Chapter 38
End of Hypnosis
Heishiro.
Aaron admittedly knew little about the name other than it belonged to the man that had taken Kana, Arashi and Akira off the streets of Rukongai and raised them as if they were his own. His death fractured the relationship between his adoptive children, so much so that Akira was hell bent on ending Kana's life in the name of revenge.
The emphasis, of course, was Heishiro being dead. Why then were the three before Aaron longingly staring at the Hollow known as Sharpscale, even referring to him by that name?
"There has to be some mistake," he said. "Could someone please tell me what's going on?"
"That name," began Sharpscale, lost in thought. "…Yes, it sounds rather familiar. Who is this Heishiro? I feel as though…they are a friend I haven't seen in quite some time."
"I-I can't believe this." Kana, shedding tears of joy, placed her hands over her mouth and could hardly speak. "It's really you, isn't it? It just has to be!"
The doubts in her heart cleared. She wrapped her arms around Sharpscale, a trying task considering how wide and tall the Hollow was.
But what was even more shocking to Aaron was Akira doing the same. Like Kana, she seemed unable to stop her emotions from spilling to the surface.
"You're…really Heishiro," she said breathlessly. "H-How…? Why are you a…?"
"A Hollow?" remarked Arashi, weeping as well. It really was bizarre for Aaron to see him so happy, genuinely happy. "Yes, that's the million dollar question, one I believe I owe you all an explanation for."
All eyes naturally fell upon him.
"W-Wait," said Aaron, butting into the apparent family reunion once more. "How could Sharpscale be your Heishiro? I mean, just…look at him!"
"I am looking at him, Aaron. We all are," replied Arashi, walking all around Sharpscale, inspecting the Hollow's every detail. "We've all seen him before, I'm afraid to say."
He glanced at Kana and then Akira. The two nodded solemnly.
"His face…it looks exactly like the mask Heishiro was wearing the day he died."
As alarming as the news was, it wasn't exactly conclusive proof for Aaron.
"They…may be on to something, Aaron Higuchi," announced Sharpscale. "It is very foggy, but I…know these three."
"Are you sure?" replied Aaron. "Maybe you just…"
"Kana. She is afraid of the dark and does not enjoy eating natto," said Sharpscale, pointing at the person in question. Kana's face grew red, and she held her head down, giving Aaron a clue the sudden assessment wasn't that far off the mark.
The Hollow moved his finger onto someone else. "This one is named Arashi. He was always quiet but strong whenever he needed to be. He was younger than Kana but always showed more maturity."
"Hey!" cried Kana in protest.
Sharpscale ignored her, zeroing in on Akira. "And this one…yes, this one, the most peculiar of all. Akira. She enjoyed being a lone wolf, always bottling up her feelings. I remember her being quite adorable, however, when she wanted to be. She has a smile that could melt an ice sculpture."
Aaron expected Akira to lash out at anyone foolish enough to refer to her as such a soft and cuddly teddy bear. Instead, she blushed just as hard as Kana and turned the other way as if going into hiding.
"W-What the…?"
Aaron was far beyond being lost at this point. Sharpscale knowing Kana's name wasn't that strange; it hadn't shut up about her ever since it got there. Akira and Arashi, on the other hand, were different stories. The Hollow knew things about the two that only one other person could.
There remained, however, the most pressing issue of all.
"But…didn't Kana…" Aaron spoke carefully but knew there was no way he wouldn't hurt his friend with his question. He had to ask though. "Didn't she kill Heishiro way back when? That kinda puts a huge hole in your theory."
"No, this is Heishiro alright," said Kana with such confidence, Aaron visibly recoiled. "There's no doubt about it."
"The real question is," said Akira, crossing her arms, "is how the hell he became a Hollow."
"As much as it's going to pain you all to hear this, I may have a theory like I said earlier," said Arashi, who again became the center of attention. Aaron knew him as being talkative, maybe a bit too talkative, yet now, Arashi looked to lack the courage to speak at all. He gazed around at his sister and then Akira. Finally, his watery, amber eyes settled on Sharpscale. The Hollow's presence, Heishiro's presence, gave him the strength to get something that had been eaten him inside for the longest time off his chest. "Alright. This might be hard to believe, but everything I'm about to say is the absolute truth."
"The…truth?" repeated Kana, who felt her heart sinking despite her brother having revealed nothing yet.
"…I don't like the sound of that," groaned Akira.
"I don't either," echoed Aaron. "But you should let him speak. This sounds important."
"Important. Yes, this without a doubt is." Arashi took a deep breath. "Kana. Akira. Neither one of you knew this, but…Heishiro was sick. He had been sick for a long time. The illness was…terminal."
"'Sick?' W-What are you talking about? We...would have known if he was sick," remarked Kana with a half-hearted laugh.
Akira said, "As much as I hate to agree with her, what you're saying is impossible. Heishiro was the strongest man I ever knew. There's no way he was ever…"
"He was also the smartest," stated Arashi. "He did whatever he could to hide how sick he was from us. Even I didn't suspect a thing until one day, I incidentally walked him sprawled out on the kitchen floor."
"N-No way…" whispered Kana, mortified.
"He made me swear not to say a word to either of you. I'm…sorry. I felt it was the right thing to do at the time as well. Neither one of us wanted to hurt you two."
"It hurts more having to hear it like this," said Akira bitterly, biting her bottom lip.
Arashi nearly broke down upon hearing that. "Over the years, Heishiro's condition worsened. I did everything I could, researching any type of cure or treatment…to no avail. He seemed quite content at the time with his fate. I couldn't understand. Even then, all he cared about was our well being."
Kana, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands, couldn't help but think of all the times Heishiro insisted on skipping dinner to give her extra shares of whatever he managed to round up that particular night. Over the years, he became more gaunt and skinny in appearance. Kana blamed it on him being so generous, but maybe that hadn't been the case after all.
"He didn't leave the house much. He told us he was simply getting too old to wander the streets of Rukongai, but…that was a lie. He couldn't leave even if he wanted to. His body had totally given up on him at that point. I grew desperate.
