Surprisingly enough, Kisuke didn't even get the chance to answer before Shunsui quickly, his hat covering most of his face, took a few steps forward. Urahara made no reaction as the captain next to him moved past him.
"We've got a long conversation due after this," The man remarked coolly as he swept past me, quickly sitting down a few feet outside the circle. Kuchiki Rukia an arm's reach away from him.
Urahara didn't spare a single second as he gave his answer.
"I can help Soul Society by destroying you." Urahara Kisuke's words sent a chill down my spine as I looked him in the eye.
Wow. I mean just wow. He's not even willing to save the future!
"But you admit, you can't save the future without me?" I remarked, somewhat irritated at the man.
Urahara narrowed his eyes at my words. Both anger and a hint of confusion captured his expression. He looked, somewhat lost...
Gin took that moment to quickly switch sides aswell, his footsteps unheard as he shifted. I briefly turned to raise an eyebrow at him.
"What? I agreed to getting exiled... That ain't where he's headed," Gin sniffed.
Cold-hearted snake. Plain and simple.
Indeed.
Aizen you're not allowed near any ladders of any kind.
Which currently left only Byakuya, the man's grief stricken face had long dissipated to the cold-hearted Shinigami Byakuya pretended to be. Though from the way he was looking at Kisuke...
I seriously doubt he's still an ally...
Byakuya stopped treating this as a trial a while ago,
Well. Ain't that ominous-
"Look, you know what? I don't care if you are from 'thee' future. Answer this! How many crimes has Aizen Sosuke committed!?" Urahara Kisuke's question, quite frankly, came at me like a sucker punch.
...
374. Aizen helpfully answered... A hint of pride filling me in the process no less.
I stared back, my expression not budging. I could see the small glint in Urahara's eye as he waited. He didn't look the least bit concerned that he'd lost all but one captains support. A captain that probably wanted to kill him no less.
"You're going to have to be more specific,"
Is that including Hollows and Humans?
Why would I include those two?
Okay then.
"Aizen-Tai-" Hitsugaya suddenly started in alarm at my wording. Though Urahara had no intention of letting up on such a chance as he flared his reiatsu forcing the rest of the captains, even Shunsui, into concentration.
"How many Shinigami has Aizen Sosuke killed!?" Urahara practically roared the end of the sentence, the hints of a grin hidden beneath his hat's shadow.
298.
I could feel the tension build up around me, as for the first time in the entire trial, everyone was focused on me. For worse.
I quickly got rid of the smile on my face and answered.
"Hundreds,"
What are you doi-
And before anyone could so much as lift a finger, I continued on.
"It was either that, or let them run rabid across what had been left of Seireitei," I stated dispassionately.
Urahara's face twisted as he quickly took in the rest of the captains expressions. "You can't seriously believe-" His words however froze as he himself realised the futility of questioning such a thing during this trial.
"They took the Bankais first... Then the lives... and before long when they ran out of even that... They twisted them... Controlled them in their deaths," I finished, my gaze focused away from Urahara, locked instead with the Captain-Commander himself, particularly the hidden blade he generally kept as his walking stick.
You know it... You know of his Bankai..!
...Whoops...
...
...
I kept my gaze locked with the captain-commander, even as he flared out his reiatsu, only earlier during my now clearly unnecessary beating, I didn't feel a looming sense of incoming death.
My spider sense so to spea-
My AS-SENSE!
... You are lowering your chance of survival if/when I get my body back.
What's my survival rate sitting at right now?
...
Judging by my Assense-
If you ever repeat that name again, the next time you're alone with Gin, I am not interfering.
But it's your body!
Try me.
My AS-sense believes you.
Aizen?
Shit.
Yamamoto's reiatsu quickly brought me out of my musing as it shifted the slightest, feeling somewhat heavier.
"Byakuya-" the old man started informally, to my own surprise, his expression seemed... Rattled? The other captains seemed to notice the shift in demeanour as they straightened themselves up.
