Chapter 26

The beeping of the various monitoring machines was just so much background noise to Sui-Feng. Kinji was in a bed with so many wires and tubes connected to him that she had to wonder if his body had any functionality left at all. She glanced at the computer screen next to his bed, only a few of the readouts making any sense to her. If it was a normal medical readout she would understand it, it wasn't like she didn't understand the normal workings of the body on a medical level, but this was something Akon had set up when the medics had thrown up their hands in frustration.

She wanted to hit somebody, anybody. Reiko Tenshin ideally, since the bitch had started this whole mess by appearing in her fiance's bedroom unannounced. But, honestly, she just wanted to do something, anything to help. Kinji had decided on his own how to solve a problem then expected her to go along with it. She had gone along with it, she trusted him and knew he would go along with her if she had been forced to make something up on the spot. But then he went and put on the damn mask without the faintest idea what would happen. She was going to make him pay for that when he got better. She put her hand on his cold forehead and tried to tell herself that he would get better, despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary.

"Anything to report?" she asked in her normal brisk tone when Akon walked in.

"The quality of his reishi has been fundamentally altered. If you hadn't gotten him to me so quickly he would have certainly died." The scientist said. Even though the change was fascinating he just couldn't find the energy to get excited about it. "I don't know the how or why yet, but I'm looking into a similar case of a soul reaper from 400 years ago. A man named Baishin had similar readings …" Akon trailed off when he realized how the rest of that story would sound to Sui-Feng. But he didn't have to say anything. Sui-Feng had been part of the team to reseal Baishin after the Ryoka Invasion was resolved.

"He's merging with his zanpakuto." Sui-Feng stated. Akon looked startled by her blunt, and partially correct, assessment of the situation.

"How did- nevermind. It isn't that cut and dry. He stopped the merging process partway, which is why his zanpakuto still has its own physical form. But the transfer of power and reishi was more hazardous because the merger was stopped. It hasn't fully integrated with his body and the foreign reishi is cannibalizing his. Or, it was until a short time ago."

"And what is it doing now?"

"Adapting and replacing damaged portions of his body. I don't know what the long term effect-" Sui-Feng cut him off with a look.

"Will he make a full recovery?"

"I- physically he'll be fine. But the last time someone merged with a zanpakuto they had a psychotic episode and went on a killing spree that left 63 ranked officers dead. And Baishin wasn't a Captain level soul reaper before he merged with his sword." Akon hadn't wanted to break the bad news quite so harshly but Sui-Feng hadn't let him beat around the bush. The assassin took that news in stride.

"No one but I or Isane comes in or out of this room. Understood?" Akon may have been part of the Gotei 13 but he'd never really taken on the militaristic aspects of that life. That being said, he unconsciously came to attention when the command in Sui-Feng's voice hit him.

"I understand." Akon watched Sui-Feng go with a sigh of relief. "I should have known I wouldn't be dealing with sane people when I came to Hueco Mundo." He lamented.

"I underestimated him." Ulquiorra admitted. "But he is still a fool."

"I won't argue that point." Halibel agreed.

"He's a complete dumbass." Grimmjow corrected. The three Espadas were sitting in the hall Aizen had once used to conduct their meetings. Halibel had called them and the Privaron Espadas and Fracciones together to discuss what they should do.

"That may be true. El Nino Loco has nearly gotten us all killed on many occasions." Dordoni admitted.

"But he did manage to get us a peace treaty with the Soul Society, fool or not." Sun-Sun spoke up, grudgingly defending the indisposed Lord of Hueco Mundo.

"Peace treaty? Who the hell cares?!" Grimmjow sneered. "He's just going to use us and throw us away like Aizen did."

"The strong lead and the weak follow, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra reminded Espada number 6.

"Bullshit. If that was true we'd all be licking the sandals of that old bastard that leads the soul reapers."

"Shut up, Grimmjow." Halibel commanded.

"What did you say, bitch?" he growled. Before the flaring tempers could come to a head the moment was broken when Sui-Feng kicked in the doors.

