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"Rukia" – Normal Speech

'Ichigo' – Thoughts

*Kaien-dono* - Zanpakutō speech/thoughts

"Bankai!" – Spiritual Technique

Chapter 12: Captain's Meeting

The Next Day

"What's she doing?" Ichigo asked Rukia, nodding towards Kokken Asa, who was seated on the ground, her legs crossed and her Zanpakutō drawn and laid naked across her lap.

"She's performing Jinzen and bonding with her Zanpakutō." The ravenette replied, "Jinzen is how we communicate with the spirits of our swords and perhaps gain new abilities from them. Didn't you get taught that by whoever granted you powers again?"

"Nope. Basically he chased after me and made me fight for five days." The carrot-top said flippantly.

"Sounds like Kisuke." Yoruichi said with a snort, "He always was fond of grounding you in the practical aspects first before moving onto the boring bits."

"Something I will be taking up with him when we return to the World of the Living, sensei." Kokken spoke as she stood and sheathed her weapon, "Your education is horribly lopsided in the favour of Zanjutsu, Kurosaki-san. You know nothing of Kidō, Hakuda or Hohō. Even Urahara should have taught you some of the basics of Hakuda or Shunpo before sending you to the Soul Society. Chad learned a variant of it under my tutelage and I don't doubt Inoue-san could as well."

"Shunpo? That blurry-moving thing?" Ichigo asked with a frown.

"Yes. As you have a Kidō-Melee-type Zanpakutō, learning how to properly focus your Reiryoku into Reiatsu can only be beneficial to the strength of whatever that strange blue-wave technique you used against Abarai Renji was." The masked Soul Reaper stated.

"I still can't believe Ichigo, of all people, has a Kidō-hybrid type Zanpakutō." Rukia said in disbelief.

"You can likely thank your own Zanpakutō spirit for that, Kuchiki-san." Kokken said in amusement.

"Whaddya mean?" Ichigo demanded bluntly.

"When you absorbed most of Kuchiki-san's power, did you seriously not consider that you absorbed something more than that?" Kokken questioned him, "Kurosaki-san, you absorbed the spirit of her Zanpakutō as well. She dwelled inside of you for more than a month, and was forced to become that monstrosity of a blade that you wielded until Kuchiki Byakuya forced her out of you. It is of little surprise that she influenced your true Zanpakutō's eventual power and appearance."

Seeing both of them look confused, Kokken elaborated. "Kuchiki-san, recall what Kurosaki-san's weapon looks like when it is free of the bandage around it. Doesn't any part of it look familiar?"

Rukia thought for a minute before the answer struck her. "The ribbon! The freed bandage looks similar to Sode no Shirayuki's ribbon!"

"Exactly. I suspect that before he carried your Zanpakutō spirit around, Kurosaki-san would have had a purely melee Zanpakutō." Kokken nodded, "Urahara will be interested in this, so expect him to badger you with questions once I tell him, Kurosaki-san."

"Hell no. Why do you have to tell him that?" Ichigo demanded.

"To get him to stop bothering me." Kokken deadpanned, making Ichigo facepalm.

"I can see that." he muttered, "So what's the plan? And what are we going to do with Midget 2.0?"

"I am not a midget!" Rukia shouted and kicked Ichigo's ankle before cursing and hopping around holding her foot. Evidently she had forgotten that his current passive Reiatsu was far greater than hers.

"Ha!" Ichigo crowed at getting one over on the pint-sized tyrant.

"I think he was referring to Peach-chan over there, Kuchiki-san." Kokken stated dryly, indicating the bound and gagged girl who was glaring at her helplessly. She had gotten loud when she regained consciousness, so Kokken had gagged her.

"Oh." Rukia said before Hanatarō started healing her injured foot.

"I think that a variation on the plan Kokken-chan came up with yesterday is the best one." Yoruichi said with a sigh, "She and Ichigo-kun can go up and cause havoc up top while we get as close to the Senkaimon as we can before nightfall. They can find us again after nightfall. Then we can work out how to power the gate."

"But…how? It takes several members of the Gatekeeper Corps to power an authorised portal to the World of the Living." Rukia said pensively.

"That's because they're fairly weak individually." Kokken broke in somewhat impatiently, "We have a well-trained Captain-class Soul Reaper, a barely trained Captain-class Soul Reaper and several others ranging between Lieutenant and Tenth Seat in strength. I think we can adequately power the gate come what may. What worries me is us having to avoid the Kōtotsu again. I suppose acquiring a Jigokuchō is out of the question?"

"Yep." Yoruichi said with a grin, "We're going to have to work with what we have, kiddo."

"Fantastic." Kokken deadpanned, "Well, I'd better be heading on up. C'mon, Kurosaki-san. Say your temporary goodbyes."

After Ichigo said goodbye to his friends, who had been asleep until Kokken prodded them awake, the two Soul Reapers vanished into the dark tunnels of the sewers. Yoruichi turned to Hinamori and removed the gag.

"Now then, little peach that has been plucked…" the werecat grinned to Hinamori's irritation, "Do you know who I am?"

"No. Why should I?" the girl said sullenly.

