Author's note: Another fic where Starrk turned out to be Aizen's son inspired this. XD I just took the idea and ran with it… opinions please?
It hurts. The blow across his chest… how it hurt. Starrk gasped softly as he felt his hollow hole crumpling under the force of it. Yet the sensation was strangely distant. Almost unreal. He met the shinigami's eyes for a moment and saw nothing but a bit of sadness in those grey orbs. It hurts so much. He couldn't hold himself up. The pain was too much, his strength was flowing away. As he fell he looked up to see Aizen…
"?" Starrk's breath went out in a soundless question as white clad arms caught him. Aizen… Brown eyes met grey and Starrk was surprised by the concern on Aizen's face. He was only a soldier. Soldiers fell in battle and he'd fought as hard as he could. Why was Aizen…?
He couldn't ask. There was no breath in his lungs. Aizen gently set him down onto the broken stone and ran a hand along his chest. Starrk blinked as he felt the power of the Hogyoku, felt the broken and torn flesh mending beneath that touch. Aizen said nothing to him, just ensuring his survival before he flew away. With more questions than answers, Starrk could only watch. His wounds were still severe, just non-lethal. And they were making his head spin. As he became dizzier and dizzier, he could no longer hold out.
Dazed and confused, Starrk finally passed out.
The next time he woke up, it was to blinding pain.
Starrk groaned, slowly managing to pry his eyes open. They felt stiff and gummy. Blinking up into the painful sun, he winced. That hurt, more than a bit. A large part of him just wanted to go back to sleep –
Don't you dare! Starrk's eyes went wide at that voice in his head. Get up! Get up Starrk! You're going to be in big trouble if you don't start moving!
"Lilinette?" Starrk forced himself into a sitting position, groaning in pain. Reaching down he ran a shaking hand over the deep cut in his chest. It was scabbed over but it was… "What." Starrk went pale as his hand encountered unbroken chest. "Where is my hollow hole?" It wasn't there. Reaching up he touched the mask fragments or rather, tried to. They were completely non-existent. "Where are my mask fragments?!" That was completely wrong. What was happening to him? What had happened to him? Lilinette sighed in his mind.
You never had a hole. You never had mask fragments. You're not a hollow. She said shortly and Starrk stared away, wide-eyed. What was she saying? Of course he was a hollow… Look, don't worry about it now. STARRK! The snap of her voice recalled him to reality and he blinked. Take off your clothes!
"Wait, what?!" This was getting more surreal by the moment. What on earth was she suggesting?
Just trying to get your attention… okay, seriously though. Right now you're in an arrancar uniform. Find a dead shinigami to strip and change your clothes. Starrk shoved himself to his feet, gritting his teeth at the pain. He was severely hurt, even with Aizen's healing. But he managed to shuffle along, looking for a corpse. We lost in case you're wondering.
"I had gathered." He said with a pained laugh. "Although I can't regret it…" He'd never said anything because he was in too deep, but the creation of the oken had pained him. So many deaths… bizarre, for a hollow to care about that but the razing of Karakura town had sit ill with him. Starrk was honestly glad it hadn't happened.
You care because you're not a hollow, Starrk. Although given what you are it's a miracle you do care. That made him want to question her, desperately, but Lilinette was right. He needed to change his clothes. Apparently he could pass as shinigami if he just had the right clothes… finding a convenient body he began to strip off the black fabric, murmuring a small apology to the man. It wasn't a kind thing to do, leaving him almost naked, but Starrk had no choice. Pulling off his white uniform he donned the shinigami one. Good! Now incinerate the body and your old clothes. Lilinette directed and Starrk blinked.
"Huh? Oh, right." Starrk cringed a little internally, but his… what was Lilinette, exactly?... was right. Charging a cero he incinerated the body. Although it wasn't a cero. If he'd had to define it, he would have described it a kind of raw reiatsu burst. The power behind it was definitely shinigami…
Quickly walking off, Starrk decided he needed to leave the ruins of fake Karakura town. He would be safer outside of the area. Along the way he saw several shinigami but none of them approached him. And why should they? He looked and felt like one of them.
