Life was as fragile as glass.
Like morning dew beneath the first light of dawn, like an epiphyllum flower that bloomed only briefly.
He did not know whether it was simply because his memories of Sleeping Number Six were too vivid, or because he himself was somewhat overly sentimental.
Even after leaving the Research and Development Department, Arima Shizuya still wore an indescribably strange expression.
"Shizuya-kun, Shizuya-kun?"
It was not until Aizen's voice reached his ears that Arima Shizuya suddenly came back to his senses.
"Ah... yes!"
It was the evening of the following day.
Having arrived at the School Building as agreed with Aizen, the two met once more in front of the convenience store on the first floor, as they had before.
Aizen looked at Arima Shizuya with a rather concerned expression.
"You seem quite distracted. Is something troubling you?"
He instinctively wanted to offer some perfunctory reply.
"It's nothing worth worrying about..."
But when the words reached his lips, that empty response silently changed into something else.
Aizen's research into Soul Society far surpassed his own. Moreover, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's research was already well known within the Research and Development Department.
Perhaps Aizen had learned the details even before he had.
Trying to hide it now would only make him seem petty.
"It's just something regarding Master Mayuri."
It was not a long story. A brief explanation was enough to make it easy to understand.
Aizen listened quietly, then gave a soft hum and pushed up the glasses on his nose.
"I see. So the Sleeping Project has made new progress. That truly is good news... To gather the courage to explore the unknown is itself a great feat."
"There are already very few in Soul Society willing to try new things. For Mayuri Kurotsuchi to achieve this