Mirror
Chapter 10: Beginnings of Rage
"A perfect bill of health! There is nothing wrong at all, Kyoko-sama." Szayel faced Kyoko as she stood up from the examination table. She was eyeing his fracción warily. "You're as healthy as they come. I don't know why you would listen to Grimmjow when it comes to your health," he said.
Kyoko took her eyes off of the one named Lumina and looked at Szayel. Anything about Szayel had always made her cautious, right down to his fracción. "What about coughing up blood and dizziness?" she asked quietly.
Szayel raised a pink eyebrow. "Coughing up blood and dizziness?"
"That's what I said," Kyoko said as she tied her sash and replaced her zanpakuto.
Szayel hummed to himself and turned away from her. He began rummaging through his shelves and drawers. Well those are unexpected side effects. Aizen-sama won't like it if something goes wrong, he thought worriedly. He found what he was looking for and walked over to Kyoko.
"What's that?" Kyoko stared at the green pill bottle that Szayel held. Anything that came from his lab, let alone his hand was questionable.
"Take two of these every hour until it stops. Then you should be right as rain," Szayel replied happily.
Kyoko hesitantly took the bottle. She opened it and popped two pills quickly. Giving Lumina and Verona nasty looks, she turned and left the lab quickly and quietly. Outside, Grimmjow was waiting for her.
"I think he poisoned you," he said plainly.
Kyoko smirked as she kept walking. "Which one? Szayel Aporro or Sosuke?"
Grimmjow snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if both had a hand in it."
Kyoko rolled her eyes and stopped walking. She could sense Gin's presence not too far off to her left. She stopped walking a few feet ahead of Grimmjow and remained silent. Grimmjow stopped behind her, but said as well.
"Promise me one thing," Kyoko said.
Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "I don't make promises. I suppose I could make an exception this time," he said gruffly while jamming his hands in his pockets.
Kyoko turned her head to the right. "Make sure it's a fight you'll never forget," she said.
Grimmjow blinked. "Yeah." He walked past her, making a right.
Kyoko watched him go. Have fun, Grimmjow. Then she turned and went to find Gin.
She found him coming from the observation room. She crossed her arms, leaned against the wall, and waited for him to notice her. He did rather quickly and his smile grew.
"Hiya, Oko-chan. Ya look considerably brighter today. What are ya doin' all the way over here?" Gin asked.
Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Don't deflect the attention away from yourself, Gin-kun. What were you doing in there? Making sure everyone got their HAPPY ENDING?" she asked.
"Ya know me too well, Oko-chan." Gin noticed her attire. "Yer not gonna get ready ta go with us?" he asked.
Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Go with you where?"
"She isn't coming, Ichimaru," Tousen said from behind the two.
"Aw. Why not?" Gin asked, looking back at Tousen.
"Aizen-sama has already said she is to stay here," Tousen replied.
Kyoko looked between the two shinigami. They were talking around her while talking about her and she did not like it. "Whoa! What are you talking about? Go where and why can't I go along? I'm part of this little faction, too. Aren't I?"
"You are," Tousen cleared his throat, "special. Aizen-sama does not wish to put you in harm's way."
Kyoko blinked as Gin snickered. "Wait a minute. Special in WHAT way? And are we talking about the same Aizen Sosuke here? He'd sooner shoot a hole through my heart than keep me out of 'harm's way.'" Kyoko looked at Gin, who was still snickering. "What the hell are you laughing at?"
"I'm just findin' this really funny. Ta tell ya the truth, I've no idea what Tousen's talkin' 'bout. Ya'd hafta ask Aizen-taicho yerself," he said.
"Believe me. I will." Kyoko stormed off, using shunpo.
Tousen glared in Gin's direction. Then he went after Kyoko. Gin laughed and followed the two. He would not miss out on what was about to happen.
I love it when Oko-chan gets angry. I've gotta feelin' she might get real angry today, though. Gin's smile faltered for a moment. But why'd Aizen-taicho tell Tousen instead o' me?
Aizen resisted the urge to yawn. All three of his main subordinates were heading towards him. From the feel of it, only one had murderous intent. Three guesses who, he thought with a small chuckle. It was no surprise when Kyoko appeared before him, looking ready to cut his head off. He simply smiled up at her. Then Tousen and Gin appeared shortly thereafter.
