Chapter 37: The True Traitor

Byakuya's eyes slowly focused on the woman before him. For a small insignificant moment he thought he was starting at his beautiful wife Hisana. That was until the smaller details came into focus as well and his adopted sister Rukia stood before him. Pain erupted in his chest and the back of his head. Off to the side he saw the back of his lieutenant, whom he knew hated him. Rukia's hands glowed with the healing kido energy. Grasping her hands with one of his own, Byakuya stopped her from continuing. "You do not need to continue." he spoke with the same arrogance that he always spoke with. Standing up, Byakuya looked down at her and once more the image of his deceased wife overlapped with Rukia.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Byakuya stepped away towards Lieutenant Abarai. "Where-" he began to question him when he felt Kenpachi's energy farther ahead. "Nevermind." He could feel his sisters nervous energy. "When we catch up to the ryoka, we will fight them." Turning his head towards Rukia, he continued. "Will you hinder us?"

It was a good question. Lieutenant Renji Abarai was wondering the same thing. Why was Rukia, his old friend and partner, so loyal to these people?

"I won't stop you from fighting them, brother." Rukia answered honestly. "However, I won't fight them either." Byakuya looked directly at her over his shoulder. "Besides," she spoke softly as she looked away from her adopted brother's gaze. "I don't think either of you will be able to defeat them."

Renji felt shock rise up at this claim when he felt his captains normally calm reiatsu suddenly rise with annoyance. "We shall see." Those three words normally would not cause fear in Renji, but never had he felt his captain seem so angry or annoyed before.

Having lost Rukia to the Kuchiki family many years ago, Renji had fought his way to the position he was in. From working in the eleventh to the lieutenant position at the sixth. He had once believed that by earning his position like he had that he would be able to stand before Rukia with pride. Only now his hatred towards the man who had taken her in as his sister was overshadowing anything he had accomplished. He had been, for months, trying his best to work with the arrogant prick without making a scene of letting him know of his hatred for him. Captain Kuchiki was a good captain but he separated himself from his men, he didn't actually train anybody; he left that to his Lieutenant. Now with what was going on with Rukia and the ryoka, Renji was pissed that Captain Kuchiki hadn't done anything to protect Rukia. Byakuya; instead, just stood there to await her judgment.

Squeezing the hilt of his zanpakuto, Renji went to follow his captain when he heard something his in his ear. "Bastard doesn't deserve the title of brother."

"More like coward." another voice commented.

For a moment Renji could make out the image of a white baboons with long purple makings along it's back and arms with a snake for it's tail and a rainforest surrounding him before it all vanished and he found himself back in the real world.

"SSSSeemsssss you can finally sssee ussss boy." the snake like being spoke.

"Good." the back on spoke. "You've only ever heard us. Perhaps you are almost ready."

"Ready?" he asked in a hushed tone towards zabimaru. Rukia's head turned towards him as they walked towards where Kenpachi was.

There was a pause for suspense by the zanpakuto. "For your bankai." was their only answer before they went silent.

The members of squad eleven got to the area of the explosion before anybody else or so they thought. Before them the three eldest shinigami stood with a downed Matsumoto on the ground unconscious with ice encasing the hall of records and central 46. Captain Hitsugaya coughed blood up as he stepped out of the Hall of Records, his ice bankai breaking as he fell to his knees. Retsu Unohana grasped the young man before his knees touched the ground. "Who were you fighting?" she inquired, not able to sense anything in front of her. Just a void of nothing.

"Aizen." Toshiro answered before he fell unconscious.

Captain Jushiro Ukitake take felt his eyebrows shoot up with shock, as his best friend, Shunsui Kyoraku tipped his hat down slightly. "My, my..." Shunsui spoke nonchalantly. Footsteps could be heard as the lone figure of Captain Aizen Sosuke came into view.

Yumichika felt shock to through him as he and his companions grasped for their swords. Both Ichigo and Shiro appeared at that moment next to him and Ikkaku. The two teens grasped the men by their wrists that rested on their swords. "Don't." They warned the two men. Above them Ishida pointed his bow at the man coming out of the building, as Chad and Orihime both prepared their powers.

