Chapter 14: Genesis of Lucifer, finale (Words of enlightenment)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner Quincy/Yhwach speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
"Hello, Kurosaki-san. Looks like you could use some help."
Unable to process these words as well as the very presence of the Captain of the 5th Division, Ichigo could only stare at the man, his expression completely blank. Repeatedly, he opened and then closed his mouth in an attempt to form some sort of a retort but without any luck. Only after several long seconds, he felt his brain slowly coming back to life. He briskly stood up.
"You're not dead?" He blurted out in disbelief.
"No, Kurosaki-san. I assure you I am very much alive." Aizen said in response. The calm and friendly tone of his voice, entirely unfit for the current situation, threw Ichigo off and the teen couldn't help but to blink dumbly.
"But… how?" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, a small part of his brain, of his subconscious mind, came alive and caused him to take a step back.
"And more importantly… why?"
The Captain formed a kind smile and sheathed the sword that was still in his right hand. His eyes never left Ichigo's face.
"I will tell you, Kurosaki-san, but don't you think we should leave this place first? I'm sure that my actions have triggered more than just few alarms."
Glancing from the Captain to his free hands and then back at the man, Ichigo begrudgingly admitted that the Captain brought up a good point. But then he recalled a familiar face.
"Fine but I need to find Rukia first. Last thing I remember is that the Central 46 wanted to punish her for being involved…"
"That has already been taken care of, Kurosaki-san. Kuchiki-san is waiting for us with my colleagues." Aizen interrupted him with a smile.
"My zanpakuto?"
"That too, has already been taken care of."
Ichigo gave him a long and skeptical stare.
"Fine. Let's go." He finally said.
Aizen turned around and, with a bit of glowing energy hovering above his hand, he guided the teen towards the door of his cell and then through them. Ichigo followed him in silence as, without his zanpakuto, he felt quite uncomfortable. Yet he wasn't completely defenseless anymore. As soon as he had fallen out of his jelly-like confinements, he had begun to feel his reiryoku once again. It surprised him how much of a relief that was.
'Ichigo. I hope I don't need to remind you to be wary of this man.'
'Yeah, he still creeps the hell out of me.'
Hearing both of his spirits' voices, Ichigo mentally snorted.
'Don't worry. I am very thankful he came and set me free but, at the same time, I realize how incredibly convenient this is. Something doesn't add up.'
'Well, color me impressed. Sometimes you can be fucking insightful.'
'While I wouldn't put it in such words, I agree. Sometimes, being paranoid can save your life.'
Rolling his eyes, Ichigo tuned them out and concentrated on his surroundings. It looked like they were already closing in on the central elevator.
"Is it wise to go this way? What if they catch us? I mean, this is the most obvious path we could take."
Without turning around, Aizen offered him a quick reply.
"That is precisely why we should go this way, Kurosaki-san. Sometimes, your enemy doesn't see the very thing that is happening under his nose."
After they got to the elevator doors, they had to wait for a moment before the elevator itself came all the way down to the fourth level. Using the moment, Ichigo took a look around but, to his disappointment, there was barely anything to see.
"This sure does look forlorn." He muttered. Truthfully, the whole area of the fourth level didn't just look forlornly. It also felt like that. The very walls gave off that gloomy, hopeless and incredibly helpless feeling. It made him shudder.
"The elevator is here, Kurosaki-san."
…
When the elevator doors opened again, Ichigo was unprepared for the weird feeling that hit him as soon as he took a step outside. For just a fraction of a second, a strong spiritual pressure that caused him to stiffen, washed over him. For that short moment, it felt as if a cold and slimy snake wrapped itself around his whole body and hissed tauntingly straight into his ears. Goose bumps spread all over his skin so rapidly that every single muscle in his body twitched in response.
Only after that he noticed two shinigami clad in Captain's haori standing in a short distance away from him. He could tell which one of them was the owner of that uncomfortable reiatsu at first glance.
'He even looks like a snake.'
The man he was looking at was unusually thin and tall with very sharp features, had unusual silver hair and quite a mocking smile on his face. However, for Ichigo, the most noticeable thing about the man was located above that smile. It was his eyes. They were narrowed to slits, which only further emphasized the man's similarity with a snake.
The man standing next to him was completely different. He had dark skin and dark brown braids tied back in a ponytail. He was also wearing an orange scarf but, same as with the first man, Ichigo was unable to see his eyes as the Captain was wearing goggles.
Noticing his stare, Aizen nudged him to walk towards the men.
"These are my colleagues, the Captain of the 3rd Division, Ichimaru Gin and Captain of the 9th Division, Kaname Tōsen." He said, politely introducing them to Ichigo once the two groups got close to each other.
"This is Kurosaki Ichigo."
"…nice to meet you." Ichigo stated with a frown. Because of the situation he was in, he couldn't bring himself to smile. He did recognize the names, though.
"Is it?" The Captain of the 3rd Division said mockingly while the Captain of the 9th Division simply nodded in acknowledgment.
"That voice… Ichigo?"
Ichigo's eyebrows shot upwards when he heard the feminine voice coming from behind the two Captains. Its owner took a few steps forward to show himself. It was Rukia.
"Rukia. You alright?"
"Yeah."
Giving Ichigo a brief smile, she grabbed the sword she was carrying on her back and handed it to the teen.
"This is yours."
"Thanks."
When he wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his zanpakuto, Ichigo felt as if something heavy fell from his heart. Coupled with the fact that he saw Rukia unharmed, getting his zanpakuto back came as an extreme relief to him. He tied the sword to his obi sash and then glanced at Aizen.
"Now what? As much as I'm grateful that you got us out, Captain Aizen, this turns me and Rukia into fugitives."