The purplette tutted loudly. "Tsk-tsk. Don't they teach manners at the Shinōreijutsuin these days? The name's Shihōin Yoruichi. Does that ring a bell?"

Hinamori's eyes almost popped out of her skull at that. "The exiled Captain of the Second?!"

"Ah, some recognition at last." The werecat chuckled, "See, now that we're both up to speed on who each of us is, let that be a warning; you cannot run faster than the Goddess of Flash, so no trying to escape. That'd just be a waste of your time."

Gulping, Momo wondered how she had gotten herself into this mess.

Later

With Izuru

The previous few days had been full of unexplained and unexpected things happening. Ikkanzaka Jidanbō being defeated for the first time in his three-hundred-year career, the barrier around the Seireitei being penetrated and so many Soul Reapers being defeated in a single invasion being the most prominent ones. Hearing about high-ranking Soul Reapers being beaten by the Ryoka was one thing, but seeing Abarai Renji, one of his classmates, carted off to Fourth Squad's Barracks for healing had driven it home to Kira Izuru.

These Ryoka were no joke.

Almost all of Squad 11 was laid up in Fourth Squad's barracks, aside from a few of their Seated officers, Lieutenant Kusajishi and Captain Zaraki of course. There had been a few hundred wounded across the rest of the Squads, but the main combat unit within the Seireitei had been temporarily gutted. Amazingly, there had been no true deaths yet.

Now, however, something totally incomprehensible and unbelievable had been discovered and he was staring up at it, along with a dozen other Soul Reapers.

Captain Aizen Sōsuke was impaled, with his own sword, on a wall twenty feet above the walkway. His eyes were staring vacantly and his mouth was opened slightly, as if surprised. He was quite dead.

A Captain was dead. A Captain hadn't died since Zaraki Kenpachi had killed the old Captain of Squad 11, Kiganjō, in a single strike. Before that, Kira didn't know of any Captains (aside from the other Captains of Squad 11) who had died; exiled, yes. Promoted to the Zero Squad, yes. But killed? He was horrified and stunned at this situation.

"Lieutenant Izuru, what is…oh spirits!"

Kira jerked around and saw a stunned Captain Hitsugaya next to him.

'Well…glad to see I'm not the only one gobsmacked by this!' he thought somewhat hysterically.

"When was this discovered?" Hitsugaya asked quietly after a moment.

"About thirty minutes ago." The blond-haired Lieutenant replied, "I only arrived a few minutes ago myself."

"I see." The deceptively child-like Captain frowned, "When was the last time anyone saw Captain Aizen?"

"I reported to him last night at around midnight to tell him Momo…that Lieutenant Hinamori had gone missing." Kira winced as the white-haired Captain's blue eyes widened in shock.

"Momo is missing?!"

"She chased after the Ryoka after Lieutenant Abarai was found defeated." Kira said quickly, "I tried to stop her, but you know how she gets when her dander is up! She just vanished in a Shunpo before I could do anything!"

"Dammit, Momo!" Hitsugaya groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the incipient headache that his adopted elder sister had caused with her impulsive actions, yet again.

"Lost a peach, chibi-Captain-san?" a voice mocked him from above.

Spinning around, Hitsugaya looked up and saw a Soul Reaper wearing a black mask and a plain brown cape standing on the building opposite the one that Aizen had been impaled on. She had her arms crossed and she seemed to be highly amused, judging by her body language.

"So tell me," she said, her voice sibilant, "who is it that is impaled on that sword there?"

"As if you don't know, Ryoka!" Kira shouted, "That's Captain Aizen! One of you must have killed him!"

All amusement vanished from her body language at that point. "Aizen? Hah! Cunning bastard…"

"What do you know about Hinamori Momo?" Hitsugaya demanded.

"Is that coming from a Captain or a friend?" the masked Soul Reaper asked.

"She's my sister!"

"I see." The mask nodded, "She attempted to kill me to avenge what had been done to Abarai Renji, which I had very little to do with, before realising she was out of her depth and attempting to retreat. I chased her down and defeated her. She is now our prisoner and I can assure the excitable tired looking person next to you that it wasn't a member of my group who 'slew' Aizen."

"And we should believe you because why?" Kira asked derisively.

Her body language screamed contempt to him at that point. "Where were you morons when they handed out the brains? In order to accomplish killing a Captain-class Soul Reaper with his own sword, you'd have to completely muffle any sound, as well as cover up the clash of Reiatsu, not to mention the fact you'd have to have as much Reiryoku as the four senior Captains or the Sōtaichō in order to carry it out!"

With a motion, her cloak fell off and all the Soul Reapers present felt her Reiatsu gather and rise until it peaked.

"So, Captain-san, how strong am I?" she asked pointedly and Hitsugaya scowled.

"Very impressive for a Lieutenant. You're in the top five strongest lieutenants with that level of Reiatsu." He said reluctantly, "Certainly not strong enough to threaten Captain Aizen, however."

"Quite right." the woman said smugly as she lowered her Reiatsu and then erased it completely by throwing her cape back around her, "There are only two people stronger than I am in my group and neither have the abilities or inclination to carry out this assassination. I suggest you turn your investigation elsewhere for culprits. Perhaps the man himself did it. Suicide is a funny way for a Captain to go, wouldn't you say?"

