The Fallen Series: Part I - Victory Falls

by Seth's Kiss

Canon Divergent: 'They made the biggest mistake of their lives. They forgot Aizen always had a back-up plan, with it usually being far worse than the first'. DARK Fic. Rated M (violence, horror, torture, non-con), also has MxM, MxF, FxF and many unstable pairings (for now). Warnings in each chapter for safety. Proceed with caution. BEING EDITED: Chapters may vanish till completion.

10. Part One: Chapter 6 P2

The Fallen Series (a Bleach Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:

A/N: Hello again to you all! I hastily bring forth another part of Chapter 6 as fast as I could! Please do enjoy! I'll update the rest (the third part of this chapter) as soon as it's finished (I'm having a hard time writing this chapter). But I think that dividing a chapter into bits is better than spending a month or two writing it fully, no? Let me know what you think! See you!

To Enjali: Hi, Enjali! Oh dear me no: I really can't. Feel free to hate me, but I sincerely can't. None of the main characters of the official series (meaning Ichigo, Uryuu, Chad, Renji, Rukia and Orihime) will die here, in addition to those who make repetitive appearances (such as Shinji, Byakuya, Grimmjow, Toshiro, Yumichika, Ikkaku...etc). Even if I dislike an anime M.C (which isn't the case for Orihime as I really like her); I simply can't bring myself to kill them (unless the author themselves kill them at some point then maybe). So sorry about that...If it's any consolation, something 'unexpected' is going to happen to her (well, I hope it'll be). Other than that, hopefully you're still enjoying this fic! See you next chapter, Enjali!

To Guest 1: Thank you for your review! You are so much welcome and I am sincerely glad that you're enjoying this fic. A little confession: it's quite hard to write (pulls out tongue)! See you next chapter!

Rating for this chapter: Exactly the same as the former one, since this is still the 6th chapter.

Part One: Victory Falls:

Chapter 6: Countdown to Chaos (Part 2):

Ten

By the time Rukia came to and opened her eyes again, wincing due to the blunt hit she had received, it was quickly clear to her that she had missed something. Some things actually...

The petite Kuchiki opened her hazy dark indigo eyes to see the two Fracción watching over Orihime, who was laid down on the ground, with an uneven breath and half-lidded eyes; the elder Kuchiki restrained - in a vicious headlock and coerced to his knees - by the Noveno Espada instead of Aizen, for he stood in the centre of the roof, causally and condescendingly regarding the five new additions to the already tense atmosphere there.

"Oh, my" chuckled the child of chaos forebodingly, with a raised eyebrow, as he took in the recent arrivals one at the time, whilst they murderously glared back "What a delightful reunion this is."

"Fuck you, Aizen" snarled out one of them hatefully, with a dangerously low voice, before any of the other four could speak up.

The immortal's darted his widened eyes towards his former subordinate, before smirking mockingly at him: "Are you certain you want those to be your first words to me, Grimmjow?"

Baring his sharp teeth and letting out an angry growl, the blue-haired Arrancar's next biting comeback was cut off by the 10th Division's captain, speaking up frigidly: "Here's what I have to say to you, Aizen: I promise you that you're going to die."

Upon hearing that, the brown-haired villain smiled scathingly: "Just as you have promised andrepeatedly failed to accomplish more than I can count, Hitsugaya."

"I will kill you" assured Toshiro obdurately, his turquoise eyes conveying all the hate he felt.

"Oh really?" taunted the brown-haired immortal with a slight tilt of his head, his tone becoming even more derisive with every sentence "And what is your motivation this time? Surely not Hinamori...yet again? Because if that is the case, you most definitely need to start accepting that there is absolutely nothing you can do for her. Not that she would want you to anyway. The female members of the Aizen clan have a certain aversion to men that are...not from our kin."

At the mere mention of his childhood friend actually being related to Aizen - coupled with it coming from the immortal in person - caused the young white-haired captain to see red. Clenching his teeth lividly, Toshiro was about to make a mad rush at him but Gin quickly caught his arm before he could, silently sending him a meaningful look. Shooting the 3rd Division's captain a menacing glare in return, the 10th Division's captain wrenched his limb away but heeded the wordless advice and stayed put. After all, given his history of recklessly dashing in head first around Aizen, it was a good thing he had been halted, as it usually ended badly...for everyone.

Once he was sure that the young white-haired captain wouldn't move in thoughtlessly, the silver-haired captain glanced over, with an incredibly and eerily blank expression, in Aizen's direction. As soon as their eyes met, the child of chaos uttered apathetically, not a single hint of emotion in his voice or expression: "Gin."

"Aizen" replied the other, using the exact same tone, and yet, a faint tremor ran through the silver-haired's hand, the one holding his zanpaktou, Shinzo. Those who noticed, including Aizen himself, couldn't quite tell however if it was because of apprehension...or anticipation.

After mutely holding the other's stare for awhile, the immortal's dark brown eyes flitted over to his former captain, smiling sinisterly: "What of you, Hirako? Care to speak your thoughts aloud?"

Trying to put a lid on his raging emotions and failing in vain, the blonde-haired Vizard merely chose to narrow his eyes in response: "I have nothin' to say to ya, Aizen."

"Is that so? I sincerely beg to differ."

"Ya're incapable of sincerity" grounded out Shinji through clenched teeth, anger escalating with every word the other spoke, especially in that nonchalant, condescending, sardonic tone of his.

Feigning a completely confused expression, Aizen raised his eyebrows at the Vizard: "Are you saying that I'm a liar?"

"What else would I be sayin'?!" yelled out the 5th Division's captain heatedly, raging when the other simply chuckled in response.

"Tell me, Hirako. Now why would I lie...when the truth can hurt so much more?"

Whilst Gin and Grimmjow both tightened their jaws at the immortal's words, Shinji's fury wavered for a moment, as an ominous sensation wandered through him, before he shook it away - for he couldn't grasp it - and raged again, though slightly more controlled this time: "Ya still stay a ruthless manipulator nevertheless."

"Lying and manipulating are often intertwined but they stay two very different things" lectured the Aizen methodically before his expression darkened jubilantly "And I mostly delight in the latter rather than the former."

"And ya're fuckin' proud of it" sneered the blonde Vizard in disgust, genuinely wondering what had ever possessed him to feel sympathy for this monster.

"Of course I am" chuckled the immortal in sheer amusement, before his eyes swiftly locked with the ones of the fifth one present, startling the latter with the sudden attention "Urahara Kisuke, I wouldn't waste my time if I were you. The seal you placed on the Hogyoku no longer exists."

"So I just found out" stated Kisuke with a deep frown before he inquired the other "How did you get rid of it?"

"With a little improvisation..." uttered the brown-haired cryptically as his eyes slowly shifted over to where Orihime was struggling to sit up and desperately trying to focus as soon as she registered that Grimmjow was amongst them in the Seireitei...when she had specifically told him and the other Arrancars to run away with her own friends, if ever something went wrong.

"Grimmjow-sama..." she called out softly, instantly earning the feline Arrancar's undivided attention "Is...Is everyone...?"

"Last I checked, everyone back there was alive and kicking" replied the blue-haired male steadily, smirking slightly when her features relaxed a little but her body remained tense "And I'm the only one here, so ease up."

Whilst Aizen's raised eyebrow went unnoticed, the human girl relaxed completely at those words before she regarded the other wistfully: "You didn't...You didn't run."

"No" deadpanned Grimmjow simply as he looked away and focused his attention back on the immortal, not elaborating any further upon his answer, despite the girl's deep bewilderment.

"But...Why?"

"Don't beat yourself up and go to sleep" shrugged the Arrancar before he glanced at her once again and grimaced faintly at her appearance "You fuckin' need it, girl. You look like shit."

"I see things between the two of you haven't exactly changed" voiced Aizen smoothly, earning a deadly glower from Grimmjow's part and a nervous glance from Orihime.

Dark amusement seeping within his features, the child of chaos materialized Kyoka Suigetsu in one hand before gesturing at the upcoming battlefield with the other, whilst addressing those who came for him: "Now then, since you all came here set and intent on eliminating me..." he then raised his eyebrows in an inviting provocation that managed to prick at each and every one of those five individuals - more than ready to fight and, with any luck, kill him - at different degrees and for very different reasons "Let's not keep any of you waiting any further, shall we?"

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Rangiku's crystal blue eyes nervously darted over to stare in the direction of the Tower of Desolation, sensing the raging reiatsu, candid telltales of an arduous clash going on there, before she bit her lip: she wanted to go there, to be there. But she knew that it was both a careless and selfish want, only...she didn't...she couldn't let Gin to die alone. Not again.

In fact, she'd rather her childhood friend didn't have to face his demise at all, although he had made it quite clear to her that it was a possibility that they should both be willing to embrace. She had been reluctant to accept, but she eventually did. For him. As a good friend. One he had mentioned wasn't as dedicated as he was towards her... She hadn't understood that and probably never will: Gin Ichimaru, just as always, unfathomable, like the mist that surrounds.

"Matsumoto!" called out Ikkaku abruptly, startling the 10th Division's lieutenant form her thoughts "Let's move!"

"I'm moving. I'm moving" she muttered inaudibly as she followed him and Yumichika, the three of them searching for survivors from the Gotei, upon her captain's orders, in order to, hopefully, regroup and have an overview of how dire the situation was. Not that appeared to be any good anyway: the Seireitei was literally in ruins...

Perceptive of their colleague's anxiety, Yumichika offered gently: "Hitsugaya-taichou will be fine, you'll see."

Smiling small at the beautiful black-haired man, Rangiku sighed deeply: "It's true that I worry for him, but he isn't really the one on my mind right now..."

"Ichimaru?" suggested the 5th Seat, eyes softening in sympathy when she nodded slowly.

