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Chapter 2

=DA=

Part 3

=DA=

Detention center

Sixth Division Barracks

Soul Society

While our first stop was to visit a prisoner, we didn't go to see Rukia right away. Instead, we made a detour to the Sixth Division, officially to gather information; unofficially, to stir up trouble, and play up the image I wanted to project for the whole Soul Society to see.

Unsurprisingly, Byakua met us at the entrance, likely warned by our shadows once I mentioned to my Lieutenant where we would be stopping first.

"Captain Aizen." Kuchiki stared us down impassively, ignored Hinamori as well. The way he acted was a perfect example for Old Core nobility, complete with being born with a stick up his ass. Really, he would fit right in the high society circles on Coruscant and thousands of other worlds back home.

"Captain Kuchiki." I greeted with a smile. "Lieutenant Hinamori and I," I nodded at Momo, making not so subtle dig at his disregard for her, "are here to speak with Lieutenant Abarai about his encounters with our invaders."

"You have no need to talk with that fool." Byakua stated flatly.

"On the contrary, he had met the invaders multiple times. I would have his opinion and observations from the source before I confront them as the Captain-General ordered. There was more than enough disruption and destruction already, not to mention the increasing number of Shinigami in need of Fourth Division's particular talents." I spoke softly, smiling as the kind scholar my alter-ego used to present himself as.

Kuchiki had the gall to briefly glare at me, even though my request was perfectly legal and in line with the personality everyone was familiar with. Still, he stared at us for a long while, before eventually giving us a small, curt nod.

"Splendid!" I beamed at Byakua and had to restrain myself from clapping in order to irritate the bastard. "Pray tell, Captain Kuchiki, while I do not have a sister myself, either of my own flesh and blood or adopted, I can't really see myself doing anything less but my utmost to protect someone so close to my heart if they were to be put on a trial, or even worse, sentenced to death. Why, in fact I would protect my precious subordinates and friends with everything I have," at that, I glanced fondly at Momo, making sure she saw it, before I returning my gaze to Byakua, looking at him with a frown. "naturally I would do nothing less for any sister of mine. For a beloved sibling of my deceased wife…" I smiled, showing a bit of my true self, "I would set the world to fire in order to protect them."

With those parting words, I walked past Byakua, an exalted Hinamori skipping behind me. Kuchiki? He stood still like a statue and stared at the courtyard with unseeing eyes.

=DA=

The detention center was no different from those available in practically all barracks. It was a large room separated by metal bars. That usually would be no obstacle whatsoever for any Shinigami worth their salt, if it wasn't for the seals and cuffs blocking Abarai's Reiatsu and thus making him no stronger, or faster for that matter, than an ordinary baseline human. As he was, sitting on the floor with his arms bound behind his back, there was no way he would be getting out of there without outside assistance.

"Lieutenant Abarai." I nodded politely.

"Captain Aizen… sir?" The red haired Shinigami looked at me with such confusion that he stumbled over his greeting.

"What's with you Sixth Division people and ignoring the presence of Hinamori over here? She is a Lieutenant as well and more than earned her rank!" I snapped, earning myself even more points with Momo, not to mention played it up for the audience.

"My apologies, Captain Aizen. I'm sorry, Lieutenant Hinamori." Abarai bowed his head demonstrating that Byakua had actually taught him some sense, and he could act as a civilized being when he used his head.

"Accepted. Now, Lieutenant, what can you tell me about our plucky invaders? You met them on multiple occasions and engaged them in combat twice." I stated. "You also lost twice, which given your record is extraordinary. Do tell us about them." I spread out my arms in expectation.

"I've really seen two of them, a loud obnoxious teenager with orange hair and another one, slim, long black hair, glasses. I'm pretty sure the latter is a Quincy." Renji began.

"A Quincy?!" Momo exclaimed. "Aren't they supposed to be extinct?!"

"Apparently not. Let's hope we'll be able to keep that boy out of the sights of our resident mad scientist. What he'll do to such a test subject," I spat, "doesn't bear thinking about. Did both of them defeat you, Lieutenant Abarai?"

"It was the same one. Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki, I think." Renji supplied.

"The first time is understandable, we do get sealed when going to the living world for a reason." I offered kindly. "Now, losing here in Soul Society when you could use your abilities to the full…" I trailed off. "Please tell me, what did that boy desire? Why did he risk the wrath of Gotei 13?"

"Rukia… The fool's here to save her."

