A/N: Ok, in this fic, I am attempting to have all Zanpakutos in their Japanese form. Whopee! Actually I cheated. English to Spanish in Google translator is really easy (Japanese sometimes gives you the kanji, which I can't pronounce, because it's just a character), and I know enough Japanese and have read Naruto, so I can figure out Taka's Zanpakuto. Hehe.

On another note, a kusarigama is mentioned in this chapter. Hisagi's Zanpakuto is not an actual kusarigama. It just looks like (not really, in my opinion), one. A kusarigama is a sickle with a weighted ball attached to it via a chain. Wiki it if you have to.

It Has Just Begun

"I cannot let you do that, Hitsugaya-taicho," Yamamoto said.

Hitsugaya exploded. "Why the hell not?!" he screamed. "She's out there right now-"

"And she is obviously insane!" Yamamoto retorted, slightly raising his voice. "We have already sent out a search team, but with the weakened state of the captains, we can hardly send you to go."

"But-!"

"Sit down, HItsugaya-taicho, please," Yamamoto said. "If Hinamori Momo is found, we will see what is to be done with her. In the meantime, we have a captains trial to perform."

Unohana observed Hitsugaya sadly. Initially, he had been suicidal over Hinamori's disappearance, blaming it on himself. Then he regained his senses. Unohana was not surprised. Hitsugaya was a strong boy. Unohana had taken it upon herself to dispatch several 4th Division squad members to comb Seireitei and Rukongai for Hinamori (after all, when she disappeared, she had not been released from Unohana's care), but she had not been found.

Reluctantly, Hitsugaya took his seat, and buried his head in his hands. Kuchiki observed him impassively, but to the trained eye, one could observe the sadness in his eyes.

Kenpachi spoke up. "Well," he said, grinning. "Who's going to fight the newbie?"

"We choose by lottery, Zaraki-taicho," Yamamoto explained.

Kenpachi didn't look very happy with the idea that he might not be selected from the lottery. "Can I volunteer?" he asked.

"Fine," Yamamoto responded. He snapped his fingers, and his lieutenant shuffled forward, bringing with him a black box. Yamamoto reached into the box, swirling his hand around. Finally, he drew forth a small wooden tablet. The kanji six was inscribed on the tablet. "Kuchiki-taicho," he declared. "You will be responsible for testing this man's aptitude at Kido."

Again, Yamamoto drew another tablet from the box. He looked at the tablet, and frowned, almost imperceptibly. Only Shunsui and Juushiro, experienced at reading their old teacher, caught the old man's slight displeasure. "Hitsugaya-taicho," he read out. "You will test the man's proficiency with Bankai. As the fifth division has no captain or lieutenant, we will place him in that division if he passes the test. This concludes the captain's meeting."

---

Yamamoto himself sat in the highest seat of the stadium to observe the tests his captains would put forth. If anything went out of control he would step in. Furthermore, if he deemed an applicant unsuitable, he could deny the man captaincy. The first portion of the test would consist of Kuchiki testing Taka's Kido skills. How he did this however, was left up to him.

Kuchiki was waiting for Taka when he stepped onto the field. Senbonzakura had been discarded. "Remove your Zanpakuto," Kuchiki commanded. Taka obediently unclasped his Zanpakuto from his waist, and laid it down by Senbonzakura.

Kuchiki didn't waste any time in getting started. "We fight until I deem you competent," he declared. Saying so, he shunpoed behind Taka. "Hado Number 1: Sho!"

Taka was thrown forward, but quickly recovered. He smiled to himself. "Working your way up the spells, huh?"

"Bakudo Number 4: Hainawa!"

Kuchiki's arms were quickly entangled in the wiry Kido spell. Undeterred, Kuchiki quickly dispelled the Hainawa. "Hado Number 4: Byakurai!"

The bolt of lightning sped towards Taka. "Hado Number 33: Shakkoho!"

The more powerful Shakkoho blasted away Kuchiki's Kido spell and continued its deadly arc towards him.

"Bakudo Number 39: Enkonsen!"

The Shakkoho exploded on impact with the condensed seal, emitting smoke.

Taka lowered his voice. "Hado Number 33: Shakkoho," he murmured.

Kuchiki appeared behind Taka and kicked him in the gut, throwing him backwards. As Taka flew through the air, Kuchiki raised his hands. "Bakudo Number 61: Rikujokoro!"

