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[Crossover] Ch 14: A Silent Understanding
🕑 Added 2025-05-17 01:18:42 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Black ink slowly traced across the paper, forming a single line:
{"Right now, are you human—or god?"}
Aizen stood still before his desk, calm brown eyes silently studying the freshly written characters.
After a brief pause, he lowered his head, and a faint smile curled at the corners of his lips.
He picked up the brush and casually replied:
["Me?"]
["Just someone pretending, that's all."]
Finishing the line, Aizen didn't set down the brush. Instead, he waited—because a reply was inevitable.
{"Nice to meet you. I'm Ryo Yagami."}
[Aizen Sōsuke.]
He wrote his name beneath the previous line, then added:
["Let's meet."]
{"Sounds good!"}
As soon as he saw the response, Aizen calmly rolled up the document and tucked it away inside his robe. Then, without hesitation, he started walking toward Hinamori Momo.
As he passed her, he whispered softly, "Get some rest."
Still happily chatting with thin air just moments ago, Momo let out a big yawn, her eyelids growing heavy.
Within seconds, she was lying on the floor of the study, breathing gently in deep slumber.
Aizen stood beside her, expression unreadable behind the reflection in his glasses.
Then, without a word, he turned and exited the room. By the time he stepped into the hallway, his white captain's haori was gone.
Just before the door closed behind him, he looked back at the sleeping Momo, now gently covered with his discarded haori.
His expression remained cold and detached.
Silently, someone else appeared at his side.
A man with short silver hair, eyes narrowed into cheerful slits, fox-like in appearance and demeanor, clad in a captain's haori:
"Oh dear, same old story. Vice-Captain Hinamori is really having a rough time, huh~?"
"Gin," Aizen said plainly, adjusting his glasses.
Ichimaru Gin. Captain of Division 3—his ever-amused and dangerous subordinate.
"Captain Aizen," Gin replied, voice light and teasing.
"I just got word—the Ryoka have joined forces with the Shiba clan. Looks like they're planning to storm Seireitei tomorrow."
"Heh. Predictably boring," Aizen said with a sneer, clearly unimpressed.
"Gin, call Tōsen. We're going to Hueco Mundo."
"…Now? Seriously?" Gin raised an eyebrow.
The Hōgyoku Aizen wanted was still inside Kuchiki Rukia. Ichigo and the others were gearing up to save her—and he wanted to leave the Soul Society now of all times?
And given Ichigo's attempted infiltration earlier today, the whole Soul Society was already on high alert.
This would just throw a twist into the plan—completely out of the script.
Why was Aizen becoming more unpredictable by the day?
But Aizen offered no explanation. He simply smiled.
"Something far more interesting just came up."
Gin felt a sudden chill but couldn't figure out what Aizen meant.
With this man, everything was always shrouded in illusions—like his Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu.
Never knowing Aizen's true thoughts, Gin simply replied, "I'll call him now."
Soon after, Gin returned with a tall, dark-skinned man wearing a captain's haori. His hair was tied in short dreadlocks, and his eyes were covered by a white cloth.
Tōsen Kaname, Captain of Division 9—another of Aizen's loyal followers.
With everyone gathered, Aizen said nothing more and walked straight out of Division 5's barracks, heading for the Senkaimon gate.
The Soul Reapers patrolling the area didn't even look at them, letting them pass as if they were invisible—like they didn't exist at all.
Gin chuckled as he glanced at Aizen, whose hand hovered over the hilt of his sword.
"No matter how many times I see it, that ability never gets old~"
Complete Hypnosis.
A power that fully manipulates all five senses, rewriting perception itself. It could make someone mistake a fly for a dragon, or a swamp for solid ground.
And in Aizen's hands, that terrifying ability became something even more dangerous—something Gin knew he could never fully counter.
Right now, Aizen was using it to erase their presence from everyone's awareness, allowing them to slip away into Hueco Mundo without a trace.
Up ahead, Aizen adjusted his glasses again and said with a small smile:
"Gin, you're always focusing on the wrong things. That's why you'll never reach the heights I stand on."
Gin had no comeback. The man who had always tried to see through Aizen's tricks was now at a complete loss.
Beside them, Tōsen remained silent.
He, too, had once distrusted Aizen, just like Gin. But the more time he spent by Aizen's side, the more he came to believe in him.
Now, he followed Aizen with complete conviction, convinced that together, they could tear down the rotting structure of the Soul Society and rebuild it from the ground up.
The trio soon reached the gate. Under the watch of blind-eyed guards, they opened the portal to Hueco Mundo without issue.
Not long after, they arrived at Las Noches, the fortress Aizen had constructed in Hueco Mundo.
Without calling for any subordinates, Aizen headed straight for his private lab.
Seeing this, Gin and Tōsen didn't follow. They remained outside, standing like silent guardians at the door.
Inside the lab, Aizen unrolled the document he'd brought and laid it flat on the worktable.
Picking up a brush, he wrote a single question:
["What are the conditions?"]
Immediately, a reply formed below:
{"Write a question on paper. Invite me over."}
Aizen didn't look surprised. He simply continued:
["How do I extract the Hōgyoku from Kuchiki Rukia's body?"]
A moment later, a prompt appeared in his vision: "Invite Ryo Yagami to answer in person?"
A small smile tugged at his lips as he mentally selected "Yes."
The instant he confirmed, a heavy, old-fashioned wooden door materialized out of thin air, ornate serpent-like carvings slithering across its surface.
Creeeak—
The door swung open.
A stylish young man stepped through, wearing a dark suit and slacks, a black fedora atop his head. His hair and eyes were equally black, his appearance sharp and elegant.
He landed lightly, then removed his hat and bowed in greeting.
Aizen smiled and stepped forward, offering a hand.
"Aizen Sōsuke."
The stranger placed his hat back on and shook his hand firmly.
"Ryo Yagami."
And then, with the exact same tone, both said at once:
"Looking forward to working together~" x2
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