Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Bleach.


Chapter II: Aftershock

Ichimaru Gin would have felt a sense of divine justice, if this happened a few years ago. He was vindicated in his suspicions of Aizen, and Soi Fon as well, everyone was now seeing him as the expert in the upcoming war and no one that he liked was dead.

Unfortunately, years of exposure to Rangiku and Izuru had meant the development of a conscience, always bad for a member of the Gotei 13, which led to him feeling bad for a lot of people who had their trust be ripped apart before their very eyes. Even then, some were refusing to believe it.

Gin avoided mentioning Tousen's part in the betrayal for some reason, maybe it had something to do with his friends passionately believing that he died fighting Zaraki to save Seireitei, and simply ratted out those who they already knew. Gin was a pretty nice guy for doing that, in his opinion.

A Captain's meeting had been called, or rather both Captain and Vice Captain's meeting due to their presence, over how to replace those who had betrayed them for Aizen. Some absences, Byakuya, Konamura, Iba, Abarai and Hitsugaya, were noted due to their being curb-stomped during the attack.

Replacements would be needed quickly less due to the number of betrayals but due to the concentration of them. If it were just the Captains that betrayed them, the Vice-Captains could have simply taken over from there but when it's both main authority figures, the ground troops tended to start doubting whether their personal superiors were in the wrong.

The Eleventh Division were already muttering about Zaraki leaving 'like a boss' with few adequate successors, the Second Division all knew that Omaeda got his rank due to his position as a noble and the Fifth Division saw Aizen as a father and Hinamori as a sister. If they were placed under supervision, they may become discontent, but if they were also needed for the battle.

Hence, they needed to get replacements and fast, which was why Captain-Commander Yamamoto called the meeting.

"Do any of the Captains recommend a successor for the Second Division?" None of the seated officers were judged to be powerful enough, and their loyalty was less in doubt, so it would have to be a Vice Captain who could relate to said Division.

"Seinosuke could be convinced to return from retirement, it would be good for him to get back into the field." Captain Unohana always had a bit of nostalgia for her old Vice Captain, Gin once suspected him of working with Aizen, but the guy was too loyal for that to be the case.

Captain Kyoraku spoke against that idea. "Not to be rude, but Seinosuke ain't always the nice kid you think he is and his mental breakdown doesn't exactly help his case."

Of course not. Captain Unohana wasn't stupid, she must have been there when Seinosuke had snapped and tried to destroy Scalpel, yelling at random Fourth Division members for having 'purer' zanpakutos compared to his. Gin had suspected that foul play was involved, but the illusion at play wasn't in Aizen's play-book and relied on some deep knowledge that the man didn't have.

"The Second Division may benefit from the return of Yoruichi." Captain Ukitake suggested, it might bring in a sense of stability.

"She already said no." Omaeda cut in, earning a few glares but his point still stood. Yoruichi might have felt betrayed at the lack of trust, might be reluctant to accept that Soi Fon had gone traitor right then or even just got used to the freedom that exile brought with it. He saw little of her, before the exile, but had heard that she was not a fan of how constrictive the role of Captain was and often flaunted regulations. Still, they needed someone efficient and who could show the power needed to control any sympathisers.

"But perhaps on a temporary basis? Until we can find someone more permanent." Nanao Ise had just suggested that. Maybe she could take charge? Her role would be mostly paperwork and combat, if Gin managed to convince the Captain-Commander about his plan, and her shikai was supposed to be highly impressive.

That is, if the files Gin stole were correct.

A truth began to descend, with the size of the betrayals now sinking in, as Mayuri said what they were all thinking. "We may need some of the retired Vice Captains to enter the field again, as well as Vice Captains to take control of Divisions."

Gin had an idea of who would be chosen. The Second Division, depending on whether Yoruichi agreed or not, was already under control, but the other Divisions were less than likely to be accepting of certain choices. Fifth Division had been doted on by Aizen and Gin wasn't even sure if the seated officers remaining wouldn't just drop their weapons the second they think they can get away with it.

