Chapter Twenty-five

Ryohime was worried. She had gotten back late the previous night (or rather, early that morning) after several hours training with Kitsune, and her dad was nowhere to be found. Now it was mid-morning, and he still wasn't back.

She had looked at the usual places for a note, the kitchen table, the fridge, the coffee table in the living room, but he hadn't left one. Maybe he had forgotten… it wasn't such an absurd idea, but usually when it came to things like this, he was pretty reliable. He thought she would worry.

He was, of course, right.

She had checked at the clinic, wondering if he was finishing up the paperwork for Chikuma's mysterious disappearance from their custody. Another dead end. As Ryohime had already done all their shopping, she was pretty sure he wasn't just out on a simple errand like that.

So where is he?

There was a knock on the door, and she ran to get it. It wasn't until she was in the hall, reaching for the doorknob, that she realized it didn't feel like her dad.

It was Herald.

She hesitated, then opened the door. She tried to look as naturally surprised as she had been a moment before, as Herald never, ever just came over to visit her. Vance was the only one who could get Herald to go anywhere, and he was nowhere in sight.

"Herald… what're you doing here?" she asked, and he sighed.

"Vance has gone and found a bunch of whacks crazier then him is. Ryohime, are there any such things as Arrancar?"

Ryohime didn't have to feign surprise this time, and she stood unable to come up with a reply for several moments before gasping, "A-Arrancars? Where did you…?"

Herald scratched his head with a look of absolute disgust. "Bah, so they are real."

Ryohime was still in shock from Herald randomly asking about Arrancar. "M-matte… back up. Arrancar? Who told you about them?"

"Vance's crazy new buddies," Herald said with another heavy sigh. "They've got this whole crazy story about these Arrancars who were fighting under a crazy Shinigami… oh, and your dad was in the story, too. They said he was some kind of super powerful Shinigami human person. Is that true too?"

"Y-yes…" Ryohime said hesitantly. Herald groaned.

"Great. Just great."

"Who are these people?" asked Ryohime urgently. "Where's Vance? Herald… what in the world is going on?"

"I don't know… I was all set to ignore it and wait until they went away, but now about half their story is supposedly true, and now I don't know what to make of it anymore."

Ryohime took a deep breath, then stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "Herald, I need you to take me to wherever these people are, and tell me what exactly they were telling you."

Herald looked like he would have preferred to just go home, but he nodded. "Alright, fine. But after I tell you everything, you've got to tell me everything. Deal?"

"Deal. Let's go."

.

Dikayumi regained consciousness slowly, the whispering in his skull slowly fading away as he grew more and more alert. Not that he realized it at first, because two other voices were whispering nearby in the waking world as well.

"Father?" he asked weakly, wincing as his headache throbbed.

Instantly, his father's familiar reiatsu was at his side. "Dikayumi, are you alright?"

"Itai…" Dikayumi managed, before turning over and practically crawled into his father's lap, sobbing. Uryu stiffened in surprise for a moment, then drew his arms around his shuddering son. Nearby, Kai averted his gaze and began examining his fingernails.

"Am… am I really…?" Dikayumi finally hiccuped, slightly ashamed of himself for falling apart like he was.

"You're not a Hollow, Yumi-chan," his father answered softly, using the nickname he hadn't used for years. "You are a Quincy."

"But the dreams… the migraines… and the voices, Father. They keep saying… horrible things. Evil things. The cruel one said that…"

He didn't notice Uryu and Kai exchanging worried looks at that.

"Th-there was a girl, Father. A young girl… and he stabbed her. They did… I did. What if he's right… what if I was—"

"Yumi-chan, look at me!" interrupted his father sharply, and Dikayumi looked up. "You are not a monster! Do you understand? Whatever these voices are telling you, whatever that woman was telling you, whatever might be crossing your mind, you are not a Hollow. You are Ishida Dikayumi, a thirteen year old Quincy. Whatever might have happened to you in a past life doesn't matter. It's done, over with."