"I just received word that Kinji Kotetsu will make a full recovery. I thought you might want to know before you made any plans to kill him in his bed.

"I assure you, no such plans were being considered. What we are here to discuss is the defense plan for Las Noches." Ulquiorra's monotone voice made no echo despite the acoustics of the room. Sui-Feng walked slowly to the table and took a seat.

"Then let me give you a few pointers. During the first invasion of Hueco Mundo, Aizen set you up as training dummies. If you really want to defend this place, muster the Adjuchas and Gillians from the Forest. Use them as fixed weapon placements and cannon fodder to wear down the enemy troops before you take the field. Release your zanpakuto when battle starts and overwhelm the enemy. There's nothing here for you to worry about collateral damage so attack with overwhelming force." Sui-Feng had no reservations sharing this kind of tactical information because she knew two things: This enhanced defense would be used against the Tenshin first and she knew exactly how to counter this kind of strategy.

"Why the hell should we listen to you?" Grimmjow's question was followed by grumbled of assent from nearly everyone at the table.

"I want to mount Reiko Tenshin's head on a pike. If you idiots can defend yourselves long enough for me to get a clear shot at her that just makes it easier." Sui-Feng said, her voice cold enough to send shivers up the spines of the more easily intimidated arrancars in the room. "Besides, Kinji would tell you the same thing if he were here. Well, he'd probably tell you to execute some convoluted and tricky plan while the ceros were flying. I like to be more direct." There were a few nods from the Privaron Espadas and Fracciones.

"You are one cold bitch." Grimmjow said appreciatively.

"You said he would make a recovery. When?" Halibel asked.

"Akon said he didn't know."

"Was it because of the power he used?" Halibel pressed. Sui-Feng showed the arrancars nothing but her poker face.

"It was." Ulquiorra stated definitively. Sui-Feng didn't so much as blink.

"How in the hell would you know that?"

"I viewed the hollowfication research compiled by Lord Aizen and Kisuke Urahara. Power that is visible but not present to spiritual senses is a sign of transcendent power. Achieving transcendence requires the merging of three extremely powerful individual existences into a single form. Kinji Kotetsu achieved transcendent power for a short time without creating a "Trinity". It stands to reason he is suffering the consequences of such a foolhardy choice." The pale arrancar looked far to calm for someone revealing the secrets of transcending the limits of hollows and soul reapers.

"I see." Halibel said, rolling the idea over in her mind. "Do you have anything to add?" she asked Sui-Feng. The only soul reaper in the room said nothing. "Then I suppose there is nothing left to discuss. I'll call another meeting in a few hours. Use the time to prepare for an invasion."

"It's been a while, Sui-Feng." Yoruichi patted her former protégé's head fondly. "What brings you to the World of the Living?" For the first time since their 100 year reunion, Sui-Feng didn't look happy to see her old mentor. "This is about politics, isn't it?"

"It is." Sui-Feng said, holding her emotions carefully in check. "Why haven't the Shihouin intervened? Or the Kuchiki? I have eyewitness testimony that the Tenshin conspired to commit treason. I have video footage of Reiko Tenshin's use of forbidden abilities. I have Lin Feng's full confession. So why?" Yoruichi didn't say anything at first. Then she went to a closet in Urahara's store room and pulled out a folder full of photographs and written reports.

"24. The Tenshin planted 24 of their agents in Central 46. If we made a move Central 46 would apply severe pressure. Basically? Our hands are tied. The Kotetsu told them to shove it up their asses and paid the price. Their home was attacked, their family torn apart, and they've been forced to basically commit treason to prevent the Tenshin from swallowing Soul Society whole. It's just like 100 years ago." Yoruichi pulled out a jug of sake and two cups. She poured until the cups were full and handed one to Sui-Feng.

"What do you mean?" Sui-Feng asked.

"100 years ago… Aizen outmaneuvered everyone. He used the political system to guide the actions of the Gotei 13 then used it to entrap us, forcing us into exile. Then, with everyone out of his way, he built an army, stole forbidden knowledge, and nearly destroyed the Gotei 13. If Ichigo hadn't stopped him he would have invaded the Soul King's Palace." Yoruichi drained her cup and poured another.

