Attending the Wedding, Aizen Moves

For Higashi Shuuichi, the only way to acquire a subordinate who wouldn't be instantly rejected by Tsunayashiro Kamihara was to manually create a traitor to Soul Society.

A true traitor. The kind Yamamoto Genryūsai himself couldn't tolerate.

Naturally, the ongoing Modified Soul Program was the perfect wedge.

A technology that, in the original timeline, was condemned by Central 46 as forbidden—tampering with human souls and Hollow powers was inherently unacceptable to conservatives like Yamamoto.

So when Kurotsuchi Mayuri mentioned that the next phase of experimentation carried a "certain degree of danger," Shuuichi immediately raised both hands in support.

It was like someone offering him a pillow just as he was looking to lie down.

Shuuichi and Mayuri both felt like they'd found a long-lost partner.

Of course, Mayuri himself wasn't the target.

Even if Shuuichi wanted to recruit him, this wasn't the method to use. Mayuri didn't need coercion. He was a man without morality, shame, or allegiance—pure science incarnate.

That was the fundamental difference between Mayuri and someone like Urahara Kisuke.

Urahara was all schemes and hidden motives—800 eyes inside one head. Mayuri? A clinical purist. Just hand him research.

But Oushi Yojima—now that was different.

A former small-time boss with scientific ability and a desperate desire to prove himself. He'd long wanted to break away from Mayuri and go solo.

This time, Shuuichi gave him that chance—and a guarantee:

No matter the outcome, he'd protect him. Bring him into the Katanagari-gumi.

That promise lifted the final burden from Oushi's heart.

And so, the plan—one that would surely send ripples through all of Soul Society—was sketched out deep beneath the Twelfth Division barracks.

But sketching was one thing. Execution required the right time, the right place, and the right people.

While waiting for that moment, Shuuichi, now residing at the newly built Katanagari compound funded by the Tsunayashiro clan, received an elegant, ornate wedding invitation.

"To Grand Swordhunter Higashi Shuuichi..."

Short. Cold. Formal. Clearly sent out of obligation.

The event? The wedding of Kuchiki Byakuya, eldest son of Kuchiki Sōjun, head of the Kuchiki clan.

"Kuchiki Byakuya's wedding?" Shuuichi murmured, eyes narrowing.

Naturally, his mind jumped to another name—Rukia Kuchiki.

But this was long before Rukia bore the Kuchiki name. She was likely still wandering as a street urchin.

Had it been decades ago, Shuuichi might have taken interest in Byakuya, in Rukia, might have personally helped reunite them.

But now?

Now, he didn't need to curry favor with key players from the original Soul Society plotline.

With the key to the Shadow Realm in hand, what use did he have for Kurosaki Ichigo?

The vow he'd made when first arriving in the Bleach world—to simply survive—was now child's play.

What troubled Shuuichi today was far greater:

How to avoid being noticed by the Monk from the Soul King Palace, who might slice him to bits for existing.

How to secure his position in a future openly hostile to the Gotei 13.

But still, appearances mattered. Refusing to attend the wedding of a noble heir—second only to the Tsunayashiro—would raise eyebrows.

So five days later, Shuuichi stood among the gathered Shinigami at the grand Kuchiki wedding.

Alone. Isolated. Out of place.

"Isn't that the old Vice-Captain Higashi?"

"You serious? He's Grand Swordhunter now! Haven't you heard? The Katanagari-gumi was formed to suppress us Gotei Captains!"

"Yeah, yeah—they don't answer to the Captain-Commander. Only to the nobles."

"No wonder I heard he used to be a traitor... didn't he nearly kill Sui-Feng, the Captain of Squad 2?"

The rumors flooded the air like spiritual static.

Shuuichi didn't even need to use Reiatsu perception—he could hear the whispering from every direction.

And most of it was... filthy.

He didn't know how his Bankai: "Borrowed Blade Execution", which sealed the Zanpakutō of several Captains, had turned into a story about him targeting all Shinigami.

But he could guess.

The Tsunayashiro family probably spun it that way. They wanted him welded to their side, beyond redemption. No going back.

Their secret sabotage was only helping a certain man who claimed to be insignificant.

