"Um, Aizen-senpai, do you know about the War of Gods and Demons in the Soul Society?"
"What's this about? Why bring it up all of a sudden?"
It was the third day since Jun had learned about the War of Gods and Demons. Aizen hadn't come the previous day. Both of them were reading notes. Jun finished his first, then glanced over and saw that Aizen was nearly done too, so he waited until Aizen finished before asking.
Aizen found Jun's question a little baffling. "What do you want to ask me? What I think of the legend? Or what I think of the incantation? Hmm, Jun, you don't actually believe it, do you?"
"Yahaha~ How could I!? You're joking, senpai! Of course I don't believe a strange tale like that!" For an instant, Junichi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Influenced by some information from his previous life, he had indeed believed it a little. Now that Aizen called it a legend, Junichi's conviction was instantly settled, but he was also ashamed of having wavered.
"Hehe~"
"Aizen-senpai~!"
"Yes, yes~ Sorry, Jun, I didn't mean to make fun of you."
"Ugh, there goes my good name~"
Jun was completely orz. He had really made a huge fool of himself in front of Aizen, who watched his performance with a sly smile.
But they both knew it was just a little diversion. Once Jun recovered and looked over, Aizen held his hands out, palms up, and waved them at him, asking which one Jun had chosen. Hadn't he given him two options just now?
But Jun wasn't a child. Adults wanted both. "I have questions about both. Aizen-senpai, do you believe in the War of Gods and Demons? Not necessarily that it was a war between gods and demons. I mean, a very, very long time ago, there really was a great war, and then..."
"The victor won the Soul Society?" Aizen said with a smile.
"Yes, yes! That's it—"
"Shut up!"
Aizen's sudden outburst startled Junichi. Then Junichi realized just how much what he had said went against accepted beliefs. The Soul Society was made by heaven, the Soul Society was a gift from the gods, and everything in the Soul Society was sacred. There were no conspiracy theories here, and no such things existed. That was what was right.
Aizen's face turned livid. "I didn't hear anything today!"
"But I did say it!"
"The nonsense of a ten-year-old child. Children can say anything without consequence!"
"No! I'm serious!"
"Shut up!"
"No! I haven't said any of this to the senior girls! I only said it because I thought you might see things the same way I do, Aizen-senpai! I thought you could accept this kind of talk! After all, there are no fools among people who love reading!"
They stared at each other, the atmosphere turning icy. Jun was gambling that Aizen wouldn't turn against him. Whether this Aizen was the same one from the future, whether he was disguising himself or simply hadn't encountered the right stimulus, the rebelliousness hidden deep in his heart wouldn't change.
"These things can only be said here, and only between the two of us."
"Of course! I wouldn't tell those other fools any of this."
Aizen sighed. "Don't keep calling people fools. Looking down on everyone isn't a sign of intelligence."
"Yes~ I understand. Thank you for the lesson, senpai."
"Sigh~" Aizen knew his words had been wasted.
Jun, on the other hand, knew he had succeeded. He had suppressed his embarrassment to an extreme degree when saying those things just now, and had once again used his age to his advantage. He had to admit, that advantage really was useful.
Just imagine a twenty-year-old saying all that to another twenty-year-old. It would practically be a gay come-on, almost a confession. But coming from a ten-year-old, it was nothing but sincerity. Whether it was despicable or not, an advantage ought to be used.
The second probe was a success!
Now that everything was out in the open, the fact that Aizen had scolded Jun already showed that he had entertained such thoughts. Otherwise, there were plenty of ways to play dumb. Why confront him directly?
So now that it was out in the open, Aizen too had a bellyful of speculations he had been struggling to keep bottled up. Now that he had an outlet, who knew how good it felt?
The two of them came up with a whole host of theories about the ancient war. Did heaven and hell really exist? What did the identities of gods, humans, and demons refer to? Which side had won the final victory in the war?
They reached no conclusion on the first two questions. Jun had been a screenwriter in his previous life, and his speculations knew no bounds. Aizen's imagination was no less wild than Jun's, showing that there was no absolute connection between the breadth of one's thinking and the depth of one's knowledge.
But on the last question, they agreed: the human Soul King's clan had won, or humans older than the Soul King had won, after which the Soul King's line had usurped the throne. In any case, humans had won.
From this, one could see why Aizen would eventually defy the whole world to make the Oken. Deep down, Aizen simply didn't believe in the Soul King's divinity. Jun was the same. The two of them clicked, and their views on the world were extremely compatible.
When their brainstorming session was over, both of them felt great, and their relationship grew a step closer. Then they came to the serious business: the matter of training in Kidō.
Aizen hadn't given Jun much guidance before. What he had done for Jun previously had been the most basic kind, but now Aizen began giving him extra lessons.
As they talked, they would occasionally pull notes from the box where the useful ones were kept and discuss them. Jun still hadn't finished reading everything Aizen had left outside that day, so during their exchange, Aizen would occasionally bring out notes from his own collection that Jun hadn't read yet and explain them.
The two began brainstorming again, covering the principles of Kidō, conjectures about its attributes, and a whole lot more. By the time they felt tired and went out to check the time, it was already past eight in the evening. They had spent nearly six hours in discussion.
"Ah! How did it get so late!? Yuzu-senpai is going to scold me!" Jun was genuinely a little panicked and hurried off, though he didn't forget to say goodbye to Aizen. "Sorry, senpai, I have to get back quickly. See you tomorrow."
"Go on back. Tomorrow? All right, but I'll be a little late. I have a training schedule."
"Got it~ Your training comes first, senpai."
Once they were out of each other's sight, Jun could barely contain his smile.
"Hahaha~ Even if you're Aizen, you still can't escape the palm of my hand! Your Kidō is minus four compared to mine? I wouldn't fucking believe it even if yours were plus twenty. You hid it well, but I still managed to probe it out of you. On the other hand, I can't hide from him anymore either. But that's not a problem. As long as Aizen's information can't be hidden from my eyes, exposing mine is only a small issue. Worth it."
Back on the other side, Aizen remained where he was long after Jun left. Only when Jun disappeared from sight did he begin muttering to himself.
"As expected of the number-one genius! If I didn't know he'd only enrolled four months ago, I would have thought he was an instructor my age—no, older than me. Even some instructors can't compare to him. Is this what a genius is?"
"He saw through what I was hiding too. Why? Why did he do that? Did I give myself away somewhere? Absolutely not. Could it really be because there are no fools among people who love reading? I can't figure it out."
"But it seems I'm the only one who knows just how much of a genius he is right now. Tsk~ No use. Sigh~ It seems I've been completely defeated. Hehe~"
"La la la~ La la la~"
Jun was so happy to have scored a victory over Aizen that he couldn't contain himself. Humming a tune, he returned to the dormitory, and then—
"You're back, Jun-chan~~~"
"Uh, um, I..."
Junichi broke out in a cold sweat all over. It seemed that Junichi now regarded Yuzu as a mother or an older sister, and Yuzu was no longer the only one playing a single-player game.
"Do you know what time it is~? Have you eaten dinner~!?"
"Um, Yuzu-senpai, um, I have a reason, um..."
Jun still tried to make one last stand.
"Hmm~~~?" Yuzu's face turned completely dark.
Jun instantly lost his nerve. "I'm terribly sorry~ Really~ Please, you have to forgive me! It'll never happen again!"
"Hmph~ You said it yourself, Jun-chan. Come here. You haven't eaten dinner yet, right? I saved some for you."
"Huh? Yuzu, you're the best~~"
"All right~ Boys shouldn't act so spoiled~"
"Hehe~ Yes~~~"