"Aizen killed him before" she whispered before she shuddered "What if..."

"I wouldn't worry, Rangiku-san" comforted Yumichika genially as he set a hand upon her shoulder, squeezing at it gently "Besides, they're going at it five against one. They should be alright."

"Being outnumbered never stopped that guy" snorted the 3rd Seat with a shake of his head, causing Rangiku to flinch faintly and the 5th Seat to clench his eyes shut and sigh at his friend's bluntness and considerable lack of delicacy for such situations.

"Ikkaku" called out the black-haired with forced sweetness before he glared significantly at the bald-headed man "We're supposed to be supportive here."

Eyes shifting over to the golden blonde in their company, Ikkaku cringed when he saw how disheartened she looked before quickly attempting to amend himself: "Right...uh...He'll be fine. Yep. Definitely. Absolutely. No doubt. No doubt at all..."

"And now you're overdoing it" hissed Yumichika in exasperation, making the other raise his hands up in surrender: he gave up. He never was the diplomatic of the two...though at times, the 5th Seat did have a viper's tongue best not to instigate...

"Thanks...I guess" murmured Rangiku with a scoff before she straightened up and smiled at them "Though I must say, Madarame, you'll make a terrible shoulder to lean or cry on."

The 3rd Seat looked honestly surprised at that: "That's not what Yumi says..."

All of a sudden, a shrill cry of distress amidst angered shouts resounded from somewhere behind the debris the trio stood, immediately sending them into high alert and, drawing their blades, ran over to see what was wrong. Only none of them were expecting to witness what they were now looking at, staring on in horrified shock.

On their knees with their hands tightly bound behind their backs with seki chains, were Kensei, Lisa, Hiyori, Shuuhei and Shunsui, all barbarically beaten up and a few of them barely conscious, whilst four Espada watched over them, with one of them crushing the air out of Mashiro's lungs who was laid there on her back, struggling and resisting being tied up, and those who were conscious - Lisa, Hiyori and Kensei - were yelling at them to leave her alone. But what stunned the trio the most was that, beside them, stood a brown-haired girl, looking on with a cold near sadistic smirk to her lips. It was so out of character that they almost didn't recognize her.

"LET THEM GO!" bellowed out Ikkaku wrathfully, drawing the Espada's attention as he abruptly emerged, not at all bothering with matters of subtlety or taking in the fact he and the other two with him were by far less in number than the enemy.

"Not happening" smirked sinisterly one of the Espada, the tallest one amongst them, as he pressed the heel of his boot even further deep within Mashiro's chest, earning a choked cry from her, whereas Lisa and Hiyori cursed him with every word they knew, whilst Kensei just clenched his teeth lividly, murdering the other with his eyes.

"Hinamori-san..." began Rangiku gently once the aforementioned looked in her direction, trying to reach out to the girl who was her captain's childhood friend, but anything the golden blonde was about to say instantly died in her throat when the girl in question took a fistful of Shuuhei's hair, causing the 9th Division's lieutenant to soundlessly grit his teeth, before setting her zanpaktou right upon his throat.

"Either surrender or they die" declared the brown-haired girl coldly, utterly apathetic to the stares of shock she was receiving from the trio before her "Don't test me: I'm not bluffing."

Nine

As more Hollows made their way in the Seireitei, plaguing the streets and skies like an epidemic, the inhabitants who were capable of battle, including the nobles, joined in the fight. Whilst the minor noble clans like the Marechiyo and the Kira concentrated on evacuating and defending the vulnerable citizens to safety, the Kuchiki, such as Tetsuya, Hitachi, Nowaki, Yaten, Michiru and Majiko faced the Hollows head on, with the remaining secondary clans.

The youngest of them was struggling against a particularly virulent white-masked monster when it abruptly pulled back, causing her to fall flat upon the ground and be completely open to the Hollow. Ducking her head beneath her arms, she awaits the blow in horror, but it never comes, as her older sister, Yaten, steps in just in time, shielding Michiru merely inches from impact.

Lividly, the elder sibling violently kicked the Hollow away before scooping down to pick up her sister into her arms, as if she was carrying a child, and shunpo-ing a few distances away.

"Are you hurt?" inquired Yaten with genuine concern as she looked over her younger sibling.

"I'm fine, Nee-sama" replied Michiru with a small grateful smile as she brushed away her hair from her face "Thanks to you."

"Tch...I rather you weren't here" muttered the eldest of the two as she looked around absentmindedly, her brow furrowed "But thanks to Ginrei, we have no say in the matter. Bastard senile old man."

Sweat-dropping at Yaten's infinite politeness when it came to speaking of their grandfather, Michiru then blinked in realization: "Where is he by the way?"

"Last I saw him" spoke up Majiko softly as she stood beside them, her expression grave which was then shared with her cousins at her next words "He was combating Aizen Sosuke's father."

Not so far away, effectively, both Kuchiki Ginrei and Aizen Koga were caught in an ardent battle, zanpaktou swinging at the opposite opponent, ready to shed blood, ready to kill...

"You should thank Sosuke, old man" declared the brown-haired man complacently as he swept down and aimed for the elderly man's neck.

"Should I now?" commented the Kuchiki offhandedly whilst swiftly blocking the blow "Care to tell me why?"

"If I had done it my way, every single Kuchiki would be dead. He persuaded me that keeping a handful of you alive to witness the ruin of your clan and the chaotic climax of your beloved world, was to be of far greater agony. And I have to agree with him."

"How magnanimous of you both" Ginrei said disdainfully as he once again deterred an onslaught of the other's attacks before retaliating strategically with his own hits.

"It is, isn't it?" smirked the Aizen derisively, tactically countering the old man's every move.

Suddenly shunpo-ing to stand a safer distance away from Koga, the elderly Kuchiki frowned deeply: "What are your intentions?"

Quirking an eyebrow upwards at the question so redundantly out of context, the brown-haired man shrugged as if it were painfully obvious: "I have been clear about them, haven't I? We are here to kill you - well, most of you - and set the Aizen to rule in glorious havoc."

Ginrei raised his eyebrows sceptically at that: "With the people of the Rukongai fearing you?"

"That's the good thing about it" remarked the Aizen darkly as he began to pace, circling around the Kuchiki who in turn kept his eyes trained on the other "It's far better to be feared than loved: you hold much more power over others with the former than the latter. Though admiration can have its perks, as well as it can be imposed, with the right push..."

Ginrei's aged eyes narrowed as he realized something he should have long ago: "You're out of your minds, both you and your son."

Smiling widely at that, Koga noted ominously: "The Children of Chaos were never quite known for their sanity. Remind me who forgot - or rather chose to ignore - that, hm?"

Disregarding the jibe, the elderly Kuchiki inquired inquisitively: "How do you plan to reign when the Soul Palace is inaccessible to your kind?"

"We don't need to be there to rule" scoffed Koga with a roll of his eyes "All we need to do is get a firm hold on the remaining purebloods, so an Arise (1) won't ever come to be."

Upon hearing that, Ginrei's eyes widened slightly with overt consternation: "So I was right. You do plan to cut down our bloodline."

"Was that ever a doubt?" taunted Sosuke's father sarcastically before he suddenly lunged forward, attacking the elderly Kuchiki from the side, but was once again blocked.

"The Soul King won't stand for this" stated Sojun's father resolutely as he stared hard at the other, inwardly aghast that he had been more than right concerning the Aizen's prime motive.

"The Soul King?" mocked Koga with a bark of a laugh before he sneered madly "That useless pathetic being that can't even defend itself? Don't make me laugh! Its sole purpose is to keep the Soul Society in existence...for it will all wither to nothingness should it be killed."

"You know this and yet...you and your son seek to destroy him?!" asked the Kuchiki with incredulity, perplexed by the other's words, whilst seething slightly at the other calling the Soul King an 'it'.

"You seek to destroy you" corrected the Aizen sharply before he threw a jaded look upwards "That thing isn't our problem."

"He will be if you don't include him in the equation."

"Um...no" deadpanned the brown-haired man before he smirked and shook his head at the Kuchiki "I don't think it will be. Not at all, in fact."

Now, Ginrei was completely mystified: "How can you be so positive?"

"Because I am" uttered Koga haughtily before he chuckled as the two of them continued to clash "Tell me, old man, if this precious king of yours will not allow anything to befall this world and its people, where is it now?"

"It's not he who will..."

"Join the battle, yes, yes..." interrupted brusquely the Aizen with a sigh before his expression darkened with sheer wicked amusement "What I meant was: where is Division Zero, when you so desperately need them?" Koga's smirk widened further as Ginrei's eyes went wide "No answer, huh? Well, let me break it down to you: they're NOT coming. They never will."

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Above the Seireitei, somewhere in the skies, beyond the stars, was hidden the Division Zero, which was consisted of five exceptionally powerful and amazingly talented Shinigami, all watching over the Soul King as his personal guard, within the Soul Palace.

Inside that very palace, at this very moment, in a given room - a sort of headquarters' assembly if you will - sat those very five members around a table, observing through a large glass orb the destruction befalling those below. All of them, wide eyes riveted on what they saw and not once, did any of them, make a sole move to attempt in aiding the other divisions.

Why you ask? Because none of them could move: they sat there, like glued to their chairs, paralyzed to point where they couldn't even blink. They were fully aware and absolutely aghast by the horrors unfolding downstairs, but none were in any control. Someone else was...

Dark bloodcurdling deep laughter resounded around the room, causing goose-bumps to manifest themselves on the skin of the Division Zero's members as an ominous suffocating presence permeated the room, prowling around under the form of a formless shadowed entity.

"Division Zero" it spoke forebodingly, tauntingly, mockingly as it swirled around the room "The elite soldiers serving as an indestructible wall shielding the Soul King...reduced in mere minutes to nothing more than a display of statues."

