Chapter 2: Tabula Rasa

"It's been long, Captain Aizen.."

Hinamori released all of his facial bondages so that he could move around his head freely and see with both eyes. The former Captain of the fifth division and condemned traitor studied his former Vice-Captain. Her eyes had become less childish, but harder and cooler. Her face was more like that of a woman rather than a teenage girl. She still kept her hair tied in that characteristic bun, but her hair appeared more silky and straight. Her fringe was less wavy and very straight and two strands were left over on both her ears. Overall, Hinamori was much more regal and noble in her looks than when she was still under him.

"You changed your hair." Aizen stated calmly. Hinamori did not react. "It suits you." Upon hearing that, Hinamori smiled briefly, only visible to a keen eye.

"So what did you come here for… Hinamori-kun?" Aizen asked and grinned mockingly.

"That's Vice-Captain Hinamori to you." she responded sternly and gazed at him coldly.

"So harsh, Hinamori-kun.." he commented, "But that still does not answer my question."

She turned away from him and clenched her fists. Third Seat Akiyama, who had been watching the brief scene, reached out to support his lieutenant, causing her to distance herself from him. Aizen chuckled.

"You, however, haven't changed… Akiyama-kun." he remarked.

"Third Seat Akiyama to you, Captain Aizen." He chuckled again. Aizen certainly did not expect that the timid Shinigami who always came to ask him for help now was a seated officer. Akiyama's admiration for Aizen was not as fanatic as Hinamori's, but he admired him nonetheless. And it still existed since Akiyama was still referring to him as Captain Aizen.

Akiyama turned his attention to his Vice-Captain Hinamori, who still did not move.

"Lieutenant", he said. "Is everything alright?"

Suddenly, Hinamori raised her head abruptly. She turned her head and looked directly into the eyes of her Third Seat and said cheerfully: "Yes, Akiyama-sanseki. Everything's okay." As she turned around, her glare was serious again. Akiyama stepped back and watched as Vice-Captain Hinamori walked towards Aizen.

"You want to know what I came here for, right?", she asked firmly. Aizen did not move.

"The Gotei 13.. has fallen."

Aizen held his breath for a brief moment. His eyes widened for a bit. Yes, Aizen Sousuke was clearly surprised. He certainly did not expect that. The Gotei won the Winter War just 17 months ago, he himself was sentenced to 20,000 years in the lowest level of the Avici prison, Muken – and everything appeared to go on normally. Not everything. Even though the black bondages were very tight and made him unable to hear almost everything, he did notice a big explosion. It was the Division One barracks that had exploded, located above his prison. Then, two people stepped inside Muken and offered Aizen the opportunity to be freed in exchange of joining with them. Aizen did not recognize these individuals, albeit being very powerful. And as expected, he declined.

Other than that, nothing came to his knowledge even remotely hinting to the fall of the Gotei 13.

Regaining his composure, Aizen stared at Hinamori. "When did this happen?"

"A few days ago", she responded. "It was an unexpected ambush. We clearly outnumbered them, but they still murdered Shinigami after Shinigami." Aizen nodded.

"And the Captains?"

"The Captains were all severely injured. Captain Kuchiki was found in a pool of blood and Captain Zaraki was decimated. Both are in a state of coma right now because Captain Unohana saved them from death. However, Head-Captain Yamamoto.." she paused and lowered her head, her voice getting quieter, "he and Vice-Captain Sasakibe died on the battlefield."

Again, Aizen held his breath. Even he himself was not able to kill Yamamoto. Quite the contrary, he tried to avoid fighting him because his brute strength clearly outdid Aizen's. So whoever killed Yamamoto must clearly be stronger than him, if not leagues above him. Wait a minute, why did Aizen care? He wanted to decimate the Gotei. He did not achieve this, but these mysterious enemies did.

"Interesting, Hinamori-kun." he responded after a long time of silence. "But what do you hope to gain by coming here and telling me this?"

"I hoped-"

"…to ask me for help?" Aizen finished. He chuckled at the girl's naivety. For one moment he thought she had changed anything other than her outer appearance, but he was wrong. She still was Aizen's hopeless admirer, seeking his help whenever trouble arose.