"Ah, I see." I gave him a sad smile. "I see indeed. The way you say her name," I chuckled fondly. "You're in love with the girl, aren't you Lieutenant Abarai? It's understandable then, you want to be the one to save her, to protect her. Your blade was dull when you faced this Ichigo Kurosaki; your intent wavered, because deep down, all you wanted was for someone to rescue the woman you love. I understand, you stood no chance and it wasn't your fault." I nodded solemnly.

Both Lieutenants in the room stared at me with gaping mouths and I'm sure even our shadows, perhaps even Captain Soi-Fon, looked at me incredulous.

"I've learned what I need from you, Lieutenant Abarai. Do get better.. and if you have any message for Rukia Kuchiki, I'm offering to bring it to her. In fact, meeting her is my next objective so she could shed some light on this whole unpleasant affair."

Renji gaped like a fish for long moments before shaking his head and looking at me as if he saw me for the first time.

"For what's worth it, thank you, Captain Aizen. Tell her that I'm sorry… I…" Renji grimaced and stared numbly at the floor.

"I understand. I'll rely the message. Good buy, Lieutenant Abarai, I wish you fast recovery." With those parting words, I placed a hand on Momo's shoulder and gently Flash-Stepped us towards Rukia's prison.

I must admit, it has been a long time since I had so much fun.

=DA=

Palace of Pentience

Soul Society

Rukia's cell, at the top of the Palace of Pentience, was overkill by any and all reasonable standards. She was here because of my past self's orders, which demonstrated that he was apparently a terrible cunt for the sake of being terrible cunt. It was what a Sith who lost himself in the suffering of others would do. Well, to be fair for said terrible cunt, the primary reason was to screw with Byakua's head because for some reason he wasn't able to properly describe, Aizen loved to indirectly fuck with the man's head. Granted, Byakua could be a stuck up prick with the best of them, but that wasn't really and excuse for this amount of shit.

I shook my head as we landed on the bridge leading to the top-most cell.

"This…" I grit my teeth, doing a passable impression at words failing me. "Momo, if you don't wish to come inside this damn place, I won't blame you."

Hinamori shook at my suggestion, then straightened up her spine and a look of determination appeared on her face.

"Where you go, Captain, I'll follow. Besides, Rukia can use a friendly face, or ten." Momo declared with conviction.

"Damn straight." I nodded in pride and led the way. "Good girl." I added quietly enough that only she should be able to hear me, thus earning myself a blinding smile.

All it took for us to be permitted to enter was my glare at the guards, either that or our shadows had arranged that we would face no issues. It could be either way. When you've fucked up enough that kindly Captain Aizen glares at you with contempt, you know you're in deep shit and you've either done or doing something that you really shouldn't.

Once they opened the door and we went inside, it immediately became obviously why the guards might have reasons to feel bad. Rukia Kuchiki was one of our own, yet she had been stuck in this place for too long already – a large, empty cage, left with only a simple white kimono for dress and worst of all, the damn collar around her neck, which wouldn't let her forget her situation even for a single moment.

She looked like hell too – wild hair, a thousand yard stare in her empty eyes, hell, she didn't even acknowledge our presence once we entered.

"Rukia!" Momo exclaimed and ran to her acquaintance's side.

"Hinamori?!" Rukia croaked with a voice that broke with long disuse.

"Hey, there…" Momo wasted no time and pulled the other girl in a bone-breaking hug, which she soon returned and sobbed in Hinamori's shoulder.

I kept quiet for a bit, paying little attention to their quiet whispers. Eventually I cleared my throat, which made them both stiffen and suddenly jump away from each other with mortification.

"Ms Kuchiki, I apologize for the way Gotei 13's treating one of our own. If it was up to me, you would have been set free a long time ago. This travesty of justice is beyond the pale." I waved a hand around. "The less said for the foolish orders to execute you the better." I grumbled.

"Thank you, Captain Aizen." Rukia sniffed before gathering herself and standing up proudly to fake us.

"I wish I was here with better news, but sadly…" I shrugged. "In its infinite wisdom our government isn't listening at this time."

"I understand, sir." To her credit, her raspy voice was more or less steady now.

"That said, once I'm done executing my current orders, I'll be personally petitioning Central 46 to see reason."

"Thank you, sir." Rukia bowed in gratitude. "Are you here because of said orders, sir?"

"They're part of the reason, yes. If it wasn't for certain unpleasant developments, I would be in fact in my office, trying to figure the best way to convince Central 46 to do the right thing and thus have better chance of convincing them when I go to see them, but I digress. The primary reason I'm here tonight is my orders by the Captain-General to resolve the invasion. You know the people who came to rescue you, Ms Kuchiki. Tell me about them, tell me how to convince them to stand down so I wouldn't have to hurt them." I implored her as earnestly as I could.

