After finding Matsumoto Rangiku's missing soul fragment, Kazuma didn't separate it right away.
Instead, he fed the Hōgyoku a thread of power carrying his own will.
Even someone as strong as him had nearly been tempted by the Hōgyoku just now.
Aizen might not handle it any better.
To put it simply, the Hōgyoku was a thing formed from the gathered soul fragments of Shinigami and Hollows.
Since it was made of soul fragments, it naturally held consciousness — and more than that, it held resentment, almost like a cursed blade steeped in the malice of everyone bound inside it.
If your own soul were ground down into a mass of thoughts and feelings, anyone would be brimming with resentment.
Even the most overworked, burnt-out worker couldn't compare.
Holding down that resentment wasn't something raw strength alone could manage.
As long as you stayed near it, it would tempt you every moment, dragging you toward corruption and madness.
The upside of this thing was that it could absorb and give shape to the desires of those around it.
It could also protect its host's body from death and decay.
When the host reached their limit, or their life was in danger, the Hōgyoku could force them to evolve to the next level.
That evolution had limits, though.
The host's own potential decided how far they could go.
And the moment the host's belief in it wavered, the Hōgyoku would abandon them without mercy.
This thing was seriously evil!
Kazuma had thought about destroying it more than once, but in the end he still didn't.
He couldn't even be sure whether the urge to destroy it had itself been planted by the Hōgyoku.
"Found it! Rukia, have you finished your drink?"
Kazuma turned to see Rukia clutching the wine flask warily, as if someone were about to snatch it away.
"Not yet. Teacher, if you're out, go find another one yourself. Stop eyeing mine."
Rukia was overthinking again, as if Kazuma would really steal her wine.
She was stingy as hell!
"Who wants your wine? Hurry up and finish it, then hand over the flask. I need it to hold Rangiku's soul fragment."
Kazuma stared at her with the look of a teacher disappointed in his useless student.
He really didn't know how Rukia had turned out like this — completely different from the heroine in the original story.
Of course, he'd never admit that Rukia had ended up this way because of him, her unreliable teacher!
He was the real culprit behind what she'd become.
A perfectly good heroine, taught by him into someone who only wanted to slack off, talked too much, was scatterbrained, and even a little sly!
"…"
[A moment of silence for Rukia.]
"Oh! Wait for me to finish, then!"
"Gulp! Gulp!"
Rukia lifted the flask and started gulping it down.
"Drink less! You can't handle this wine if you chug it like that!"
Before Kazuma could even finish, Rukia had already drained the whole flask in one go.
"Teacher… when did you learn how to use clones technique?"
Rukia stared at the Kazuma in front of her as he split from one into two, then two into three, and then into countless versions of himself.
Kazuma shook his head helplessly and muttered inwardly, 'This girl is still so impatient. She doesn't even know how to pace herself when she drinks.'
He was thinking about how to fix Rukia's bad habits later when he noticed her face had already gone bright red and her eyes had turned hazy.
The wine in that flask seemed to have some kind of magic in it, dragging Rukia into a drunken daze in an instant.
She swayed on her feet, her steps unsteady, yet still stubbornly lifted her head to speak to him.
"Teacher, here, take the flask. I finished it. Hehe!"
The flask hadn't even reached Kazuma's hand before Rukia lost her grip on herself.
She toppled over drunk, hit the ground, and within a few seconds soft snores began drifting up from her.
'Great.'
'She'd actually gotten so drunk she fell asleep!'
Off to the side, the looks on Aizen's and Ichimaru Gin's faces were quite a sight.
Was this really the Rukia they knew?
"Is she… all right?" Gin asked, unsure what to make of Rukia's current state.
"What could happen? Once she sobers up, she'll wake up on her own."
Kazuma swore that once this whole mess was over, he would reform Rukia properly.
He absolutely could not let her keep going like this.
She was seriously wrecking the image of the heroine in his heart!
This had to be corrected. It absolutely had to be corrected!
Kazuma felt helpless just looking at her. He could only shake his head weakly and slowly pick up the flask.
Then he focused completely and began carefully separating Matsumoto Rangiku's soul fragment from the Hōgyoku.
Every movement was delicate, as if he were carving a precious work of art and feared even the smallest slip.
When that soul fragment was finally separated, the whole space seemed to freeze.
A heavy, indescribable weight filled the air.
Ichimaru Gin, always known for his calm and his perfect mask, began to tremble uncontrollably.
The feelings he'd buried deep in his heart came surging out like a tide.
He had stayed undercover beside Aizen for so many years, and everything he'd done had been for this one wisp of soul.
It was his most important obsession — the reason he had to keep living.
In his eyes, as long as he could save Matsumoto Rangiku, he would face any danger and do anything without a moment's hesitation.
Even if it cost him his own life, he wouldn't regret it. Because to Gin, his life had been lived almost entirely for Rangiku's sake.
She was the only person who mattered in his world, the brightest light in his life.
He himself was like a man toyed with by fate, quietly guarding that love from the shadows.
"Take it. You should be the one to hand this back to her."
Kazuma guided the drifting soul fragment into the wine flask as gently as he could, as if afraid of harming that fragile soul.
When it was done, he let out a long breath, as though he'd finished some deeply important task.
Then he casually tossed the flask with the soul fragment to Ichimaru Gin.
Gin froze.
Watching the flask fly toward him, surprise crossed his eyes first, quickly replaced by something he couldn't put into words.
He reached out with both hands and caught it steadily.
The moment he felt its weight, his heart shook, as if a current had run through his whole body.
He began softly stroking the flask in his hands, his movements gentle and careful, like he was protecting a priceless treasure.
Every brush of his fingers carried deep tenderness.
His gaze slowly blurred, and tears rose in his eyes — faint and glimmering, as if they held more than words could ever say.
"All right! It's all wrapped up nicely. These two Hōgyoku are yours now."
Right then, Aizen's heart was in turmoil, unable to settle for a long while.
He'd spent so many years planning, all for the Hōgyoku, and now it had fallen into his hands so easily.
That excitement burned deep inside him like a blazing flame.
If not for his remarkable self-control, he'd probably have lost his composure already!
"Aizen, let me make one thing clear first. The Hōgyoku is a deeply strange thing that can easily tempt and twist a person's heart. If you don't have enough will and control, and it slowly pushes you into doing something that crosses my line, then I won't hold back. I'll kill you without hesitation."
As Kazuma said this, his already cold face turned even more serious.
He clearly wasn't joking. He was warning Aizen in earnest.
Aizen quietly took in that grave expression and sighed inwardly.
Very sensibly, he gave his answer at once.
"Rest assured, Kazuma. I'll treat the Hōgyoku with the greatest care. I absolutely won't let it disturb my mind! Only the mediocre are bewitched by the Hōgyoku. And I... am not such a man."
With that, Aizen gently swept a hand back through his hair.
A sound like shattering glass rang out from his body.
In an instant, his whole look changed.
It was as if some magic had given him an instant makeover. From a gentle, refined scholar, he became a sharp-eyed, handsome villain!
"Holy shit! Holy freaking shit! There it is! The hair-gel move! The classic scene!"
Kazuma's sudden teasing left Aizen completely confused.
"Hair-gel move? What is that?"
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