July 4th, early morning.
Before the blazing sun had even appeared, the sky Seireitei was already a mix of blue and white.
Diligent people have already gotten up and started preparing for the new day.
The lazy people are still fast asleep.
Shiraishi belongs to the latter category.
He lay face down on the bed, one arm hanging limply on the ground, emitting soft snoring.
Bang bang.
There was a knock on the door.
Shiraishi was woken up, blinked, and called out, " Nemu, come in."
The bedroom door was pushed open, and a petite woman kicked off her cloth shoes at the doorway and stepped in. She had bangs framing her face, and two long braids reached her waist. She said expressionlessly, "If I remember correctly, Nemu is the vice-captain of the Twelfth Division. What's your relationship with her?"
"Cough cough."
Shiraishi coughed suddenly and hurriedly sat up in bed, saying, "Why are you here?"
"I can't come."
Soi Fon replied expressionlessly, "Or is it that only Nemu can come here?"
No, that's not what I meant.
Shiraishi quickly denied it, his eyes darting around as he looked at the empty table. "It's because I don't have anything good to offer you. If you had said so earlier, I could have bought something nice."
Soi Fon's expression softened somewhat, and he sat down directly on the table, saying, "I was afraid you'd be late, so I came to wake you up. Looks like I was overthinking it; someone was going to wake you."
Shiraishi coughed dryly, "Why can't I get around this?" " Nemu and I are good friends, don't overthink it."
"It has nothing to do with me."
Soi Fon had a small, expressionless face.
"Then don't ask," Shiraishi muttered to himself, daring not to say it aloud, lest he completely shatter the already overflowing jealousy in her heart. "How could I be careless about something you asked me to do? Wash your mouth and wait for me."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Soi Fon rolled his eyes at him, his cheeks slightly flushed. His defenses crumbled easily, and he stubbornly continued, "I only care about the mission. I have no other thoughts!"
I'm leaving.
"Don't rush off, sit a little longer," Shiraishi urged.
Soi Fon said irritably, "Forget it, I have official duties to attend to, I'm not as leisurely as you."
"Take care." Shiraishi saw him to the door.
Soi Fon glanced at him sideways, feeling as if he couldn't wait for him to leave.
"Hey-hey."
Shiraishi responded with a bright, sunny smile.
"Hmph." She snorted lightly, bent down to put on her cloth shoes, Shunpo left. She had only been in the hospital for two days, Second Division had a lot of things piling up.
That Ōmaeda only knows how to slack off and cheat.
She genuinely didn't have time to stay and keep watch any longer; she'd come back another time when she had time. Waking someone up so early in the morning—was this friend even respectable?
"Call."
Shiraishi noticed that Soi Fon had gone far away. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, just thinking about the scene of Soi Fon and Nemu Kurotsuchi being alone in a room.
The chilling atmosphere instantly enveloped his heart, making him feel like he was being sandwiched between two equally difficult choices.
Even with the ideal of the Shido (a code of conduct), the path remains exceptionally difficult.
However, he's still better than Brother Makoto.
He stood at the doorway, contemplating how to secure his happy life, when a voice called out from afar, " Shiraishi ~"
As she finished speaking, Nemu Kurotsuchi landed in the corridor, dressed in a black bunny girl outfit, with white bunny ears and a white fluffy tail.
Her figure was fully accentuated by this outfit, yet her expression lacked any alluring quality; instead, it was rather indifferent.
Innocent and alluring, two completely different qualities, have been broken down and blended together to form her current appearance.
Shiraishi scratched his head and said, "Good morning, Nemu."
"Hmm, good morning," Nemu Kurotsuchi said, her expression largely unchanged, her voice as gentle as the wind. "Today's breakfast is pan-fried salmon and roast chicken..."
With her constant nagging, breakfast time became very pleasant, and the house became spotless, to the point where you could lie on the floor and not get dirty.
"See you at noon." Nemu Kurotsuchi waved, picked up the food box, and left.
Shiraishi stroked his chin. "No, life in Seireitei is too decadent. I should leave as soon as possible and regain my independence."
But it felt so comfortable.
The reason why corruption is so difficult to eradicate is that those who are corrupt do not feel any pain.
Nemu Kurotsuchi's care for him in every way was so considerate that he was practically a machine for creating useless people. If he continued to be taken care of like this, he would even regress to the point where he had to be fed.
Damn it, the land of gentle pleasures is truly a hero's grave.
He muttered to himself, his hands never stopping. He put on the Shinigami -branded straw sandals, used the Steel Tempest to leave, and arrived outside the Noble Street.
A man wearing Captain's Haori is applying to enter the noble street; the large number "5" on the back indicates his identity.
Shiraishi slowed down.
Aizen turned around, a smile on his face, and said, " Captain Shiraishi, are you here to see the formation of the Gold Seal Unit as well?"
"Um."
Shiraishi replied that he didn't want to talk to this person too much, and strode to the table.
"I am Sōsuke Aizen, the captain of the Fifth Division. I have long heard of Captain Shiraishi's reputation, and seeing him today, I can see he is indeed a young hero."
Aizen was very interested in him.
"So-so." He replied casually, the Reiatsu emanating from him vast as the ocean, giving one a vaguely oppressive feeling.
Even Reiatsu of over ten thousand is still insufficient before this being.
Sometimes digitalization can be really cruel, turning what were once vague gaps into insurmountable barriers.
Thinking about it that way, Soi Fon's Reiatsu is truly pathetic; no wonder he always gets the short end of the stick.
"I'll help you fill it out," Aizen said, persisting in his efforts to talk to him.
"I don't need to fill it out myself."
Shiraishi thought to himself, "You're not a girl, why are you sticking so close to me? It's making me nervous."
He quickly grabbed the pen and started filling out the form.
Aizen sensed his rejection, and pushed up his glasses. Had it been Azashiro who revealed his true identity?
The scrutinizing gaze from behind grew increasingly intense.
Shiraishi quickly finished filling it out and said, "Done."
The 6th Division member who had registered turned around and shouted, "Open the door!"
The gates of the noble street slowly opened, Aizen and Shiraishi stepped inside one after the other, with no one else around.
The nobles usually slept very late, and the noble streets in the morning were no different from those at night, resembling an empty ghost town.
The two walked forward side by side.
Aizen asked slowly, " Captain Shiraishi, what are your thoughts on the nobles?"
He replied, "No comment."
Aizen stopped playing the good guy and said, "We should be the same in our dislike of nobles."
"Nobles possess talent but are unwilling to work hard, content to enjoy the glory of their ancestors like pigs. It's truly pathetic that the world is dominated by such people."
I have no interest in the world.
Shiraishi didn't want to have a deep conversation with this big liar. As can be seen from the original work, Aizen is a very good at disguising himself. He only loses his temper and roars when he is Ichigo to the point of questioning his existence by Ichigo.
At all other times, Aizen was someone who disguised himself as a god.
He had no desire to discuss life ideals with someone who was a complete liar.