"Aaron, I've already mentioned to you I was once in league with Sousuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru."
Aaron nodded.
"What do they have to do with this?" asked Akira. Honestly, she didn't want to know.
"Huh? Y-You're talking about Captain Aizen, right?" said Kana, blinking in confusion. "I mean, I think we can all agree Gin is a total scumbag, but come on. Are you saying someone like Captain Aizen would work with the likes of him?"
"He's still going on about that?" said Renji Abarai, who up until that point opted to stay silent. None of this was any of his business as far as he was concerned, yet, the present subject was different. "How long are you going to keep blaming Captain Aizen for your mistakes?!"
Arashi paused. "…You might be wrong about Aizen, Abarai, but you're correct. Aizen may have played a part in the next part of my tale, but it was without a doubt my hand that set things in motion.
"After I graduated from the Shinigami Academy and joined the Gotei Thirteen, I became acquainted with Aizen. And don't quit giving me that look, Abarai. I don't have time to explain that the Captain Aizen you all know is a farce. I'm sure the truth will come to light sooner rather than later. The point in me bringing up my past is that shortly after Aizen and I met, we discovered our ideals aligned. We both had an interest in Hollows, specifically, we desired a way to add their powers to our own and transcend the line between Hollow and Shinigami. We performed many experiments, experiments most would no doubt call…unethical. I won't apologize for them. I don't feel I did anything wrong, and that isn't the point of my tale."
"Then what is the point?" said Aaron testily.
"Of course. Forgive me. I would imagine attaining Hollow powers is a sensitive subject for one such as yourself. While you may not see the value in it, Aizen and I happened to disagree.
"In simple terms, Hollowfication will endow a Shinigami with Hollow powers. It comes with many side effects—again Aaron could attest to them—but also many boons. One of them happens to be high-speed regeneration. With it, any subject could survive even fatal wounds…and perhaps even fatal diseases."
"P-Please, Arashi," said Kana pleadingly. "Please tell me you didn't…"
"I'm afraid I did, dear sister. I'm afraid I did."
Akira stepped away from him, ready to vomit. "Y-You sick, son of a bitch! Is this some kind of joke?!"
"If it is, I doubt anyone would laugh," remarked Renji.
"He was your father!" hollered Aaron, seething with anger. "Not another one of your subjects! Did all you care about was experiments and results?!"
Arashi didn't so much as bat an eyelash. "Like I said, I don't expect any of you to understand that I did what I felt was my only remaining option. By Hollowfying Heishiro, I was giving him a chance at survival. That's all I cared about. It wasn't about experimentation or my admittedly unhealthy obsession with Hollows. Heishiro had sacrificed everything for me, for all of us. I had to pay him back somehow, even if it meant my research being discovered and my exile from Soul Society.
"But as you all no doubt realize, my plan backfired. Heishiro didn't respond to the Hollowfication like I anticipated. It turned him into nothing more than a mindless monster. I had only left him for a little bit on that rainy night to scramble to my lab and find some sort of counter measure. Kana, and then Akira showing up was unforeseen, as was Heishiro attacking you, dear sister. You did what you had to do to stay alive. Heishiro's death rests on my shoulders alone.
"And as for what happened after all that, well…Heishiro here will have to tell us himself."
"Indeed," said Sharpscale, the sole one not rattled by Arashi's harrowing tale. "I know nothing, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say I don't remember, anything Arashi Mitarashi has spoken of. All I can tell you of is the day I arrived in Hueco Mundo. I awoke with no memories, only a desire to quell my famished stomach. So, I devoured Hollow after Hollow until one day, I took the form you see before you today. But it had never been enough. I always felt like something was missing. I feel I have finally found that 'something.' It seems like far more than coincidence I ran into Aaron Higuchi in the Human World and then you three before me. I believe it was preordained."
"Never thought I'd hear a Hollow saying something like that," mumbled Renji.
The others allowed everything Arashi and Sharpscale said to slowly wash over them. It refused to sit, however.
They didn't think it ever would.
Arashi spoke up again, saying, "I thought I had failed. In a way, I hadn't. Just…look at this magnificent creature."
He took stock of Sharpscale again, moving his hand down the Hollow's powerful chest and stopping at the gaping hole near the center.
"If I had known Heishiro would become something even greater than he once was, I would have Hollowfied him much sooner. Yes, this is the…"
Without warning, Akira slapped him across the mouth. The sound was deafening, and everyone else gasped as Arashi held the reddened spot and stared at Akira blankly.
"A-Akira…" said Kana in awe. She lowered her own arm; she had been planning on hitting her brother herself before Akira beat her to the punch.
"I deserved that, didn't I?" said Arashi, smiling thinly.
"You're a monster!" Akira roared. Hitting him once wasn't enough. She had more than enough reason to beat him into an unrecognizable pulp. "Look at what you've done! You think turning Heishiro into a monster like you is better than him just being dead?!"
"A-Akira, I…"
"Don't you dare touch me!"
She smacked his hand away when he attempted to caress her face. Backing away from him, she turned her head, unable to even stand the sight of him.
"How could you even for a second think what you did was a good idea?! You weren't helping anyone but your selfish pride!
"T-That's isn't..."
"Don't you ever come near me again!"
Akira gave Sharpscale one final, pitiful once over before suddenly vanishing.
"Akira, wait!"
But Arashi's anguished cry came much too late. He knew better than anyone Akira was gone, most likely for good. He clenched his fists, ignoring the pain of his nails puncturing his flesh.
"Her temper hasn't changed much from the looks of it," stated Sharpscale. "Ah. How strange. I really do know you people, don't I?"
"You really are Heishiro," said Kana, confirming what she already knew.
"So it seems. I apologize. I did not mean for my appearance to cause so much turmoil."
"No, none of this is your fault. You're a victim in this like Kana and Akira," replied Aaron, leering at Arashi with the utmost disgust. "He's the one that should be groveling like the worthless sack of flesh he is."
Arashi chuckled. "…Call me whatever you'd like, Aaron. Besides this having nothing to do with you, I already stated I'm not asking for forgiveness because I don't think I've done anything wrong."
