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Shortly after the incident, a figure appeared at the Fourth Division's polymedical clinic—Captain Sui-Feng, whose arrival cut through the quiet like a blade. On her way there, she had already learned from a passing patrol that Aizen's body had been relocated to the clinic for examination and secure containment, and though her movements were swift and direct, they carried a restrained fury just beneath their surface.
However, before she could reach the main building, a sudden flash-step cleaved the air, halting her approach as another figure materialized—none other than Captain Kyoraku Shunsui, whose presence spoke volumes despite his silence. Sui-Feng offered him a curt nod, the kind exchanged between soldiers who already understood one another without needing words, for they had both come for the same reason: Aizen.
Yet something about Kyoraku seemed strangely out of place; the usual lazy grin that hung from his lips was absent, his slouched posture now straightened with purpose, and his signature pink haori hung heavily on his shoulders as if weighed by unspoken burdens.
"Did you find him?" Kyoraku asked, his voice low and controlled, though tension coiled beneath it like a waiting storm.
Caught off guard by his question—its target not Aizen, but Su Li—Sui-Feng took a heartbeat too long to respond, before shaking her head slowly and firmly. "No. There's been no sign of him since."
Kyoraku's expression darkened into a contemplative frown, his eyes narrowing slightly, and after that, he said nothing further. Sui-Feng followed his lead, and the two captains proceeded without further exchange, their silence saying more than words could ever manage.
Inside the clinic, the cost of war revealed itself through muffled groans, hurried footsteps, and the grim scent of antiseptics lingering in the air like a veil of fatigue. Medics flitted between injured Shinigami like restless spirits, weaving through rows of wounded stretched across every available surface. Some lay unconscious, their bodies still and pale, while others clutched at bandaged limbs or bloodied uniforms, their pain carved deep into their expressions. And everywhere was the echo of suffering unspoken.
Kyoraku and Sui-Feng did not pause. They moved purposefully past the chaos, heading straight for the clinic's deepest chamber—the private ward reserved not for healing, but for the fallen. Their steps echoed down the corridor, each one heavy with foreboding, until they reached the final door and pushed it open in unison, their combined presence pressing against the threshold like an omen.
The white shroud covering the body on the bed greeted them like a final sentence, stark and quiet in its finality.
Surrounding the bed stood several familiar figures—Captain Unohana Retsu stood nearest, calm and still as always; Captain Komamura Sajin loomed nearby, silent but visibly tense, with Vice-Captain Iba Tetsuzaemon positioned at his back, his expression shadowed. Captain Tōsen Kaname stood at the foot of the bed, hands folded behind him in austere quiet, while Hisagi Shūhei lingered just to his side, somber and alert, the lines of worry etched deeply into his features.
And opposite them, separated by presence and intent, stood Captain Su Li—alone, unmoving, and unreadable, as though carved from a stillness too deep to reach.
At the sight of him, both Kyoraku and Sui-Feng froze mid-step, their thoughts momentarily blanked by his unexpected presence.
Sui-Feng's heart surged with immediate relief, her eyes betraying a rare flicker of emotion as she instinctively stepped forward. But Kyoraku halted her with a quiet gesture—a subtle shake of his head that warned her to wait, his eyes fixed sharply on the tableau before them.
It was only then that she fully registered the tension in the room. The air itself felt heavier here, thickened by invisible fault lines. Komamura and TĹŤsen stared at Su Li with something far colder than suspicion; it was controlled hostility, sharpened to a blade's edge. And Su Li, hands folded neatly behind his back in a gesture of discipline, did not meet their eyes. He gazed only at the shrouded corpse, as though it were the only thing in the room that still made sense to him.
Two sides occupied the same space, yet everything about them—stance, silence, and intent—suggested otherwise. The division was unmistakable, the atmosphere fractured into quiet opposition.
Unable to endure the tension any longer, Sui-Feng pulled free of Kyoraku's restraint and crossed the room in swift, quiet steps. Her voice lowered to a whisper as she approached. "Ah Li…"
Su Li turned his head slowly in her direction, a faint smile curving across his lips with eerie calm. "Bee. You came."
"You can smile right now?" Komamura's voice erupted with thunderous fury, all restraint shattering beneath the weight of emotion he could no longer contain. "You're still pretending? You were the one who did this, weren't you?!"
Sui-Feng's eyes narrowed instantly, her stance shifting into steel as she turned toward Komamura, her reiatsu prickling at the edge of control. "What exactly are you accusing him of, Captain Komamura?"
TĹŤsen stepped forward before Komamura could respond, his voice heavy with cold conviction that fell like a verdict. "We have reason to believe that Captain Su Li is responsible for the murder of Captain Aizen."
Fury flickered behind Sui-Feng's composed exterior as her words snapped out like a drawn blade, sharp and demanding. "And what so-called evidence justifies that kind of accusation?"
