2nd chapter is - Bleach Ost, Anguish.

Chapter 2

"The Escape: Part 2"

Aizen Souske opened his eyes, awakening from a dream. He frowned with displeasure, trying to remember what his dream was about, but alas he could not remember a thing. Everything was in a haze and nothing was certain. Well… perhaps he had not seen anything of interest in his dream, since it was just a dream after all. The man slowly looked around, surveying the surroundings for anything out of place. He was sitting in a dark corridor, underground, with his back to the wall in the most unknown of places in all Seiretei – the Underground Sewers. This always was a place where many were seen for the last time, but to Aizen it had always been a very useful place. He used it sometimes to move unseen, experiment on Shinigami and finally – access Central 46.

And right now he was hiding here from the Shinigami Patrols and Captains. He did not intend to make this stop, but he understood that he would not handle maintaining the Kyokko spell all the way to the Senkai Gates. However even though it was a regrettable turn of events, it was not unforeseen. A man of such caliber and ability as Aizen would never leap into the situation unprepared without a backup plan or a safe detour.

Soon it will be time to move out. I have wasted enough time here, recovering my strength. It is not at its best yet, but I would be able to handle most situations. Hmph – that Kurosaki Ichigo learnt Bankai in three days. I have the ability to restore a major portion of my power in a mere day. He may be special – but he is not the only one.

The traitor stood up, dusting off his clothes – a simple white shirt, pants and shoes of the same color, which served as his clothes during the trial, until he was bandaged up. Then he ran his hand through his hair, fixing his somewhat ruined haircut, and turned his body towards the exit, walking slowly and steadily. He once again cast the Kyokko spell and vanished into thin air.

Once outside Aizen Souske headed towards the Senkai Gate, his pace quicker. In a matter of minutes he reached his destination, only to find 5 guards near the only exit to the human world and no one of importance or anyone dangerous. The man smirked on the inside, thinking that he awaited more from the Court of Pure Souls.

Aizen watched these men stand in front of the columns, leisurely talking amongst themselves. Fools – they seemed to be some recruits or unseated Shinigami who had not known the true danger of Aizen's escape. They would learn that it was the last mistake they ever made. The traitor Shinigami threw off the blanket of invisibility, appearing before the men, in some mere 20 meters. The looks on their faces was priceless – he moved before they could even scream anything out their mouths, slicing their necks with his zanpakuto with such ease as if he was cutting butter. The first two guards fell down behind him, blood splattering the columns and the tiles of the stone floor beneath them. The other two could only gasp in shock – but the last one yelled Aizen's full name like it was some kind of curse. There was no time to waste.

Souske impaled him first, throwing him off the platform afterwards and turned towards the other Shinigami. By now one of them had wet his hakama. Truly pathetic… and disgusting – they experienced true fear and shock in his presence, and that counting in the fact that he had not unleashed a single bit of his reiatsu onto them. The remaining two guards fell down as well; their innards decorated the scenery right before they lost their balance while bleeding to death.

Slaughtered like the cattle they are. Truly I am surrounded by weakness and incompetence. Only I can change this world once I ascend to the throne of Godhood… and to do that I must finish the Oken. And then a new age shall begin where I shall be the sole ruler of all that exists. No weakness or folly – no sin will exist anymore.

Aizen smirked once more with a distinctive "Hmph" as he stepped closer to the gates. He stopped, suddenly feeling someone's presence behind him – faint, but it was there. So someone had indeed arrived to stop him. And if Aizen was right the reiatsu belonged to none other than him. How very amusing and how very fitting that he was to meet him here. Everything was going even better than planned out in the beginning.

Aizen Souske turned around upon hearing a sound of shunpo being used, greeting his pursuer.

Aizen: "Ah, but I cannot express all the extent of my surprise after I see your face again, my old friend."

Aizen's own slightly happy expression was met with one of great anger and disgust as he faced Hitsugaya Toshiro – his only visitor in the Muken for two years. Toshiro could barely make his voice come out without growling like some dog.

Toshiro: "Aizen! AIZEN! YOU – I knew you had some plan to escape! You lied to me!"

