‘Human’

The moment they arrived within the tower, Kisuke immediately scanned the whole floor and saw everyone who felt their presence make their way towards them. But instead of them, he quickly went to find someone he wanted to check on, 'She's in the private training room, swinging her sword. How diligent... Or should I say she's just trying to take her mind off it?'

"Tell the others that I'm going to where Aika is.", he said to Kuroka and Koneko before walking off in the direction of the dome beside the tower.

As he entered the dome, he saw all sorts of people using the facilities inside and some of them were even acquaintances. However, it wasn't just people who were training who were in there but also some people who were pretending to train but their eyes kept darting all around the place. And when he entered the vicinity, Kisuke immediately felt several prying eyes landing on him, 'Hmm... I wonder who's informants these people are. There are too many of them for just a simple observation and it seems that most of them are working as one single group.'

This instance just gave Kisuke an idea of how volatile the situation was and is a telltale sign that something big was about to go down, 'I have some 'insurances' but I'm still worried. What if a God found a loophole and was able to freely use his or her Divine Power for his own goals? Serafall would be able to hold her ground if there was a God or two, but the consequences later down the line wouldn't be a joke. It could immediately cascade down to the 'Apocalypse', but none of us are ready for that yet. Not even the Dungeon.'

And while thinking about all of this stuff that he definitely didn't want to get involved in, Kisuke reached the private training room where Aika was staying. Using his authority, he opened the door without saying anything.

"Welcome back~ Took you a little while longer than expected, huh?" greeted Aika, but she didn't stop swinging her Nodachi.

While walking towards the corner of the training room where there's a table and a few seats, Kisuke replied while chuckling, "Well, as they say, plans are meant to be broken. And they had a once in a lifetime opportunity so it was stupid to stop that just for the sake of following some schedule that could easily be adjusted."

"I see... That's really good."

After placing some tea and snacks on the table, Kisuke turned to her and said, "The face you're making is very far from your sentiment."

Aika immediately stopped swinging her sword and touched her face. She found out that she's slightly pouting. Afraid that she would be misunderstood, Aika hurriedly followed up, "Don't get it wrong! I'm really glad for them. It's just that..." She then stood there with heavy shoulders and looked down, "I envy them... I feel jealous."

"While everyone was figuratively leaping through their Dragon Gates, here am I tripping and stumbling backward. The moment I looked up, it's as if I couldn't see their backs anymore... I can feel the distance... I found my limits."

Kisuke was about to pour tea in Aika's cup, but decided against it as it seems that she won't be in a mood for some anytime soon. Instead, he slowly walked towards her before sitting on the floor beside her, "How awfully honest of you."

Aika sheathed her sword and smiled wryly before sitting down beside him, hugging her own knees, "You're the one who taught me how to be honest, and is there a point in hiding this from you? You could probably already tell."

Kisuke shook his head, "You're wrong. I could have my guesses, but I could never truly know what you're thinking and feeling without you telling me about it. As convenient as mind reading is, I have no way of doing such a thing."

"But your guesses are never far off the mark."

"That might be true, however, I could let such remarks get into my head. The moment it did will be the moment my all-important head would become useless." Kisuke sighed as he recalled the days he started checking his own pride. He was aware of what he can do and also aware that it's not normal. Early on he had become aware of this, it was also the day that he started checking his own mindset and evaluating it the very next day.

This preemptive measure helped him not destroy himself and those around him, but this is what caused Aizen to call him a coward.

"Enough about myself. I'm sure you've also been keeping a lot of things to yourself, especially after the day you met your parents again."

"Can I be more honest?"

Kisuke took a quick peek at her and saw that she was burying her head within her knees, "Looks like there's a lot. Sure. Please go all the way."

Aika didn't immediately speak up, but Kisuke didn't force her and waited for her to begin.

A few minutes later, Aika's first words surprised him, "I... actually already know the name of my Bankai..."

If she could already call the name of her Bankai then the fact that she still failed her 'trial' comes down to two possible scenarios, "Then..."

"I could probably release it if I wanted to...", clarified Aika, "...But I didn't... I can't do it..." she buried her head further within her knees.

Kisuke was legitimately surprised at what she'd just said and started thinking of the reasons she couldn't release her Bankai. But after a while, among the options within his head, he found the most likely reason, "You're afraid, huh...", muttered Kisuke.

Aika didn't affirm it, however, she also didn't do nor say anything to deny it, so Kisuke could safely assume that his guess was correct, 'Just by attempting to subdue her own Zanpakuto and learning its true name, she should have also realized its true nature and what it'd bring her. I wasn't able to witness her attempt, but considering how her Zanpakuto was different in nature compared to mine and Yoruichi's, I can understand if there's something else that made her feel this way. It should also be about the emotions she has been bottling up until now tipping the balance.'

"I could say that everything's going to be fine and I'll always be here with you, but that's just another way of saying that what you do doesn't matter with me here and that'd only cause you to keep it to yourself even more. All this time, I've been irresponsible. I owe you and everyone else an apology. Please forgive me."

At this point, Kisuke started having serious doubts about how he does things and started questioning what he had been doing ever since he came to a new world.

Aika, who Kisuke thought wouldn't have much problems due to her adventurous and borderline crazy personality, would unironically become the catalyst that would cause him to become more 'human'. Whether this is a good thing or not, only the future holds the answer.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Benihime 'breathed' for the first time in a while and this partner of his hid the fact that she had woken up, 'Now then... I wonder when I should start? I must wait for the chance where I can corner him as much as possible.'