The being let out a strident scathing laugh before it drew near to hiss right into one of the member's ears: "Pathetic."

The shadow then lunged forward to yet another amongst the five, forming clawed arms and caressing the shinigami's face just barely with its sharp nails, its touch not even earning a flinch: "Oh, how I wish Aizen-sama was here to see this, only...the Children of Chaos have been denied access to this fortress since the dark ages of this world. Being here would harm him and we really do not want any of that, do we?" the entity looked around as if expecting an answer before smirking in absolute amusement when it didn't receive one "No, of course not. Do not tire yourselves attempting to speak: I already know what is upon your minds. You would like to know how you will die. Rest assured. You will live...As spectators unable to glance away from this macabre dance..."

With mismatched blue eyes radiating with sheer and utter glee, the being then laughed out darkly as it gradually dissipated through thin air, leaving the five members of Division Zero in a frozen near death-like state, with their eyes being the only things alive, witnesses to bedlam.

Eight

Unohana Retsu grinned elatedly as she swiftly knelt down beside the Septimo's dead body to retrieve her zanpaktou, which had been previously embedded in the Espada's head till the hilt.

As her self-control slowly came back to her and she began cleaning off her zanpaktou, the black-haired shinigami then noticed another's presence, wondering how she could have missed it until now. Staring off with a surprised expression in the direction of the young bystander to her wild and frenzied butchery, the woman blinked her now calmed eyes as she spoke up gently: "Kusajishi-fukutaichou? Shouldn't you be with your captain?"

"I don't know where he is" stated Yachiru numbly, still shocked by the whole revelation and the bloody massacre that had just unfolded before her eyes.

"Ah. I see" commented the black-haired woman serenely before speaking up with sincerity "I am genuinely sorry that you had to witness that. Also, I apologize if I scared you."

"I..." the little girl choked on her own breath as fright still lingered within her "I've seen scary things before."

"Have you?" inquired Retsu as her lips curved upwards in amusement "Like me perhaps?"

"No...Never like you" the 11th Division's lieutenant whispered, for it would be a lie to state the opposite: even Ken-chan wasn't that gruesomely macabre and that was saying something.

"I thought so" smiled the black-haired woman knowingly as she carefully sheathed her now cleaned zanpaktou.

"Are you...? Are you still Unohana-taichou?" inquired the little pink-haired hesitantly as she appeared right next to where the black-haired shinigami knelt amidst the carnage.

The woman's serene blue eyes darted over to the girl's widened cerise ones: "To be honest, that never was my real name nor is the personality you are used to, truly my original one. My actual name is Yachiru Kenpachi."

Eyes doubling even further in size, Yachiru's jaw dropped in shock upon hearing that name: "The one Ken-chan fought back in the day?! He...He named me...after you?!"

"That's right..." smiled Retsu distantly before she looked away with a faint absent expression "I had never lost a battle. Never received a wound...till the day I crossed paths with the nameless boy who now calls himself the Kenpachi of Zaraki. Though he had lost the battle against me, I too suffered defeat, steadily bleeding out. And it was the first time I had fallen, no less than a few days later. I would have died if not for Ganryusai-taichou healing me and in exchange for saving my life, the Captain Commander had me adopt the way of the shinigami (2)."

As she lost herself within her recollections, the original Kenpachi turned stunned eyes in the little girl's direction when the latter tentatively braved a brush of her small fingers upon the woman's throat, right over the scar, before she quickly withdrew her hand, asking quietly: "Does it hurt?"

Taken aback by the girl's actions, Retsu took awhile before replying: "No. My sense of worth does though."

Nodding slowly, little Yachiru then looked away and bit her lips anxiously: "Will you...kill Ken-chan?"

"Not today" admitted the 4th Division's captain staunchly "We have our hands full for now."

"When then?"

"Should that time come, you'll be the first to know" promised Retsu, smiling faintly at the pink-haired's obvious relief, before the woman promptly stood up "Let's go now."

"Where to?" questioned the 11th Division's lieutenant as she followed the other in her footsteps "Are you going to go around healing?"

"I would...But as I am the only the qualified healer left on the battlefield, I can't afford to let my guard down" stated the other solemnly with a shake of her head.

"Not even if I stand guard? I can do that."

"I'd rather your captain didn't finish what he started and behead me so soon" smiled the black-haired woman a little too cheerfully before shunpo-ing away, her words echoing behind her for the lieutenant "Come along now."

As she is about to go after the 4th Division's captain, an empty voice calls out to her, halting the little pink-haired in her step: "Kusajishi-fukutaichou."

Turning towards where the voice came from, Yachiru's gasped loudly as her eyes went wide with shock: "No way...Are you really...?"

"I have something to show you, if you would please come with me, Kusajishi-fukutaichou..."

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Zommari LeRoux's death at Unohana Retsu's hands caused all those under his spell to revert back to inert corpses, thudding back to the ground like puppets whose strings have been severed. And it also caused Soifon to let out a shrill scream of horror, as her will was her own once more, before falling to the floor and curling up on herself whilst Yoruichi - whom the other had been battling and viciously trying to kill - hastened to her side.

The Shihoin princess, uncaring right now of her severe injuries, knelt beside the younger one and took her into her strong warm arms, as the other repeated incessantly, loathe with herself: "What have I done? What have I done?!"

"Soifon, shh...It wasn't your fault" soothed the tanned woman gently as she tightened her comforting hold and smoothed out the other's dark hair with gentle fingers "You couldn't control what was being done to you. You're ok now. It's ok."

"But it's not! I could see!" cried out Soifon aghast, shameful of her weakness, horrified by her actions "Everything! All of it! So much death on my hands...and it wasn't once the enemy! I've taken lives of so many of the innocent, of my fellow blood! And I couldn't stop it..."

Biting her lip in sympathy, the purple-haired woman didn't let it sound in her voice, still keeping the same calming tone for the other: "Shh...It's ok. I'm here. It'll be ok. Just breathe, Soifon. Deep breaths... That's it. Just breathe. That's my girl. It'll be ok."

A sudden shunpo and one of the 8th Division's lieutenants was standing right next to the duo from the 2nd Division: "Shihoin-taichou."

"Ise" acknowledged the tanned woman with a small nod before questioningly raising an eyebrow at the other, whilst she rubbed soothing circles upon Soifon's quivering back "Can I help you with anything?"

Kneeling beside them, Nanao shook her head as she spoke up wistfully: "Actually, before my captain got captured, he ordered me to search for you and see if you needed any help."

Eyes going wide, Yoruichi voiced her disbelief: "Kyoraku got himself captured(3)?"

"He..." began the bespectacled shinigami sadly before she bit her lip "He didn't handle Ukitake-taichou's death very well and might have let his guard down. It was long enough for the enemy apparently."

"Ah..." uttered the tanned woman in understating, closing her eyes briefly at the news - Ukitake Jushiro was truly a remarkable person, far too a valuable friend to be lost - before she smiled slightly at the 8th Division's lieutenant "Thanks, but I'm fine."

"She's not" pointed out Nanao uneasily as she regarded the younger of the two 2nd Division's captains: she had never seen Soifon shaken up before and it was a rather unsettling sight.

"She will be" reassured the Shihoin princess confidently "Just...taking it all in, I guess."

When the bespectacled shinigami frowned in confusion, Yoruichi briefly told her of what her little fighter had been through, and the 8th Division's lieutenant could only sympathize.

"Oh...I'm so sorry" uttered Nanao contritely before looking around with a deep frown upon her features "I barely found you, you know? My senses are completely off. I have no idea what's going on with all these Hollows and the mass of fluctuating reiatsu. I do know though that we...have had some heavy losses."

"Tell me something I don't know" said the purple-haired woman as a look of concentration crossed her features "From what I can gather, the captains still alive and fighting - which means, excluding me and Soifon - are the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th and 12th. I can no longer sense the presence of the 11th nor Byakuya-boy...and the last part makes me worry a little. As for the lieutenants still battling...well, there's none...since the 5th and 12th are on the enemy's side now and those from the 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 13th - as well as the 3rd and 5th Seats from the 11th Division - are either absent or fully incapacitated. The rest..."

It was clear that Yoruichi didn't need to carry on, besides Nanao painfully understood, before the latter inquired carefully: "And what of the Espada?"

"I think..." the tanned woman paused as she focused further "...that there are only five left."

The 8th Division's lieutenant could only perk at that: "That is good news...right?"

Nanao's momentary optimism was quickly diminished when Yoruichi shook her head: "Don't forget the Fracción. There are still at least eight of them. There's also Koga. And Sosuke."

"So...what do we do now?" inquired the lieutenant tentatively, concerned about her captain and co-lieutenant, worried about everyone else, silently mourning the dead and dreading what they would become in the end...if they weren't already living it.

The Shihoin princess could only sigh as she continued to caress Soifon's hair, a little grateful that the latter had stopped trembling completely: "That's an awfully good question. Too bad I don't have the answer."

"Maybe I do."

The three female shinigami turned their attention to the newcomer before Yoruichi's eyes widened whilst she voiced reproachfully: "You shouldn't be here, Sojun. With your condition, you're too vulnerable for all this shit. You could get hurt and we've had more than enough deaths for one night. "

"I'm fine" asserted Byakuya's father in a faint whisper before he let out a slight yet vicious cough, causing his childhood friend to raise an eyebrow at him sceptically "Listen, if we spoke to Sosuke, you and I, try to reason with him, perhaps we could end this madness."

Whilst Nanao and Soifon regarded him with incredulity due to his words, the Shihoin princess simply softened her expression at the other's boundless kindness: "If only it were that simple, Sojun...we wouldn't be living this madness..."