But Shuuichi didn't mind.

Because his heart belonged to another. Always had.

And truth be told, no matter how he was perceived—he'd never stand on the same side as the Gotei again.

"What exactly is it you want, Shuuichi-dono?"

A small voice spoke across from him. A familiar figure—petite, serious, staring with piercing eyes.

Sui-Feng.

"Before I answer," Shuuichi said, swirling his drink, "I have a question for you.

Are you asking as the girl I once knew—Kozue Aya—or as Captain Sui-Feng of Squad 2?"

"Does it matter?" she snapped.

"It does.

If you're Kozue Aya...

Then I'll tell you I just wanted to show everyone in Soul Society that none of us were traitors.

That it wasn't our fault. That when the nobles came offering a chance to clear our names, I took it—without hesitation.

But if you're Sui-Feng, then I'll say this:

Yamamoto was wrong.

His decaying order has rotted Soul Society.

The Gotei 13 no longer stands for justice.

I returned... to forge a new order.

Those Shinigami you condemned as traitors?

They weren't.

They only became traitors because you labeled them that. Nothing more."

He knew this wasn't just Sui-Feng asking—it was the Gotei asking.

Every Captain. Every Vice-Captain. Every Shinigami was watching, waiting to see whom Shuuichi would recruit first into the Katanagari.

"Then you still believe... that day, you were framed by Gin Ichimaru, Sōsuke Aizen, and Kaname Tōsen?"

Sui-Feng's voice was low, almost regretful.

She ignored the second half of his speech. That was too dangerous. Too close to truth.

"Shuuichi-dono... they all had solid alibis. And all you had was your word. Central 46 didn't believe you. The Captain-Commander didn't believe you…"

"I know," Shuuichi said coldly. "That's why I came back in person.

Gin. Tōsen. Aizen.

I'll expose them all.

For myself.

For every Shinigami who suffered like I did."

Sui-Feng's voice was almost pleading now.

"Did you ever consider another possibility? That you were deceived that day? That you misjudged?"

She believed in his heart. But she also believed he was wrong.

Gin and Tōsen had airtight alibis.

Everyone knew it.

No one would believe otherwise.

But Sui-Feng didn't realize—she was closer to the truth than she knew.

It wasn't Shuuichi's eyes that were deceived...

It was everyone else's senses that were rewritten.

"Kozue Aya... I know what you're trying to say. But I have my convictions. And it's those convictions that brought me this far. Don't waste your breath..."

Shuuichi shook his head.

You can't wake someone who's pretending to sleep.

And he was that sleeper.

He knew this conversation would be reported to Yamamoto Genryūsai by morning.

Good.

Let this be a warning shot.

If the old man couldn't read the message...

Then when Shuuichi struck next, he would have no one to blame.

Meanwhile, in the depths of Las Noches, a freshly awakened Arrancar stepped down from an operating platform.

"I've reconfigured this Hollow per your orders, Lord Aizen. It's now aligned more toward Quincy traits than Shinigami ones," said Szayelaporro Granz, eyeing his work with poorly masked resentment.

"But I must ask—why the sudden focus on Quincies? There are no strong ones left in the Human World."

The Arrancar had originally been designed for Shinigami-hunting, with specialized adaptations for trapping and neutralizing Zanpakutō.

It had taken over a decade of research to reach that point.

And then, just recently, Aizen had arrived and told him to scrap it all.

"Now doesn't matter," Aizen said simply. "What about the future?"

Prepare for the rain before the storm.

Szayelaporro bowed in submission, though internally he was cursing Aizen six ways from Sunday.

Those Quincy in the living world? Barely a threat.

Even a Gillian-class Menos could kill most of them.

Wasting a high-spec, Vice-Captain-slayer Arrancar on them? Absurd.

"Then... where shall I deploy it?" Szayelaporro asked, handing over a booklet. "We've released low-level Hollows across the World of the Living. Based on combat feedback, I've mapped out likely Quincy positions and assigned estimated threat levels."

Aizen glanced at the dossier.

One surname stood out immediately.

He smiled.

Touched the name gently with a fingertip.

And whispered:

"Her."