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Chapter 4

=DA=

Part 3

=DA=

Meeting Hall

Division One barracks

Soul Society

He waited for this moment for more than a century now. That old saying, that vengeance is best served cold, it was true after all. This, this was better than Gin's wildest dreams. He had never dared believe that Aizen might make such a misstep, that even the likes of Urahara and Yamamoto might outsmart that monster. Especially tonight, when Aizen shattered Ichimaru's world as he abruptly changed his plans.

Honestly, who could have seen this coming, Aizen regaining the memories of his past life and somehow becoming even more dangerous and treacherous. If he only had gone with the original plan, no one would have been the wiser and he would have gotten away to the Hollow World. Gin didn't know who or what he had to thank for this turn of events, the non existent heaven, perhaps hell or even the Soul King.

Either way, Aizen came perilously close to getting away with every singe crime he had committed over the centuries and even now, Ichimaru wasn't certain if the bastard planned it that way from the beginning, which would be bad, or if it was all improvisation put together over the past few hours. If it was the later, that idea was too terrible to contemplate. In that case, Gin didn't even want to think what kind of monster Aizen used to be in his previous life.

He dearly hoped it wouldn't matter. All they needed was a signal by Yamamoto. This right here was perhaps the best, the only moment they might be able to take down Aizen for good.

"You're under arrest…" Yamamoto stated and Shunsui moved, filling up Ichimaru with glee.

Aizen? He spiked his Reiatsu and surrounded himself with it just like Ichimaru knew he would, because there was no chance in hell that the monster would go down quietly.

"Shoot to kill, Shinso!" Gin's Shikai shout out, moving with unparalleled speed. Shunsui was faster, closer, and slashed at Aizen's neck.

Both Gin and Shunsui were ready for this moment, yet Aizen was faster. As soon as he spiked up his Reiatsu, he spoke.

"Hado 90, Kuroshitsugi." The monster's voice was calm and collected, as if he was utterly unconcerned by the situation he found himself in.

Three blades slashed and stabbed at Aizen. It should have been enough to wound the monster, and thus give them an opening to put him down before he could deceive them with his illusions. Still, Ichimaru knew it couldn't be that easy, not with Aizen so even as his Shikai extended, he pumped as much Reiatsu throughout his body and went Bankai.

"Kamishini no Yari!" Gin roared. He could feel his blade push against Aizen's Spiritual Power and channeled as much of his own into his Bankai, determined to pierce the improvised shield and end it once and for all. For Rangiku.

"Korose, Kamishini no Yari!" He added for good measure, banking it all on a chance to end it now, while he still could.

Ichimaru got a glimpse of Aizen flying back, being pushed by his blade, he saw the bastard slam a fist into Shunsui's chest and then everything went terribly, horribly wrong.

There was a brief flash of light, a familiar one resembling Yoruichi's Shunko, Gin knew that the back of Aizen's clothes disintegrated from the backslash and Shunsui flew away just as darkness fell.

It all happened in the span of a moment, anyone with reflexes and eyes lesser than a Captain's would have missed it, yet that brief instant forever carved itself upon Gin's brain. He acted on reflex, jumped back and raised his free hand, screaming a Bakudo without an incantation, because there simply wasn't enough time. Gin got a glimpse of Kisuke tearing his way from the Kido and Flash-Stepping beside Yoruichi who was still bound just as the Black Coffin slammed shut in the middle of the meeting hall.

Ichimaru blinked and saw the Hado intersecting his Bankai. Shunsui was out of its range, half buried into the wall besides Yamamoto's seat. The Captain-General had evaded the spell, if barely, just like Tosen and Hitsugaya.

Surprisingly enough, Kuchiki, one of the fastest Captains failed to move out in time. Perhaps the events of the past few hours had rattled him just enough to dull his reactions. That Kenpachi got caught within the coffin, that was no surprise. He had never been one of the fastest or agile Captains.

A terrible screeching sound followed as midnight black blades formed all over the surface of the Hado and slammed home, piercing everyone and everything unfortunate enough to be caught within. Within seconds, the Black Coffin disintegrated, like shadows evaporating in front of bright light and revealed the devastation left in it wake.

Byakua was on the ground, bleeding from at least two dozen wounds, yet he was still alive, surrounded by the rose petals of his Shikai. Kuchiki had obviously used his Zanpakuto release to shield himself, which was why he was more or less alive.

