Chapter Nine: Enter Night

Ichigo got out of the Limousine first. He gave a quick scan of his surroundings, noticing the bright colors of the western style casino shone brighter than the sun. He sized up each person near their car, making sure that no spies from soul society had happened along at the wrong moment. He then turned back to the black automobile and held out his hand for the other passenger.

A white silk gloved hand grasped his firmly, before he gently lifted her up out of the vehicle. The female brushed a stray strand of her hair out of her eyes before she took Ichigo's arm and walked with him inside of the casino. Her diamond jewelry glittered in the artificial light, causing several women who saw her to become envious. Her jewelry was expensive, but it still managed to be tasteful.

They made their way quickly through the casino floor, not pausing for a second at the many different games of chance laid out around them. They walked towards the elevator, taking care not to make a spectacle of themselves. They had both been given express orders that they were not to be seen as Vaizard to anyone who was not until after such time as it was safe for them to do so.

The elevator stopped at the twenty seventh floor, making an annoying pinging sound as they both walked towards their destination. They were headed towards an expensive restaurant. But this restaurant was not just any restaurant, it was owned, operated, and catered completely to Vaizard.

As they made their way through the wide double doors, guarded on each side by a man in a black tuxedo, Ichigo noted that the owners had spared no expense in providing a comfortable atmosphere for the assorted members of the Vaizard Ruling Council, or VRC.

They were stopped in front of the dining room, where another tuxedo wearing guardsmen, whom Ichigo was amused to discover was none other than Grimmjow, asked them,

"What would you do if you were to die before you could wake?"

Soi Fon did a little curtsy and said, "I would pray that the Lord my soul would take."

Grimmjow nodded and turned his head towards Ichigo and asked, "What will happen to that grain of sand?"

Ichigo bowed at the waist, a hand at his heart, and said, "It will fall into mine own hand."

Grimmjow nodded again before asking a third question, this time directed towards the both of them, "What will the Grand director say to the actors on the stage of destiny and plight?"

Soi and Ichigo go both replied simultaneously, "He will say, 'Exit Light, Enter Night."

Grimmjow smirked at them both before opening the door to the meeting room.

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Mizuho, Keigo's elder sister, was extremely pissed off. Try as she might, she could not fall asleep. How could this be? Her dear younger brother was already asleep, snoring like there was no tomorrow.

There in lay the problem. His snoring was so loud she could feel it vibrating the very foundations of the house in which she lived. She thought that he really should see a doctor about it. He never listened to her though, apparently he didn't believe her when she said that he sounded as if he stopped breathing sometimes. There was no reasoning with him sometimes.

She sighed as she got up out of bed. It appeared as though there would be no sleep for her tonight. She walked into the kitchen, stopping by the fridge to grab a diet coke before heading into the living room. She sat on the couch, gazing through the window towards the night sky. She wondered if her mother was looking at the same sky as her.

She closed her eyes as she remembered her mother. Her mother had been a kind and gentle soul, always looking out for everybody else. She would always give Mizuho and Keigo a treat every time they were to try and do something nice for their mother, even if they screwed it up. She would always laugh at their antics, making sure that they didn't hurt each other or themselves.

Mizuho smiled as she remembered the taste of her mother's cookies. They were the best. Her father would always somehow manage to arrive home every time a batch of her mother's cookies would come out of the oven. He would try to sneak a cookie behind her back, but her mother always managed to smack his hand away. She would then scold him and tell him that he wasn't supposed to have a cookie until they cooled.

"But Momo," he would always whine, "it's not like they're going to burn me or something."

Momo would always wave her wooden spoon at him and reply, "You never know, Sosuke, you never know. But that doesn't make a difference anyway. It just feels… sacrilegious to me for someone to eat a cookie before it has cooled."

He would always laugh at her explanation, before scooping her into his arms and giving her a bone crushing hug.

Mizuho heard a rustle behind her, and focused her gaze in that direction. It was Ikkaku, one of the Shinigami her brother had let stay in their house during the mission to the real world they had partaken in. She gave him a small smile as he made his way over to the fridge, doing her best not to freak him out. It would be a bad thing if he found out the truth to her and her brother's identities. That when she was little, she had resided within Seiretei. That her first crush had been none other than the man currently rummaging through her refrigerator. That her mother was none other than the fifth division Fuku-taichou, Momo Hinamori. She didn't want him to know that her father was Sosuke Aizen.