Seven

As the number of Hollows had drastically augmented back in Karakura, Karin and Yuzu had been ushered back inside by Ichigo, and neither of the sisters had been out since, not even when they both felt their brother's reiatsu abruptly increase in strength before his presence then simply disappeared from the surface of the earth.

The black-haired twin knew what that meant: their brother, with his Shinigami powers back, undoubtedly went off to join the fight... Only, though she was happy for him, she couldn't feel at ease, a former sensation of foreboding now stronger than before. Yuzu, with tears shining in her eyes, didn't seem to be dealing with this any better, so Karin, once again, took on the comforting role to reassure her, a feeling of déjà vu washing over her.

"Don't worry, Yuzu" smiled the black-haired girl, eyeing her twin softly as they sat huddled beside one another on their brother's bed "Ichi-nii has his powers again. He should be fine."

"I...I want to believe you, Karin-chan, I really do...but..." mumbled the toffee-haired girl, sniffing quietly and curling up even closer against her sister.

"But what?" the other inquired tensely as she patted her twin's shoulder gently in what she hoped to be a calming gesture.

"Why aren't I relieved by your words?" whispered Yuzu apprehensively, blinking away at the tears that were now flowing freely.

Since she felt exactly the same way, Karin could only sigh: "Yuzu..."

"It's as if terrible things are about to happen" admitted the toffee-haired girl, nervously biting at her lower lip as she said so.

"You're not far from the truth, human child."

The two twins jumped, startled by the sudden new voice, before they quickly glanced around, their wide eyes falling upon a figure by the doorframe that wasn't there mere minutes ago. "Wha...?! Who...?! Who are you?!" stammered out Yuzu as she froze and gaped at the dark-haired man dressed in white, who simply stood there, with his hand in his pockets, whilst he stared at them blankly with dark green eyes.

Tilting his head slightly, the stranger introduced himself: "I am under the orders of Aizen-sama, the Cuatro Espada: Ulquiorra Schiffer."

"An enemy of our brother's then?" guessed Karin with a frown as she instantly remembered her brother's recounting of his 'adventures', hence the familiarity of the name 'Aizen' ane the word 'Espada', before she cautiously moved protectively in front of her twin.

"I'm afraid so" nodded the Cuatro as he gradually began walking towards the bed, the two girls shying further away with every step he took closer.

Clutching at her twin's arm that was set protectively before her, the toffee-haired girl asked hesitantly: "What...What do you want with us?"

"For you to accept...an 'invitation' extended to you from my master..." stated Ulquiorra without emotion, though he hesitated with the word 'invitation' because this was far from an invite: it felt more like kidnapping. Then again, Aizen had the knack of giving such missions to him out of all the Espada.

"And...If we refuse?" suggested Karin with raised eyebrows, attempting to seem brave when the other's presence, the mere sight of him, had her heart hammering with fear from within her chest.

Closing his eyes, the black-haired Espada shook his head: "I'd rather you didn't. It'll make my task harder to keep you unharmed."

"You...You'd hurt us?" squeaked Yuzu fearfully as she sank even further behind her sister who had gone rigid, also unsettled by the other's words.

Opening his eyes again and retrieving his hands from his hakama pants, he stared at them impassively whilst slowly reaching out a black-nailed hand towards them: "Resist and I'll have to."

The twins were stock still, fright making them too petrified to go in for flight or fight, but before the Cuatro Espada could lay a finger on either of the two girls, a sound of a cero was heard moments before it fiercely collided with the floor, burning it to blisters under a bright yellow light. And Ulquiorra would have dealt with some damage also if he hadn't moved away in time.

Turning in the direction of the blast's perpetrator, the male Espada locked eyes with Tia, snarling at him warningly: "Back off, Schiffer!"

"Tia-ch...!" began a relieved Yuzu happily before she gasped out in horror "Oh my God, you're hurt!"

True to that, the tanned female Arrancar was in quite a bloodied battered state, but she simply waved it off, as if it were nothing: "I'll be fine, little one" she then swiftly moved over to stand between the girls and the Espada, glaring at the latter "I mean it, Schiffer: Back. Off."

Dusting away his coat, the Cuatro glanced at the one before him out of the corner of his eye: "I can't do that."

"Then you'll have to go through me first" declared Tia Hallibel firmly as she materialized her zanpaktou and adjusted her stance, although she was inwardly cursing the current difference in their strengths: though she had been superior to him in rank, as of now, with whatever enhancement he has been through, he was the definitely strongest one, her injuries aside.

"Acceptable" nodded the black-haired male curtly as he unsheathed his own blade "After all, Aizen-sama has added a new objective for me to carry out during this mission."

The tanned female raised a blonde eyebrow at that: "Oh? Pray tell. He wishes for you to kill me and the others? As a sentence for deserting perhaps?"

"You runaways do have a sentence for deserting Aizen-sama's reign, but it isn't death. It's imprisonment."

Upon hearing that, the shark-like Arrancar narrowed her eyes defiantly: "How generous, but I'd rather die."

"And we second that" stated Stark adamantly as he and the other Arrancars present within Karakura - all with the exception, of course, of Grimmjow - abruptly appeared at Tia's side, cramming inside the teen's rather small room...

"Of course you would..." sighed Ulquiorra as his eyes took in each and every one of them, all unquestionably devoted to only one person - ready to carry out his every demand - and it wasn't Aizen "Only, it isn't in Aizen-sama's temperament to be charitable or indulgent and that you should know. We Espada - current and former - all know it."

"Yes..." admitted Nelliel softly, she too in quite a state rather similar to Tia's, before she also reached for her sword as her expression hardened rebelliously "That we do."

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Though battling Hollows was an all-new experience to her, Misaki proved to be somewhat talented in not outright dying against the white-masked monsters, being on par with Rikichi, whilst Hanatarou helpfully attempted to aid his friends in any way he could. And so, the trio managed to survive long enough to, astonishingly, witness the Hollows...initiate their exodus?

Frowning in bewilderment, the 4th Division's 7th Seat gradually lowered his zanpaktou at the sight: "The Hollows...They're leaving. Why?"

"Careful" warned the 7th Division's lieutenant as he tried to catch his breath "We don't want them to come back."

"No! We really don't!" chirped up Rin fervently, from she was hidden far away behind a tree, causing Rikichi to clench his teeth lividly in irritation.

He then instantly glared in her direction: "You didn't even help. Don't include yourself."

"I'm not made for combat" she muttered under her breath but the other heard her all the same.

"Neither is Yamada. But where was he?" argued the dark-haired boy tetchily before he pointed over to the aforementioned one "Oh, that's right: fighting with us!"

"Sh...Shut up!" stammered the girl from the scientific department in utter embarrassment whilst she drew closer to the three others.

"Wait!" voiced Hanatarou as he looked around in confusion "Where did the Arrancars go?!"

"Uh..." uttered the 11th Division's 6th Seat with uncertainty, her dark green eyes searching their surroundings.

"They were just here!" exclaimed the 7th Division's lieutenant in dismay, waving his arms in the direction the group of Arrancars had been not too long ago.

"Well...Now they're not" pointed out Rin with a tilt of her head and a furrowed brow, whilst trying to analyze the possibilities of their sudden disappearance and lack of traceability.

"I CAN SEE THAT" grounded out Rikichi crossly before hiding his face in his hands "Some members of the Gotei 13 could get lost and others would sometimes lose a target, things like that happen. Leave it to me to lose an ENTIERE herd. I'm probably the worst lieutenant history has ever seen...And I'm being optimistic" he then fake-sobbed "VERY optimistic!"

Feeling sorry for her boyfriend, Misaki came forward to reassure him when something caught her eye: "Is that...a Garganta?"

The other three looked in the direction she was pointing in and, real and true, there it was, causing Hanatarou to shudder with dread: "More Hollows?!"

"I told you not to question their departure" muttered the 7th Division's lieutenant, his face still in his hands, with fingers parted slightly as to allow him to see.

The Garganta stayed upon a while with nothing else happening, before a lone figure appeared, slowly drawing nearer, leading the pale blonde girl from the 11th Division to squint as she tried to make out who it was: "Is that...?"

"Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou?!" stated a surprised Rikichi, starting to walk towards the familiar face, before he took notice of her get-up "Why does she look like that?"

"Be careful!" warned Hanatarou as he hastily held the 7th Division lieutenant back "She's no longer an ally to us or to the Gotei 13!"

As the 7th Seat hurried to explain the situation - or rather, what he knew of it - to the two amongst the four of them who were unawares, Misaki and Rikichi jaws dropped in horror, the latter actually voicing it: "What the actual hell?!"

"Oh no..." whispered the pale blonde dejectedly as she covered her mouth with a hand, tears about to fall: amongst all those who had been kind and welcoming to her back in the Seireitei, notably within the Gotei, she had grown quite close to Nemu - mostly when her mad captain-father-figure wasn't around - as they both had expressed a similar preference to seclusion every now and then.

Whilst Neveromina simply stared silently at the four before her, another abnormal figure made its appearance beside her, immediately setting the others on edge as they thought to be a Hollow...only it revealed itself to be something else entirely.

"K...Kusajishi-fukutaichou?!" gawked Rin in shock as she and the others gaped at the little lieutenant and the heavy and rather injured weight she was carrying "And Zaraki-taichou?!"

"Give us a hand instead of gawking at us!" called out Yachiru hotly before casting a worried glance towards her wounded and passed-out captain "He's hurt!"

"Ah...Uh...Yes!" stammered out both Hanatarou and Misaki who rushed forward to give the pink-haired lieutenant a hand, warily watching the woman in white who merely stood there motionless, not even sparing them a glance despite their proximity to her person.

Carefully setting the 11th Division's captain on the ground, the 4th Division's 7th Seat quickly checked Kenpachi over, whilst Yachiru anxiously sat beside them: "Is he going to be ok?"