Calm as ever, Aizen offered him a smile.
"Do not worry, Kurosaki-san. I came prepared." He said and then turned to the two Captains.
"Gin, Kaname. Get us to the Sōkyoku Hill."
Before he could say anything, Ichigo saw a long, white piece of cloth spinning around all of them.
"Sentan Hakuja."
The cloth slowly tightened around them and then there was only a white flash. When it died down, there was nobody on the bridge anymore. The only thing that the group left there, was the very air they breathed out before they vanished.
…
Sōkyoku Hill
When his feet made contact with the ground again, Ichigo quickly glanced at his surroundings. While he had heard the name 'Sōkyoku Hill' before, he had never actually been there. However, just as he suspected, the place he arrived to was the undercut hill that was visible from every part of the Seireitei.
"Now, Kurosaki-san. I promised I would explain things to you, didn't I? We have some time before we can leave so where would you like me to start?" Aizen asked from behind him, causing the teen to stiffen. He briefly looked at Rukia as if looking for support, but it seemed like the petite Kuchiki was far too confused with everything that was happening around her. The only thing she could do was to return his gaze with a blank stare.
"Why did you fake your death?" He asked and turned around just in time to see Aizen's smile widening. For some reason, the man looked more than just a bit amused.
"Ah, that." Aizen replied and took a few steps towards him.
"Tell me, Kurosaki-san, how much do you think you truly know about the Soul Society? About its history? Do you believe that you are taught everything in the Academy?"
Ichigo subconsciously took a step backwards. It took him only a short moment to form an answer.
"No, I don't."
Even though it seemed impossible, Aizen's smile widened even further.
"And you are right in thinking that. Kurosaki-san, do you remember one of our first conversations we had during the calligraphy seminar?"
"I… no, just bits and pieces, why?" The teen inquired with a momentarily baffled expression. Aizen didn't show any reaction to the question and took one step closer. This time, towards Rukia.
"Let me refresh your memory then, Kurosaki-san. I told you that, same as you, I desire a change for the Soul Society but for that desire to come true, one would need to change not just the Gotei 13 but a lot more. He'd need to change things that are even more important than that."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes and too, took a step towards Rukia, who was glancing from the teen to the Captain with confused eyes. Noticing that, Aizen formed an imperceptible grin.
"That still doesn't really answer my original question."
"Then let me put it this way, Kurosaki-san. Since when were you under the impression that I simply desired for such a change and that I didn't already have a plan for that to happen in mind? Faking my death was simply a part of that plan as I needed to get access to the place I have mentioned to you some time in past. It's called Daireishokairō or the Great Spirit Book Gallery. I simply used the Bounts incident for my benefit."
While Ichigo simply raised his eyebrows at that, feeling only slightly surprised, Rukia, on the other hand, gasped and stared at the Captain in shock.
"Daireishokairō? How…"
"It was quite simple, really. After I quickly disposed of Jin Kariya, the leader of Bounts, I used the power of my zanpakuto to rearrange the scene. This allowed me to simply disappear and enter the Central 46 compound undetected. Moving within the compound has proved to be even easier."
Before Ichigo could react to that, Rukia spoke first.
"But… I heard that the power of your zanpakuto is to distort the sight to confuse the enemy, causing them to fight amongst themselves. How could you rearrange a scene using something like that? Not to mention enter such a strictly guarded compound?"
When Aizen smiled in response, Ichigo realized the answer and creased his brow in a deep frown.
"Easily. He lied about the power of his zanpakuto." He stated quietly, causing Rukia to snap her head towards him and look at him with shocked expression.
"Indeed I did." Aizen said and lightly touched the hilt of his sheathed sword.
"My zanpakuto is called Kyōka Suigetsu. It possesses the power of complete hypnosis. This hypnosis controls the 5 senses to the point that it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel and smell to be that of the enemy. It other words, I could make a dragon out of a fly and a field of flowers out of a swamp and, to the eyes of the hypnotized, it would be the same. The spell is activated when the victim sees the released Kyōka Suigetsu. Having seen it even once, from that moment on, the victim is under its hypnotic power and each subsequent time I release the Kyōka Suigetsu, the hypnotic control returns." The Captain continued.
"Why are you explaining it to us?" Ichigo asked and stared at the man with suspicion clearly mirrored in his eyes. He was trying to stay calm but listening to the explanation behind the man's zanpakuto powers gave him shivers. The technique sounded far too powerful.
"No reason, I just want my answers to be whole." Aizen answered with a mysterious smile and, just for an instant, looked not at the teen's face, but at a part of his shoulder. Then he moved his eyes back and gave Ichigo a long, quizzical look.
"You've been told not to trust me, isn't that right, Kurosaki-san?"
The question caught the teen off-guard. He didn't know how to react to it. Rukia, the one person who told him just that first, looked at her feet, ashamed. But the Captain didn't lose his smile.
"It is alright. It's the right thing to do, Kurosaki-san, Kuchiki-san. You should never completely trust another person. Trusting in someone is the same as depending on them and that is something the weak do."
"Then…" Ichigo began.
"Yes, Kurosaki-san. I don't expect you to fully trust me nor to believe my words. That decision is solely yours. So now, instead of just saying things, let me demonstrate something." Aizen said and took another step towards Rukia.
"You've been taught the four basic combat methods, haven't you? Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō and Kidō; each of these disciplines requires a certain level of power and finesse. But in attempting to master any of those methods, one eventually hits a wall determined by one's potential. Improvement stops short at that point. And all shinigami have these limits. At least, all ordinary shinigami."
Ichigo listened to his words with increasing unease. He felt as if the man was purposely choosing his words so that Ichigo couldn't ignore them. The knowing smile the Captain gave him at the last few words caused him to freeze in shock.