Eleventh Division focused on strength and the members defecting were the strongest they had ever seen. The issue had been that the sixth to ninth seats were rather the same in terms of strength and all of them were more or less psychotic drunks who would probably also defect once they saw their former commanders. The only one who might not commit to such a thing was the tenth seat who aided Rukia's rescue and he, in completely objective terms, sucked.

Well, best make do with what you have.

"The Fifth Division can have Izuru." Gin happily suggested, rather enjoying being seen as something other than non-trustworthy. "He used to serve in the Fifth Division until I managed to nab him from Aizen's claws." Captain-Commander Yamamoto seemed to be happy with this, it appeared that Gin's ideas might be taken a bit more seriously.

"Vice Captain Izuru Kira, you are to temporarily manage the Fifth Division until this crisis has been resolved."

Izuru looked shocked at what had just been offered. Gin had prevented him from becoming like Hinamori, a happy little pet for Aizen, but he had the feeling that similar feelings of admiration and awe were instead place onto him, if at a lesser extent than with Hinamori and Aizen. It was only going to be a temporary deal but Gin always had the slight worry that Izuru may take his admiration too far one day and start propositioning his Captain.

Then he would have to deal with Rangiku and Izuru fighting to the death over him, which would be a lot less fun than it sounded.

Oh, the pains of being Captain of the Third Division.

"Yes, Captain-Commander." Izuru thankfully said, hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with some widespread mutiny or attempt haircut. The Fifth Division were rather gentle and peaceful, but only due to Aizen making sure they were all loyal to him. The peaceful atmosphere could have been maintained with Hinamori there but their deadliness in combat could come to bite Seireitei in the arse. Not that Gin was fixated on the potential for betrayal by the Fifth Division or anything.

"Captain Konamura asked me to place Vice Captain Iba for the Eleventh." Yamamoto simply stated, he had always held the fox-man's opinions highly for his sense of justice and the choice itself made sense. Iba was the type of get along with men from the Eleventh Division, he had that same type attitude that many of them had, but also placed his true loyalty towards his Captain and the Captain-Commander.

Renji was another who might have been good for the position, especially with him achieving bankai, but Gin had the feeling that he wouldn't be interested and that Byakuya was more fond of simply keeping an eye on his Vice Captain. Besides, Iba's mother had been Gin's own Vice Captain for a short time and he felt some kind of compelling loyalty to aid her son in his career.

The daily letters asking for this very thing from said mother may have helped as well.

"Iba's wound were not too deep for him to resume duties. It will take a week though." Captain Unohana looked sure of this, although Vice Captain Sasakibe seemed to disagree.

"He will have to report for duty in three days, the Eleventh is still having troubles and we may need to take action otherwise." Action ranged from detaining a few bad eggs and purging the entire Division of potential dissenters and their buddies.

"We'll do what we can." Unohana promised as judgment could now be passed to those who

"As of now, Sosuke Aizen, Kenpachi Zaraki and Soi Fon are to be considered traitors to Seireitei and will be treated as such. Ikaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa and Hinamori Momo are guilty of aiding treason and are to be captured for trial or killed. Yachiru Kusajishi is to be captured and be questioned about how long Aizen has been planning his betrayal."

It made sense that Yachiru would get off. Everyone, despite her hyperactive attitude, had a soft spot for her and had no interest in cutting down a small child and even the Captain-Commander might be even feel that Yachiru was only following the only moral compass in her life. Ikaku, Yumichika, Soi Fon and even Hinamori had enough common sense to know when something was horsecrap, but Yachiru was different to many of them. Especially to those like Vice Captain Ise and Captain Unohana.

"What about for Aizen's threats towards the Ryoka?" Gin couldn't help but feel that the Ryoka were to be heavily involved in Aizen's plans and Gin himself felt that Kurosaki would be a good asset in the war against him, his growth in power in such a short time was incredible.