Aizen seriously what''s going on?
"-What is your verdict?" Yamamoto questioned quickly.
"Already?" Shunsui exclaimed in surprise himself. I felt the same, I was told these trials tended to have hundreds of questions...
Byakuya showed no reaction as he put a hand on his zanpakuto. "I have not made my judgement,"
Seriously? Was he that bothered about the laws?
"Is there a particular reason?" Yamamoto questioned, somewhat irritated.
"Yes,"
I winced at the sudden flare from the old man, I ignored the way the other captains were practically brought to their knees.
Byakuya didn't even react. It definitely must've hurt him, but he didn't care.
"What is this reason?"
The Kuchiki captain slowly turned his gaze towards Rukia. "This trial cannot end without my verdict. I am waiting for him to dig as deep a hole as he can. So long as I am here Urahara Kisuke is at my mercy!" Kuchiki Byakuya snarled, his zanpakuto held out, pointed directly to the, somewhat pale, ex-captain. And then everyone felt it. Kuchiki Byakuya's reiatsu filled the room. As if his very soul had shown itself.
"Damn..." I replied on reflex. A clear look of shock on my face. Shock that only grew when I realised that I had no other response to Byakuya's answer.
You wanna hear the kicker? Absolutely no one reacted to my slip.
Though I am still fairly sure that's not legal...
Still the sheer bloodlust that had filled the room had my unwlling landlord, Aizen Sosuke, in sheer terror.
Urahara's probably pissing himself right now!
Apology accepted.
Cool.
"Your resilience knows no bounds it seems, Aizen-Taichou," Kuchiki's, surprisingly soothing, voice quickly brought me out of my musing. There was even a hint of a smile on the man's face as he stared towards me, a strange look I failed to understand on his face.
When his words registered, I blinked as I took a look around though I didn't notice anything off or different besides the fact everyone seemed to be on edge with the way they'd drawn their swords...
"You understand that so long as you are on that side, you will be accepting the same punishment." Yamamoto continued undeterred.
Byakuya turned his gaze from the wary criminal in front of him towards the Captain-commander.
"I am choosing to ignore that law. Everyone else seems to be doing the same,"
Aizen... I think I just found our new bestfriend.
...What did I do to deserve you? What crime was too far?
Buddy, you really don't want to know.
We are not friends. But yes, you're right, I'd much prefer to know about Bankais,
No. But seeing as you said I am right again... Does this mean I've finally upgraded to a broken clock?
Aizen's frustration was the only answer I got as I turned back to the trial at hand. Apparently it was still on... Though Kisuke didn't look like he wanted to play anymore.
...
Urahara briefly kept his eyes on the only and clearly biased captain supporting him before he turned back towards the man who'd ruined his life. The one currently outmanoeuvring him at every single turn without pause. He took in a deep breath as he minutely turned his gaze towards the restless captain-commander.
For whatever reason, the man seemed adamant on ending this early. Urahara briefly considered signalling Yoroichi into taking his Zanpakuto, as the trial prevented him from removing it, before his gaze locked onto Aizen's utterly amused expression and promptly squashed the thought
"Aizen-taichou-" he grit his teeth at the word, his eyes showing his distaste, "-how about we speed this up? I doubt the commander would mind all that much," he forced the grin on his face as he finished.
"Sure, why not?" Aizen's remark only seemed to aggravate him all the more. The bastard wasn't even taking him seriously...
Urahara took in another deep breath before he focused his attention fully on the monster before him... The damn bastard clearly wanted to entertain notions of being from the future. So be it, he'll play along.
"Are you truly from the future?" He questioned passively. Almost expecting the answer. His mind briefly wondered what crime Aizen intended to try and pin him with ne-
"Yes, have you slept with Yoroichi?"
Urahara's brain, for a moment, seemed to glitch out at the question before he, suddenly though very briefly, considered screaming out for the entire realm to hear.
