Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Nine - Aizen Reborn?

Things had been very boring in the Seireitei recently and Squad Ten Captain Toushirou Kurosaki desperately wanted something to do. So great was his boredom that when Head Captain Ukitake asked him to send one of his subordinates to the world of the living to do some recon work the young captain jumped on the opportunity and decided to go himself.

Reports had been coming in about strange phenomenon in the city of Tokyo, which was why the Head Captain wasn't dispatching someone from Squad Five. Large groups of Hollow had began to show up in Karakura Town and Ichigo's squad had their hands full at the moment. Something seemed to be causing the Hollow to attack with far more regularity and the higher ups weren't exactly sure what was going on.

Not that Shiro had any complaints. He was going to go completely insane if he had to fill out one more report and he welcomed the mission, even if it did promise to be mind numbingly boring. Anything was better than being trapped in this office for another second.

"Keep an eye on things for me Kin," Shiro said to his second in command as he prepared to leave, securing Hyourinmaru across his back as he walked across the office.

"Yes Captain Shiro," the Squad Ten Vice-captain said, offering her superior officer a smile. She was well aware that he was only going out on this mission because he was bored but she didn't mind. He always completed his paperwork and was probably caught up for the week already.

Slacker he was not although most of Soul Society thought otherwise because of his personality.

It had been over a year since his death and yet the young prodigy still wasn't used to being called a captain. He wasn't used to the fact that he no longer aged either but that wasn't something that he ever wanted to talk about. If only he'd lasted a few years longer then it wouldn't have been so bad but as it was it was annoying as hell. He didn't want to perpetually be a seventeen year old but in hindsight he guessed it was better than perpetually being a twelve year old.

"Oh," the familar voice echoed in his head. "I can't believe that you actually went there. You just made fun of yourself twice in the same sentence."

"Shut up," Shiro muttered.

Hyourinmaru's laughed echoed in his mind but the zanpaktou chose not to comment further about Shiro's perpetual youth. His bad luck seemed to transcend lifetimes and he guessed that he just hadn't been meant to reach adulthood.

"It's just not fair," the boy muttered as he made his way across the Seireitei toward the Senkaimon that would take him to the world of the living.

"Hey Shiro-chan!"

Shiro halted and waited for the approaching figure to catch up to him. "You know you're supposed to call me captain now right?"

"I know," Kasumi said, tossing her braided hair over her shoulders. "I just don't care."

"Well at least your honest," Shiro said with a smirk. "And luckily for you I don't really care either. I just felt the need to mention it in case you didn't know."

"Yea," Kasumi said with a smile. "You're so thoughtful like that. So where are you off to anyway?"

"I'm going to Tokyo to investigate some strange occurrences there," Shiro replied, his gaze locked on the girl. Kasumi had graduated from the Academy, in the top position no less, and was now a member of Squad Thirteen. Matsumoto's squad. "Hey Kasumi would you like to come along?"

"I'm not sure if I should," the young girl said, looking torn.

"Come on," Shiro coaxed. "I'll take the blame from Matsumoto if she says anything. Which she won't because she knows that she did much worse during her days as a vice-captain."

Kasumi thought about his words for a moment and then nodded.

"Great," Shiro said, seizing her by the hand and pulling her toward the Senkaimon. "Now that you're coming along this should be way more fun than doing that stupid paperwork."

That comment brought a smile to Kasumi's lips. She knew that, despite his attitude, Shiro was very dedicated to his work and wouldn't just ignore the paperwork. He would do it and he would do it on time but that didn't mean that he had to like it. "You're still hopeless."

"I know," Shiro said.

Together the two young Shinigami made their way to Tokyo and, once they arrived there, they began searching for the strange traces of reiatsu that had been picked up by Soul Society. It had been strong but no one was quite sure exactly what had caused it.

And that was where Shiro and Kasumi entered into the equation.

Part of the abnormal reiatsu signal was immediately obvious to the two Shinigami. This place seemed to be over run with Hollow, some of which seemed to be high level. Shiro and Kasumi immediately sprang into action, destroying the Hollow that came out of the shadows to attack them.

"This seems familiar," Shiro said as he thought back to the large group of Hollow that had descended upon Karakura Town when he'd been younger. "What do you suppose is causing them all to gather here like this?"

Kasumi shrugged as she used her zanpaktou to shoot three Hollow, simultaneously destroying them with her reiatsu arrows.

"Lord Aizen."