"You… you wouldn't hurt them, Captain Aizen?"

"Not unless I absolutely have to. Please tell me about them."

Rukia grimaced and for a few endless moments she looked like a caged animal, something that brought tears of both sorrow and anger to Momo's face.

"Captain, this… this isn't right!" Hinamori snapped.

"You're right, Momo. There's nothing right about this mess. Yet we have our orders." I grimaced.

Hinamori looked at me with huge, imploring eyes, as if I had all the answers in the world, as if I could simply wave my hand and fix everything. Thanks to my past self's shenanigans, that was much easier said than done.

"It's all right, sir." Rukia whispered. "I can't expect you, much less demand anything more from you. Not when…" She bit her lips, though her meaning was obvious.

How could Rukia ask another Captain to stake everything to help her, when her own older brother refused to? Now that I didn't have the Dark Side whispering sweet nothings in the back of my head and ensuring that I would enjoy people's misery as a matter of course, I could actually sympathize easily. It didn't help that if we had to get technical, this whole clusterfuck was my fault in one shape or another.

"Tell me about your friends, Rukia. Please tell me how to save them from themselves so I could concentrate on saving you as well." I implored her and this time she told me everything she knew.

About Ichigo, about Ishida, about Chad and most importantly, about perhaps the most valuable jewel in the group, Orihime.

"Thank you, Rukia. Whatever happens, I'll do my best to get them out of this alive and hopefully intact." I smiled kindly. It was something that came to me surprisingly easy. "Two things before we go." I nodded at Momo, who smiled and got out the care package we prepared for Rukia before leaving our barracks. "I believe you could use a decent meal. Second, I do happen to have a message from Lieutenant Abarai."

Rukia's eyes lit up at that statement.

"He's sorry he couldn't help you at this time. Captain Kuchiki has him imprisoned in the Sixths' Barracks after he lost against Ichigo Kurosaki. If I read the situation right, your friend is in love with you, Rukia, and that was the reason why his heart wasn't in fighting Mr Kurosaki. Lieutenant Abarai is torn between duty and his burning desire to help you, it blunted his blade, and if I'm not mistaken, he hoped that Mr Kurosaki could do what he couldn't, rescue you." I bowed to Rukia and left, with Momo in tow.

As we left and began our search for the mortals, I wondered, what kind of harvest my efforts were going to produce.

=DA=

Part 4

=DA=

Soul Society

We left a speechless Rukia behind and stepped on top of her prison. Say what you will about the place, it offered a magnificent place to observe the whole of Soul Society, or at least Shinigami central. Currently, there were no signs of active combat, no unusual Reiatsu spikes.

"Momo, I wonder, who aided this invasion? There aren't many people who could get living people in Soul Society, much less those with enough resources to allow them to breach the barrier. In fact, one particular name comes to mind immediately when I think about it…"

"Who, Captain?"

"Kisuke Urahara, the former Captain of the Twelfth. There are days I wonder if he was the greater evil, compared to our current mad scientist…" I grumbled. "I'm currently trying to recall what I know of that man's old haunts…" I peered around Soul Society, while trying to remember everything I could about this mess, both from Aizen's memories and my own. Yet, it has been more than sixty years since I was present on any version of Earth.

Unsurprisingly, it was Kyoka who got it first. She sent me an image of immense cave and I got the sense that she was smugly pointing behind my back, straight at the executioner hill.

"Captain Soi-Fon, can I trust that you and your people aren't going to over-react when we meet our first invader? I believe I know where they might be currently hiding and recovering after engaging our forces." I spoke aloud and turned my head to stare at the Bakudo concealed ninjas.

Initially there was no reaction so I raised an eyebrow in expectation.

"We're no longer children, Captain, no need to play hide and seek." I added.

A veil made of spiritual power fell, revealing the small form of the Stealth Force's commander. She scowled at me too.

"What game are you playing, Captain Aizen?" She demanded.

"Me? I'm merely doing what's right instead of what's easy. I have the suspicion that you might be faced with the same choice shortly. We both know who is Urahara's usual accomplice and we might be meeting her shortly."

Soi-Fon was a bright woman. She must have known of the possibility the moment I mentioned Kisuke, yet my words made her shake in fury before she swiftly regained control.

"You know, if our dear Flash Goddess really cared for you, it makes sense that she did her best not to drag you in the fallout of that mess. That's what decent people do in order to protect those they love." Once again, speaking kindly and seemingly from the heart came extremely easy.

