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Chapter 5

=DA=

Part 5

=DA=

Hueco Mundo

The Negation dumped us close to the Forest of Menos, in an area of the desert currently crawling with Menos Grande, obviously. They were the ones providing the juice for the express evacuation from Soul Society after all.

"Everyone, stand the hell down!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as soon as the golden rays of the Negation dissipated and we appeared in the air above the sands.

A few lucky bastards found themselves gently put on ground level, however most of us had to use our abilities to avoid plunging into the sand from varying heights. My warning came just in time too, because my people predictably didn't react well to finding themselves surrounded by overwhelming number of Hollows and not the usual small fry most of them had to face before. A tense stand off followed with over seventy Shinigami ready to freak out and unleash Kido and their Zanpakuto abilities, while the poor Menos Grande milled around like giant mobile trees and looked utterly confused.

It didn't help that the Guardian of the Menos Forest, one of my Arrancar was nearby, blowing deeply along with a few of his subordinates. Well, this was going to be awkward.

"Captain Aizen, explain yourself." Retsu hissed and unleashed and impressive amount of both Reiatsu and blood-lust.

Her little display was more than enough to get two thirds of the Shinigami on their knees panting for breath and even the Gillians shuffled back giving her wary looks. The Arrancar on the other hand glanced speculatively between the two of us. It was at that point that my Espada and Tosen made an appearance. The familiar buzz of Sonido heralded their arrival and I found myself flanked by Stark and Cifer with Harribel materializing nearby, carrying Orihime and pulling Momo along.

Even better, Zommari was here as well, and if his smug aura was anything to go by, his own mission went off without a hitch. That he succeeded in his primary objective was obvious – he had Rangiku's slumped form hanging over his right shoulder and the question was if he managed to get her without anyone in Soul Society being the wiser. At any rate, he acted as he had been successful in the secondary objective as well and that would be excellent. Provided that Gin got himself some timely medical assistance, now I had a proper leverage over the little treacherous snake.

As far as I could see, everyone had made it more or less intact; I couldn't see any injuries that would require Orihime's talents, which was excellent. Now for the hard part – producing enough bullshit to prevent everyone from trying to kill each other until tomorrow morning, so I could get some rest and get my story straight for my scheduled master performance…

"Children, I implore you, behave yourselves. I didn't bring any of you here so you could try to murder each other over misunderstandings and incomplete information!" I clapped my hands loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Hurry up with that explanation." Unohana pointed her Zanpakuto at my heart, earning herself a dispassionate look from Cifer, a long suffered one from Stark and a sneer from Zommari. That much was expected. I was pretty sure that I noticed a hint of jealousy in Harribel's glare, which was took me aback. Where were my emphatic senses when I needed them?

"Do you want the long version or the short and concise one? We'll be here for a long time if you want all the details." And Aria finally made her appearance, speaking in imperious tone. "I'm glad you managed to keep yourself in one piece, Master."

"The same to you, you cheeky sword." I flashed her an amused smile, before giving a reassuring one to Hinamori and only then I turned my full attention upon Unohana. "The short version, well where to begin… Some time ago, the geniuses in Central 46, for our Hollow friends, they are the government of Soul Society and thus all the Shinigami, ordered me to conduct experiments in Hollowfication. The goal was to increase the power of Gotei 13. Said experiment reached a success in its preliminary stage and as ordered, I gave Hollow powers to a number of Shinigami Captains and Lieutenants. Needless to say, Central 46 got cold feet about the whole thing when it turned out that the newly formed hybrids couldn't properly control their new powers and were prone to going berserk. That was a great embarrassment to certain people and in their infinite wisdom they ordered the experiment terminated, everything was supposed to be swept under the rug and all loose ends were meant to be eliminated. Obviously, I had qualms about that for various reasons…"

A few hundred people stared at me with sick fascination, horror or utter glee, the latter coming from the Hollows.

