Mayuri Kurotsuchi showed no fear; in fact, he seemed a little eager.
"I will use my methods to obstruct all of your research projects. This is the limit of what I can do, as a Captain must set a good example for his subordinates. Large-scale confrontations or even more intense verbal arguments are not permitted."
Aizen sighed, a deep sense of helplessness mixed in.
It seemed he was admitting there was no good way to deal with Mayuri Kurotsuchi, using this show of weakness to ask for the other party's 'leniency'.
But Mayuri Kurotsuchi's expression was even uglier than his.
It was evident even with his mask on.
"Aizen Sōusuke… one day I'll make you take your disciple's place in that chair for my research!"
With that, he turned and left.
"Eh?"
Ōmaeda was stunned. He just left?
"Well, those few young ones haven't committed any major crimes; on the contrary, they've performed meritorious deeds. So, no matter how unreasonable Captain Suì-Fēng's attitude is, her idea cannot be realized. And besides, there's Sōsuke-kun… Hahaha, if it were anyone else saying this, Captain Kurotsuchi might not even pay attention, but with Sōsuke-kun's connections and influence, that becomes a fatal blow~"
Kyōraku's smile was full of teasing.
"But then again, I also heard a little about the Spirit Arts Academy Freshman assessment. Captain Kurotsuchi's equipment is said to have been developed based on his own conditions, so if any problems arose, such as a failed detection, it would mean that the detected subject, in some aspect, exceeded Captain Kurotsuchi's limits, right? That's why it caught his attention."
As he spoke, Kyōraku sighed again in front of Ōmaeda and Aizen, his gaze directed towards the west side of the Seireitei.
"This is the sensitivity of a scientist. No wonder the Technical Development Bureau can always come up with some strange things, unlike us laymen. Although we've heard about them for a long time, we still treat them as children who need to be protected."
"Yet, in reality, to be able to vaguely feel the spiritual pressure coming from Rukongai from such a distance, as if a hole has been punched in the sky and you can see it just by looking up, that's not something children can do."
"Without realizing it, they have already protected the Seireitei once in our stead."
"So, I can understand Captain Kurotsuchi's curiosity, and I can also understand Sōsuke-kun's emphasis."
"The future of the Seireitei and the Gotei 13 is surely related to your actions… I have this premonition."
Aizen pushed up his glasses and responded earnestly: "Thank you for your auspicious words. I hope they can truly bear the future of the Seireitei and the Gotei 13. Then I would have achieved my wish."
"Achieved? Does Sōsuke-kun have other thoughts? I didn't realize you also had ulterior motives."
"It's not worth mentioning, Captain Kyōraku, please don't tease me."
Kyōraku stopped joking and turned to remind the dazed Ōmaeda:
"Let's go, Vice-Captain Ōmaeda. It's time to take us to Captain Suì-Fēng."
"Oh, oh! Right! Come with me quickly. The Captain is not in a good mood, and she just went to interrogate Shimiya. If he isn't observant and says the wrong thing like that orange-haired brat who got locked in the black room, offending the Captain, then it will be terrible."
Ōmaeda quickly led the way.
"Are they not injured?"
Aizen asked with concern.
"They are injured, but they are all superficial wounds, nothing serious… It's a miracle, really, that dealing with such enemies doesn't require them to lie in the comprehensive treatment center for a few days. Truly fortunate."
"However, precisely because of this, if they were to be tormented by the Captain, that would be truly unreasonable."
"Vice-Captain Ōmaeda seems to have a deep prejudice against Captain Suì-Fēng."
"No prejudice, only opinions!"
"Oh? Is that so? Tell me about it?"
Ōmaeda's body froze in place, his raised foot suspended in mid-air, as if time had stopped at that moment, and he indeed wished it had.
But unfortunately, the icy killing intent mixed with spiritual pressure rushed towards him, stabbing at him like knives.
"Ca… Captain?"
Ōmaeda had no time to consider Kyōraku and Aizen's reactions beside him. He mechanically twisted his neck to look ahead, only to see the object of his complaints, Suì-Fēng, standing with Shimiya Takeru at the entrance of the division barracks' prison. It seemed the interrogation had ended, and no conflict appeared to have occurred. In fact, judging by their standing distance, it seemed… their relationship was quite good?
"Heh."
Suì-Fēng twitched her lips, her smile utterly cold.
But she said nothing.
She merely shifted her gaze from Ōmaeda, turning it towards Kyōraku and Aizen.
"I know why you're here. Don't worry, everything has been clarified. You can rest assured and go back."
"Can't we leave yet?"
They were all intelligent people, with no intention of exchanging pleasantries.
Kyōraku also pulled down his hat brim, speaking frankly.
Suì-Fēng raised an eyebrow, displeased: "Do you want them, injured and exhausted, to painstakingly return to their residences? My Second Division barracks isn't just a prison. What's the harm in letting them stay a night in a few rooms? Besides, they helped me. If I couldn't even do that much, people would say I'm unfeeling."
Aizen and Kyōraku subconsciously looked at Ōmaeda.
"?!"
Ōmaeda's mouth hung open, his face filled with despair.
No, don't look over here now.
What does that mean?
He doesn't remember his kindness as a guide at all, but specifically remembers his slip of the tongue, right?
"Heh."
Suì-Fēng gave another cold laugh, still saying nothing.