"A squad will be sent to monitor the Ryoka, the composition of said squad is being reviewed as we speak." Yamamoto seemed to realise this to, the Ryoka were stuck in this now. "Apart from Captain Ichimaru, you are dismissed."

As the crowd left the meeting room, Gin realised what this was going to mean. Out of everyone, only he had seen through Aizen's deception from the very start and had monitored his conversations. He was wrong about a few things (he thought that Mayuri was also going to make the jump) but it seemed that his proposal was being accepted.

Things were about to get a lot more intense.


"Hey Captain! How are you doing?"

Rangiku Matsumoto had decided to spend her free time after the big meeting to buy her Captain some gifts to show that she was doing something other than getting drunk with Captain Kyoraku about the depression of their Captain/Vice Captain of the betrayals they had suffered. Nanao had been close to Yachiru and Hinamori, she was apparently blaming herself for not spotting things earlier, while Captain Hitsugaya had been barely responsive since realising that his childhood friend had betrayed them.

On the bright side, the sounds coming from his mouth that sounded like a positive answer were more than enough for Matsumoto to see that he was doing better. The lack of sociability had meant that he was returning to his old self again instead of a medication-induced happiness about the colour of the walls being the same as his hair.

"That's great, Gin managed to be commended for his efforts against Aizen's evil plan and Captain Unohana has said that you can get back to your Captainly duties again soon." She was sure that 'Captainly' was a word and it would mean that the paperwork would start getting done again, Matsumoto tried her best but couldn't pay enough attention to actually get it done. It would also kill some rumours about certain small Captains being unfit for duty.

She now sympathised a bit more with her Captain's insistence on being as efficient as possible. A lot of people just saw him as a child who got lucky many times and that he would break down in a 'real' battle, the wound he suffered being evidence of this, Matsumoto couldn't decide whether it was the Eleventh Division's claim of weakness or the Fifth Division's claim of sympathy with Aizen's cause that infuriated her more.

The white-haired boy was now struggling to create what would be a lucid conversation, another sign that he was getting better. "Matsumoto..."

Some would argue that the fact that a proud (arrogant to some) Captain of the Gotei 13 being reduced to a mere patient that was struggling to breathe until a day ago, was proof that he wasn't ready for the rank. Other claimed that his closeness to Hinamori had meant that he knew about the betrayal beforehand.

Said others were now in a Fourth Division room due to injuries to the face.

"Yes, Captain?" Hitsugaya had always been there for her when Gin was acting distant, although now she knew the actual reason for that, and she wasn't going to abandon him now.

"I heard about the orders." From his previous moments of lucidity, Matsumoto could now inform Gin that another person would be in line for the "Fuck Sosuke Aizen" club without being wrong about it. Hopefully, he wouldn't do anything stupid with said anger but it wasn't his style to be an idiot about these things.

"Aizen will get what's coming to him."

"I need you to promise me something."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that Gin will leave something for you to take down when it comes to Aizen."

"It's about Momo."

She feared it would come to this. Whether it was because they were old friends, previous feelings of inferiority as his position as most important person in Hinamori's life was pushed away or something more, Toshiro Hitsugaya had remained defiant about this. He had refused to believe that she had gone to Aizen with a clear mind and insisted that Aizen's Kyoka Suigestu had something to do with it or that she wasn't being herself, she had wanted to think that it was alright for him to say this. After all, he was one of the closest to her.

But he wasn't the one who had to watch someone who he cared about deeply get pierced before his very eyes by someone who both of them had trusted. Haineko insisted that Tobiume was unlikely to be happy with this decision but that didn't get rid of some dark feeling in Matsumoto's stomach that using her own zanpakuto on Hinamori would be a good piece of justice.

That wasn't the issue though, the denial had to be confronted. "Captain-"

"We need to save her," He was firm enough on that, left very little room for argument. "She's being manipulated by Aizen into his toy and if I can just reach her then she might be able to help us."

