A Pair of Queens
(A/N: This is loosely based after Ichigo and pals return from fighting the Arrancar in Hueco Mundo. It's NOT canon by any means, as there are things here and there I changed. But please enjoy, it'll make certain fans really happy.)
Chapter 1
Nothing Can Be Explained
It was not long after Ichigo and the others had returned seemingly victoriously from Hueco Mundo with Orihime. It was a successful mission; they went in to save Orihime and they had done so. Many of the Arrancar had been killed in the process, or at least that was what Ichigo's group had assumed when they left.
However, the group of Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Uryu and Orihime was not satisfied. Something seemed off about it all; as difficult as the battles had been, escaping Hueco Mundo had been too easy. It was almost as if they had missed something along the way, but they could not figure out what. So as they sat around a table at the Urahara shop, all of them looked quite disturbed.
"Want some tea?" Ururu asked the group.
"I guess I'll take some," Rukia answered.
"Me too," Renji chimed in.
"Ha! Only figures the moocher would want something off us," Jinta grumbled.
"Hey, you shut up!" Renji yelled. "We've been doing a lot of work while you guys have just been sitting around here!"
"Excuse me, but that would just make up for all the times when you sat around here doing nothing!" Jinta shouted back.
While Renji and Jinta got into each others' faces, Ururu served the tea to the rest of the group.
"Hey, where's Mr. Hat and Clogs?" Ichigo asked. "This is his store, and yet I haven't seen him all day."
"The last time I saw him, he and Yoruichi were headed toward his bedroom," Tessai said. "They're probably-"
Just before Tessai could finish his statement, Urahara walked into the room with cat-form Yoruichi on his shoulder.
"Well, isn't this a fine-looking group today!" Urahara exclaimed. "Nice to see so many smiling faces!"
Everyone grimaced at Urahara, who was clearly the only one in the room smiling.
"So where have you been?" Uryu asked.
"Oh, just taking a cat-nap," Urahara replied with a smile. Yoruichi immediately scratched him across the face.
"Well, that explains a lot," Renji said. "It's no wonder they kicked you out of the Soul Society. You and Yoruichi must have always been-"
"Now, now, let's not talk about that," Urahara stated, waving his hand. "You are all obviously here for a reason, let's hear it."
Everyone grew silent for a minute, with Rukia and Orihime picking up their tea and sipping. Finally, Ichigo spoke up.
"It's Aizen," he stated. "Something's not right. We escaped Hueco Mundo with nary a scratch, and almost all of the Espada dead. It just seemed too easy."
"We struggled so much at first, that it doesn't make sense that it became so easy at the end," Uryu added.
Urahara sat down with the others, and Yoruichi jumped onto the table.
"Well, it seems like you're no longer as naïve as you used to be," Urahara said.
"What do you mean?" Orihime asked.
"In the past, you'd think the battle was over, but now you're smart enough to realize that the battle has just begun," Urahara explained.
"But we can't figure out what's wrong," Uryu stated, with Chad nodding his head.
"Lucky for you, I've been monitoring the situation myself the whole time," Urahara responded. "In fact, I've had the ability to step in at any time and help you guys out if necessary, but I decided not to."
"You moron!" Ichigo yelled at Urahara. "Rukia nearly was killed, Orihime was captured, and you just sat by and let it all happen!"
"Hey, it all worked out in the end, didn't it?" Urahara replied. "Now I've had my suspicions too about what Aizen's up to, so I've got some researchers back in the Soul Society keeping an eye on him."
"How is that even possible?" Uryu questioned. "I thought there would be no way we could find out anything."
Urahara burst into an all-out smile.
"It's my newest invention, spirit cameras!" Urahara exclaimed. "When you guys snuck into Hueco Mundo, I made sure to fix invisible cameras to your spirit energy! So wherever you went, the cameras went with you, and now they flow wherever spirit energy goes! Naturally, since Aizen has the most spiritual pressure, that's where the cameras have gone, so we've been able to keep an eye on his every movement!"
"Impossible!" Rukia claimed.
"Just wait till you see the results," Urahara stated.
A few minutes later, there was knocking at the door.
"Come in…" Urahara said cheerfully.
Soi Fon entered the room. There was a desperate yet angry look on her face.
"Sir, from the research and development center of the Soul Society, we have grave news," Soi Fon stated.
"And that is…?" Urahara asked.
"According to their best guesses, it would appear that Aizen has finally acquired enough power from the Hogyoku to destroy Karakura Town in a matter of days," Soi Fon explained.
Everyone looked around at each other in confusion, before Uryu spoke up.
"I thought the Hogyoku was only useful for turning a Hollow into an Arrancar," Uryu stated. "How could that be used to destroy Karakura Town?"
"The head of the research department says that with all the power of the Hogyoku, Aizen can create an Arrancar with such spiritual pressure which can destroy Karakura Town," Soi Fon continued.
"I don't believe you," Uryu replied. "Who's more powerful than Aizen himself? No Arrancar could be more powerful than him. If he couldn't destroy Karakura Town himself, or with all the power of all those Arrancar, surely he couldn't with whatever Arrancar he's planning on creating."