"Well, either Hina has gotten incredibly fast or you two have gotten lazy. Which is it?" Aizen asked.
Gin mock-pouted. "I resent that. Oko-chan had a head start. Plus, ya know anger always makes her better," he said.
Aizen nodded, looking Kyoko in the eye. "Yes, that most certainly is true."
Kyoko's frown deepened; there was so much innuendo in that statement that it took all the willpower she had not to enter bankai immediately and attack Aizen. Instead, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and relaxed her shoulders. When she opened them again, she looked at Aizen.
"Is there something you want to know, Hina?" Aizen asked.
"Yes, Sosuke." She held up three fingers. "Three things. One, where are you going? Two, why am I not invited... again? Three, what is Tousen talking about when he says I'm SPECIAL?" she asked.
Aizen glared in Tousen's direction for a split second, but Kyoko did not miss it. He then got ready to answer her questions. "We are going to Karakura Town. It's time to make our move. You aren't coming because there is no need for you to. And you are dead, remember?"
He lies, her zanpakuto said.
I'm very well aware of that, Kyoko responded.
"You're lying to me, Sosuke. I don't like it when you lie to me. You CAN'T lie to me," she said.
Aizen just continued to self-righteously leer at her. "Then ask yourself this, Hina. Do you really want to know the answer to that third question?"
Kyoko's face softened as she stared at Aizen. Their eyes never left one another's. She could read him and he could read her. At the moment, Aizen was winning the battle of wills, as he usually did. It was true; if she really thought about it, she had no desire to know the real answer to that question. The true answer would probably only serve to do one of two things: send her into a mindless tirade or the intruders would become the least of the Arrancar in Las Noches' problems.
"Fine. Don't answer the question. However," Kyoko crossed her arms, "I do want to go with you to Karakura Town. I refuse to be left here alone again. I'm part of this as well," she said.
A long silence followed before Aizen closed his eyes and waved his hand. "Very well, Hina. But, you will do as I say without question. I won't have insubordination," he said.
"What are you? A parent?" Kyoko asked.
"Aizen-sama, it's far too risky for her to come," Tousen said in a low tone. "With her resistance to Kyoka Suigetsu, she is a wild card."
Kyoko sighed and closed her eyes. "The same could be said of you, Tousen. You aren't exactly under Sosuke's spell, either," she retorted.
"Are you questioning my loyalty to Aizen-sama?" Tousen looked appalled that such a thing would be even suggested.
"I'm merely saying that you are no different me in that regard, Tousen. My counteraction to Kyoka Suigetsu has nothing to do with my loyalty to Sosuke. He knows I hold no loyalty to him, but neither will I do anything to make him feel threatened by me." Kyoko turned her head and glared at Tousen. "No one asked you. If Sosuke says I can go, then I can go. Get over it." She turned and started to walk out.
Tousen turned his head to the side. "I guess being the whore of Las Noches has its privileges," he whispered.
He said it so low that it was barely audible. Not even Aizen heard it. Be that as it may, Kyoko did. Gin only caught two words: whore and privileges. Because Aizen did not hear it, his eyes widened in somewhat dull surprise when Kyoko was suddenly occupying the spot where Tousen had been standing, Shinkyō released and its heavy blade cracking the marble floor. Tousen was now across the room, his own zanpakuto at the ready.
"Did I miss something?" Aizen asked as he looked between the two. It was odd because he had never seen Kyoko move quite that fast before; especially not while releasing her shikai. She had almost escaped his sight. ALMOST.
Kyoko completely ignored Aizen. She turned her head towards Tousen and stood up. She disappeared and reappeared above him, ready to slice him in two. Tousen evaded again, but Kyoko was onto him by switching the scythe from her right hand to her left. Before she could cleave him in two at the waist, something stopped her scythe. She blinked and realized that Shinsō had come between her and Tousen.
"Now, now, Kyoko. We mustn't kill each other." Gin retracted Shinsō. He shunpo-ed over to her and glared at Tousen. "Even if we do say mean things to each other," he said quietly.
