When they emerged from the Tenth Division again, a gentle breeze sent a chill down the spines of the two Soul Reaper —not from their bodies, but from their hearts.
"The captain must know something, tsk~ isn't that obvious, Rangiku, we..."
"Vice-Captain ~"
The Little Lion noticed that Rangiku was crossing her arms, her eyes were either darting away or weren't as steady as before. Suddenly, the Little Lion understood Jun's very first sentence.
"At the beginning, I didn't have a single companion."
"This is so realistic!" The Little Lion hadn't expected Jun's description to come true so quickly. Suddenly Tōshirō understood many things, such as reality.
So he said to Rangiku, "You must be tired too, go and rest."
"Vice-Captain, me..."
"Rangiku, how long have you been my adjutant?"
"Uh, almost twenty years."
Tōshirō looked up at the sky. Partnerships lasting over twenty years were actually quite rare in Soul Society. Everyone wanted to advance, and lieutenants weren't counted towards the ranks; they'd have to fight their way up again. Of course, those with enough strength had no problem, but what about those who weren't?
Therefore, many adjutants don't stay long, and Seated Officer certainly won't force them to stay, unless there are special circumstances. Like Jun, who was a truly high-ranking Seated Officer, and also Asai Shinten feelings for Jun after that incident.
Therefore, the bond between Tōshirō and Rangiku is one of the strongest in Soul Society. Tōshirō then looked intently at Rangiku.
"I believe you, but you're a bit panicked right now, which isn't good. Go back and adjust your mindset, then come and catch up with me, understand?!"
What was Rangiku's state of mind right now? She genuinely felt that Tōshirō was a more mature adult than she was, no longer the playful child she used to be. Rangiku respectfully saluted.
"Yes, sir! Following the Vice-Captain's orders!"
"Hurry up," Tōshirō smiled with relief, "If you don't come with me, I'll feel really strange. After all these years, I'm used to it."
"I understand! Sorry."
"We don't need to apologize anymore. Let's go back and rest for a while. I'm leaving."
Watching Tōshirō's departing figure, Rangiku's eyes welled up with tears. She suddenly felt that the title of "hero" truly existed. This sense of loneliness was heart-wrenching. She wanted to grab Tōshirō, but no matter what she did, she couldn't move.
The best way to recover from the shock is to experience it again. If you don't go crazy, your mental state will be much better. Rangiku had her own ideas at this point, so she went back to the team and went straight to Jun.
"Team leader!"
"Rangiku, why didn't you go with Tōshirō? Are you scared?"
Rangiku blushed slightly, but this time Rangiku was very serious. "Captain! No! Uncle Shimizu, have you really changed?"
Jun looked at Rangiku and suddenly laughed, "Heh~, what do you know about me? Since you've never known my true self, how can you talk about whether I've changed or not? If you're referring to the gentleness I showed you when you were little, then don't worry, I'll never change. Even bad people have lives."
Rangiku suddenly realized she was no match for Jun, especially in terms of language, and Jun seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, so it was better to be direct. Rangiku slammed her hand on Jun's desk.
"Uncle Shimizu, what exactly do you want Tōshirō to do!? Won't his life be in danger!?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Chun smiled slightly. "What do you think he has to face? Playing house? What do you think a hero has to endure? A drizzle?"
Rangiku pouted, wanting to be angry but unable to, yet feeling incredibly stifled even when not angry. She didn't know what to do; she was exactly the kind of person who seemed completely aimless, as Jun described.
"If you really want to know something, go to your closest person, and they will tell you."
"My closest person?" Rangiku looked completely bewildered, but Junichi waved his hand, and a force slid Rangiku directly into the corridor, and then the door closed automatically.
Rangiku understood Jun's obvious decision to refuse visitors, but when Jun mentioned her closest person, Rangiku thought about it seriously.
"Who is it? My closest person?"
Tōshirō went straight to the Second Division and found Soi Fon.
"Captain Soi Fon, I need an investigation report."
In Soul Society, captains and Vice-Captains possess extremely high levels of classified information. While the Vice-Captain's authority is slightly lower, it's still very high; at least, the Little Lion could request this investigation record.
Soi Fon noticed that the Little Lion was acting strangely, so she handed him a document. "What do you need this for? Are you investigating? You went to the Fifth Division and Aizen's house before, so that's what happened, right? Genius boy."
"A genius boy, huh? Hah~ tsk~" Tōshirō had always hated being called a genius boy, but now, hearing that title again, he suddenly thought of Jun. Five hundred years ago, Jun was also called a genius boy, so Tōshirō could only manage a wry smile.
Soi Fon now felt that Tōshirō had changed a lot. The entire Women's Association knew about Little Lion's situation, because Rangiku was a lively person and often talked about how she teased Little Lion at the Women's Soul Reaper Association gatherings.