"Yeah, nothing except allow your only sister to believe for years she was some type of cold-blooded murderer. Do you think you're some type of hero for telling her all this now?"
That was like a blow to Arashi's gut. His face wrinkled with even more pain, and he lowered his head, feeling well over a hundred years worth of guilt crushing his shoulders.
"…Yes," he said quietly. "For that, I really am nothing more than a coward, aren't I?"
Aaron craved to do a lot of things at the moment. Slitting Arashi's throat was high on the list. He drew his Zanpakutou, prompting Renji to do the same.
"Good. Now you're speaking my language," the Sixth Division Vice-Captain stated. "This guy is a waste of space. If he really does have something to do with the execution, that's even more reason for us to finish him."
Aaron's fingers drummed against the handle of his wakizashi. He was itching to do as Renji suggested, not caring if his rage was blinding his conscience.
But there was no way he could do something like that, not when Kana was gazing at her brother with such pity in her beautiful, red eyes. She wanted so desperately to forgive him for causing her and the rest of their family so much turmoil.
"That's alright, sister. No, I no longer have any right to call you that," said Arashi, shaking his head. "If it would ease your heart, you can forget I ever existed. I don't believe we'll ever meet again anyway."
Kana gasped. "W-Wait, what are you…?"
"Aaron, you were the victor of our duel, correct?" Arashi turned the other way and started to walk away. "Then Kana is yours as promised. Kuchiki as well. I hid her somewhere around here; it shouldn't be hard for someone as smart as you to track her down. I quite enjoyed our battle.
"And as for you, Heishiro, it was…a pleasure seeing you again. Take care of Kana and Akira for me, alright? I know I have no right to ask you or anyone else any favors right now, but…"
No. He had already said enough. With a burst of Flash Step, he was gone, gone out of all the lives he had ruined.
The reality of this only hit Kana seconds later.
"Arashi! Please, Arashi! Wait! Y-You don't have to go!"
"What the hell kind of Flash Step was that?" asked Renji. "I can't sense his spiritual pressure anymore."
"…We wouldn't be able to find him even if we turned Soul Society upside down," said Aaron. Quite honestly, he didn't have any issue with that. "Then again, maybe we should go after him since…"
His vision blurred, and all the energy was seemingly sucked out of his legs. Unsure of what was happening, he fell right onto his face. He heard Kana shriek and Renji say something or another in a panic, but he couldn't speak or even move to assure them he was just fine.
"I-Is he dead?!" cried Kana.
"O-Of course not!" Renji told her, admittedly unsure himself.
"No," said Sharpscale, far more self-assured. "It would take a lot more to kill Aaron Higuchi. I am sure of it."
"Oh, great. I finally get here, and my baby brother is on death's door step. Why am I not surprised?"
Footsteps marched their way over to Aaron, and Izumi Higuchi gulped as she noted how badly injured her sibling was.
"I-I knew he was fighting someone incredible, but this is ridiculous!"
"Whoa! Izumi, is that really you?" gasped Kana.
"Uh…yeah. Look, I don't mean to make it seem like I'm not glad to see you in one piece, Kana, but…"
"No, I understand. Your brother comes first. Don't worry. The…er…person Aaron was fighting he's…not here anymore…"
Izumi nodded, confused at why Kana was acting so docile. At the very least, she wouldn't have to worry about some freak sneaking up on them as she went to work changing her brother's bandages.
"I-Izumi?" said Aaron weakly, opening his eyes to find his sister crouching over him. "…Why am I not surprised to see you here?"
Izumi coiled her mouth. "If I'm not mistaken, I'd almost think you weren't happy to see me."
Aaron was tempted to confirm her fears, but the last thing he needed was to be locked into her signature headlock when every part of his body was screaming in agony.
"I came here with Urahara," Izumi continued, trying not to puke from her hands being literally soaked in blood. "We split up before I got here. I don't know where he went. All he said was something about 'meeting up with an old friend.'"
"M-Mister Hat and Clogs? But why…?"
"Hey, don't worry about him. Worry about yourself, alright? Jeez. You really got your ass handed to you, didn't you?"
"T-That's…!"
"But you really aren't a pipsqueak anymore, are you?"
Aaron forgot all his misgivings with his sister all of a sudden. "…Come again?"
Izumi did something she never did with him: She smiled warmly. "You've gotten a lot stronger, Aaron. I'm really proud of you. You even managed to get Kana back like you promised. Thank you, thank you for not dying on me. You don't know how much that means to me."
And then she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as hard as she could. Far from heartwarming, Aaron felt it the most bizarre thing. Had his sister lost her mind?
"Allow me to find Rukia Kuchiki," said Sharpscale just then.
"Why you?" asked Renji, failing to hide the suspicion in his tone. "I'll go."
"I can move the fastest with Sonído. I should only be a few minutes at best."
Sharpscale didn't give Renji the chance to protest any longer, disappearing with a loud boom.
"What's with that guy?" said Renji, growling under his breath.
"Just let him be," said Aaron. He wasn't in any mood to hear any more arguing. "Arashi said Kuchiki was close-by. Assuming he wasn't lying, Sharpscale really shouldn't be that long."
"That's right," proclaimed Kana. "If Heishiro says he's going to do something, it's going to get done, even if he has to lose an arm or a leg. Uh...let's hope that doesn't happen though."
No matter how much Aaron heard that name used in reference to Sharpscale, he just couldn't connect the two.
"I can't believe you're still hanging out with that thing," said Izumi. She stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Please tell me you don't plan on bringing it home. I…seriously can't bear the thought of having to live with that thing again."
Having no clue she was insulting Kana's adoptive father, Izumi was puzzled when the brunette began glowering in her vicinity.
"Well, if you all don't mind, I think I'm gonna rest my head for a little while," said Renji. He was clearly still wound up about Sharpscale stealing his job as he crossed his arms, closed his eyes and lowered his head. He too was exhausted with all the screaming and shouting, he himself having done enough in one day for a lifetime. "It's not like I can keep up with what's going on anymore."
"You and me both," replied Aaron. "I wonder how Kurosaki and the others are doing."