The six rods of light trapped Taka in midair. Taka was unfazed as he uncurled his fist and threw the Kido spell at Kuchiki. The noble's eyes widened. "When did he chant the spell?!"

Taka grinned at the captain. "I was never very good at using some of the higher level Kido spells, Kuchiki-taicho, but I was always excellent at containing their explosive power."

Caught off guard, the Shakkoho blasted Kuchiki off his feet. While in midair, Kuchiki aimed his hands at the still immobilized Taka. "Hado Number 88: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!"

Taka managed to break free from the restraining spells just in time to see the massive Kido spell speed towards his chest.

"Bakudo Number 81: Danku!"

The Danku successfully blocked the gargantuan Hiryugekizokushintenraiho, leaving Taka unharmed. Kuchiki landed gracefully, raising his hands to indicate that they were finished. "He is competent," Kuchiki declared.

Yamamoto breathed a sigh of relief. Kuchiki, a proud noble as always, did not take kindly to weaklings attempting to achieve captaincy. He believed it insulted his pride. Most of the other captains secretly believed that he should shove his pride somewhere else.

As Kuchiki exited the arena, Hitsugaya leapt down from the stands and drew Hyouinmaru, releasing it. The temperature in the arena dropped several degrees as Hitsugaya's shikai amplified his own frosty reiatsu.

"We'll see your Zanpakuto's effect in the official ceremony," Hitsugaya explained. "But I want to see what you can do with your shikai before we move onto bankai."

"I understand," Taka said, smiling. He picked up his sword. "Kuzureru, Suna no Sasori!" (Crumble, Scorpion of the Sand!)

A kusarigama appeared in Taka's hands, and sand began to swirl around his body. Taka charged.

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong. Whipping around, he raised Hyoinmaru to block Taka's strike as a sand clone crashed into his body.

"Suna no Ame!" (Rain of Sand)

Sand began to rain down on Hitsugaya, obscuring his eyesight. Growling, he shook the annoying sand off.

The kusarigama's weighted ball caught Hitsugaya square in the chest, knocking him backwards. The ball rebounded off of Hitsugaya's chest, skidding across the arena floor. Growling, Hitsugaya regained his footing, only to be struck again by the ball. The chain tangled up his sword hand, restricting movement.

"He's distracted," Taka realized.

Taka's scythe cut Hitsugaya across the chest. He yanked the chain backwards, throwing Hitsugaya off balance. The chain, however, came free of Hitsugaya's hand. The white-haired captain grunted in surprise. Narrowing his eyes, Hitsugaya swung his sword downwards, releasing an ice dragon as he did so.

A wall of sand erupted from the ground in front of the dragon, shattering it in its tracks. Hitsugaya widened his eyes in surprise. Taka swung his scythe, and the arena wall behind Hitsugaya exploded into sand, engulfing Hitsugaya.

"The hell?" Hitsugaya muttered. His mind flashed back to the instant when the weighted ball had entangled his arm, and when the ball had bounced off his chest and rolled across the floor. Had the ball touched..?

"Time to test this guy out," Hitsugaya thought. Shunpoing behind Taka, he released another of Hyouinmaru's ice dragons. Taka swung the weighted ball forward, deflecting the ball off of the ground. The resulting ricochet hurled the ball towards the ice dragon, blasting it away.

Hitsugaya charged forward, only to be impeded by a wall of sand.

"Knew it!" he thought triumphantly.

Taka smiled. "Looks like you've figured my Sasori no Dokuyaku (Scorpion Poison) out, Hitsugaya-taicho."

"Whatever your sword touches turns to sand that you can control, Taka," Hitsugaya responded. "Release your Bankai."

Taka smiled to himself. "Bankai: Suna no Kurenai Sasori!" (Crimson Scorpion of the Sand!)

"Bankai: Daiguren Hyouinmaru!"

---

Mashiro rolled the Hougyoku around in the palm of her hand. Kensei appeared over her shoulder, frowning.

"Mashiro, don't play with the Hougyoku."

Ever since Urahara had informed the Vizards that Aizen was probably planning to reveal his treachery, the Vizards had been on constant alert. When Urahara detected that a Garganta had been opened, the Vizards rushed to the scene. The Hougyoku had been captured, and the Central 46 had entrusted it to Urahara, who had given it to the Vizards for safe-keeping until he found a way to destroy it.

Ichigo looked at the Hougyoku apprehensively. Urahara had learned that Ichigo's hollow wasn't completely under control, and had handed him over to the Vizards. He had already beaten his hollow into submission, and was training with the Vizards. "That thing was inside Rukia's body for how long?"