Shiro's gaze immediately shifted to the Hollow that had spoken. It had a more human appearance than the lower level Hollow that he and Kasumi had been fighting and he was instantly on high alert. The broken mask that was perched on the side of the Hollow's head practically screamed out the fact that it was an Arrancar.

"Aizen is dead," Shiro stated coldly, his mind flashing back to the traitorous Shinigami who had ended the life of his previous incarnation.

"He has returned," the Arrancar stated calmly, walking toward the two young Shinigami with murderous intent practically glowing in his eyes. "We will find him and then we will regroup. Soul Society will fall at the hands of Lord Aizen."

"Not very damn likely," Shiro snapped as he held up Hyourinmaru. His blue-green eyes shifted to a pale blue color as he whispered, in a deadly tone, "Bankai, Daiguren Hyourinmaru."

Kasumi watched as the ice erupted from the hilt of Hyourinmaru and grew to surround her best friend's right arm. At the same time the familiar wings of ice grew from the boy's back and, without so much as a word of warning to the Arrancar, the young captain attacked.

Kasumi found that her gaze was virtually locked onto the fight as Shiro engaged the Arrancar. It had been so long since she'd seen him in an actual fight and she had almost forgotten just how powerful he was. Not for nothing was he hailed as one of the strongest captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. His battle skills were truly impressive and it appeared as though he was out for blood.

The words of the Arrancar seemed to have upset him to some degree.

The Arrancar was cocky, as were most of his kind, but he soon fell to Shiro's blade. But not before screaming that the world would soon belong to Lord Aizen. With a growl and a furious thrust of his zanpaktou Shiro ended the Arrancar's rant, as well as his life.

"Well that was weird," Kasumi said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Shiro's pale blue eyes had yet to revert to their normal color and Kasumi found this to be somewhat disconcerting. She still vividly remembered the day that Shiro had attacked her and their friends and this was the color that his eyes had been on that day as well.

"So they think that Lord Aizen has returned do they?" Shiro muttered to himself as the wings of ice exploded and his sword reverted back to it's sealed form.

"That Arrancar had obviously lost his mind," Kasumi said, shaking her head. "Aizen is dead. Your dad killed him years ago."

"Dead yes," Shiro said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "But also reincarnated."

"Heikichi!" Kasumi gasped, recalling the young boy that she and Shiro had befriended back when they were children. She hadn't seen him in years and had all but forgotten about his existense. He had been a good friend but had simply disappeared one day without so much as a word to anyone.

Shiro nodded. "Come on, we have to look into this."

"Right," Kasumi said, allowing her zanpaktou to revert to it's sealed form.

Together the two youths made their way around the city, searching for any other signs that things were not as they should be. The search was pretty much fruitless however and, after a few hours, Shiro decided that they should broaden their search radius.

The two young Shinigami were still searching, several hours later, when Shiro suddenly came to a stop, causing Kasumi to run into him. The girl complained about the sudden stop but Shiro ignored her rant session as his gaze shifted around as though searching for something.

"What is it Shiro-chan?" Kasumi asked, noticing the serious expression on his face.

"Let's go," Shiro said, using his flash step to disappear without even making sure that Kasumi was going to follow him.

Luckily for her Kasumi was used to this kind of treatment from her best friend and had absolutely no problem keeping up with him. The young captain led the way through Tokyo and beyond, traveling a vast distance in only a few steps. When the pair reached a wooded area Shiro drew to a halt and drew his blade once more.

Kasumi hadn't picked up on anything while they were in the city however now that they were out in this secluded area she sensed the presense of the large group of Hollow. "Not again," she groaned as she drew her staff and transformed it into the bow.

Both Shiro and Kasumi prepared for another battle but before they even had time to launch a single attack the clearing was bathed in a vast light. Then, when the light receded and the two teens regained their sense of sight, their shocked gazes fell upon a newcomer.

The young man appeared to be in his early twenties and he was carrying a sword.

Shiro gasped as his gaze fell upon the newcomer. Unbidden his mind called forth an image of the man that had ended Hitsugaya's life and the young man couldn't help but marvel at the similarities. He knew who this young man must be although he looked nothing like the boy that Shiro remembered. The glasses were gone now and his hair, once worn in a shaggy cut that had all but obscurred his eyes, was now slicked back save for a single strand that hung down between his eyes.

This young man appeared eerily similar to Sousuke Aizen, right down to the sword that he carried.

A/N - dun... dun... dun... Hope that this chapter makes up for the uneventfulness of the last one. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought. The music has ended for now but rest assured that it will continue. Til next time. The Musician