She nodded hesitatingly, confirming Aizen's thoughts. His chuckle became a laugh.

"Why are you laughing!?" she asked angrily.

"My dear Hinamori-kun", he started, "I came to know you as an intelligent girl, always carefully calculating your decisions." She twitched.

"Why did you think a condemned traitor, someone who kills Shinigami at will would help saving the institution he wanted to destroy?" Hinamori didn't answer twitched again. He had a good point. Why? She could end up being sentenced to prison or even death for conferring with a condemned traitor on the lowest level of the Avici prison. She turned away from him again.

"Am I correct to assume that you refuse?", she asked. She knew it was a rhetorical question, as she already knew what Aizen's answer would be. He stayed silent. Clenching her fists, Hinamori moved to the exit of Muken and instructed her Third Seat to follow her. He did not.

"Akiyama-sanseki", she reminded him.

"Why", he whispered. "Why are you.. Refusing us?"

Hinamori turned to her Third Seat. "Akiyama-sanseki, we need to go."

"No, Lieutenant." he declined. "This was your plan. Thus it is your responsibility to ensure its success."

"Akiyama-sanseki, it clearly failed. Let us go!" she ordered.

"One of the Third Seat's responsibilities is to ensure that his Vice-Captain's responsibilities are taken care of." Akiyama shot back. "My responsibility is to ensure that your plan succeeds." Akiyama was shaking. He didn't know why he defied the orders of his superior, but something inside him told him that it was the right thing to do at the moment.

Turning to Aizen, he said in a serious voice: "Captain Aizen, you are our only hope. No one in the Seiretei is capable of defeating them!" Aizen was not impressed. "No Captain is able to stand up to them."
"Why don't you turn to your saviour, Kurosaki Ichigo?", Aizen asked.

"Kurosaki Ichigo's whereabouts are unknown. He.." Akiyama turned his gaze to Hinamori for a brief moment and back to Aizen. "He was likely taken prisoner by the enemy." The third shock came for Aizen, making Akiyama nod.

"Not even Kurosaki Ichigo was able to stand up to them." he informed. "That's how powerful the enemy is."

Aizen's shock did not cease. Kurosaki Ichigo was his plan; he was the one who defeated him. And now Kurosaki Ichigo has failed against one mysterious enemy. His shock changed to anger that he clearly showed.

"Who is.. the enemy?" he growled quietly and threateningly. Upon hearing that, Hinamori moved towards Aizen again and stood before her Third Seat.

"Head-Captain Yamamoto lost against the enemy leader. He is the leader of the Vandenreich and his name is Juha Bach."

Now, Aizen lost it. The Vandenreich? They were behind this? Aizen clenched his fists furiously and his calmness faded rapidly. Akiyama did not pay much attention to this and instructed his Vice-Captain to leave the Muken prison. He was disappointed. It was a real stretch, but due to the hopelessness of the situation Akiyama hoped his Vice-Captain's plan would work.

"Wait." sounded Aizen's voice, trying to masquerade his anger. The two halted and turned around.

"Who is your superior?" Aizen asked seriously. Hinamori became nervous as she felt his reiatsu rising. This was not a good sign.

"Captain Hirako", she murmured. Aizen looked at Akiyama and then back at her.

"Not anymore." he spoke and instructed them to come to him. Even though they were clearly confused, they still obeyed.

"What are you-", she attempted to ask.

"Free me."

"What?"

"I said free me, Hinamori-kun." Aizen ordered. Widening her eyes, Hinamori hesitated.
"I thought you weren't going to help us.." she argued. Now she was even more confused. Just what was Aizen thinking?

"I'm not helping you, Hinamori-kun, neither am I helping the Gotei 13." he clarified. "But I do hate that certain man and his rotten empire." His voice growled fiercely at that last word. He didn't utter Juha Bach's name, but it was obvious that Aizen was referring to him.

This made Hinamori laugh a little. That was all she needed to know from Aizen.

"Akiyama-sanseki, undo his bondages." she instructed her Third Seat.

"H-Hai, Vice-Captain Hinamori!"

As she watched her Third Seat undo the criminal's bondages, a smile came onto her lips once more.

