Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Star Wars, they belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners. I make no money from this story. It is not for sale or rent.
Chapter 9
=DA=
Part 3
=DA=
Las Noches
Hueco Mundo
Too much success can cause its own brand of chaos and thus trouble. If less people of my division had defected, if Retsu wasn't stalking through my most certainly not properly secured fortress, then I would have had my life much easier in the short term at least. Instead, when I should have been resting, regaining my control and making sure my abilities were up to my previous' self level, I had to scramble in order to keep my hastily constructed narrative from imploding upon itself. One such instance came too close to comfort, because in the scramble to get out of Soul Society and the interesting times that followed, it slipped my mind that we had one more guest that I hadn't paid attention to.
In that regard, I had to put an illusion around both Retsu and Rangiku Matsumoto and hope the former didn't notice, when the latter awoke and went to explore for a way out with murder in her eyes. It looked like it worked, with the two women passing by each other, while the Tenth Division Lieutenant suppressed her Reiatsu as much as possible in order to remain undetected. Hopefully, it was enough for the ambiance of Las Noches to hide it from anyone not accustomed to the area and its feeling.
If it wasn't for the grand performance I played earlier, merely keeping Matsumoto as a prisoner without any regard for other considerations would have been the simplest thing. For all her potential, she had spent a long time wasting it and I had more than enough people who could keep her in check. However, keeping her prisoner in Las Noches while playing my chosen role could prove problematic. I didn't need her getting away in the most unfortunate moment and challenging my narrative, that simply wouldn't do. Yet, she was the only lever I had in order to control Gin, if he survived and healed anyway.
That brought the question, could I turn her to my cause and if so, how? I followed her stealthily while Matsumoto crept through the empty corridors of Las Noches and pondered the problem she represented. Considering who her Captain was in the past… and who I had as a guest right now, perhaps there was an angle I could use that had little to nothing to do with my stunts back in Soul Society.
"Lieutenant Matsumoto!" I exclaimed cheerfully after dropping the illusion concealing me.
Rangiku gasped and whirled around, bringing her Zanpakuto up.
Note to self, have words with Zommari about properly securing prisoners and making sure command was reminded about them when orders about their handling weren't forthcoming in a timely manner.
"Captain Aizen?" The Lieutenant warily frowned at me. "What are you doing here? Where are we?"
"My base of operations, Las Noches. We're currently in Hueco Mundo."
Unsurprisingly, my words weren't particularly reassuring, or believable for that matter.
"Are you joking, sir?"
"Not at all. Walk with me, Lieutenant, I need to fill you up on recent events and the reason why I felt compelled to forcibly secure your presence. Your former Captain is very much alive and currently squatting in the world of the living. In fact, certain parties manipulated his son and said son's friends in invading Soul Society so they could use the children as a distraction." Which was the only thing that made sense unless Urahara was precisely the kind of bastard I did my best to paint him as, which frankly wasn't out of the question. But that might just be my lack in humanity and now Shinigami as well, speaking.
"Captain Isshin?"
"Yes, he somehow lost his powers, met a nice woman, get married and had children back in the human world. His son, and eldest, Ichigo, was the one conned into leading the Ryoka invasion. It's a long story, including people being eaten by Hollows and then resurrected by yours truly…" I led a wary and wide eyed Matsumoto towards Masaki's suite while filling her in on a carefully redacted version of recent events.
I couldn't blame Rangiku for the incredulous looks she threw my way when I reached a particularly juicy part of my story.
"Let me see if I got it straight…" Rangiku mumbled. "You've been doing Central 46's dirty work for centuries now, and have your hands dirty that orders or no many in Gotei 13 would likely want you stuck in the lowest level of the Maggot's Nest for the rest of eternity anyway."
"Something I have no intention of doing, obviously." I did my best imitation of Hitsugaya's exasperated tone, the one reserved specially for Matsumoto here. "My plans for the future don't include imprisonment for following orders, thank you very much. Besides, the Twelfth and our exalted Noble Clans do similar if not worse things as a matter of course. The only real difference is that their efforts usually stray from directly involving high placed Gotei 13 members. However, that rule isn't written in stone as Toshiro can attest."
"What?" Rangiku halted and turned to glare at me.
"Oh, he hasn't confided into you? Back in the day, Toshiro and his best friend found out that they shared a Zanpakuto. Central 46 ordered that they should fight to the death for him. Obviously, Toshiro won." I explained.