Soi Fon certainly wouldn't tease the Little Lion, but the three of them (Jing, Soi, and Little Lion) would occasionally tease it when they encountered it; it was a common occurrence, and Soi Fon knew it very well.
"What's wrong with you? Has Aizen's death affected you so much that you can't even care about the things you care about most?"
Soi Fon wasn't originally this gossipy, but Jun gave her a little notebook that shattered Soi Fon worldview a bit, and she hasn't fully recovered yet, which means her personality has changed somewhat.
Furthermore, Soi Fon finally realized the importance of information and forced herself to gather some. She knew Tōshirō was a composed person, so this way they wouldn't have to waste time on unnecessary conversation, which would be better.
What do you think of my captain Jun Shimizu?
"Jun Shimizu!?" Soi Fon's biggest secret right now is this, so she accidentally shouted a little louder, which resulted in the Little Lion staring at her.
Soi Fon realized how pathetic she was; she tried to extract information but ended up revealing her own secrets first. Sigh... is she really not suited for Stealth Force?
"It's nothing," Soi Fon turned her head away, but this method was ineffective on the Little Lion. Soi Fon feel those laser-like gazes, and besides, she was shy. "Oh, I... I can't say."
Upon hearing this, the Little Lion's eyes dimmed for a moment, then blazed with fury. "Even you've been infiltrated? The captain of the Stealth Forces, haha, you really are Kongbu existence. So that's what makes that title so Kongbu?"
Soi Fon didn't understand what the Little Lion meant, and Tōshirō had no intention of staying any longer. Holding the record, he asked, "Can I take this with me?"
"Uh, normally I shouldn't, but you can take it," Soi Fon said, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
But Tōshirō wasn't having an easy time either, shaking the rather thick stack of records, "Did you guys tamper with this?"
"What do you mean by that!?" Soi Fon was displeased. Although she admitted that her work wasn't perfect, she couldn't question the capabilities of the Second Division and the Punishment Force. Uh, could they or couldn't they? Soi Fon herself didn't know what to say.
Tōshirō didn't speak. He carefully examined Soi Fon, then thanked her, "Thank you. I'll take the things; I'll return them after I've looked at them."
The Little Lion left the Second Division, flipping through the records as he went, searching for any information that could be gathered. But in the end, Little Lion found no meaningful information.
"No, there shouldn't be. Someone who can defeat a captain, a veteran captain, is still not right. Wait a minute, Captain Shimizu said Aizen's strength is no less than his, no less than his, just how strong is Jun Shimizu!?"
The Little Lion finally realized a very important question: what exactly is Jun Shimizu's strength? No one has ever known this before, or rather, someone seems to know— Soi Fon knows.
"But she can't say! Why can't she say? Is Jun Shimizu controlling her? Wait, Captain Shimizu said he had nothing to do with Aizen's death, are they two different forces? Yes! They are two different forces."
"So now Jun Shimizu and Soi Fon are together, while on the other side is the unknown force that drove Aizen to his death, but... but..."
"If Jun Shimizu can control Soi Fon, and can control a Captain-level, then Aizen can too. What level of power is that!? Then what level of power would be able to force Aizen to his death!?"
The Little Lion thought about it for a moment, and then his gaze fell on the First Division. The Second Division was right next to the First Division. He looked at the gate of the First Division and shook his head.
"Impossible, it couldn't be the Captain-Commander, he has no reason to."
"No, that's not right either, Central 46."
"But if the goal is to rise above the Central 46, why kill such a powerful captain? Could it be that Aizen belonged to the Central 46, and felt he couldn't fight the Captain-Commander, so he committed suicide?"
"Wait a minute, this is so messy!"
The Little Lion's mind was a complete mess. A whole bunch of the Visionary seemed to have uncovered the truth, but no matter how he thought about it, it couldn't possibly be the truth.
"There's no reason! There's no reason for suicide! Just how strong is the Captain-Commander!? How could he make a Jun Shimizu, unassuming captain offer no resistance? Or was conflict inevitable?"
"The Gotei 13 is going to attack the Central 46? To wipe out the Central 46? Who will Aizen be facing? The entire Thirteenth Division, so he committed suicide? No! He could betray them."
"No matter how you look at it, there's no need to commit suicide!? Unless... unless Aizen is the Central 46, ha~ how is that possible?"
However, amidst a mountain of incorrect information, the Little Lion actually deduced the truth: Aizen truly was the Central 46; Aizen had long controlled the Central 46, and from over a hundred years ago, the Central 46's decisions had all been Aizen's will.
However, correct information inferred from incorrect information will be directly judged as incorrect because the preceding information is flawed. Thus, the Little Lion missed the greatest truth.
"In any case, Central 46 seems to be problematic; I need to go and investigate."