"So then, Aizen-sama, what do you intend to do?"
Standing by the window, Higashino Shuuichi gazed off into the distance, replaying in his mind the conversation he'd had with Aizen not long ago.
Aizen had only smiled at that question, giving no further answer.
He had merely said that the time was not yet ripe.
That was only natural. Right now, laid out before Aizen were not only the Soul King Palace, but also Yhwach. Until those two unstable factors were dealt with, Higashino Shuuichi did not believe Aizen had the spare energy to concern himself with Hell.
Even so, Higashino Shuuichi was sure Aizen already had the rough outlines of some idea in mind; otherwise Aizen wouldn't have gone out of his way to come to him and sound him out.
Some things simply didn't need to be spoken aloud.
For example, Higashino Shuuichi currently held in his hands a passage leading to Hell.
In the future, if Aizen wanted a convenient way to enter Hell and study the Kabuma clan's divine artifact, Seyabasa, this would obviously be the quickest and easiest method.
And given the relationship between Kabuma Sayako and Higashino Shuuichi, this approach was far simpler than trying to sweet-talk Shiba Kūkaku into anything right now.
"At the very least, I've chosen to follow a boss who has ambition, has strength, and knows exactly where he stands, haven't I?"
Higashino gave a wry smile.
As Aizen's ambition continued to swell, even Higashino Shuuichi no longer knew how far Aizen would ultimately go.
If he went by how Aizen had performed in the original storyline, Aizen would most likely break his spear at the monk in the Soul King Palace at best, bully Yhwach a bit before the latter fully reclaimed his power, and as for Hell… that would remain nothing more than a pipe dream.
That place, with a set of operating rules entirely its own, was not somewhere ordinary Shinigami could just stroll into and handle.
But given Aizen's potential, combined with the completed Hōgyoku, if he were free of inner demons gnawing at him… perhaps he really could reach that step?
No one knew what such a future would look like, and Higashino Shuuichi didn't dare dwell on it.
Because Higashino Shuuichi knew that right now, he needed to stay focused on the present.
At the moment, he still had a major headache left unresolved.
When Higashino Shuuichi once more lowered his consciousness into Kabuno Takuya's body, a week had already passed.
Higashino Shuuichi had no desire to waste his own time on the legwork of getting close to some human. Naturally, this sort of thankless chore was handed off to his tool-person Kabuno Takuya, who never complained about overwork.
Only once Higashino Shuuichi checked Kabuno Takuya's diary and confirmed he'd successfully infiltrated the household of Count Locke Martin did Higashino choose to project his consciousness into Kabuno Takuya's body.
As a proper, eighth-generation London-born earl, Locke Martin's home was naturally luxurious—so luxurious that Higashino Shuuichi at one point felt as though he were walking through a small town, not a noble's estate.
"Within Count Locke's estate, you may do this… and you may not do that…"
In his ear, the butler who'd been in charge of bringing him in prattled on and on, as if he meant to recite every rule in existence to Higashino Shuuichi by word of mouth.
Unfortunately for him, everything he said went in one of Higashino Shuuichi's ears and straight out the other; Higashino didn't take a single word to heart.
After all, he wasn't here at the Locke Martin estate to actually work as a servant.
Gently pushing open the door to Locke Martin's bedroom—explicitly listed among the forbidden places—Higashino Shuuichi stepped inside and saw Locke Martin himself. Lying outside the doorway at that moment were two collapsed human guards.
"I don't believe I've ever seen you before."
Confronted with Higashino Shuuichi's sudden intrusion, Locke Martin halted what he was doing and looked over at him.
"Of course not. I'm a newly hired servant brought in by your butler, Count-sama. The fact that you haven't seen me yet is perfectly normal."
Higashino Shuuichi shrugged as he spoke.
"A servant? I hardly think so. Or is it that you never bothered to remember my rules at all? One of them being: while I'm at home, do not trespass into my room without permission!"
Locke Martin's expression darkened.
Clearly, he was more than a little displeased at Higashino's sudden appearance.
"Someone, come!"
Locke Martin tried to summon more servants to help throw Higashino Shuuichi out.
But time ticked by; even after a good half hour, Locke Martin and Higashino Shuuichi were still simply facing off against each other in the small room.
Not a single servant appeared in answer to Locke Martin's calls.
Naturally, that was to be expected. Higashino Shuuichi had already set up around Locke Martin's bedroom the reiatsu-concealing devices he'd once left for Kisaragi Shūsuke and the others. Combined with the level of control over reishi that his current body possessed, carving out an isolated pocket of space here was no difficult feat.
"What have you done?"
Locke Martin frowned, demanding an answer from him.
"Nothing much. I simply wanted Count-sama to have an honest chat with me—using your real face~"
Higashino Shuuichi answered with a smile.