I'm helping you too. You're still scary strong, Starrk. Lilinette commented and he nodded, unsurprised. Finally decided they had gone far enough, he found a convenient set of steps to sit on and speak to his… what?
"Lilinette. First, I want to know. What are you?" Starrk said firmly. She was only in his head at the moment. Was she part of his soul again? There was a soft sigh.
Draw your sword. Starrk frowned but followed the suggestion, drawing his sword and gazing into the surface. It was a fine weapon, although nothing more – I'm right here Starrk. I'm your zanpakuto.
"…" Starrk stared at the mirrored surface and for a moment, he saw Lilinette's face. But not her face as an arrancar… there was no mask fragment, only a girl with green hair and one eye. The other was covered with an eyepatch. Then the image faded away and he was looking at his own reflection. "And what am I?" He asked, his mind cushioned by shock.
You're a shinigami. You always were. Aizen kept it from you for your own safety. Starrk couldn't hide his disbelief at that. His safety? Why would Aizen concern himself with that? Because you're more important than you think. You're his son, Starrk.
"I'm WHAT?" Starrk's eyes widened before he took a very deep breath, controlling his reactions. He wanted to scream, demand answers but that wasn't the way to handle this. He needed to stay calm. "Please start from the beginning." Maybe that would be easier. Maybe then he could grasp how he could possibly be Aizen's offspring. There was a pause before Lilinette began to speak.
You know when Aizen found us in the desert? That never happened. It's a false memory. It'll probably start to fade away soon. You were made by Szayel using Aizen's genetic material. Starrk swallowed hard at that. Um, and a female donor. His old fukutaichou, Hinamori Momo.
"I have a mother?" That thought fascinated him. But… "She doesn't know about me, does she?" He was pretty sure. Lilinette made an affirmative sound.
She has no idea. I'm not sure how he got her eggs, who knows, but she definitely didn't give them willingly. Starrk sighed. He couldn't approach her then. Aizen really did care for her in his weird as hell way. He wanted something of her to keep with him after she was gone.
"I see… but why trick everyone into thinking I was a hollow? Why trick me?" He asked. That confused him greatly. Lilinette paused for a moment before speaking.
It was mostly to protect you. You were kind of messed up Starrk. I mean, you're two years old. This is so abnormal it's not even funny. Szayel made it work by feeding you information and speeding up your growth and stuff, but it's still not right. Lilinette sounded uncomfortable. Aizen figured that's why you were so lazy and stuff. He wanted to give you time to grow without expectations. And if everyone had known about what you really were, you would've been vulnerable to his enemies and his allies. Gin and Tosen would never have wanted him to have an heir.
"Because they thought they could fill that spot?" Starrk asked questioningly and felt agreement from his sword.
Tosen especially liked to think of himself as Aizen's successor. Gin… Gin was one hell of a snake. Aizen never guessed he was a traitor but as it turned out, it's really good he didn't know about you. Lilinette said and Starrk was actually distracted from the initial topic.
"Wait, Gin was a traitor?" It was the first he'd heard of that! It must have happened after the shinigami had defeated him. Although how could Lilinette know?
I was in contact with Aizen's zanpakuto. He used us to keep an eye on you… She was pretty pissed after Gin tried to stab Aizen in the back. It didn't work, the hogyoku made him immortal. Aizen's imprisoned now, by the way. Starrk tested his emotions and found he just didn't know how he felt. Aizen was his father but… not in any meaningful way. The most time they'd spent together was when Aizen had taught him chess. It was the only thing he could say they'd truly shared. Honestly, you shouldn't feel too close to him. He cared for you in his fucked up way but he definitely thought about getting rid of you and trying again, a few times. I managed to convince him that you'd be better after he lifted his shikai from you.
"…" Starrk put his face in his hand. This was just… he didn't have words. Looking down at his hand, he realized he was still wearing his Espada gloves. Pulling them away he wasn't surprised to find there was no tattoo on his hand. "So all the hollow aspects of my appearance were lies created by Aizen's shikai. And you?" He asked as Lilinette laughed.
Manifested zanpakuto! That's the first step to bankai, you know. You're a prodigy Starrk. She said merrily and he blinked. Honestly, that's the real reason he never got rid of you. You inherited his power, but a bit enhanced from what he had Szayel do. No guarantee another kid would get that. He figured he could work on your personality later.