'…could it be?'
"However, could it be possible, for these ordinary shinigami, to break through the walls? It is. I will not go into the details but I will tell you this. There is a man who discovered the means of breaking through those walls and for that, among other things, he was banished from the Soul Society. That man is Urahara Kisuke."
Ichigo clenched his fists. He knew that Urahara Kisuke, along with the other shinigami, had been banished a century ago. The Captain of the 5th Division had told him that himself. Till this moment, though, the teen had never heard the true reason behind it.
"Working outside the Soul Society's scientific community, he created a substance that could allow shinigami to smash the walls of their potential and reach new heights. This substance was called Hōgyoku. Despite his curiosity, Urahara Kisuke thought of the Hōgyoku to be something very dangerous because he tried to destroy it. But he failed to do so. So he did what he had to do. He placed a protective shell around the Hōgyokuand by doing so, he was able to implant it deep within a person's soul. Which brings us to you, Kuchiki-san." Aizen said and carelessly put one hand on Rukia's shoulder, causing her to stiffen. Dumbfounded, Ichigo could only stare at the man with eyes that were clearly trying to deny the obvious.
"What are you saying?"
In response, the Captain smile and turned to Rukia.
"Tell me, Kuchiki-san. How long has it been since your first mission to the World of the Living? The mission, in which you have been stationed in Karakura Town?"
Ichigo blinked in surprise while Rukia opened her eyes as much as she could.
"I… I don't know."
"Precisely, Kuchiki-san. You've been informed that you have been on such a mission, yet you have no recollection of it. Why do you think that is? You think such a selective amnesia is ordinary? It is not. The reason you have no memories is because during that mission, Urahara Kisuke tampered with your soul and implanted his Hōgyoku inside of you."
"!"
Staring at the Captain, Ichigo didn't know how to react. He felt so many emotions at once it almost made him sick. But he knew it was nothing in comparison with how Rukia must have been feeling. He glanced at her.
She didn't react at all and just returned the man's gaze in shock, unable to say anything.
"But there is one more thing you should know. The Hōgyoku is no longer inside of you."
This statement surprised not just Ichigo and Rukia, but also the other Captains.
"What?"
"Oh? What do we do now then, Captain Aizen?"
Aizen ignored his colleagues and took out a small vial from one of his pockets.
"After your death, Kurosaki-san, Urahara Kisuke took care of the injured Kuchiki-san. He most likely used that short time frame to extract the Hōgyoku out of her. Now, I realize you may not believe me, that's why I will do the promised demonstration. Here." He said and positioned himself directly in front of Rukia. He unsealed the vial and let the contents spill around him. Several pillars rose from the ground and surrounded the two of them. The hand, in which he was holding the vial, got covered with a weird substance.
The scene triggered alarms in Ichigo's mind.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Without turning away from the frozen Rukia, Aizen spoke to the teen.
"This is the method of extracting the Hōgyoku from its host. It can be activated only if the user targets a soul that is carrying the Hōgyoku, or a soul that used to carry it. Just to be sure, though…" Aizen trailed off and plunged his hand into Rukia's chest. She was so surprised, she wasn't even able to twitch.
"The f-"
"It is a completely harmless process, Kurosaki-san." Aizen placated the teen when he noticed him stiffen. Then, he withdrew the hand from Rukia's body. She was left with a gaping hole in the center of her chest but, before their very eyes, it immediately began to close itself.
"Yes, as I suspected, it is no longer here."
"Captain Aizen…"
"Don't worry, Gin. This will barely make a dent in our plan. In Daireishokairō, I have determined that one of my theories was right and that I didn't visit Captain Kurotsuchi's lab for nothing. Oh, I should have thanked that poor man that served as a bait." The Captain of the 5th Division replied to one of his colleagues, to the man with snake-like appearance, in a fairly smug tone. Then he turned to Ichigo, who was crouching next to the overwhelmed Rukia.
"As you can see, Kurosaki-san, while you can choose not to trust my words, you cannot deny the truth you witness with your own eyes." Aizen stated and then took a few steps towards the teen with a friendly smile and an outstretched hand.
"Come with me, Kurosaki-san. Come with me and I'll show you the ugly truth hidden behind this illusion of an imperfect heaven. Together, we can change how things are. Together, we can change them into how they should be."
With a hand placed on Rukia's shoulder to give her support, Ichigo looked up and at the man. He gazed into his eyes, trying to see what was hidden within them, trying to see the man's truth and more. Truthfully, after everything that had happened to him so far, Ichigo was ready to throw everything but Rukia away and simply go with him, to even ignore the sense of suspicion he felt when in Aizen's presence.
Yes, he had come across some good people. But they had been an incredibly minority. And even in that minority, there were those who were looking at something he couldn't see. He could count the others with the fingers of his left hand. Rukia, Renji, Yumichika, Ikkaku and Gengorō. Those five felt real. They felt like people made from flesh and bones. Each one of them was a person he could stab and then see blood pouring out. Different from the others that bled dust and poison; that were dry and corrupt on the inside. Yet also different from those who bled nothing; their insides empty and never to be understood.
Different from those who bled the black substance (*) that drew them in the direction of their schemes and manipulations; their insides unstable and unknown.
He didn't know into which group he could place the man that was offering him the helping hand. In his eyes, he couldn't see anything. Those two orbs were as black holes, attracting everything only to swallow it whole never to release it again.
Both of his spirits were silent. They both understood the importance of this decision. It was Ichigo's to make. And whichever decision he made, both of them were going to support him. Even if they wouldn't like it, they would accept it.
"Where would we go?"