Unlike with Kisaragi Shūsuke, once Higashino Shuuichi realized that everything Kisaragi Shūsuke had gone through was nothing but a setup, he left Kabuno Takuya with orders to investigate Locke Martin's past.
If he hadn't checked, it would have been one thing. The moment he did, Higashino discovered that this so-called Count Locke Martin hadn't shown any change for a very, very long time.
The "change" here didn't refer to Locke Martin's personality, but to his appearance.
All the traces that time should have left on the body of an ordinary human—Higashino couldn't find a single one on Locke Martin.
Ordinary humans, or even Quincy, simply couldn't pull that off. Only Shinigami or those so-called "magicians" in the West Administration were capable of something like that.
From Higashino Shuuichi's point of view, the likelihood was naturally higher that he was one of the West Administration's magicians.
So before coming here today, Higashino had already drafted his script in his heart.
What Higashino Shuuichi hadn't expected was that, upon hearing his words, Locke Martin would burst out laughing. Not only did he straightforwardly admit his identity, he also pulled out something unexpected yet perfectly reasonable.
"Interesting. It seems that a few days ago, when that group of Shinigami suddenly withdrew from London and fled all the way east toward the East Administration, you had a hand in that as well, didn't you?"
Locke Martin looked at Higashino as he spoke.
"Am I to take that as meaning you'd already set your sights on those Shinigami long ago, Count-sama?"
Higashino Shuuichi replied.
"If I did, so what? If I didn't, so what?
This isn't your East Administration. Over there, you people might be able to act a little more wantonly—but here, anything I set my eyes on can only be mine."
Arrogant—that was one of the labels Higashino Shuuichi mentally slapped on him.
From that statement alone, one could see just how low the West Administration's presence and perceived threat were here in London.
But soon enough, Higashino realized it wasn't that the West Administration was incompetent—this man simply had the capital to be that arrogant.
Because Count Locke Martin had another name.
In the past, within the Soul Society's East Administration, the Shinigami of that era had all addressed him as Captain Miyazaki.
"Still, you don't look like a Shinigami to me."
Miyazaki Sakai Masato clasped one hand behind his back and regarded Higashino Shuuichi with complete confidence as he spoke.
This was his domain; of course Miyazaki Sakai Masato brimmed with absolute confidence.
"A Shinigami? Of course not. In fact, it's quite the opposite—I'm a Quincy~"
Higashino Shuuichi didn't show a hint of surprise at Miyazaki Sakai Masato's self-revealed identity; up to this point, everything was still within his expectations.
What followed was a whole round of largely meaningless conversation.
In brief: Higashino explained his purpose in wanting to join Miyazaki Sakai Masato's plans, while Miyazaki in turn looked down on Higashino from every possible angle.
You couldn't really blame Miyazaki for that. In this era, the Quincy really were a bit on the pathetic side—there wasn't a single one you could bring out to prop up the stage.
Quincy who usually had to struggle just to deal with a regular Gillian suddenly showing up, saying they wanted to join forces with him to pull off something big—no matter who heard that, it would sound like the setup to a joke.
By contrast, how this Quincy, Higashino Shuuichi, had figured out there was something off about him had become much less important.
After all, Miyazaki knew that, in order to get Kisaragi Shūsuke to bite and to satisfy certain twisted amusements of his own, he'd let slip quite a bit of genuine information. As long as Higashino Shuuichi happened to see some of it, that alone was enough for him to start doubting Locke Martin's supposed human identity.
And for a Quincy—humans themselves—to verify that someone wasn't human was hardly difficult.
Not to mention, at this point, Miyazaki Sakai Masato had already planned to draw in the net; he wasn't bothering to hide anything at all.
Unfortunately, Kisaragi Shūsuke had somehow caught wind of something and bolted early—fleeing straight from the West Administration back to the East Administration.
"Did you really think running back to the East Administration would make you safe?
Prey that Miyazaki Sakai Masato has his eye on has never had 'escape' as one of its possible outcomes."
When he learned the news, Miyazaki had been a little surprised, but that was all. As for chasing after Kisaragi Shūsuke—he didn't even consider it.
Because in Miyazaki Sakai Masato's view, it wouldn't be long before he returned to the East Administration in kingly fashion and high profile. When that time came, that poor Kisaragi Shūsuke—whom he'd toyed with in the palm of his hand all this time—would come crawling to him on his own, begging "Miyazaki-dono" not to hold a grudge.
"You say you're very interested in the Shinigami who's been coming and going from here, and you want to learn his whereabouts from me. Unfortunately, I don't have much interest in answering a Quincy's questions. So what should we do?"
Miyazaki Sakai Masato spoke with a faintly meaningful smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
There was nothing more worthy of Miyazaki Sakai Masato's time and energy than finding new entertainment.