"How dare you imply Aizen-taichō would do something so dishonourable?!" Kira snarled.

"I'm just throwing out possibilities here, blondie." The girl replied insolently, "This is your exclusive little clubhouse that had a murder in it; you seek the truth, or is Kuchiki Rukia's railroading the new norm for you Soul Reapers?"

"Railroading?" Hitsugaya wasn't familiar with the term.

"Urgh, Soul Reapers!" the girl grumbled, "A stich up! Yes, she gave someone her powers, but the letter of the rules means she has already completed the legal punishment for the crime at her rank; imprisonment for a month and no pay for another year."

"The ruling came down from the Central 46." The white-haired Captain informed her, "We have no right to disobey them."

"Blind obedience is not true obedience, chibi-san." The masked woman scolded him, "He who willingly wears blinders shall miss what seeks to hurt him. Trust me on this, once this whole thing blows over, the Soul Society and the Soul Reapers shall never be the same again."

A chill went down the spines of every Soul Reaper present as they heard her words and felt the certainty behind them. She was absolutely serious about it.

"And now, gentlemen, I shall retreat and seek playmates elsewhere." The masked woman said with a small bow, "Farewell."

In a blur of Shunpo, she vanished, leaving the Soul Reapers stunned, except for one.

"Get back here!" Hitsugaya Toshiro roared and vanished in a Shunpo of his own.

Several Minutes Later

Kirika landed in the middle of an empty courtyard, with the weird white-haired Captain right on her heels. She huffed as she turned to face him.

"What is it that you want?" she asked him.

"You will surrender quietly and take me to wherever it is you are keeping Momo right now." Hitsugaya ordered.

"Yeah, how about no?" Kirika snarked at him, "She was the one stupid enough to track us down without bringing reinforcements, so she's our prisoner until we get out of here. Then we'll release her before we go."

"Then learn the meaning of pain." He said softly as he drew his long Zanpakutō from his back. It was an ordinary-looking katana with a tsuba shaped like a four-pointed star.

"Sōten ni zase, Hyōrinmaru! (Reign over the Frosted Heavens, Ice Circle!)" He declared. His weapon reacted instantly, a chain growing out of the bottom of the hilt, ending in a crescent-shaped blade. Above them, the sky darkened and the temperature began to drop sharply.

'Holy…! He's got an Ice Zanpakutō so powerful that even its Shikai can affect the weather!' Kirika thought in disbelief, 'I can't fight him and win, even if I release Nejibana. I can't even pull a draw! I have to hit him hard enough that he can't track me for just a moment before I escape. No drawing a Zanpakutō here, I think.'

Extending her hands out and cupping them, Kirika began to chant the most powerful fire Kidō that she knew and poured as much of her Reiryoku into it as she dared.

"Kunrinsha yo! Chiniku no kamen, banshō, habataki, hito no na o kansu mono yo! Sōka no kabe ni sōren o kizamu, taika no fuchi o enten ni te matsu! (Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens!)"

A large ball of blue light gathered in her hands as she chanted, the bright light almost blinding.

'A fully-incanted Hadō in the low seventies…not bad, but it stands no chance against my Hyōrinmaru.' Hitsugaya thought confidently. He pointed his sword at her and said, "Ryōjin Hyōheki (Woven-Ice Wall)"

In front of him a thick shield of ice formed, just big enough to protect his body. Hyōrinmaru's Shikai form could only control a limited amount of water and ice, but it was still more than enough for this technique. He'd block this Kidō, then leap over the ice wall and deal with her with Zanjutsu.

"Hadō #73, Sōren Sōkatsui! (Way of Destruction Number Seventy-Three, Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down!)" Kirika shouted as she thrust her cupped hands outwards, flattening them and releasing the Hadō at her enemy.

With a roar, the Sōren Sōkatsui was unleashed, a tsunami of blue flames erupting from Kirika's hands, much to both her and Hitsugaya's astonishment. She had never unleashed any of her fire-type Hadō at full power before, let alone stacking it with so much as she had this one.

"Tensō Jūrin! (Subjugation of the Heavens!)" He shouted, silently commanding the water in the atmosphere to form into an icy shield around him in addition to his Ryōjin Hyōheki. This was the most basic and yet the strongest ability of Hyōrinmaru; absolute control over the water in the atmosphere. Were he in Bankai, he would hesitate to use it, as he had only the most basic control over it, but as of now, it would prevent him from being injured.

Just as the icy cocoon covered him, the Sōren Sōkatsui washed over it, bathing the entire area in blindingly hot flames. This was the greatest weakness of Ice-type Zanpakutō; sufficiently hot flames could melt them and render all attacks and defences useless. Granted, some fire-type Kidō could accomplish that with a lot of effort, but just about the only thing Hitsugaya had found could do it every time was Yamamoto-sōtaichō's Zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka.

Now though, the second most powerful fire-type Hadō was steadily melting his ice to pieces and he wasn't certain that his Shunpo would be good enough to let him get away from the tide of flames unscathed. Some idiots, like Zaraki, would try and tank the flames, but he had little desire to find out what it was like to jump into a firestorm.

