Help! I am bound to Aizen!-Chapter 368

Chapter 368

2-in-1 chapter: Aizen: Reflection Part 4

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Aizen moved quickly and soon arrived at District 1 of West Rukongai.

Compared to the lower-numbered districts he’d passed before, this place was practically paradise.

Being the closest to Seireitei, the souls here lived in relative comfort—ample food, steady resources.

If Seireitei was the gathering place of the Shinigami, then this district was the “Seireitei” of ordinary souls.

It was also the most densely populated, forming a distinct ecosystem within Rukongai.

Many noble families opened shops here.

Even the law and order were maintained by Seireitei’s Shinigami.

“Come have a look! Big, round winter melons from District 32, a specialty even the Seireitei Shinigami praise!”

“Frozen pears! Frozen pears! First batch chilled by the season’s first snow—miss it now and they’re gone!”

The calls of hawkers lined both sides of the street as Aizen walked among them, soaking in the bustling atmosphere.

This was a commercial street—not just fruit vendors, but grocers, general stores, and various daily wares.

Aizen slowed his pace. Maybe it was the time spent sealed in Muken, but he found himself enjoying the liveliness.

In the parallel world, he hadn’t strolled down a market street in over a hundred years.

As he walked, he glanced at the surrounding stalls—there really were quite a few interesting things.

“Come see the newly launched LSP2! Personally developed by Captain of the Eleventh Division, protector of Seireitei, head of the Yurei family—Lord Kaelith!”

“Special Winter Solstice deal! Buy the newest console and get a free copy of the latest cartridge. Don’t miss out!”

Aizen stopped in front of a shop, watching the shopkeeper loudly hawk his wares. He fell into thought.

Beside the shop stood a huge poster. On it was a young man wearing the Eleventh Division’s haori, striking a dramatic pose with a wide grin, holding an LSP2 in one hand and giving a thumbs-up with the other. Text next to the image read:

[LSP2. Recommended by Captain Kaelith. Everyone who’s played it agrees—it’s great.]

“Developed by Kaelith?” Aizen mused. “Should I buy one to study it?”

He honestly didn’t even know what an LSP2 was, but that didn’t stop his curiosity.

Then he remembered something awkward—

He didn’t have any money.

While he was lost in thought, the store clerk had already taken notice and hurried over with a friendly smile.

“Dear Shinigami-sama, would you like to try our latest LSP2? It’s the newest model—very fun! Even Lord Kaelith can’t put it down.”

The clerk enthusiastically pitched the console. Aizen was just about to respond when a commotion erupted down the street.

The nearby vendors were hastily packing up their goods. Shouts rang out:

“Quick, pack up! People from the Bōjō family are coming!”

Aizen turned to look.

At the entrance of the street, a fat man with a pig-like face swaggered in, flanked by two servants in Shinigami uniforms.

“Nobles?” Aizen thought to himself.

The man waddled along arrogantly, barely bothering to look at the vendors with anything more than a sidelong glance.

As he passed a watermelon stall, he stopped and sneered, “Watermelons from District 32?”

The vendor forced a smile. “Excellent eye, milord. Just brought in fresh from District 32.”

The fat noble raised his chin. One of the Shinigami stepped forward without a word, picked up a melon and smashed it with a fist—it split into several clean pieces.

Taking a chunk, the man bit in and nodded. “Milord, crisp and sweet. Excellent melon.”

The noble’s triple chin wobbled as he nodded. “Good. Bag them all.”

The other Shinigami immediately pulled out a burlap sack and began stuffing the watermelons inside.

The vendor panicked like an ant on a hot pan. He wanted to stop them, but fear kept him rooted.

Once they’d packed up the last of his fruit, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward—not to the noble himself, but to the Shinigami.

“S-Sir… These melons are everything my family has. I spent my life savings bringing them in from District 32. Please, show mercy… have mercy…”

He clung to the sack, pleading with tears in his eyes, his knees already buckling.

The Shinigami frowned and kicked him in the chest.

“Shut it. You dare haggle? We eat for free in Seireitei. Letting you feed us a few worthless melons is already a blessing.”

The man crumpled to the ground, his chest bones audibly cracking. Blood spilled from his mouth with each cough.

All around, the other vendors watched from afar—eyes averted, none daring to step in.

The fat noble didn’t even glance at the man he’d just ruined. “Filthy commoner. What a buzzkill. Let’s move on.”

