Chapter 29
The Secret Behind Central 46
"Hisagi-fukutaichō!"
"Hisagi-fukutaichō!"
It was voices. From far away.
Hisagi heard them. They became clearer and clearer.
To begin with, it had been pitch back. He could see nothing. After some time, things became lighter. Even with his eyes still closed, he could see motion above him.
He opened his eyes.
Over him, the 9th Division's Fourth Seat stood along with a few other unseated officers. "Fukutaichō!" she shouted. "Are you okay?"
Hisagi sat up. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said hoarsely.
He remembered the fight. He remembered Kurosaki. He remembered the wounds she had given him.
He should have been dead by now.
He looked down, and to his surprise, the wound to his stomach was bound. Around his waist, black and white fabric, probably a piece of a Shihakushō, was tied up. "Did you do this?" he asked the Division members.
The Fourth Seat shook her head. "No. This was here when we got to you."
Hisagi couldn't resist. He smiled. "I see," he said softly.
That Kurosaki Karin... She was a strange one.
He looked up to the sky. A strange one indeed.
Hitsugaya was running. He was using Shunpo.
He had no exact destination. He was just running.
His face was as carved in ice. He was determined to find out what exactly was going on. Things were not right. It didn't make any sense at all.
Soul Society had always been a traditional place. Things usually didn't change that much, if they ever did.
This was unheard of. The Central 46 changing their habits was unheard of. This should not be happening. This had never happened before. When the Central decided something, that was it. End of discussion.
They had never given any case this much attention. So why were they changing their patterns now? For them, this was just yet another case. They didn't care about what happened in Gotei 13 as long as they got to keep their power.
Who cares if a captain is killed? Certainly no Central 46.
"This cannot be!" Hitsugaya looked wide-eyed at Matsumoto. "Again?"
"I'm afraid so," Matsumoto said sadly.
He looked down at his desk, trying to process all of this. The execution had been removed, again. Hinamori was going to die in four days.
Hitsugaya exhaled. His breath was shivering. "I see," he said and tried to remain in control of himself.
"Hey, are you okay?" Matsumoto asked worried.
He gave her a bitter smile. "Would you stop asking me that?"
She frowned, but didn't say anything.
"Thanks," Hitsugaya said and took a deep breath. "Mind if I go out for a while? I need to clear my head."
"Sure. Take your time."
Hitsugaya was wandering restlessly around in the 10th Division's area. Members of the Division was running around, searching the place. Apparently, no luck yet. Maybe she had realised how idiotic she had been and went back to the Human World.
Another strange thing. The Central 46 had shown no interest in Karin, at all. The only thing they cared about was that stupid execution. They had said nothing about the Ryoka, thus the Gotei 13 was free to handle the situation however they wanted to.
And lucky for Karin, that seemed to be in a very poor way. Clearly, there were something wrong with how they handled the situation, as they were unable to catch one single girl.
Yes, it was strange indeed. It was as if… as if the Central 46 wasn't the Central 46 at all. They sure didn't act as such.
Hitsugaya found himself moving further and further away from the 10th Division's area.
His suspicions grew stronger and stronger inside of him. He had to know.
He made a decision. He was going to go to the Central 46 to see with his own eyes what was going on. If everything was as it was supposed to be, then that was fine; he would just leave again. If not, he would have to inform Gotei 13.
Hitsugaya approached the Central 46. It was an impressive sight. House—or a house, depending on how you look at it—was built in a square around the actual building. It was surrounded by water, and around the water, a tall wall was build in a circle.
He stopped in front of the gate. It was open. Not a good sign.
Hitsugaya walked through the gate. He shunpoed the path over the water to the actual building. It was quiet. He had a bad feeling about this. Something was not right.
He approached the main entrance. These doors were open as well. Something was definitely off about this. They were supposed to be locked, as should the gate. Something must have happened. Something bad.
He slowed down and went inside. It was awfully quiet.
He went through the hallways. He didn't meet one single person. He searched the whole building, but here were no one there. The last place he went to was the courtroom. Last chance.
He pushed the doors open—not locked—and stepped inside.
The sight that met him made him gasp. "Oh, god," he whispered.
The entire room was filled with dead bodies. The dead bodies of the Central. They were dead. All of them.
They must have been dead for days. He could tell by the smell. It was the stinking smell of rotten corpses. He caught a glimpse of a dead body's face. He had to restrain himself not to throw up.
He was about to leave, but a sound made him stop. It was foot steps. He turned around again and a gasp escaped his mouth.
"You," he said and squinted in disbelief. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"I am. As far the Gotei 13's concerned," Aizen Sōsuke said and smiled.
"I- I don't understand. How?" Hitsugaya asked. "It was you; Unohana-taichō declared that herself. You're dead!"
"And yet, here we are," the undead captain said.
Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "It couldn't be… Did you do this?"
Aizen didn't answer. He just smiled.
"Hinamori… She really was set up!" Hitsugaya exclaimed. He looked at the former captain. "She's being executed for a crime she didn't commit, and it's all your fault!"
"A necessary sacrifice," he said, still smiling.
"How could you? She trusted you. She looked up to you, and you betrayed her!" he shouted. "You betrayed the Gotei 13! Everything was a lie!" Hitsugaya was boiling with rage. "You've been contolling the Gotei's actions from here, and no one ever noticed!"