Kisaragi Shūsuke had been that way before; now, Higashino Shuuichi was the same.
In the past, Miyazaki Sakai Masato had been willing to accompany Kisaragi Shūsuke and keep an elaborate drama running for over three years. Now, he likewise needed a new target to satisfy his daily need for mental amusement.
And this young Quincy in front of him, who had no idea how high the heavens were, seemed like a very decent candidate.
Seeing the twisted smile on Miyazaki's face, Higashino Shuuichi knew full well that this kind of direct contact was bound to bring him unknown risks. But he had to take them. The personnel Count Locke Martin had arranged in the World of the Living were rapidly thinning out ever since Kisaragi Shūsuke had withdrawn, taking Matsumoto Rangiku and the others back to the East Administration.
Higashino estimated that in just a few days, this earl persona—likely crafted specifically for a "lure the enemy into the urn" scenario—would be completely discarded.
When that happened, tracking down this elusive former Twelfth Division captain again would become extraordinarily difficult.
It was no exaggeration to say that this moment was Higashino Shuuichi's best chance to get close to Miyazaki Sakai Masato.
"It's simple. There's nothing in this world that can't be solved with a good beating. If you don't want to answer me, I can certainly understand—but I hope you'll still have this much confidence three minutes from now~"
Higashino Shuuichi flashed Miyazaki a smile, then gently pinched his fingers together; a single Heilig Pfeil (Holy Arrow) abruptly formed in his hand.
"Tremble beneath my bow and arrows!"
Higashino declared with utter confidence, loosing the Heilig Pfeil as he spoke. The arrow shot straight toward Miyazaki Sakai Masato's brow.
"Heh… hahahahaha!"
Miyazaki Sakai Masato found this Quincy before him far too entertaining. How did someone with such middling actual strength manage to be this ridiculously arrogant?
Ah—Miyazaki thought of one possibility. Was it because Kisaragi Shūsuke had been worried about being discovered by people from the East or West Administration, and thus never dared to use his full strength when facing this Quincy's provocations, forced to flee in a panic every time? Had that been what gave this Quincy his inexplicable confidence?
Yes, that had to be it. So what should he do now?
Miyazaki Sakai Masato looked at the confident smile on Higashino Shuuichi's face, and at the corners of his own lips, a perverse grin slowly appeared.
"Do I even need to think about it? Of course I play along. First let him think he's subdued me with his own strength, then pick the right moment to reveal my true power in front of him. The look on this Quincy's face then is going to be priceless!"
Just picturing that scene was enough to make every cell in Miyazaki Sakai Masato's body quiver with excitement.
With Kisaragi Shūsuke gone, using this Quincy as an appetizer before his grand return to the Soul Society seemed perfectly appropriate.
And then, from Higashino Shuuichi's perspective, he watched the previously high-and-mighty Miyazaki Sakai Masato try to dodge his Heilig Pfeil, only to overact and deliberately slam himself into it instead—then clutch at his wound in exaggerated pain and topple to the floor.
"Oww! It hurts, it hurts so much! Damn it, how can you be this strong? Just who are you?!
An ordinary Quincy could never be this strong!"
Seeing this, the corner of Higashino Shuuichi's mouth couldn't help twitching.
Was Miyazaki treating him like an idiot on purpose, or was this genuinely the extent of Miyazaki Sakai Masato's hammy acting skills?
"Fine then! You wanted to know that Shinigami's whereabouts, didn't you? I can tell you—but I've got a grudge with him. You have to take me along. I want to personally watch him die!"
…Right. Higashino hadn't even said anything yet and Miyazaki was already jumping in with his own lines. That pretty much confirmed for Higashino that this guy's acting really was only capable of this level.
But that wasn't even what left Higashino the most speechless. What truly baffled him was: how had someone with such clumsy acting managed to fool Kisaragi Shūsuke and Matsumoto Rangiku for more than three years?
Higashino Shuuichi felt he really needed to find time to sit down with Kisaragi Shūsuke for a serious talk.
A man's eyes couldn't be this blind.
"Hahaha, now you see how amazing I am, right? No problem—your condition, I accept!"
On the surface, however, Higashino still had to play along, laughing loudly as he agreed.
Even though, by this point, how things were developing had completely veered off from Higashino's expectations.
In Higashino Shuuichi's original script, the arrogant young him was supposed to be subdued by Miyazaki's overwhelming strength. He'd already planned to fire off one more Heilig Pfeil, then pretend to slip up and be "wounded" by Miyazaki Sakai Masato.
Instead, things had reversed, and it ended up with Miyazaki becoming his underling.
All he could say was that he had underestimated the brain circuits of a maniac. Their thought processes were always wonderfully, spectacularly bizarre.
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