XVII. Creeping in the Dark
Soifon searched among the records of souls that have been busing in and out of Soul Society. Her brows were furrowed deeply and her eyes did not gleam in the dark. Despite the signs of fatigue slowly but surely consuming her, she pursued her job and swept through record by record of these Souls as well as the expected number of souls for the given period time. There was a paradox gagging her mind that moment, and the pieces of the large puzzle still did not fit. She was really boggled; there was some sort of activity that may be going on that she was not yet able to figure out, but she knew she was close to finding an answer. Her brows raised in some kind of relief, or rather discovery, when she saw and pulled out a record from the great pool of knowledge that was right in front of her. She quickly scanned its contents and drew in a breath of deep thought.
That day there were an expected number of at least a thousand souls, and indeed, the number of souls that has engaged in a soul burial was the same, except one whose chain of fate has already been used up and has proceeded to hollow transformation. This hollow was quickly disposed of that time that it transformed, but the other souls died with it as well. Strange though, since there was also a hollow sighting just about two weeks after that, and that it was also disposed of, and just as the incident before that, other souls died with it as well. It's not said here whether the two are just the same, but having other souls die with it is just… peculiar.
She continued to scan through the contents of the old file. She finally reached a page rendering an artist's sketch of the specific hollow that was being described previously. The sketch alone was outright horrifying, the hollow looking outright demonic in form. In her years of fighting with hollows, this was the first time that a stunning terror had struck her. Its mask was like a taboo god that has grown small tusks, and its teeth were nothing like the other hollow's teeth she has already seen. They were more like a shark's jaws, ready to devour anything that dare stood in its way. There were two flames resting on its spike armor-like shoulders, something very odd among hollows. A row of bone-like protrusions were on the sides of its tail. Wanting to know more about the terrifying creature, she flipped the compilation to the next page and was terrified at the things that lay open in front of her. She read it aloud unknowingly, the contents still striking her to the core.
"…height, 250 centimeters; primary attribute, combined melee attack and unknown special capability; top agility-type capability, shunpo-speed movement; estimated reiatsu class –" her eyes widened at that pause. A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead. "…shinigami vice-captain, and only estimated at its lowest possible reiatsu reading. This hollow had the reiatsu matching the level of an above-average shinigami vice-captain at its lowest reading taken that day, and had an intelligence to match as well. Its skin is almost as tough as an Espada's hierro, and had the fighting capabilities to compliment its unnatural spiritual pressure. It alone could possibly be a match to a powerful Gillian-class menos, and by the twelfth division's estimates, it could grow about one thousand times more than that level."
She flipped it to a close. It was different than any file she's ever encountered before. It was nothing like a mere report, in a manner or so. It was more like a revelation of the future doomsday to come.
No wonder Seiretei kept that record tight for so long… if they let that kind of information loose, it would've sent all of the shinigami in a mass hysteria of some great destruction to come. Judging by the record of this record, it looks like this was opened a long time ago. With the gravity of the situation, it's mostly probable that this case was handled by a shinigami captain. I've got to let Yoruichi-sama know of this. Maybe she or that shop's owner Urahara would know anything with this…
She made her way out of the room in the blink of an eye, and proceeded to the opening to the human world with great haste.
"It would be best it we went over to Urahara Kisuke's shop before we move on to other things…"
"Yeah, I guess that's good. I bet that Soifon-taichou would go there since she'd be frolicking around with Shihouin Yoruichi before anything else."
The three seated shinigami officers went about their supposed duty, monitoring the human world, especially Karakura town, for any unusual spiritual activity. There wasn't anything mentioned about the previous incident regarding the "attack" of Ulquiorra Schiffer and Hitsugaya Toushiro, but they assumed that the very reason why the team was formed is because of it.
The sight of the red-haired Jinta and innocent-looking Ururu sweeping the front of a small shop made it clear that they were already at Urahara's shop. They stopped right in front of the small building, and took a brief moment to regain some lost breath from their short exercise. They no longer needed to look for the shop's perverted owner, since he came out right after they came.
"My, my, look who's here! Hello there, Matsumoto-san! Is there anything that you would need?"
Ikkaku whispered to Yumichika. "That guy didn't even bother noticing us. Maybe he's just blinded by Matsumoto's boobs, just like the rest of those other guys that fall under that trap…"
Yumichika nodded in agreement. "Yeah, come to think of it, that guy's just acting innocent but you could really tell he's just as perverted as anyone else."
Urahara cleared his throat, and caught the attention of the two. "Now, what is it that you need again, Matsumoto-san?"
It was that fateful night in Seiretei. It was that day that she had been lulled to believing in the reflection of the moon on water that Aizen had shown her, and it was that clear night that she had drawn her sword against the one that had been there for her, to make sure that she never shed a drop of blood in her life.