"If it's that guy, he should be alright. He's kinda like you."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"The two of you are freaks."
The casualness in which Renji spoke his insult made one of Aaron's eyelids jerk.
"And what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Izumi interjected. It really wasn't, not to Aaron anyway. "I mean, you and that Ichigo dude are like ten times as strong as you were back when you were training with Urahara. I'm not an expert when it comes to Shinigami, but no way that's normal. It's like you both have a cheat code on or something."
Arashi also mentioned how unusual Aaron's growth was. He himself didn't find it odd; he merely trained as hard as he could in order to save Kana. If there was some 'normal' way he was supposed to go about improving as a Shinigami, he hadn't gotten the memo.
Minutes passed with nothing of interest occurring. Not that Aaron was complaining. He had grown so used to being attacked on spur of the moment that he was going to relish every fleeting moment of peace.
"That's right. Once I get home, I'm gonna have to go back to school, aren't I?"
He'd nearly forgotten he was nothing more than a normal, sixteen year old. Well, 'normal' was a bit of a stretch, but other than slaying Hollows and keeping the peace in his town of Hino, he had a regular life to attend to, a regular life with regular friends, family, school work…
He always thought it all mundane, yet mundane was exactly what he wanted now.
"That guy's taking too long," said Renji, sitting up.
"I'm sure Sharpscale will find Kuchiki alright, Abarai," said Aaron, a bit exasperated. "Let's just take it easy like you said."
"I'm worried about Akira…" said Kana, sighing.
"She can take care of herself too, Kana, though I'm not exactly hankering to track down the person who has been trying to kill us ever since we got here."
"That doesn't matter!" replied Kana fiercely.
"Easy for you to say," grumbled Renji out of earshot.
"She's still my friend no matter what's happened. No, she's…my sister. I have to make sure she's alright!"
"Wow. You're pretty selfless for someone who was about to be murdered," said Izumi, genuinely impressed.
Kana laughed and made a V-sign with her fingers. "I've got the biggest heart in the world!"
"And the biggest mouth," remarked Renji, again quietly enough that only he heard.
"I'm more worried about Arashi to be honest. I don't trust that he's given up," said Aaron. "Even if he's backed off for now, there's no telling when he'll come back for Kana. I think we should…"
"He…won't come back, CT," stated Kana somberly. "He wasn't lying when he said that. I just know."
"…I-I'm sorry, Kana. I didn't mean to…"
"Hmm? What are you apologizing for? It's not…your fault our family is so screwed up."
Maybe it wasn't, but Aaron felt his heart sinking all the same at how miserable the normally upbeat Kana was.
His ire with Arashi skyrocketed. All of this was his fault. No matter what Kana said, Aaron didn't think it right for her younger brother to be able to run off with his tail in between his legs.
"Ah!" he cried out as Izumi squeezed another bandage around his arm. "Chill out, will you?"
"Suck it up, wimp," she snapped, sounding much more like her usual self. Aaron was weirdly relieved. "It's your fault for letting yourself get this beat up. Ugh. Mom is so gonna kill me once you get back and she sees all this."
Aaron never noticed how much he had been spoiled by healing Kidou until now. It was a lot quicker, not to mention a lot more painless. He choked down another cry as his sister finished dressing his right arm. He still wouldn't be in any shape to fight again, but at the very least, he wouldn't bleed to death.
"Say, since when have you been any good at this?" he asked.
"…For your information, I'm studying to become a nurse," replied Izumi. "I wanna be like Mom. You know, helping people."
"You? Don't you think becoming a professional eater is more your…"
Izumi suddenly drove her foot into his stomach, and Aaron hollered loud enough to force Kana and Renji to cover their ears.
"I-I was just kidding!" he insisted, rolling around in agony.
"Crack another joke. See what happens," said Izumi, shaking with anger.
"You were really asking for that one, CT," admitted Kana.
"…This is a waste of time." Renji stood, grabbed his Zanpakutou and began walking away. "I'm going to search for Rukia myself. That Hollow is taking too long."
"You're still going on about that?" Kana smacked her lips. "Didn't I already say…"
"No, he's right," said Izumi. "Something isn't right. I can feel it. I think our Hollow friend is in trouble."
#
Finding Rukia hadn't been a problem for Sharpscale.
Getting past the Captain before them, on the other hand, likely would be.
"C-Captain Tousen?" said Rukia, under the impression she was merely seeing things. "What are you doing here?"
"Indeed. What would a Captain of the Gotei Thirteen desire from us?" questioned Sharpscale.
Kaname Tousen was there alright. Wordlessly, he grabbed the lengthy, white scarf tied to his clothing and unfurled it. It seemed to have a mind of its own, coiling around everyone like a snake ensnaring its prey. Rukia and Sharpscale braced themselves from the intense winds kicked up by it.
"W-What is this?" said Rukia, looking around in total confusion.
All Sharpscale had to say on the matter was, "…Dammit."
They had fallen hook, line and sinker into the enemy's trap.
"Forgive me, Aaron Higuchi," the Hollow added before the scarf covered them completely.
#
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
Crippling headaches were becoming the norm for Izumi. Naturally, they were no fun to deal with, but this one felt like the worst of all. She clutched her pounding skull, assured it would split open at any second. Staggering, she would have fallen over if it weren't for Renji catching her.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"S-Something huge is coming! I don't...I don't know from which direction or how many of them there is but…! G-God, my senses are being overloaded!"
"Izumi, calm down," said Aaron, keeping himself composed despite the pure agony his sister was clearly in. "Concentrate. We have to know how many people are coming and from where."
Although still positive she was on the verge of death, Izumi managed to stand under her own power and do as her brother instructed. "I-I think it's…two. Yeah, two."
"Are you sure?"
Izumi thought for a moment. "Y-Yeah. Just two. It isn't anyone we know, that's for sure. I've…never felt powers like these before. Both of them are insanely strong, but one of them is way stronger than the other! They're heading this way faster than I can track them!"
"So how come I don't sense anything?" said Renji.
"Neither do I. Whoever it is might be masking their spiritual pressure somehow," replied Aaron. "But Izumi's senses are way better than ours. If she says something's coming, then it's coming. The question is, what do we do?"