"You're still alive." Retsu pointed out.

"I did have some blackmail material concerning my previous dealings with Central 46, unfortunately, part of the price for not being hunted down and murdered was to hand it back. Some threats and bribery might have been involved."

I didn't even have to lie about that part, Aizen has been bribing members of Central 46 for a long time and he did have a lot of shady dealings with them. It was just that any evidence I had that could be used against them didn't really help my own case considering all my previous self has been up to. Nevertheless, when the opportunity presented itself, I would be sending some care packages to certain people back in Soul Society in order to muddy the waters even further.

The Seventh Espada laughed aloud at that, while my Shinigami stared at me with a mixture of incredulity and disbelief.

"As I was saying, eventually I reached a compromise with Central 46. They wouldn't be killing me off as a loose end, and I would be helping them sweep the whole mess under the rug. A fall guy was needed and given his research at the time, Kisuke Urahara the Captain of the Twelfth Division was perfect. Government agents fabricated the necessary evidence and I only had to stumble upon it and bring it to the Captain-Generals attention. As they say, the rest is history."

Retsu closed her eyes and cursed quietly. She was very inventive as well. "I wish I could say that Central 46 wouldn't do something like that." She grimaced. "I've seen them do worse in the past." And wasn't that interesting admission. I would like to know more, perhaps over dinner tonight, or breakfast…

"Which brings me to our current situation – how I ended up with an army of enhanced Arrancar and practically running large part of Hueco Mundo." I didn't even try to hide my pride at said achievement.

"Captain, you're actually running this place?" Hinamori exclaimed.

"More or less." I nodded happily. "Where was I? The army of Arrancar."

"Oh, enough theatrics, master, I want to go to sleep already." Aria decided to be spoilsport. "Long story short? Those knuckleheads in Central 46 decided that after all the Hollowfication experiments did have merit, just not for active members of Gotei 13 and thus Master's new orders. The fools sent him to built them an army they could use to take down Gotei 13 if it ever decided that following their moronic orders wasn't a good idea. A lot of experiments, trial and error later, and ta-da!" Aria waved gleefully at the present Espada. "Arrancar, the exact opposite of what happened to those Captains and Lieutenants a century ago. Hollows who were given Shinigami powers and even better control over their nature."

"You could have broken that more gently." I pointed out.

My Arrancar weren't exactly thrilled at the news, you see.

"That was the first order I decided to interpret creatively." I stated cheerfully. "You see, you were supposed to be mind-fucked from the get-go, unable to refuse direct order either from yours truly or Central 46, which isn't the case. That said, I'm out of all patience tonight, and whoever decides to take exception with what I've been doing in the past first, is going to volunteer as stress relief."

"You promise?" Retsu perked up and the blood-lust. coming from her skyrocketed.

This was going to end in tears, wasn't it?

"Tier be a dear and escort my Shinigami to Las Noches, then find them quarters. I'll be explaining everything to everyone tomorrow. But first, I obviously need to have words with Captain Unohana here."

"It's Retsu, Sosuke."

"I'll see to it. What about the human?"

"Put her with Hinamori for tonight. Now whoever wishes to remain intact, scamper."

"I'll see you later, Master, bye!" Aria, the little traitor, vanished, re-materializing in my Inner World.

=DA=

Part 6

=DA=

Hueco Mundo

As it turned out, both my Shinigami and Hollows had better sense than me. Only Ulquiorra remained in the general vicinity of the Menos Forest, everyone else ran as far as they could using Sonido and Flash Steps. That was the prudent thing to do too, because Unohana came at me with the intent to maim and spill as much blood as she could.

The gleam in her eyes, the deranged smile, it was an expression I've seen on my own face too many times to count, back when I was a Sith Warrior. Those were simple times.

Retsu's blade came at me screaming as it shattered the sound barrier. I managed to deflect the slash and our Zanpakutos met in a shower of sparks that lit up the gloomy desert. We clashed again and again, much faster than mere mortal eyes could follow. There was no time to think, only training, experience and instinct kept me always from the edge of her blade.

