Darkness
Chapter 36
Hinamori bowed to Aizen, as did Isane, Nemu, and Hisagi behind her.
"Rise, my servants," Aizen said. They immediately stood up, looking at the person who was likely already the most powerful man in the universe. With their help, he no doubt hoped to get rid of that 'likely' and cement his position into place. Behind him were Ichimaru, Tousen, Halibel, and Barragan.
"I am sorry to hear about Ulquiorra and Mayuri, they were valuable parts of our plan," Aizen said.
"Yes, they will certainly be missed, though I assure you that the plan will still proceed as scheduled," Hinamori said, "To prevent further problems though, I recommend carrying out the operation as soon as possible, later today ideally."
"No, I think not," Aizen said with a small smile.
"What? Why?" Hinamori asked in surprise.
"One must bide ones time and wait for the right moment if one wishes to conquer all of one's enemies," he said, "If we use this device of yours as bait, we can draw out our enemies from hiding, and defeat them all at once rather than having to hunt them down later. Be patient, things will work out soon enough."
"And what do you wish us to do in the mean time?" Hinamori asked.
"Oh, nothing special. Just go about your regular routines until our prey shows up," Aizen said.
"As you wish," Hinamori said with a bow.
----
Sajin Komamura stared at the ground in front of him. That was all he had been doing for months, ever since he was captured and placed in this tiny cell. He had no idea what the world had become outside the walls of the cell. He didn't know who had survived and who had been killed. His arms and legs were chained to the wall with heavy shackles that even he could not break free from.
Other than the time that Hinamori had come to taunt him and the times that poor food and dirty water was delivered, he had no contact with the outside world. He was beginning to wonder if this was to be his fate for the rest of his life, to be chained up while Aizen ruled the world.
Suddenly his keen ears picked up the sound of someone approaching. The footsteps were not Hinamori's, nor were they the arrancars that usually came this way. He tensed up as the door creaked open, his fur standing on end. He relaxed slightly when he saw who it was.
Isane Kotetsu walked into the cell, a nervous look about her.
"What do you want?" Komamura asked wearily, "What is another traitor doing here?"
"Please, Captain Komamura, I-"
"I'm not Captain anymore! Aizen destroyed the Gotei 13 with the help of people like you! You betrayed us all, just like Aizen, Ichimaru, Tousen, and Hinamori! You're no different!" Komamura growled.
"Please sir…listen to me, I didn't want to, I was forced!" Isane said desperately, "Captain Unohana seemed to be killed, and without her, I was the only one to protect the division! If I hadn't allied myself with them, most of the Fourth Division would have been killed! We sustained the lowest casualties due to that fact! Aizen can't be stopped now, it's impossible! To go against him would doom not only myself, but my entire division!"
"What makes you think that Aizen can't be stopped? Don't you have any hope for the future of the Shinigami?" Komamura asked, "I personally believe that as long as there are Shinigami willing to fight a tyrant like Aizen, the battle is not lost."
"But sir, Aizen is too powerful, and we've already lost so many of our forces! Even Captain-commander Yamamoto is gone! How can we possibly hope to win against Aizen, he's simply unstoppable! It's one thing to sacrifice your own life, but for such a hopeless situation, I can't sacrifice my division!" Isane said.
"Well why did you come to me?" Komamura asked, "If you've already decided that it's hopeless and that your only option is collaboration, why did you bother coming to me?"
"I…I don't know," Isane said.
"Well, let me ask you something. Do you really believe that your division would be safe in a world ruled by Aizen? Do you think that he really considers you important enough to keep you alive? Your fear of him is what allows him to control you and others."
"It's not Aizen that I fear…" Isane said quietly.
---
Hinamori stalked around her room. Aizen had instructed her to make no unnecessary moves until he saw fit. Hinamori knew that he was hoping to lure as many Shinigami as possible into a trap so that they would be eliminated, but Hinamori had no such problems. For Aizen, eliminating the remainders of the Gotei 13 leaders may be necessary for his plan, but for Hinamori eliminating them was the plan. Aizen of course hoped to rule after killing the Spirit King. He had no way of knowing that Hinamori would trap him and his most loyal servants in the King's dimension leaving her and the voornx to eliminate the Shinigami. It was frustrating, but she had to go along with it so as not to arouse suspicion.
"Damn it…" she muttered to herself, very frustrated. She wanted to finish things as soon as possible. After Aizen was out of the picture, she would be free to release the Voornx, and her personal plan would be well underway. She didn't think that Aizen was on to her, but to be safe she knew she had to take things slowly.
Aizen needed her to properly use the Harvester. In order to transport it, the forbidden spacial displacement Kido was needed, and Hinamori was the only one capable of using such advanced and complex Kido. They had already determined which area of Rukongai to use the Harvester on, and everything was ready. Now all that was left to do was defeat the remnants of the Shinigami that Aizen predicted would soon come. Hinamori was quite anxious for this, as the sooner they were defeated the sooner she could put her plans into effect.
As she was thinking this, the door slid open, and Nemu walked in. Hinamori inwardly grinned. It had been a stroke of good fortune that Mayuri had died, as this meant that Nemu was now loyal to her. Nemu, unlike all the others, was literally incapable of betrayal. She had some control over Isane and Hisagi, sure, but Nemu was the only one she could truly rely on for her plans. She wasn't so much a person as she was a machine to do Hinamori's bidding.
"Is there something you want?" Hinamori asked.
"I came to report that there are five unidentified figures in the sewers below the research area," Nemu said. Hinamori grinned.
"Come with me. It's time we greeted our old friends, don't you think?"
Thanks for reading! Thank you to snoopypet, Assault Godzilla, argella1300, SunsetRainbow, AznVKai, Merciless Ruby, PrincessOfHeartsNYP, shortliketoshiro, animelover24271, and DW64 for reviewing! Please review!