The ice cracked, shivered and collapsed, just as the Sōren Sōkatsui ended, leaving the bare one millimetre of ice left to crumble to dust as a red cloud covered the area.

'Bakudō #21, Sekienton.' He concluded. Momo was skilled at Kidō, while he had become barely competent enough to graduate early from the Shinōreijutsuin. Being around Momo had familiarised him with commonly used Kidō enough that they could be recognised on sight.

A blurred figure leaping out of the cloud drew his attention and he lashed out with is sword, shouting, "Hyōrinmaru!" as he did so. A serpentine oriental dragon made of water and ice formed from his slash and soared towards his target with a roar, engulfing it in a cocoon of ice up to her neck.

Shunpoing over to it, he frowned as it was hollow. How the hell…?

When he saw three more leaping out of the fog, each in different direction, he knew. Somehow she was able to create corporeal clones that both looked and sounded real enough to fool him. He still couldn't sense her because of that thrice-damned cloak somehow totally suppressed her Reiryoku and Reiatsu, which meant that all she had to do was get out of his line of sight and she'd be able to slip away.

"Hyōrinmaru!" he shouted, slashing three times, one aimed at each of the fleeing cloaked figures, sending a dragon at each of them. Much to his surprise, when the dragons closed on their targets, all three turned around and fired an Eishōhaki Shakkahō at their pursuers, delaying them as the three vanished into a Shunpo.

Scowling, Hitsugaya Toshiro deactivated his Shikai and sheathed his sword over his shoulder. He was about to head to the Squad 1 Barracks in order to talk to the Sōtaichō when his Lieutenant appeared in the blur of a Shunpo next to him.

"Taichō!" Matsumoto Rangiku said, her eyes wide, "What happened here?!"

"Captain Aizen has been murdered, Momo has been captured and things to do with Kuchiki Rukia's situation are starting to seem more and more suspicious." He said blandly, "I must talk with the Sōtaichō. Things are not what they seem to be. Not with Captain Aizen's murder and not with the Ryoka."

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Later

With Kirika

Sewer Entrance

'Hell! It's freaking COLD!' Kirika screamed inside her head as she limped to the sewer opening. Regardless of what people thought, getting anywhere close to the ice dragons created by Hyōrinmaru was not a good idea. Touching them could freeze someone instantly, while close proximity was like standing in the middle of Hokkaido in midwinter during a heavy snowstorm while only wearing underwear.

She had been stupid, taunting a Captain-class Soul Reaper like that. Stupid as hell and she'd almost ended up frozen in ice for who knows how long. After all of her admonishments to her brother, she had done something as stupid as he would have done.

Well, Ichigo would have tried to fight the pint-sized Captain head-on rather than taunt him, but it was the same general point. She should have left when she saw the white haori of a Captain there, but no, she had to needle him. Seeing a sword stabbed into the wall and everyone look at it in horror had been too much for her curiosity to handle.

She went over her body meticulously when she entered the sewers. She had very mild frostbite on her feet, which was easily taken care of by Kaidō, and some scratches and bruises from the tumble she had taken getting away from that last ice dragon, also dealt with via Kaidō. She decided to give Tessai-sensei a present for teaching her the healing art.

Whizzing through the sewers once her body was healed, she soon discovered the small trail markings that Yoruichi-sensei left behind to guide her. Following them, and erasing them en-route, brought her to the group, who were surprised at her appearance.

"Kokken? You're back early." Her werecat sensei said in surprise.

"I…kinda…got…caught up…in something." Kirika gasped out before she fell to the floor.

With Yoruichi

A thrill of fear ran up the Shihōin Princess' spine as her apprentice collapsing to the ground. She swiftly caught her and laid her gently on her back as she assessed the damage.

"Hanatarō! Come and have a look at her!" she ordered, making the diminutive 3rd Seat rush forward and start diagnosing her.

"She's not wounded. Just utterly exhausted, both physically and spiritually." He said after a moment, "From what I can see here, she used two, perhaps three, greatly draining techniques, Kidō ones at that, in quick succession without giving herself a chance to recover any Reiryoku in between them. Add into that she obviously used Kaidō to heal her wounds, used Shunpo to get all the way here and she'd obviously not recovered fully from her exertions yesterday, it's of little surprise."

"Always pushing herself." The werecat patted the helmet covering Kirika's head with a sigh, "Can you top up her Reiryoku a bit as well? We need her mobile."

"I'll do my best, but her reserves are quite large." The healer cautioned her, "She's definitely in the upper-Lieutenant level. I'll leave some medicine pills here for her to eat that'll speed up her Reiryoku's natural replenishment rate, as well as an energy pill that should restore her physical condition to above normal for a while."

"Good. Do it." She said firmly. As Hanatarō bent to his task, Orihime and Chad joined Yoruichi in standing vigil over her apprentice, while Rukia, Hinamori, Ishida and Ganju watched from a distance.

"Yoruichi-san, is Kokken-sensei going to be OK?" the orangette asked in worry.

"She'll be fine, Orihime-chan." The purplette said soothingly, "She just fought someone above her weight class is all."