"What the hell kind of question is that? We have to go after Rukia! She might be in danger!"
"Did…Arashi call in reinforcements?" said a worried Kana as she helped Izumi sit against a wall to recuperate.
"We can't be sure of anything right now. That's why I suggest we all take it easy and think of some kind of plan before our uninvited guests arrive," suggested Aaron.
"Forget that! Didn't you hear what this girl just said? Whoever it is is going to be here long before you get your head out of your ass, kid!"
"Hold on, Abarai! I'm just saying we should…"
But Renji was already gone. Aaron could just barely make out his figure Flash Stepping farther and farther away.
"He sure can move when he wants to," said Kana, sighing.
"Well, that's just fantastic!" snarled Aaron, not bothering to hide his frustration. "Hasn't he ever seen a horror movie? You don't split up unless you want to find yourself ten feet deep in the ground."
"Do we really care though if Renji gets beat up?" said Kana a bit too honestly. "He's kind of a jerk."
"You know, at the moment, I kinda agree."
"Cry over spilled milk later!" advised Izumi. "Those guys are almost here!"
"This day just keeps getting better and better…"
So, he would fight after all. Simply reaching down to pick up his twin Zanpakutou was excruciating. Still, Aaron took a battle stance, ready to fend off whoever was moments away from rearing their ugly head.
"Found them, Captain."
"Good work, Gin. Then again, it would have been hard for us to miss them thanks to that show they put on for everyone a little while ago. Still, it appears we were expected. How strange."
Strange? Aaron could say the same thing about the black cloaks the pair of new arrivals were wearing. He didn't recognize them from their voices, and he still couldn't feel any energy emanating from them. Why then were his nerves still on edge? A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his head. He reminded himself he had to hold steady here.
"Maybe these cloaks are a bust. We haven't used them in years, after all," said the tall figure on the left. His voice reminded Aaron of the hissing of a snake. It made a chill shoot down his spine.
"No matter," said the being on the right. He spoke in a calm manner, though Aaron still had his reservations about him. "I suppose there's no point in hiding then."
The two removed their coats which fluttered away in the wind.
"N-No way!"
The sneering face of Gin Ichimaru.
The sinister smile of Sousuke Aizen.
One man was someone Kana had hoped to never see again. The other was an individual that was supposed to be dead.
"Captain...Aizen?" she said slowly. "Am I hallucinating? You're alive?"
"Mitarashi. I'm pleased to see you in one piece," said Aizen, still smiling as he eyed her through his glasses. "I grew worried when I heard you disappeared from the execution site."
"Uh...s-sure." Kana wasn't sure why, but she wasn't all that happy to hear that. "N-No disrespect, sir, but...what are you doing with this creep?"
"My, my. It seems you're still lacking in manners, Mitarashi," said Gin. "That's Captain Ichimaru. Then again, you should be a dead woman already, so I suppose it doesn't matter what you call me or anyone else for that matter."
His venomous remarks were enough to silence Kana.
"And speaking of half dead," Gin peered at Aaron through the slits of his eyelids, "you ain't lookin' so hot there, Ryoka boy. You seriously had a tough time with that piece of trash?"
"Piece of…?" It took Aaron a moment or two to realize Gin was referring to Arashi. "How did you know I was fighting…? Alright, who the hell are you two, and what do you want? I'm really not in the mood to deal with any more of Soul Society's crap."
Both Kana and this Captain Ichimaru mentioned a 'Captain Aizen.' Aaron could see now why both she and Renji had been skeptical the man had anything to do with Arashi. He was incredibly unassuming appearance wise. It didn't even seem like he had the gall to hurt a fly.
Speaking of Aizen, he completely ignored Aaron, saying, "We've been searching for you for quite some time, Mitarashi. If you don't mind, we'll need you to come with us."
"W-With you, sir?"
"Yes. It won't take long."
"Um...n-no thank you."
Kana dashed behind Aaron, only having the courage to peek her head out.
"I guess it's a little late to say this," said Izumi, sweating bullets, "but it's them. The two I was talking about earlier."
"Are you alright?" asked Aaron upon noting how hard his sister was breathing.
She weakly grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah, I...think so. I'm just trying my best not to be crushed by whatever the hell is floating around."
Aaron agreed. Whatever coats Gin and Aizen were wearing seemed to have been masking their vast energy. With them gone, everyone was getting a full brunt of it now. It was taking everything in Aaron's power to stay conscious.
"They're Captains alright..." he muttered under his breath. "Kana…?"
"I'm...okay," she said, huffing and puffing. She sure didn't sound fine to Aaron. "Um...I-I wouldn't mind getting away from these two though..."
"Can we hurry this up?" asked Gin. "We've already got Kuchiki, so if you Ryoka could just hand over Mitarashi..."
He asked rather nicely. Still, his request was the last thing on the others minds.
"Kuchiki?!" cried Aaron. "What the hell have you people done to her?!"
"No way!" added Kana. "Y-You're lying! You couldn't have gotten Rukia! She's…!"
Gin cleaned out his ear. "Noisy. I really hate noisy flies."
"No need to get them so worked up, Gin." Aizen turned to his associate. "If they want to see Kuchiki so bad, why don't we take them to her? Kaname is waiting on us, and we wouldn't want to be rude."
"Roger that, Captain."
"Hey, I'm talking to you here!" shouted Aaron. Then again, it was clear words alone weren't getting the job done. With his swords in hand, he made a beeline for the traitorous Shinigami, intending to get his answers by force.
He hit the brakes when Gin reached into his white coat. He expected some type of weapon, but instead, Gin brandished a cloth. It grew and spun around everyone, creating an intense whirlwind.
"W-What's going on?!" questioned Izumi.
"No clue, but stay together!" screamed Aaron over all the noise, locking hands with both his sibling and Kana. He felt Kana squeeze his hand rather hard, leading him to add, "Don't worry! I won't let anything else happen to you!"
She meekly nodded as the scarf completely swallowed everyone.
"Why didn't I just keep my black ass at home?" groaned Izumi.