"Hueco Mundo. A place that remembers the truth."
Ichigo stood up. He kept his hand on Rukia's shoulder and took a deep breath. He wasn't convinced. The offer was tempting but could he really go? He wasn't convinced. Would Rukia go with him? He wasn't convinced! Could he find the truth with this man? He still wasn't convinced! Could he make a change?
Maybe he was convinced.
Multiple quick movements all around them caught everyone's attention as a cool breeze blew over the Sōkyoku Hill only to reveal, one by one, the highest echelon of the Gotei 13. Their arrival was so unexpected, yet so unsurprising, that nobody noticed the small step forward Ichigo managed to take before he stopped himself.
A sword appeared right below Aizen's neck, its blade lightly pressing on his skin. It belonged to the petite Captain of the 2nd Division, Sui-Feng.
"Don't move. You so much as twitch a finger and I'll cut you down. You too, Kurosaki."
Shifting his eyes to glance at the Captain, Aizen gave her a carefree smile.
"Oh?"
…
Ichigo was mentally panicking. One second he was deep in thought, trying to make an important decision and the next one, he and the others were suddenly surrounded by almost every Captain and Vice-Captain of the Gotei 13.
"Aizen…"
"Captain Aizen!"
Murmurs of disbelief echoed across the hill. All the Vice-Captains couldn't believe their eyes and tried to deny the scene they were witnesses of. The Captains were fairing a bit better but even they couldn't hide their surprise.
However, Aizen still looked like he didn't care at all. He could see both of his colleagues, Gin and Tōsen, being restrained yet his smile didn't waver. He simply looked over everyone and then his eyes stopped at one particular Captain.
"I see. So that small listening device on Kurosaki's shoulder was your idea, wasn't it, Kyoraku? Did you like what you heard?"
Ichigo's head snapped to the side as he instantly looked at his shoulder. With his left hand, he patted it only to truly find something that wasn't supposed to be there.
'What the…?'
Seeing his expression, the Captain of the 8th Division apologetically tipped his hat in the teen's direction.
"I apologize for that, Ichigo-kun but I was suspecting something like this could happen." He said simply but when Ichigo just continued to stare at him, clearly not comprehending his words, he continued.
"I suspected Aizen for some time now. Since you showed up with your story, my suspicions only grew. I put that device on you because I was worried Aizen was going to manipulate Central 46 into imprisoning you. He would then break you out of there so he could convince you to join him. I was right. The Central 46 is dead. They all have been murdered. And it didn't happen today. Aizen must have used his illusion to impersonate the Central 46 and then-"
"Ah, that's where you are wrong, Kyoraku." Aizen interrupted the Captain with a mild smirk, blatantly ignoring the sword digging into his skin and abandoning his warm and friendly smile he had had when talking to Ichigo.
"I admit, I did take care of the Central 46 but only after Kurosaki's hearing. I had nothing to do with their verdict. Their decision to incarcerate him was solely theirs."
An extremely hot and powerful reiatsu pressed on everyone's shoulders, effectively silencing both Captains. The pressure was so immense, Ichigo felt like an ant getting squashed with a shoe. But he wasn't the only one. The Vice-Captains weren't fairing any better and even some Captains showed signs of strain. But they did it only for a moment and Ichigo realized why.
Focusing on his reserves, he released his own spiritual pressure to shield himself and Rukia, allowing both of them to breathe a bit easier.
"Enough! I am not interested in that infant. What I do want to hear is your explanation, Aizen Sosuke!" The gruff voice, coming from a distance, exclaimed.
It was the Captain of the 1st Division, the Captain-Commander of the whole Gotei 13, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. His eyes were mostly closed but, facing Aizen, his intent was undeniable.
Still, Aizen barely batted an eye.
"The Captain-Commander himself. My explanation? Eyes of the blind, of those who refuse to see the truth or those who chose to ignore it, cannot be opened only with words of a mere human." He stated calmly.
"Aizen…" A Captain of the 13th Division, Ukitake, muttered with a warning.
Yamamoto slowly opened one of his eyes.
"The truth?"
Aizen smirked.
"Indeed. This world, all these concepts you have created for this reality are flawed, Captain-Commander. The laws of causality, created at the dawn of creation have been shifted to serve your own beliefs and convenience but such a thing is nothing but an abomination for those who see the truth."
The Captain-Commander fully opened his eye.
"Don't speak of things you don't understand, brat." He stated loudly, his voice carried over by a wave of his reiatsu, released in a burst. Unaffected, Aizen's smirk remained as wide as ever.
"I don't understand? That's a false assumption, Captain-Commander. How else would I know of what is coming? Of what is inevitable? How else would I know of that thing you all so conveniently call a lynchpin? No, it is you who don't understand."
He turned away from the old Captain and looked at Ichigo.
"Now, Kurosaki. Will you join me?"
The unabashed method in which Aizen ignored the Captain-Commander caused every member of Gotei 13 that was present on the scene to look at the teen. Ichigo tried to ignore them.
'What am I supposed to do now, damn it? I can't just accept his offer or I'm dead but if I don't accept, who knows what will happen to me... or to Rukia…'
He opened his mouth and words echoed across the Sōkyoku Hill. But they did not belong to him.
"Not if I have a say in it."
…
A lone man wearing a bucket hat sat on the porch of a small and inconspicuous shop. He listened to the sound of raindrops falling down from the sky and onto the tin roof above him. Taking a deep, deep breath he smelled petrichor, the heavenly scent of nature, in an attempt to relax his scarlet soul. Hidden within a shadow of the shop, he tried to suppress and ignore the feeling that had been growing deep within him for a long time. The feeling of being the innocent villain. He was guilty but, at the same time, he wasn't. He was evil but, at the same time, he wasn't.