"How do you know that?" Chad asked softly.

"Kokken was trained by me." Yoruichi stated, "I know her way of thinking in a battle, having influenced it a lot. She would only fight herself into this sort of condition if she was against an opponent who had the exact skills needed to counter her own or if she was up against a more powerful opponent…like a Captain."

"Got it in one, sensei." Kirika's disguised voice weakly rasped, drawing attention to her from the watching.

"So who did you piss off to get into this state?" Yoruichi asked, barely disguising the relief in her voice.

"Captain of Squad 10, Hitsugaya Toshiro." Came the swift reply, "It turns out Peach-chan over there is his sister and boy, was he pissed when I told him she is our prisoner. That Zanpakutō of his can alter the weather of the area around him even in Shikai. I almost didn't get away."

"You…you fought off Shiro-kun?!" Hinamori said incredulously, "I don't believe you!"

"Did I say that I fought him off?" the masked Soul Reaper asked scornfully, "No, I didn't. I said that I escaped from him. Barely. I'm just lucky that he fell for my decoy Shunbunshin."

"Shun-what?" Rukia asked, having come closer.

"It's one of my original techniques." Yoruichi replied, "The extreme end of Hohō, moving so fast that you create speed clones that can act individually and even fire Kidō in a limited way. Only I, Soi Fon and now Kokken know how to use it and it is very stressful and draining to use. I'd say you used it twice in less than a minute?"

"Yup. Made one clone to draw the pint-sized guy away after I used Sekienton to hide in and then made two more to divide his attention. All of this after using a fully-incanted and overpowered Sōren Sōkatsui to blast him into hiding." Kirika said as she sat up with a wince, "Even then, those damn ice dragons he fires off almost got me. It's better than I was back in the World of the Living though; back there I would have conked out right there from using three Shunbunshin so quickly. Being back in the Seireitei is definitely upping my Reiryoku with each battle. Kurosaki-san will reach that place we need him to soon. Also, there is some serious action going on out there."

"Like what?" Yoruichi asked intently.

"When I interrupted them, Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Kira Izuru were saying that Captain Aizen Sōsuke had been murdered with his own Zanpakutō." Kokken's words made the entire group freeze. Yoruichi's eyes narrowed, while Rukia, Ganju and Hinamori's widened considerably.

"A…Aizen….Aizen-taichō is…dead…?" Hinamori stammered.

"Funny thing is, the 'dead body' they were looking at was a sword plunged into the side of a building." The masked Soul Reaper remarked, "I think they were all under the effects of some sort of illusion Kidō or an Illusion-type Zanpakutō. Tell me Hinamori…what type of Zanpakutō does Aizen have and what does it do?"

"A…a Flowing Water-type." The petite Soul Reaper answered in confusion, "Kyōka Suigetsu creates illusions using diffused water particles in the air. Why…?"

Instead of answering, Kirika turned to Yoruichi. "Sensei? What is Kyōka Suigetsu's real power?"

'How the hell did she find out?' was what the purplette thought before remembering that Kirika wasn't stupid and had likely drawn the conclusion from seeing the sword jammed into the wall and everyone else seeing something that wasn't there.

"Kyōka Suigetsu is an Illusion-type Zanpakutō that allows Aizen to control all five of the senses of those who have seen him activate his Shikai." She said after a moment, "In other words, anyone who sees him use his Shikai are under perfect and total hypnosis, seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting exactly what he wants them to. There is no time limit, no way known to break free of the hypnosis and, if he's been as methodical as he has been for the last hundred years, he's likely got all of the Captains, Lieutenants and Third Seats under Kyōka Suigetsu's influence."

With every word, the distress and horror on Hinamori's face grew, with horror on everyone else's.

"I don't believe you." Hinamori stated, a wobble in her voice, "You're lying!"

"Either I'm telling the truth and Aizen is still alive, or I'm lying and Aizen's dead. Which do you prefer?" Yoruichi asked pointedly.

That made the brunette look at her in a stricken way before her eyes rolled up and she fainted, slumping against the wall.

"Must have been too much for her to process at once." Kirika commented as she slipped the pills a dazed-looking Hanatarō had given her into a side-slot in her helmet that evidently led to a feeding tube of some sort. "Tch. Trust Urahara-san to plan for this kind of situation."

"Evidently there has been much about this situation that we have remained uninformed about." Ishida said as he adjusted his glasses, "I think you both owe us some explanations. Now."

"Hey, I wanted to be upfront about it from the get-go." Kirika protested, "As I said yesterday, you try saying no to three Captain-class Soul Reapers! And even I don't know everything!"

"Then kindly explain what you do know." The Quincy said implacably.

"This…will take some time." Kirika sighed.

Captain's Meeting Hall, Squad One Barracks

Hitsugaya Toshiro stood with his arms crossed as the room filled up with Captains. At the head of the double-line sat Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, Captain of Squad One and the Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. He seemed to be dozing, but Toshiro knew better than to let that deceive him.

