Help! I am bound to Aizen!

Kaelith rose from the bed and made his way over to Aizen's side, his gaze fixed on the boy lying there. Something felt off. The person in front of him didn't radiate Aizen's usual presence. (t/n we got baited lol) 

Glancing around to confirm that the other two roommates were still asleep, he reached out and gently touched the figure.

Sure enough, a faint ripple of Spirit Energy emanated, and his fingertip passed right through "Aizen."

It was a fake, crafted using Kido.

For an average Shinigami, even one stronger than the current Aizen, it might have been impossible to notice the discrepancy.

But Kaelith was far too familiar with Aizen. Any slight irregularity in his Spirit Pressure was something Kaelith could detect immediately.

Realizing the person in bed wasn't Aizen, Kaelith stepped out for a stroll, trying to locate his friend's Spirit Pressure.

After a thorough search, he discovered that Aizen's presence was nowhere to be found within Shin'ō Academy.

"What's that guy, Sōsuke, doing out of school at a time like this?"

Kaelith's expression turned puzzled.

Recalling the original Bleach storyline, an unsettling feeling crept into his mind.

Returning to his bed, he didn't immediately fall asleep. Instead, he half-closed his eyes and began reviewing the lessons he'd recently learned from Yamamoto.

It wasn't until the sky began to lighten that he sensed a familiar Spirit Pressure re-entering his perception range.

Aizen's Spirit Pressure had been deliberately concealed. If Kaelith hadn't been paying full attention, he might have missed the faint traces entirely.

Closing his eyes fully, he waited.

Soon, soft footsteps approached the room.

Aizen paused at the door, checking to ensure all three of his roommates were still asleep, before returning to his bed and swapping places with the Kido-crafted substitute.

This confirmed it for Kaelith.

The night before, when he'd returned from the First Division, Aizen had also come back in casual civilian attire, similarly staying out all night for unexplained reasons.

What had he been up to?

Frowning, Kaelith drifted off to sleep.

---

The next morning, Aizen acted as if nothing had happened, attending classes with Kaelith as usual.

Kaelith, too, behaved as he normally would, carrying his characteristic air of laziness.

Meanwhile, Yamada Seinosuke was so engrossed in his thick medical book that he seemed oblivious to the world around him. Even during lunch, he read while eating, his focus unbroken as if the apocalypse wouldn't make him look up.

Among their group, however, the most significant change was in Kuchiki Sōjun.

Typically calm and composed, with a gentle smile gracing his lips, Sōjun was visibly distracted today. He frequently furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

At lunch, he nearly embarrassed himself by eating so absentmindedly that he almost smeared food on his face.

For someone raised with noble etiquette, such behavior was nothing short of a drastic deviation.

Finally, as Sōjun reached to dip his chopsticks into his teacup for the second time, Kaelith couldn't hold back anymore.

"Hey, hey, Sōjun-sensei, what's got you so worked up? Did you meet a girl in Rukongai, and now your family won't let you bring her home?"

Sōjun froze briefly, staring at Kaelith as though only now realizing someone had spoken to him.

He gave a helpless chuckle. "Of course not. As the heir of the Kuchiki family, my marriage is something my father decides. The Kuchiki clan would never allow personal feelings to interfere with family interests."

Really?

Kaelith looked unconvinced.

Under his gaze, Sōjun fell silent for a while before finally speaking again, his tone heavier this time.

"Kaelith, I may not be here until the end of this semester."

"In the near future, I'll be applying for a special graduation exam to complete my studies early."

Hearing this, not only Kaelith but also Aizen, who rarely showed surprise, and Seinosuke, who was buried in his book, looked up in unison.

"What's going on? Did something happen with your family?" Seinosuke asked, frowning slightly.

Sōjun nodded.

Raising his hand, he formed a soundproof barrier of Spirit Energy around their table.

"The rebels have grown stronger again."

"Originally, under the combined pressure of my father and brother-in-law, the rebels were losing ground rapidly, nearly being pushed out of Seireitei entirely."

"But now, certain noble families who have remained in the shadows have suddenly unveiled new tactics."

"Many powerful Shinigami privately nurtured by these clans have appeared on the battlefield. My brother-in-law, while formidable, cannot be everywhere at once."

"To make matters worse, some of the previously neutral high-ranking officers within the Gotei 13 seem to have shifted to aiding the rebels."

"As things stand, the pressure on my father and brother-in-law is steadily increasing."

"If this continues, the Head Captain may be forced to intervene personally."

"And if it comes to that, the scale of this internal conflict will no longer be limited to small skirmishes. It will engulf all of Seireitei and, potentially, the entire Soul Society."

Taking a deep breath, Sōjun continued, "As the eldest son of the Kuchiki family, I cannot sit idly by in school while my elders fight and bleed."

"I have to do something."

Hearing this, Kaelith exchanged glances with his friends.

When he first arrived in this world and heard about the internal strife within the Soul Society, he'd found it amusing.

With someone as overwhelmingly powerful as Yamamoto holding the line, who could stir up trouble?

Why not just find the rebel leader and have Yamamoto finish it with a single strike? Wouldn't that end the war instantly?

But as time went on, Kaelith came to understand the complexities of the conflict.

The rebels' backers were likely one of the Four Great Noble Clans.

While Yamamoto was unmatched in strength, at the end of the day, he was the leader of the warrior class.

When facing nobles, even someone like him couldn't act without restraint.

Unless the nobles openly tore apart the fabric of Seireitei, threatening everything Yamamoto sought to protect, he would remain an observer in this noble-driven war.

At the onset of the war, the Kuchiki and Shihōin clans had attempted to end it through a vote among the nobles.

But to Ginrei Kuchiki's surprise, more than half of the noble votes opposed his proposal.

It was then that he realized the depth of the conflict was far greater than anticipated.

Most of what Kaelith knew came from rumors and speculation.

If he asked Sōjun directly, the latter would likely share everything he knew.

But doing so would drag Kaelith into the vortex of this conflict.

Kaelith didn't want that, and neither did Sōjun.

Seeing Kaelith's somber expression, Sōjun smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Kaelith. I can take care of myself."

"You don't need to worry about me. I promise to end this war as quickly as possible and restore peace to the Soul Society."

Looking at Sōjun's confident expression, Kaelith remained silent for a long time.

Then, as though making a decision, he turned to Sōjun.

"Just make sure you stay alive. If anything happens, I'll avenge you."

Sōjun chuckled dryly. "Thanks... I think."

---------------

Enjoy your extra chapter!