EPILOGUE 7: REMINISCENCE

"Is there something that you wish for, Kaname? I would like to extend my gratitude to you for being my greatest loyalist. So, if there is something that you want, just name it."

Within Aizen's mind, this memory arose.

He had asked his confidant Kaname Tosen this question a long time ago.

"By your leave... yes... there is indeed something. Just one."

"Oh?"

Interested to know what kind of personal desire this man in front of him sought, Aizen

waited curiously to hear those words -

However -

The words that tumbled out of Tosen's mouth were far from what one might consider

a 'reward'.

"My wish is... A precept against sin."

"..."

Encouraged by his listener's silence, Tosen pressed on.

"Should there come a time when I change... should there come a time when I begin to accept the world of the Shinigamis... rather... should there come a time when this a world without evolution begins to provide me with something like peace of mind... At that time, I would like you to erase my existence from this world... leaving behind no fragments."

The words sounded strange, so Aizen asked again, in order to confirm the other party's intention,

"Surely, Kaname... should there ever come a time when you need to halt your

progress... the Shinigamis lot will forgive you. However, I do not think you will accept that forgiveness, will you?"

"If there is one thing that is absolute, then it is you, Aizen-sama. But... You, who taught me what justice is, and you, who instructed me on how the world ought to operate, are also a part of the world that I detest."

"I see. So, the root of the very justice that drives you, is a double-edged sword that can also destroy your justice at the same time."

Kakyo

Yes, that was the name of the woman who was Kaname's best friend, recalled Aizen. Tosen continued to speak.

"If I were to accept the world of the Shinigamis, then it will be a denial of my own justice. Should such a time ever come, what I will have done, will no longer be justice. It will just be murder."

Clenching his fists in remembrance of a cruel past, Tosen let his next words out with difficulty.

"That would mean... the defilement of Kakyo's death and her way of life. Since I am standing here, already betraying her wishes, going against my own justice would be equivalent to murdering her twice."

"But if she were alive today, would she have forgiven you?"

"...Yes. She would have. That's why I want you to have mercy and make me disappear from this world before I degenerate into the non-existent goodness that she saw in this world."

"Mercy... you say?"

"If my justice turns out to be false, then I must never be forgiven! I want you to crush and destroy every last bit of my soul before my heart gets filled with false salvation. That's my one and only wish."

Tosen uttered a wish that was not in accordance with his justice but according to his feelings.

Aizen, who respected Tosen's resolution, questioned him once again in order to see whether Tosen really grasped the depth and meaning behind his own desire.

Anticipating the answer, Aizen asked,

"...If I stand atop the heavens and create a new world... what will you do then?"

"That new world is a world where someone like me, who is forever trapped by vengeance, must never exist. Therefore, once you stand atop the heavens, Aizen sama, I must commit suicide for the purpose of complete purification of that world."

"So, then... whatever happens... I will inevitably end up losing my only confidant."

"...Forgive me. Please forget what I just said."

Tosen realized that Aizen, too, was trapped by emotions.

Aizen spoke to Tosen, who looked like he repented his choice of words,

"It's fine. Those were words that came out of your true heart."

"It is my immaturity that still makes me unable to cast off the justice that my friend Kakyo sang praises about."

"No, it's not. Knowing one's own weaknesses becomes the foundation for climbing to greater heights."

Aizen looked down at the incomplete hôgyoku held in his hands, and spoke softly, a a fearless smile playing upon his lips.

"Sometimes, fear is also necessary for evolution."

And so, Aizen spoke to his close subordinate with absolute firmness. ApproachingTosen, Aizen made a promise to him.

"I swear to you, Kaname. Before you suffer from the forgiveness of the Shinigamis, I will make sure to erase all traces of your existence."

—-

The darkness of the Hueco Mundo seemed to waver ever so slightly.

"Kaname…I hope you obtained the death you really wished for."

What Aizen embraced in his chest once the memories from the past were swept away from him, whether the fragments of memory roused his heart, that was never meant to be understood by anyone -

The recollections from the past that seamlessly flowed by, seemed to merely melt away into the endless darkness.

"Aizen-sama, what might be the matter?"

Standing beside him was a man of rather average height wearing a nearly entirely white attire with a streak of black. Half of his short messy black hair was covered by what looked like a broken horned helmet made out of bones while his throat had a black hole in it.

His green eyes gave a melancholic appearance while green teal lines which descend from the lower part of his eyes made it look like he was crying. what looked like green tears.

"Ulquiorra, what brings you here?"

Aizen did not bother answering Ulquiorra's question and Ulquiorra did not bother insisting. After all, he had not been particularly interested in the first place.

Bowing he explained, the reason for his presence,

"The disturbance in space is becoming greater. We believe that soon, intruders will appear in Hueco Mundo."

This perked Aizen's interest prompting him to smile, "It seems like the time of reckoning is coming near."

Aizen had not been idle during those twenty years. Using the Hogyuko, he had managed to bring a forced evolution in many hollows, changing them into a new race called Arrancar.

In fact, the man in front of him, Ulquiorra was one of the rare natural Arrancar that existed in this world.

Evolution. Truly what a fascinating thing it was.

Shaking away all lingering memories, Aizen adjusted his eyepatch and began to move,

"Gather the Espada. We need to prepare to welcome our new guest."

He couldn't help but wonder what kind of surprise Gojo and Kisuke would bring him.

'I pleasurably look forward to the moment when his progress will irradiate my way.'

This promised to be marvelous.

(AN: The part about Aizen flashback is Canon by the way. At least in CFYOW. Basically, it explained why Aizen killed Tosen during the Espada arc. Personally, I believe this was just Kubo and whoever worked with him, trying to make Aizen seems less a bastard by showing that he saw Tosen as something Akin to a friend. But well, it's well written enough so can't argue.)

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