Soi Fon, Captain of Squad Two and the Commander of the Onmitsukidō, stood at the head of the line to Yamamoto's left. She was a slim and wiry woman, with an intense attitude and a zeal that frankly disturbed the prodigy. Next to her stood Unohana Retsu, Captain of Squad Four. Her long black hair was woven into a simple plait that was wrapped around her neck from the back and dangled down to her midriff. She was usually non-confrontational, but was infamously strict on people disrupting her men in her barracks.

To her side was Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain of Squad Six. His stoic expression and rigid control of his emotions and Reiryoku gave nothing away. The quintessential noble of one of the Four Great Families.

Between him and Hitsugaya was the flamboyant Captain of Squad Eight, Kyōraku Shinsui. Wearing a pink kimono over his Captain's Haori and a straw hat on his head, he was, surprisingly enough, not the most eccentrically dressed Captain present.

To Hitsugaya's other side was the Captain of Squad Twelve and the President of the Soul Reaper Research Institute, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He gave Toshiro the creeps, no two ways about it. His pale and skeletal face was perpetually smiling, which was a good part of his creep-factor.

At the head of the line on the other side stood Ichimaru Gin, the Captain of Squad Three. Out of all the Captains, Ichimaru was the one Toshiro trusted the least. The patently fake smile he wore all the time and the fact that he acted so suspiciously put the white-haired Captain's guard up.

Towering over all the rest was the giant Captain of Squad Seven, Sajin Komamura. Wearing a bucket-like helmet, as well as gauntlets and greaves, no one had ever seen his face, save for the Sōtaichō, supposedly. He was a loyal man and supported the Captain-Commander in all things.

Next to him was the blind Captain of Squad Nine, Tōsen Kaname. Wearing clear goggles, he was nevertheless one of the most dangerous Captains in Zanjutsu due to his incredibly fine ability to sense the Reiryoku of his opponents moving through their bodies and read their movements that way.

There were three Captains missing; the deceased Captain Aizen of Squad Five, the perpetually ill Captain Ukitake of Squad Thirteen and the battle-crazy Captain Zaraki of Squad Eleven.

"I call this emergency Captain's meeting into session!" the Sōtaichō said gruffly, "The first order of business is you, Captain Ichimaru. Two days ago, before I authorised the Captains to carry their Zanpakutō, you were at the Hakutōmon using your Shikai against the Ryoka. Not only that, you failed to apprehend them. Explain yourself."

"Well now, this is awkward." The silver-haired man chuckled, "I'd heard the alarms and decided to investigate. That Ikkanzaka Jidanbō not only lost, but opened the gate for the Ryoka made my decision a good one, wouldn't you say?"

"And the reason why you did not apprehend the Ryoka?" Kuchiki Byakuya asked coolly.

"There's the thing. In yer report, there was a masked or helmet-wearin' Soul Reaper, right?" Ichimaru asked. Receiving a shirt nod, he continued, "Well she, whoever she is, is at least entry-level Onmitsukidō in terms of her Hohō skills. She read my intent to attack Jidanbō, Shunpo'd into the air, drew her blade and parried my Shinsō's strike in less than ten seconds so all the Gatekeeper received was a flesh wound. Then she managed ta blunt my next attack against the orange-haired boy, turning it from a stab into propelling them both out of the Seireitei, which in turn allowed Jidanbō ta slam the gate down again."

Several Captains, including Soi Fon and Toshiro, were frowning at this. The Onmitsukidō were literally the best users of Hohō in the entirety of the Seireitei. For someone to equal them in terms of speed was disturbing. For the self-same person to be able to parry the attack of a Captain's Shikai was equally as troubling.

"Hm." The Head Captain stared down the grinning subject of his scrutiny for a moment. "You are to be reprimanded for bearing your blade in the Seireitei without permission, as well as unleashing your Shikai twice. Furthermore, your failure to capture the Ryoka is to be condemned. Do not make a third slip up, youngster."

"Understood, Sōtaichō." Ichimaru nodded.

"Next we have the escape of the prisoner Kuchiki Rukia. How did it happen?" the old man asked. Soi Fon stepped forward to answer him.

"Sōtaichō, evidently this helmeted Soul Reaper…this Kokken Asa…broke into a Shihōin Storehouse and stole a Kinto'un." She said with a scowl, "She bypassed most of the guards on the approaches to the Senzaikyū, defeated the guards on-site and removed Kuchiki from the tower. She then flew out using the Kinto'un and aided in the defeat of Lieutenant Abarai Renji before the Ryoka dropped out of sight yesterday."

"Captain Unohana, how badly wounded was Lieutenant Abarai?" Yamamoto asked.

"He was no more badly injured than any of the other wounded who have been brought to my barracks in the last two days." The medic replied serenely, "It should be noted that someone used basic first-aid Kaidō to stabilise him before the first responders from my squad arrived, likely one of the Ryoka. It would have been harder to heal him had it not been applied so quickly."

"Noted." Yamamoto felt a mild headache brewing. The Ryoka were irking him. They break into the Seireitei, hospitalise most of Squad Eleven, break a death-row prisoner out of the Senzaikyū, and yet do things that make no tactical or strategic sense. Why protect Ikkanzaka Jidanbō? Why heal Abarai Renji? The last could be due to his connection to the Kuchiki girl, but given that he had aided in apprehending her in the first place, that didn't feel right.

