"Alright, everyone disperse. Go about your business."
After sending Harribel and her group into the rooms that had been prepared long ago, Kensei Kenzuru stretched lazily, ready to go back to his own room and lie down for a bit.
Just as he turned, his collar was grabbed.
"Kensei, come with me."
Aizen's voice was as calm as ever, but carried a note that brooked no refusal.
"What for?"
Kensei had a bad feeling about this.
"Collecting stabilizer." Aizen was concise. "Vasto Lorde Arrancarization requires a larger dosage in reserve. My stock is insufficient."
Dragged into the room by Aizen, Kensei looked at the test tube, considerably larger than the ones he'd seen before, and his eyelids twitched.
His face instantly fell. "So... there's really no room for negotiation?"
"None."
Aizen methodically tidied the bedding, replying without looking up.
Yoruichi walked over and patted Kensei on the shoulder, her tone full of teasing. "Able ones do more work. If this can promote peace across the three worlds, Kensei, you'll go down in history."
"If that were the case, I'd rather just blow up the three worlds."
Kensei rolled his eyes. This was more embarrassing than even the most shameful literature.
"Lie down."
Aizen pointed at the bed, her expression calm as she looked at Kensei.
"Sister Yoruichi, why are you still here?"
Kensei obediently lay down. Though this wasn't the first time for this sort of thing, and both people before him had extraordinary relationships with him, the situation was bound to be awkward no matter how you thought about it...
"This is necessary supervision." Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "As the major shareholder, I need to ensure you're reasonably utilized, lest someone gets carried away and makes extra moves."
Aizen ignored Yoruichi's teasing, merely focusing on the work at hand.
She slowly drew near, leaning down to begin adjusting the tube connectors at Kensei's side. This distance was very close; Kensei could smell the faint fragrance on her.
Aizen's breathing was steady, her fingertips occasionally transmitting a slightly cool touch. Though her current actions were somewhat undignified, her concentration was as if she were handling a work of art. It left Kensei's awkwardness stuck in his throat, unable to escape.
"Steady your breathing."
Aizen lowered her voice, the warmth of her exhale brushing against Kensei's earlobe.
Kensei felt his face heat up. It wasn't shyness about this accustomed action, but this situation—being on one hand subjected to Aizen's rational, scientific research attitude sample collection, while on the other being watched with keen interest by Yoruichi—was indeed a bit much for the pure Kensei to handle.
Yoruichi watched Aizen's hands occasionally performing various maneuvers. Before long, even she, the supervisor, felt her own hands ache.
"Almost there."
Aizen knew Kensei's body like the back of her hand. She could accurately determine Kensei's physical state through his subtle reactions.
"Good cooperation. Sample highly active."
Yoruichi smacked her lips twice, somewhat enviously. "Judging by your proficiency, you've cooperated quite a bit before, haven't you?"
"Let the record show, I'm passive. Kūkon can testify."
As Kensei finished speaking, Kūkon on the bedside vibrated twice, as if to say, don't ask her to prove something like this.
"Focus. It's not over yet."
Aizen's eyes narrowed slightly. She didn't want to fail at the last step due to unnecessary mistakes.
Yoruichi couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Kensei, relax! This is for your great cause!"
The collection process continued amidst a certain awkward atmosphere. Aizen maintained a high degree of calm, every operation precise and error-free.
Milky Way Cross Strike!
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned strange and complicated.
Outside the door, Nelliel was tilting her head in confusion.
She had just heard Aizen say she needed to collect stabilizer, and saw Kensei and Yoruichi follow Aizen into a room.
Already curious about Arrancarization, her heart was itching like being continuously scratched by a cat's paw.
What was it about Kensei that was so powerful? It could make an Adjuchas like Apacci stronger, and could even work on a Vasto Lorde like Harribel?
Before Nelliel even got close, her powerful senses caught the commotion inside: the rustle of fabric, rapid panting, and Yoruichi's occasional teasing laughter.
She cautiously approached the door, which wasn't completely shut, observing everything inside through the door crack.
The next moment, Nelliel completely froze.
Her clear, innocent eyes, as clear and simple as a university student's, widened to the size of saucers. She covered her slightly open mouth with her hand. The scene before her completely exceeded her capacity for understanding.