"…the conspirator, Hitsugaya Toushiro."
She had just finished telling Hitsugaya the message written in Aizen's note. Tears were falling down her cheeks with the vivid memories of the captain lingering in her mind. Tobiume was pointed against that male whom she noted to be her best friend, and her mind was drawn into a great state of chaos and confusion. She did not know what to believe in that time. Hitsugaya dared not to move as well. He was still trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.
"--- that's really… what Aizen wrote… on the letter?"
"… yes… and he wrote this at the end;
Tonight, I successfully got him to meet me at the eastern holy wall. I will stop him from succeeding in his plan. If he doesn't I will fight him to the death. If I die, Hinamori-kun, please inherit my will, and slay him. This is my… last wish… not as the captain of the 5th division… but as a man… pleading… for… your… help…" her voice trembled with a mixture of anger and confusion, her hand shaking with the utter concoction of chaos itself. Alas, she was gone.
She attacked the alleged conspirator with futile effort. Despite the danger, he never drew his blade.
"Baka Hinamori! Think about it!! Because he died, he wants you to fight his battle? Do you really think Aizen would write something like that?!! The Aizen I know… isn't an idiot ho would walk blindly into a battle when he is not certain about winning!! Nor is he a weakling who would tell his subordinate to take care of his problem for him!!"
"But… that's what it says…!! It has to be true!! It was definitely Aizen-taichou's handwriting!!" Hitsugaya was taken aback by that last idea. "I don't want to believe it either! But that's what Aizen-taichou wrote!! I have to do this… for Aizen-taichou…!! I… I…" she slowed down to a halt, ceasing to attack him. She was drowning in tears. "…I don't… I don't know what to do anymore… Shiro-chan…" every word coming out of her mouth made the situation harder to handle for the young captain.
Hinamori woke up with a scream. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and her pupils were dilated. The memory of that night was even more terrible than any other nightmare she ever had. It was the feeling of guilt, of deceit, of unreasonable anguish, that made her regret every action that she ever committed that night. She felt extremely terrible for ever suspecting her friend of such an inhumane crime, and of ever believing Aizen more than the friend she always had. She breathed heavily, and she felt like she had been drained of her vitality. She clutched her head, trying to erase the odious memory from her mind. Tears ran down her cheek; it was another one of those nights that she was reminded of her seemingly unwanted existence in this world. She cried, not knowing whether she still had the will to push through or not. But all those days she spent rotting in her little dank cell made her calm down, thinking of Hitsugaya. She had to be there, for those were trying times for the both of them. This time, it would not only be him that would be strong, but also she. She would be strong not only for herself but also for him. She quickly wiped her sweat and tears when she heard footsteps coming toward her cell. The shadow of the intruder alone told her that it was not Hitsugaya, nor was it Grimmjow, not even that last arrancar that brought her meal. It was someone else. A smiling face peeped out from the corner, with mild auburn eyes that shone brightly. His hair was red, and it was reminiscent of Kotetsu Isane's hair. As if gaining some sort of confidence, it went in her small territory. His apparel confirmed that he was an arrancar; a long white coat draped over a white shirt, white pants, black sash with a zanpakuto jutting out of it. There was a small accessory that was much like a necklace, save that it was made of the same material as that of a hollow's mask. He spoke in a soft, somewhat reassuring tone that was really odd for an arrancar, well, for the ones that she has already met.
"… I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I was just walking around these parts when I heard you scream. Are you alright?"
She was reluctant in putting her trust in him, but decided that the small detail would not be a great deal. "...I'm fine, it was just a nightmare…"
"I see…" he replied as a sign of comprehension, and tried to reassure her with his smile. "Well, I guess everything's fine out here… by the way, I'm Rodrigo Damian. You're Hinamori Momo, right? I heard your name from Ulquiorra – " he stopped when he noticed that she was not able to comprehend what he was saying. "Uh… you know, that guy who brought your meal the last time… uh… green slit eyes, cyan lines that run just below his eyes…"
"Oh, yes, him. That arrancar…"
"I know he's kinda scary, but he's just like that. He's so cold to others, anyway." She saw him mutter something under his breath, but she did not hear what it was. "Did you say something?"
"Oh, nothing. I'd better be on my way now." He turned his back towards her, and looked at her one last time and reassured her once more with his soft smile. "See you."
He walked away, leaving her alone. He quickly proceeded to Aizen's throne room, where the self-declared mortal god was seated on his throne.
"The test subject has been mobilized, Aizen-sama. You will be able to see its effect after a few nights."
"Very good, Rodrigo. We will proceed with other data-gathering measures for the following nights." He gave the Hougyoku resting on his hand a quick glance before he turned his attention to the arrancar again. "I'm sure Hitsugaya wouldn't mind it, so don't worry about it too much."
"Hai, Aizen-sama."