Ikkaku walked over towards Mizuho, a soda in his hand, and said, "How are you holding up, Mizuho-san?"

Mizuho looked at him, an eyebrow raised. Her voice was laced with amusement as she replied, "Not bad, considering the thunderstorm coming from my brother's room. Anyway, I thought I told you already to address me just as Mizuho?"

Ikkaku chuckled, "You did, you did. Sorry about that, Mizuho. Is that better?"

She laughed as well, "Yes it is, thank you." She turned her attention back to the night sky, growing silent as she gazed at the stars.

Ikkaku cleared his throat before saying, "Mizuho, I might be leaving here pretty soon, so um… I would just like to thank you for your extremely generous hospitality."

Mizuho smiled at him, "You're welcome, Ikkaku." She looked at him, "Was there anything else?"

Ikkaku nodded, and if she didn't know any better, blushed. "When I come to visit, would you like to grab a bite to eat?"

She laughed and said, "That would be delightful, Ikkaku-kun."

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Ichigo and Soi both entered the meeting/dining room, noticing as they entered that they were the last to arrive. Ichigo walked Soi to her seat, pulling the chair out for her and stuff like that, before heading to the seat to her left, at the head of the table. As he sat down, he took note of those in attendance, noticing as he did so that everyone's attention was on him.

He turned his head to the man sitting across from Soi, an older gentleman who went by the name of Fuji Kurosaki, Ichigo's maternal grandfather. He was one of the eldest Vaizard in existence, managing the secret clan history, and heading up the development department of the masked Shinigami. Even though he was old, he was still powerful, hence his place at the table.

The man sitting next to Fuji was also on in years, though not nearly to the extent of Ichigo's grandfather. His hair was graying, but no other signs of aging were presented among his features. His name was Antonio Bortecelli, more often referred to as Don Bortecelli, as he once ran a criminal Vaizard syndicate during the glory years of the Renaissance. His 'family' still existed, but was not quite as powerful as it once was.

Sitting next to Soi was the one and only Shoji Hirawatari, head of the second command. He was in charge of the largest command of Vaizard warriors. He was a lanky man who had green, well, everything. He had green hair, eyebrows, eyes, clothes, jewelry, and even fingernails. Creepy fashion sense aside, he was a capable warrior, with a focused head on his shoulders.

Next to Hirawatari sat the only American Council member, Akito Smith. She was half Japanese, half American, all Vaizard. She had long hair tied in a ponytail that ran down her back. She commanded the First Command, one of the smaller but more versatile commands of Vaizard warriors. She was also an expert at Kidou, even being able to outdo Ichigo in terms of that form of fighting.

Across from Akito sat the greatest healer of the Vaizard, Hanajima Hirawatari. She was not only the greatest healer of the Vaizard, she was also one of the few Vaizard who could survive the Nightmare World, one of the Twelve greatest mind crushing spells available to Shinigami and Vaizard. She also was Shoji's elder sister, often having to restrain him when he would grow angry, or simply just irritated.

The Vaizard at the foot at the table was the commander of the Third Command. She was none other than Kiyone Kotetsu. Her appearance here at the table was quite different than the appearance that she showed to the Shinigami of Seiretei. In this place, she let her spell of concealment drop, revealing that she looked more like her sister than many would have realized. She had been assigned to the thirteenth division under the previous Vaizard head's orders. She had been sent there to keep tabs on Ukitake, Captain of the Thirteenth. She did her job well, as well as every other job she had been assigned since joining the masked Shinigami.

Ichigo nodded his head, before smiling towards everyone seated. He cleared his throat before saying, "Is everyone comfortable? Good, I wouldn't want you all to be otherwise. Now then, as they bring out our dinner for this evening, does anyone have some quick news that they would like to share with everyone?"

Akito gestured towards Ichigo. After receiving his unspoken approval to continue, she said, "It appears that there has been a breach in our security, Ichigo. One Hanatarou Yamada has learned of some of our deeper secrets, and as such, we were forced to apprehend him. He does not seem the least bit afraid, however, so it thought it might be prudent to bring the matter to your attention before making any decision concerning his well being."

