...

I idly hummed a tune as I refilled the empty grave, which didn't take long on account of reiatsu being a life hack.

Yes. I was using superpowers, to put dirt in a hole.

To my side, Byakuya had taken a seat on the floor, effectively disregarding whatever noble customs might've existed, his gaze locked down, away from mine.

Scratching at the side of my head, I calmly copied and sat before him, slightly worried.

In hindsight, sending him back to Yamamoto in this state was probably a bad idea.

"Uh... You good there?" I questioned, bemused. "'Cos the old man's still waiting for your report..."

My words seemed to reach him given the way he blinked his eyes and turned toward me, an unreadable expression on his face.

After a moment of just staring at me, I watched as a mirthless chuckle escaped him- The out-of-character moment freaking me out the slightest bit.

"Report?" He questioned, his laughter doubling down, his shoulders visibly shaking-

I could practically feel the building sweatdrop at the sight.

"You tell me we live in a cursed, corrupted society, one born a result of my own clan's hand-" He started up, his voice growing angrier and his amusement disappearing with each word. "-That the balance we swore to protect is no better than the hell it was before- Worse in fact given that my ancestor chose it- And you're worried about a report?"

I blinked a few times at him, there was almost a crazed look on his face. One that seemed to scream judgment at me for some reason.

It was the same look Aizen gave me when I told him I was GG with dying after the whole Groban fiasco.

"Uh...Yeah?" I deadpanned. "Kinda what we're here for?" I frowned. "Why, am I supposed to chan-"

"Yes!" Byakuya called out, not even letting me finish, a judging finger pointed at me. "You should!" He stood up, a fervent look on his face. "You should change it! You should fight it!"

I blinked at him, utterly baffled.

"You have more power than any shinigami I've ever seen!" He continued on, half-mad. "You survived the future! Helped our realm survive the worst enemies it's ever seen!" His pointed finger moved back to his person as it turned into a clenched fist. His judging eyes narrowed for a moment. "And yet... Why?" He questioned, his voice dying down to an almost whisper. "Why are you settling for the same thing?" He shook his head, bemusement pouring out of him as he stared at me. "...Aizen..." His words for a moment looked to die in his throat, an accusing look on his face as he stared at me before motivation seemed to fill him.

"Why are you okay with this cycle? This balance? When you know of its deep-rooted problems?"

I shrugged at him on instinct.

"Better the devil you know?"

His gaze narrowed again as he fell silent.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Honestly, Byakuya you make it sound like there's a solution." I snorted. "There really isn't one you know?"

He shook his head, about to say something though I never gave him the chance to as I continued.

"Like, do you even know how this balance came to be? Know why it seems to hold so well?" I snorted again. "Because believe it or not, it really is a balance."

His narrowed gaze disappeared as uncertainty filled it before he slowly lowered himself back to the ground and sat at my level.

"Explain..." He remarked, a hint of desperation in his voice for some reason.

I scratched at the back of my head in response.

What the fuck was I supposed to say?

I didn't know shit about how it worked LOL.

I can't believe I just used 'lol' as a word.

I mean really, that was proof enough that I absolutely wasn't qualified for this talk-

But, still, Byakuya was responding at least. Better not to break him before he gave old man Yama his report...

So... How to do this..? I tilted my head and really focused-

What would convince Byakuya that it wasn't as bad as he thought..?

It didn't even have to be true, honestly.

Not like he could freakin' fact check it right?

"Alright, let's start at the origin." I deadpanned. "The world before the three realms."

Byakuya stiffened for some reason.

Well, this was going well already.

"So, everyone agrees it was a shithole, right?" He barely nodded. "You know, hollows, humans, and shinigami, living as next-door neighbors? Oof. Talk about a bad combination-" I raised a finger. "But question for the confused here, why do you think it took so long before someone decided to do anything about it?"

He frowned at me.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why do you think it took forever before someone rose and you know started killin' them hollows?"

Something flashed across his eyes for a moment at the words, before the man barely hid a gulp and let out a shrug of an answer.

"No one was strong enough."

His answer felt more like a question if I was honest, but whatever, I'll roll with it.

I nodded at him.

He was probably right, honestly.

"So, you're suggesting that the Soul King, was the first ever being to have a pair of balls?"

At the blink he gave me, I clarified that I meant courage, at which point he frowned.

"Honestly, Bya-kun." He didn't even bat an eyelash at the nickname. "It was more that... At the start of the world, it was probably more peaceful."

He blinked a few times at me.

"I find it hard to believe a hollow could be peaceful-"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"I am not saying that, I am saying that it was more manageable." A beat passed. "For every menos, there was a reaper for 'em."

"What changed then?"

"Humans." I answered on instinct. "Fuckers breed too much." Even I blinked at my own words, not just the fuck in front of me. "Like, sure, they knew there were minor heroes going around to protect 'em, buuut, that don't mean they weren't still dying out there- So, the human solution was to breed as many kids as possible, with the knowledge that not all of them will survive right?"

He nodded, slowly at that, as some form of realization filled his widening eyes.

"But they didn't know that it was those deaths that were..." He remarked, his voice dying down towards the end before he- Cursed?

Holy shit, I just made Byakuya curse.

"They were inadvertently bringing more hollows out... Which effectively put the Shinigami on the backfoot-"

"Not necessarily," I interrupted him. "The reapers were growing just as much," I pointed out. "For every hollow purified, after all, a shinigami would be born."

