A/N: Because I think we all had some questions that we wanted to ask Tousen. Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.
The True Path of Justice
Third Person POV
Ichigo changed the grip on his sword, and stared at the blind, former-Captain before him.
"What?"
Tousen just looked at him (or didn't, it was hard to tell, him being blind and all) and then said, "I told you, I am doing this to follow the path of true justice."
"The what?" Ichigo repeated.
"The Path of True Justice."
"Yeah . . . but what is it?"
"I would think the name is self explanatory."
"It's really not."
They stared (or didn't stare, since Tousen was supposedly blind) at each other in silence for a few more seconds, and then Ichigo said, "Can we agree to a momentary truce? I'm trying to figure this one out, and it's hard to do when I'm trying to figure out where you'll attack me next."
Tousen shrugged, "Why not?" and then sheathed his sword.
"So . . . let me get this straight. You're following Aizen because you think it's the Path of True Justice."
"That is correct."
"Alright . . . so, what is it about this path that makes it so much better than all the other paths?"
"It's the path of least bloodshed."
"I know you're blind and all, so this might come off as offensive, but uhm . . . did you see all the bodies that Aizen left behind him on his 'Path of Least Bloodshed' out of the Seiritei, or were they just furniture to you."
"Those were necessary losses."
"Necessary for . . . the path of least bloodshed, even though if you hadn't chosen to follow this path in the first place, then it would be the path of no bloodshed?"
"Yes."
"That doesn't add up at all." Ichigo said.
"It does when you look at it."
"No, it doesn't! Why on earth did Aizen need to stab Hinamori? I mean, stabbing me, I can understand that, stabbing Tousirou, that too, Renji, Byakuya . . . but why Hinamori?"
"Because that too was the path of least bloodshed."
"I just don't get how stabbing someone with the mental stability of a piece of glass is the path of least bloodshed."
"I mean metaphorical blood."
"What the hell does that mean?"
Even Rukia's damn bunnies were better than this.
"I mean, killing Hinamori was emotionally the least painful- the least metaphorically bloody- for her."
Alright, he had a point there.
Ichigo began putting the pieces together, "So . . . you're saying that making us hate you is emotionally the least bloody path for us, because none of us will ever regret killing you? And since in your mind Aizen is going to kill us all, the path of least bloodshed will let us retaliate against your side with no emotional consequences?"
"Well, no-"
"And that this way, none of us will ever feel so scared and deviate from the path of true justice and switch sides, because we all hate you people so damn much?"
"No! Not at all-"
Kurosaki Ichigo grinned and drew his sword, "Thanks a lot, this makes me feel a lot better about killing you!"
"Damnit!"
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Omake
Ichigo sat in the Urahara Shoten with all of the other Shinigami and living world people guarding the town right now, ". . . and that explains everything about that really weird path of his!"
". . ." there was a moment of silence.
"You guys see it too, right?"
"Umm . . . no?" said Renji.
"Sorry, Kurosaki-kun, I just don't get it." Inoue said bashfully.
Similar consent ranged throughout the room.
"It's odd, though, he seemed to admit he was wrong and the path of least bloodshed didn't really exist by the end of it." Ichigo said, "Right after I hit the final blow."
"He probably saw just how much blood was in a human body while he was bleeding out," Hitsugaya took a sip of his tea, "and then realised his path was no longer blood free."
Rukia nodded, "That's probably it."