"Err… I think I'm offended." Starrk said after a moment and Lilinette laughed again. "What's wrong with my personality?" Certainly, he had been lazy and unmotivated but what had there been to be motivated about? The deaths of countless innocents? Let's go massacre a town! Inspiring. Lilinette could easily follow the drift of his thoughts.
I know right? You kind of took after your momma there, she was sweet. Aizen would've liked to have a nasty little copy of himself. Lilinette said and Starrk grimaced. But he kept deciding you would do. I think he could see Momo in you, too. That helped.
"I see… What should we do now?" Still trying to absorb everything, Starrk tried to think about his options. "Go to Hueco Mundo?" But he was actually a shinigami. Was that going to be an issue? Lilinette snorted.
Yeah right. Now that the illusion is broken everyone will see you for what you are. Not a great idea. Unless you want to take up where Aizen left off. Starrk winced at the thought. He was no Aizen and couldn't pretend to be. Do you want to get him out of jail?
"…" Starrk thought about that hard for a moment before shaking his head. "No. He earned it." Aizen's plot to destroy Karakura town had always bothered him. And all the souls that had gone into the hogyoku in Aizen's efforts to construct the oken… ugh. "Does he expect me to?" The last moment where Aizen has saved his life… that made him feel a touch guilty.
Probably not. I mean, he knows you and he knows all the seals and shit they'll have put on him. You're only one person Starrk. Lilinette said and he nodded. I don't think you should waste your life trying to get him out, so that's cool. You know, I think you should stay here, become a shinigami.
"What? But… how could I?" His thoughts went back to the grey eyed taichou. After that battle he would surely remember the Coyote's face. "I know I'm a shinigami but there's at least one person who will remember me." And would have plenty of questions about his survival and current lack of a hollow hole. There was a peal of laughter from his zanpakuto.
Starrk, you're such a dumbass sometimes! Lilinette said and he scowled at his sword. Where do souls go when they're purified?
"Eh? Soul Soci – oh." Starrk blinked as he realized where Lilinette's thoughts were going. "Er… has that ever happened before, that a former hollow has come to Soul Society and been recognized?"
No, but most hollows don't exactly look human. Arrancar are new. Leaving that aside, most powerful hollows are composite souls… several souls blend together to make the dominant personality. Lilinette said and Starrk nodded. He knew that was true from a few things he'd overheard, but he'd never felt anything like it himself. Perhaps that should have been a hint. They would split when they come over and probably wouldn't be recognizable or even spiritually powerful. You can claim you were a really powerful plus soul before you went hollow. That must happen sometimes too.
"I suppose… I should take a new name then?" Starrk mused, then laughed softly. "My real name would be Sosuke Starrk." That actually sounded rather good. Lilinette groaned.
Don't you dare use that! She said threateningly and he laughed. Idiot. No seriously, call yourself… Lupe. That means wolf. She suggested and Starrk nodded. That sound good enough to him. The only thing you have to worry about is getting promoted to fukutaichou. They take tissue samples then, put them on file. I don't think they usually run a comparison to existing samples, though, so even then you might be safe. It's better not to take the chance though. She cautioned and he nodded.
"Don't make past seated officer. Got it." That wasn't going to be a problem for a while anyway. He would be going in as a cadet. "Well, I suppose I should find some food and some more clothes." He couldn't go apply in this. And he should probably wait until his chest was healed to go to the academy. Lilinette made an affirmative sound.
Manifest me and I'll help you out. She said and Starrk frowned, fumbling a moment before he found the mental gear. It turned easily and Lilinette was standing in front of him. He looked her over, fascinated. As he'd seen in his sword, she was a normal little girl. She was wearing a ragged outfit of leather and wolf pelts, and a necklace of wolf's teeth. Along with her eyepatch she looked completely feral.
"I'll go steal some food for you. Just rest." She said and Starrk nodded before stretching himself out on the steps and trying to get comfortable. He would look like a homeless person but he didn't care. This part of the Rukongai seemed to be abandoned, for now anyway.
He would take advantage of the peace.