That was how it worked right-

Why was Byakuya looking at me like I just proved the earth was flat?

I chose to ignore that look.

"Honestly, it was pretty fuckin' balanced all things considered- It's just... there was so much fucking spiritual pressure running about, and growing and all, with no limit in sight. But, of course, that also meant there was much more death and destruction, even if the balance was technically held, even if the ratio of survivors was the same as it had always been..."

I took a breath. "It was just the sheer amount of death that was the problem. And with how much potential energy was in the literal air... Well, that's what effectively brought the first ever Quincy into existence." I waved a hand out absentmindedly. "And given all the sheer death and detruction going around, the only thing that Quincy cared about was reducing it, and that's where the whole arrows that destroy spirit particles came about."

Bya-kun opened and closed his mouth.

A moment passed as he processed the words.

He did it again.

Another moment passed.

He opened his mouth again, and words actually came out! "...Did they break the balance then?"

Was that progress? I think that was progress.

"Course not." I snorted. "They just slowly returned the spiritual pressure back to what it was before- Only this time, presumably, starting off on a much larger eh..." I clicked my fingers. "Population? Yeah, that's the word."

Bya-kun was frowning again.

"Then where did the Soul King come from?" He questioned, bemused. "Why did his existence come to be?"

I blinked at him.

"Oh, right- Uh, so the reason that Quincy could do what he did was pretty simple-"

"Aizen, you're ignoring my question-"

"I am really not." A beat passed as I frowned at him. "And don't interrupt me, please."

He nodded, an apologetic expression of all fucking things on his face.

"Right. That Quincy could see the future."

"Huh?" Byakuya twitched at me. "What?"

I nodded.

"You heard me. Could see the future- So he uh, knew his solution wasn't going to last."

"..." Byakuya's face had so many questions on it, but to my surprise, he actually held back from saying anything.

Maybe he was trying to figure out how to ask me without seeming rude.

I doubted he ever had to put his hand up in school before.

"Thankfully, a group of shinigami had come together and offered him a better solution."

His bemusement turned inquisitive before it quickly turned into dread.

"And on account of seeing the changing future, he agreed with their solution." I grinned at him. "So, working together, the shinigami and lone Quincy helped separate the three worlds apart! With, uh, their own little conditions of course."

A beat passed as horror filled the man's face.

"Of course given the Shinigami in question's nature... They didn't trust the Quincy, so they cut him into pieces and forcibly stuck him in a never-dying state and used him as the duct tape that held the three realms together." A beat passed. "Bibbidi nobody knew and a shit ton of time later, and everyone calls it the Soul King."

Byakuya seemed to have forgotten how to close his jaw...

"And yes, those shinigami in question were the founding nobles," I remarked before letting out a chuckle. "But, honestly, the funny part is that- The Soul King didn't fight against their plans, even if he saw it coming."

"How is that funny?" Byakuya whispered. "They betrayed him... My own-"

"'Cos, the Soul King can see the future." I deadpanned. "He saw the balance for what it was. Saw what it would do to those nobles." I pointed a finger at the man. "He saw you."

I couldn't help the chuckle as it just occurred to me why it was all so funny.

"He really did get the last laugh." A beat passed. "Hells, he's probably still laughing."

"Because in the end, for all that the shinigami called themselves noble and defenders and heroes to the man in the past... He knew they were as full of shit as the Hollows- If not more. That they, like the hollows, were as much of a problem to the human realm!" I couldn't help the laughter. "So the fucker helped create a world that fed on both of them, and allowed the Human World to prosper." I shrugged. "I mean sure, life expectancy might not be eternal there, but... It's still a heck of a lot longer than it used to be."

I stood up from my seated position and idly looked around the area.

"So... Asking me why I wouldn't change things?" I snorted. "How can I? The Balance is the Shinigami's own fault, and far be it for me to call myself a hypocrite and pretend I have any right to change it." I looked back towards Byakuya's...

Honestly, I'd describe the expression on his face, but quite frankly there wasn't one anymore.

The man just had a vacant stare on his face.

I let out a sigh and continued speaking anyway.

"Aizen Sosuke..." I remarked. "What's that name mean to you I wonder?" I questioned the noble idiot, and to my surprise, I seemed to earn his attention as his gaze rose up to meet mine. "'Cos to me? It's... Unyielding, cold, rational..." I shrugged. I calmly pocketed my hands. "It's a lot of things really..." A beat passed. "But it ain't a name that'll settle for doing things small."

I locked eyes with Byakuya.

"It's a name with a lot of power. You're not wrong about that Byakuya. But it's because of that, that I can't join the Royal Guard. That I can't bring myself to change anything I might disagree with- Cos honestly there's only one real way to save Soul Society. To save the shinigami... Dignity."

I looked away from the man's... Desperate gaze?

"And that's to destroy it all and start over. And if I wanted to do that, I wouldn't be here right now." I'd be getting my ass kicked by the Royal Guard.

Though for some reason, I had a feeling that meant something else to Byakuya...

Huh... Maybe I should start keeping track of all my lies?

Speaking of lies, where the fuck was Aizen in all of this? I am surprised he hasn't called me out for my stupidity yet.

...

Hope You Enjoyed! Don't Forget Feedback!