Aizen’s eyes flashed coldly.

So it was the same in every world. Nobles—disgusting creatures.

Suddenly, another commotion arose at the other end of the street.

A squad of Shinigami arrived at high speed.

“Who’s causing trouble on our Eleventh Division turf?!”

A booming voice echoed—and then came the man himself, tall and fearsome, leading a group of brawny fighters.

Within seconds, they’d surrounded the noble and his two Shinigami attendants.

Aizen quietly stopped in his tracks, watching.

Kenpachi?

One glance at the scene, and Kenpachi understood everything. He grinned.

“You hit him?”

The fat noble frowned, but stood tall. “That’s right. I am Bōjō Chōji, a lower noble of Seireitei. Our family serves the Kuchiki clan. This street is Kuchiki property—delegated to us for management. I’m simply enforcing their interests. Got a problem?”

One of the Eleventh Division Shinigami whispered to Kenpachi, “Vice-Captain, they’re part of the Kuchiki branch family… and Captain Kuchiki and Kaelith are close. What do we do?”

Kenpachi said nothing. His face remained blank—as if he were caught in thought.

Bōjō Chōji grew more confident. Just as he opened his mouth—

SMACK!*

Kenpachi slapped him clean off his feet.

The noble hit the ground hard, teeth flying, one side of his face ballooning in an instant.

“‘Noble’? What a joke. You can explain yourself in our Eleventh Division jail.”

“A dumbass like you? No way Kaelith would care.”

“Hey, you lot! Tie him up—those two Shinigami too!”

With a roar, the rest of the squad sprang into action, howling as they restrained all three. None dared resist.

Once they were bound, Kenpachi glanced at the injured vendor, picked up the bag of stolen melons and dropped it back on his stall.

“Hey, your stuff.”

Then he turned. “You. Take him to a clinic. Get him fixed up.”

With that, the Eleventh Division retreated just as quickly as they had come. In moments, the market street returned to normal.

Aizen, having watched the entire event unfold, turned to look again at the giant poster of Kaelith in the Eleventh Division haori.

He smiled faintly.

“Interesting.”

Then he resumed walking—straight toward Seireitei.

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After returning to Seireitei, Aizen walked slowly, observing the architecture on both sides—so different from the style of the Rukongai.

It gave him a strange feeling.

Ever since defecting from Seireitei, he had never imagined he would one day wander its grounds so leisurely again.

"Good day, Vice-Captain Aizen."

A group of patrolling Shinigami passed by and saluted him from a distance.

Aizen instinctively returned a gentle smile and nodded. "Good work."

Everything happened so naturally that, for a moment, Aizen felt as though he had returned to the Seireitei of over a hundred years ago, when he had still served as Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division.

Once the patrol had passed, he turned back to survey Seireitei, pausing in thought.

Where should he go to find Kaelith?

Just as he was deep in contemplation, a plume of dust kicked up in the distance. A figure came barreling toward him, full of energy and laughter.

“Hōhōhō! Sōsuke located!!”

In the blink of an eye, the figure stopped right in front of him.

Aizen was briefly stunned. Behind his glasses, his gaze quickly analyzed the man.

So this was Kaelith?

He looked rather dignified in the posters, but in person... he didn’t seem particularly bright.

Abiding by the principle that ‘the more you say, the more likely you’ll err,’ Aizen simply nodded and smiled. “Things are mostly settled over there, so I returned ahead of schedule.”

Kaelith grinned knowingly and patted him on the shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“No need to explain. I understand—you must’ve been helpless without the brilliant and valiant me, right? That’s why you came running back to seek protection from the radiant, all-powerful, magnificent Great God Kaelith…”

Aizen’s gaze shifted silently to the hand now resting on his shoulder. He stood there, motionless.

So this was the person his counterpart in this world spent every day with?

He suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

But Kaelith, oblivious, suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh right, Sōsuke, since you're back, come with me to inspect the goods.”

“You weren’t around, and I suspect that rascal Kisuke cut corners on me.”

“Kisuke Urahara?”

Upon hearing that name, Aizen's focus sharpened. But before he could piece anything together, Kaelith had already grabbed his arm and was dragging him at full speed toward the Second Division barracks.

Aizen was nearly being pulled along by force. It was deeply uncomfortable.

And they were far too close. He didn’t like it.

“Kaelith…”

“Hmm?” Kaelith glanced back at him, utterly puzzled.

