Bleach: Me and Aizen

"Hmm?" Aizen in the lab was taken aback and turned to look outside.

Szayel Aporro, having been called, turned around and quickly returned to the lab, coming over to Aizen's side to look at the screen.

His expression was one of excitement as he continuously examined the experimental data on the screen, clarity evident on his face.

"So that's it! There's actually this difference in spiritual particles between Hollows and Soul Reapers. No wonder we couldn't break through before. Lord Aizen, this is a significant step forward! We should immediately start the experiments… Huh? Lord Aizen...?"

Szayel Aporro called out several times without receiving a response. Subconsciously, he turned his head to look.

He saw that Aizen still maintained his gaze toward the outside, his eyebrows slightly lowered, his glasses obscuring his eyes as if he were staring at something incomprehensible and was deep in thought.

Following Aizen's gaze, Szayel Aporro looked toward the empty space, where there was nothing at all.

He furrowed his brow, feeling that something was off.

"Lord Aizen, what are you looking at?"

He asked again, and only then did Aizen regain his focus. Yet his gaze remained fixed outside as he said, "Szayel Aporro, I suddenly remembered that I have some matters to attend to. You can leave for now, and I will notify you when we need to conduct new experiments."

"Hmm?" Szayel Aporro was perplexed. The experiment had just made progress, and it was the perfect time to build on that momentum. Why was Lord Aizen acting so unusually?

Besides, if he remembered correctly, this was my laboratory, wasn't it?

He murmured to himself but did not dare to defy Aizen's command.

Having followed Yu Mikami for a long time, he had learned many things; disobeying Yu Mikami's orders usually didn't pose much of a problem. In fact, if he presented something novel, Yu Mikami would often laugh and joke with him.

But defying Aizen's command was a matter of life and death.

"Since that's the case, I will take my leave, Lord Aizen." He respectfully nodded and quickly left the lab.

Once he was gone, Aizen looked at the empty doorway and suddenly spoke, "Aren't you going to come in and sit down?" 

...

"Heh." Upon hearing the invitation, the Aizen who had crossed over stood at the doorway and let out a light laugh.

He did not hesitate but directly entered the laboratory, and as he stepped inside, the large door of the laboratory closed silently behind him.

At the same time, he keenly sensed that an invisible barrier, which hadn't existed before, had been established, completely isolating the laboratory from the outside world.

Looking at the figure not far away, who, aside from appearing somewhat youthful, bore an identical face to his own, the Aizen who had crossed over couldn't help but exclaim, "So cautious. Should I say this is what it means to be the Aizen of this world?"

"The Aizen of this world?" The Aizen of this world pushed up his glasses, revealing an intrigued expression. "Are you implying that you are the Aizen from another world? Heh, do you think I would believe such nonsense?"

The Aizen who had crossed over smiled slightly and replied, "Whether you believe it or not is your business, but since you are the Aizen of this world, I think you wouldn't be like those mediocre fools, unable to accept matters beyond your understanding."

"Indeed, this world has many miraculous methods capable of creating inconceivable illusions, even ones that are almost indistinguishable from reality, just like our Kyouka Suigetsu."

"Your ears can deceive you, your eyes can deceive you, your experiences can deceive you, and your imagination can deceive you."

"But since you are me, you should possess the qualifications to see beyond this and discover the so-called truth. Otherwise, you are nothing more than a mediocre fool who bears my name."

The Aizen of this world, unaffected in the slightest, calmly responded, "If you say you are the Aizen from another world, then you should know what I am currently researching. Prove it to me, and I'll believe you."

The Aizen who had crossed over chuckled lightly, "That's too easy. You are researching the boundary between Soul Reapers and Hollows, wanting to utilize…"

"Hmm?"

He suddenly realized, stopping mid-sentence to ask, "Who did you learn this habit of trying to take advantage from?"

The other had clearly established from the start that he was another version of him, merely attempting to gain free insight.

The Aizen of this world silently sighed, finding himself too astute, reacting too quickly, and failing to gain even a bit of critical information.

He shrugged, avoiding the topic, and instead said, "Since you are the Aizen from another world, and you appear to be quite a bit older than I am, have you achieved your goals and ascended to the heavens?"

That question was rather impolite.

The Aizen who had crossed over mused internally while maintaining a profoundly unfathomable expression. "The so-called ascendance depends on how you choose to understand it. What the world considers success does not apply to geniuses like you and me. For someone like me, who has mastered the ability of infinite evolution, I have long since transcended the limits of Soul Reapers and Hollows. For me now, if I wish to accomplish something in this world, there is nothing I cannot achieve. Just as I have now crossed the boundaries of space and time to appear before you—something that may seem unimaginable to you but is a piece of cake for me."

In the face of his lengthy statement, others might have been tangled up, but the Aizen of this world merely adjusted his glasses and nodded.

"I see. So you have failed."

"…" The Aizen who had crossed over was momentarily speechless, suddenly feeling quite annoying himself.

The Aizen of this world was deep in thought.

There should be no reason… If his research had already succeeded, along with Yu's assistance, there was no reason for failure.

Was it Yhwach? Or perhaps the Zero Division?

Unable to figure it out, he simply asked, "From your appearance, you seem to have crossed over with a form of consciousness that is more special than spiritual particles."

"Based on your manifested form, the clothes and eye mask you wear should be a form of sealing."

"In other words… you have been sealed in another world."

"Now tell me, what about Yu? How is he?"

"Oh?" The Aizen who had crossed over slightly raised his eyebrows, followed by a casual smile, "Are you referring to Yu Mikami? That's a secret; I can't provide it for free."

"How about this? Let's exchange information. You tell me about the situation in your world first, and then I'll provide you with information about Yu Mikami from my world."

The Aizen of this world looked at him suspiciously and asked, "What do you mean by that? If you are indeed the future version of me from another world, then everything I'm doing now should have been experienced by you. The events happening here should be history to you; what use would this information be to you?"

The Aizen who had crossed over smiled lightly, "What we call a world is merely an extension of countless possibilities. The world you and I find ourselves in likely exists in parallel rather than being strictly past or future."

"Therefore, some things cannot be guaranteed to be completely identical, and I am very interested in those differences."

"Not completely the same…"

The Aizen of this world seemed to ponder.

Then he asked, "What do you want to know?"