Aizen raised an eyebrow. Gin's accent had dropped and he had used Kyoko's given name. Rarely did Gin's accent drop and when it did he was usually angry about something. Aizen could not remember the last time he heard Gin call Kyoko by her real name. At the moment, Aizen was feeling a little out of the loop. Something had obviously been said and Kyoko had not liked it at all. She had yet to withdraw her weapon. Tousen still had his own zanpakuto out. Sighing, Aizen stood.
Kyoko inhaled sharply as Aizen appeared in front of her. He placed a finger on her chin and raised her head to look at him. Relaxing the tension in her face, Kyoko stood up straight and twirled the scythe behind her back. It reverted to the nodachi in the process and she sheathed it in one smooth motion. After glaring at Tousen one final time, Kyoko disappeared from the room.
Aizen turned and looked at Gin and Tousen. Gin had replaced Shinsō. Tousen was putting Suzumushi away. "Does anyone mind filling me in on what just happened?" Aizen asked.
Gin looked at Tousen and then back at Aizen. His smile reappeared and he shrugged. "I dunno. Though, Oko-chan has given me some new ideas..."
Kyoko passed Amarillo as she walked to her quarters. The taller Arrancar noticed her sour mood and said nothing. Instead, he just followed a few paces behind her. He had never seen his mistress in such a state of turmoil before and he wanted no part of her wrath.
"Amarillo," Kyoko said suddenly.
Amarillo looked up. "Yes, Kyoko-sama?"
"Draw me a bath. I want the water SCALDING. If it isn't scalding, it'll be your blood I'm bathing in. Are we clear?" she said.
"Yes, Kyoko-sama." Amarillo hustled off to the bathroom as Kyoko continued on to her bedroom.
Kyoko walked into her bedroom. She slammed the door and then began pacing. Putting her hands to her head, she dug them into her hair and squeezed her eyes shut. Her rage was at its peak. She could not calm down. She did not notice that her door had opened and that Aizen had entered. She walked directly into him and stopped. For reasons unknown to her, his presence somehow calmed her when in other instances it would have only served to make her angrier.
"Is there a reason you tried to kill my second-in-command?" he asked.
Kyoko stood with her face in Aizen's chest. "Whore of Las Noches. I believe those were his words." She unconsciously leaned against him. "Thankfully Gin-kun is faster than both of us," she murmured, her voice slightly muffled.
Aizen hummed to himself. "You shouldn't get so worked up." He looked down at her. "When you fight while in a rage, you also lose sight of your initial goal. Had you had a clear mind, Gin would've never been able to block your strike."
"It almost sounds like you wouldn't've cared if I split your loyal dog in two," Kyoko said with a chuckle.
"One less person to worry about."
"Sosuke," Kyoko stepped away from him, "you don't worry. Do I have to wear white?" she asked.
"It's preferable." Aizen watched Kyoko retrieve some clothes from her closet. "And the sash I gave you as well."
Kyoko faced him. "If you say so..."
Five minutes later, she sat in her scalding bathwater. She stared down into the water. She had never gotten that angry before. If Sosuke had not walked in I probably would've blacked out completely. Kyoko took a deep breath and exhaled. When she opened them, she was in her inner world.
Shinkyō sat on a peak, looking at her mistress. "You've really gotta learn to control that rage of yours. Aizen was right. You could've killed Tousen had you been thinking clearly," she said.
Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Funny. I always thought my rage fueled me," she said.
"To a certain extent, it does. But when you let it blind you, you become sloppy and careless," Shinkyō said dryly.
Kyoko nodded. She looked off towards the moon. "Tell me something, Shinkyō. What do you see happening when we go to Karakura Town?" She looked at the spirit. "Do you see anything? Do you have any feelings?"
Shinkyō disappeared and reappeared right next to her mistress. "You are concerned. For whom?"
"Certainly not HIM." Kyoko brought her knees up to her chest. "While not afraid of death, I'm not sure I'm prepared for it. Besides, I don't think I'm ready to face Rangiku. If she's there, of course. What will she say? What will she think?"
