The modern environs of Karakura Town were strange to the Shinigami. The lack of shanties, near absence of temples, and the colossal houses made not just out of wood but steel and concrete were a sight not shown anywhere in the Soul Society.
That was to be expected for some of them, as those Shinigami had spent their whole lives in the Soul Society as the privileged, unspoiled scions of the greats houses. Many of them had spent their childhoods embracing the approved ascetic of the nobility, as was the tradition. Any change in style would be make their elders aghast and for some even necessitate shunning to preserve the family's honor.
Many of them brought up by a few hushed whisper's to an old friend or a silent threat to an obstinate instructor. Sure some of them had the skill and prowess to match their rank but other's were not used to being on the front lines, often having decided that when duty called was the opportune time to take sick leave or take a vacation day.
They couldn't get out of this one. Yamamoto had ordered that all available soldiers get prepared to go to war. Ikkaku snorted, as he thought that even now the whiny little bastards would probably be the most likely to survive anyway.
That shit didn't fly in the Eleventh. Any spoiled brat asking for special treatment would have gotten his ass kicked or be subject to one of the many hazing rituals till they dropped out to another sqaud.
In many way's no matter how many of their other comrades despised them for their easy call to violence and refusal to simmer down, they were ultimately the best squad in the whole Gotei 13. And that wasn't his own pride talking.
They didn't have to be polite to some coward who got his rank by being born inside the walls instead of being brought outside. Respect, love, and camaraderie was all earned through fights, curses and gallons of sake. They didn't have to be polite towards each other, hell they didn't want to be respectful to their brothers in arms. All they wanted was to prove to the world that they were greatest fighters that ever lived even in death.
Death was a joke to the eleventh, to the point that they often referenced their comrades death through curses (I'll fuck you up like Fat Ukiyo's asshole!") To incorrect and borderline hellworthy jokes ("Fuck! The lieutenant tore my clothes into Yuki like pieces") even becoming slang ("The retard got Kenpachied!"). After all when death was always a certainty the only healthy way to quash the fear was to make it your bitch.
Right now, they making bets as to who was going to die first.
"I say a hundred on Maki." Ikkaku proclaimed.
"Twice that on all the greenhorns." A tanned spikey haired veteran called.
"I say all the ugly ones." Yumichika said, aware that he was talking about the whole squad.
"I say you all die for a million pieces of candy!" The lieutenant piped happily.
The only one they didn't bet on was the captain and for good reason. The captain was the face, the image, foundation of all squads that their subordinates relied on for leadership. It was bad luck, a sinister omen for any battle.
And in Kenpachi's case it was suicidal.
Before they could finish their illegal tontine, the beeps of their Soul Pagers went off, telling them to get into position.
The Battle of Karakura Town had begun.
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The General of the Soul Society's holy swords stood proud in the middle, his back straight in spite of his age. He was exposed, because as the Captain Commander he was the face and strength of the Gotei 13. A leader who hid behind his men while they fought did not deserve to lead.
The commander of Soul Society's secret police was hidden in plain sight, she and her soldiers camoflauge being unknown even to the head captain. That way her army of assassins and spies wouldn't be found easily. But Soi Fon knew that her soldiers were the best, having been veterans in countless uprisings, inserections, false flag ops, and many more.
If there were weak branches she would be happy to see them pruned by Aizen's scum. Once the cup had passed, the Assassin was eager to prove that she was better then her predesessor. Though she had been forgiven, Soi Fon wouldn't allow her people to grow weak. The Onmitsukido were hers now.
The wizards had been leaderless since the Hollowfication Incident, as no one was willing to grasp the scepter due to the shame placed upon them, but they still worked tirelessly as legion. They had set traps of high level, and forbidden Kido around the pillars holding the faux Karakura Town together.
And finally there was the very annoyed scientist, hiding in his own bunker with his talented but expendable fellow researchers. They had put thousands of motion sensors, state of the art radar, Reiatsu examination and tracking devices, radio communication that was flawless up to a hundred kilometers and more dotted strategically from the heart to the outskirts of the mirage city.
Time stood still. Eternity and the war could have passed by like the setting and rising of the sun but the tension would still freeze the soldiers in stone. The nerveless, soft faced rookies shook and the hardened, sharp eyed veterans moved as slow as The World Of The Living's automated machines
Birds flew by.
The wind whistled.
The ground quaked and the azure sky tore in two.