#
By the time the cloth uncoiled, both Aaron and Kana were dumbfounded to find themselves back on Soukyoku Hill.
"Wow! Your Flash Step has really gotten better, CT," said Kana. ""But why did you bring us back here?"
"That...wasn't my Flash Step," replied Aaron numbly.
"Well, whatever it was, that's a hell of a way to travel," said Izumi. "Everyone alright?"
Aaron, picking himself up from the ground, answered, "I haven't been 'alright' since the fight with Arashi. I'll live though. Kana, are you…?"
"Oh my God! Look over there!"
Aaron turned to where a horrified Kana was pointing and half near had a heart attack.
It was Sharpscale. A heavily injured Sharpscale. Slumping over, the Hollow looked as if it would succumb from its wounds at any second.
Opposite him and with his Zanpakutou aimed threateningly was Kaname Tousen.
Finally, there was Rukia, her own weapon drawn and her body wracked with cuts and gashes from the Ninth Division Captain's sword.
"Mitarashi? Higuchi? And Captain Ichimaru?" Rukia was just as astonished as they were. "What are you...w-wait! Captain Aizen?! Is that really you? You're...alive?"
"And so the plot thickens," mused Sharpscale with a laugh. "Aaron Higuchi. My apologies. I...ran into a bit of trouble while fetching Rukia Kuchiki."
"Don't worry about that! Are you two alright?" Aaron replied.
"We've been better," replied Rukia. "But what's going on? And these Captains that have gathered here..."
"It's a long story. Like, a really long one."
"Looks like you're having a bit of trouble, Tousen," mused Aizen.
"My apologies, Captain," Tousen replied. "These two weren't coming along without a fight, however."
"That's fine. I don't mind if Kuchiki loses an arm or a leg, but kill the Hollow. You're a Shinigami after all, aren't you?"
"No one is dying on my watch!" proclaimed Aaron. "I don't know what the hell you people want, but I'm not letting you get Kuchiki or Kana!"
"Hold on there, bro!" cried Izumi, jumping in front of him. "I wouldn't fight these two if I were you! Seriously!"
"They're not just going to go away if we ask nicely!"
"I know that, dumbass! Just listen for once!"
His sister was really passionate about what she was striving to say, so while annoyed, Aaron let her continue.
"I don't know who you were fighting before I got there, but compared to these guys, he might as well have been a little kid! Do you get it now? They're one a whole other level! They'll kill you!"
While he trusted whatever strange powers Izumi had, Aaron still found it rather difficult to believe anyone could be so much stronger than Arashi. He had faced the man himself. He knew exactly how powerful he was. Gazing at Aizen and Gin, he prayed that just this once, his sister's intuition was off the mark.
"Oh, now I get it, Captain Aizen," said Gin. "This kid over her should have been the last one to see little Arashi."
For the first time today, Aizen set his sights on Aaron. "...Is that so? Then perhaps he knows where that traitor got off to. We have a lot to discuss with him."
'Discuss' wasn't the word Aaron was sure Aizen meant. "...I don't know where he went, and frankly, I don't care."
What was of concern to him was being unable to back up his tough talk. If it were just one Captain, he figured he might have a shot, but three? His only reinforcements were an already half dead Hollow and an exhausted Rukia. Forget winning; it would be a miracle of any one of them survived. Biting his bottom lip, he had to figure out some way to make sure that his friends made it out of this mess at the very least.
"That's fine," said Aizen casually. "We can just hunt that traitor down after we finish up here. Kuchiki and Mitarashi come first."
"Y-You can't!" hollered Kana. "Captain Aizen, why are you doing this?!"
"So, Arashi wasn't full of crap. Do you get it now, Kana? These are our bad guys," said a scowling Aaron. "Your Captain Aizen is just as bad as your brother."
"I-I still can't believe it," said Rukia, wide-eyed. "Why are three Captains of the Gotei Thirteen doing this?!"
She, as well as everyone, save the aforementioned Captains, got an answer. The source just wasn't one any of them anticipated.
"What the…?" said Aaron, literally hearing a voice in his head. He didn't recognize it. "Uh...am I the only one who hears some woman talking?"
He wasn't. Almost everyone in Soul Society could.
#
The woman speaking introduced herself as Isane Kotetsu of the Fourth Division. Under the authority of Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana, Isane explained everything. Although Aaron already knew some of the details thanks to Arashi, all the chaos in Soul Society had only been a small part of a much bigger picture. Sousuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen were the masterminds behind Kana's and Rukia's execution, and the assassins of the entire Central 46 and then posing as them behind the scenes and the execution date constantly being moved up. This Isane also mentioned something about the defeat of Captain Toushirou Hitsugaya and the death of Vice-Captain Momo Hinamori. Finally, Aizen had managed to accomplish all this due to the effects of his Zanpakutou: Kyoka Suigetsu.
Complete Hypnosis.
#
"What the hell is going on? Now there are invisible people talking?"
Konoka cupped her hand over her ear. Not that it helped much. She did a quick check outside the building she and her friends were using as shelter but saw no one, making her scratch her head.
"This is Kidou," chimed Sasune. "Heavenly Rickshaws in Silken Air. It is an incredibly high-level binding spell."
His explanation merely left the Red-Haired Beast even more stumped, and he could tell from her expression.
Sighing, he added, "Er...just think of it as a fancy walkie talkie. ...That works in your head. My mother told me about it one time."
"What are you guys talking about?" wondered Mayu Shiba, partaking in some food her older brother Ganju managed to round up. "I don't hear anything."
"Maybe you should get your hearing checked. I can hear this chick just fine," said a laughing Ganju. He piped down once Mayu drove her foot into his kneecap. "D-Dammit! What's with you and Big Sis always resorting to violence?!"
"Don't talk like I'm some kind of old lady!"
"Girls are rather sensitive about their age," said Konoka.
Ganju grumbled, "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind..."
"How come I can't hear anything?" whined Mayu. "It's not fair!"
"If this Kidou works like I remember then only people who've had some kind of contact with this Fourth Division would be able to hear this broadcast. All of us beside you were treated at their barracks. They can't...er…'connect' you if they don't know you exist."
