Help! I am bound to Aizen!-Chapter 294

Chapter 294

2-in-1 chapter:

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Ten days had passed since the massive explosion that shook all of Seireitei. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the various Division members and the Kidō Corps, the rubble had finally been cleared away. Even so, those who saw the gigantic crater with their own eyes found it hard to believe that a single person’s body could have created such destruction.

At first, many Shinigami were terrified. Kaelith had been struck out of the sky, like a fallen black hawk—what kind of power could do such a thing? Was it some calamity from beyond their world? An ancient Hollow? Or perhaps the legendary Quincy force lurking in the shadows of Seireitei?

But the very next day, an official announcement dispelled the rumors:

It was the Captain-Commander who had given Captain Kaelith that epic beating!

Hearing this news, everyone relaxed. So it was the Captain-Commander—no wonder! For a time, they all cheerfully toasted Kaelith’s supposed demise.

Yet the man himself was currently seated on a large fur-draped chair, narrating his daring tale:

“Back then, the Zero Division sent five thousand soldiers to surround me! You know about the Royal Guard soldiers blessed by the Soul King’s power, right? Each one is as tough as steel and wields tremendous abilities, easily on par with a regular Lieutenant!

“Surrounded like that, I feared nothing. Charging right in, I left a bloody trail in the Royal Palace, piling up bodies like mountains. As for the Royal Guard—what you call the ‘King’s Special Forces’—they all knelt down and begged me to stop. They asked, ‘Why are you so angry?’

“So I told them that Seireitei’s policies need improvement—why on earth do female Shinigami have to wear those long uniform pants? It’s an affront to human nature!

“The Zero Division started crying, promising to fix it at once. They said they’d issue an order so all female Shinigami would have to wear short skirts!”

Growing more excited by the second, Kaelith jumped onto the chair, one foot planted on the armrest, striking a spirited pose. Below him, the Eleventh Division officers roared with enthusiasm.

“Short skirts! Short skirts! Short skirts!”

Their cheers echoed through the hall as Kaelith threw his head back in laughter. Standing at the edge of the crowd, Aizen folded his arms and watched coldly. Seeing Kaelith revel in his own tale, Aizen tweaked his voice with a bit of spiritual pressure and shouted:

“Captain! When’s that order going into effect?”

Kaelith, who’d been cackling in triumph, froze. Everyone else turned with the same question in their eyes: Right, when would this short-skirt policy actually happen?

Kaelith cleared his throat. “You fools! Things with the Zero Division aren’t that simple. They’ve lived hundreds of thousands, even a million years. A century to them is like a single day for us. Something that takes them a few days could be centuries over here!

“But don’t worry. I know plenty of bigshots up there. I’ll make sure they push it through quickly, so we can show off our mighty forces!”

Once again, the division members erupted in cheers. A muscular man suddenly yelled:

“Boss! I don’t want to see the female officers in short skirts—I want to see you in one!”

For two seconds, silence reigned. Then the atmosphere exploded, louder than ever.

“Boss in a skirt!”

“Boss’s muscles!”

“Boss’s bulge!”

The men flexed, brandished weapons, and waved flags. Aizen inhaled sharply, feeling a wave of exasperation. This place was impossible to tolerate even for a single day.

Fortunately, the commotion didn’t last long. Rangiku quickly climbed up, pulled Kaelith down, and hustled him back to his room.

Inside, Rangiku wore a stern look as she set down a bowl of medicine. “Kaelith, have you forgotten what Captain Unohana said? You’re not fully recovered yet, so don’t overdo it!”

Kaelith merely smirked. With a body like his, why fear any doctor’s orders? He accepted the medicine and downed it in one go. Rangiku nodded in satisfaction.

Just as she was about to say something else, the door opened, and Gin Ichimaru entered with a bowl of porridge.

“Captain, I made you some vegetable porridge. I added a little meat for flavor, so it won’t taste bland.”

Kaelith sniffed it curiously, looking pleased at the aroma—it was nearly as good as one of his own creations. As he sipped, Rangiku narrowed her eyes and eyed Gin disapprovingly.

How dare this newbie act so presumptuous? Gin gave her a mocking grin, as if to say, “What do you know about the captain? Men understand each other best.”

A vein throbbed on Rangiku’s forehead. Gin Ichimaru clearly had a death wish. She was about to act on that thought when the door opened again, revealing Aizen in his black Shinigami uniform and lieutenant’s badge. He stepped inside, flashed a polite smile at the pair, and said nothing.

Gin promptly stepped out, and Rangiku also took the hint and slipped away, shutting the door behind her. Aizen gave a satisfied nod, then took a seat across from Kaelith, who was still drinking porridge.

“All right, Kaelith. Let’s hear all the details about what happened this time.”

Ever since they dug Kaelith out of that crater, he’d been unconscious for several days. Captain Unohana and a team of medical Shinigami had worked tirelessly to save his life. Officially, he was supposed to be discharged not long ago. However, on the very night the Captain-Commander visited him in the hospital, Kaelith’s condition mysteriously took a turn for the worse, and he was forced to stay a few more days.

He only managed to leave today.

Aizen’s comment on all this? “That’s just typical.”

Kaelith polished off the porridge, set the bowl down, and recounted his journey to the Royal Palace in full detail. “Aizen, I really suffered this time. You have no idea how strong that monk is. With just one blow—seriously, just one—he fractured my bones. And my body’s been tempered to the extreme!