Aizen(laughing quietly): "What did you expect Shiro-chan? I indeed had a plan to escape, but your ability and intellect are far too lacking to even have a slightest guess as to how I did that. But it is of no matter now." – Aizen's face no longer showed any kind of amusement or happiness, reverting to his usual indifferent stare as he continued. – "You Shinigami are bound by Destiny to play out your roles as intended from the start. I, on the other hand, am far above such influence. I had escaped the silly "punishment" you had bestowed upon me in your attempts to subdue one who is above Destiny and Laws. I pity you – Hitsugaya-kun. I wish you could share the triumph with me, but instead you stay with my sweet Lieutenant Hinamori-kun. As a matter of fact - how is she feeling? Is everything alright? I do hope I had not put her through great distress last time we saw each other."

As Aizen spoke, Toshiro's face showed more and more anger; it became redder and then went pale. As the man finished speaking the white-haired Captain screamed out in rage and pain, putting all his hate into the words he said, drawing his zanpakuto out of its sheath.

Toshiro: "SIT UPON THE FROZEN HEAVENS – HYOURINMARU!"

As the surroundings darkened and the atmosphere grew colder, Toshiro's sword changed, growing in length and attaining a chain at the base of the hilt. The boy wasted no time and jumped upwards, utilizing his basic technique – a simple horizontal slash downwards which made a big dragon made purely out of ice to appear, roaring, and the young man sent it towards his enemy, aiming to kill.

How futile – thought Aizen, looking at the dragon which was headed straight for him – it seems that his previous clash with me taught him nothing useful. Or perhaps he thinks he has grown strong enough to fight me on par? Or is it that he thinks I am so weak and drained that he attacks me now in his vain attempts to stop me. He is just a child after all – he should have masked himself and attacked unseen.

In response to Toshiro's attack the rogue Shinigami disappeared, using shunpo, evading the attack. The ice dragon shattered against the surface of the platform and crumbled into pieces, scattering ice everywhere in the vicinity. Aizen had reappeared not far away, noticing that now there was ice everywhere. A smart move, after all, but as futile as anything the small man could offer. Aizen spoke again, lifting his hand upwards and pointing the tip of his blade at his small opponent.

Aizen: "You are overtaken by anger. Focus – calm down and concentrate, Shiro-chan. I will now instruct you in actual combat, so you should learn while you can."

Aizen used shunpo yet again to appear before Hitsugaya. The Captain blinked, his anger replaced by surprise – so fast was the movement of his opponent. Aizen waited for a few moments – moments during which he could kill this little boy if he wanted to and then swung his sword horizontally straight at the boy's neck. Hitsugaya blocked his attack with his own sword, their weapons shedding sparks as they clashed, unable to push each other further. They remained in the stalemate for a few moments, the screeching sounds repeating over and over, until Toshiro gathered his strength, pushing back his opponent's blade.

A small hint at surprise showed upon Aizen Souske's face as his hand flew away. Toshiro swung his sword back at the undefended torso of his mortal enemy, aiming to slice the despicable man in half. With a quiet clank Hyourinmaru stopped before reaching its target. Toshiro clenched his teeth as he saw Aizen's hand holding the sharp edge of the blade with his palm, his hand seemingly undamaged.

Aizen: "Hmph – I had thought more of your abilities, Shiro-chan, seeing as you must have trained day and night while I was away – weakening day by day. Do you see now - the real gap in our strength?" – the Shinigami smirked, showing his most usual expression. – "I could alwa-"

Aizen's eyebrows curved upwards as he observed his hand instantly being covered in ice, up to the base of his wrist. Acting fast the traitor broke his hand free, releasing the opponent's zanpakuto and jumping backwards for at least 6 meters. After he landed he proceeded to observe his hand, clenching it repeatedly. Everything was fine if you did not count his hand being almost completely numb right now, but that was only due to him reacting so fast. If he had not…

Toshiro: "Aizen! You bastard! I'm going to butcher you right here and now!"

Aizen could see the small man gathering reiatsu, preparing to unleash his Bankai. This was not good and there was only one way to prevent the white-haired boy to rise in power and overwhelm Souske.

Aizen placed his sword before him at the level of his chest.

