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"Captain Shiraha, you jest. How could I possibly wish to kill you?"
Aizen lowered his hand from Kyōka Suigetsu's hilt and adjusted his glasses with that familiar calm. His voice carried a soft civility, but beneath it lay the same impenetrable caution.
Aizen never acted rashly without certainty. Ever since learning of Shiraha's Zanpakutō ability, he understood that striking here was meaningless. Kyōka Suigetsu, his most flawless weapon, was useless against someone born blind. Just as Kaname Tōsen had been immune, so too was Shiraha.
And Aizen was curious. Why would Shiraha appear before him in the depths of Central 46, in the very chamber where his secret had just been exposed?
"Captain Aizen," Shiraha said with an easy smile, pulling out a chair and sitting opposite him. "I know you have plans. You seek the Hōgyoku hidden by Urahara Kisuke, don't you? Why not cooperate with me instead?"
At this point, there was no use in pretense. Central 46 was dead, and Shiraha had seen through everything. What mattered now was timing. Shiraha's true aim was not to hinder Aizen, but to wait for him to fuse the two Hōgyoku — the only way Shiraha could touch the complete artifact and unlock the conditions for his third template.
"Oh? Urahara Kisuke," Aizen mused as he sat back down, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "I see. Then it must have been Kisuke who told you of the Hōgyoku, likely during your time in the world of the living."
He studied Shiraha carefully. That knowledge was not easily gained. If Shiraha knew of the Hōgyoku, perhaps he had met Urahara long ago, even at the very start of his time in the human world.
"Then tell me, Captain Shiraha," Aizen said with practiced gentleness. "Why choose cooperation? You could simply report me to Seireitei. After all, you are Kuchiki Shiraha, heir to one of the Four Great Noble Houses. Isn't it your duty?"
Shiraha laughed softly. "Report you? And gain what? Those decrepit elders of Central 46 were already rotting, clinging to power. Their deaths are no loss. If I had wanted to expose you, I would have done so ten years ago, when you orchestrated the Spirit Disappearance and Hollowfication incidents."
He leaned back, voice calm but edged with steel. "No, Captain Aizen. Reporting you brings me nothing but trouble. Besides, you've already placed nearly every captain and lieutenant, even Yamamoto Genryūsai himself, under your Kyōka Suigetsu. Do you think the Gotei 13 could bring you down? The only reason you remain in Seireitei, unexposed, is because of Yamamoto's existence. Not because you fear discovery."
Aizen's eyes glinted with amusement. "And this from the Kuchiki heir. Does your noble clan also think of Central 46 as corrupt and disposable?"
Ten years ago, when he first met Shiraha, Aizen had already sensed it. Unlike the stagnant nobility of Soul Society, Shiraha carried something different — ambition.
"Enough small talk, Captain Aizen. You already know that the Hōgyoku Kisuke hid resides within Rukia Kuchiki, don't you?" Shiraha's smile widened slightly.
That statement struck home. The timing was perfect. If Aizen had killed Central 46, it meant he was certain — the Hōgyoku was inside Rukia. Otherwise, he would never have revealed himself so openly.
"Well now," Aizen murmured, surprise flashing in his gaze. "Even you know that? How very intriguing."
The truth about Rukia's body was knowledge Aizen himself had only recently confirmed through Tōsen. For Shiraha to know as well — the implications twisted in his mind. Had Shiraha and Kisuke placed it there deliberately? Was this some elaborate trap? Was the Hōgyoku genuine, or had it already been swapped?
"Relax, Captain Aizen," Shiraha said, as if reading his doubts. "It is genuine. I saw Kisuke embed it in Rukia with my own eyes."
"So tell me then," Aizen asked smoothly, smiling as though amused by the game. "What is it you truly want?"
Shiraha's expression sharpened. "The Hōgyoku in your possession is incomplete. Only by fusing it with Kisuke's can the complete form exist. I will cooperate, but under two conditions. First, you cannot kill Rukia when you extract it. Second, once you fuse the two Hōgyoku, I must be allowed to touch the completed artifact myself."
Aizen raised a brow, but did not immediately refuse. "And why would you, who have not even reached Bankai, seek to touch something of that magnitude? Do you hide greater strength than you reveal? Or is there another reason?"
Shiraha's voice softened, almost wistful. "I want to restore my sight. That is all. Kisuke once let me attempt to use the Hōgyoku in his possession, but it was incomplete, and it failed. Only the true, completed Hōgyoku can achieve what I desire."
Aizen studied him, the gentle smile never leaving his face. Yet doubt lingered. Was that truly all Shiraha sought? Somehow, it felt too small a wish for a man like him.
"I see. So even Kisuke let you use it," Aizen said at last, a glimmer of genuine surprise breaking through. The Hōgyoku was Kisuke's most closely guarded secret — he had never let anyone so much as touch it. For Shiraha to have used it was astonishing.
After a long pause, Aizen inclined his head. "Very well. I accept your terms. Extracting the Hōgyoku from Rukia without harming her is trivial. Kisuke's own device, the spirit foreign body extraction medium, will suffice."
His voice was smooth, as if the matter was nothing more than an elegant arrangement between equals.
And so, in the depths of Central 46, amidst blood and silence, a secret alliance was forged.
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