Soi-Fon stared at me as if I just grew a second head.

"Now, please follow me. I'm trying to remember where is the entrance. I would prefer that we don't carve ourselves a new way in." I said and slowly headed for the hill.

Neither my memories, nor Kyoka was in much help in remembering where the bloody door was.

=DA=

It took us almost an hour to find the way in and Soi-Fon spent all that time glaring at the back of my head. Can't win them all, I guessed. When we did it, which wasn't exactly easy considering how well the entrance was protected, I merely looked at my fellow Captain. Infiltration, skulduggery and such was her specialty after all. She sent me another venomous glare and busied herself with dismantling the protections and alarms without triggering them.

Five minutes it took her, which was a testament to how well Urahara had protected his not so secret training ground. In we went, carefully avoiding more alarms and traps. Half-way throughout the tunnel we began hearing the clash of steel, which made my companions even warier and we proceeded even more cautiously.

Long story short, we made it undetected, in no small part due to all the racket and because Yoruichi was too busy observing her student. She likely felt relatively safe in here and who knows how often she had used this base with no one the wiser. Ah, complacency, it had bit better people than any of us in the ass.

"Soi-Fon, go catch up with your friend and try not to rough her up too much. I'll have words with the human boy." I put on my best, kindest smile and walked forward as if I had no care in the world. This was perfect opportunity to release my Bankai to make a point and get Kyoka to go do some mischief.

The Captain of the Second wasted no time, a conflicted look flashed over her face and she vanished, moving faster than anyone but her target and yours truly could track. The spike of Reiatsu was enough for Yoruichi to react and the two women clashed above our heads. I Flash-Stepped forward, appearing between Ichigo and a middle aged man with sun-glasses covering his eyes. They were fighting in the middle of a large track of land covered with thousands of swords in all shapes and forms.

"Bankai training? Most impressive, especially for such a young human." I didn't even need to bullshit at that point.

"Who are you?" Kurosaki pointed a broken sword at me.

"Captain Sosuke Aizen of the Fifth Division. Rukia told me a lot about you, Ichigo Kurosaki." My Lieutenant Flash-Stepped beside me and peered curiously at the boy. "And this is my lovely Lieutenant, Momo Hinamori. Nice to make you acquaintance.

"Uh… nice to meet you?" I'm not sure even he knew if he was making statement or asking a question. Certainly, Ichigo was mostly confused at this moment. "Are you here to fight me?"

"I'm here to talk. Perhaps test you resolve. What did you tell Lieutenant Abarai? That you would cut down everyone standing in your way?"

"Ichigo, be careful." The Zanpakuto warned.

"Care to introduce us, Mr Kurosaki?"

"That's Old Man Zangetsu!" The pride with which Ichigo spoke was unmistakable.

"Nice to meet you as well." I offered a respectful nod to the spirit. "And I find myself remiss." I slowly drew my sword, trying to be as not threatening as possible. At that point, Yoruichi tried to prevent me from releasing my Shikai, only for Soi-Fon to slam into her from the side and both vanished a moment later.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu." So much for Gotei 13's future trump card.

Kyoka giggled in my mind as I spiked my Reiatsu and it exploded around me in a storm of energy.

"Bankai. Shatter thy chains, Aria." I spoke fondly. The storm broke immediately, collapsing upon itself and condensing in the form of a tall, armoured woman. This time around, she was a bit taller than me and wore the medium armour she used when fighting on Mandalore. Her deep blue skin shined in the artificial light and her solid crimson eyes locked into Zangetsu giving him a challenging look. "This is Aria, my Zanpakuto." I spoke in the voice of a parent proud beyond belief.

"Hi there!" Aria waved a hand. My second release was enough to momentarily stop the clash between Soi-Fon and Yoruichi, with the former flashing behind me and the latter doing the same to stand beside Ichigo. There was shock and anger written all over the face of the mocha coloured woman. She knew what it meant for Ichigo to see my Shikai's release… and this was the first time anyone living saw my Bankai.

"Hi?" Ichigo awkwardly waved back.

"Now can we speak like civilized being or should we first put your resolve to the test Ichigo Kurosaki? You know, the disruption you and your friends have been causing as of late are making it incredibly difficult for the few of us who are doing their best to make Central 46 reconsider their insane verdict!" As I spoke, it was very hard to conceal my glee. The Aria beside me was an illusion under the control of my Zanpakuto. A very much real, solid and dangerous illusion, but still an illusion. Her true form was invisible and concealed as much as possible, racing towards the government's compound to fabricate some evidence and backdated orders.