Aizen: "Shatter – Kyouka Suigetsu." – he could see Toshiro staring at his sword as he did this. Such was its power, unknown and complex to many. In fact even if others knew that looking at his release was a mistake they still did so. A simple fact of human and shinigami psychology… and the unnatural beauty of his Shikai transformation.

Toshiro: "No- No way! Aize-

The boy suddenly stopped talking all by himself, without someone cutting him off mid-sentence. Of course you did – thought Aizen – because I used the power of my zanpakuto to erase the memory of you witnessing my Shikai by using your senses to change your past experiences. A shame not all is possible. You can't remember what you could not see and hear – such as me releasing Kyouka Suigetsu. And even if you had not seen me release now… you still had done so before, Shiro-kun.

Aizen smirked as he watched Hitsugaya yell out in pain and turn around, slashing away at empty air. Oh, but Toshiro actually saw as "Aizen" had cut him and fought back in order to keep his life and have revenge. And while Hitsugaya was trying to defend against a suddenly more powerful Aizen – the real one turned away towards the Senkai Gate and used his sword to unlock it, while speaking:

Aizen: "I have business to attend to, and you begin to bore me – so I decided to drop the charade and kill you while I can."

Toshiro(holding his sword against the air): "What? How can it be, that you have this much strength?"

Aizen: "I told you that we are world apart in strength, Shiro-chan. Sayonara."

Souske turned his head to the side, watching out of the corner of his eye as Toshiro grunted and grabbed his chest, while slowly falling down on his knees. He was just impaled by the illusion, while the real Aizen had done nothing. The man knew that his illusions were powerful enough for people to believe and experience such events and pain that their mind would simply break, leading their bodies to malfunction and death.

Not in this case though.

Aizen lifted the hypnosis and watched Toshiro gasp in surprise as his wound was gone. The little Captain lifted his head to see where his enemy was and saw Aizen standing near the opened Senkai Gate, smirking.

Aizen: "Remember Shiro-kun. I am far stronger than you can even imagine. Now I must depart in order to do something. Some business which I left unfinished before going to Karakura Town." – the man sheathed his sword slowly. – "The next time we see each other could be as friends, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Think about it. You are young, but you have potential enough to become on par with me. A shame that no one here can train you to that level – not even the Captain-Commander. I, on the other hand, could do so. Consider this as an invitation and a warning both." – Aizen looked beyond Hitsugaya's back, smirking at the scene of six people appearing at the other side of the platform. Then his gaze shifted back to Toshiro. – "Do not forget our little deal, Shiro-kun. Come see me later."

Aizen did not speak loud, yet he was sure that his last sentence was heard clearly by those who had arrived to stop the escaped convict. Actually – he bet on it.

The man quickly turned around and walked into the gates, looking back as they closed behind him and disappeared before anyone could follow him. He was enshrouded in darkness and yet he could see the passageway before him. Now he had to make haste – he had no Hell Butterfly to accompany him and he worried that the Koutotsu might soon find him here.

Last time I was here I had destroyed the creature. Shame I cannot do it again… for now.

Aizen hurriedly ran off into the distance.

Back in Seiretei Toshiro rose up to his feet, only to see the Senkai Gates close and vanish. He saw a few of his fellow Captains tried to reach it in time but could not. He recognized Soi-Fon – the Captains of the 2nd Division and Leader of the Onmitsukido Corps. who had almost made it. He also saw Shunsui Kyouraku standing near her, scratching the back of his head.

He saw a shadow fall on him and looked upwards to see who was standing so close. It was Kuchiki Byakuya – Captain of the 6th Division. His face showed nothing but a slight note of displeasure. His voice was like ice as he spoke, other Captains drawing near.

Byakuya: "Hitsugaya Toshiro, Captain of the 10th Division. In the name of the Court of Pure Souls and by the order of Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai – I, Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain of the 6th Division and other Captains present here, accuse you of treachery by helping an escaped prisoner and enemy of Gotei 13 and am taking you prisoner until the next Captains meeting, which will act as Court. Lower your Zanpakuto."

Toshiro: "Wh- what?"

Before he could even resist he was pinned to the ground and his zanpakuto fell not too far from him, sealing itself without its master's touch and reiatsu focus. Toshiro could see the serious faces of everyone gathered here.

What could this all possible mean?