"Any fatalities?"

"As of yet, only the corpse of a single member of the Onmitsukidō was discovered near the Shihōin Storehouse where the Kinto'un was stolen from." Unohana said sadly, "He was slain with a single strike across the throat from the front."

"Whoever did that will pay!" Soi Fon hissed.

"Moving on." Yamamoto wished more of the Captains were more seasoned. Thanks to the incident a century ago, most aside from Kyōraku, Ukitake and Unohana were less than a century into their terms as a Captain. This was evident in the emotion they showed. He was not the same monster who had sacrificed his men like chess pieces a thousand years ago, but he could and would order it done if necessary, "Captain Hitsugaya, report."

"It was discovered earlier on today that Captain Aizen Sōsuke was found murdered." Toshiro stated bluntly, a ripple of shock emanating from most of the other Captains.

"How?" Tōsen asked, his blind eyes narrowing.

"He was impaled by his own Zanpakutō." He answered plainly, "But there are several things about the murder that strike me as odd."

"Oh?" Yamamoto said with a raised eyebrow.

"It was actually one of the Ryoka, this Kokken Asa person, who drew my attention to this." Hitsugaya said ignoring the looks he was getting, "She pointed out to me that the requirements to kill a Captain-class Soul Reaper, without anyone noticing either the physical or Reiatsu clash, would be close to impossible to accomplish. I agree."

"They are the most likely suspects for this murder. Why should we believe them?" Soi Fon spat.

"She removed her Reiatsu suppressing cloak and raised her Reiatsu to its fullest extent, showing me that while she's a strong Lieutenant, she could not harm a Captain." The white-haired Captain answered steadily, "And it would take a Captain-class or above being, Soul Reaper or otherwise, to overpower a Captain. She further stated that while her group did have two Captain-class combatants, neither of them were suited for an assassination of this sort. It also makes no sense based on the extremely low fatality rate that these Ryoka have somehow managed to maintain. They are here for Kuchiki Rukia and now they have her. Why antagonise us further, risking a vastly stronger response, when they have what they came for?"

This, Yamamoto felt, was an excellent point. Why? Why kill a Captain if they didn't need to? Moreover, all the arguments that Hitsugaya brought up made sense. How could a Ryoka kill a Captain without anyone noticing it?

"Kurotsuchi-taichō, are there any drugs in existence that can prevent a Captain from accessing or using their Reiryoku?" he asked.

The half-insane Captain waved a hand dismissively. "Of course not. Not even I have created a drug that can accomplish that. Knock a Captain out for a while, yes, but not block their access to their Reiryoku."

"What of technological solutions? Are there devices that could be used to muffle a confrontation between Captain-class Soul Reapers?" Yamamoto pressed.

"No. The unrestrained Reiatsu of two warriors of such level clashing would make any such device short-circuit very quickly." Kurotsuchi said irritably, "Other than fighting in an area made entirely of Sekkiseki, there is no way that I am aware of that could accomplish this effect."

It really made the man hurt to have to admit that, Yamamoto knew.

"That leaves Kidō." He said aloud, "Komamura-taichō, upon the completion of this meeting, you shall go to the Office of the Kidō Corps and have them investigate the use of any wide-area Kidō used in the Seireitei last night."

"Hai, Sōtaichō-dono." The giant Captain bowed respectfully.

"Is there anything further to report, Hitsugaya-taichō?" the Captain-Commander asked.

"Yes. The Lieutenant of Squad Five, Hinamori Momo has been captured by the Ryoka." The young Captain replied, a bit of pain in his voice.

"This ain't good." Kyōraku muttered.

"It was, again, Kokken Asa who informed me of this. She stated that she will be released before they depart the Soul Society." Hitsugaya said, his hands clenched, "I pursued her and unleashed my Shikai on her."

"Then why is she not in custody?" Tōsen asked swiftly, "You just stated that she was no threat to a Captain."

"Firstly, she cast an abnormally strong Hadō #73 at me." Hitsugaya bit out, "Had I not shielded myself in time, I could have been injured. The scale was different compared to any other Sōren Sōkatsui I have ever seen. I suspect she might have a Kidō Affinity for Fire. Secondly, she is able to create some sort of corporeal clone that is indistinguishable from the original to sight and hearing, and she wears a Reiryoku and Reiatsu concealing cloak, so I had no way to track her."

Soi Fon straightened at the last. "Were they capable of using Kidō?" she asked sharply.

"Yes. Two of the fakes used an Eishōhaki Shakkahō to fend off the ice dragons I sent after them." Hitsugaya answered, startled, "Do you know of this technique?"

"Yes, it's called Shunshin: Shunbunshin." The Commander of the Onmitsukidō growled out, "Before now, I believed that only my predecessor and I were the only ones to use it. It's a very advanced form of Utsusemi, creating physical clones via extreme speed. As I said, the only other person besides myself that had knowledge of this technique was Shihōin Yoruichi. It is likely that she has taken a new apprentice."

"It would explain why she addressed me as 'Byakuya-sempai' when I retrieved Rukia." Byakuya frowned.