"She stabbed you in the back." The amount of blood that came out seemed to shock even Hinamori when she pulled Tobiume out. The second the traitors had left, she had bolted towards Hitsugaya and tried to administer some kind of first aid before the Fourth Division took over from there.

"It wasn't her." He insisted on that point, before looking at the wall in front of him with pure hatred in his eyes. "I will kill Aizen, Soi Fon and everyone who had a hand in toying with Momo's mind."

He was still referring to her as Momo. Did he even register this or was it a show of defiance from the normally law-abiding Captain? "What if she refuses to let you near them?"

That managed to get him quiet. Soi Fon was apparently a lot stronger than she had always let on and Aizen had his Vice Captain wrapped around his finger, Hinamori was probably going to let Aizen or someone with his favour die over her cold dead body. Matsumoto knew who would win in a fight if they were aiming to kill, Hinamori would die before she hit the ground, but she was worried that the war was going to end with her Captain dead because he couldn't lay the final blow and she could.

"I'll talk to her and have her see the truth."

"You mean you'll just let her gut you aga-"

"It was Aizen who did that."

The entire room suddenly dropped in temperature and Captain Hitsugaya's voice had become much more quiet and deadly, as if Matsumoto was the enemy instead of Aizen and his cronies. It was a few seconds before he realised what he was doing and the room was quickly returning to normal in terms of temperature but it was still the fact that he almost threatened her that shocked her. He began murmuring apologies while looking guilty, wondering if she was going to leave him as well now.

Well if he was thinking that, then he wasn't that lucky because he was stuck with her.

"I'm not promising that I won't fight her or that I won't be sobbing about taking her down if we meet on the battlefield." A nod appeared, he had probably been expecting that. "But I won't aim to kill, not if I can help it."

"That's all I needed to hear."

As Matsumoto tried to push the topic onto less depressing things, to limited success, she was forced to leave once visiting hours had ended. She tried her best not to pity Captain Hitsugaya, knowing that he wouldn't like it, but she couldn't help herself as she gazed upon the hunched figure who was whispering his friend's name when he thought no one could hear him.

She was going to see Gin, she needed to get drunk enough to force out some bad feelings.


"Captain Unohana, are you alright?"

Isane Kotatsu had gone, reluctantly, with Captain Unohana to this place because Seireitei would need all the help it could get with Aizen's betrayal and the man they were trying to recruit was definitely an asset. Despite her personal feelings, that Seinosuke Yamada was a vain and arrogant man who had the opposite of Hanataro's positive attitude, she could tell that many potential deaths would be prevented if they succeeded him in coming out of retirement on a temporary basis.

It was always awkward for a Vice Captain to speak with their predecessor, the illogical worry that they were going to be replaced was always present, and it went double for Seinosuke who was rumoured to have been unhinged or had...non-professional feelings for Captain Unohana.

Speaking of Captain Unohana, she had seemed quite distracted from many things. She would still defend her Division members with a happy smile when riled-up Eleventh members starting targeting them and seemed fine but the trip had allowed Isane to see that Unohana's eyes were somewhat clouded and that she often took some time before answering Isane's questions.

Captain Unohana wasn't that attached to Aizen, she had been a part of the SWA with Hinamori and Soi Fon but wasn't closer to them as any other member was, Yachiru was to be taken with as few injuries as possible (as part of a silent agreement) and rarely interacted with any of the Eleventh Division defectors. Which left the question as to why she had been so impacted by the betrayal, although maybe it was something different.

For all of Seinosuke's flaws, he was always the apple in Captain Unohana's eyes and vice versa. His entire mood took a shift when she was in the room and had always strived to make her happy, perhaps such loyalty made things worse when his mental breakdown occurred and he had tried to destroy his own zanpakuto, claiming that it was a monster that would only harm.

