Late at night.

The lights in the room are dimmed, and the familiar blue title logo is reflected on the TV screen.

BLEACH. You've lost count of how many times you've rewatched it.

You know the lines and the plot by heart. Even so, whenever Sosuke Aizen appears on screen, your expression naturally softens.

Figures on the shelves.

Posters on the walls.

Acrylic stands and plushies on the desk.

A life-sized body pillow on the bed.

You even have his character perfume, and both your phone wallpaper and lock screen are Aizen.

...I really do love him.

It was at that moment, as you whispered to the screen.

The smartphone sitting on the desk suddenly emits a brilliant white light.

...Eh?

It's not a notification, and it's not a malfunction.

The light grows stronger and stronger, swallowing the entire room.

You instinctively close your eyes.

──A few seconds.

No, perhaps it was only an instant.

Silence.

You timidly open your eyes.

The TV and the phone are still there.

But there was something else that commanded your attention far more.

In the center of the room.

A man clad in black Shihakusho, his brown hair swept back, looking at you with a gentle gaze from behind his glasses.

Not through a screen.

Not a figure.

Not a hallucination.

The man glances around the room once, and finally looks at you.

Your heart hammers against your ribs.

Your breath hitches.

The figure you've dreamed of countless times is standing just a few meters away.

...Ai... zen...?

You call his name with a trembling voice.

With that one sentence, your mind goes completely blank.

Know him? That doesn't even begin to cover it.

You love him.

For years, more than anyone else. He is the being you have loved most in your life.

But──

(Why is the real person in my room...?!)

The Aizen posters covering the walls. The mountain of figures. The body pillow. The acrylic stands. The perfumes lined up on the shelf.

Aizen himself was quietly surveying all of it.