"He'll be fine. He's been brought to me right on time" smiled the healer reassuringly, allowing the little girl to breathe out in relief "I'll do my best to save him."

"Thank you so much..." whispered the 11th Division's lieutenant happily before smiling gratefully at Neveromina, who remained without reaction.

Quickly putting two and two together hence understanding that if those two were here with them then it was thanks to the woman in white, Rin blinked questioningly in the former lieutenant's direction: "Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou...? Why? Whose side are you really on?"

"A word of advice" uttered the Octavo's Fracción unemotionally, rather than answering "Heed to it only if you wish it. Don't go back. And use Urahara Kisuke's equipment to remain hidden, and you will not be found. Farewell. And good luck. You'll be needing it."

Just after the deftly given caution, she simply stepped back into the Garganta and disappeared with it as it closed, leaving behind five very confused youngsters, wondering upon her words.

Six

During the extreme onerous battle that pitted those five against the largely advantaged and powerful immortal, both Hirako Shinji and Hitsugaya Toshiro were the first two to go down.

And all it took was for Hinamori Aizen to make an abrupt appearance along with the Espada in her company and their captives - four of them being the blonde Vizard's friends - to give the advantage to her cousin to give a fatal injury to the 5th Division's captain, sending him to a heap on the floor, Lisa, Mashiro, Kensei and Hiyori screaming out his name.

And then, right after that, it was the 10th Division captain's turn: shocked to the core as the brown-haired girl moved forward, as quick as lightening, and stabbed her blade right through his chest, just barely missing any vital points - whether that was voluntary on not, he honestly couldn't tell - before using a kido to send jolts of energy throughout his body, earning a scream of pain from him. She then swiftly retrieved the blade and let him fall face first to the ground, convulsing terribly until the shocks gradually subsided.

Staring up at her in flabbergasted horror, Toshiro flinched when he saw the girl he believed he knew but simply could not recognize her, whilst she looked down at him, disdain in her eye.

"Simple retaliation, Hitsugaya-taichou" she offered him with a sickly sweet smile, causing the young white-haired captain to cringe: he had always corrected her, trying to prevent her from nicknaming him 'Shiro'...only now, the title stung, it hurt and it was spoken out like an insult.

"Hinamori!" called out Shinji, from where he had fallen, conveniently near Orihime who hastened to heal him, whilst Nnoitra and Veneno closed in on the blonde captain to chain him.

"Hirako-taichou..." the young female Aizen responded indifferently whilst locking her dark embittered eyes with his rather widened own "Good day to you."

"What on earth are ya thinkin', kid?!" stated the aghast 5th Division's captain as he struggled vehemently against the two Espada, but the blonde male ended up tightly bound just like his colleagues all the same "Sidin' with fuckin' Aizen of all people?! After all he did to ya?!"

"Aizen-sama is my cousin and master; hence I will not tolerate any disrespect of any kind towards him!" declared Hinamori vividly, shooting him a blistering red hot glower, before she scoffed and looked away "Besides, you wouldn't understand."

"No, I won't. And right now, I don't" sighed the blonde Vizard with a shake of his head and then, after glaring towards where the immortal was still battling against Grimmjow, Kisuke and Gin, who were gradually losing ground, the 5th Division's captain gently pleaded with her "Come on, kid. Don't go on doin' this to yourself."

Her only glare returned tenfold: "Doing what to myself? Your words make no sense captain."

"Aizen's messin' with your head! Don't let him!" insisted Shinji benevolently, categorically persuaded, just like Toshiro, that the poor girl in front of him was simply caught within one of the immortal's illusions. Or lies...Or manipulations...Or spells... It could be anything really.

"I am an Aizen by birth and in name" voiced the brown-haired girl haughtily, loud and proud with her head held high, before she carelessly gestured in her former friends' general direction "You are the ones who do not wish to accept this truth."

"Hinamori" coughed the young white-haired captain breathlessly as the former two Espada tied him up next, only he didn't offer resistance as he was in no state to "You and I grew up together. Together, in the 1st District, Junrinan. Are you saying that wasn't real? That it was but a lie?"

"We did grow up together..." she worded softly, almost resembling the girl everyone knew for a moment whilst she watched Veneno and Nnoitra set Toshiro beside the orange-haired human for healing, before Hinamori's expression then hardened "...but that doesn't mean that my origins were at any point forsaken. They were merely forgotten, for my own safety."

"You are not an Aizen, Hinamori" stressed out the 10th Division's captain desperately, as he abruptly underwent the horrific feeling that he was indeed losing her...and for good this time.

"I am. This is my proof" asserted the female Aizen inflexibly as she tucked her long brown strands over a shoulder and unzipped the back of her top before turning around and revealing her back to them "We, Children of Chaos, each have a birthmark somewhere on our bodies, specific to each clan. In our case, for the Aizen, this is our mark."

"What the hell...?" uttered the 5th Division's captain with wide eyes as he, Toshiro and the other captives stared in bewilderment at the unknown elaborate symbol etched within her skin: upon first glance, it looked like a large letter 'V' or rather an 'A' upside-down - with a hefty circle instead of a dash - with the lower extremity in the dip of her backside whilst the upper two were spread over her shoulder blades. Closer examination showed that the two lines were in fact encircled by vines which were dotted by thorns and the circle was rose with daggered petals. It was of a deadly beauty just as it was eerily unsightly to see. A magnificent contradiction, befitting the Aizen's blood in every possible way (4)...

"This is my truth and it is the only one that matters to me. As it should be to you" she said uncaringly as she zipped her top up again before she curtsied with an unsympathetic smile and then walked away, not once looking back and leaving a rather disconcerting realization in the wake of her departure: Momo Hinamori (5), lieutenant and dear friend...might as well as have been just another illusion Sosuke Aizen had to offer...

Not a moment later, Koga shunpo-ed over with the Espada's other Fracción beside him, who were dragging along with them the remaining members of the Kuchiki clan before casually throwing them next to where Rukia was, who hurriedly asked them if they were alright.

As soon as he saw them, Byakuya struggled against the Noveno's vice grip, ordering frigidly: "Let me go."

Seeking permission from Koga, as her master was busy, and receiving a casual shrug in response, Avaricia relented with a sneer as she threw him to the floor: "Off you go then."

Sending her a withering glare, the young clan's leader stood up with difficulty and made his way over to his relatives, heavily setting himself on the ground as he reached them. The distance that he had crossed wasn't much, but both the collar and the pressure of the clashing reiatsu nearby had made it quite arduous for him and he was already completely out of breath.

Mentally cursing the immortal, the 6th Division's captain looked over his rather battered family, seeing they were all accounted for...expect one: "Where is Tetsuya?"

When no one answered him, all keeping their eyes lowered, the young Kuchiki clan's leader felt his heart tighten with dread as he urgently repeated his question: "Where is he?"

Again, no one answered.

He was about to voice his growing aggravation at being paid no heed to, when Michiru softly spoke up, her voice choked and crestfallen: "Byakuya-sama... He...He's gone... They...They killed him."

Byakuya had never felt so horribly numb in his entire existence. It as if someone had iced his soul and crushed it to pieces. His beloved cousin's smiling face flashed through his mind before that image was instantly replaced with another, just the same, only tainted with blood...and the young captain grew even further number than it should have been possible...

He slowly turned his wide aghast eyes in her direction, witnessing her curled up upon her shaking form with her long wavy locks covering her face, before he uttered vacantly: "You lie."

"How dare she..." interfered Yaten brusquely, glaring harshly at Byakuya "When she loves him as deeply as you still love Hisana?!"

His cousin's rage managing to set aflame his own, the 6th Division's captain now sought the perpetrator: "Who? Michiru, tell me, who did it?"

Michiru merely wept in response, incapable of answering her cousin, her grief too deep: she had always adored him from afar and now...And now...

As her sister cried even harder, Yaten replied in her stead, gesturing in the culprit's direction with a curt jab of her chin and he was quick to follow, before his anger became seething fire. Clenching his jaw until his gum bled, he glanced back towards Michiru's elder sister, asking carefully: "Did...Did Tetsuya suffer?"

"Immensely so" whispered Koga viciously, right within Byakuya's ear as he dug his nails in the Kuchiki's shoulders and drew close "I would know since I had quite some fun with him, beating him up and then into the ground. I then slit his throat with your name being the last word escaping his lips, right before I fed his corpse to the Hollows!"

As Michiru screamed when the Aizen's words caused Tetsuya's death to replay in her mind, the 6th Division's captain, for once in his life, acted without thinking, his wrath taking over: he twisted around and threw a punch, hitting Koga square in the face, causing the latter's head to snap back with the impact.

Too stunned to react, Sosuke's father found himself on his back on the ground with Byakuya over him, his expression dangerously murderous. Koga barely had the time to raise his arms in defence before the Kuchiki let his fists relentlessly rain down on the other, rationality gone.

"You raving murderous, monstrous, depraved..." seethed the Kuchiki clan's leader furiously before his rant was abruptly cut off when his wrists were caught and he was hoisted upwards.

He then found himself with one arm twisted painfully behind his back, causing him to grit his teeth and claw at the arm tightly wrapped around his neck with his free hand, before an all too familiar chuckled from behind him: "Having a disagreement with my father, dear Byakuya?"

Glaring out from the corner of his eyes, the 6th Division's captain clenched his teeth as he saw Aizen smirking down at him with a raised eyebrow: "How lovely to see you lose control like that. You should do it more often."

The Kuchiki clan's leader was about to retort venomously when he realized all of a sudden that the immortal couldn't be in two places at once. So, if he was, then it meant...