“Then, near the end, he went even further, blasting me out of the Royal Palace. Who knows how far I fell? My uniform burned off completely, and everyone gawked at me in all my glory!

“The worst part was that even though I denied messing with the flame imprint, Teacher still decided it was my doing. The old guy was brutal—I think I got it worse from him than at the Royal Palace…”

While Kaelith rambled on, Aizen sank into thought. Kaelith’s actions and words in the Royal Palace would be enough to anger any ruling authority. That monk attacking him was no surprise.

Yet the monk’s ambiguous demeanor was difficult to interpret. He was supposed to guard the Soul King and uphold the order of the Three Worlds—why spare Kaelith in the end?

Key words and phrases swirled in Aizen’s mind, gradually forming a conjecture: the monk might not hold the Soul King in absolute regard after all. Could it be that the Soul King was more of a concept than a person? If so, maybe the monk thought Kaelith’s ambition impossible and wasn’t inclined to kill him.

But that clashed with Aizen’s own research. Over the years, he’d gathered fragments of the Soul King, each indicating the Soul King was indeed a single living entity. So perhaps the Soul King had special attributes that made replacement impossible—even for Kaelith?

If that were true, the monk’s decision to spare Kaelith seemed odd. The Soul King could be killed or destroyed, so one would expect an absolute approach—any challenger should be eliminated, ensuring no one would attempt it again. A being who’d lived over a million years wouldn’t neglect something that obvious.

Then again…

Aizen’s expression shifted. He realized he’d been analyzing this from an adversarial viewpoint, assuming the monk saw challengers as enemies. But what if it wasn’t a direct conflict? What if a challenger and the monk could share a common ground?

His face darkened as the thought crossed his mind.

“Aizen?” Kaelith called, noticing the change.

Aizen stared at him a moment, then spoke. “From now on, regarding the plan for the Soul King, do nothing on your own. If I find out you move forward without discussing it with me first…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but the threat in his tone was clear.

Kaelith’s eyes lit up. “Aha! You must’ve figured something out, right? As soon as you say that, I know you have some grand idea. Actually, I’ve basically guessed it too. Should we compare notes?”

“Sure. You go first,” Aizen said.

Kaelith fell silent for a few seconds, then coughed. “Aizen, you really need to work harder.”

“Hmm?”

“I ended up getting pummeled by the monk only because you weren’t pulling your weight. Starting now, double your training. I expect you to surpass that monk’s reiatsu in ten years, so you can help me become the ultimate existence!”

Aizen’s blood pressure soared. He opened Kaelith’s personal grievance ledger and scribbled furiously in it.

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. Glancing at Kaelith, he said, “Aren’t you curious why the Captain-Commander was so sure you sealed that flame mark yourself?”

“Of course.”

Aizen smirked. “I know. Right around the time you were about to be discharged, Captain Hirako returned from the Royal Palace. He went to report at the First Division barracks, and about half an hour later, the Captain-Commander stormed over to your ward in a fury.”

Kaelith’s eyes widened in rage. “Hirako, you rotten traitor! You’ve dug your own grave!”

…

For reasons he couldn’t explain, Kaelith sensed something off about the Eleventh Division lately. Tōsen, Gin, Komamura, even Isshin—whenever they looked at him, there was this odd glint in their eyes. It was a mix of sentiment, anticipation, and pride…some new emotion he couldn’t quite place.

Finally, he grabbed the most loyal among them—Gin—and dragged him into a small alley, pressing him against the wall with a grin.

“Gin, you do still acknowledge me as your captain, right?”

Caught off guard by Kaelith’s sudden closeness, Gin blinked. Then he nodded. “Of course. You’ll always be my captain.”

Kaelith nodded in approval. “Then spill it. What are you all plotting? Why do you, Komamura, Tōsen, and even Isshin keep giving me that strange look?”

Gin seemed to understand, smiling after a brief pause. “There’s no helping it. Since you’ve caught on, I’ll tell you. We wanted to ask when your birthday is. Most of us were orphans from Rukongai, drifting about with no concept of birthdays. If we celebrate your birthday, it’s like celebrating our own.”

“That’s it?” Kaelith stared for a moment, then patted Gin’s shoulder. “You fools! If it’s just that, why not ask me directly?”

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He paused, eyes lighting up as though struck by inspiration. “No, that’s not enough—we need birthdays for all of you too! I want to plan a massive surprise, so don’t mention a word. It’ll be big. Just you wait!”

Still beaming, he let go of Gin and vanished in a flash step. Gin stood there, exhaling slowly.

His captain was easy enough to fool. Of course, they weren’t simply plotting a birthday celebration. One day, they’d present him with a gift of a far grander sort…

…

A few days later, the Captains convened for a meeting. Yamamoto stood at the head, surveying them.

“I’ve called you here today to discuss selecting a new Captain for the Twelfth Division.”

Those words made veterans like Kyōraku and Ukitake feel a bit heavyhearted. Only now did it fully sink in that Captain Hikifune was truly gone from Seireitei and unlikely to return. The sense of old faces vanishing, replaced by a new generation like Kaelith, was stronger than ever. In just a hundred years, so much had changed.

Was this the tide of the times?

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