On the square, hundreds of students from the Shino Academy stood gathered-three layers deep on the inside and outside.
Everyone had already heard that Captain Aizen of the Fifth Division would be demonstrating his Shikai here today, and the crowd buzzed with excitement.
"What kind of ability do you think Captain Aizen's release will have?"
"Since it's his Shikai, it must be really strong, right?"
"Anyway, we'll know in just a second."
"Look! Captain Aizen is here!"
...
Sōsuke Aizen stepped into the center of the field with Hinamori Momo following closely behind.
Hinamori felt emotional seeing so many excited students gathered. Back when she was just another freshman at the Spiritual Arts Academy, she had felt the same excitement watching her captain perform his first demonstration. It was that moment that inspired her to join his division and become his lieutenant-not much had changed since then. Aizen was just as calm and gentle as before.
He stood in the middle of the formation. The sunlight reflected brightly off his glasses, masking his eyes in white glare.
"My name is Sōsuke Aizen, and I'm your calligraphy instructor."
"At the same time, I'll be giving you today's demonstration of my Shikai."
"My Zanpakutō is called Kyōka Suigetsu."
"As a water-type Zanpakutō, its initial ability uses mist and scattered reflections to disorient enemies-trapping them in hallucinations."
"For this demonstration, I'll be needing several volunteers to act as opponents. Are there any students willing to participate?"
Immediately, hands shot up across the crowd.
As Aizen scanned the group, his eyes passed over one boy accompanied by three girls-then lingered longer than expected.
No one noticed the subtle narrowing of his eyes behind the reflected light. The object of that narrowing gaze was the boy in uniform standing lazily among them-a good-looking kid with zero tension in his posture and not even the faintest sign of surprise or curiosity on his face.
"Ah," Aizen stepped forward slowly. Mikami and the other two girls lit up when they realized Aizen was approaching their corner.
Yuta stood unmoved. The slouched posture and empty stare told enough-he looked too detached to care about anything around him.
What nobody else noticed-was that Aizen was staring directly at him.
And Yuta? He had already seen what others hadn't-the Hōgyoku hidden against Aizen's body.
To most people, the Hōgyoku was undetectable-but not to him. He could see it, sense it-this thing that shattered death itself and absorbed consciousness from its surroundings until it became flesh and will. In Yuta's perception, the Hōgyoku flared bright as sunlight piercing midnight.
He smiled faintly to himself.
Even half-made, it already showed signs of self-awareness. It really was the Hōgyoku afterall.
"I wonder," Aizen said, coming to Mikami Asui with that usual calm expression in place, "if I could trouble three beautiful young ladies to assist me for this demonstration?"
Mikami and her friends lit up-none of them expected to be singled out by Sōsuke Aizen himself for participation in this event.
"Y-yes! O-of course!"
Turning next to Yuta, Aizen studied him with that same unreadable smile.
"This student feels like a tiger among sheep. One look is enough to know he's destined for great things. May I ask your name?"
"Yuta."
"Ah-so it's Yuta," Aizen said smoothly. "I'm Sōsuke Aizen, captain of the Fifth Division. I have no doubt we'll meet again."
Mikami glanced at Yuta in confusion, her attention locked on how strange and calm he remained even now. There was…something different about him today.
Without another word, Aizen led Mikami and the other two girls into the open area at the center of the field.
He drew his Zanpakutō.
Shh-clack-
Light flared off the steel blade. The reflected glare forced students to shield their eyes until Aizen rotated it downward-revealing its full form clearly for everyone to see.
Kyōka Suigetsu's blade was long but unimposing. Circles of thread wrapped around its hilt for better grip-but otherwise looked simple and ordinary. No one could have imagined its truth by appearance alone.
What Aizen told them was only partial truth.
They believed Kyōka Suigetsu used mist and light to disorient sight-but its reality lay much deeper than that. It wasn't just water-based-it was illusion-based.
Its actual first-level power was "Complete Hypnosis"-control over every sense of perception: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. It could make someone think flies were dragons or flowerbeds were swamps-and drive opponents into killing their own allies without hesitation.
"Are you ready? I'm beginning now," Aizen said, facing the three volunteers directly.
"Ready," Mikami said for them.
Just before things started, she remembered one detail about Kyōka Suigetsu's ability-if it required visual trickery via mist and reflection… then would simply closing her eyes protect her?
She shut them tightly just before anything began.
Holding Kyōka Suigetsu upside-down with its tip pointed at the ground, Aizen spoke softly-
"Shatter-Kyōka Suigetsu."
He released his grip-the Zanpakutō began falling at its own pace.
Swish-
Strangely, it did not fall like metal through air-but drifted downward like paper through water. Its movement seemed suspended in slow motion…
And as it sank-white mist bloomed out around it thickly from nowhere.
Slap-slap-
Water spread across the stone floor forming pools underfoot. The blade touched down into that fluid surface with no sound but gentle ripples centered outward from where it struck.
Kyōka Suigetsu slowly disappeared inch by inch into that foggy pond-like terrain…until only spirals of disturbance remained behind marking its place-
Illusion consumed every corner of her world now.
Inside the mist's center-Juri turned rapidly left and right-but Mikami and Kanae had vanished from view entirely into white obscurity swallowing even their silhouettes.
"Is this 'Kyoka Suigetsu'...?" she whispered aloud, barely able to hear herself over the ringing silence that followed it.
Though Mikami kept her eyes shut-she could sense moisture clinging faintly to her arms. Her skin prickled lightly as if she were standing in fog-heavy dawn before sunrise; sticky dampness filled the space between every breath she drew through her nose-
Slowly she opened her eyes again-and found nothing but white emptiness stretching out before her...
There were no trees or grass left behind-no sign of Captain Aizen.
No trace of students watching-or anything else that should have been there.
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