Hiyori shook her head. "You'd be amazed at what sandal hat can do."

"Hey!" Urahara protested. "Don't insult my hat!"

Hiyori turned around. "Speak of the devil."

Love appeared beside Urahara. "Figured out a way to destroy this thing yet, Kisuke?" he asked.

Urahara smiled, marveling at his own genius. "Yes I have! It's very simple. My built in defenses actually wore down over time due to the spiritual osmotic-"

Ichigo stood up. "Urahara-san," he said, deliberately. "Shut the fuck up right now."

Urahara seemed to wilt. "Ichigo's so temperamental now…"

"I have a hollow to subdue, don't I?" Ichigo snapped.

Mashiro spoke up. "Technically, you've already subdued it. But Berry-tan really sucks at keeping his mask on for long periods of time, so-"

"I get the point."

"Is Berry-tan sulking?"

Ichigo sighed. Mashiro was almost as annoying as Yachiru. "No, I am not sulking."

"Don't worry Berry-tan! Even idiots like Hiyori-san eventually got the hang of it!"

Hiyori's veins bulged. "What was that, Mashiro?"

Hachigen lumbered behind the arguing trio. "Let's settle down now," he said slowly.

"Easy for you to say," Ichigo muttered. He turned to Urahara. "So when can you get this thing destroyed?"

Urahara bent down, took the Hougyoku out of Mashiro's hand, and snapped his fingers. The Hougyoku exploded into a million fragments. "Just like that."

----

Hitsugaya unfurled his ice wings as he noted Taka's sudden increase of reiatsu. Other than that, not much changed about his appearance, except for the sand that had been constantly swirling around Taka, which turned crimson.

"That sand is constantly there," Hitsugaya realized. "The only way he can get more sand to control is with his Sasori no Dokuyaku."

"Suna no Katana!" (Sword of Sand!)

Something swooped towards Hitsugaya, crushing a bit of his ice wing. Hitsugaya whipped his crescent chain around and entangled whatever had attacked him.

"It's… weak?"

Another blade of sand caught Hitsugaya in the chest and threw him backwards several feet.

"Sandstone is very fragile compared to a Zanpakuto," Taka explained. "But it does the job just fine."

Hitsugaya growled. "Ryusenka!" he shouted, charging forward. He thrust Hyouinmaru forward, attempting to hit Taka in the chest.

Sand exploded around Taka, guarding him from Hitsugaya's strike. "What the hell?" Hitsugaya thought. "He never touched those places!"

Swinging the sickle part of his kusarigama around, Taka pulverized the ground at his feet, throwing up dust and obscuring Hitsugaya's vision. Throwing up a hand to guard his eyes, the white-haired captain felt the ground underneath his feet rumble.

Sand spewed from cracks in the ground, blasting Hitsugaya backwards. "Damnit," he thought. "His Sasori no Dokuyaku must have expanded its abilities when he went Bankai!"

"Sennen Hyoro!" Hitsugaya shouted. Pillars of ice surrounded Taka, encasing him in a small circle.

"Suna no Katana!" The sandstone arc demolished the ice, freeing Taka, who instantly charged Hitsugaya.

"Sasori no Kamukoto!" (Scorpion's Bite!)

Spears of sandstone as thick as a supporting pillar surrounded Hitsugaya, who froze.

Kenpachi leapt down from the stands. "The match is over, kid," he said, grinning. "It's my turn now."

Without further ado, Kenpachi drew his sword and charged.

"Oh, great," Taka thought. "The famed Kenpachi Zaraki. I got lucky with the last one, the kid was distracted."

"Suna no Ame!" Taka shouted. Sand exploded up from the ground, obscuring vision and producing a miniature sandstorm as well.

Kenpachi blasted through Taka's screen and aimed a thrust at his throat. Taka rolled to the side just in time to avoid getting killed.

"Well, kid," Kenpachii growled. "Let's see how good you are with that kusarigama, eh? No Zanpakuto effects allowed."

Taka caught Kenpachi's sword on his sickle. The two men battled for leverage, trying to force the other backwards.

Finally, Taka threw the kusarigama's ball at Kenpachi's sword, tangling it with Kenpachi's hand. Yanking the chain of the kusarigama backwards, Taka yanked Kenpachi's sword out of his hands.

Kenpachi caught his sword in midair and kicked Taka in the stomach, throwing him backwards. When he hit the ground, Taka rolled, regaining his footing. Kenpachi was already upon him.