"So we fell for the same trick twice." Sui-Feng said bitterly.

"Yeah. But don't think we've been sitting on our asses this whole time. We helped establish the economic ties with Hueco Mundo, guaranteed shipping routes, and supplied technology. We even called in favors to keep Tenshin agents from infiltrating Las Noches when Kinji had his little recruitment drive. But if one of the four Great Noble Houses actively and openly attacks another one then everything collapses. I want to do more, but…"

"But you have to think about the Shihouin clan." Sui-Feng finished for her. "I'm so sick of hearing about politics." Sui-Feng tossed back her cup of sake. Yoruichi was surprised that she would, Sui-Feng usually didn't drink no matter how much pressure was heaped on her to do so. "You and Kinji and the Captain Commander can worry about politics. I'm going to go fix the problem." The expression on Sui-Feng's face was calm and set. Yoruichi knew that expression and it worried her. It was the same expression she saw in the mirror the night she fled the Seireitei 100 years ago. It was the expression of someone who was resigned to do something they knew would cost them dearly. And given the way Sui-Feng tended to solve her problems there was bound to be a good deal of collateral damage.

The former Captain of Division 2 watched her successor closely for any sign of what she was about to do while she refilled the empty cups. "Do you know why we have politics?" she asked. Sui-Feng shook her head, a disgusted look on her face. "So we have options other than just killing each other any time interests conflict."

"And should we keep talking politics when we know the other person's only goal is killing us? That seems suicidally stupid."

"But what if this person is holding someone hostage? What do you do then?"Yoruichi replied smoothly. Sui-Feng glared at her for a moment before the look softened to simple frustration.

It was a familiar, almost comfortable moment. Knowledge passing from master to student as it had so many times before they had been separated. But it couldn't last in the face of the choices weighing down on them both. "They picked the wrong hostage. If the system is already so corrupt that it disobeys the orders of the one who gave it authority then it should die."

"You might be right. But what about all the souls who rely on the current system? We took an oath to protect them."

"Letting an infection fester like this is wrong." Sui-Feng said, avoiding the more uncomfortable questions her teacher was asking. "I'm going to burn it away all at once." Sui-Feng stood and marched out the door with an unanswerable resolve. Yoruichi wanted to stop her but she wasn't sure Sui-Feng was entirely in the wrong. The Tenshin had gotten to where they had because no one was willing to accept the consequences of attacking them head on. Sui-Feng could probably do exactly what she had said she was going to do. With her skills he could almost certainly heap up a mound of corpses before anyone caught on enough to try stopping her. Yoruichi watched as Sui-Feng shut the door and didn't move from where she'd been sitting. Maybe Sui-Feng was right. Maybe it was best to lop the arm off with the cancer and just call it the price of survival.

The guards around the Tenshin compound were really quite good…for their weight class. But when you have three sentries at nearby posts die within two seconds of each other the entire security plan tends to fall apart. Sui-Feng swung her sword to clean the majority of blood from it. Once she was inside the outer barrier all she had to do was point and shoot. Her bankai would reduce Tenshin manor and its occupants to nothing but a collection of bad memories. She made to move through the gate but the barrier rejected her. Not entirely unexpected, though it was much stronger than she expected. Too strong for her to break without attracting attention. She hauled one of the guards over her shoulder and walked through the gateway, kido energy parting in front of her like a curtain. She wasn't sure if it was attuned to the guards or if they carried some kind of key but she didn't particularly care.