"For the sake of Soul Society…"
He felt like there was only one thing that could bring forth his fake salvation. A sacrifice yet to come. The gears of fate he didn't believe in were already spinning but he was going to make sure his only salvation wasn't going to get swallowed by ignorance and fear and fall into that muddy river by itself.
"…I hope we won't lose him."
…
For just a split second, Ichigo felt extremely grateful for the sudden interruption as it allowed him to take one more breath and to choose his words one more time. Yet none of his intended words came out.
He knew that voice. He could recognize it anytime. That voice was a constant in his life for 15 long years. He grew up listening to it. Since his mom's death and until his own, there hadn't been a single morning he didn't bicker with its owner.
Now, hearing the voice here in Soul Society caused him to go completely silent. He was glad he could hear that man again but his presence at the scene was unreal. However, what caused Ichigo to freeze, making him unable to even twitch, was seeing that man wearing shinigami clothes.
And not just any clothes.
"Ah, so you've come here." Aizen's calm reaction was in stark contrast with reactions of the others.
"That spiritual energy…"
"C-C-Captain Shiba?!"
Slowly walking towards the large group was Kurosaki Isshin, Ichigo's father, clad in shinigami attire with a captain's haori loosely tied to his obi sash. His serious expression betrayed none of his emotions as he steadily took more steps forward.
"…dad?"
Ichigo's strained reaction caused an uproar among the officers of Gotei 13. Only few of them managed to remain calm.
"Hey son. It's been a while." Isshin hesitantly said, his façade cracking for the first time. A bit of discomfort showed itself on his face as he stared down the teen.
For just a fraction of a second, nobody moved an inch. But then, the teen shot out of his position and flashed towards Isshin to deliver a devastating punch to the man's face. He made sure it hit him square in the jaw but he didn't even need to. Isshin made no attempt to try and evade the strike and took the full brunt of it head-on. The punch sent him skidding backwards but he kept his gaze on Ichigo and refused to break the eye contact.
"…what is even going on anymore...?" Somebody said, voicing the thoughts of the large portion of people present at the scene.
"Do you know why I hit you, Dad?" Ichigo asked as he glared at his father. In response, Isshin nodded.
"Yeah."
"Good." The teen said and turned away from him, letting him recover and, once again, walk forward.
"Shiba Isshin… we were led to believe you have been dead for almost twenty years." The booming voice of Captain-Commander reverberated across the Sōkyoku Hill, gaining the attention of everyone once again.
"Yeah, you can thank Aizen for that." Isshin replied, much to everyone's surprise.
"Thank you for the compliment." Aizen said with a satisfied smirk. When an irate Sui-Feng applied more pressure on her sword, causing it to dig deeply into his skin, it only grew larger.
"Aizen Sosuke?" Yamamoto asked Isshin in incredulous tone.
"That's not all. You can thank him for many things, for example weakening the Gotei 13 force by 4 Captains and 4 Vice-Captain a century ago… but I'll go into details later."
His statement brought forth an even larger uproar.
"What are you talking about?!"
"That… that can't be!"
Meanwhile, one man's smirk morphed into a wide, smug grin.
"What is so funny, traitor?" Sui-Feng asked and pushed her blade even further into the man's neck.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's time."
The Captain of the 2nd Division narrowed her eyes at him, in her exasperation missing a pulse of reiatsu coming from the sky. In the last moment, Isshin flashed across the hill and grabbed her by her hand. Yanking her forward, he caused her to stumble and fall down.
"How dare y-"
She didn't even finish her angry snarl when a square yellow beam smashed on the ground, enveloping Aizen with its light.
"You're welcome." Isshin told her quietly while the others directed their stares at the sky from which the sudden beam came, beads of nervous sweat forming on their faces.
"What the devil?!"
Ichigo, standing a bit on the side, away from the others, glanced at the sky too.
'…'
A small tear appeared in the sky only to quickly grow larger and larger until it became big enough for a pair of enormous hands with claws to emerge from within it. The thin and long fingers gripped the edges of the tear and with a push, tore the sky open only to reveal a myriad of humongous hollow heads with white masks and elongated noses. The sight caused Ichigo to gulp. He could recognize those hollows from one of the textbooks. He wasn't the only one.
"Menos Grande!"
"G-Gillians! How… how many of them are there?!"
"No…wait, there's something else behind them!"
Truth to the words, when the Gillians moved around to the sides of the tear, a gigantic eye materialized in the center. Two more beams shot from the sky, enveloping Aizen's colleagues in the same way.
From the corner of his eye, Ichigo noticed a brief exchange of words between the Captain of the 3rd Division and the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division who was keeping him bound before she had to jump away.
When Aizen, along with the piece of ground he was standing on, began to slowly rise in the air, some officers tried to stop him but the Captain-Commander prevented them from doing so with a shout.
"Stop! That light is called Negación. The Menos use it to rescue each other. The moment that light envelopes something, it's all over. They're in another world now. There's nothing we can do. Anybody who's fought the Menos knows that the moment that light came down… Aizen was beyond our reach."
In that moment, a large Captain Ichigo had never met before, lost his cool and began to shout at one of Aizen's colleagues, the Captain of the 9th Division, Kaname Tōsen. Ichigo ignored it and focused his sight at the one man he was interested in. Aizen noticed his gaze and formed a smile, which wasn't friendly anymore but, at the same time, wasn't completely derisive.
"I think this means you will not be joining me, Kurosaki. That's a shame."
"You got that right he won't be joining you! Not after all the schemes you pulled on him!" Isshin, walking towards the teen, exclaimed. It was then, when something clicked in Ichigo's mind. He clenched his fists.