Aizen paused, then said quietly, “I can run on my own.”

“Huh?”

“Oh.”

Kaelith belatedly got the message and let go of his arm.

Tilting his head, he studied Aizen briefly, a trace of confusion in his eyes—but after a moment’s thought, his mind went blank again, so he let it go and kept running ahead toward Second Division.

“Sōsuke, hurry up!”

His voice was already far off in the distance.

Aizen let out a quiet sigh of relief, turned to smooth out the creases on his sleeve where Kaelith had grabbed it, and then calmly caught up.

The two of them moved quickly, only slowing as they approached the Second Division compound.

At the gate, the two guards straightened with energy and saluted loudly. “Lord Kaelith! Vice-Captain Aizen!”

“Very spirited. I like it,” Kaelith nodded with satisfaction and clapped one of them on the shoulder. The guard looked as if he had received a great honor, his face flushing with excitement as he stood even straighter.

Aizen: “…”

He silently looked up at the sign marking the Second Division to confirm that he hadn't come to the wrong place.

Wait… wasn't Kaelith the Captain of the Eleventh Division? Why was he held in such high regard here at Second Division?

Wasn’t Second Division the private military force of the Shihōin family—strictly off-limits to outsiders?

He thought quietly to himself, It seems there’s still a lot I don’t know.

Back in Hueco Mundo, when he had spoken with this world's version of himself, the man had only given him a general overview, glossing over many details.

For instance, not a single word had been said about Kaelith’s relationship with the Second Division.

Without revealing anything, Aizen followed Kaelith inside. Along the way, every member of the Second Division greeted them with deference, as if Kaelith were their own Captain.

As they walked, Kaelith suddenly turned back. “Sōsuke, what do you think of the Second Division?”

Aizen was silent for a moment before replying, “It’s fine.”

Kaelith grinned brightly. “Glad to hear it. This is a kingdom I built for your sake, after all. Someday, it’ll all be yours to inherit.”

“…”

Aizen’s blood pressure spiked. Now he finally understood why the version of himself in this world had ended up that way.

He gave Kaelith a sharp look, wondering whether attacking him now might be considered a service to the Seireitei of this world.

Fortunately, Kaelith didn’t notice his glare—probably thanks to Aizen’s glasses obscuring his expression.

And drawing on his ample experience in provoking death flags, Kaelith grinned and said, “Relax, I was just joking to cheer you up. Come on, we’re almost at the Technical Bureau.”

Aizen’s attention shifted at once.

The “Technical Bureau”—another thing that didn’t exist in his own world. If he remembered correctly, the Twelfth Division’s Technology Development Bureau wasn’t supposed to have been established yet in this timeline.

Just then, a large-framed Shinigami approached from a distance—Ōmaeda Marechiyo, the Lieutenant of the Second Division.

When he saw Kaelith, his eyes lit up and he quickly greeted them. “Hey, Kaelith! So this is where you were. Vice-Captain Aizen is here too!”

Aizen gave him a polite nod.

Kaelith smiled. “Long time no see, Ōmaeda. What’s up?”

Ōmaeda replied, “It’s nothing major. Someone from the Kuchiki family has arrived. They’re requesting to see you. Seems urgent.”

“The Kuchiki family?” Kaelith's eyes lit up. “Is it Sōjun?”

Ōmaeda shook his head. “No, not Young Master Sōjun. Just one of the family’s stewards. I’m not sure of the details.”

Kaelith looked slightly disappointed but still said, “In that case, let them through.”

Aizen observed all this in silence, and naturally recalled the incident in the Rukongai not long ago.

The Kuchiki clan… As expected of one of the Five Great Noble Houses—their information network is remarkably fast. It hasn’t even been that long, and already they’ve come to plead their case.

He glanced at Kaelith again, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

So what will you do?

When the Kuchiki family, with whom you have such strong ties, comes to beg for help… and you, who are recognized by the version of me in this world—how will you respond?

The corners of his mouth curved slightly. He found himself… a little curious.

Not long after, the steward from the Kuchiki clan arrived.

Kaelith had seen him before, though he hadn’t remembered the name.

Before the man could speak, Kaelith blurted out, “Is something wrong with Sōjun?!”

“Ah…” The steward was momentarily startled, but quickly recovered and smiled wryly. “No, Young Master Sōjun is doing quite well. This has nothing to do with him.”

Kaelith immediately lost most of his interest. “Oh, I see. Then what did you come for?”

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