"I can't help but feel that I'm responsible for all of this." It was as if she had read Isane's mind, the entire Division had felt discomfort after that incident. Poor Hanataro had seen it first-hand, having random things screamed at him while fifty different people had to completely placate him, he had never really gotten over what happened. His healing zanpakuto wasn't impressive to some Divisions but it had been an item of envy for Seinosuke.

Maybe that was why they didn't tell him about what they were doing.

"Vice Captain Yamada always felt uncomfortable about his shikai," Even now, she could only refer to him as Vice Captain when speaking of him outside her thoughts. "The pressure just got to him."

"The power to reattach what was broken and recreate what was destroyed." She must have been remembering some of what he had been able to do when called to heal, his mastery of healing kido had been admired but when he used Scalpel, people who were near death could return to life.

"And to detach what was repaired." It could turn people at perfect health into mere piles of flesh and bones, injuries that had been healed over time could open up again, Seinosuke being one of the few members of the Fourth Division who could also enter combat.

His morality was probably why Mayuri didn't try to steal him, though it didn't help his mental state.

"I knew how he acted around people. It was only around a few people that he managed to show more positive attributes, not even Hanataro saw much of it." Captain Unohana always knew these sorts of things. Perhaps she didn't mention anything because it was a shell to protect his mind from the trauma he often faced.

Seinosuke's residence had been in one of the fancier sides of Seireitei, built to ensure that he could live in comfort but also to prevent him from doing anything drastic. Hanataro had mentioned a few visits but had stopped after he found them too spirit-crushing, the Second Division reported that he was doing better and Isane chose to trust them, knowing that Soi Fon acted alone.

He looked better compared to when Isane last saw him, a dishevelled and maddened look on his face while blood was pouring down his mouth from his attempts to bite his zanakuto apart, begging for someone to destroy it for him. No one really figured out what would happen if a zanpakuto was destroyed completely, but to wish that on yourself was an area of self-loathing that few ever reached.

"C-Captain Unohana." Seinosuke stuttered out, looking ashamed to be caught in what was not the most formal wear in a room that wasn't the cleanest. "Come in, please, apologies for the state of the room."

Both Isane and Captain Unohana sat down on a sofa while Seinosuke sat himself on one of the chairs facing them, it was clear that pleasantries were something that neither party were interested in. Seinosuke and Isane were never good with it and Captain Unohana was more eager to simply cut to the chase.

"We need you back in the field."

A grimace entered Seinosuke's face, Isane imagined that he was somewhat enjoying his retirement. The extremely pale skin suggested that he didn't go out much but maybe he preferred a life of solitude, a life that didn't have him surrounded by death and the oxymoron of both vowing to avoid doing harm and cutting down Hollows.

"You know I can't." He merely said, in a meek and quiet tone that was very unlike him. "I have a cursed blade and a broken mind, I won't do much good."

"This war will take many of us out." Unohana responded, maybe trying to appeal to his side that couldn't let people just die. "If I do not survive, you're the best suited to try and take over in times of emergency while Isane gains bankai training."

"All I can do is harm." Seinosuke moved his legs onto his chair and wrapped his arms around them, almost looking like a scolded child, Isane might have laughed at the idea of the haughty Vice Captain Yamada doing this years ago. Now she only cursed the situation that caused this. "The healing was a mere token."

Isane was sent to prepare some tea, she had the feeling that the conversation that they were having was supposed to be private. She and Seinosuke had never been close, she was intimidated by him and he must have looked down on her like he did so many others, but every hand was needed and Hanataro would be more than happy to see that his brother would leave the house a bit more.

"Captain Aizen has the aid of the strongest in the Eleventh Division, a kido master and one of the most dangerous assassins we've produced. You might be able to save lives when Isane and I are on other areas of the battlefield." Isane felt that she should say that she could hear them speaking.

However, a small part of her told her to stay quiet and overhear them, she was betraying Captain Unohana's trust but she was curious to hear what they were saying and wanted to make sure that she was there to help immediately if Seinosuke entered a relapse whilst speaking to the Captain.