"But I watched her dying…" Dikayumi sobbed, and Uryu sighed, hugging him close again and stroking his hair comfortingly.

"I know. I know…"

Whoever you are, you're going to pay for driving my son to tears. He doesn't deserve to suffer like this, whatever might have happened before he was born.

Uryu remembered the invasion of Las Noches well. He remembered distinctly the battle when Rukia faced Aaroniero, and was forced to fight the very spirit body of her old mentor, Kaien. Later, she had told them about that fight. In the end, he had stabbed her with Kaien's Zanpakuto, Nejibana. She had nearly died before finally mustering the determination to end his life.

It was too similar. And even as he tried to comfort his traumatized boy, Uryu wondered. Was it possible? Despite the difficulties…?

Could his son really be the same soul as the warped creature that was Aaroniero?

.

"Aizen Sousuke was not killed.

"The Sougoyko was the only weapon Soul Society had capable of destroying Aizen so completely after his Hollow transformations that his powers could not intervene to prevent death, and that had been destroyed to save Kuchiki Rukia. All according to his plan. Soul Society didn't know what to do with him, so they merely sentenced him to the deepest dungeon they had, no visitors, no soul ever to go within a mile of him, and if he somehow starved to death despite his absurd power, all the better. He was to have no contact with any living thing for twenty thousand years."

Despite her rather depleted audience, San seemed determined to finish her story. And the people that were present were all those that had accepted, at least in part, the truth of their former identities.

"Such an existence would drive most people insane, but Aizen had a plan. He had thought out the possibilities of defeat long before Soul Society knew of his betrayal, and he had prepared accordingly. He knew, if they couldn't kill him, they would try to put him somewhere where they could ignore his existence. By the time the seal broke, the entire world would have changed, and it was more then likely they would once again possess a weapon capable of killing him.

"The real point of their plan was simple; no one alive at the time, nor anyone for over a dozen generations, would have to worry about him.

"That was their plan, and not a bad one considering their opponent. But Aizen planned for everything, there was always a backup plan in place. That is why two of the people Aizen let slip closest to the truth concocted a plan of their own."

She paused for a moment, then continued. "Ulquiorra Cifer and Ichimaru Gin knew what would happen if the world should fall under Aizen's control. Neither of them wanted that to ever happen. So Ulquiorra told Gin about the rather unambitious plan his fellow Arrancar were attempting to put into place, and Gin decided to take this Backup Plan even further. He secretly manipulated the Eighth Espada and was able to add a few unexpected elements to the Backup Plan, meant to give a purpose to the reincarnated Espada and, hopefully, finish the job where the Shinigami could not. He also approached potential allies the original group never had, or never would have, approached."

"That sneaky snake!" Steve suddenly exclaimed, slamming his forehead into his palm. "And Ulquiorra was the one that got him in on it?! Here I thought he would be the most trustworthy of any of us."

Edward and Yylfordt seemed insulted by this statement, but San merely nodded.

"Maybe he was. He certainly knew more about what Aizen had planned then any of us did."

There was a sudden silence. Many eyes turned to San inquisitively, but it was Edward who actually asked.

"Any of 'us'?" he ventured. "Who exactly are you?"

"Tier Halibel, formerly the Third Espada." She ignored the shocked expressions as she continued. "Ichimaru saved my life after Aizen betrayed me, and though it was too late for me to join your reincarnation backup plan, he still had a part for me to play."

"Making sure we all knew what was going on, instead of assuming we were just individually going insane," suggested Chikuma, and the newly revealed Halibel nodded.

"And to give you a trainer," she added. "Though we cannot spend the years I would prefer in preparation, we also cannot go any further without spending the time to train."

"Train, as in, special powers and magic swords?" asked Vance hopefully, and he received a brief nod in response.