"…tell me, 'Captain' Aizen. Are you the one who manipulated Kazumi?"
Aizen unflinchingly met his glare.
"Ah, that poor soul. If, by manipulating her, you mean that I gave her a reason to live for a few more weeks then yes. I am."
Blood begin to pour into Ichigo's head as rage instantly filled his insides. His spiritual pressure increased drastically but before he could lash out, Aizen raised one single finger.
"I never promised that girl something I couldn't give her. But if you still wish to be angry with somebody, Kurosaki, then I implore you to ask yourself a question. Who is truly responsible for her death that evening?"
Ichigo was clenching his fists so hard, he felt his nails digging deeply and painfully into his own palms, almost drawing blood. Aizen's words caused him to grimace.
"I am sure there will be much you will hear about me in the upcoming time, Kurosaki, but you should know one thing. You may come to despise me, yet I'm the only one who can ever understand you in the same way you are the only one who could ever hope to understand me. Once you realize your true nature, you will see the illusion everywhere around you." Aizen added and then slightly turned his head when another voice called out to him. It was the Captain of the 13th Division.
"You joined forces with the Menos. Why?"
Aizen gave Ukitake a cold stare.
"To seek greater heights."
Uncharacteristically, Ukitake sent the man a hard glare.
"Have you fallen, Aizen?!"
For a moment, Aizen didn't reply. He just stared at the white-haired Captain, his stare becoming colder and colder.
"Have your… illness… clouded your mind, Ukitake? Neither I nor you have ever stood atop the heavens before. Not even gods."
Ichigo didn't completely understand those words as he was still trying to calm down his anger but he could see the face of the Captain of the 13th Division. The man looked paralyzed and sweat began to form even on his brow.
"However, the unbearable vacancy of heaven's throne ends now." Aizen said. Slowly, he ran a hand through his hair and took down his glasses that disintegrated into the thin air like an illusion of his persona.
"From now on, I will stand at the top." He stated smugly and turned away.
"If you think you can achieve something with this, brat, then you are in a need for some serious punishment. You cannot win." Captain-Commander sent parting words to the man. Aizen stopped in his tracks and turned back only to give Yamamoto one last smug smile.
"As usual, you are wrong, Captain-Commander. I cannot be defeated. Even my loss will be my victory. In time, maybe you'll understand. Now…goodbye shinigami and goodbye Kurosaki Ichigo."
…
It was a late and quiet evening and Ichigo stared at the desk in front of him with a blank expression. He was sitting on a comfortable sofa in the office that belonged to the Captain of the 10th Division, waiting for the arrival of his father who was currently at Captains' meeting. Rukia was not with him as she was back at Kuchiki manor. Similar to Ichigo, she was waiting for someone, specifically, she was waiting for the Captain of the 6th Division to come back from the meeting so he could talk to her. But even though she wasn't with Ichigo, the teen wasn't alone in the room.
On his right, there was a Vice-Captain of the 10th Division. Quite unusually, she was being completely silent and clearly immersed in her own thoughts. She had been like that for the past couple of hours, ever since the three Captains left the Soul Society.
If it was another time, Ichigo probably would have been curious about her different behavior. But right now?
He just didn't give a damn.
He was too preoccupied with his own swirling mass of thoughts, memories and emotions. So many questions yet so few answers. Reaching forward, he grabbed the cup that was on the desk. Before she sat down and started to completely ignore him, Rangiku had at least made both of them a cup of hot tea. He took a sip.
Cold.
Just from that discovery, Ichigo knew he must have been waiting for at least an hour. The tea had already cooled down to the room's low temperature. He took another sip.
Refreshing.
It didn't matter to him how hot or how cold the tea actually was. He was just glad he could moisten his dry throat and that he could do something with his hands. Other than clenching them, of course.
"So… you're Captain's Shiba son, huh? Never would have guessed. I would almost feel offended you didn't mention it but it looks like you never knew about it in the first place." Rangiku stated all of a sudden. It surprised the teen because she made no movement and simply put the question in the air.
"Yeah…" He muttered. Looking at her only from the corner of his eye, he was surprised to see a small smile forming on her face. A smile that looked completely honest.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who is at the end of her rope."
Mimicking his actions, Rangiku grabbed her own cup and took a sip too. She grimaced and put it back on the desk.
"…I could use a sake."
She leaned backwards and into her chair with a sigh. Silence fell on the room again. But it lasted only for a few moments.
"You know, back at the Sōkyoku Hill, I observed you for a while. You withstood the Captain-Commander's spiritual pressure maybe even better than I or the rest of the Vice-Captains did."
Ichigo blinked and broke his own blank expression. He raised one of his eyebrows and, forming a frown, glanced at the Vice-Captain.
"So?"
Rangiku chuckled. But it wasn't the kind of chuckle that brought out a smile. It almost sounded sad and melancholic.
"You really are a prodigy."
Giving her a sour look, Ichigo shrugged but she continued to gaze at him until it made him feel uncomfortable.
"You remind me of him…" Rangiku muttered and reached for her cup to take another sip. She grimaced again but this time, she didn't put the cup away and continued to slowly sip from it. Her words shook the teen a bit and, for a moment, he didn't know how to react. Then he sighed.
He almost forgot he didn't give a damn.
With a click, the doors to the office opened and two men walked inside. As one of them was her Captain, Rangiku eagerly got out of her chair.
"Captain! How bad is it?"
Toshiro threw a solemn gaze at her.
"Bad."
Rangiku winced. Then she looked at the other man standing behind Toshiro. She formed a small and just a bit happy smile.
"It's good to see you alive, Captain Shiba."
Isshin nodded to her while Toshiro crossed his arms.
