I gave my classmates a suitably embellished version of the story.
Even in private, I could not go around telling members of other divisions that Captain Ukitake had coughed up blood or anything like that.
He was no longer a captain now that he had handed the position over to Kaien, but still.
"Look at this bastard. You were playing coy, but now the story’s pouring right out of you."
"You’re the one who asked me to tell it, Renji. Now you’re giving me grief?"
"Heh. While we’re at it, why don’t we go get some drinks?"
Momo and Rukia appeared to think it over for a moment, but soon nodded. Izuru, surprisingly enough, was a heavy drinker, so naturally he did not refuse.
The problem arose on our way to a nearby tavern.
"C-Captain Aizen!"
Momo and Aizen ran into each other.
What remarkably inconvenient timing. So much so that I found it difficult to believe it was a coincidence.
"There is no need to be so formal, Momo. That goes for the rest of you as well. I have no intention of making my subordinates uncomfortable while they enjoy their leave."
Just listen to this oily bastard.
"Captain Aizen...."
Though Momo beside me seemed to feel differently.
"Come to think of it, Ryunosuke, I heard you distinguished yourself quite admirably this time."
"It was hardly impressive enough to merit your attention, Captain Aizen...."
"That is not true, Ryunosuke. How could saving a comrade’s life be anything less than admirable?"
Aizen continued with a gentle smile.
"I originally wanted to bring you into the Fifth Division, just as I did Momo. I had not expected Captain Ukitake to oppose me so strongly."
"I’m simply grateful that you think so highly of me."
"My apologies. It seems I have kept you for too long without realizing it. I will be on my way."
Only after Aizen left did the tension finally ease from my stiff shoulders.
"Ryunosuke, you always seem incredibly tense whenever you meet Captain Aizen!"
Momo sounded puzzled.
Apparently, I had no talent for acting. I needed to behave as naturally as possible.
"It’s not just Captain Aizen... I freeze up whenever I meet any captain. I’m only comfortable around Captain Ukitake and Captain Kaien because we were in the same division."
"Oh... That’s true! Izuru is the same way."
"Why... drag me into this...?"
From now on, whenever I met a captain from another division, I would have to make sure I acted as tense as possible.
Our drinking session continued late into the night. Rukia went home early, however, saying she could not disgrace herself in front of her brother. Momo left as well, saying, "Captain Aizen might worry about me."
The atmosphere turned gloomy for a moment with only the three men left, but then Kiyone Kotetsu—my former superior and current subordinate—joined us after dragging along her older sister, Isane.
I had never personally met Isane, the lieutenant of the Fourth Division, so I wondered what this was all about. Kiyone secretly explained it to me.
Apparently, she was worried that her sister—whom Kiyone called her big sister—was so awkward around men that she would remain single for the rest of her life, so she wanted to help her make some male friends, at least.
I figured the more people there were at a drinking party, the better, so I did not think much of it.
Renji had always been extremely sociable, while Izuru was normally somewhat shy around strangers but became a different person once he had a few drinks in him.
After that, we drank ourselves senseless.
**
An unnamed, uncharted, and dark laboratory served as a secret meeting place for three captains of the Gotei 13.
"Did ya meet the kid you said you were going to see?"
The speaker was Ichimaru, the silver-haired, snake-like captain of the Third Division, whose eyes were always narrowed to slits.
"Yes, Gin. It was an intriguing encounter. He seemed extremely wary of me, so I was unable to speak with him at length."
"You don’t look as displeased as I expected. Not even after the boy went and ruined one of your plans."
"Ichimaru, there can be no deviation in Lord Aizen’s plans."
The blind man with dark skin was Kaname Tosen, captain of the Ninth Division.
"No, Kaname. It would be more accurate to call it half a failure and half a success. Would you give me the full report? I would like to hear it from you directly."
"Yes, Lord Aizen. First, sealing a Zanpakuto requires far too many conditions. Against a captain-class opponent, we would have no choice but to strike before they release Bankai. I believe it requires further improvement."
"That will not be an issue. There is only one intended target, after all. Even if the restrictions must become more severe, proceed with the research in a direction that strengthens the ability. What comes next?"
Aizen spoke while rapidly reviewing the proposal for a certain experiment.
"The theory behind parasitizing spiritual bodies has been completed. We required a sample for the next stage, but we failed to obtain one during this experiment. It appears we will need to conduct a separate experiment at a later date."
Aizen did not appear concerned in the slightest by the experiment’s failure.
"Unexpected results ultimately lead to progress. Rather than an experiment we can perform at any time, is it not more important that an intriguing variable has emerged?"
"A variable, is he? Well now... I almost feel sorry for the boy."
"There are more important matters to research at present, so I will leave him as a pleasure for another day. Carelessly interfering with someone under a captain’s protection would only be troublesome."
Tap
Written in one corner of the proposal Aizen set down were the words, "Project: White."
**
After the Shin’o Academy reunion, I found something new to obsess over.
I had begun researching Kidō—barrier techniques in particular.
The fact that a mere ten minutes of sprinting at full speed during the battle with Metastacia had left me gasping for breath had come as quite a shock.
I did not know whether it had happened because I was panicking or because Captain Ukitake’s Reiatsu had subtly affected me while he ran beside me, but it was a weakness I absolutely needed to address.
My solution was research into a barrier technique I had provisionally named the Reishi Convergence Array.
Training efficiently would be better than blindly running up and down mountains.
"Artificially creating a space with a high concentration of Reishi... How did you come up with this idea?"
I had decided it would be difficult to realize by myself, so I asked Captain Ukitake for help.
He had plenty of time on his hands after retiring as captain and remaining as an adviser to the relief office. He seemed delighted when I came to see him.
"I remembered how your Reiatsu weighed down on me during our last mission. So I thought it might work as a form of training similar to exercising with weighted sandbags...."
That was the vague explanation I gave Ukitake, but my actual goal was to partially recreate the environment of the Soul King Palace.
According to its depiction in the story, Reishi of a density far greater than anything in Seireitei permeated the atmosphere of the Soul King Palace, making it difficult not only to move one’s body, but even to breathe.
It was a harsh environment, but merely adapting to it could make a person so much stronger that they seemed like someone else entirely.
To use an analogy, it was similar to the gravity training room from Dragon Ball.
Of course, that alone would never be enough to recreate the "Soul King Palace training" portrayed in the story.
Recreating the Soul King Palace’s environment in its entirety was absurd, and I did not have a restaurant lady in charge of healing me either.
"I see. It is an excellent idea. This would certainly be useful for training."
"Then let’s get started right—!"
"However, this is illegal."
Ukitake looked troubled as he spoke.
"What...?"
The foundation of this world was the circulation of Reishi. No one could predict what sort of chaos might result from concentrating it semi-permanently in one location at a density high enough to be useful for training.
That was Ukitake’s explanation.
There was a reason no one else had tried it.
"I will burn this proposal. You are fortunate that I was the first person you approached. At least I can prevent my former subordinate from being sent to the Maggot’s Nest."
"No...."
"But the idea itself is brilliant. Shall we try adjusting the direction of your research?"
"!!!"
Thankfully, it seemed all my research up to this point would not be reduced to waste paper.
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