There were more guards inside the outer gate but none of them saw her or the corpse she was carrying in time to make a difference. Her next few flash stepped left splashes of blood on the ground under every guard in sight. A dozen more corpses littered the ground and Sui-Feng simply walked over them. The Tenshin compound was really quite large and ostentatious even compared to the Kuchiki estate. "A victory for Soul Society and architects alike." She mumbled. "Bankai: Jakuho Raikoben." A column of black and yellow metal sheathed her right arm. Normally she'd try to tie herself down or find something sturdy to brace against but she was firing from far enough away that it wouldn't be a problem. She felt calm, clear headed. She had finally found a simple path to walk and it was one she was all too familiar with. She would kill the enemies of Soul Society. She would have preferred to sneak in and simply cut the throat of everyone who needed to die but those artifacts were too dangerous. It wasn't just that they possessed powerful abilities, though she had respect verging on fear for what they could do, but they also had a presence and a will of their own that didn't seem to play by the usual rules. The man with the Sword had appeared from nowhere only a few moments after Lin had fallen. She didn't need that kind of fluke happening again. So she would strike at them with maximum force from the furthest possible distance.

"Sorry Kinji, but your brother picked the wrong side." She said. Kinji had told her his conviction on the matter and she agreed that the man with the Sword was a perfect body type match for his brother. So, since they didn't actually have a hostage, she didn't need to be precise. She clenched her fist and the missile's guiding fins sprang open. She took one last steadying breath and let it out slowly. When her lungs were empty and she was sure of her aim she fired. Fire ignited and her bankai rocketed toward the bright lights of the Tenshin manor.

Kinji sat bolt upright in his bed and tore out a number of tubes and cables that had been attached to his arms and chest. Thin trickles of blood ran from the tiny wounds but that didn't stop him from yanking out the rest of the tubes keeping him on life support. He choked and gagged when he pulled the breathing tube out of his throat but it was a minor distraction. His sword was in the same room under a glass case where its reiatsu structure was being examined. He held out a hand and the sword flew to it, shattering the glass case and landing securely in his palm. Blue fire incinerated most of the equipment and slagged the rest of it. Kinji kicked the door of his secure room so hard that it embedded itself in the opposing wall.

Akon was in his private study deep under Las Noches when he heard three different alarms go off at once. He ran over to the master terminal for Las Noches' security system and accessed the cameras in the lab where Kinji was supposed to be recovering. All he saw was blue light in a haze of black smoke. His hand moved on pure reactionary fear to press the citadel-wide emergency button.

Kinji ignored the blaring sound and red light in favor of making straight for the Espada meeting room where he could feel the most powerful arrancars gathered together. He would have kicked in the doors for dramatic effect but they were already laying on the floor. He saw the disbelieving and surprised expressions on the faces of the arrancars and realized he didn't need any additional shock and awe. "Do you all have your swords?" he asked. He got a few nods and saw that the Espadas at least had their swords. "We're going to invade the Soul Society. Immediately." He snapped his fingers and a black line split the air behind him. The darkness opened to reveal an inverted image of Karakura Town. Tia Halibel and her Fracciones flinched, the image being a near perfect copy of Aizen's portal to the World of the Living during the Winter War.

"I will remain behind to protect Las Noches." Ulquiorra said, calmly standing and walking toward the open doorway.

"Fine. The rest of you, get your asses moving. A very small and valuable window of opportunity just opened up." Losing Ulquiorra hurt but he had no accepted authority over him. He didn't have any over Halibel either but he hoped she wouldn't press the issue. Thankfully she didn't, but the look in her eyes wasn't encouraging. She looked at him like there was something wrong, or maybe it was uncertainty. If she decided to bail on him in the middle of a fight it would be a problem. Grimmjow, surprisingly, looked eager to go. He didn't mutter a single word of complaint. If anything that worried him more than Halibel hanging him out to dry. He turned toward the garganta and prepared to step through along with his most powerful soldiers.

"Lord Kotetsu." Kinji turned in controlled fury to Mila-Rose who had tapped him on the shoulder. "Look, I'm happy you're feeling more comfortable in your skin, but I don't think you're going to intimidate anyone with your… sword." She looked pointedly below his waist. Kinji had been in a medical gown while he was attached to life support but the fire he had used to burn his way clear had apparently taken a toll on the cheap fabric. He felt his face heat in painful embarrassment. He heard some snickering that was either from Ciruci or Grimmjow, or both.