With each strike, I could get a small glimpse into Unohana's heart and what I saw… I couldn't help it and laughed loud and hard, nearly getting skewered for my trouble. This brought back memories. This was what she lived for, the glory, the unmitigated joy of combat, of steel clashing against steel and a the thrilling sensation of your Zanpakuto bathing in the blood of your enemies…

"Truly, you two are going to bring the worst in each other, Master." Kyoka huffed in my mind.

"The very best, Kyoka. The very best."

It was shame that this couldn't, wouldn't last. Retsu was fresh, and I was anything but. Yet, this was pure fun and I found myself unable to stop and soon lost myself lost in the clash of steel. I needed more power, I needed to be faster and I was as I burned through my fast emptying reserves of Reiatsu. For a few brief moments I nearly overwhelmed Retsu as I threw everything I had at her, which only made her smile wider and come at me even faster than before. I found myself falling back, trading space in order to keep her blade from cutting me, however it came closer and closer. Soon she was either cutting off tiny pieces from my clothes or leaving tiny slashes when I wasn't fast enough to Flash Step back.

Moments later I was moving on fumes, having burned through my remaining Reiatsu without even noticing and stumbled. Retsu on the other hand didn't even slow down as she battered Kyoka aside and opened deep rend into my left shoulder.

At that moment, as my blood splashed over the cool sand and a few drops flew upon Unohana's face as she drew her blade for another strike, all I wanted was to be able to continue fighting her at my best for as long as she could last. Her blade came at me again, I could sense Ulquiorra's shock as he Sonidoed our way as fast as he could and Kyoka let out a scream of frustration, resignation and anger. It was then and there that something listened to my need and answered. The air around us trembled and along with the sand below our feet it dissolved in glowing moths of Reishi. I could feel every single one of them and didn't think but acted on reflex, the same one I've been training for decades.

The Force didn't exist in this dimension and even if it was a thing, I wasn't a Force Ghost, I shouldn't have been able to use it. Nevertheless, what I just did was almost identical to the ability to drain the very life of living being I had mastered as a Sith. I drank from the endless supply of Reishi like someone stuck in the desert for days without a drop of water. When Retsu's sword slammed into my right shoulder a moment later, it met a solid wall of Reiatsu and bounced off. The sheer strength behind the blow would have brought me to my knees if it wasn't for my fast replenishing reserves of Spiritual Power.

"Kyoka what did you do!?" I screamed into my mind even as Unohana's eyes widened for a moment and now it was her turn to laugh with joy.

A tower of Reiatsu exploded from Retsu, lighting up this corner of Hueco Mundo. The over-pressure wave that came as a mere side effect blew a wall of sand in all directions. Ulquiorra reversed his course mid-step, stumbling at the unreal amount of blood-lust that erupted from Unohana.

"Mistakes were made?" Kyoka whispered in a small voice.

There was nothing to it, I would be dealing with her and whatever she did with the Hogyoku later. If there was later.

"You know, Sosuke," Retsu spoke in a voice that was both the most seductive I've ever heard and yet, so filled with blood-lust that it might make experienced Sith tremble in terror, "You can call me Yachiru. Now show me what you have, or die."

Unohana charged at me moving almost faster than my eyes could follow. I had to backtrack at top speed, cursing my luck.

"Bankai! Shatter thy chains, Aria!" I spat and dumped a ton of Spiritual Power into a Black Coffin. "Hado 90, Kuroshitsugi!" I hissed and the shadows around us came alive to condense into the form of the spell just in time, because a moment later Unohana was in front of me, about to gut me like a fish.

Releasing my Bankai gave me the additional speed and power that I needed hopefully. Aria on the other hand wasn't keen on being dragged into this. As soon as her armoured form came into being she fled to join Ulquiorra in watching the battle, or was this some kind of weird courting ritual, from a safe distance, whatever that was.

