If possible, I would have liked to sleep until I woke up naturally. Even if I had to be woken up, the first face I saw should definitely have the gentlest of smiles.
Kōe slowly opened his eyes. The sky was just beginning to brighten, so there was no glaring sunlight. However, the row of neat, white teeth right in front of him acted like a row of lightbulbs, opening and closing to spit out a single sentence: "You're awake, hehe."
"Ah!!!" Kōe let out a heart-wrenching scream, his trembling finger pointing at the malicious-looking man in front of him. "Why are you here?! Wait, don't tell me I'm in Squad 12!!!"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri pinched his chin, seemingly deaf to Kōe's words, and muttered to himself, "He seems to have gotten stupider. According to past data, you should be fine by now." Thinking of this, Mayuri immediately turned his head and ordered his lieutenant, "Nemu, give him a full-body examination right now."
"Yes! Lord Mayuri!!"
Kōe watched as Kurotsuchi Nemu approached him while putting on a pair of gloves. He became uncharacteristically nervous. "That's not necessary, right? There's no need, really, there's no need..."
Nemu tried to lift the blanket covering Kōe, only to find it gripped tightly in his hands. She couldn't help but remind him, "Please cooperate, Lord Chōzuka."
"Squad 4 should have already examined me..."
"Can their examinations even compare to mine?" Mayuri said disdainfully.
"So even you know they can't be compared?" Kōe immediately retorted. "Are Squad 12's examinations even meant for the living?! No matter what, don't even think about trying your little ideas on me. Absolutely not!"
"Not even a little bit?"
"Not up for discussion!"
Seeing Kōe's resolute expression, Mayuri had no choice but to helplessly give up. However, he wasn't particularly interested in Kōe anyway.
"Then hand over that woman beside Zaraki to me. I'm very interested in her abilities."
"That woman beside Zaraki?" Kōe pretended to think for a moment before continuing, "That woman currently belongs to Squad 11. What's the use of asking me, an Academy teacher?"
"You're no longer an Academy teacher."
Mayuri briefly explained the latest arrangements to Kōe: his squad membership had been temporarily restored, and all captured Ryoka would be credited to his name. Once this disturbance settled, it was highly likely that Kōe would officially return to the Gotei 13.
"I see." Kōe looked quite pleased. "But the real reason you came to find me is because you can't do anything about Zaraki, right?"
"It's impossible to communicate with that idiot!" Mayuri rolled his eyes, his voice gradually rising. "How could he possibly understand how precious that woman is? Using her as bait? What a waste of time!"
"Actually, that was my idea..."
As soon as Kōe said this, Mayuri froze instantly. He maintained his head-tilted posture for quite a while before slowly lowering his head and saying coldly, "I'm actually not surprised at all."
"I don't think there's any need to research that woman's abilities."
"Which is why I'm not surprised." Mayuri sat on the edge of the bed with a face full of exasperation, poking Kōe's heavily bandaged left hand. "Your injuries are actually completely healed. This was all done by that woman. It's a method of healing that even Unohana has never seen before; it might not even fall under the category of healing."
"Is there a difference? I mean, this falls into my blind spot of knowledge..."
"What aspect isn't your blind spot?" Mayuri retorted bluntly. Without waiting for Kōe to answer, he continued, "You just need to understand that this woman likely possesses a completely new power, one that is different from ours yet compatible. She is absolutely precious research material."
Mayuri grew increasingly excited as he spoke, rubbing his hands together in an impatient manner. "I've already arranged a full schedule of plans for her. Now I'm just waiting for you to..."
"I refuse!" Kōe and Mayuri went way back. In the beginning, he might have been intimidated by the other party's self-righteous arrogance, but now? He could just ignore it.
"I'm not joking with you right now."
"I'm being very serious." Kōe blinked at Mayuri as he spoke, though his expression looked anything but serious.
"It seems your brain really was damaged..."
"Look at the bigger picture, Mayuri. We've only captured two Ryoka so far, and we can confirm that at least six invaded. How do you know there won't be even more interesting ones?"
"Ones that could send you to the dissection table?"
"Uh... I didn't have my sword with me. It was just an accident," Kōe replied awkwardly. Mayuri had no intention of letting him off easily, continuing his mockery.
"It's also an accident that you didn't die. What a pity."
Speechless. What else could he say? *If you went up against him, it would be the same result?* Mayuri would probably just throw a massive pile of data at him, explaining how easily he could have dealt with Ishida Uryū, even if it was a hypothetical scenario...
"Then I don't feel bad at all for making you wait so long for nothing!" Kōe turned his head, muttering in a voice loud enough for Mayuri to hear perfectly, "I won't give you a single one of the Ryoka we catch from now on."
"Or maybe you'll end up delivering yourself to me. Just a little reminder, coming to find you was merely a side trip."
"Oh?"
Mayuri didn't keep him in suspense, lowering his voice. "Aizen Sōsuke's corpse was discovered early this morning. Killed in a single strike. Even you couldn't pull that off, right?"
"So you're here to collect his corpse?"
"I have no interest in him. It's just that a captain dying without putting up any resistance is truly unbelievable. Faking his death using something like a Gigai isn't out of the realm of possibility."
"From the looks of it now, Captain Aizen is truly dead." If he had determined it was a faked death, Mayuri wouldn't have come over to hint at the danger. But since he was dropping hints, Kōe smiled and asked, "So, are you worried about me?"
Mayuri didn't answer, instead giving Kōe an ambiguous look, leaving him to figure it out for himself.
In truth, even Mayuri didn't understand his own reasons for doing this. Was he warning Kōe to be careful? Or was he subconsciously seeking an ally?
Aizen's death was far too bizarre. For a captain to be taken out so silently made it hard not to be suspicious. Compared to the Ryoka, this was something much easier for someone close by to accomplish.
It was no wonder the news had been temporarily sealed. But since he had confirmed there was no possibility of the corpse being a fake, once Unohana reported the body's condition to the Head Captain, the news would eventually be released as a confirmed fact. In all likelihood, the blame would still be pinned on the Ryoka.
Mayuri was certain that there was at least a second faction operating within the Seireitei right now. Therefore, waiting around for so long was perhaps also a way to see whose side Kōe was on.
It was just that with a guy like this, you couldn't tell until the very last moment. That was fine, too. Waiting for the outcome was the wisest course of action. No matter which side lost, his material inventory would be replenished.
If it ended up being Kōe Shihouin, that wouldn't be bad either. Although he constantly expressed his disdain verbally, Mayuri had drawn up plans for him a long time ago—as early as before he and Kōe had even met.