"You could say that. It has been said that souls capable of reaching Vasto Lorde level are determined before the soul ever became a Hollow, the same with Adjuchas. Every one of you was at least Adjuchas level as Hollows, and therefore there must have been a certain power hidden inside you even in your previous human existences. The Backup Plan captured some of your artificially gained Arrancar power, and I intent to awaken your own power as well. If all goes according to plan, you will again become a force to be reckoned with."

"I like the sound of that," Grimmjow/Edward said, grinning in a way most of the people present found quite familiar."Alright then, Halibel-sensei. I'm in. Of course, this training of yours is gonna have to go around school, but as it's a combat training thing I could just tell my parents I'm branching out from karate. They shouldn't have any objections as long as nobody says anything about invisible monsters…"

"If Nii-san is convinced, then I suppose I have to come along too," said Szayelaporro/Steve, adjusting his glasses. Despite the memories constantly clarifying themselves in his head, he was still stubbornly insisting on calling his adoptive brother 'Nii-san.' "Just to make sure that he keeps out of trouble."

"I'm sure Mom and Dad'll be thrilled to have you get out of the house," Grimmjow/Edward said proudly, roughly ruffling his brother's explicitly neat hair.

Yylfordt flicked his long, blonde bangs out of his eyes. "I'm obviously eager to get my power back," he said, and on the other side of the circle Erina/Neliel chewed her lip.

"Alright, I suppose," she said hesitantly

"You've already got my answer," Nnoitra said, sounding very pleased with himself. "Anything to distance myself from the brat."

Chikuma laced his fingers together, shaking his head. "I have no desire to become any closer to my past life," he said, unsurprisingly. "I am perfectly willing to help in any way I can, as an human, but I do not want to become involved in the Arrancar or Seireitei, or this fight with Aizen."

Halibel nodded shortly at him. "Understandable. I expected as much, honestly." She glanced at Vance, who was playing with a blade of grass. "And you, Vance-san?"

Vance looked up, surprised. "Eh? Well, yeah. Shouldn't be a problem, I can just borrow Edward-san's excuse. Count me in."

Halibel nodded decisively. "I told you that Soul Society had only one weapon capable of killing Aizen," she said, voice reverting back to her planning tone, "and that was the Sougoyko. However, among the Espada, there was a weapon of practically equal, if not greater power also capable of such a deed. However, that ability belongs to one who has yet to be recruited."

"The Primara?" asked Yylfordt, and though a few of the others were already nodding in agreement with his guess, Halibel shook her head.

"No, actually, though Starrk would have been close and may just be a fall-back if we have to do this without the original discoverer. The person I was talking about is actually Ulquiorra Cifer."

"Cifer wasn't more powerful the Starrk," Nnoitra stated bluntly, only to be stared down by Halibel.

"There was more to the Cuatro then any of us knew. In fact, it was a secret only four people ever knew during his lifetime, and three of them were humans present at his death."

"Let me guess," Steve said smugly. "The fourth was Gin."

"Correct. His pure destructive capabilities are indispensable if we wish to truly destroy Aizen."

"What was this secret power of his?" asked Grimmjow/Edward curiously.

"If you can achieve it," Halibel said, switching her gaze to him, "then I'll tell you. Ichimaru claimed it to be something any Vasto Lorde level Arrancar can obtain, so you and Nnoitra may be able to achieve it. The attempt would be far easier if we knew more about it, so I reiterate my previous statement. We need Ulquiorra Cifer."

"Right!" exclaimed Grimmjow, standing up and smashing one fist into his palm. "Where is the cocky bat? I'll get the secret out of him!"

Nnoitra glared pointedly at Steve. "You, you know the emo-kid better then anybody else here, you persuade him."

Steve blinked a few times, then his eyes widened. "M-matte… are you really saying that James…?!"

"Baka, of course him. How could you possibly miss it, idiot?" Nnoitra sneered, only to be fixed by a killer glare from Grimmjow, who was acting far more like Edward at the moment.