The heavens shook and light shattered like painted mirror as a gash of broken space signified the invasion by the hungry, wicked Yurei was underway. The intake and exhale of breath was a palpable wall against the miasmic unholy winds nearly blew the rookies off their feet. The clouds themselves were blown away, breaking apart and becoming minute wisps.
"Do not look away! That is the power of the inhumanity and indecency of Aizen's works! Go! Release your swords in defiance of his arrogance and power. Attack now!" The iron tone of Yamamoto's voice sent shockwaves of adrenaline and courage through his underlings, filling them with determination and resolve.
A hearty roar and the sound of spiritual steel scratching against leather as it was released from it's sheath thundered through the air, as the Gillians opened the doorway from Hell to this world and tore it wide open.
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Aizen waited in the dark.
It was what he was best at.
Even in his guileless, trustful days as a nameless untouchable Aizen had learned to be patient. Any sudden move without thought or careful planning could give the game away. That was what life was, a endless series of bluffing, chance and
Most Shinigami, nobility, politicians, peasants, police, even the abominations court and shields were either unaware or thought themselves the players when they were really the pieces. Some may think of themselves the refferie or judge deciding how it would be played in the name of fairness but in the end their bias for their favorite shined through.
Inside the gargantua, he watched the masked gillians stampede through the rabble of Yamamoto's warriors, being easily exterminated by the prejudiced guides of the dead, unaware they were caught in the whirpool of fate.
Do not feel for them, never feel anything towards them. Kyoka Suigetsu had whispered to him long ago,. Those who die in your name or cursing it, are necessary sacrifices for your ascension. Your cause is a just one, for you shall be the one who changes the world. Remember your misery when you return to God's palace with your abominations of his work. Show the so called enlightened ones the mistake of refusing you the gift of a name and free will.
They may call him greedy, ambitious, evil. So be it. Aizen had long since passed the point of attempting to get people to understand him. Their cries of sanctimonious morality were just empty air carried by the winds.
Their relevance to that thing and it's millitant oligarchy was quite amusing, if pathetic. He suspected that their devotion was so great, that many of those who didn't die in battle would commit Seppuku in response to their failures due to having their spines and constitutions shattered by the destruction of the one thing that held them straight.
Though Aizen suspected more yield due to their cowardice and incompetence. If so they were fatally mistaken. He would give the hypocrites to his horde.
"Why are we waiting? If we attack now we can shatter them in minutes."
Aizen wasn't the only one to grasp Tosen's stupidity. Gin chuckled, his grin flashing even in the pitch void. "And I thought yer were stupid before! Anyone with two eyes can see what Aizen's plan is… Then again you are blind."
Aizen could see the ebony captain puff up in indignation, his teeth clenching from the insult to his honor. "Hold your tongue Ichimaru…" Aizen could hear the blade being unsheathed. "Or lose. It"
Aizen stopped the fight before it started. "Explain your meaning to Tosen-san Gin."
Gin didn't waste anytime. "Ya really think, the old man wouldn't ave pared for us? Yamamoto may be a stickler for the rules but he isn't stupid. He would ave figured it out eventually and would not waste any expense. Think bout how much our planned changed due to Szayel's stupidity. Since we couldn't get their captains in Hueco Mundo, that means that they're there."
"As much as he likes ta sing about the strength and pride of the Gotei 13, the truth is without our pretty swords and tricks, most of us are like paper dolls. The captains are no exception but they'll made out of stone instead of origami. That's wha helps the paper cut. Without them, we're basically back to the way we started, nothing more then glorified thugs working for the powers that be. So tell me, Tosen-San why must we not just rush in?"
Tosen looked like he'd been slapped. Of course he being the dog he was, he accepted this without balking. "M...My apologies Aizen-sama… I shouldn't have doubted your wisdom! Tosen bowed in apology.
"It's alright, Tosen-san. " Aizen could not believe someone could be this blind, (the pun was not lost on him) or stupid. Just because he saved him from a spoiled rat, does that give him the right to worship him?
Sure he may be the only one that deserved to be revered but the naivety of the sheep was astounding. As much as Aizen liked to pretend that he didn't tolerate disobediance, secretly (though he denied it) rebellion and free thought amongst his followers amused him. It was odd how a few kind words could heal the broken and damn, not knowing that even without their wounds, they would be weak and pathetic.
Maybe it was the truth that the hopeless would always look for a savior, even despite the fact their messiah view them as nothing more then insects to be crushed on the way to his goals. The Hollow had raised him as the Soul Society had raised Yamamoto and the Royal Guard a thousand years ago. But they were idiots. The only salvation they could ever find was in themselves, not from some savior. There was no heroes in reality.
