Help! I am bound to Aizen!

"Kaelith? What are you doing here?"

Muguruma Kensei looked surprised when he saw Kaelith walk into the room. Kaelith turned his back, closing the door behind him.

He walked over to Kensei's bedside, his expression impassive.

"I made you lose face during the test. To prevent any future retaliation, I'm here to remove the roots."

Kensei: "???"

Unable to hold back, he rolled his eyes. "Well, you sure are thinking ahead."

Kaelith grinned.

He pulled over a chair and sat down.

"Although it's not really for you, I am here to remove the roots, after all."

"I have some questions about Captain Takeda."

"You've been his vice-captain for quite a while and you probably know him better than anyone else in the Seireitei."

"Do you have any idea why he joined the rebel army? Was there any warning sign before it happened?"

Hearing this, Kensei looked thoughtful for a moment.

Then, a look of melancholy crossed his face.

"These questions were asked by the Secret Mobile Unit as well. My answers to you will be similar to what I told them."

"As for Captain Takeda… to be honest, even now, I still can't figure out why he joined the rebels."

"He wasn't one to speak much, but he was always good to the team."

"He didn't care for money or luxury. He rarely indulged in anything, aside from drinking every now and then. He had no material desires."

"One time, we were dispatched to the Rukongai to deal with a Hollow invasion. The situation was dangerous, but Captain Takeda specifically made sure to give the civilians time to escape…"

Upon hearing this, Kaelith appeared to be deep in thought.

The words spoken by Yoruichi before their failure… no, the words spoken by the so-called "Rebel Army" came to his mind.

Their proclaimed purpose of exposing historical truths and overthrowing the five noble families' control over the Soul King seemed highly dubious.

The credibility of their claims was almost zero.

But it was still effective in misleading some captains whose noble intentions were exploited by the rebels to turn them against the system.

While Kaelith was lost in thought, Kensei suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right… Captain Takeda had a diary. I often saw him writing in it when I visited him at night."

"But when I went to look for it later, I couldn't find it. I'm not sure if Captain Takeda took it with him or if something else happened to it…"

Kaelith raised an eyebrow.

Takeda's diary?

That was a new lead.

If Takeda had taken it with him, then there was nothing to be done.

But if he hadn't, it was very likely that the Secret Mobile Unit had confiscated it.

Once he joined the Second Division, he could try looking for it…

After chatting for a while and confirming that Kensei didn't have any more useful information, Kaelith stood up to leave.

When he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something and called out with a surprised tone.

He turned around with a grin on his face.

"Forgot to ask, how's your injury? You're alright, right?"

"Why are you asking now?!" Kensei couldn't help but respond with frustration.

"Hahaha."

Kaelith let out an awkward laugh.

After thinking for a moment, he spoke to Kensei again. "About that Tekken Tachikaze of yours, I've thought of a few new ways it could be applied. It should be really useful for you."

"Once you're healed, we should have a spar and exchange some techniques."

Upon hearing Kaelith's words, Kensei blinked in surprise.

Then he smiled. "Oh, got it!"

...

After leaving the Fourth Division, Kaelith headed toward the academy.

Before coming here, he had already visited the Third Division to speak with the vice-captain there. When the topic of the division's captain came up, Shoji Senchi's expression became one of disgust.

According to the lady's account, the previous captain, Shinchira Renzosuke, had always been obsessed with power.

After mastering his Bankai, Renzosuke kept it hidden until one day, when the former captain was injured on a mission in Rukongai while fighting off a Hollow. That was when Renzosuke suddenly appeared and demanded a challenge.

The former captain accepted, and in front of two hundred squad members, he was defeated by Renzosuke.

Not long after, the former captain joined the Expeditionary Army, leaving the Soul Society for Hueco Mundo.

Shinchira Renzosuke then took over the division and began implementing a strict hierarchical system within the Third Division.

The division's hierarchy was already rigid, but under Renzosuke, the pressure became far more intense.

If any squad member didn't greet him properly or bowed insufficiently, they'd be punished.

When Renzosuke was finally ousted, Shoji was quite pleased.

She prepared some snacks for Kaelith as a token of appreciation for his "contribution."

As for the newly appointed captain, life wasn't as easy.

To help Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi adapt to his new duties, Shoji subjected him to what could only be described as brutal, devilish training.

It was said that at the Third Division barracks, one could often hear Rōjūrō's agonized screams...

As Kaelith pondered the recent developments, he made his way back to the dorms.

Aizen was sitting at the desk, writing something.

The other two roommates, upon seeing Kaelith return, quickly jumped up in alarm. 

At first, their gazes were filled with surprise, then a bit of fear, and finally, they became respectful.

Seeing their reactions, Kaelith realized that a thick, sad barrier had already formed between them.

One he didn't mind at all.

These two roommates were both vassals of lower-ranking noble families. From the moment they entered the academy, they had formed their own little circle and never bothered to include Kaelith or Aizen in their activities.

Kaelith, focused solely on his studies and training, had never cared about it.

After six months, he had never even bothered to learn their names properly.

After greeting them casually, he approached Aizen from behind.

"Yo, Aizen, what are you writing?"

As Kaelith walked over to Aizen, the two roommates quickly slipped away.

Without looking up, Aizen replied, "Numerical calculations."

Kaelith blinked, then realized.

Numerical calculations? Wasn't that just math?

He leaned over Aizen's shoulder to take a look but quickly felt dizzy and moved his gaze away.

"What is this for?"

"Program testing... Using electronics to simulate real-world behaviors and enable human-computer interactions through control systems," Aizen explained casually.

Kaelith nodded, though he didn't fully understand.

Then, suddenly, he froze.

"Wait a second... simulating behaviors, human-computer interactions?"

"This sounds like a game, doesn't it?"

His eyes brightened. "Aizen, you're designing a game program?"

Aizen didn't answer directly but continued writing while saying, "You know that guy, Urahara Kisuke? He really has some skills."

"With his help, many of the complicated aspects are becoming easier to overcome."

"It'd be great if we could pull him into this experiment as well…"

Kaelith didn't pay much attention to Aizen's thoughts on Urahara. 

He couldn't help but laugh. "Aizen, no, I should say, Aizen-sama, you truly are my lucky star!"

"What else do you need done? Let me handle it, you focus on your work!"

Soon, both of them would be moving on to their respective divisions, ready to begin their new roles.

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