"This Kokken Asa seems to be an irksome component to the problem here." Yamamoto said, "Soi Fon-taichō, do you believe that Shihōin Yoruichi's new apprentice could have killed your Onmitsukidō operative?"

The woman hesitated. "I…leaving personal bias to one side, she and I both focus on Hakuda rather than Zanjutsu when against other Soul Reapers. I believe she would have taught this new apprentice in the same manner."

"A squad of Onmitsukidō was brought in from the same area as the dead operative." Unohana spoke up, "They had been beaten using only Hakuda."

"That confirms it in my mind." Soi Fon said grimly, "Whoever this Kokken Asa is, she did not kill my operative. Someone else and killed him, not likely one of the Ryoka."

Yamamoto felt that headache that he had been nursing increase. Another invasion force? Internal dissent? He was getting far too old for this.

"Regardless of who slew your operative, this Kokken Asa seems to be a key player on the enemy's team." He said once he had forced the headache to submit to his will, "All Captains are hereby ordered to detain all Ryoka on sight, especially Kokken Asa! I mean it, Kurotsuchi-taichō! No taking them off to be experimented upon. This applies to Shihōin Yoruichi as well, should she be discovered within the Seireitei. Something is happening behind the scenes here and I am at the end of my patience. Unohana-taichō, I would ask that you go and heal Ukitake-taichō to full health. We need all Captains on alert during this situation."

"As you command, Sōtaichō." Unohana bowed slightly. Not for the first time, Yamamoto was amazed at the difference between Unohana Retsu, the Captain of the Fourth Squad, and Unohana Yachiru, the First Kenpachi. Quite why she had pulled the switch was beyond him, but he wasn't one to complain.

"Dismissed." He said gruffly.

With Hitsugaya

As he left, the white-haired Captain of the Tenth Squad was frowning as he contemplated the conundrum that these Ryoka were presenting him. On one hand, they were rescuing someone they viewed as a friend and ally, which he found himself sympathising with as he felt much the same about them kidnapping his sister-figure. He would get her back by whatever means necessary.

On the other hand, there were undercurrents to this entire situation that were unsettling. He couldn't tell what they were and that concerned him greatly. Kuchiki Rukia's case was already abnormal in several ways. First of all, since when did the Central 46 order a Captain and a Lieutenant to the World of the Living to capture an AWOL Unseated Soul Reaper? More than that, assigning the two people that were closest to her in the entire Goteijūsantai aside from her Captain to the task? A pair of Unseated Soul Reapers from Squad Thirteen would have been more than sufficient.

Second, why was the Sōkyoku, a punishment meant for Captain-class Soul Reapers who had committed the vilest of crime, being issued to her? He had checked and, just as Kokken Asa had said, the punishment for bestowing the power of a Soul Reaper on a human varied according to what rank the bestowing Soul Reaper was. An Unseated Soul Reaper could, at maximum, receive a year's worth of imprisonment and three years of pay forfeited. Power levels were irrelevant, just the rank. The Sōkyoku wasn't even on the punishment list for a Captain, so why was it being employed in the case of a former Inuzuri brat?

Third, Aizen's murder was as fishy as hell. All the reasons Kokken Asa had given for the impossibility of it on the part of her group of Ryoka also applied to the Goteijūsantai. Just as that was strange, the likelihood of Aizen killing himself was so far in the realms of impossible that it wasn't worth considering. Captains did not do that. No Captain had ever killed themselves in the entire history of the squads.

Which left the problem of what in the name of the Soul King was going on here?

Hitsugaya stiffened as an enormous amount of Reiatsu was released, practically drowning him in its embrace. It was a familiar one that he had felt on a couple of occasions before…Zaraki Kenpachi had taken his eyepatch off.

'What fool made him go so far?!' he wondered in disbelief. Kenpachi's eyepatch devoured quite a bit of his Reiryoku, weakening him considerably. Removing it only happened when he found a good fight, such as when a herd of Menos Grande had poured into the Soul Society thirty years ago.

After a few moments, it died down again and Toshiro prayed for the soul of the person who had likely been ripped apart by the savage Kenpachi before moving to head to his Squad's Barracks, where Matsumoto had no doubt left the paperwork to lie fallow.

He was brought up short when another massive cloud of Reiatsu, just as massive and dense as the first rose up, which quickly heralded the return of Kenpachi's full Reiatsu. He felt as if he was going to be crushed under the dense spiritual pressure.

'Who could match Kenpachi of all people in terms of Reiatsu!?' he thought numbly. He flashed back to Kokken Asa mentioning that two of her companions were Captain-class Soul Reapers. One had to be Shihōin Yoruichi, now that he knew Kokken was the exiled Captain's apprentice, but the other one…could this almost bestial Reiatsu belong to the other one?

Just then, both Reiatsu sources vanished abruptly, and Hitsugaya was left gasping at the absence. Both vanishing at once meant that…

"Kenpachi…didn't win?!" he said in shock. What kind of monster could even manage a draw with Kenpachi in a Zanjutsu duel?! He hurriedly vanished in a Shunpo towards where the Reiatsu had been coming from. He had to get there before the Ryoka retrieved their comrade!

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Next Chapter: From the Shadows

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