The same was true for Urahara and Yoruichi. Pieces of blue and crimson glowing energy fell all around the Exile, showing off the remains of shielding spells. He still had half a dozen wounds all over his body and the left side of his face was simply gone, the skin and flesh sheared away to the bone.

Yoruichi was in a better shape, likely protected by all the Bakudos binding her in place. She still bled from a wound in the abdomen, right shoulder and the left foot.

Zaraki was both in better and worse shape than the rest of the wounded Shinigami. There were scores of wounds covering his body, his eye-patch was gone and he had a deep gorge carved in the left side of his face, yet all the injuries seemed relatively shallow. The maniac was grinning happily as well so he was all right.

Aizen on the other hand? Gin grinned widely when he saw his nemesis. The bastard was pinned to the far wall, Kamishini no Yari's poison devouring him from within. Ichimaru's Bankai had missed the heart, however after carving through the Reiatsu barrier, it had pierced Aizen in the middle of the chest, just below the breastbone and left its poisoned pill within.

Sosuke Aizen was right there, look of utter shock and agony distorting his face as flesh and bone dissolved under the influence of the poison. This was the most beautiful thing Gin had ever seen bar none. He couldn't help it and laughed gleefully, putting Kenpachi to shame.

He had been wrong again. In the end, thing didn't turn up terribly wrong. He finally avenged Rangiku and put the monster in the ground!

Gin continued to laugh his ass off even as Yamamoto and Toshiro, who had unleashed his Shikai while Ichimaru wasn't paying attention, warily approached Aizen, who by now was little more than head and feet kept in place by a few strips of skin. A heartbeat later, the bastard's head fell on the ground with a dull meaty thump.

It was over. He did it!

And he never saw the blade that tore into his back and severed his spinal column with precision that left him slowly slide to the ground, paralyzed from the neck down. Kamishini no Yari fell from his numb grasp while Ichimaru's eyes did their best to jump out of his skull in shock. The pain itself was a distant thing, it barely registered. Aizen's words on the other hand?

"Did you really think it would be that easy, little snake?"

Aizen tore his blade out of Gin's back, spraying blood everywhere. Zaraki went after him first, followed by Hitsugaya and Yamamoto. There were more familiar signatures converging upon First Division's Barracks, however Ichimaru knew it would be useless. They missed their chance, Aizen was free and making use of his Illusions.

The taste of blood and failure were a bitter brew sloshing in Ichimaru's mouth.

Before the world went black, all he could think about was Matsumoto. "Rangiku, sorry…"

=DA=

Part 4

=DA=

First Division Barracks

Soul Society

The moment Aizen really went odd was when he mastered all Shinigami arts bar his, our Bankai, Aria, and the only reason he didn't succeed in that was because he failed to comprehend her true nature. From the moment he believed himself the pinnacle of what a Shinigami could be, he craved more, and even worse, long before he reached that plateau, he had been above his peers, alone drowning in a sea of mediocrity. In fact, the way he saw it, he had no peer, no rival, no equal.

He was utterly, terrifyingly and devastatingly alone. As if that wasn't enough, I was sure that our soul shill had the scars of my time as a Sith an echo, perhaps a stain left upon it by my actions, like Bothawui. In hindsight, what he did, well it wasn't such a surprise. I nearly walked a similar damned path multiple times, it was just that I had people to draw me back and keep me safer before my power could fully consume me and lead me to self-destruction.

Because of that, because he was incapable of trusting anyone, bar perhaps Gin and not particularly far in his case, Aizen had all kinds of contingencies in place. While unfortunately many of them went contrary to my goals, or were now useless due to the abrupt change of plans, others were very much intact and ready to go. For example, Aria currently hovered above our heads with a device able to shatter the shield protecting the heart of Soul Society from within and thus allow our reinforcements to pour through.

Aizen really mastered all other Shinigami arts, bar obviously Aria, including Shunko, which is what I used to sent Shunsui flying away before he could go Shikai and become particularly troublesome. Gin's Shikai helped too, its sheer force was enough to push me out of the Kido circle, saving me the need to use even more Reiatsu in order to break free. That was a good thing – with my control shot and the Hado I just launched, my reserves fell down considerably. By the time the Black Coffin engulfed the middle of the room and bought me the precious moments I needed to cloak myself in Kyoka's illusions, I was down to about thirty percents Spiritual Power.

That wasn't enough for a prolonged engagement against Gotei 13 even with reinforcements en route. On the other hand, it should be more than enough to do what I needed and hold up until the Negation launched.