Retsu, Yachiru or whatever she wanted to call herself, broke her way through the level 90 Hado. The black walls shattered as she slashed them asunder, revealing that she was mostly intact. There were a few visible wounds that bleed lightly and they closed in front of my eyes as her whole form glowed with Kaido as she charged me again.

This time I stood my ground and we clashed, sending clouds of sands illuminated by glowing sparks flying in every direction. Retsu's eyes shone with more and more power, desire and hunger with every passing moment and the wicked smile she had on her face was something I would carry with me to my dying day. I was sure that I had a matching expression on my face. It has been an eternity since I had faced an equal in all out combat.

What happened next I couldn't clearly recall – I acted on instinct honed over countless battlefields across the galaxy. Retsu shifted her stance and before I could process what she was about to do, I was already acting, twisting and channeling power through my left hand, which I brought up without conscious thought. Sharp metal gleamed in Unohana's left hand, she slammed my Zanpakuto to the side with as much Reiatsu enhanced strength she could and the next thing I knew, a dagger point stood millimeters from my eyeball. I had the blade in my grip, which vanished in blinding light as I channeled the Kido I just called by reflex through the metal and Retsu's fingers.

It took me a moment to figure out what I did as Unohana screamed. I had cast Hado 63 Raikoho and channeled it into her hand as if it was the good old Sith Lighting. In fact I was still channeling the spell even if it was naturally much weaker when done without an incantation.

Even as she writhed in agony and her nerves had to be lit up with the electrical discharge, Retsu managed to attack me, bringing her Zanpakuto in a low slash aimed at my hip. I deflected the swipe with Kyoka, only to earn myself kick in the gut after barely moving away to avoid my balls being pulverized. That kick was just enough to force me back and I let go of the dagger as its glowing blade left a thin smoking gash in my palm. Even as we separated, I answered with as wipe of my own that missed cutting Retsu vertically by millimeters. Her braid wasn't as lucky and it parted in front of my blade with hair flying everywhere.

For a brief moment, Unohana stared at me with shock written all over her face before her gleeful smile was back. Retsu's messed up hair flew behind her like a veil lit up by motes of spiritual power. With the braid out of the way, I could see an old scar disfiguring her otherwise pristine skin just above her breastbone.

"Ye Lord, mask of flesh and bone," I began sub-vocalizing. "flutter of wings," for a heartbeat we stared at each other and in a blink of an eye we were trying to kill each other again. "ye who bears the name of man!" I caught Retsu's hand as she tried to gut me with her dagger, parried a thrust of her Zanpakuto and this time it was my turn to kick her back.

Unohana flew a few steps back with a grunt, then was upon me with a vengeance.

"Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws."

A blinding fast exchange of blows followed and the next time Retsu stabbed me with her dagger, my left hand shot back moving just below her strike. The dagger managed to brush the upper side of my arm, its blade cut through my sleeve and left a shallow cut up to my shoulder. It was worth it as I slammed my palm into Unohana's shoulder.

"Hado 33, Sokatsui." I hissed with relish as I unleashed the Hado. A torrent of blue energy slammed into and through the Reiatsu covering Retsu's skin, burned through flesh and bone and finally blew its way through her back, leaving ever larger jagged hole. I wasted no time in locking our blades together and used the shock and pain to push her Zanpakuto away so I could step within her guard and put my palm right above her heart. "Yield." I whispered as we found ourselves face to face.

I could see Retsu's eyes widen, her breath hitched and then she let go of her sword as her lips crashed into mine. That caught me off guard for a split second, allowing her to grab my right wrist and twist it, nearly breaking it and keeping my own blade away from her body. At the same time she put her dagger next to my jugular, yet didn't press it into my skin. Instead, Retsu leaned into me and deepened the kiss.

Huh, her mouth was the most delicious thing I've tasted in this life.