Taka quickly threw his kusarigama up to defend himself from Kenpachi's first strike. Rolling out of the range of Kenpachi's sword, Taka deviated from the normal usage of a kusarigama and threw his scythe at Kenpachi.

Kenpachi ducked the first swing of the sickle and charged forward, only to be forced back by another swing.

Taka swung his sickle around his head in circles. It was a distraction tactic. Throwing the sickle at an opponent was notoriously inaccurate, and when the strike connected it was usually deflected by armor or by a sword.

Taka swung his sickle around his head a few more times and launched it at his opponent. Kenpachi caught the sickle with his bare hand, slicing it open. Growling, Kenpachi wrapped his hand around the chain, locking it in place. Kenpachi lifted his sword and threw.

The blade sliced through the air directly towards Taka's face. Quickly, Taka whipped his head backwards, causing the sword to miss his head. Kenpachi tugged at the Kusarigama's chain, and Taka went flying forwards. His body hit the wall of the arena, causing some of it to crumble on him.

"Shit," he thought. "If only I could actually use my Zanpakuto's effect!"

Kenpachi leapt forward, swooped his blade off the ground, and pressed it against Taka's neck. He grunted, observing the cuts on his hand and the bruises that dotted his body. Considering that the kid hadn't been able to use his effect, he had done pretty well.

"He's fine," Kenpachi declared. "Let him be a captain."

----

Aizen rolled the Hougyoku around in the palm of his hand, admiring how it caught the ambient light of Las Noches.

Aizen was amazed at the stupidity of the Shinigami. Apparently, they did not understand the concept of "absolute hypnosis". They saw, heard, and felt exactly what Aizen wanted them to see, hear, or feel.

And so, they saw Aizen, Gin, and Tosen being captured, imprisoned, and eventually executed. But here they were, alive and well. And the Shinigami didn't even suspect a thing.

Gin entered the room, smiling even wider than usual. "Someone's coming, Aizen-sama," he said.

Aizen's gaze became a bit harder. "I know that, Gin."

Hinamori entered the room. The minute Aizen had sensed her reiatsu, he had used Kyoka Suigetsu to form an environment appropriate to the information he had planted in Hinamori's mind: Aizen was her beloved captain and Gin was a son of a bitch. Instead of Aizen sitting on a throne, he was pacing around in a room, clearly worried. Books, clothes, and pieces of paper were strewn everywhere. Just to add a bit of flair, Aizen made the illusion in the likeness of his former self- kindly eyes, glasses, and a plain hairstyle.

The illusion Aizen started at Hinamori's entrance. "Hinamori!" it shouted in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Y'know, Aizen-sama," Gin said. He didn't care that Hinamori was in the room, she couldn't hear him. Aizen wouldn't let her. "You might want to be a bit more merciful on her, don't you think?"

Aizen smiled at Gin, who knew enough about his superior's personality to know what that meant.

"Aizen-taicho," Hinamori pleaded. Gin snorted. "Taicho". Aizen had really done a number on her.

"Please, come back, Aizen-taicho," Hinamori said. "I know that you're a good person!"

"I'm sorry Hinamori," the illusion said. It's eyes darted around the room, as if it had eyes. "But Gin-"

"We can stop Gin!" Hinamori exclaimed. "The Shinigami- they'll listen to me. I'll make them!"

Gin burst into hysterics. If only there was popcorn.

The illusion's eyes glimmered with hope. "Yes- but how? Gin's just too strong."

Gin noted the subtle twitch in Aizen's facial expression as the illusion said that, and chuckled to himself.

"Toshiro-kun will help us, I know he will. He'll believe me. I can't go back to Soul Society, they'll lock me up, but we'll find a way to contact him!"

The illusion started in concern. "Lock you up! Why?"

Hinamori hastily shook her head. "It's nothing major. We have to stop Gin, Aizen-taicho."

Aizen's illusion nodded. It brought Hinamori's illusion close to its non-existent body, holding her close. Aizen could only marvel at the depths to which the human mind would sink to fulfill its own reality.

Gin chuckled. "How the hell do you get so good at this kind of stuff, Aizen-sama?"

Aizen didn't answer Gin's question. He had more important things to attend to.

"Send some Espada to Karakura town. They are to scope out the Ryoka and Vizard's strength."

Gin nodded in understanding.

Aizen smiled as the Hougyoku glimmered. "After all, we have a war to wage in a couple months, don't we?"

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