A hell butterfly came fluttering in through the door while Kina was with Kisuke in his lab.
"All captains are to report in for an emergency meeting at Division One's headquarters," the hell butterfly stated.
"Sorry, duty calls," Kisuke apologised as he walked Kina to the door. He gave her a quick hug as he flash stepped off to Division One. In the meantime, Kina started wandering around Seireitei. She bumped into Aizen who was carrying a stack of paperwork.
"Oh, hello, Aizen. Sorry for bumping into you," Kina offered a courteous bow and smiled lightly.
"No problem, now if you'll excuse me, I must get going," Aizen smiled and waved goodbye as he went on his way to Division Five.
What to do...What to do… Kina thought to herself as she walked along the streets of Seireitei. And for the second time that night, she bumped into something she had not been paying attention to.
Huh? What the hell did I bump into…? She wondered to herself. A cough came from the ground. Kina looked down to see a head of white hair.
"Down here," Hitsugaya stated coldly.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry I didn't see you," Kina offered her apologies but the Third Seat of Division Ten seemed disinterested.
"No worries," he said. "Stupid tall people…" he scowled.
"What was that?" Kina asked, smiling deviously.
"Huh? Nothing," he said crossing his arms haughtily.
"Really?" she said, leaning closer to him.
"Yeah, I'm sure I said nothing. I'm pretty positive I would know what comes out of my mouth."
"Sassy, sassy little boy you are, you little snob," Kina sniffed disdainfully. Her hazel eyes flashed dangerously.
"Well that's what you get for being so damn tall!" he yelled.
"Hmph. You don't have to be so rude...shorty," she winked at him and smiled. "Bye bye now!"
She ran past him and twiddled her fingers as a farewell. Now Hitsugaya Toshiro never cursed or anything of the sort, but for the first time ever since Rangiku had bumped into him at the market back in Jurin'an, he uttered a word he never used.
"Bitch."
As Kina was walking along Seireitei, she thought it was time to turn in at the Division One barracks.
A loud blast came from the woods of Rukongai.
"What the hell…?" Kina turned towards the sound of the blast. She looked around for Shinigami nearby. Seeing none nearby, she took it upon herself to go and investigate.
When she arrived at the scene, it was already cleared out and no one was there. The only thing left were scarce patches of blood on the grass.
"Must've been my imagination then…" Kina was about to turn and leave until she felt a reiatsu from the bushes to her right. She walked over to the bushes with her zanpakuto drawn. She pushed her zanpakuto forward a little and tapped against the air. Ripples of energy emerged and she reached forward and pulled at the air. Three Shinigami were revealed to be standing under the cover of kidou.
"What were you doing?" Kina demanded.
"Nothing, just training," came Aizen's answer.
"You're a lieutenant. What could possibly make you want to train?" Aizen's smile faltered for a millisecond, but he quickly regained control and replied smoothly, "I'm helping these two train. Apparently things got a little too heated so I cast a bakudo spell over us as to not disturb the residents of Seireitei."
"Oh. That sounds...reasonable?" Kina stated flatly, sheathing her sword. Despite Aizen's straightforward answer, she couldn't help but feel a nagging feeling in her chest. She bid Aizen farewell, and went back to her division barracks. Aizen watched her retreating figure, his brown eyes shining with mischievous glint. A new figure came into the clearing and stood next to Aizen.
"Ohhh, Lieutenant Aizen, she looks pretty cute," Gin commented.
"I suppose," Aizen said. "She'll be a valuable asset to our plans, Gin, Tousen" a smirk found its way to Aizen's lips. Another figure emerged from the shadows.
"Whoa, Tousen! You can't just turn up out of nowhere," Gin said, holding a hand to his heart. Tousen ignored his inferior question and turned to the person who would supposedly lead him on his path for "justice."
"Would you like me to kill her?" he asked.
"Not for now. She could help us in our plans."
"Yes, sir, Aizen," Tousen nodded affirmatively.
The next day, Kina went and visited the the Shinigami Research and Development Institute only to discover that Kisuke was not there or in his office. She went on to the Second Division to ask Yoruichi about his whereabouts, but was surprised to find that she was not there either. Not to mention, Shinigami all over Seireitei were stoic and unresponsive. Whenever she tried to pry answers from them, they immediately went silent and only shook their heads. Finally giving up, she went to Captain Commander Yamamoto for answers.
"Did you not hear, child? They've been exiled," he said solemnly. "Along with Captains Muguruma Kensei, Hirako Shinji, Aikawa Rabu, and Otoribashi Rojuro and Lieutenants Sarugaki Hiyori and Yadomaru Lisa. President of the Kido Corps Tsukabishi Tessai and Vice President Ushoda Hachigen have been added to the sentence as well. Urahara Kisuke was accused of the hollowfication of the Captains of the Ninth, Seventh, Fifth, and Third Divisions along with Lieutenants of the Twelth and Eighth Division and Vice President of the Kido Corps, Ushoda Hachigen. Shihoin Yoruichi and Tsukabishi Tessai are believe to be his accomplices. They escaped this morning to the Human World with the seven experimental subjects. "
Kina's head spun. Her vision blurred as she tried to uncover the meaning behind this new information. She muttered a quick farewell to the captain and exited his office stiffly. Her legs felt like lead as she moved through the empty halls. Kina headed off towards her division's barracks, but found herself standing in front of Kisuke's office. She leaned against the cool metal door and set her hand on the fading silver doorknob. She was about to turn the knob when the door swung open, and she fell forward into a strong pair of arms.
"Oh, Kina! What are you doing here?" came a silken voice. There was no reply.
"Kina?" Aizen tilted her chin up and was surprised to see tears streaming down her cheeks. Kina buried her face into his robes and let out a loud sob. Aizen brushed her tears away and looked down at her. He opened his mouth to say something in hopes of comforting her, but stopped when he heard her clear her throat.
"How could he do this? He betrayed us," Kina said shakily. She pronounced each syllable carefully, slowly, as if she didn't believe herself. The words left a bitter taste on her tongue. Aizen remained silent. Kina took this as the cue to continue.
"Maybe that was what he was trying to hide from me the other day. He had been awfully secretive before.. the incident. Who does he think he is, pulling off such a stunt?" Kina vented. Aizen decided not to answer that.
"You wouldn't do that, would you, Aizen? I don't know what I'd do if I lost another friend," She continued, voice wavering. She looked up at him with watering eyes. The second wave of tears threatened to spill out any second.
"Of course I wouldn't," Aizen reassured her. "Urahara Kisuke has done something very wrong. He made such a lovely woman cry. Rest assured, Kina. There won't be any repeats of this with me," Aizen soothed. Kina looked at Aizen with wide eyes, and Aizen feared that he had said something wrong. He relaxed as the corners of her lips turned up in a small smile. Kina seemed satisfied with his answer and stood up straight. She gave him a small smile and bowed, and quickly made her way back to her division. Aizen gave himself a mental pat on the back as he watched her walk away. Everything was going according to plan.