This reaction even made Shimiya Takeru feel a hint of eeriness. He could only look at Ōmaeda, who had called for help, with a sympathetic gaze, as if to say, "If you survive tonight, then after tonight, you and I will be friends."
Yes, after tonight.
Not now.
So he didn't need to intervene.
"Then, Captain Suì-Fēng, we will be leaving now."
"Mm."
Facing Shimiya Takeru, Suì-Fēng's attitude was noticeably softer. Although it was just a snort from her nose, a sense of goodwill could be felt.
She then specifically arranged for staff to receive everyone.
It was completely VIP treatment.
Although the rooms for lodging didn't have soft beds, they had soft pillows, and they could bathe in the bathhouse and enjoy late-night snacks.
As for Ōmaeda, he was kicked out of the Second Division to patrol at night. He wouldn't be sleeping tonight; someone would even be watching him if he tried to slack off, which was truly heartbreaking.
Such a stark contrast left Aizen and Ichigo, who had just been 'released from prison,' puzzled.
What exactly did Shimiya Takeru do?
"Nothing much. I just gave a detailed report of the information I knew, and then offered some conjectures."
"That's it?"
Ichigo didn't believe it.
"Of course, it wasn't just casually said; that would be too disrespectful to Teacher Aizen."
As Aizen's public disciple, he couldn't be vulgar in terms of 'verbal communication'.
"My conjectures were based on actual folk customs survey cases from the Human World, such as 'At the Mountains of Madness,' 'The Dunwich Horror,' 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth,' 'The Haunting of Hill House,' and so on. I also offered ideas from anthropological, psychological, micro-expression, trace, and detective perspectives, setting the tone for the subsequent investigation and providing Captain Suì-Fēng with much professional inspiration."
"Perhaps I'm not very professional, but I could tell she was very satisfied. She even had a feeling of… well, vindication after hearing me describe the investigative methods for dealing with strangers?"
Three days later, according to the Human World's calendar, it was "Golden Week."
The Soul Society did not have this holiday, but it did usher in a new weekend.
Shimiya Takeru, early in the morning, pulled Ichigo and Rindo Yu back to Runlin'an again.
Without alarming the elders or Shiba Kūkaku, they went straight into the woods outside the village.
This strange behavior left Ichigo particularly confused.
"Shimiya, what exactly are you up to? Did you leave something important here, and you're taking us back to find it?"
"You're actually right. We're here to find something, but it's not mine. I don't even know what it looks like."
Shimiya Takeru stood on a large rock, surveying the surrounding terrain, seemingly to further confirm their location in order to pinpoint the search area.
"What is this supposed to be?"
Ichigo looked back at his teammates, puzzled, trying to find an answer.
Rindo Yu shook his head slightly. Even with his keen perception of others' emotions, it didn't mean he could know what was on their minds.
However, one thing he could state for certain.
Shimiya wouldn't do anything meaningless.
"After sharing some information with the Captain of the Second Division, I finally figured some things out."
Shimiya Takeru seemed to be answering their questions, and also talking to himself.
"That short-tempered, cold-faced woman was so kind as to share information with you? You weren't tricked, were you?"
Having won but then being arrested by his own people, Ichigo's impression of Suì-Fēng was particularly bad.
"Why do you think I would share cases of supernatural events from the Human World?"
"…What supernatural event cases? Those are just fictional literary works… So, it's hard to say if she tricked you, but you definitely tricked her."
"There's a saying, art imitates life. People can learn many novel things from literary works, and then, well…"
"And then what?"
Ichigo frowned, his curiosity unconsciously piqued.
"Then, when you have someone you're communicating with in front of you, you can't help but express your thoughts, and often combine them with your own situation, citing several vivid examples."
Shimiya Takeru spread his hands.
"See? The information just came out, didn't it?"
"…"
Ichigo was dumbfounded.
It took him a while to realize.
Shimiya had said that on purpose.
The goal was to induce Suì-Fēng to connect the information she had investigated with the stories he described, thereby engaging in divergent thinking.
No matter what she associated, she would feel exceptionally excited, because she saw the dawn of the case being solved, and saw more possibilities.
And Suì-Fēng subconsciously believed this was all Shigong's credit. While her favorability towards him greatly increased, she would also involuntarily show off her "gains."
And to add credibility and maintain her dignity and authority as a Captain, she would inevitably present genuine and true information as evidence.
Therefore, there was almost no possibility of being deceived by false information.
Unless she was acting the entire time.
But that short-tempered, cold-faced woman had no reason to do so.
"Shimiya, you are truly too talented to be a folklorist. If you were a diplomat, then true world peace wouldn't be far off."
"Dealing with humans is not as interesting as dealing with supernatural events."
Shimiya Takeru said indifferently.
"Alright, back to the main topic. I learned some things from Suì-Fēng about the two academy students before they disappeared. Combined with the dying words of that Hollow, I roughly understand the reason for their disappearance."
"Dying words? I remember he seemed to have called out someone's name."
Ichigo tried to recall.
"Not the one you killed, but the one I took down."
Shimiya Takeru interrupted.
"That guy said before he died that those two academy students seemed to have appeared in Rukongai because of something, and unfortunately ran into a Hollow. I can confirm that thing is somewhere in Runlin'an. Now we need to find it and claim it for ourselves."