"I'll be back in a moment." He said angrily and flash stepped toward his room to grab some proper clothes. He was back in less than two minutes, fully dressed and carrying a bulky mechanical device he'd commissioned from Akon when he realized he wasn't going to find the Hogyoku in Hueco Mundo. It was crude, working off the principle of sympathetic resonance, but it would be able to tell him if he was within 100 yards of the artifact.

"Orders?" Halibel asked before Kinji could step into the portal.

"Anyone wearing a Soul Society uniform, shihakusho, lab coat etc. gets knocked out. Kill everyone else. And if any of you find the Hogyoku come directly back here, don't wait for the rest of us."

"Won't those Blood Faction assholes be trying to stop us?" Apache chimed in.

"They have other problems to deal with right now." Kinji said, smiling a little too widely. "Let's go." The portal opened above the partially reconstructed replica of Karakura Town. The scavengers and guards that the Tenshin had sent had a short moment to soil themselves before the arrancars and Kinji rained hell down on them. Bala and cero blasts hit targets at an alarming rate. The few powerful guards the Tenshin had placed were quickly overwhelmed by Grimmjow's vicious physical offensive. Halibel didn't even bother to lift a finger. She clearly thought it was overkill and didn't feel like contributing to the inevitable outcome.

Kinji didn't take part in the battle either. His focus was on finding the Hogyoku, he didn't want to waste the chance Sui-Feng had given him at the cost of her position and possibly her life. The machine worked better than he'd anticipated and he used it to pinpoint the exact spot the artifact was hidden. He threw chunks of rubble and handfuls of soil into the air. He dug with frantic energy until he felt a jolt run up his arm.

The gem was covered in dirt but even through that layer of grime he could see the swirling light of the artifact that had launched the Winter War. He pulled a piece of cloth from inside his coat and used it to pick up the Hogyoku. He tucked it away and yelled to the arrancars that it was time to head back. They left three dozen corpses and a few unconscious soul reapers in their wake but the entire assault took less than two minutes. It took five minutes more before the first group of soul reapers made it to the scene in response to the distress call one soul reaper had sent before Sun-Sun choked him out. Captain Renji Abarai arrived with half of his ranking officers and nearly three dozen unranked soldiers. He set his men to gathering the survivors and figuring out where the other corpses had come from. The only people authorized to be in the replica city were the skeleton security crew that he'd left to guard the place.

Renji was less than thrilled to find that dozens of armed civilians had started digging through the place without authorization from him. He grabbed one of the soldiers who was stationed in the fake city as a guard by the collar and hauled him to his feet. The guard, whose name Renji was having trouble remembering, was just coming back to consciousness. He was physically larger than Renji but his spiritual energy was much lower.

"Inugami," Renji said from between clenched teeth, the name coming back to him, "What in the hell is going on here?"

"Arrancars! They showed up out of nowhere and started killing everyone!" Inugami sputtered out.

"I can see that, idiot. I mean who are they?" Renji gestured to the pile of dead bodies. Inugami's jaws clenched shut. His eyes dropped and looked away from his Captain. "You've got about five seconds before you're choking on broken teeth and I find someone else to ask." Renji threatened.

"They said they were scientists, gave us money just to take a look around for a few days." Inugami was talking quickly, as if he had to force the words out. "We kept an eye on them but all they did was map out the buildings and turn over some of the rubble. It wasn't a big deal." Renji laid him out with a punch to the face.

"If it wasn't a big deal then why can't you look me in the eyes? You disobeyed a direct order for a few coins. You're not fit to wear that shihakusho."

"Captain! You need to hear this!" His 8th Seat ran over to hand him a headset. Renji put it to his ear.

"-Tenshin estate had been destroyed in a large explosion. State of emergency has been declared. The wartime exemption is now in effect. There will be an emergency gathering of all Captains and Lieutenants in three hours at the Division 1 meeting hall." The message repeated itself again before Renji handed the headset back. Kinji and Sui-Feng hadn't really clued him in on exactly what was going on but he knew that the Tenshin were behind all the trouble happening recently.