"Believe what you want," Soi Fon responded with a stern look on her face. "The research and development institute insists that we evacuate Karakura Town immediately lest we be added to the thousands of souls who will be destroyed when Aizen makes his attack."
Yoruichi licked her paws while the rest sat around in silence. Urahara simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, isn't that a great way to start the day?" he said in his usual nonchalant fashion. "Let's have lunch!"
A few hours later, after the group had eaten lunch, Yoruichi returned to her human form, and the entire group sat down to talk about the situation.
"Let's go over everything," Renji stated. "Aizen wants to destroy Karakura Town – why?"
"So he can create the Oken, the key to the dimension of the Spirit King," Yoruichi explained. "He wants to go to the kingdom of the Spirit King and kill him, and thus become the King of the Soul Society."
"The Oken he would be creating would be a fake – yet still functional," Urahara added. "There is a real Oken, yet the only one who knows of its location is Head Captain Yamamoto."
Rukia looked thoughtful. "So what are our choices in this situation?" she asks. "If Aizen is to destroy Karakura Town soon, we can either sit here and allow ourselves to be killed, or escape."
"Or we can fight," Chad stated.
"Don't you people realize the seriousness of this situation?" Soi Fon asked. "I've told you that the research and development institute thinks that with this Hogyoku's fully found power, he can create an Arrancar with enough power to destroy this whole town! A bunch of Soul Reapers fighting against Aizen and such a powerful Arrancar stand no chance, much less a bunch of misfits such as yourselves."
Uryu and Chad took offense at Soi Fon's comment, but said nothing. Ichigo then spoke up.
"I don't care what it takes, I'm not going to allow my town to be destroyed," he said. "Bring on Aizen! We went in there and wiped out most of the Arrancar, we can kill whoever he sends at us!"
"Be careful what you wish for," Yoruichi warned. "It seems to me Aizen purposely allowed you guys to win all those battles."
"What?!" Ichigo shouted.
"You heard me, you were allowed to defeat Grimmjow, Ulquiorra and all the rest," she responded. "While you were doing that, Aizen was busy waiting on the Hogyoku to return to its full power. And now that he has it at its full power, he's ready to use it for this purpose."
"So if you're right, what are we supposed to do?" Rukia asked.
"Well, there is a possibility…" Urahara replied thoughtfully.
The others all stare at Urahara.
"What is it? Just tell us!" Ichigo shouted.
"If we could somehow get the Spirit King to come out and fight Aizen, then we'd avoid having Karakura Town destroyed," Urahara responded.
"Well, how are we supposed to do that?" Renji questioned.
"It's rather simple, actually," Urahara stated. "We just have Head Captain Yamamoto find the Oken and use it to go to the Spirit King's dimension, then tell him to come out and fight Aizen."
Soi Fon scoffed at Urahara's suggestion. "Like that's going to work," she muttered. "Look, you're better off just evacuating this useless town and letting Aizen go at it with the Spirit King. There's no way the king of the Soul Society is going to want to come out and fight just to save some town!"
"That's what you think…" Urahara replied.
"What is it?" Soi Fon yelled. "Is there something you're hiding, Urahara? Are you really the Spirit King?"
Yoruichi covered her mouth as she began to laugh. A big smile appeared on Urahara's face.
"No, I'm not the Spirit King… not yet, at least," Urahara responded.
"Then who is?" Soi Fon shouted, getting angrier. "You know him, I can tell. You're just hiding it to tease us. Spit it out already!"
Urahara laughed again. "What are you going to do about it, Captain Soi Fon?" he asked. "Are you going to beat it out of me?"
Soi Fon immediately flashstepped to right behind Urahara's back, holding her zanpakuto up to his neck.
"You don't tell me, and I'll kill you!" she screamed.
"Relax, relax," Urahara responded. "It's not that big of a deal, really."
"Yes it is!" Soi Fon yelled. "You're willing to put all our lives at risk over some king?"
"Fine, I'll let you in on a little secret, just step away for a minute, I'm having trouble breathing," Urahara said.
Soi Fon pulled back her zanpakuto, but continued to glare angrily at Urahara, who seemed nonchalant about her actions.
"Okay, everyone, I'm going to say this one time, and you must not tell it to anyone else outside this room," Urahara stated. "It's a big secret, and it will change your perspective on Aizen, the Soul Society, and perhaps me forever."
"Go ahead and spit it out!" Soi Fon screamed. "It's that you're the Spirit King, right? I know it!"
"Not by any means," Urahara replied. "The secret is…"
Everyone sat in silence for a moment, waiting for Urahara to reveal what he was going to say.
"There is no Spirit King."
Every person in the room gasped, save for Soi Fon, who immediately slapped Urahara across the face.
"There isn't? Then what is the Oken for?"
"That's all I'm going to say on this subject, you can figure the rest out on your own."
Soi Fon slapped Urahara again, then stomped out of the room in a fury. The rest continued to stare at Urahara in wonder, save for Yoruichi, who merely laughed.
"She sure has a temper, doesn't she?"
"You can't argue that," Urahara replied, smiling.