Perhaps… Maybe. Tosen wasn't as much a simpleton as he thought. It had been a long time since such a flicker of empathy had jolted through his numbed brain. Having killed his conscience and self years ago, Aizen didn't know what to do with such a thought.
It would have to be a test. He would do something he had never done since almost almost eight hundred years. Aizen thought of what of a great weight that would have been removed from his shoulders had he been proven wrong.
"Did you enjoy the temperature in Las Noches? Or perhaps the sky?" Aizen asked out of the blue.
The surprise of the personal inquiry from someone as serene, noble, untouchable as Aizen was an absolute shock to the senses. Tosen looked completely gobsmacked, unable to comprehend what his Bodhisattva was intending. Even Gin was confused, apparent by the sapphire shining through the blackness.
"I remember when I first stepped foot in Hueco Mundo. It was one of the sorties the Central 46 would command us to do when the location of a powerful Menos was pinpointed. The only reason they cared was because the Menos was a potential threat, and sometimes the mission was nearly certain suicide so it would be beneficial for them in more then one way."
"But this was an actual mission with a captain and team. The truth is, I don't remember much of what we did. But I will always recall the cold. I've never experienced such cold in my life." Even as a slave went unsaid. "I started thinking about how not one of the Shinigami had thought about conquering this world and ending the threat of Hollows forever. But that wasn't convenient or feasible according to Hirako."
"This peaked my interest in such matters. Even as someone without a seat, I was still more then a match for him. You all already knew what came next. But none of you know why I had Hueco Mundo redesigned the way it. Why I gave it a sky, a heat, an air of culture."
"Wasn't it because the sky lets you spy on your enemies?" Tosen inquired.
Aizen ignored the slap in the face and despite his Zanpakuto's warnings, he moved on. "No Tosen san. The truth is I had Las Noches and in an extent Hueco Mundo rebuilt that way, because it made me... happy."
Aizen meant to say sentimental but his emotion betrayed him as he remembered Halcyon days long since gone. The heat, the beauty of the stars and sunlit sky, the days of playing chess with… Aizen quickly regained his composure. He could sense that Gin would laugh at him before he betrayed him.
"I can emphasize with your previous worship of the system. There were times that even I was a fool."
"No!" Tosen yelled.
Aizen was shocked at this. Had Tosen finally saw through his mask? He slipped his pinky, ring and middle finger around his sword but that wasn't necessary. Like most things in his life, trying to be a man instead of a god lead to nothing but disappointment.
"Aizen sama, I'm sorry but you are wrong. You most forgive for my insolence, but you are not a fool. Your are the hand that carries the sword of justice, the karmic light that heralds the reincarnation of this rotten world. Before I met you, I was treated worse then a flea. Yet I continued to believe in the lies, as long as I told myself that those who wronged me and others would be swept away by the scales of justice. It was you who enlightened me and all I wish in return that I serve you to the death."
Tosen looked like he was in tears, like a child being yelled at. Aizen for his part, said nothing struggling not to break his teeth in rage. He turned his back to his two fellow Shinigami. He would not give them the privilege of seeing him cry.
What did he expect? They were all idiots! How could he even think that he was even close to his level? That they could ever understand and be an equal to him? He was the only one, had been since they died, and he has seen, he has seen, why did he let him see? He couldn't let him live, he couldn't, he couldn't…
Aizen took a breath as Kyoka Suigetsu calmly whispered to him, filling him with his signature, mandatory detachment. He couldn't let that ever happen again. He caressed his sword, letting himself relax but masked his palpable relief.
A beam of white light beamed in Aizen's face, impairing the sight in his left eye. It appeared that he had became so emotional that the space between the Gargantua and his target was started to collaspe. Holes of various size were pockmarked through the walls, bringing in fresh air and a breeze that cooled the moisture under his eyes.
And just like that the mask of Aizen the would be God was sewn back on. "You are correct Tosen. Thank you for reminding me. I'm sure you will show your steadfast loyalty and your Shikigami like devotion with the power I've given to you as a largesse. Aizen smiled. "I'm sure you will fight to the death." Tosen beamed. "Now, open the Gargantua. I want to see the creations of my subjects to be."
Tosen spoke the enchantation, his voice echoing strangely as he invoked the tiny apertures to part and widen the darkness and light. The black space was cut into page like squares, before folding into three dimensional kirigami like cubes and finally opening like the unhinged jaw of a snake.