Wide grey eyes darting over to where Aizen had been fighting mere moments ago, the young Kuchiki noble cringed when he saw Gin and Kisuke, badly wounded, both being pinned to the floor by an Espada each, whilst Grimmjow was viciously caught in an animalistic brawl with Avaricia who had taken on her Resurrección form, which resembled that of a cross-hybrid of a seven-tailed fox with boned wings. It was claws and fangs, extremely violent and brutal...

Whilst Byakuya was temporary distracted as he looked in horrifying fascination, Koga coughed slightly as he stood up, not baring much injury as the Kuchiki's onslaught had been significantly reduced due to the collar, so the actual brunt of the damage had been caused to the captain's own hands. The Aizen then scowled over in his son's direction as he walked over: "You sure took your damn time."

The brown-haired immortal smiled with false innocence: "I was having fun."

"I'll bet" snorted Koga with a roll of his eyes before he gestured to his son's captive "Do you mind?"

When Aizen merely smiled brazenly at the other, Sosuke's father smirked back before he backhanded Byakuya, hard, causing the latter's head to snap to the side under the impact and his lower lip to split, whilst Rukia let out a loud appalled gasp and the others looked on in shock.

Koga then forcefully grabbed hold of the Kuchiki's chin to look the other in the eye as he stressed out ominously: "That...was because you dared."

"Damn all you Aizen to the depths of hell" hissed Byakuya hatefully, his lower teeth stained with blood from his lip, whilst his eyes burned with wild ire for the children of chaos he knew.

"Oh, but dear boy" smirked Koga sinisterly, as he traced the Kuchiki's neck languidly before locking it within a tight grip, whilst Sosuke chuckled darkly with morbid amusement beside the noble's ear as the latter began to choke "That's where we come from."

Unbeknownst to the occupants of the roof, hidden nearby after recently shunpo-ing there and now currently witnessing all that was transpiring, stood Retsu, Yoruichi, Soifon, Nanao, Renji and Ichigo, looking on in utter and sheer horror.

Formerly, as Renji and Ichigo were heading over to the Tower of Desolation along with Grimmjow, the Shinigami Substitute suddenly dashed off in a different direction, shouting out that he had felt Yoruichi's presence nearby and that she was in pretty bad trouble.

So he went off - accompanied by the 6th Division's lieutenant when the blue-haired Arrancar convinced the latter not leave the teen alone and for them both to look for cover afterwards - only to arrive when it was all over, finding the Shihoin princess severely wounded - but gratefully alive - with Soifon cradled in her arms, Nanao and Byakuya's father beside them.

As they were giving each other brief updates, it was Retsu - with her braid back in place - and Yamamoto's turn to show up, both mostly fine thanks to former's healing kido skills. And it was their words that wholly unsettled the little assembly: they were the only group left apt to combat. It was seven of them - when excluding Sojun - against three Aizen, approximately five Espada and eight Fracción... and that was without counting the large number of Hollows that were clustering around the Tower of Desolation, revolving around it like moths drawn to a flame... In other words, they were living a very shitty situation.

After convincing Sojun to stay away from the Tower and then parting ways with Yamamoto who told them he was going to try to find a way to contact the Division Zero so they would come to their aid as their only salvation, the remaining six set off for the tall white tower...

"Ok..." uttered Yoruichi slowly with widened golden eyes "We have a BIG problem."

"Really?" snapped Ichigo in a half-angry half-shocked whisper "Worse than this maybe? Almost everyone's...captured? And what the hell happened to have gotten them caught so easily?!" he then shot an angry scowl in Renji's direction "By the way, when were you going to tell me about Rukia and her brother?"

The red-haired glanced at the teen with edgy eyes before he waved the other's worry off: "Rukia and Kuchiki-taichou were my concern, not yours."

"She's my friend too!" grounded out the Shinigami Substitute, almost shouting if it hadn't been for Nanao jabbing him reproachfully in his ribs.

Whilst Ichigo shot her a sheepish look which she just shrugged off, Renji tried to placate the teen: "But you're already in charge of Inoue, right? Besides, it's best if you two didn't get involved, so that this battle is kept between us shinigami and Aizen."

"We are involved" deadpanned the orange-haired teenager "And I'm a shinigami too."

"Uh..." attempted the 6th Division's lieutenant as he tried to come up with an argument only to find none "Damn it. Look, just..."

"I agree with Shihoin-san" spoke up Retsu with her brow furrowed "We do have a problem."

The red-haired and the orange-haired blinked in confusion before the former inquired the latter: "That conversation was still on?"

"Yes...until you interrupted" smiled the 4th Division's captain sweetly, causing both Renji and Ichigo to shudder and quickly dip their heads apologetically.

"Sorry."

Keeping her smile, Retsu's eyes turned serious as she addressed the orange-haired teen: "Is your awareness off?"

"Uh...Actually, it is" said Ichigo slowly, wondering where the question led to "Yours?"

"Same" the 4th Division's captain stated grimly with a shake of her head "For all of us. It keeps going on and off all on its own."

"Shit. I thought it was just me because I just got my powers back and all" admitted the Shinigami Substitute before asking curiously "What's it due to?"

"No clue" confessed the Shihoin princess candidly "But it isn't good."

"How so?" Nanao inquired worriedly as she readjusted her glasses "If our spiritual senses are off, we can simply use our natural senses, no?"

"That's not what she meant, honey" voiced a completely different person, crudely interfering within the little group's discussion and startling the six of them. They were swift to take on defensive stances whilst looking behind them to see a young child-like Espada grinning at them, a cero shining brightly within his hand as he continued to speak: "What she meant was, you can't sense us, but we can sense you."

As the Espada threw the cero at them, the group quickly moved back to evade the blast, unfortunately stepping out in the open in the process, drawing the attention of everyone on the roof and earning mixed stares of shock and amusement.

"Renji?" uttered Rukia in relived surprise as she caught sight of her childhood friend before her jaw dropped upon seeing who was beside him "Ichigo?"

"Damn it. I told them to stay covered" muttered Grimmjow irately, stepping over Avaricia's body as he wiped away the blood from his mouth - which wasn't his - before he sighed "Why do I even bother?"

"Kurosaki-kun?!" exclaimed Orihime in horror before she stared at the blue-haired Arrancar "You...lied to me?"

"Don't get fuckin' self-centred, kid" hissed the feline Arrancar with a raised eyebrow before he glared in the immortal's direction "I was trying to fool Aizen."

"Visibly, it didn't work" she pointed out vehemently, shivering with dread at the smile that crossed Aizen's features as he stared at Ichigo "How could you bring him here?"

"Hey! I did my fuckin' best, ok?!" emphasised Grimmjow defensively, not liking that the blame was falling on him, just like he had foresaw and told the teen "He just wouldn't listen. Besides, you know him better than I do: when he's got something set in his mind, has he ever been convinced to do otherwise?"

Blinking repeatedly, Orihime sighed deeply as she lowered her eyes and held her head in her hand, feeling simultaneously tired and depressed: "No..."

"I didn't fuckin' think so" stated the blue-haired feline tetchily as he crossed his arms and watched from where he stood - taking a brief breather - as the remaining Espada and Fracción came raining down on the new arrivals full force, whilst the latter valiantly fought back.

"Thank you for trying, Grimmjow-sama" whispered the orange-haired human genuinely, knowing very well of the other's stubbornness "And I'm sorry for..."

"I don't really feel worthy of gratitude, Hime" confessed the Arrancar with a grimace before he bore his teeth, earning a small smile from her "And the umpteenth fuckin' time, DO NOT APOLOGIZE."

As Renji, Retsu, Yoruichi, Soifon and Nanao courageously attempted to stand their ground, Ichigo, catching sight of Grimmjow, began to shunpo over, only to come to a halt at the immortal's level when the latter greeted the teen mordantly: "Good to see you again, Ichigo."

"Believe me, Aizen. The feeling isn't mutual" stated the Shinigami Substitute daringly whilst glancing Byakuya over to make sure he was alright. It seemed far from the case but the noble subtly shook his head at the teen, signalling the orange-haired human to not worry about him.

"I'm sure" Aizen chuckled darkly in amusement, as he leisurely locked eyes with the teen: it was brown against brown, but never had similar colours appeared to be so very different...

Ichigo just wordlessly clenched his teeth, leading the other to smirk scathingly at him, before the teen went off to the Arrancar's side: "So...what's the plan?"

"Well, whatever it was, it's gotten fuckin' blown away" muttered Grimmjow, hissing in pain as Orihime healed him whilst he glared at the teen who merely shrugged, and then, after a moment of hesitation, the blue-haired closed his eyes in defeat "Ugh...I'm gonna have to go 2nd. No choice now. When I do that, normally, everyone's gonna have a moment of 'I-didn't-see-this-coming'. When that happens, free Hime and whoever you want and then run, both of you: take a gem and go back to Karakura. And don't come back. Another thing: Kurosaki, fuckin' please, this time, do as you're told."

The orange-haired teen scowled defiantly at the feline Arrancar who hissed at Ichigo angrily at the latter obstinacy whilst the girl blinked in confusion: "2nd? What does that mean?"

Ichigo too didn't get what the other actually meant...until his eyes widened as he noticed that Grimmjow was already in his Resurrección form: "No. Way. You..."

Smirking at the Shinigami Substitute as he slowly stood, the blue-haired Arrancar let a raw primal energy pulsate around him as he growled out aloud: "Resurrección! Segundo Etapa!"

The ground and air shook around the feline Arrancar as he gradually changed form, evolving.

A blinding blue light surrounded his body, causing Ichigo and Orihime as well as those who were watching to shield their eyes. A series of shivers ran down a few individuals' spines whilst everyone else felt a sweat form on their brow. A terribly wrathful feeling of ire filled the air before the light abruptly disappeared, with a loud explosion, leaving smoke in its wake.

