A Prisoner Bound by Iron Chains

A Prisoner Bound by Iron Chains

At those words, alarm bells immediately went off in Arima Shizuya's mind.

What was coming had finally come.

Unwilling to remain as he was, Aizen had begun laying the groundwork for a century-long game of rebellion.

Masaki Kurosaki's infection, the Visored's exile, the upheaval in the Soul Society...

Those key events had already surfaced in his mind—compared to them, the purpose of his trip here no longer seemed quite so important.

So what was his answer? Would he choose to turn his back on the Soul Society and, like a serpent, begin a century-long period of dormancy? His life, pieced together, had only amounted to a little over forty years. The pressure of making such a sudden decision made even Arima Shizuya tense.

It was not that he did not want to agree.

Rather, he believed a cautious and serious attitude was the proper response to this invitation.

Just as Arima Shizuya was about to speak, Aizen paused for a moment, then revealed an apologetic expression.

"Ah, sorry... I don't think I've mentioned any of this to you yet, Shizuya-kun."

Aizen muttered to himself, smiling as he withdrew his right hand and rose to his feet instead.

"Anyone would find such an out-of-the-blue remark strange... Heh, it seems I was a little too eager myself."

Pushing up his glasses, Aizen walked around to Arima Shizuya's side.

"Shizuya-kun, do you have time to take a walk with me?"

Even though evening self-study was about to begin, how could he possibly refuse at this point?

Let's go!

The two walked side by side along the corridor leading toward the School Building, eventually circling around to the convenience store on the first floor.

It was already evening.

The place had long since closed, and students would not be wandering around here... While it was not completely isolated, it was still a secluded spot.

Arima Shizuya looked at Aizen's back as he heard him speak in a low voice.

"Though it feels as though a great many things have happened, when I think about it carefully, only a little over a month has passed... Shizuya-kun, this time has truly been thought-provoking."

Come to think of it, that really was the case.

Looking back, from the time Arima Shizuya enrolled until now, only such a short time had passed.

Just over a month.

For Shinigami whose lifespans routinely stretched for centuries or millennia, it was truly no more than the blink of an eye...

Under normal circumstances, it would probably have been the sort of trivial matter no one would spare a thought for.

"But precisely because it has been such a short time, your progress has left me astonished."

At some point, Aizen had turned around. He gazed at Arima Shizuya, an indescribable light flickering in his eyes.

"When you first enrolled, you merely began to stand out in Kendo."

"Yet half a month later, you had qualified to receive an Asauchi, defeated Vice-Captain Ōmaeda with your refined Hakuda techniques, and made a name for yourself throughout the Spiritual Arts Academy."

"You even mastered Shikai afterward and injured someone at captain level during a confrontation."

"Honestly..."

"What words could possibly be enough to describe everything you have accomplished over this past month, Shizuya-kun?"

Though he had indeed done all those things himself.

From Aizen's perspective, however, those words sounded very much like excessive praise meant to set him up for a fall.

"So, Teacher Aizen, was it your doing that I ran into Guiganjo that day?"

"Half right."

Aizen was remarkably frank.

"I did know that members of the Eleventh Division had come here to indulge themselves. Given their habits, a conflict was highly likely to occur."

So? "At first, I merely wanted to see what kind of personality you had, Shizuya-kun. By having you fight those Squad Members, I could further assess your growth."

Arima Shizuya fell silent for a moment.

"Teacher Aizen, is that really something you can say so casually?"

He had nearly lost his life over there.

"Do you think what I did was excessive, Shizuya-kun?"

Isn't that obvious? Though he very much wanted to snap back with that, the faint smile lingering on Aizen's lips made Arima Shizuya swallow his words.

That ridiculous expression.

It showed that the other man definitely had some corresponding plan in mind.

"You truly are still young... Shizuya-kun, do you know the annual casualty rate among those who graduate from the Spiritual Arts Academy and join the Gotei 13?"

I don't even know the end of the universe. How would I know that? "One quarter, Shizuya-kun."

Aizen remained calm. He folded his hands before his knees, seemingly enjoying the feeling of enlightening others.

"Some are devoured by Hollows, some are injured so severely that they can no longer support themselves. There are also no small number who are secretly executed after failing their missions."

"Add those eliminated for poor grades and the various accidents that occur during Internship... From enrollment onward, there are very few Shinigami who can endure every trial and truly become Squad Members."

"Shizuya-kun, what I told you that day was not perfunctory. It came from the bottom of my heart."

"For those who have not mastered their craft, rather than dying at the hands of their enemies, it is better to learn of their own inadequacy early and live out the rest of their lives..."

"This is mercy."

The same words, in a different context.

At this moment, they truly felt completely different.

Still, now that he thought about it, the original story had never described the hardships faced by Squad Members.

After all, Strawberry Bro had cut through everything like chopping vegetables. There were hardly any opponents he could not defeat.

Now, at least, Arima Shizuya had expanded his necessary knowledge of Shinigami.

"But that is a broad description. From a personal standpoint, I did indeed do something excessive to you, Shizuya-kun."

On that point alone.

"I truly should apologize to you. I am deeply sorry, Shizuya-kun."

Simple, straightforward, and utterly unvarnished—this was the sincerity Aizen displayed at this moment.

"..."

A measured blend of offense and defense.

Faced with this shamelessly polite attitude, what was he even supposed to say? Aizen had forced him into life-and-death situations twice. It was indeed infuriating, yet the man's methods were strange.

After all, if he had wanted to kill him... he could have done it himself.

Yet he insisted on using this sort of method, something akin to setting him up.

"So, Teacher Aizen, what exactly are you trying to do?"

The other man fell silent for a moment, then smiled.

"I want to know your potential, Shizuya-kun. I want to determine whether you can become a truly powerful Shinigami."

I...

"I also hope that you can become my true companion, Shizuya-kun."

That was it. For Aizen—

Someone who could clear away every obstacle in his path, a seeker of the Way who could walk beside him, even a seeker of truth capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with him and opening up the future together.

That was precisely what he sought.

"Shizuya-kun, I have a plan... Through it, I will allow everyone to live beneath a sky of equality and freedom."

As he spoke, Aizen reached into his robes and finally took out a small, perfectly round, translucent sphere.

"And the source of it all is this small object."

"...?!"

Wait, what?

You're just taking out the Hōgyoku and showing it to me?!

And it had already taken shape at this stage? Then just how far had your plan progressed?

Damn! There are way too many questions! It would have been a lie to say he was not shocked, but before making any snide remarks, Arima Shizuya decided it would be better to hear the other man out first.

Aizen calmly put it back into his inner pocket and gave a soft chuckle.

Then, in a deep voice, he said—

"That is a very long story."

"Shizuya-kun, have you ever considered that, upon this land where we live..."

"There may exist a being with its own consciousness, one capable of stirring the entire world through nothing but a force of will known as My Will?"

"That is right. This is the truth of the world in which we live... We live beneath another's gaze. We are bacteria in a culture dish, materials in an experiment."

"We..."

"Are prisoners bound by iron chains."