"You always were a bright one," Aizen said. "No one ever questioned the actions of the Central. No one but you." He had a warm smile, but Hitsugaya was unable to see anything but an evil smirk. "You truely are a genius, Hitsugaya-fukutaichō."
That was it. Hitsugaya drew his Zanpakutō. "Sōten ni zase, Hyōrinmaru!" he shouted.
An ice dragon shot out of the tip of the blade in the direction of Aizen …and missed.
Hitsugaya glared wide-eyed at the spot where Aizen had stood. He just disappeared. He couldn't possibly be that fast! It was impossible. No one could move that fast, even not with Shunpo.
Suddenly, an attack came from behind. Hitsugaya barely sensed it in time and was able to avoid most of the damage. His eyes grew even wider.
He hadn't seen him at all! He had appeared just as fast as he had disappeared. He wasn't even able to sense his Reiatsu. It was as if he had teleported.
Aizen was gone again. Hitsugaya didn't move a muscle.
He was able to block the next attack. Aizen was wide open and Hitsugaya used the opportunity to make a move of his own. His Zanpakutō pierced the former captain's chest.
"Impressive," a voice said from behind him. It was Aizen. Hitsugaya's eyes grew wide.
He looked behind where Aizen was staning and back forwards. His Zanpakutō was no longer piercing Aizen's chest, but one of the ice blocks he had created earlier.
His Zanpakutō never hit him. It was an illusion.
He turned around and looked at the spot where the real Aizen was standing. "How?" he asked.
"My Zanpakutō has an ability called 'Complete Hypnosis'," Aizen replied, still with a gentle smile. "It controls all of the five senses. Once you've seen the release, you succumb to the power of the hypnosis."
"But… Kyōka Suigetsu is a water-type Zanpakutō! It uses diffused reflection in mist and water to create confusion. You told us that yourself!" Hitsugaya exclaimed.
Aizen smiled and Hitsugaya came to a realisation.
It was a lie. All of it. He had gathered all the lieutenants to show him the release of his blade, but it was only so that his hypnosis would work. He probably had the whole Seireitei under his spell. That was how he had made everyone believe that Hinamori killed him. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"It's all part of my plan," came the answer.
Hitsugaya didn't know which of his questions he was answering, but didn't say anything. He just glare at him.
"Seems like we've got company," Aizen said after a while and smiled. "You're girlfriend's here."
Hitsugaya instantly thought about Karin. "How do you know-" was his first reaction, but he cut himself off. "Wait, what? She not my-" Again he stopped after a half sentence. Why was he even reacting to this? He had other things to worry about.
"I'll leave you two alone," Aizen said. "See you some other time."
"No!" Hitsugaya shouted, but it was too late. The former captain was gone.
"AIZEEEEN!"
His voice echoed in the large room. He was unable to move.
Dammit, Hitsugaya,he said inwardly. Get a hold of yourself! He had to report this. He had to inform the Gotei 13!
Three Shunpo later, he was outside. He was about to run off to the Sōtaichō when he felt a familiar Reiatsu. He recognised it instantly.
A black-haired girl appeared in front of him. "Tōshirō?" she said.
"Karin..."
None of them said anything. They just stared at each other. It was so surreal.
Hitsugaya was the one who broke the silence. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
Karin got an annoyed expression. "We haven't seen each other in weeks, and that's the first thing you say to me?"
"I- I'm glad to see you," he stuttered. He cleared his throat. "But seriously, what are you doing here?"
"Right now, I was just trying to find you," she answered. "But the reason I got here was to save you from execution." Her cheeks went red.
"My…?"
"I overheard the Shinigami in Karakura talk about the execution. They mentioned your name and I jumped to conclusions," she mumbled.
"That was stupid," Hitsugaya said and looked at her. "Even if it had been my execution, you shouldn't have come here. You fool."
"You're the fool!" she said irritated. "I owe you my life! Of course I would come to save you!"
"But I didn't need to be saved!"
"I know that!"
She pouted. Hitsugaya couldn't resist to look at her. He studied her. When he watched her like this, he realised how much he had missed her. It really was good to see her.
"Whose execution is it anyway?" Karin asked after a while. She didn't seem to have noticed him glaring at her. "Why was your name mentioned?"
Hitsugaya got a sad expression. "It's my best friend's execution, Hinamori Momo's," he said wistfully.
Karin looked at him in surprise. "I- I'm sorry-" she said, but he cut her of.
"It wasn't her fault!" he said abruptly and grabbed her shoulders. "She's being executed for a crime she didn't commit!"
"What? Why?"
"She's being accused of killing her captain, but he's alive! It was all just an illusion; an illusion he created," he said.
"So she's really innocent?" Karin asked wide-eyed.
"Yes," he said. "I have to go to the Sōtaichō and tell him. She can't be executed!"
He was about to shunpo away when he realised something. Karin was here. In Soul Society. He had been thinking about the execution and almost forgotten about it. "Karin, you have to leave," he said and looked her in the eyes. "You can't stay here in Soul Society anymore."
She was about to say something, but Hitsugaya never found out what, because just then, Matsumoto showed up.
"Matsumoto-taichō!" he exclaimed. He shot a worried glance in the direction of Karin.
His captain didn't seem to notice her. She say anything. She had a dead serious expression; the kind you usually never saw on her face. And… there was something more to it. Was it… disappointment?
"Taichō?" he said confused. "What is it?"
"Hitsugaya Tōshirō," she said hard. "You're under arrest."
"What?"