Acting quickly, Ichigo had shielded Orihime from the burst of energy, only it didn't harm him or those beside him. However, it managed to pulverize the nearby Hollow and destabilize the Fracción and Espada present, whilst the three Aizen, though unaffected, gradually turned in the direction of the commotion with wide eyes, the immortal being the most stunned of all: had Grimmjow just said...Segundo Etapa? The term was familiar to him as he had attained that level and even went further than that, only...he had been sure that no one else could do it.

Apparently, he had been wrong...

Before them, from within the clearing of smoke, stood Grimmjow in his new form: it was still feline-themed, only instead of having an ensemble of armour plates, he was mostly bare. Navy dark blue thin fur covered his entire lower body and black thin fur covered his hands and forearms, his claws were black and longer, whilst his tanned chest glistened in the moonlight, showing off his muscles and Hollow hole distinctly, as his tail - dark blue and thinner, almost like a whip, with at the very end black spiky fur - twitched angrily behind him. Though the ears were human instead of feline, his hair was still the same length and colour, but his Hollow mask had also changed: it framed his face more, extending sharply at the edges. His fangs had grown longer, sharper. His pupils had turned into a slightly darker blue and the sclera was now entirely black, whilst the blue streaks on his face were now all around his eyes, bypassing the eyebrows, making him even more intimidating then he initially was...

Locking eyes dead on with his former master's own wide astonished ones, Grimmjow let out an animalistic snarl before he lunged for him, going far too fast for anyone to see...until a loud crack resounded deafeningly in the air, leading everyone to look in the direction of the sound.

Upon a building a few feet below, the blue-haired feline Arrancar had Aizen, tightly pinned to a massacred wall, by his throat...drawing the intense shock of allies and enemies alike from both sides.

Coughing slightly, the immortal blinked before he smiled in amusement at his former subordinate: "Why, my beloved. Couldn't you have shown this off earlier? It would have made the previous battle a lot less boring."

"You know, Aizen..." uttered the Arrancar lethally, his voice deeper and darker, dangerous and doubled like a Vizard's would, whilst he stared down hatefully at the other "The gall you actually have to be nonchalant when I have my fuckin' claws around your neck, really fuckin' pisses me off."

"You're wasting your time. And mine. You can't kill me" reminded Aizen, raising an eyebrow as he tapped at his chest, where the Hogyoku was hidden under his black clothes "Immortal, remember?"

"I can slow you down. Or tire you" sneered Grimmjow dismissively as he tightened his hold on the other's throat "Either way works just fuckin' fine for me, because like you say: I'll be wasting your time."

Not at all bothered by the fact that the grip upon his neck was now painful, the immortal's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the other's determination combined with detachment, before the child of chaos inquired: "What are you up to, Grimmjow?"

"What do you think?" offered the blue-haired tauntingly, his smirk widening "Since you know me so well."

Parting his lips to speak, Aizen stopped himself swiftly as something caught his eye: back near the Tower, he could make out Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and Orihime running away, having managed to evade the enemy and were coerced by their allies to get out and away from there as fast as they could.

Raising an eyebrow at the escape attempt, the immortal sighed condescendingly: "They're not going anywhere."

"Nah, I think they are. And you're not going after them. I'll fuckin' make sure of that" declared the blue-haired Arrancar steadfastly before cringing with slight horror when the other started to laugh darkly: when Aizen Sosuke laughed at another's conviction, it usually meant that he knew something about it being somehow flawed somewhere.

"What was it that Orihime requested of you?" questioned the immortal languidly as he feigned making an effort to remember "'Protect Kurosaki-kun from me'?"

"Wha...?" began the Arrancar warily, not because he was about to ask the other how he knew - not point in that, Aizen knew nearly everything - but because that sentence seemed out of place: what did that have to do with now?

Chuckling in dark amusement, the child of chaos regarded the other derisively: "Let me tell you that you're carrying out a marvellous job at doing that."

"She'll never hurt him" stated Grimmjow knowingly, effortlessly convinced of that as he was acutely aware of the girl's endless love for the teen, whilst the Arrancar attempted to decipher the other's words, again perplexed by their abrupt place in this conversation.

"Of course not. Never would she, no matter the reason" agreed Aizen easily before his expression darkened maliciously "But I would. And she knows that. So, in order to assuage anything I could make that boy endure, she'll carry out my every order...no matter the damage it will cost."

"And what the hell did you fuckin' order her to do?" asked the blue-haired feline carefully, his lips suddenly dry, as he started to piece everything together and realized his fatal mistake: he should have kept the teen in a closet under lock and key back in Karakura instead of giving in to him and on top of that, letting him get his powers back.

"That if he were to come here, it would up to her to prevent him from finding a way back...Even if she has to break every bone in his body...Even if she has to die trying...Lest I would rob Kurosaki Ichigo of every inch of his dignity and his sanity" revealed the immortal sadistically, relishing in the horror invading the other's being as Grimmjow easily recognized the threat that had been made "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"You..." started the Arrancar furiously but any other word failed to escape him: there were no words to describe how he felt. And it was over two humans he had no particular connection with. Except that he was supposed to protect one under a promise with the other and he had failed them both.

"I don't see why you're so concerned. She can just heal him better when all this is over" the immortal sighed as his body suddenly shimmered away, phasing through the Arrancar's hand as if he were a ghost and shocking Grimmjow as the Aizen used an ability that the blue-haired had never seen. Not that he could have: it actually belonged to his father and the son had to be in proximity of the other to use it.

The child of chaos reappeared just beside the feline Arrancar, both standing and staring in the opposite direction and, just before Grimmjow tried to attack him, Aizen announced lightly: "Oh. Look. It's starting."

Wide blue eyes upon black sclera snapped towards Ichigo's group and he was utterly horrified to witness Orihime, her entire body surrounded by an orange-yellow glow which was mostly concentrated around her tightly clenched fists, charging at the orange-haired teen and throwing punch after punch, which destroyed to splinters everything they touched, whilst the Shinigami Substitute barely evaded them, desperately trying to get her stop with words alone.

"KUROSAKI!" shouted Grimmjow, aghast because he knew that the aforementioned would never engage his friend in combat, before readied himself to dart over to stop her...only to have the immortal hold him back, wrapping his strong arms around the blue-haired in a vice grip "LET. ME. FUCKIN'. GO!"

"And have her accidently destroy you?" voiced Aizen mirthfully, directly in the other's ear before chuckling forebodingly "No, no, my beloved. I'll be the one to that."

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Back in Karakura, at Urahara Kisuke's shop, Rikichi and the others had let themselves inside, finding a room for Kenpachi - who had fallen into a coma - and Yachiru who refused to leave him. Then, they had regrouped in another room, along with Ichigo's closest friends - who included Chad, Tatsuki, Uryuu, Keigo and Mizuiro - that have joined them as soon as the Hollows departed, and they were now discussing a very important topic.

"Where the hell is Ichigo?!" spoke up Keigo animatedly, demanding to know where his friend had gone at again.

"You didn't find him?" inquired Misaki gently as she set a tray of cookies that ended up remaining utterly untouched throughout the whole conversation.

"We've been searching for him all over before we came here. Ever since those bastard monsters went off God knows where" sighed Tatsuki in frustration before she banged her fist upon the table they were all seated around "Damn it, where is he?!"

"Can't you help us find him?" questioned Mizuiro to Rikichi who ruefully shook his head.

"We would, but there's something wrong with us" explained Rin carefully in the lieutenant's stead "I don't understand what this is due to, but our senses are completely off, as if there's something interfering with it."

"Oh joy" uttered the tomboyish girl irately with a taunt expression whilst resting her forehead on her propped up hand.

"Have you tried his house?" suggested the girl from the scientific department as helpfully as she could before she squeaked nervously when Tatsuki glared at her.

"We wouldn't be here if there was anyone at his house!"

"Wait" spoke up Rikichi with a frown "No one at all?"

"That seems to bother you" noted Uryuu observantly as he raised an eyebrow "Why?"

"Well...There were at least two Arrancars back with the boy the past few days" elaborated the 7th Division's lieutenant "They spend their time there and somehow took upon themselves to watch over him."

"I'm telling you, there was no one at all. Not even his sisters. Or his father" said Tatsuki, shrugging at the last person's absence for he was truly and utterly unimportant at her eyes: him not being around was good for the three Kurosaki siblings' health. True story...

Not understanding the orange-haired teen's disappearance notably given his lack of powers, Hanatarou and the others frowned in puzzlement before Rin gasped aloud: "Don't tell me...?"

"What?" asked Mizuiro, concerned by the sudden reaction the auburn-haired girl had: she looked fairly horrified by whatever thought just stuck her.

"Did they turn on us...I mean, them? What if some back in the Gotei were right and the Arrancars never gave up being on Aizen's side?" uttered tentatively the girl from the scientific department "And now...they did something to this Kurosaki Ichigo and his family?"

As her words slow settled in, Keigo instantly paled at the possibility: "No freaking way."

"That can't be!" declared Misaki steadfastly, as she recalled the pleasant even though brief and odd moments she and the others had shared with the Arrancars "They were so nice!"

"Once an enemy, always an enemy" quoted Rikichi with wide eyes before he bit his lip: he really wanted his captain's advice right now...if not, then at least Abarai Renji's.

"I don't want to believe that" refused resolutely the 11th Division's 6th Seat with a shake of her head.

"Neither do I" spoke up Chad unwaveringly, causing everyone but Misaki and the Quincy to stare at him in baffled surprise.

"Why wouldn't you?" inquired Rikichi doubtfully with raised eyebrows "They're Arrancars."

"Because Ichigo chose to believe in them" the tall tanned teen pointed out easily before he shrugged "So I will as well."

