Inside the cell, heavy shackles hung from Kurotsuchi Mayuri's ankles. The other end was chained to the base of the stone bed, restricting his range of movement to a maximum of two meters. He couldn't even walk to every corner of the tiny cell.
Staring blankly at the opposite wall without moving an inch, this version of Mayuri seemed as if he had lost his soul. It was hard to connect the man before him with the mad, arrogant Mayuri from the Royal Weaving Facility.
"You head out first. I'm going to talk to him alone," Kōe said, turning back to Yoruichi. Yoruichi glanced at Mayuri in the cell, furrowed her brows, and warned Kōe, "Keep a clear head. Don't let your emotions dictate your actions."
After leaving him with that warning, Yoruichi turned and exited the corridor. With the heavy thud of the stone door closing, only Kōe and Mayuri remained in the narrow space.
Kōe wanted to exchange a few pleasantries, but the words simply wouldn't leave his mouth. Having lived two lives, just hearing about such absurd injustices was hard enough to let go of, let alone being personally involved in one.
Did Mayuri ending up in this wretched state have anything to do with him? Kōe's rational mind told him no.
Mayuri's desire to research the Quincy had always existed. Even if Kōe Shihouin didn't exist in this world, Mayuri would have still found a way to study them. Ultimately, he would have been locked up in the Maggot's Nest because of it, waiting for the day Urahara Kisuke came to rescue him.
But emotionally, Kōe felt he was partly to blame. In his past life, he didn't know if Squad 10 had ever encountered a similar tragedy, but now, Squad 10 had been completely annihilated—and it was highly likely the Wandenreich's doing.
And what role did he play in all of this? Did he fan the flames, or did he cause Mayuri to deviate from his original research direction, thereby prompting the Wandenreich to strike early?
None of this was known.
But being a witness who knew the entire truth, yet watching an innocent person take the fall—the bitter taste of automatically bearing this shameful secret was like a fire searing his heart. It tormented him constantly, making him feel the sudden urge to spill every secret he harbored all at once.
Yet, Kōe still couldn't bring himself to say it. Perhaps from his very first day in this world, when he first met Yamamoto and chose to stay silent, he had forever lost that opportunity.
*Just live on, feigning indifference like this. After all, Mayuri and I only have a simple cooperative relationship.* He could comfort himself with those thoughts, but...
"I am truly sorry for causing you to end up in this state!" Kōe bowed at a strict ninety-degree angle, speaking with heavy solemnity.
He couldn't just hypnotize himself like this, allowing himself to accept it with peace of mind, or even enjoy the feeling of being nailed to a cross of shame.
"Heh... Hmph."
Mayuri let out a dry chuckle. He still wore that desolate expression, not even shifting his gaze. "That doesn't sound like something you would say. If you have something on your mind, just spit it out, Kōe Shihouin."
In Mayuri's eyes, although Kōe wasn't the same kind of person as him, they were aligned in certain aspects. Apologizing was a meaningless act in his view; unless it could bring him what he wanted, it was impossible for someone like Kōe to do it.
Although Mayuri didn't have much talent for reading people, his words weren't entirely wrong. Kōe hadn't sought him out purely to visit, nor specifically to express his apologies.
Kōe raised his head, clenching his fists tightly as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He asked rapidly, "Did your last round of research determine a new direction?!"
The day the incident occurred at the Royal Weaving Facility and Squad 10 was exactly the end of the month. According to Kōe and Mayuri's agreement, Mayuri was supposed to provide him with a new report just a few days later.
During the two years Kōe spent accompanying Yoruichi in her Shunkō training, their research into Reishi-constructed spaces had always been directed toward the further decomposition of Reishi.
This theoretically feasible method had been temporarily ruled out by Mayuri after nearly two years of effort. Decomposing Reishi was only one of the difficulties; more importantly, a space based solely on a single Reishi had far too limited a capacity for Reiryoku. It couldn't achieve Kōe's requirement of allowing one to rest and recuperate while simultaneously enhancing their strength.
Afterward, Mayuri had informed Kōe via a report that he needed to determine a new direction. It was just that Kōe had never received this final report.
Now, the Seireitei increasingly believed that Shiba Isshin had stolen the experimental data from the Royal Weaving Facility and annihilated Squad 10, but Kōe had never changed his mind.
Assuming it was the Wandenreich that stole the data, then it was highly likely that Mayuri's research had finally found the right direction, forcing them to act. This was perhaps the closest Kōe had ever been to the Wandenreich, and he couldn't let the lead go.
"Still haven't given up?" Mayuri glanced at Kōe and continued, "Does this kind of thing still matter now?"
"It's very important."
"To you, or to the Seireitei?"
"Equally important to both. And to you as well. Don't you want to catch the people who destroyed your life's work, Mayuri?"
Mayuri turned his head, looking at the serious expression on Kōe's face, and suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha! The people who destroyed my life's work? Is there even a need to catch them? Thanks to them, I now feel that the affairs of the outside world are truly boring!"
"And you—if you still find it interesting, I think they can easily carve out another room over there for you to live in." Mayuri pointed to the wall on Kōe's right, then moved his finger further away. "They're unlikely to let us stay this close, so it might be in that spot over there?"
"I'm not joking."
"I'm not joking with you either."
As Mayuri spoke, he reined in the smile on his face. He stood up and walked right in front of Kōe. "You don't actually think that just because you're the Head Captain's disciple, you can do whatever you please, do you? The Seireitei doesn't like people with too much curiosity. And what the Seireitei doesn't like, your teacher definitely won't like either. He will never move his own footsteps; he stands behind you only because you happen to stand in front of him."
"But some curiosity is still permitted, isn't it?"
"Because that curiosity is inspired by ourselves. Whether it was that damn woman or the things I did even earlier, neither required the cooperation of external experimental subjects." Mayuri tapped his head with his finger, then pointed at the Shihakushō on Kōe's body. "Anything that has the potential to alter the identity of a Shinigami—no matter how interesting or beneficial it is—the Seireitei will not like it."
"I can tell you what the final research direction was. If you feel you are even stronger than these thousand years of history, you can go ahead and try." Mayuri said with a mocking smile, "I suppose I can prepare in advance for having an extra person next door. Perhaps the little girl from the Shihōin clan will allow our cells to be a bit closer."
"The location I ultimately planned to experiment in was the Dangai, but due to the existence of the Kōtotsu..."
Mayuri's voice became increasingly blurry, and his face gradually faded away in front of Kōe. The hearty voice of Yoruichi echoed in his ears, continuously calling his name.
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