"In that case you should be fine with me leaving the division in Captain's Shiba hands again."
Rangiku's face turned pale.
"Nooo! Don't do this to me! I want my current Captain!" She whined and easily ignored Isshin who faked a hurt expression. Toshiro rolled his eyes.
"Right. You're just worried you'll have to do paperwork properly again."
Then he sighed and looked at his Vice-Captain in a different way. It was as if he was silently asking her for a favor.
"Momo seems to be doing fine but I don't believe it. She must be hurt pretty bad; she idolized Aizen too much for too long. I already spoke to Captain-Commander. I'll take over the 5th Division so I can be close to her and so the men won't crumble under the pressure."
It didn't take long before Rangiku capitulated under the young Captain's gaze. She briefly closed her eyes and offered him a smile.
"Okay. Make sure she's fine… poor girl."
"I will." Toshiro replied and turned around to leave, only to stop at the doors.
"You should go out for a while too, Matsumoto. I'm sure there is at least one person who could use your visit."
Rangiku's smile wilted.
"…Izuru…you're right. I should go."
…
After the doors of the office closed, Isshin moved towards his son and sat on the chair opposite of him. He kneaded his hands and waited.
Silently.
Calmly.
Firmly.
His eyes, tired and old, never left Ichigo's face. Yet he did not say a single word. He was content with waiting until the teen spoke first.
"Captain Shiba of the 10th Division, huh?" Ichigo muttered after a long moment of silence, his head lowered and his gaze directed at his empty cup.
"Do you really want to know, Ichigo?"
"Do you really want to tell me, Dad?"
A quiet snort escaped from Isshin's nose and the man shook his head, closing his eyes for just a second.
"That doesn't really matter, does it? You may be a problematic son… but you are my son. You deserve to know."
"Right." Ichigo responded in a low voice, still intently staring at his cup. Isshin sighed and gathered his thoughts. Then he started a monologue.
"Almost twenty years ago, I was a shinigami in the service of Gotei 13. Specifically, I was a Captain of the 10th Division. My name, at that time, was Isshin Shiba, as I was a member of a branch family of Shiba Great Noble House. One day, I received a report concerning mysterious deaths in Naruki City and so I went there to investigate. That night, I encountered the one responsible for those deaths. It was also that night when I first met your mother, Masaki Kurosaki." There, Isshin briefly smiled.
"She was just a high-schooler then. But she was already the Masaki I later married. Brave and bright like a sun. But that night, this sun began to lose its light." His smile vanished. Ichigo felt the change in his tone and raised his head to finally look him in the eyes.
"The one I encountered, the one responsible for those deaths in Naruki City was an experimental hollow, courtesy of Aizen Sosuke. That hollow… he was unlike anything I had seen before. He felt… different. Because of Aizen's interference, I was unable to fight the hollow at full power and so he pushed me to my limits. Then… Masaki showed up and saved my life." Isshin said and with his eyes followed his son's movements.
Ichigo, with his hands shaking a bit from hearing his father mention Aizen's name and then the rest, reached for the desk and put the cup on it. He wasn't looking at Isshin anymore. Instead, he was staring at that cup. The cup he almost squashed with his own fingers.
"S-So… Mum was a Quincy." He said in a shaky voice.
His quiet statement caught Isshin off-guard and caused him to flinch. Clearly, he didn't expect Ichigo to know about such a thing. Despite that, he braced himself and continued to talk.
"Yeah. She was a pure-blood Quincy, one of the last ones. Her specialty was a technique called Blut. She used it to increase the durability of her skin, preventing her from suffering almost any wounds. But that night, when she saved me, the hollow somehow got through her Blut and infected her with some sort of a virus. At that time, I didn't know about it. After we defeated the hollow, she helped me heal my injuries, we exchanged some words and I left for Soul Society to give my report. Of course, I never mentioned her in it..." Isshin trailed off and let Ichigo digest the new information. From the looks of it, the teen needed it. Only once he looked back at him and nodded, Isshin continued.
"It… I was fairly young back then and so I couldn't get Masaki out of my head. Because of that, after a few days, I returned to the Human World to visit her. To my distress, I found her in a bad condition. That's when I met Urahara Kisuke."
Ichigo jolted from his seat and glared at his father with clenched fists. He looked like he was barely holding himself back from snarling an angry retort.
"I see that Aizen has told you many things about Kisuke… calm down, Ichigo. Urahara Kisuke is a shady and manipulative person but he isn't as bad as Aizen probably portrayed him to be. If it wasn't for Kisuke, Masaki would have died back then." Isshin quickly said and watched Ichigo blink several times. Then the teen fell back in his seat.
He felt exhausted.
Isshin continued.
"I met Urahara Kisuke and he explained Masaki's condition to me. He called it hollowification. Hollowification means inserting a hollow's soul into a normal soul, then breaking the boundary between them to try and turn the original soul into something more powerful. Originally, this was meant to be used to strengthen a shinigami's soul. Using that uncontrollable technique on a Quincy, a different objective than what was originally planned, resulted in Masaki's bad condition. Kisuke explained that while Masaki would never go back to how she had been, we could still save her life. When a soul is hollowified, as the condition progresses, the original soul gets mixed up with the hollow soul, becoming a monster unable to reason. And in the end, not only the boundary between the souls but also the one between the soul itself and the external world is disrupted and the soul, regardless of its own will, self-destroys. That's called soul suicide. But Kisuke found a way to stop the soul suicide in shinigami. Since Masaki was a living Quincy, we had to find yet another way. Long story short, I gave up my shinigami powers and became a simple human in order to continuously suppress the hollow within Masaki. Because of that, I was left powerless. Moreover, I couldn't even see hollows anymore. There was also a possibility I could never return to being a shinigami again." He lengthily explained and snatched the cup Rangiku left on the desk. Gulping down the remaining tea, he continued to look at Ichigo with one eye.