"I have to agree with Sado-kun on this one" said Uryuu as he closed his eyes and readjusted his glasses "Kurosaki may be an imbecile but he's never wrong on when it comes to intuition. He just...knows things."

"I do hope that you two are right" muttered Tatsuki with a deep sigh before adding crossly "And that Ichigo idiot shows up quickly instead of making us worry."

Little did they know, was that none of them were going to see Kurosaki Ichigo anytime soon, or anytime later as a matter of fact, for fate could be dreadfully cruel, at times even vicious...

Five

Aizen actually had to put more effort than he had initially thought it necessary to put down his former subordinate: though the immortal still largely had the upper hand by far, Grimmjow's Segundo Etapa duplicated his original strength, speed, agility and perception to the point of resembling Ulquiorra formerly in his Resurrección form. It was impressive, very impressive and quite fascinating to the child of chaos...but he beginning to grow weary of playing idly...

Hence, somewhere between their second battle for that night, the immortal briefly reassumed, when out of sight from everyone except his opponent, his original form, his hidden form as an Aizen, which give him the painless advantage to not only overpower the blue-haired feline physically but also emotionally, having revealed this form of his to the Arrancar during one of their 'sessions' back in the Hueco Mundo.

As dreadfully vile memories brutally exploded within his mind at the sight of the other, Grimmjow shutdown, completely, going into shock long enough for Aizen to move in and shatter with his reiatsu both Resurrección forms from the blue-haired, who fell to his knees and moved no more than that, detaching momentarily from his surroundings. When he progressively came back to, the feline Arrancar was quick to notice that he was back on the Tower of Desolation, near the ledge with Aizen - back in his humanoid form - standing beside him, only this time Grimmjow too had been bound by seki chain just like the other captives.

Snarling angrily, the blue-haired Arrancar rattled against them, attempting to break free when sounds of loud crashing drew his attention: below, Ichigo was still running from Orihime...

Feeling the immortal's eyes on him, the blue-haired feline whispered tautly: "Stop this. Don't fuckin' do this."

"Concern?" voiced the child of chaos with open surprise "From you? For them? How odd on your part, you who doesn't even flinch at the suffering of your own kind" morbid and malicious curiosity now glinted within Aizen's eyes and Grimmjow felt it without even needing to look "What is this...newfound sympathy you hold for these two?"

"I don't" stated the blue-haired Arrancar fiercely through tightly clenched teeth, hoping to use disinterest to mask his distress from the other who was bound to exploit it to his advantage "I'm just thinking you wouldn't fuckin' want it to go too far. You'll end up with a wrecked kingdom when you start ruling..."

"Oh?" uttered Aizen with an awfully amused smirk before he turned his focus back below whilst Rukia and Renji were caught again by Szayel during the confusion "My mistake then."

Amongst the breaking ruins down on the ground below, the orange-haired teen, out of breath, scarcely got to dodge yet another of the girl's attacks, receiving her teardrops on his face in the process. Shunpo-ing a few feet away as she paused to catch her breath, he gently wiped away at the tears from his cheeks, before he clenched his teeth wistfully: "Inoue. Inoue! You have to stop this!"

"I...I can't" she sobbed chokingly as she struggled to breathe, through the exhaustion and tears, before slowly glancing over at the other who could only bite his lip at her tear-filled eyes that held guilt, fear and anger.

"If I do..." continued Orihime in an inaudible whisper before her face froze as her nightmares resurfaced abruptly, all the terrors she had witnessed merged with the wicked threats Aizen made both showing her what would occur if she didn't obey: Ichigo, raped in mind and soul.

Clenching her eyes tightly closed and shaking her head rapidly as if to rid herself of the horrifying images, she then choked out determinedly, as her energy surged once more around her shaking hands: "I can't. I can't let that happen to you. NEVER!"

Brown eyes doubling in size, Ichigo gasped out as his friend once again lunged for him and attacked with even more vehemence than before, leaving him even less room and time to shirk away: "Stop! Don't do this! Inoue! Inoue, stop! I don't want to fight you!"

"And you think I do?!" she cried out miserably, her actions draining her further and further with every minute whilst destroying even more and more all around them "I don't have a choice!"

"Inoue! I'm begging you! STOP!"

But Orihime Inoue was completely gone, motivated only by the undying need to spare the one she cherished more than anyone, from the horrors that the child of chaos had waiting for him. She would not let that happen. And that was to be prevented, no matter what it took (6).

So she went on and on, and on, nonstop, hysterically aiming for Ichigo only to end up demolishing all but him instead as he dodged, utterly refusing to raise his blade or even his hand on her: ground, walls, roofs, all breaking up to pieces before turning to dust in the wind.

The orange-haired girl abruptly came to a halt as her vision blurred, along with her other senses dimming faintly: she was totally exhausted and was close to blacking out. Maybe that was a good thing. If she passed out, then she wouldn't have to carry on obeying Aizen, even if it was temporary. That was good, right? ...Right? She then inwardly laughed at herself: how demented and pathetic she had become. Did it even matter? Maybe she was better off dead. Perhaps Ichigo would have fewer troubles that way...Maybe...Maybe not. She didn't know anymore...

Shaking away her dark thoughts as her vision returned to her, Orihime's blurry eyes locked onto the Shinigami Substitute who was running as fast as he could back towards her, urgently shouting out something at her but she couldn't hear him, couldn't understand him. Her vision then dimmed again...but it wasn't because of her overtiredness this time.

Her grey eyes went wide as large shadows loomed over her, leading her to slowly lift her head up and to witness, much to her terror, an amass of rubble, coming from her own rampage, heading straight for her from the dark black sky.

"INOUE!" cried out Ichigo in complete horror as the debris crashed down on her seconds before he reached her. Hastily moving over to where he had last caught sight of her, he began to fervently push the rocks away and, after awhile, he eventually found her: her lifeless form was covered in white dust and several bloody injuries from the brutal impact of the ruins.

Gingerly taking hold of her limp body and bringing it closer to him, the orange-haired licked his dry lips nervously as he called out to her, trying to rouse her: "Come on, Inoue. Inoue! Say something! Anything! Please...Inoue."

For a moment nothing happened. And just as he began to despair, her lashes fluttered slowly open before she winced and her hand flew up to her head, delicately touching a large gash there: "Ugh...It hurts."

"Oh thank God. It'll be alright, Inoue. Can you heal yourself?"

"Heal...myself?" she repeated slowly, testing out the word, as if it somehow felt foreign to her, before she cautiously set her muddled yet vindicate grey eyes upon the now relieved young teen holding her "Um...Excuse me, but...who are you?"

Expression gradually surrendering to absolute shocked horror, Ichigo felt the whole weight of the world had just fallen upon his shoulders to crush him to nothingness, as Orihime passed out again, against his chest, right against his now thumping heart: Amnesia wasn't uncommon but it sure was a bitch when it came along. And it certainly felt like one right now to the teen, specially with Aizen's scathing sadistic laughter echoing from somewhere in the background...

A/N: I am so sorry... This chapter is more complicated than I thought: there is just so much to take into consideration. I had promised to update end of November (or in this case, beginning of December: I just took in the date) so that's what I'm doing: didn't want to keep you waiting too long. The rest will come as soon as it's written. Bear with me! See you soon!

And the Countdown ends in the next update...

(1): In short, an Arise is a Kuchiki gifted, at birth, with the ability to ascend as the upcoming Soul King, since, like I mentioned earlier, in this fic, the Soul Kings are from Kuchiki blood.

(2): I don't recall if that's exactly how it went: I believe that it was Zaraki who got beaten down and Unohana was just 'scratched'... but it made it sound cool this way, having her hold a grudge for also being defeated in a way.

(3) I know what you're thinking: Kyoraku Shunsui? That easily captured? No way. I totally I agree: I actually hesitated writing that scene the way I did, as I was going to initially kill him off along with Ukitake Jushiro. However, as one of my readers requested he lives, I kept him alive... So, here's my, hopefully, plausible excuse: during the Winter War, did you notice how off his game he was when Wonderweiss attacked Jushiro? He completely lost focus (the reaction is understandable as the two go like way back, kind of like Yumichika and Ikkaku do, I guess...); in this fic, it's sort of the same, only exploited on a slightly more drastic scale...

(4) I'll try to draw the Aizen symbol and set it as the official image for this fic. Expect it around New Year's. I hope...

(5) In case things are complicated (because I'm not sure if I explained it or not), Hinamori was her original first name as an Aizen, before it was turned into her family name when she was adopted and then named Momo.

(6) On a personal note, I wrote the fight scene between Ichigo and Orihime whilst listening to 'Bring Me To Life', by Evanescence: It. Was. Epic! In my head anyway... Hard to put it down on paper...So, there's this part after the first chorus (after the first minute or so, which starts with the brief guitar entry, seconds before Amy Lee sings 'Now that I know what I am without...'): ok, so now imagine it merged with the part where Orihime is attacking Ichigo head on, non-stop, him dodging whilst she goes on and on, breaking their surroundings...until that moment where Orihime stops (at 'Bring me') and then looks up (it concords right before the lyrics 'To life') and then rubble falls down on her (the impact happens just as the sound of the bass returns). And I'm shivering. And then later on in the song, there are these lyrics: 'Frozen inside, without your touch...' Picture that with Ichigo finding her in the ruins, then waking her and asking her if she was alright, all this until the lyrics say the word 'Darling'. AND THEN...she carefully asks him who he is and Ichigo's face slowly turns horror-struck along with Aizen's sadistic laughter echoing, just with the lyrics drag out the word 'Dead'... OhmyGod, OhmyGod, OhmyGod, I can't breathe! I strongly recommend trying to read that part with the song in question: it's really worth it...if you don't mind Rock music that is.