At the First Division headquarters, inside Su Xiao's laboratory.
Su Xiao and Aizen Sosuke sat facing each other, with a short wooden table between them. The food on the table was nothing special, along with a pot of weak wine.
The two of them were chatting. Su Xiao appeared rather languid, so most of the talking was done by Aizen while he listened. Or rather, Aizen was consulting him about some alchemy-related knowledge, which gave the two of them a perfectly legitimate reason to drink together.
There were more than just the two of them in the room. A girl stood not far away. She was Aizen's Vice Captain, Momo Hinamori.
Hinamori watched the two of them with a smile. She had not seen Aizen drinking with anyone in a long time. Moreover, she understood that building a good relationship with a special researcher like Su Xiao was definitely beneficial. At the very least, the Fifth Division would no longer have to worry about spirit medicines, and the casualty rate among its members would drop drastically.
At the thought of this, Hinamori's smile grew even sweeter. What she did not know was that the two people sitting here would become the greatest threat to the entire Soul Society—the people every captain would soon want dead.
"Captain Aizen, though this may sound rude, you should give up on alchemy. Your talent doesn't seem to allow you to get involved in this field."
Su Xiao set down the wine in his hand. This weak wine tasted terrible, and what troubled him even more was that neither Yamamoto Genryusai nor Unohana Lie had arrived yet.
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Aizen showed no reaction, but Hinamori puffed out her cheeks.
"Mr. Byakuya, that was too rude. Captain Aizen is—"
Before Hinamori could finish, Aizen