"Why do you care?" Shinkyō asked. Kyoko looked at her. Shinkyō shrugged. "It was a rhetorical question. I know the answer to it. But, you'll just have to see what she thinks for yourself. Decades is a long time to fake your death. Aizen only did it for a day or two."
"Pfft... Lucky him," Kyoko murmured as her inner world began to disappear.
When she opened her eyes, Kyoko saw Gin standing behind a column. "Spying on me, Gin-kun?" she asked as she waded over to the edge. She picked up a towel as she got out and wrapped it around herself.
"Waitin' for ya ta wake up. Shinsō said ya was havin' private time with Shinkyō so I had ta respect that. But, I came ta scold ya." Gin's face turned serious. "What was ya thinkin' attackin' Tousen like that?" he asked.
Kyoko frowned and sauntered past him to her room. "He's had that coming for YEARS. I had justifiable reason to do what I did right then." She heard Gin enter behind her. "Gin?"
"Yeah?"
"Sosuke's not going to let me fight, is he?"
Gin smirked as Kyoko got dressed. He walked to her balcony and looked out it. "Prob'ly not. But why would ya wanna fight when ya could just watch?"
Kyoko tied her light blue sash on. "I actually like getting involved, Gin. I'm not a lazy git like you." Kyoko paused. Her eyes widened slightly. She had just felt a severe drop in someone's reiatsu. She blinked a few times when she noticed Gin looking at her strangely.
"Somethin' wrong, Oko-chan?" he asked.
Kyoko shook her head and looked down at her asymmetrical kimono. She suddenly felt sick. She glanced around the room for the pills that Szayel had given her. She found the bottle and fought to get it open. She threw back two pills and smiled at Gin.
"What were those?"
"Something Szayel gave me. Supposed to keep me from being sick." Kyoko placed Shinkyō under her sash on her left side. "Let's go."
As the two were walking down the corridor, Kyoko raised an eyebrow. She looked at Gin. His smile widened and he looked down at her. "Looks like Aizen-taicho's plan is workin'. They certainly fell for it," he said.
"And you guys were just gonna leave me here with them?" she asked.
Gin shrugged. "Well, obviously Aizen-taicho felt ya could take'em on if ya needed to. Yer a big girl," he said. He winced as Kyoko thumped in the side of his head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Being... you, Gin-kun." Kyoko folded her arms in her sleeves and kept walking. She retreated into her thoughts. "Gin?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you gonna do when you see them again?" she asked.
"Nothin'. But lemme tell ya somethin'." Gin looked down at her. "Once Aizen-taicho draws his zanpakuto, ya best move away from him."
Kyoko scoffed. "What makes you think I'll be standing anywhere near Sosuke to begin with?"
Gin chuckled. "Because I know ya, Oko-chan. Ya want front row tickets. Ya best look out for yerself, too."
"Why are you telling me all of this, Gin?"
"Because this isn't like one of yer missions. This is war. Wouldn't want ya dyin' over somethin' stupid, eh?"
They came to the 5th Tower. Aizen and Tousen were already waiting for them. Kyoko stopped walking and Gin went ahead of her. Aizen looked down the steps at her. He held hiss hand out towards her. Kyoko took a step forward and stopped. She furrowed her eyebrows right before she entered a step.
Wait a minute. Why does this seem familiar? she thought. She felt like she had already lived this moment before; like she had already seen it before. She paused and looked down.
Aizen noticed her hesitation. "Is something wrong, Hina?" he asked.
Kyoko looked up at him. "I will come in a separate garganta from you," she said. She noticed Aizen give her a slightly questioning look that only she would notice. "Just a precaution."
"If you say so, Hina."
"Make sure you announce my arrival," Kyoko said dryly.
Aizen smirked and watched her move to the side just as Starrk appeared with a shell-shocked Orihime. Kyoko seemed a bit shocked at their sudden arrival. She turned and watched Aizen start speaking to the shocked girl.
As usual, filling her head with nonsense. What a gullible little... Kyoko watched get closer to the girl. Inside her sleeves, Kyoko dug her nails into her left arm. She released her arm once Aizen stepped away from Orihime. She looked up at him in absolute mystification and Kyoko rolled her eyes. He's not a god, simple bitch.