"Welcome back, Captain Aizen."

The three Shinigami exited the Avici prison and went to the Division Five barracks. Aizen felt strange coming back here. It's been long since the last time he laid his eyes onto these barracks. He frowned a little. Nothing had changed; the barracks were still the same. His former Captain, Hirako Shinji, hadn't changed anything, much to his dismay. Well, one thing had changed.

There were Shinigami lying in a pool of blood, their parts scattered everywhere. Not only their body parts, but also fragments of their Zanpakuto were lying everywhere. Hinamori was struggling to keep her composure; she felt the need to scream and make the enemy pay for this bloodshed. She let out a small cry of pain, but Aizen quickly laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Stay strong." he told her, not knowing why. He didn't know these people and this division meant nothing to him, as they were pawns for his greater plan. So why did he care to comfort his former lieutenant? He really didn't know. And didn't care.

"Whose doing is this?" he asked rhetorically. He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from the Vice-Captain.

"The Vandenreich's, Captain Aizen." she replied sobbingly. "They massacred most of the Gotei 13 divisions, not just the fifth."

"It.. It was a bloodbath.." Akiyama added shakingly. "My potency in Kido was big enough to mask my reiatsu and go unnoticed, but I watched it all.. Shinigami after Shinigami was slaughtered."

"Where was your Captain?"

"The Captain… went to fight the Sternritter… along with the other Captains." Akiyama responded, still shaking.

"Did he tell you where he would be?" Aizen turned to Hinamori.

"I was on duty in a small forest outside the Seiretei… some Menos were wreaking havoc." she said truthfully. "I learned of this massacre when I returned from my mission." Aizen frowned and turned to Akiyama who shook his head.

Aizen exited the Division Five barracks and inspected the area around him. Himamori quickly followed him and asked what he was doing. His answer was an instruction to follow him.

"Captain Aizen" she said. "What-"
"Look."

She turned her attention to whatever Aizen was pointing at and was shocked.

"That's-!"

"Correct. This is Hirako Shinji's reishi residue. It disappeared halfway through." Aizen explained. Hinamori stared at Aizen in awe because he was able to tell whose reishi this was.

"What does this mean, Captain Aizen?"

"This means", he answered, "That someone must have opened a Garganta."

What? Garganta!? "But-"

"Hirako Shinji is in Hueco Mundo." he concluded. "Akiyama-kun."

"Y-Yes?" the young Shinigami murmured, cought off-guard.

"You said that Hirako Shinji went to fight the Sternritter along with the other Captains, yes?" Akiyama nodded.

"The other Captains are in Hueco Mundo. And there is a high likelihood that the Sternritter are there as well."

Meanwhile in Hueco Mundo, there were sounds of swords clashing and blood spitting everywhere. If one looked closer, he would notice the Captains fighting other uniformed people that used reiatsu-based attacks. They were fighting the Quincy. But how they were faring was another story. Captain Kyoraku was laying on the floor, Captain Ukitake passed out from a blood coughing fit and the other Captains were down as well. The Quincies chuckled.

"For Captains you are truly weak", one said and looked down at Kyoraku.

"C-Captain.. Kyoraku.." Captain Hitsugaya spat out. "Fight.." A Reishi sword, making him clench his teeth, impaled his hand. "Silence, little Shinigami Captain." sounded a female voice condescendingly.

The other Captains didn't dare to watch. The Quincy got ready to slay Kyoraku and the Captains could hear the sound of the sword sinking down. Kyoraku expected to be impaled.. but nothing happened.

"You think you have the right to kill them just because you view them as worms…" someone said, making the Captains' and Quincies' eyes widen in shock. "It feels nostalgic seeing you again.. Haschwald."

"Aizen.. Sousuke…!"

to be continued

SeXysangokittygrl05: I'm glad you liked this chapter.. I figured that there were way too few "free Aizen" fanfictions, so I made one. Aizen/Hinamori is one of the most underrated relationships in the Manga. Sure, she was annoying with her "Captain Aizen!111", but she's more mature now. Also, as you can see from this chapter, I did away with that ugly short haircut and extended her previous one :)