For the first time, both young men got their first look at the most evil man in all of Soul Society. Their minds went back to the conversation with Urahara before they came here. This man was responsible for Shinji and the others being turned into what they were. He was responsible for Urahara being exiled from his home! Shiro felt something land on his shoulder and smiled as he felt Yoruichi's familiar energy. "Be careful." she warned them. "He's been forced to reveal himself, he will be unpredictable."

"Captain Aizen. No, you have no right to be called Captain." Retsu Unohana spoke, her anger hidden beneath the calm exterior she had years to created. She was angry that this man had harmed Toshiro and his lieutenant , and possibly many others over the years. "The traitorous Sosuke Aizen."

"Captain Unohana." Aizen spoke smoothly as his eyes scanned the small crowd before him. Other than the three oldest shinigami , he didn't believe he had much to worry about until he spotted the two Kurosaki boys and smirked. "Did you realize I was here before anyone else or was it the screams that brought you here?" She was silent.

"To harm Toshiro here at the Hall of Records only means you were trying to prevent him from seeing something you do not want exposed." She spoke as if she never heard his question. "But why would you do that? Especially when we have Ryoka running amuck in the Seireitei."

"Why indeed." was his response.

"I have been watching you since the night Urahara Kisuke vanished without a trace." she admitted causing both her companions to look surprised at her. "I have watched and waited to see if what happened that night would again occur and it did; but on a much smaller scale. Many low leveled shinigami disappeared when they would go on missions for you. Then twenty years ago, Isshin Shiba vanished. You stated he had died by the hands of an unknown white hollow who did not have a visible hollow hole." She paused in her speaker when she saw him grin. "You could not have known this if you were not there to see it and if you had seen it, why did you not assist Captain Shiba? Then of course there's the fact that you were in the Seireitei at the time this happened, although you were also seen the Living World at the same time. This couldn't happen unless you created a doll of yourself to act in your place when you needed it to."

Aizen clapped. "Very good." he congratulated her. "But you are only partially right." He lifted his hand and duplicate Aizen stood there, at the same moment both young men looked away as to not be exposed to what he was doing. Interesting. Urahara, you warned them, didn't you? Aizen grinned. "This is not a doll."

A gasp left Ukitake's mouth. "When did you-"

"When did I get this?" he asked the white haired captain. "I have always had it. I was holding it in my hand right from the start. It's just I didn't allow you to see it until now."

"What does that mean?" Ukitake inquired, feeling at a loss here. Kyoraku stayed silent as his hat his his eyes.

"I will show you." he answered. "Break down, Kyoka Suigetsu." The body vanished revealing it was instead a zanpakuto.

"That can't be." Yumichika gasped quietly when suddenly a man with short white hair appeared threw white cloth in the air that spun around the two.

"I am thoroughly impressed that you four figured me out, but it is for nothing." he grinned, glasses flashed slightly. "We will not see one another again like this. Goodbye." A flash of light and the two men had teleported away.

"Damn it!" Everyone turned around to see Zakari Kenpachi standing there looking disappointed. "The bastard got away! I wanted to fight the damn traitor!"

"I doubt he would win." Yoruichi mumbled lightly into Shiro's ear who have her a crooked grin.

M-Angel: Originally I wanted to post this on Independence Day, but I was so busy helping my parents. I have been so exhausted every day since. I finally didn't feel like I was going to pass out tonight and sat down to write this chapter. I hope everyone had enjoyed this chapter.

MyMad-RobotDoctor - Nope. It was a small thing that I added in the last chapter to show that he was apart of the five noble clans. They have special privileges, so I figured they had special devices to get to places too.

Emman214 - In the last part of the manga you learn that Isshi n is apart of the Shiva clan which is one of the five noble houses.

Xiyou-Chan - There will be a reunion.

Murder Leo - It's nice to see that people from other countries enjoy my stories. I don't get paid to do this. I do understand what you say, but only when I use Google translate. LoL!

KuchikiYuki -16 -I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Zeynel - Nope, but there will be a reunion.

Taboada666 - Thanks!