It was a very good thing that our government, its previous iterations and baring a miracle, the future ones, would make both the Republic's Senate and the Sith Empire government look like paragons of competence and honesty in comparison.
Well, that might be a bit of a stretch, however the core of the sentiment was true, I was sure of it. Because of that, I had a lot of truths and "truths", I could use to shatter people's belief in Central 46. It was just that, for the older Captains and Shinigami who knew it and obeyed anyway, that angle wouldn't work. Again, there was a silver lining, that being Kaname and the reason he was my man… and someone I should be having heart to heart conversation with, soon, however one problem at a time.
"Are you trying to distract me, Captain Aizen?" Matsumoto asked through pursed lips.
"I'm merely offering context. You were saying, Lieutenant?"
"Wait a minute! Are you still a Captain?"
"To the best of my knowledge, no one has gotten around to officially stripping me off my rank and office. Besides, I like the ring of Captain Aizen better than the tittle of King of Hueco Mundo. It pisses off Barraggan, the previous King, something fierce." I admitted.
"That's… Let's not go there…" Matsumoto's face twitched and took on a sour expression at the reminder where we were. "So you went rogue, staged an attack on Soul Society to get out, got half of your division to defect, and what I find hardest to believe, you've got Captain Unohana of all people skulking around?"
"You just missed her while staging your great escape. I can call her if you wish?"
Matsumoto looked unsure at that. It was plain to see that she was struggling with my version of events and was half-convinced that I was bullshiting her. In that case, if Retsu was indeed on my side, then meeting the woman would be among the last things Rangiku would want to happen.
"I'll pass for now. Perhaps later?" Matsumoto asked in a small voice.
"Perhaps." I agreed.
"Do you really want me to believe you brought back Isshin wife who had been eaten by a Hollow? I don't know that woman, I didn't know that my Captain was alive, much less married! For all I know, I'm going to meet an impostor!" Rangiku demonstrated that despite her usual behavior she did have a good head on her shoulders.
"True enough. Perhaps you'll be a witness when I try to bring back Lieutenant Kaien in couple of days? I have the Hollow that ate him in my employ and now I know I can extract a soul intact from a Hollow."
For a second time tonight, Rangiku ground to a halt and stared at me, though the gaping mouth was new.
"That's impossible!" Matsumoto spluttered.
"Merely improbable. Besides, I have the best help I could ask for." I must have said something right, because I could feel Yuriko beaming within my Inner World, warming it up.
=DA=
Part 4
=DA=
Las Noches
Hueco Mundo
I found Tosen sipping tea in his quarters as if he had no care in the world.
"You come at last." Kaname stated blandly, without turning and nodded towards the free chairs surrounding the table he sat at. "It has been very interesting couple of days."
"Indeed." I allowed in a tone identical to his. Instead of sitting at the table, I went to one of the large widows overlooking the interior of Las Noches. As far as sights went, black and white buildings, along with sand dunes strewn all around the place left a lot to be desired. If I had to keep this as my primary base, some re-decoration might be in order in the future.
Tosen continued to sip his tea and I was sure he was busy examining me closely through his senses. Meanwhile, I simply stared at grandest structure in this dimension and found it lacking in all respects. Perhaps my Hollows had eaten a few competent architects and engineers who could be put to a good use if we could retrieve their souls? That was another thing to aid in my growing "goals to achieve" list. Naturally, the top of said list remained unchanged – get myself in proper shape again, figure out what Gotei 13 would do about my stunts and counter them, while crafting a faction which could deal with Soul Society's Nobles for me. Kaien and the rest of the Shibas should prove amiable allies in that regard. If not, then it would be time for certain contingencies I would prefer not to use. Because really, as vital as the balance was, I had better things to do with my time than safeguard it as my primary responsibility, something which would change if I had to take over the Court of Pure Souls. Then there was the obvious fact that something like that might cause interference from higher authority and the other branches of Soul Society as a whole.
Those were less than desirable outcomes.
"For how long have you been lying to me, Aizen?" Kaname eventually asked. There was no anger in his voice, no sense of betrayal, it was merely void of any emotion, which was curious.
"Depending on your point of view, either from the very beginning, or never." I kept a very Aizen smirk off my face just in case.
"Speak plainly, please." A hint of emotion appeared in his voice and was gone faster than I could properly place it. "For once."
"I promised you justice. A path of lesser bloodshed." I turned to face him, even if the gesture was mostly lost on the blind man. "That hasn't changed. You know the true nature of Central 46 now, along with that of the Noble Clans who form our so called government."