"We're heading back to the Seireitei immediately. Restrain everyone who was on duty here and put up a barrier around the bodies." The Captain of the 5th Division knew what he had to do, but Renji Abarai wanted to go talk to Isane and see if she knew why he could feel her brother's reiatsu at the site of an arrancar attack on the Soul Society. But he couldn't. Not only that but he realized that a little plausible deniability would probably protect Isane and the rest of her family. All the same, Yamamoto needed to hear about this as soon as possible. Renji knew the old man had a hand in the political pie so he would probably know what to do.

Kinji could feel an intelligence at work inside the artifact. The Hogyoku was alive in the same strange way that the other artifacts were but it hadn't spoken to him yet. Maybe it couldn't when he had it bundled up and tucked away in his pocket. Kinji shook away the distraction. He had to get this thing locked away and find Sui-Feng. If his dream had been accurate, and he had no reason to believe such a vivid vision wasn't accurate, then she had technically committed over a dozen different capital crimes. He could offer her sanctuary in Hueco Mundo but if the Gotei 13 arrested her first it would mean a full scale invasion to get her back. Kinji was under no illusions, he simply didn't have the power for something so direct.

Kinji and the arrancars stepped back into Las Noches with a strange sense of accomplishment. While they were under Aizen they'd never actually had a victorious battle against soul reapers. Not that this little raid could be called a battle but curb-stomping enemy forces had a way of boosting morale. "Did you see their faces? I think we made those bastards shit themselves!" Grimmjow crowed triumphantly.

"It was complete overkill." Halibel said. She was in a much less amiable mood, not being a lover of violence like Grimmjow.

"Exactly." Kinji replied. "Overkill is exactly what I was going for. It sends a message and it doesn't take very long. If I have any luck left at all, the Gotei 13 will find the dead bodies of those Tenshin-employed scientists and start a serious inquiry as to why they were there. And without anyone from the Tenshin House to stall the investigation things might finally go my way."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Apache asked.

"Oh, right. I wasn't going to tell you that. Forget I said anything." Kinji, who hadn't been out of his hospital bed for more than 30 minutes, realized his judgment might be slightly impaired from whatever medication had been in those IV stands around his bed.

"With all due respect." Sun-Sun began. Kinji held up a hand to cut her forthcoming question short.

"Whenever someone starts a sentence like that it's guaranteed to piss me off. I'll explain everything in detail after I make sure all my interests in Soul Society are secure." He pulled the Hogyoku out and unwrapped the cloth holding it. The spiraling light and energy was enticing to look at and he could sense something pushing against his mind. That sense of "something" was huge compared to the flickering spark of his own mind and he felt a tremor of fear run through him. An image of Miko's terrible not-eyes flashed in his mind, more vivid and terrible than the first time he'd seen it. He pushed back against the "other" coming from the Hogyoku and got his breathing back under control. It was powerful but it seemed like it couldn't just invade his mind and take him over. Still, the momentary loss of control is imposed on him was troubling. He would have to lock it up.

"That would be unwise." A voice to his left said. Kinji froze in place. The voice was male, cultured, and impossibly familiar. He couldn't be hearing that voice, it belonged to a dead man. "Hello, Kotetsu-kun. It's certainly been a while." Kinji forced his head to turn to the left, praying to anyone who would listen that he had just hallucinated the voice. A tall man in a Captain's haori and glasses stood there with a smile that held warmth and confidence in equal measure.

"Captain Aizen."

Sui-Feng examined the pit her Jakuho Raikoben had opened in the ground where Tenshin manor had formerly stood. She waited for the inevitable gathering of soul reapers at the scene and she left her zanpakuto on the ground yards away from her. She waited for her Division and the Onmitsukido to come and arrest her. She knew they would, it was what she had trained them to do. When they arrived she didn't resist. They put her in restraints and took her back to the2nd Division barracks. She didn't look at them, didn't speak a word. They would follow protocol like they had been taught. In a few hours or maybe a day she would be in front of Central 46.

All according to plan.

A/N: The slow release of chapters will continue until May. My Comprehensive exams are this semester and I may need to start looking for a job the way my doctoral program applications are going. Oh, I almost forgot, happy beheaded martyr day!