"Why! Do! You! Want! To! Know!? How does that have anything to do with this!?" He barely managed to get out through grit teeth.
Aizen Sosuke shrugged.
Urahara looked forward to the day he could skin the bastards fac-
'Wow!' he suddenly thought to himself, entirely uncomfortable with the road he'd suddenly found himself on. His gaze briefly turned back towards Aizen Sosuke's still smiling face before he realised, with growing horror, what the man's plan was...
Likely was... He'd found his confidence on how much he truly knew about the man wavering.
...
-Not-Aizen-
Jeez, Urahara did not take that well.
Do you truly not see what you're doing? Aizen questioned me. Surprising me somewhat.
"Answer the question," Another voice joined the fray. Unsurprisingly enough, it was Soifon's.
Every single one of you is a moron. Can truly none of Seireitei's finest feel that?
Feel what?
"Stay out of this Soifon!" Urahara suddenly turned, his hand dramatically pointing, a stern expression on his face, towards the only female captain in the room.
For one thing, the old man's impatience.
I blinked as I turned to look towards the Captain-commander, finding his eyes closed, his reiatsu was oddly none-existe-
I am inside it aren't I? That's why I can't feel anything.
Well done. I am thoroughly impressed.
Prick.
I appraised Yamamoto's current stance and deduced that atleast one captain-class Shinigami was probably going to die tonight.
And then, the man opened his eyes, only to find my own looking at him. I could see a glint form quickly as the old man, to my own confusion and Aizen's further annoyance, seemed to calm down? His shoulders sagged the slightest, as his expression turned passive and focused back on the trial at hand.
You are without a doubt the biggest moron I've ever seen... You've truly eclipsed my lieutenant...
... Thanks?
"You still haven't answered by the way Kisuke, everyone's waiting on you," I remarked quickly.
Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Aizen suddenly exclaimed into my head breaking my focus in the process. As I quickly took a look around my surroundings. Aizen what are you doing? What's going on?
Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Aizen added on undeterred as my eyes widened.
An enemy? Where? I quickly turned back towards Urahara Kisuke, the mans own expression of bemusement mirrored, for the first time that, the rest of the captains.
Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Aizen seemed to finish at the end and before I even knew it I suddenly, instantly, received or perhaps the memory was simply unlocked? Regardless he gave me the name of what he was trying to cast.
It was then and there, I saw it, just behind Kisuke, the entrance to the exit wide open. Far in the distance I could make out a twinkle of something?
"I am not answering that questio-" Urahara started...
I barely paid any attention to him as I simply crossed my arms and finished Aizen's kido spell for him.
"HadÅ #90. Kurohitsugi!" (Black Coffin)
It was immediate, the captains all quickly got into a fighting stance as they each moved away though the darkness I'd summoned was faster as it quickly covered every single one of us inside between it's walls. just in time for the absolutely devastating blast of reiatsu that had suddenly crashed into the wall of darkness just behind Urahara Kisuke's frozen position. The man hadn't managed to move a muscle due to the sudden strain from the trial due to my own outburst.
The attack had almost managed to crack through the lvl 90, fully powered, hado.
I could see the supposedly unbelievably durable wall quickly start crumbling.
And I was frankly breathless, I panted trying to catch it to no avail at the sudden large depletion in reiatsu.
Still, wonder why Yamamoto looks so surprised? Wasn't that why he'd started panicking earlier?
I briefly turned towards Urahara before frowning when I couldn't make out the man's expression. He was staring away towards the source, likely wondering who that had come from.
Still, after having seen that Kido, I could, truly honestly say that.
Having superpowers is so awesome!
... I cannot believe my life is in your hands...
I'd say its in better hands.
...
Aizen apparently had no response to that.
...
Author Notes: Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget feedback!
Next update will mostly be a collection of interludes that are happening in real time. Including the attack towards the end.