She began listening to Aizen's Las Noches-wide announcement to everyone that was there. He was trapping them all there and leaving Ulquiorra in charge. Right on cue, Ulquiorra appeared behind her and Orihime. Shaking her head, Kyoko moved up towards the throne and watched as a garganta opened right in front of her. She did not step right into it at first. Instead, she just watched and listened. She could hear Aizen saying something about the town in front of them. Kyoko looked at the sunny area. Something was... off.
"This isn't real," she whispered. "So where is the real town?"
"Utsuri-san," Aizen called, "you too." Kyoko blinked.
Rangiku inhaled sharply. It was bad enough Gin was standing in front of her. Then Aizen had said the name of her long-dead friend. For the first time she noticed a small garganta right above Aizen and the others. A small body stood in it. Kyoko was glaring down on the group of shinigami from the Gotei 13. Rangiku noticed how different she looked with her hair hanging around her face and hiding her eyes. She looked like a warrior.
Hitsugaya noticed the stiffness of his fukutaicho. "You know her, Matsumoto?" he asked.
Rangiku swallowed and nodded slowly. "Yes. She's supposed to be dead. I don't understand how she can be alive," she said quietly.
"Well, it doesn't appear as if that matters now, does it?" Hitsugaya asked.
Rangiku immediately shook her head. "No, sir." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yamamoto unsheathing Ryūjin Jakka. "Oh no..."
Kyoko took her eyes off of Rangiku. Then she noticed Yamamoto wielding Ryūjin Jakka. With one wave of it, Aizen, Gin, and Tousen disappeared in a wave of fire. Frowning, Kyoko took two steps and exited the garganta. She reappeared in front of the top three Espada and their fracción.
"Grand, Sosuke. Leave me with the kiddies," she mumbled as she heard Baraggan and Harribel argue behind her. She turned and looked at them. "Hey! Be productive! Find the town!" she yelled at them.
The Espada were wise enough to know never to anger Kyoko. Even Baraggan in all his arrogance wanted no part of Kyoko and her wrath. He simply glared at her and snapped his fingers. His six fracción set his "throne" up for him. He took a seat calmly. He began saying something. Once again, Kyoko tuned everything around her out and entered her own world. She looked towards the fire cage that she knew Aizen was in.
What a dipstick. Who purposely gets caught in a fire cage? It isn't like he couldn't see that coming, she thought. Then she thought about who was the wielder of the weapon. Well, considering it's Yamamoto, exceptions must be made.
Gin looked around the fire cage that he was now trapped in. "Hot! Hot! Old man sure didn't hold back, did he?" He looked over at Aizen. "So what do we do now, Aizen-taicho? We're kinda stuck here."
Aizen stared straight ahead. Because of her positioning, Kyoko had not been trapped along with them. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained to be seen. She was dependable; she would know what to do when the time came. He turned his attention back to Gin's question.
"Nothing. This battle will be over before we even need to lift a single finger. That's it."
Kyoko's thoughts were interrupted when four garganta opened and four large hollows came through. Raising an eyebrow, she looked over at Baraggan. He was leering at her. Then he looked back out at the others.
"I know where the pillars are and how to get the real town back. This will be over momentarily," he said haughtily.
Kyoko shook her head. "You underestimate the shinigami of the Gotei Thirteen, Baraggan," she said with a slight chuckle. She looked at Yamamoto. The old man had said nothing nor had he moved. Her words were proven correct when the four hollows fell in mere seconds. Yamamoto gave his explanation. Kyoko looked back at Baraggan. "Told you."
Baraggan pretended not to hear her and sent four of his fracción out to meet the guardian shinigami.
Kyoko sighed as she predicted who everyone would pick a fight with. She saw Rangiku challenging the Amazon trio. Remembering the odd trick that they could do, she wondered to herself if that was a good idea. The boy with white hair would challenge Harribel. Starrk stood across from Kyoraku. Kyoko spotted Ukitake next to him; Lilynette would probably pester him. Then she noticed that Yamamoto was still watching her. He opened his eyes slightly and looked at her. Kyoko acknowledged him in her own way before disappearing. She reappeared on a building and stood on the edge.
"Well, let the games begin," she mumbled.