Tōsen's voice dropped an octave, each word delivered with ominous gravity. "Aizen was murdered during the night—and Captain Su Li was nowhere to be found during that entire span."
"And that's it?" Sui-Feng's tone cracked with disbelief, her gaze hardening. "You're calling him a murderer based solely on his absence during one night?"
Komamura stepped forward, posture rigid with suppressed rage that now edged toward open threat. "Don't act like it's nothing, Sui-Feng! He was spotted near the traveler, he did nothing to stop them, said nothing afterward, and now Aizen is dead. He hasn't even tried to explain himself."
"I'm not blind," she shot back, her voice taut and unwavering. "I'm asking you to deal in truth, not paranoia or conjecture."
Their voices had risen to a dangerous pitch, their reiatsu barely restrained, their presence filling the room with mounting pressure that felt like it might shatter walls.
"Enough." Kyoraku's voice came soft, but it cut through everything like a blade sheathed in authority, halting the storm without the need for force.
He waited until the tension ebbed slightly before continuing, his words deliberate. "No one is above suspicion—not yet. Even the travelers could be responsible. But until we have clarity, we can't afford to turn on each other before the truth is revealed."
Despite the sense in his words, no one in the room relaxed. The air remained charged, the accusations thick between them like smoke that refused to clear.
Turning his gaze toward Su Li, Kyoraku spoke again, his voice steady. "Ah Li. Tell us—where were you last night?"
All eyes locked onto him, as though the fate of everything hinged on what he would say.
Su Li didn't blink. "I was watching the travelers fight."
Komamura's jaw clenched, his voice flaring like a wildfire ignited by disbelief. "You watched? That's your answer? You stood there and watched them fight?"
"You didn't fight them? Didn't report them? Just stood there while they rampaged?" Komamura's voice rose again. "Are you one of them?"
Su Li's voice remained quiet, as if the question itself didn't rattle him. "I didn't want to."
TĹŤsen stepped closer, his tone sharpened to a razor's edge. "Why not?"
Su Li turned his head slowly, his gaze unwavering. "Because I didn't want to."
The room fell into stunned silence, the kind that swallows sound completely.
Kyoraku's shoulders sagged slightly as he exhaled, hand dragging across his jaw in quiet frustration. He had wanted to believe his kouhai would explain—would offer something, anything, that might reduce the rising suspicion. But instead, Su Li's indifference had only deepened the shadows around him.
Looking up again, Kyoraku met Su Li's eyes with a gaze layered in regret and quiet concern. He didn't want to imagine his junior as guilty—didn't want to believe that Su Li, brilliant and solitary, might have crossed into betrayal. Yet too many lines were converging around him with dangerous clarity.
And if it turned out that Su Li truly was the one behind it all—if this strange, distant man had aligned himself with the travelers and ended Aizen's life—then there would be no leniency, only consequence.
With quiet gravity, Kyoraku turned toward Unohana. "Captain Unohana. Please begin the formal handling of the body."
Finally, Unohana's voice emerged, steady and serene as always. "There is still work to be done. Captains, please return to your posts. I will tend to Captain Aizen's remains personally."
Her words, spoken with gentle command, cut through the tension like cool water poured over fire, reestablishing order.
Komamura lingered, his gaze fixed on the lifeless form beneath the sheet, the fury on his face softening into sorrow as he looked one last time at the fallen captain. After a final glare at Su Li, he turned and walked away, Iba following closely behind without a word.
TĹŤsen and Hisagi followed in silence, their steps echoing in the now-muted chamber.
Kyoraku lingered only a moment longer, nodding slightly to Unohana in silent thanks. "Thank you. Be careful with what's ahead."
Then he too vanished into the corridor, his haori trailing behind him like dusk closing over the day.
Now, only three remained.
Sui-Feng turned to Su Li, reaching for his sleeve in a small gesture of connection. "Let's go," she said quietly.
But he gently shook his head, his gaze still resting on the shrouded corpse. "You go ahead," he murmured.
"Ah Li—"
"Bee," he said softly, his voice devoid of conflict but firm with intent, "just go. I need a moment."
She stared at him, searching for something behind that calm exterior—some sign, some crack—but found only silence. Finally, she turned and left, her footfalls silent as drifting ash in the corridor behind her.
Only Su Li and Unohana remained now, in a room that smelled of antiseptic and death, the walls heavy with things unsaid.
Their eyes met.
Unohana said nothing, her expression as composed as ever.
But Su Li did speak.
"You've seen it too, haven't you, Captain Unohana?"
She didn't flinch or speak, but her pupils contracted almost imperceptibly before she gave the barest nod of acknowledgment.
Su Li's lips curved into a quiet, knowing smile—one not born of joy, but of recognition. It was the kind of smile worn by someone who understood the game far earlier than anyone else had realized.
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