"Keep talking like that to my brother and I'll pound your head in, Nnoitra."

"Keep telling yourself that, Sexta."

Halibel ignored the bickering teenagers, instead answering Nnoitra's hypothetical question to Steve. "You knew Ulquiorra very well in his human life, not so well in his Hollow existence, so when your powers were reawakening and you could feel his reiatsu, you defaulted to thinking of him as your human friend, rather then Ulquiorra Cifer. But what Nnoitra says is true, his reiatsu feels distinctly similar to Cifer's, even the way he controls it subconsciously, and they share a striking physical resemblance."

Steve was still sputtering. "But… but what am I supposed to do? James isn't the sort of person to change his mind about something just because I believe it. In fact, that would only make him more eager to debate it with me! If he doesn't have something he can see for himself as proof, I can't change his mind."

"Hey, why doesn't this mental AI we all have just download his memories to him?" asked Vance, leaning back on his hands. "If he really is one of the Espada in this plan, why can't you give him those memories as proof?"

"There are a few people that the Backup Plan is having trouble reaching," explained Halibel. "You are an example of this yourself, Vance-san. Even though you can trust this is real on our words alone, Ulquiorra would not. Even when he was an Espada, he did not believe a thing could exist unless he proved it to himself."

"Then how in the world are we going to get him in on this?" asked Nnoitra in a disgusted tone, and there was a moment of silence.

"I don't know," Halibel said plainly.

"I know what's wrong."

Almost everyone stiffened at the unexpected voice, and many looked around. Steve and his brother glanced at each other, though, because the voice echoing through their heads sounded almost exactly like him.

"The Ninth is awakening to his own power, and my control of his ability is becoming erratic. I don't know why that stopped my previous attempt to send Cifer his memories, but it is probably the reason I am unable to reach Starrk, Aaroniero, and Vega. Not to mention Tesla…"

"Are you guys alright?" asked Vance, sounding a little put out by their simultaneous reactions to something he couldn't hear. His question was ignored as Nnoitra glared at him.

"He's not Tesla," he practically snarled. "I refuse to believe that is Tesla."

Before Vance could show how offended he was by that statement, Edward, now grinning again in a very Grimmjow-type way, interrupted for him.

"Ggio Vega, right? Oh, I should have seen that one coming."

Vance blinked. "Ggio… Vega? My name, I assume?"

"You got that right, little buddy. You were one of Barragan's Fraccions, and honestly the only one I could stand. We used to have the best battles…"

Vance got an almost sly expression. "You're part of my school's rival karate dojo, aren't you?" he asked, and Edward's grin became so Grimmjow-like that those nearby could almost see the blue hair.

"Too bad you don't remember, or it would be just like old times. Vega, Vance, or whatever your name is, when Halibel-san tells us where we're training, you're on!"

"Challenge accepted!"

Yylfordt sighed fondly. "I remember watching those two fight…" he said wistfully, and Steve clapped him on the shoulder.

"You and me, we're just out of their league. Don't worry about it though, maybe this time around you'll end up the stronger."

"I doubt it, Grimmjow-sama was always destined for greater things then we were."

Halibel used this chance to reveal her new plan. "We need to get Aaroniero his memories back so he can work with the Backup Plan, instead of against it. I will pursue that end, you all need to return to Karakura. We mustn't alarm the humans."

The group nodded their understanding, and most of them stood and started heading back to the city. Vance and Edward were now engaged in a heated but friendly discussion of karate and fighting in general, which somehow got turned towards manga. To their delight, they discovered they both were avid fans of the same popular shonen, and much to Steve's dismay they talked about it all the way back.

Nnoitra remained behind. He knew that the humans that had been his 'parents' would be looking for him in the city, and he wasn't willing to risk going back. Not that he had any desire to anyway.

The sooner he forgot everything about the pathetic, cowardly, disgustingly content little human he had once been, the better.