189: Chapter 189 An Unexpected Showdown

In the tea room of the 5th Division's Vice-Captain, Mia met this elegant man wearing glasses once again.

Having poured a cup of tea, Aizen, who was kneeling at the table, pushed it toward Mia.

Mia had returned to her appearance of carrying two ornamental zanpakuto, the only difference being that one of those ornaments was now called [Kyoka Suigetsu].

"Vice-Captain Aizen, thank you for your 'care' lately..." Mia's teasing words made even Aizen feel a bit awkward.

He wasn't quite sure why his emotions fluctuated so much in front of this woman.

He raised a hand. "There's no need for such malicious compliments, Vice-Captain Mia. What brings you here today...?" Aizen adjusted his glasses.

"I'm here to ask you: since you're not nearsighted, why do you insist on wearing glasses?"

"And also to return your sword. After all, I was defeated by you. I'm terrified that one day, while I'm sleeping, you might slit my throat, Vice-Captain Aizen..."

Mia's verbal assault made Aizen chuckle.

"Thank you for your visit, and thank you as well for returning my lost zanpakuto," Aizen replied, weighing his words carefully.

"Besides, why would anyone sneak into your bedroom while you're sleeping just to slit your throat? There are always better options, aren't there?" A dangerous light reflected off Aizen's lenses.

"What options? Is a grand Vice-Captain like you actually thinking of a night raid on a little nurse from the 4th Division like me? That's simply—insane!" Mia feigned fear, clutching [Kyoka Suigetsu] tightly with a pitiful expression.

"Cough, cough... please stop joking." Aizen's expression flickered oddly the moment Mia hugged [Kyoka Suigetsu], but he quickly adjusted, offering an awkward, apologetic smile.

"Or maybe you'd wait until I'm asleep to feed me one of those special medicines you've been developing lately, to make me undergo Hollowfication... right?"

Having said that, Mia covered her face with one hand and slowly brushed her cheek. An antique yet mysterious and eerie Nuo opera mask appeared on her face...

In an instant, the entire tea room was filled with endless malice.

Mia gently patted the hilt of the sword and said something strange, "Am I right, Vice-Captain Aizen?"

Sosuke Aizen, sitting opposite her, gave a helpless smile.

Light and shadow shifted within the room. Aizen pulled himself away from Mia's embrace, while the one who had been kneeling there was actually a zanpakuto with a purple and white hilt—[Kyoka Suigetsu].

Aizen's face was slightly flushed, and his entire body was covered in Mia's unique scent, a somewhat cloying fragrance of roses.

Mia took off the mask and tucked it into her robes.

She was wearing an academy-style uniform that Tuaner had forced her into today, and the fabric at her chest was just enough to hide the entire mask.

From an angle Aizen couldn't see, the mask turned into starlight and dissipated into Mia's body.

Aizen took a sip of tea to regain his composure.

"So, Vice-Captain Mia is so exceptional that she has already mastered Hollowfication, a technology far ahead of its time? And she can even remain conscious. Truly worth celebrating!"

"By 'remaining conscious,' do you mean the kind where I'm deluded by you and won't let go of you?"

"Also, what on earth is Hollowfication? That was just a toy I bought by the roadside."

Aizen's bureaucratic tone was ruthlessly countered by Mia.

"Tell me, what is your true purpose for coming here?" Aizen realized that if they continued like this, he would be led by the nose by Mia indefinitely.

"A temporary truce. I don't want to spend every day frantically dealing with a powerful human trafficker like you eyeing the orphans in my home."

"I might not be able to beat you, but if you want to kill me, it'll cost you dearly." Mia's eyes were full of defiance.

"Besides, do you think Kaname Tosen can survive the month if I don't intervene?" Mia said faintly, looking at the nails Tuaner had painted for her this morning.

"Fine! I want that part of the power in Rangiku's soul that doesn't belong to her." Aizen stated his demand.

"No way!" The concern in Mia's eyes seemed to overflow.