Another contingency was Aizen's plan for pre-emptive strike against Soul Society using all the Espada and Arrancar he had ready. It might even work… if I was on hundred percent. In theory anyway. While my memories of what should have happened OTL were fuzzy and fragmented, I was sure that when pitied against Gotei 13, the Espada lost in the end. Badly at that.

That wasn't all. A clear military victory that left Soul Society in general and Gotei 13 in particular in ruins was a strategic defeat as far as I was concerned. They did one critical thing – protected the balance, which if harmed enough was liable to blow up the three main known dimensions and get everyone killed. If I won the war that Yamamoto just began by trying to arrest me by direct military means, I would have to take over Gotei 13's primary duties, something I didn't want. My victory conditions were ensuring that either a neutral relationship between yours truly and Gotei 13, or even better, turning them back into allies. The worst acceptable scenario was open warfare that ended with minimal bloodshed because I've managed to subvert as many Shinigami, especially Captains and Lieutenants to my side. It would still end with me running the damn place with all the strings attached, but it still beat the alternatives.

Those thoughts ran through my head while I crafted an illusion to distract everyone, especially Gin who just did his practical for his thesis on deception, treachery and subversion, with a bonus class in assassination, and gave them a few moment to bask in their victory. To give credit where credit is due, Ichimaru came a hairbreadth from getting me. With my control messed up, his Shikai, which turned into Bankai mid-strike, cracked my Reiatsu barrier, even nicked my chest before I Flash-Stepped away cloaked by illusions. Just an instant later and I would have been skewered with a piece of corrosive poison left in my chest, one I doubted I could deal with in my current situation, perhaps not even if I was at my best.

It was well played, just not nearly good enough. Such treason had to be appropriately rewarded.

I Flash-Stepped behind Ichimaru and stabbed him in the back, aiming to cripple him. If he was lucky, he wouldn't become collateral damage and prompt medical assistance should be able to save him. In case he survived, I should still be able to influence him, if not control him outright through Matsumoto.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, little snake?" I viciously twisted and pulled my blade back, stepping away just ahead of Gin's spraying blood. I left him collapse and Flash-Stepped outside, while leaving an illusion for my former comrades to follow.

"Thirty five seconds, Master!" Aria chirped in my head and materialized beside me. The two of us, perhaps Tosen too, if he had any sense left not to oppose me, against seven intact captains and two injured. Just a single Shunko hit wouldn't take Shunsui out of the game for good.

The most interesting reaction came from Ukitake, who didn't offer any aggression. He was out of range of my Hado, didn't even draw his blades and instead went to offer first aid to the wounded, refusing to even look my way. Obviously, healing him tonight won me a lot of points with the man and made him extremely conflicted about what just happened. Unfortunately, I doubted that he would remain neutral once my backup arrived.

Four intact Captains appeared in the air above First Division's Barracks, while Yamamoto and company raced after the Illusion I allowed them to see. Unohana wasted no time and ran inside to provide first aid, while Soi-Fon summoned a small army of ninjas, before sending half of them in pursuit, while the others took up defensive positions.

Komamura and Kurotsuchi merely demanded answers, though both of them had their blades out, with Shikais released.

A moment later, Yamamoto Flash-Stepped above his Division's grounds and unleashed a torrent of Reiatsu, probably attempting to flush me up if I was still in the area, while Toshiro and Zaraki were busy chasing my illusion with more and more Shinigami joining them.

If there was one Captain who I would like to die tonight, it was Kurotsuchi. He was too dangerous and could cause no end of trouble in the future. Just like Kisuke and his Vizards, who were officially at the top of my shit list. It was too bad that executing Urahara here and now would only prove his version of events right. Before all was said and done, I was going to utterly ruin that bastard and only then I was going to allow him the sweet release of death.

The same was true for the Vizards, though Aria had a better claim on their heads.

The illusion cloaking me began to waver under Yamamoto's immense Spiritual Pressure. He noticed me, just like the other Captains in the area. It was fortunate that it took too long – time was up. Aria activated the device she was holding and it released a pulse of modified Reiatsu that slammed into the barrier and just as it was meant to do, disrupted and shattered it creating an impressive light-show, one that was almost enough to hide the multiple Gargantas that tore the skies asunder and spat three Espada along with a small army of cannon fodder. Stark and Cifer took positions on my side in the blink of an eye, both in their released states.

We had to last just four minutes until the Negation was ready and focus Gotei 13's attention upon us so Harribel and company could complete their own objectives.