Tachikawa Magaki

"Then, should we issue Soi Fon her orders later in the name of Central 46?" Kaname Tōsen was taking the assignment seriously.

Even he, one of Captain Aizen's trusted confidants, found this assignment somewhat baffling.

They certainly couldn't understand what Captain Aizen was thinking, but it was rare for Lord Aizen to set a plan in motion without the slightest prior indication.

Nor was it how Lord Aizen usually operated.

"No, there's no need to rush."

"But Soi Fon may ask to meet Dōsan Hanyū again tomorrow. Could that affect our plan?" Tōsen reminded him.

"That would be just the right time."

Beside him, the corners of Gin's narrowed eyes curved even more. "How frightening, Captain Aizen."

Aizen's expression changed neither at their flattery nor in displeasure at Gin's sarcastic remark.

Aizen stood there all the while. When he was silent, many people would overlook his presence, but when he spoke, everyone would be drawn to his gentle voice.

Gin was a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

Kaname was a traveler lost in the desert.

At least in Gin's eyes, Aizen was neither.

Perhaps he was a creature called Sōsuke Aizen.

"Compared to an ability like 'one-hit kill,' which can only be called dust collecting on a throne, there is something else worth celebrating.

"We have gained another companion who can sit with us in the heavens." Wearing the same unchanging smile, Aizen turned slightly, gesturing toward the depths of the barracks.

A crisp sound came from the shadows, each step accompanied by a clack, clack, like the sound of leather shoes, which Soul Reapers rarely wore, striking the floor.

Before the figure appeared, a heavy scent like cheap perfume wafted over.

Gin lightly bit the tip of his tongue and hurriedly shut off his sense of smell.

The fragrance was poisonous.

The dim candlelight flickered, casting half the person's profile on the wall. She had sharp-cut pink hair and wore pink glasses with curved rims. The sheath of the sword in her hand was pink as well. Curiously, she wore the sword neither at her waist nor on her back, but kept it in her left hand.

I knew a researcher had been helping Aizen with his experiments.

But I didn't expect it to be you.

"Fifth Seat of the Twelfth Division, Tachikawa Magaki."

"I really didn't expect the Captain of the Ninth Division to be one of Lord Aizen's subordinates too."

Hearing Magaki's words, Kaname Tōsen nodded slightly and was about to respond to his new companion, but Tachikawa's next sentence left him speechless.

"So Lord Aizen is this kind to disabled people too."

Even after Magaki took that jab at him, joking about his eyes, Kaname Tōsen showed no anger.

Magaki smiled and used the hand holding her Zanpakuto to brush back her lovely pink hair. "That was just a joke."

"Oh my, your personality really is as nasty as the rumors say."

The pink-haired woman glanced at the silver-haired man, then pointed at him and asked Aizen, "Lord Aizen, are you sure this fellow is our companion too, rather than someone lower, like a servant?"

Gin was taken aback by what she said and somewhat regretted speaking up. This woman was far nastier than the rumors suggested.

Magaki turned and looked Gin in the eye, a faint smile curving her lips. "That one wasn't a joke."

"Magaki is a scientific genius no less talented than Kisuke Urahara," Aizen said, interrupting the pointless farce.

"Compared to Kisuke Urahara, who created the Hōgyoku, I may still fall somewhat short. At my current level, I'm on par with Captain Kurotsuchi at best."

"As impressive as I'd expect, Tachikawa-senpai."

"Silver hair, I've found one good thing about you. At least you have decent judgment."

"Yes. Still, I didn't expect someone as impressive as you, Tachikawa-senpai, to be knocked unconscious for three days by a brat who hasn't even mastered his Spiritual Pressure." Gin opened his eyes, looking utterly innocent and curious. "You really are a super scientist."

When the appointed time came around again, Dōsan arrived at the sushi restaurant early, as before.

Dōsan was curious too. You clearly don't eat sushi, so why do you like watching other people eat it so much?

And although he had drunk himself unconscious at the end of yesterday's meeting, the sight of the young captain crying her eyes out was deeply etched in Dōsan's memory.

That sadness had touched Dōsan deeply.

He just didn't know why, after being touched for a while, he had ended up black and blue.

Dōsan wasn't as resistant to today's meeting as he had been the previous two days, though he felt a little awkward for no apparent reason.

Soi Fon arrived right on time as usual, not a minute off, but even Dōsan could tell that the young captain's mood was very unstable today.

The thought of it made her angry. When she had gone to see Kaname Tōsen of the Ninth Division yesterday, furious and carrying the Seireitei Communication...

He had actually dared to tell her with a perfectly calm face that their news was real, up-to-the-minute, firsthand information, and that, under the scrutiny of their many readers, there was no false information whatsoever.

Soi Fon had been so furious that she had slapped the table then and there, her heart nearly bursting with anger.

Are you blind?

Soi Fon: (?°?°?)

So Soi Fon had gone to pound on the Captain-Commander's desk instead.

The Captain-Commander had promptly shown her the Seireitei Communication's figures for the day, saying that it was meant to bring Soul Reapers and the souls of Rukongai closer together, and to promote stability and harmony in the Soul Society.

He went on and on until Soi Fon couldn't make sense of it anymore. Somehow, a false piece of gossip about her now concerned the stability of the three realms.

Not until Captain-Commander Yamamoto promised to give the Second Division the lion's share of that month's proceeds...

...did Soi Fon reluctantly agree to let it go.

Sigh. She let out a soft sigh, hoping nothing strange would happen today.

"Come with me."

Soi Fon's voice sounded a little awkward. Given what had happened yesterday, it would have been hard for her mood not to change.

Soi Fon turned her head away and walked in front.

No sushi today?

Dōsan's mouth opened slightly of its own accord, then clamped shut. He really had eaten enough sushi these past two days to turn his brain to mush.

It didn't matter. As long as it wasn't sushi, anything was fine.

Walking ahead, Soi Fon tilted her head slightly, as though glancing at Dōsan.

Ōmaeda's second stratagem: no one would come to accept another person simply because of some good food.

Food alone wouldn't win Dōsan's heart.

She had to play to her strengths. Power was what could truly move Dōsan.

Where are we going?

Though he wondered, after spending the past few days with Soi Fon, Dōsan had developed some indescribable feelings toward her. Without much hesitation, he followed behind her.

The two didn't speak along the way, not until they reached the outskirts of Junrinan.

Whoosh.

Soi Fon cut through the air, her haori sweeping behind her as she landed opposite Dōsan with her legs spread. Her eyes shone as she held out a hand and flashed a confident smile.

"Next, I'll teach you my way of fighting."

Seeing that there was no weariness in Dōsan's eyes and that they had instantly brightened, Soi Fon breathed a sigh of relief.

Ōmaeda's plan won't go wrong again this time, will it?

Meanwhile, within the Seireitei, a palm-sized butterfly, black all over and beautiful yet eerie and ominous, fluttered its wings and flew out through Hakutōmon.