"Oh? Then shall I go and take it myself another day?" Sosuke Aizen threatened.

"Well, fine... but it must be removed without causing harm. You tell me the method, and I'll do it myself." Mia hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.

"Very well. Then I'll leave Tosen's injuries in your hands, Vice-Captain Mia." Aizen's smile appeared bright and gentle.

"Hmm? That's a separate price..."

"Thank you for the hospitality. I'll take my leave now..." Mia stood up and left.

After Mia left, a heavily injured Kaname Tosen emerged from the adjacent quiet room. The wounds on his body glowed with a faint pink light, clinging to him like maggots on a bone, showing no signs of healing. He leaned tiredly in a corner without saying a word.

"I'll pay a return visit tomorrow and bring back the medicine that can heal you..." Aizen looked at his loyal subordinate, his gaze unusually soft.

After leaving Aizen, Mia turned straight into an alley for the 6th Division, which wasn't particularly far from the 5th Division.

Unlike other Soul Reapers, she didn't wear shoes; wearing only [phantom silk stockings], she walked almost silently, like an elegant Persian cat.

Of course, to match the solemnity of the Soul Society, she had adjusted the color of her stockings to black. This was also a form of respect for Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Mia absent-mindedly registered at the 6th Division and entered the Kuchiki Family's territory.

Not long after entering, a curly-haired little meatball, as cute as a doll, lunged into her arms.

"Sissy!!" Mia held down Rukia's little head as she tried hard to nuzzle into her arms, and nodded a greeting to Hisana Kuchiki, who had come to deliver a meal to Byakuya.

Come to think of it, this was the first time she had seen Hisana conscious. As the attending physician, she had been somewhat irresponsible.

Mia gave her another brief physical examination and found that basically all the symptoms that could be cured had been. The rest depended on Hisana's own lifespan.

Byakuya met with Mia in the division office. Following protocol, Mia still performed the subordinate's salute to this man she had defeated.

Then she stated her purpose—to take Rukia home.

Byakuya was somewhat reluctant. These past ten or so days had been a rare period of great happiness for his wife since he had known her; joy was written all over her face every day.

Looking at the poker face across from her, Mia reluctantly extended an olive branch.

It would only be for staying overnight, as the child was so small that taking care of her was extremely taxing on Hisana's mental energy.

Furthermore, she wouldn't restrict what Rukia's surname would be; she could even take the name Kuchiki.

Byakuya was initially moved, then fell into silence. Mia's proposal was indeed very good; this way, when Rukia was a bit older, she could return to live in the Kuchiki Family legitimately. Hisana would be very happy.

However, his previous support for Mia at the 11th Division had already involved a private deal he made with the family elders.

He couldn't quite accept the olive branch Mia was offering.

"Fine, I've said all I have to say. If you're not afraid of exhausting your wife to death by taking care of a child, I'm still worried about leaving my little sister with psychological trauma. I'm off, see ya!"

Mia flicked the little nose of Rukia, who was hanging onto her like a koala, and walked leisurely toward the gate of the 6th Division.

"Please, please wait!" Mia heard Hisana's voice and stopped in her tracks.

"Thank you for taking care of Rukia for so long!" A bow so deep her head almost touched the ground made Mia feel a bit bashful.

"Enough, Rukia is my sister now too. Besides, hasn't your man already repaid the favor for you?"

Mia felt that Poker Face wasn't a bad person, so she offered Hisana a few words of comfort.

"If he hadn't brought Old Man Ginrei to back me up, I might have been split in half vertically by Isshin Shiba..."

Mia patted Hisana's head. Hmm, to be honest, it felt quite similar to patting Rukia's.

"Hmph... go on then. Send Rukia over tomorrow. Also, that white-haired brat named Gin isn't bad. Let him study at the Shinō Academy of Spiritual Arts for a year, and he can report to the 6th Division after graduation."

Mia waved her hand with her back to the tsundere Byakuya. "I'm leaving...!"