"Are others going to be approached?"

"Those who are able to serve." Not many then. Very few Vice Captains ever retired without some form of grievous injury and those that did were often too old or too traumatised by what they've seen. "I don't expect to survive the war."

"Captain Unohana!" Isane had to bite her own tongue to not join in with Seinosuke.

She couldn't die. Everyone knew that the Captain of the Fourth Division was a powerful Soul Reaper in her own right and wouldn't even be that much involved in the fighting. Was she sick with a disease? Did Aizen do something to her? Did she sense that she was somehow related in Aizen's plans?

"There is something I need to do, something that I had delayed for far too long." Isane could barely contain her worry. What did all of this have to do with the upcoming war? "It may be the key to our victory or to our destruction, all depending if I can succeed or not."

Isane had to prevent herself from fainting.


Momo wasn't an idiot. She could be excitable, perhaps, and over-eager at times but she was able to quickly discover how Lord Aizen and Soi Fon's surveillance system worked and how to use it when monitoring Las Noches and any meeting between any Hollow or Arrancar. One such meeting seemed to be between a good number of them and the topic seemed to surround the number of Soul Reapers who had joined Aizen's crusade to save the world of Hollows, humans and Soul Reapers alike and their impression of some of them was not that positive.

Zaraki seemed to have scared them all with both the potential power that he had hidden inside and his lust for battle being enormous, even by the standards of the Espada, which made him unquestionably a member of Lord Aizen's army. Soi Fon's position had been confirmed already, Momo had heard that force was used on anyone who challenged it, and she was already training some of the potential Espada candidates into becoming more tactical in their fighting.

Yachiru and Zaraki were a both or none thing so she was a given. Naturally, it was a given for change to be opposed by those happy with the status quo but the strongest fighting force for Lord Aizen really should know better, they were part of innovation and success that such change brought but they still doubted Ikaku and Yumichika. Despite their...eccentric nature, they were loyal to Zaraki to the end, she also knew how some of them saw her and wondered whether she could really fulfil Lord Aizen's purpose.

"What do you think?" The pink-haired Espada asked, the group standing in one of the hallways where they were hoping that no one could see them.

"I don't like it." Blue-hair declared, giving off an audible grunt before he had answered. Momo had thought he would be an issue, he didn't seem respectful enough towards the cause and only cared for the fight. "Zaraki is alright but the gang he brought along aren't shit and the bitch is watching our every move."

"Aizen's fuck-toy doesn't seem that threatening." The eye-patched Espada argued, causing Momo bristle in humiliation. She was aware that some had seen her as arm-candy back in Seireitei but she had always proven herself to be worth the rank of Vice Captain. Who was this Arrancar to question that?

Thankfully, the woman with green hair stood up for her. "Lord Aizen has judged her to be useful, we need to advance our abilities with cero and he has informed us that she is knowledgeable in such areas."

"Not all of us," The one with the strange mask said in a warped tone, it seemed that he didn't have much of an opinion, compared to when the other Espada had some form of facial expression to show their opinions. "Zaraki has no interest in such abilities and his brat seems to be trying to form a group for some reason."

"Adjustment." Yumichika had been over-hearing them for a while, something that Momo could easily see with the aid of the cameras she had. "Yachiru likes being in charge and being around people, she wants to form a group of female Arrancar and Lord Aizen approved of it."

So she wanted to form another Woman's Association. Perhaps it was a way to adjust as Yumichika suggested, there wasn't exactly an over-abundance of candy in Hueco Mundo so that couldn't be the reason, so Yachiru may want to gain some friends from this. Merging them and the SWA might even be good for encouraging the Hollow-Soul Reaper cooperation that Lord Aizen was aiming for.

"Lillinette would like that." The previously asleep Arrancar noted, getting some glares for his words but not much beyond that. Perhaps there was a reason that he was the First Espada.

The conversation continued on between the Espada, the largest now speaking with bloodlust in his tone. "When do we strike?"