Now Mayu was the one who felt her head was hurting from Sasune's words.
"S-Say it in a way I can understand! I'm just a kid!"
"Pipe down, you brat," grunted Ganju, offering her a leg of meat as a peace offering. "We'll tell you what's going on after whoever this is finishes."
That wasn't really the solution Mayu hoped for. She pouted and went back to eating.
"Who's this Aizen guy they keep going on about?" asked Konoka.
"Must be one of the Captains," said Sasune. "I'm more interested in this hypnosis thing. It must be really good if he was able to trick so many of his colleagues for so long."
"What business is it of ours?" said Ganju. He brutally tore into a chicken wing, making Konoka cringe. "If we've got Shinigami offing each other, we should count ourselves lucky. It'll save us from getting our own hands dirty."
"True. Why tell us what's going on? Aren't we criminals?" pondered Konoka.
"That's a...uh...good question," mumbled Sasune. He didn't like not knowing the answer to that, so he put his finger on his chin and started to turn the gears in his head.
"You look like you're taking a crap, Pretty Boy, when you scrunch your face like that."
Mayu giggled, whereas Ganju found his food far less appealing. But Sasune wasn't paying the others much attention, keen on hearing the rest of Isane's explanation before throwing his opinion out into the open.
"Well, it's clear they've figured out we don't have anything to do with this Aizen's death," he said out of the blue. "I mean, he's not even dead. Not only that, but he's behind everything, so maybe this is just their way of making up for trying to kill us all this time. I admit it's not really the best way, but it also tells us Aizen's would-be victims are okay...for the time being anyway.
"Also, Central 46 is basically like the head of Soul Society's government. My mom told me that as well. That means that everything this Aizen cat has been doing, even going so far as to slaughter this Central 46 in cold blood to pose as them, means he's had one goal in mind: executing Miss Mitarashi and Miss Kuchiki."
"No duh. That's what the lady talking just said," said Konoka.
"Right, but why? Why go so far? Why put on all these theatrics if you simply wanted the end result to be the deaths of two women? He could have just snuck in that tower and killed them himself. Better yet, he could have just done it in the Human World and then blamed it on some random Hollow attack. There'd be no way to trace it back to him. Why did it have to be the Soukyoku?"
Konoka pursed her lips in thought yet eventually shrugged. Neither Mayu nor Ganju had any ideas either.
"They're at the hill where that thing is now according to this Vice-Captain. It can't be coincidence."
"Sounds like it's time for us to butt some heads," said Konoka. "About damn time."
"Now you're speaking my language!" declared Mayu. She jumped to her feet, raring to go. "Stomping Shinigami is my specialty."
"You're a...violent, little girl, aren't you?" noted Sasune. When the little girl in question marched toward him, he was quick to say, "J-Just kidding! I was only kidding! Look, I'd prefer my kneecap to remain in one piece!"
"So, we gotta get involved anyway?" Ganju shook his head. "You know, you're friends sure do like putting us through a lot of crap. Still, this Aizen dude has caused me and my sis here plenty of grief with this elaborate plan of his, and it would be stupid to let Kuchiki die after me and Mayu did so much to make sure her brother didn't do her in, so I guess we could help you take this Aizen down a peg. Just save a punch for me!"
The four nodded at one another. Sasune didn't think charging the hill with a bunch of powerful spiritual pressures was the greatest plan, but it would have to do. Not being able to feel either Aaron's or Arashi's energy anymore probably wasn't a good thing. He had to hold out hope, however, that his friend was still alive and kicking.
"I'll kill Chocolate Thunder myself if he isn't. He really is helpless without me."
"Quit talking to yourself." Konoka suddenly popped him upside the head. "It's time to go."
The hit knocked Sasune forehead first into a wall. Feeling a dual fold of anguish, the Quincy grimaced and was sure he would end up having brain damage if he stuck with Konoka Mitsumi for much longer.
"...Eh. Fuck it. She's hot. Fair trade off."
#
"T-This is unbelievable..."
Kana was just one of the thousands of people in the Seireitei who felt like a bus had just run them over. Captain Aizen...evil? Even with Isane dropping bombshells and all the proof in the world against the Fifth Division leader, the whole story still seemed like nothing more than a nightmare in Kana's mind.
"I-I don't believe it. How...did the Captain lose? Even he was no match for Aizen?"
Aaron got where Kana was coming from. Having faced Hitsugaya himself, he knew that while young, the Tenth Division Captain was no one to trifle with.
"H-Hinamori is...dead?" mumbled Rukia. It couldn't be true. Even thinking such a thing made her sick to her stomach. Her being killed by the man she idolized when she was the sweetest girl anyone in the Gotei Thirteen knew was too cruel.
"I thought I felt a powerful tremor of spiritual energy," said Aizen. "It was Isane, wasn't it?"
"What a despicable man you are to have killed your own subordinate. People might call me a monster, but I believe we all know who the true villain here is. That poor girl," said Sharpscale.
"A lecture from a Hollow? How interesting. Just as you devour souls to survive, I had to kill Hinamori in order for her to live. I'm afraid I had no choice."
"You're a lunatic." Aaron, gritting his teeth, didn't even know this 'Hinamori' but couldn't help but want to strangle Aizen to death for his crimes. "What the hell kind of sense does that make?"
"Hinamori couldn't live without me. That's how I brainwashed her to be."
"...Y-You talk like she was just some sort of tool," said Izumi.
"Exactly," replied Aizen, speaking with the blunt force of a sword. "And a useful tool at that. Don't you think it was charitable of me to dispose of her given the circumstances?"
And here Aaron was sure Arashi was a complete madman. He was an amateur compared to this Sousuke Aizen. Gripping his twin Zanpakutou that much harder, he debated on going on the attack while he still had the element of surprise on his side.
"Honestly, I didn't want to be the one to have to kill her," Aizen continued. His speech was awful enough without him sounding so composed. The others found it truly unnerving. "I went to the trouble of getting Kira and then Hitsugaya to dispose of her. However, both plans failed. Thus, I had to take care of the dirty deed with my own hands."