Karakura Town had changed a lot from when he first surveyed the Jureichi. Many of the buildings had gone from the pseudo-traditionalist structures the senile clowns would have been pleased with, to gargantuan monstrosities wrought and beaten into boring almost symmetrical geometry. That was to be expected.
The nation in which at least half of the districts were centered had gone through many wars and disasters in it's history, the last of which had changed the country entirely. Wars and disasters were when the balancers needed to work the most, so while it was the will of the powerful to feed disinformation, it was also their will to control it. The nation was also the most similar to the Soul Society, something that was often brushed off by the indoctrinated fools who patrolled here.
Humans were truly insignificant, stupid creatures. They had no control or knowledge that their fates were controlled by the thousands of hands above them, whatever learnt wisdom destroyed by time and slaughter. Even when they gained supernatural power they were either too weak of mind to use it properly or were so entranced by the seeming grandeur that they were happy to be puppets.
Their disappearance was all Aizen needed to know that he was in a trap.
"Tosen-san, Gin move five paces to the left and right of me." Tosen and Gin complied.
Aizen felt the heat before seeing the flames. The wall of fire rose in front of him, reaching the height of his neck. Then the flames circled Aizen, shooting and flowing around him like waves. The fire connected, forming an unbroken ring of Dragon's breath. Finally the flames crashed below him, closing the trap beneath his feat.
A quarter of a mile to the front, Yamamoto stood on the tallest building, his gaze meeting Aizen's.
"Aizen." Yamamoto didn't grace traitors with the respect of a honorific, it seemed. "I see you have graced us your presence."
Aizen gave Yamamoto a mocking half bow. "Genryusai-sama, I see that you have prepared for me well. Thank you for giving me a proper welcome."
"You speak, but I see that lies and ill will are still the only thing you breath. Did you expect us to simply allow you to destroy the innocent?"
Aizen laughed. "Your sense of humor is as poignant as always. Tell me what do the Shinigami know of protecting the innocent?"
A wail of curses and indignant roars met this retort. As expected. He wondered how many were genuine. Probably more then he would like to think. The would be God sensed Reiatsu behind him. He turned and saw ice and fire meeting each other, creating white smoke and steam. Behind was a gray storm of snow and hail contrasting with the bright blue sky on the center, along with a partially melted Dragon in the center.
"Aizen you bastard!" They young, white haired captain cursed. "You'll pay for what you did to Momo!"
Aizen folded his arms, and gave Hitsuguya a condescending stare. "I see the so called maverick doesn't know what happens when Ice meets extreme heat. And what makes you think I'll pay for Hinamori when I haven't for anyone else?"
A vein popped in the little captain's head. "YOU-"
"CAPTAIN HITSUGUYA, GET BACK TO YOUR POSITION NOW!" Hitsuguya glared at Yamamoto ever so briefly, but calmed down and bowed before flash stepping away.
Aizen again turned to Yamamoto. Don't think you can trap me here forever, Yamamoto-san. But don't worry. My Hollows can easily massacre all of you.
To even Aizen's immense surprise, Yamamoto chuckled, That was so surreal that the former captain did a double take. "A bit bold by half are you boy? I grant that you have great confidence. But I've lived a long time, and I've executed traitors more confident, powerful and intelligent then you. You think your white abominations can defeat the strength of the Soul Society? Fool. This city will be your funeral pyre!"
We' shall see Genryusai. Aizen gave his fellow conspirtors the signal to unchain his demons. You may laugh now but we'll see who writes the history in the end.
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So yeah it's been a while. A lot of things happened while I was gone.
First my depression got the worse it's ever been. That obviously was a problem.
Then my computer lost its files. That was pretty irritating.
And finally I've started to write chapters together, so I can not waste time between updates.
Anyway, a couple notes with this chapter. The reason I made Aizen like that was because I believe Kubo did a great injustice not exploring his character. So I decided to use the paltry hints we got to build a more realistic character. I figured that humanizing him would be the best way to make him more realistic. I always thought Kubo wasn't that good at giving his large cast the character development and progression they needed.
Just one more note. I'm sorry Orihime isn't in this chapter but I want to write what I wanna write. I love the enthusiasm but we have a lot of story in this fic. It can't always include JUST her.
Anyway that's all for now. Any questions please PM me. I hope I gave you guys a great chapter, I'm kinda nervous do to how rusty I am. I certainly hope to become a great writer but I can't do it without you. So until the next update stay gold!