Ichigo frowned, taking a sip of wine while trying to digest this information. He then motioned an attending butler over to his side. After a few tense seconds of whispered conversation between them, the butler hurried out the doors, before returning a few minutes later with the Seventh seat officer of the Fourth Division.

Hanatarou bowed towards Ichigo as soon as he saw him. "It is good to see you again, Leader-sama."

The seven other Council members' eyes widened at this, before directing their gaze at Ichigo. Ichigo simply smirked at their looks, before dismissing Hanatarou from the room.

He then turned his gaze towards Akito, answering everyone's silent question, "I am truly sorry about that, Akito. I forgot his name, but Hanatarou is in fact the spy we have in place in the Fourth Division. I didn't mean to keep you in the dark, but as I just said, I forgot his name."

Soi laughed and said, "Well, I guess we shouldn't be surprised to hear that. You've always had trouble with names, and Hanatarou is so normal it's actually really is hard to remember."

Ichigo grumbled a bit, before cheering up and saying, "If that is all the immediate business, then I believe it is time for us to begin our meal, don't you agree?"

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Ukitake wandered aimlessly throughout his division, seemingly as if he had no true destination in mind when he left his quarters. As he passed by the company mess hall, he noticed that it was eerily quiet in there. That just wasn't right. He should be hearing his two third seats arguing incessantly right about now, but all he heard was the low buzz of his Division.

He walked inside, and was greeted by his entire division, then subsequently ignored as his company went back to their meals and conversations. He saw Kentarou eating with the Fifth, Sixth, Eight, Twelfth, and Fifteenth seats, talking and chatting away the time.

He walked over to where they were and tapped his third seat on the shoulder. He raised an eyebrow in confusion as he asked, "Kentarou, where is Kiyone? I normally hear you two arguing all the way on the other side of Seiretei about this time."

Kentarou's face looked concerned as he addressed his captain, "I do not know, Captain. In fact, I haven't even seen her the entire day today. That in itself is quite curious, Ukitake-Taichou, as she always goes out of her way every day to annoy the 'life' out of me."

Ukitake scratched his head in annoyance and puzzlement, "Where in the world are you, Kiyone?" he said quietly. He then turned towards his male third seat and said, "Do not worry yourself, Kentarou, I will go find her myself." He laughed a little bit before continuing, "she always seems to come out of the woodwork every time I need her, so I am sure this time won't be any different."

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Mizuho slightly jumped as she heard a knock on her door. She looked around frantically to make sure nobody else in the house had woken up before putting her shoes on and answering it. When she opened the door, her eyes teared up immediately, before she closed the door behind her and gripped her mother in a fierce hug.

Her mother returned her embrace, comforting her only daughter the best she knew how. She wiped the tears from Mizuho's cheeks, before asking, "How about we take a walk, little one? We wouldn't want to disturb your guests, would we?"

Mizuho giggled and nodded, making sure to walk slow so her mother would be able to keep up. As they neared a vending machine, Mizuho turned her head to her mother and asked, "Is it really true, Kaa-san? Did father really betray Soul Society?"

Momo sighed and replied, "It appears so, my little one. I'm still not entirely sure as to why, but for all intents and purposes, your father has betrayed and abandoned Soul Society."

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As they began to wrap up the main course, Hanajima turned towards Ichigo and asked, "Ichigo, I was wondering, how goes our plan to stop the two traitors?"

Ichigo sneered as he took a long gulp of blood red wine before answering. "Everything is going according to plan. The blind one has no idea that we have placed a Vaizard so closely to him. Even the snake has no idea, and he was always the brains behind that pair." He then snapped his fingers before addressing both Hanajima and her brother, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Hanajima and Shoji, I just received some news concerning your little sister."

Shoji growled, "Why would we care about that stupid whore?"

Ichigo smirked a little, "Well, it seems that about fifteen or sixteen years ago she got married and had a kid. And not only that, but you'll be happy to know that your nephew just recently joined us. I believe his name was Mizuiru Kojima."

The two siblings simply stared at him in astonishment. Soi jus laughed out loud at this.

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TBC