"When Kurosaki returns to Karakura Town, as Lord Aizen had commanded." The emotionless one answered, perhaps wondering how the Tenth Espada could have forgotten such a detail.

By then, the Espada had not scattered and Momo was now alone which ended once Lord Aizen entered the observation chamber. Gone was the fatherly image that he portrayed with glasses in his eyes, they were now replaced with his hair being slicked back and white robes now replaced his Captain's uniform, Momo's own clothing making a similar colour change.

She knew why he was here. The second she agreed to join him, Tobiume had been opposed to what she was doing, but it was once she had attacked Shiro-chan that her zanpakuto truly began to struggle against her with all her might. Momo could remember the cries of her being a traitor and a murderer who wasn't worthy of a twig, causing some issues if she wanted to prove herself as useful to Lord Aizen's cause.

"Lord Aizen, how will this help?" He had claimed that he knew a way to make the bond between her and Tobiume more advanced but how would that work if Tobiume wasn't even speaking to her without declaring her to have betrayed a form of trust?

"When I tried this with Zaraki, I managed to make it speak to him and unlock his shikai." He calmly explained, drawing out his own zanpakuto to allow for the process to be done. "Who's to say that she won't aid in releasing bankai?"

Bankai? Granted Zaraki's bond with his zanpakuto was non-existent when Lord Aizen came to him but having no bond was better than having a broken one. She looked at her former Captain with worry in her eyes. "Tobiume hasn't spoken to me since..."

She still couldn't say it out loud. Momo was only included because Soi Fon knew what loyalty to a Captain you loved meant and poor Toshiro was not the type of person to have abandoned everything for her, Aizen had told her that it would be necessary to prove her commitment and the wound wouldn't stop him from being a Soul Reapoer.

Yet she still carried a large amount of regret.

"Which is why Kyoka Suigetsu is perfect for her." His soothing voice always seemed to make things better. She held out Tobiume on its side, without its sheath to expose it, and Lord Aizen tapped his own onto the middle part as the touched part began to glow.

Suddenly, Momo's head was suddenly surged with the thoughts of three different beings. She could see Tobiume struggling against something while a woman in regal clothing and a fan covering the lower half of her face was telling her something, it became clear that Tobiume was weakening in her defiance while Momo felt a similar voice as well. The voice was warm and reminded her of Lord Aizen, perhaps it came with working with him for so long for a zanpakuto like her, and quickly tried to have her and Tobiume come together, with limited results.

She saw herself fly closer to Tobiume until a great rush saw her force herself from her previous position and fall on the ground, in a non-dignified position, while it seemed that Aizen was unconcerned about the failure. Momo felt as if she should explain what happened, see if this had happened before and what went wrong, and discover whether bankai training was required.

"Lord...Aizen...I..." She couldn't finish her sentence, Hinamori Momo had quickly blacked out due to energy loss.

"The results will be interesting." Aizen noted, seeming unconcerned before pressing a button on the observation device, calling his right-hand woman. "Have Loly or Menoly move Momo to my quarters, she may be out for a period of time."

"Yes, Lord Aizen." Came the sharp voice, Soi Fon had quickly changed into a uniform of an Espada and knew that the attempt to induce bankai in Momo had failed. Instead, she chose to give her report on Arrancar training, making sure that they would be able to take down anything in their way. "Rudbornn is nearing the completion of his training, the Exequias should be a strong unit for the war ahead."

Aizen smiled, Rudbornn had been a particular project for Soi Fon, she had been impressed by his organisation of a unit and believed that he would make a good asset to Aizen's goals. Tousen probably would not have adopted any Fraccion, not like Soi Fon had or as Zaraki planned to do, the improvisations taken seemed to have only improved his position.

"Thank you, Soi Fon." Such a diligent worker bee, Aizen wondered whether he wouldn't keep her around for other purposes. Have Yoruichi tragically die in the battlefield right after realising her mistake.

All in good time.