"There is no justice there!" Finally, a hint of anger appeared in his voice.
"Of course not. Central 46, Soul Society as a whole, even the Gotei 13 we served for centuries, they aren't about justice, neither are they about doing the right thing. There are only two things they care about, and only one is commendable, yet a simple common sense." I explained patiently. Really, Kaname wasn't a fool, he knew those truths deep down, it was why he followed my old self despite what was required of him.
It was another question if he ever fully faced said truths and their implications.
"The balance. If not maintained everyone dies. That's why they have us, Gotei 13." And there it was, a hint of well masked loathing. Why was he bothering to play this game here and now, I would never know.
"The balance and protecting our high and mighty nobles from any outside interference. What they do to each other, and to anyone else they could get their hands on, they see it as their right. The only thing that sometimes gives them pause is openly acting against members of Gotei 13, for we were their military. However, that never stopped them from seeing us as dangerous pawns to use in their games and expend when it serves their interests. We were toy soldiers fighting for a cause that was never ours." Something that I had a lot of experience in.
"The Espada, the Arrancar, taking over Hueco Mundo?" Tosen asked.
"It all began as orders by Central 46. They have always been uncomfortable with the power Gotei 13 had and while I know that they have contingencies to use against us, a few more would never go amiss. Unfortunately for the, by the time they gave those orders I had began to dream of my past life. In the aftermath of the original Hollowfication experiments, Central 46 expected me to take the blame, I was no one, expendable compared to Twelfth's Division prodigy and Urahara had the backing of his good friend, Yoruichi Shihoin, the heir of one of the oldest and most powerful Noble Clans."
"Yet we got away with it." That wasn't a question, merely a statement. "There was no justice in what we did, in what Central 46 allowed to happen." All I heard in his voice was resignation.
"No. There is no justice there." I threw his words back in him. "Neither Soul Society as a whole, nor our part, the Court of Pure Souls and Gotei 13, were ever about justice, or about what is best for the majority of Shinigami and ordinary Plus Souls rotting in the Rukongai." The Drifting Spirit Town, this reality's sorry excuse for a heaven. And people like Kaname knew precisely whose fault it was.
"The Nobles." Oh how much loathing he put into that single word. His control of his emotions was fraying at the seams. "The government…"
"And us. We did enable them, we followed their orders like the good little soldiers we were supposed to be." I smiled. "Or did we?"
"How long have you been planning this? How long did you intend to go rogue, Aizen?"
"For as long as I knew the true face of Soul Society." It was even the truth, it was just that the context and reasons were different, but no one needed to know that. "I trained myself, I build my power base, I bid my time, I gathered the few like-minded people I met to my side, I even kept a snake close, where I could watch him all the time. And then, one bright day, Central 46 ordered me to build them an army, which was a priceless opportunity, I snatched and never looked back."
I watched Tosen, waiting for his next question, while running scenarios through my head.
"Ichimaru?"
"During one of my first assignments form Central 46 I took something precious from him, I think. They have been using him as a dagger pointed at my throat ever since. It was an elegant solution, one of my closest confidante and allies being a contingency meant to remove me if I ever became uppity again or simply outlived my usefulness."
"You could have spoken with him, turned him to our side, couldn't you?"
"There was a chance." I allowed. "However, he does have a one track mind. I did do the deed, no matter who ordered it, I chose one precious to him, when I could have chosen another. He might have even suspected and that contributed to Gin having no qualms in slaughtering Central 46 with you."
"About that. What you said during the interrogation…" Kaname trailed off.
"That was your vengeance and Gin's alone. It was you two who did the deed, however, in all fairness, until the very end, I wasn't convinced that I could fully trust even you. You did see me aid you take them out, however anyone else watching, would have seen just two of you committing treason."
"Your Zanpakuto. It has such a twisted ability, no matter how useful, Aizen."
I could her the silent question loud and clear. "Just like you?"
"She is a very lovely and useful Zanpakuto, my Kyoka Suigetsu." She and Yuriko were the only people I could really trust as well.
"I'll hold you to that, Aizen. We will have justice."
"Sometimes, if there is to be justice, it has to be forced, because it is not in the interests of anyone in power to give it to you. Fortunately for us, we do have the power to make it so."
"To force justice?" Kaname slowly turned his head in my general direction. "Is that truly possible?"
"Sometimes, that is the only way to get justice done, my friend."