Aaron could feel how violently Kana was trembling as she continued to hold onto him.
"Y-You can't be the real Captain Aizen!" she hollered. "You...just can't be! The real Captain Aizen wouldn't…!"
"Oh? Didn't that foolish brother of yours tell you? I'm afraid the Captain Aizen you knew...never existed in the first place.
"Now then, I believe it's time to get back to the business at hand. Stand aside and hand over Mitarashi. I would rather avoid any needless bloodshed. And I would like you to stand down, Kuchiki. I don't know how you managed to regain your Shinigami powers, but you're no good to us dead. It is rather difficult not killing an ant while stepping on it."
"Save it!" Rukia snapped. "You tricked Hinamori! You tricked everyone!"
"No need to blame me for your delusions."
"What an appropriate thing to say." With some effort, Sharpscale managed to make it to its feet. Its legs were quite shaky, however. "You seem to be forgetting Aaron Higuchi is here. I am as well. We will not allow you to take Kana Mitarashi or Rukia Kuchiki."
"Oh, yes. Forgive me. It's rather hard to pay mere garbage much mind. Whether I acknowledge your presence or not, the fact of the matter is these two..."
"Roar, Zabimaru!"
The serpent-like Zanpakutou of one Renji Abarai raced toward Aizen. The Captain casually unsheathed his sword, deflecting Zabimaru upward as easy as breathing.
"Dammit!" Renji came into view and pulled his sword back. "Aizen!"
Aizen, still smirking, remarked, "Oh, Abarai. My, you're looking quite well. I had heard you were defeated by one of the Ryoka, but you don't have so much as a scratch on you."
"Renji!" cried Rukia. She couldn't believe her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
Without answering her, Renji shielded her with his own body. "I don't know what the hell this is all about, Aizen, but I'm not letting you lay one grubby finger on Rukia!"
"Phew. All these annoying flies are coming out one after the other," said Gin.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding," replied Aizen. "All of you are under the impression I'm asking you to hand these two over. Then again, you were always the most troublesome of my subordinates to deal with, Abarai, so I'm not surprised in the least to see you here interfering."
"Shut up! I didn't come here to talk, Aizen! I'm gonna pay you back for what you did to Hinamori and for all the hell you've caused Rukia!"
"H-Hold on, Renji!" Rukia pleaded.
"BANKAI!"
A vortex of wind and debris surged around Renji, blowing Rukia back.
"What in the…?! Renji...can use Bankai?" she said in astonishment.
Kana smacked her lips. "He's showing off because Rukia's here to watch. Poser."
"We're on the same team here," Aaron reminded her.
"Hihiou Zabimaru!" cried Renji as the giant, white form of his Bankai roared to life.
Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. To think someone like you could attain Bankai."
"Cut the crap!" Renji swung his arm, sending Hihiou Zabimaru on a crash course toward its prey. "You're dead, Aizen!"
"Yes, that's a fine Bankai indeed, Abarai." Right as the white snake would have devoured him whole, Aizen held out his hand, halting it as if it weighed nothing. "However, it still needs quite a bit of work before one could consider it a true Bankai."
With the slightest gesture, Aizen caused Renji's Bankai to fly back to sender. Stunned, Renji quickly steered the snake elsewhere. It reduced a massive mound of stone to rubble before crumpling up worthlessly on the ground.
"H-He stopped it with his bare hand?!"
It was a fluke. It had to be. Renji, convincing his Bankai to stand again, wasn't going to stop until Sousuke Aizen was nothing more than a bad memory.
However, he couldn't move. Why? He didn't understand. He gradually moved his head to his left shoulder, baffled at why blood was exploding out of a long gash. He slumped to his knees and got a gander at Aizen now standing in front of him. It made no sense. When did the man move in the first place? Renji hadn't taken his focus off him for even an instant.
"I knew it from the beginning," began Aizen, slinging Renji's blood from his sword. "From the very first time I met the three of you, I was certain that I could use you. I made sure you, Hinamori and Kira were placed in the Fifth Division as soon as you graduated from the academy. Then, I let the most useful ones be Gin's and my Vice-Captains. Meanwhile, I had you, Abarai, cast to another division almost immediately as you were the most problematic. Yes. It seems my instincts were correct."
Aizen noticed a wave of ice heading toward him out of the corner of his eye. It swept past him, encasing everything nearby in ice.
Rukia, gasping for air, declared, "Get away from Renji! I won't let you hurt him anymore, Captain Aizen!"
"How interesting," she heard Aizen say as the cold mist from her Sode no Shirayuki hid the man. "I believe this is the first time I've seen your Shikai, Kuchiki. It's the most beautiful ice-type Zanpakutou in all of Soul Society if I recall correctly. Still, it pales in comparison to that genius Hitsugaya's Hyourinmaru...and I managed to handle that with ease."
Rukia wasn't sure why she convinced herself dispatching Aizen would be so easy. How could that be the case when he could use a level eighty binding spell without an incantation? A clear wall of spirit energy stood in front of him, one she recognized as Splitting Void. The reality that he had cast it in the blink of an eye was even more disconcerting.
"What did I say about your needless resistance? You're about as stubborn as your brother. Oh well. As I stated earlier, I don't mind you missing a limb or two so long as..."
Aizen picked up on Aaron high above him and armed with his Bankai.
"And now even the Ryoka wishes to join in. Arashi couldn't even make himself useful in disposing of you, eh?"
Aaron was more than tired of hearing his drivel. It was time to end this.
Or so he thought. Right as he would have carved Aizen in two, the Captain held out his palm out.
"Way of Destruction Number Eighty-Eight: Dragon Heaven Shaking Lightning Cannon."
Aaron saw he had made a mistake in approaching Aizen without a strategy too late. A mammoth beam of electricity hit him at point blank range. He hollered in agony as it not only sent thousands of volts coursing through him but sent him sailing across Soukyoku Hill. He landed with a sickening thud, unable to feel any part of his body.
He wasn't even sure he was still alive.
"And one down," hissed Gin. "Poor kid. He had his whole life ahead of him."
END