She didn't understand it, but she was deeply shocked.
Miss Aizen was completely different from her usual calm demeanor, up close controlling and guiding Kensei, revealing a side Nelliel had never seen before. As for Miss Yoruichi, sitting on the chair, though Nelliel could only see half her profile, she still glimpsed a smile she couldn't comprehend.
As for Kensei...
Nelliel's gaze swept to Kensei, seeing the slight embarrassment on his face, but not an expression of resistance. Her brain completely shut down.
Was this also a way of connecting between companions?
Could this be... Kensei's way of helping everyone?
Chaotic thoughts assaulted Nelliel's simple, pure worldview.
Previously, she had always thought that becoming stronger meant either hunting and eating, or training oneself. Later, she learned one could also become stronger through Miss Aizen's experiments.
Nelliel had never imagined there was also this kind of... she didn't know how to describe it... this way of giving.
Her mind was in a whirl. Her body was nailed to the spot, unable to look away, unable to comprehend what was happening before her.
Inside the room, the collection was nearing its end.
Aizen carefully sealed the collected stabilizer. The quality collected this time had somewhat exceeded her expectations.
Kensei let out a long sigh. The mental torment was far more intense than the physical exhaustion. He quickly straightened his clothes; couldn't catch a cold.
Yoruichi stretched, rising from the chair. "Indispensable, Kensei."
"Are you going to give me a medal of encouragement too?"
Kensei grumbled in reply.
The three pushed open the room's door and simultaneously froze.
Nelliel was still standing outside the door, maintaining her peeking posture, dazedly standing there, her eyes full of bewilderment, clearly not yet recovered from the shock.
The air froze for a few seconds.
Yoruichi was the first to react. She looked at Nelliel, then at the also stunned Kensei. The smile at the corner of her mouth grew increasingly pronounced.
"Oh dear, blame it on how captivating it was. Didn't expect there was another one outside." Yoruichi nudged Kensei with her elbow. "How do you feel now, oh Crown Prince of Soul Society, sacrificing himself for science?"
Kensei now wanted to use Kūkon to run away immediately. His good, profound image in front of Nelliel had completely collapsed.
Soul King, was this also within your calculations!
Aizen glanced at Nelliel, calmly walked up to her. "Having curiosity is a good thing, but this kind of behavior is not recommended."
Nelliel slowly blinked, her gaze falling on Kensei.
Her eyes still carried the shock from just now. She looked at Kensei for a long moment before softly speaking.
"Kensei... for everyone's sake, you work so hard."
Paired with Nelliel's unique purity and straightforwardness, this sentence directly made Yoruichi burst out laughing.
Kensei felt a rush of heat to his head. He wanted to explain but didn't know how to begin, could only smile complexly. "No hardship. Serving everyone."
Kensei glanced at the culprit, Aizen, only to find she had already taken the completed stabilizer and was heading towards the lab, completely unconcerned with the scene here.
"Let's go. Time for real work."
Yoruichi suppressed her laughter, pushing Kensei towards the lab.
-----------------
Deep underground in Hueco Mundo, Szayelaporro Granz's laboratory.
On the main screen, various complex data streams were rapidly scrolling. Szayelaporro excitedly rubbed his hands together, fanatical light flickering in his eyes.
"Exquisite! This reishi composition... it's the most perfect foundation!"
He obsessively stared at the data on Kensei's spiritual pressure sample, extracted from the remains of the modified Hollow. The information left behind in the remains was enough for Szayelaporro to conduct some analysis.
From Gorudo Roikodium's limited memories, Szayelaporro deduced the approximate area where Kensei and the others might be hiding. His eyes narrowed slightly, his fingertips occasionally tapping the desk.
"Baraggan has so many subordinates, perfect for pathfinding..." Szayelaporro licked his lips. "Let them test the waters first. Just need to wait for my dear creation to complete its final adjustments..."
He turned to look at Gorudo Roikodium, becoming increasingly synchronized with Ikomikidomoe, a smile on his lips.
"Soon." Szayelaporro murmured. "Once this creation is complete, I can capture this Shinigami, and then dissect and study him thoroughly."
"Soon, I will become the perfect being I've always dreamed of."
The lab echoed with Szayelaporro's deranged laughter.
***
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