
“This is the sensitivity of a scientist. No wonder the Technical Development Bureau can always come up with some strange things, unlike us laymen. Although we’ve heard about them for a long time, we still treat them as children who need to be protected.”
“Yet, in reality, to be able to vaguely feel the spiritual pressure coming from Rukongai from such a distance, as if a hole has been punched in the sky and you can see it just by looking up, that’s not something children can do.”
“Without realizing it, they have already protected the Seireitei once in our stead.”
“So, I can understand Captain Kurotsuchi’s curiosity, and I can also understand Sōsuke-kun’s emphasis.”
“The future of the Seireitei and the Gotei 13 is surely related to your actions… I have this premonition.”
Aizen pushed up his glasses and responded earnestly: “Thank you for your auspicious words. I hope they can truly bear the future of the Seireitei and the Gotei 13. Then I would have achieved my wish.”
“Achieved? Does Sōsuke-kun have other thoughts? I didn’t realize you also had ulterior motives.”
“It’s not worth mentioning, Captain Kyōraku, please don’t tease me.”
Kyōraku stopped joking and turned to remind the dazed Ōmaeda:
“Let’s go, Lieutenant Ōmaeda. It’s time to take us to Captain Soi Fon.”
“Oh, oh! Right! Come with me quickly. The Captain is not in a good mood, and she just went to interrogate Shinomiya. If he isn’t observant and says the wrong thing like that orange-haired brat who got locked in the holding cell, offending the Captain, then it will be terrible.”
Ōmaeda quickly led the way.
“Are they not injured?”
Aizen asked with concern.
“They are injured, but they are all superficial wounds, nothing serious… It’s a miracle, really, that dealing with such enemies doesn’t require them to lie in the comprehensive treatment center for a few days. Truly fortunate.”
“However, precisely because of this, if they were to be tormented by the Captain, that would be truly unreasonable.”
“Lieutenant Ōmaeda seems to have a deep prejudice against Captain Soi Fon.”
“No prejudice, only opinions!”
“Oh? Is that so? Tell me about it?”
But unfortunately, the icy killing intent mixed with spiritual pressure rushed towards him, stabbing at him like knives.
“Ca… Captain?”
Ōmaeda had no time to consider Kyōraku and Aizen’s reactions beside him.
He mechanically twisted his neck to look ahead, only to see the object of his complaints, Soi Fon, standing with Takashi at the entrance of the division barracks’ prison.
It seemed the interrogation had ended, and no conflict appeared to have occurred.
In fact, judging by their standing distance, it seemed…
their relationship was quite good?
“Heh.”
Soi Fon twitched her lips, her smile utterly cold.
But she said nothing.
She merely shifted her gaze from Ōmaeda, turning it towards Kyōraku and Aizen.
“I know why you’re here. Don’t worry, everything has been clarified. You can rest assured and go back.”
“Can’t we leave yet?”
They were all intelligent people, with no intention of exchanging pleasantries.
Kyōraku also pulled down his hat brim, speaking frankly.
Soi Fon raised an eyebrow, displeased: “Do you want them, injured and exhausted, to painstakingly return to their residences? My Second Division barracks isn’t just a prison. What’s the harm in letting them stay a night in a few rooms? Besides, they helped me. If I couldn’t even do that much, people would say I’m unfeeling.”
Aizen and Kyōraku subconsciously looked at Ōmaeda.
“?!”
Ōmaeda’s mouth hung open, his face filled with despair.
No, don’t look over here now.
What does that mean?
He doesn’t remember his kindness as a guide at all, but specifically remembers his slip of the tongue, right?
“Heh.”
Soi Fon gave another cold laugh, still saying nothing.
This reaction even made Takashi feel a hint of eeriness.
He could only look at Ōmaeda, who had called for help, with a sympathetic gaze, as if to say: if you survive tonight, then after tonight, you and I will be friends.
Yes, after tonight.
Not now.
So he didn’t need to intervene.
“Then, Captain Soi Fon, we will be leaving now.”
“Mm.”
Facing Takashi, Soi Fon’s attitude was noticeably softer.
Although it was just a snort from her nose, a sense of goodwill could be felt.
She then specifically arranged for staff to receive everyone.
It was completely VIP treatment.
Although the rooms for lodging didn’t have soft beds, they had soft pillows, and they could bathe in the bathhouse and enjoy late-night snacks.
As for Ōmaeda, he was kicked out of the Second Division to patrol at night.
He wouldn’t be sleeping tonight; someone would even be watching him if he tried to slack off, which was truly heartbreaking.
Such a stark contrast left Aizen and Ichigo, who had just been released from the holding cell, puzzled.
What exactly did Takashi do?
“Nothing much. I just gave a detailed report of the information I knew, and then offered some conjectures.”
“That’s it?”
Ichigo didn’t believe it.
“Of course, it wasn’t just casually said; that would be too disrespectful to Teacher Aizen.”
As Aizen’s public disciple, he couldn’t be vulgar when it came to conversation.
“My conjectures were based on actual folk customs survey cases from the Human World, such as At the Mountains of Madness, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Haunting of Hill House, and so on. I also offered ideas from anthropological, psychological, micro-expression, trace, and detective perspectives, setting the tone for the subsequent investigation and providing Captain Soi Fon with much professional inspiration.”
“Perhaps I’m not very professional, but I could tell she was very satisfied. She even had a feeling of… well, vindication after hearing me describe the investigative methods for dealing with strangers?”