The teen was glancing between him and his own hands, trying to comprehend the words Isshin just told him. Yet there was so much, he felt like his head began to spin. He was confused and surprised but, in the back of his mind, his subconscious was already working on connecting the bits and pieces of all the information he had heard so far.
"The rest is… well, I used my knowledge of medicine to open a clinic and gradually, me and Masaki got close, fell in love and got married."
In response, Ichigo closed his eyes and, for a moment, he didn't react at all.
"When did you get your shinigami powers back?" He asked quietly but there was an undeniable edge to his tone that cut Isshin deeply.
"I… I couldn't save Karin and Yuzu, Ichigo. Believe me when I say I'll never be able to forgive myself for that... and I regained my powers shortly after you've been sent to the Soul Society and my connection to the hollow I've been suppressing broke completely."
Ichigo's head snapped up and he stared at Isshin in shock.
"What do you mean?"
Isshin blinked in surprise.
"Oh… so you haven't met your zanpakuto yet?"
"…"
'What is he talking about?'
When no response came from within his mind, Ichigo growled.
"I did met the crazy bastard. What does he have to…? Wait a minute. No… you can't be serious."
Ichigo felt like the world around him spun again. He understood. His mind finally connected the dots and he was just trying to avert his gaze from the truth, to deny it.
"I am. Based on everything I know about that hollow, it seems that he was passed onto you, our firstborn child, and then merged with your shinigami powers."
Ichigo felt sick.
'Is... is it true?'
'Yes.'
End of chapter 14.
(*) – reference to ferrofluid.
It is done. The one chapter that was divided into two but somehow evolved into three... well, it happens.
The subtitle of this chapter is "Words of enlightenment" so yes, this ch. is mostly dialogues and talking and explaining. I actually thought a lot when writing this and because of that, I managed to put quite a lot of symbolism and foreshadowing. If you noticed them, good for you. If you didn't... well, I won't tell you. You'll just have to wait for them to become important.
As you probably saw, things are moving differently from canon. Aizen left in a similar manner but that's all that is similar.
I realize that Isshin's conversation with Ichigo did not contain all the information it did in canon. I know. I also didn't show the Captain's meeting. I'll get back to it in the beginning of the next chapter (should start with Yamamoto's thoughts).
That short cut from the Sokyoku Hill to the "man in a bucket hat" is obviously about Urahara. I wanted to change the scene just for a moment but, at the same time, I wanted to show a bit of Urahara. That short part is actually full of hidden stuff. Have fun deciphering them.
*fun fact: Originally, I planned to use the plot of Fade to Black movie in this whole Aizen thingy. He would use the parasite hollow and make everyone forget him but... I changed my mind. I couldn't make it work.
*Power level stuff: Just to be clear about Ichigo as he is at the moment. I'm talking reiatsu and pure power wise (not general combat capabilities).
Ichigo (now - after two tests) - below Captain class, above Vice-Captain class (classes are the average = average Captain class, average 5th Seat class...)
Ichigo (after one test) - below Vice-Captain class, above 5th Seat class
Ichigo (after Kazumi's death) - below 5th Seat class, above 10th Seat class
Ichigo (while travelling with Kazumi) - below 10th Seat class, above 20th Seat class.
These are approximations. I plan on having Ichigo unlock Shikai next chapter (most likely). = Ichigo (Shikai) - above Captain class.
If you disagree... well, my reasoning is that Ichigo is different from canon, because:
*SPOILER*
His quincy part was supressing his full power most of the time. Only recently Ichigo began to use his full power, free of restraints.
*SPOILER*
In my story, he's using his true zanpakuto from the beginning. Therefore, he logically has to be stronger. That being said, don't expect Ichigo to beat Aizen right away after getting Shikai. That's nonsense. Like I said, his powerlevel is only reiatsu and pure power wise. He needs experience to learn how to harness all of that power.
Oh, and already 4 months has passed in my story, so it's around September/October. As far as I know, Bounts filler arc happened during September in Bleach timeline that's why I used it.
To reviews:
*Selias - he did not but his fuse is a lot shorter than it had been. There is a reason for that.
*Takei_Daloui - thank you and yes, it should be. Sorry.
*blarg7865 - I have some ideas concerning Hell but I'm not sure when and where I'll use them. In mythology, the guardian of Hell is Yama. I do plan on involving Yhwach, obviously. How? Well, let me put it this way... Aizen is an antagonist but Ywach will be a villain. *Wink* No Arturo.
*Kyo_no_Kitsune - I grabbed my copy of Volume 19 to confirm it and yes, she's been labeled as a traitor.
*Harbinger_of_Kaos - because he can take it! I may return to those days when he was imprisoned but in form of thoughts of some individuals. Because of his talk with Isshin, Ichigo is quite confused right now.
*NewAtThisOk - not really IchiRuki. They will be sort of best friends.
*LL - who knows?
*Dinner - Shunsui and Juushiro are conspirators as good as Aizen but their plan isn't as "grand" as Aizen's is. Probably. I see no rambling and I hope I won't lose it ;)
*Iamwhononofyouare - it should be clear from this chapter that Ichigo actually thought about joining Aizen. Moreover, Aizen will not be a hard villain in this story. He's just... well, he thinks he's trying to do the right thing. Nope, not really IchiRuki.
I'd say thank you to each of you personally but this AN is getting too long :D. So I'll just say THANKS! I hope you'll stick with me till the end (god knows when I'll reach it).
Look forward to next chapter! See ya!