...
Despite the fact he was about to embark on a journey that quite frankly no one in history had ever done before- Despite the fact that place was literal Hell...
Urahara found himself more worried about the fact he was going there with Aizen Sosuke. That he was officially going to help Aizen Sosuke.
That... Was going to take some getting used to, he realized. Even having spent so much time acclimating to the idea that the Aizen in front of him wasn't the same one he'd known... It felt heavier now that he'd agreed to actively work with him.
Felt more dangerous. His senses, his nerves, his everything felt as if it was on the cusp of screaming at him for it- And perhaps the worst part of it was, he agreed with it. With his instinct.
A small part of his mind absolutely agreed that this was a fool's errand. That he was been a fool for it.
A month... A week? Hell, even a few days ago, he would've listened to that feeling. To that instinct.
He took in a deep breath and let it out.
Yes, everything in front of him pointed toward the fact Aizen's claims were true. Everything.
Yes, every danger he'd spoken of, according to the other captains, had shown itself completely. And given he'd been at the center of one of them, he couldn't deny that fact even if he wanted to.
All the evidence showed him one consistency- If Aizen Sosuke was lying, then one of the only explanations left for it all was that he'd given up on his original dreams.
If he'd still had the current hollows under his employ, he would've run through nearly all of Soul Society with ease. If he'd still wanted access to the Soul King, he would've accepted that promotion with ease. If he'd still wanted to ascend, he had every captain ignorantly pushing him towards it, and so could've managed it, once again, with ease.
So, either Aizen Sosuke was lying about it all and by extension had changed his dangerous goals... Or he was telling the truth, and the future they all walked towards was filled with naught but hell.
Both scenarios... Were acceptable, he supposed. Both scenarios, he could live with.
Yet, both scenarios alone, while accepting of them, weren't enough to push him to advocate for the man as well. To support him in essence.
No. Alone, he would've been more than willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt and disappear from Soul Society until he either showed his true colors once again, at which case he would come back prepared to face him or... Aizen was from the future and evidently was competent enough to save it... So, Urahara would simply allow him to, while he lived out his days as he had done for the past century, with the same plans being created, of course.
There was nothing wrong with a contingency after all.
And all of that had turned to dust in front of him. His acceptance of the situation and his preparations for the worst outcome of it all flipped on their head. Pushed off the table. The game board flipped once again.
There were so many adequate descriptions for the fuckery that had happened on the day Aizen's Zanpakuto had slipped its leash and he honestly wasn't sure which one to use...
When he'd learned the truth of what the Soul King really was. When he'd seen that memory echo back at them in full force. That memory of a being from a literal other world had taunted them. That had called them out from millions of years ago.
It was the day he'd seen the Soul King's true face and realized that the Aizen Sosuke he'd known looked akin to an innocent bystander in comparison.
Aizen Sosuke had been a bad man.
The Soul King... The thing looked like a nightmare wishing it could be downgraded to a bad man. Pretending to be the villain in a bedtime story. Aloof, and without a care, yet somehow amused and filled with a sense of wonder as it looked at them all with curiosity.
As it looked at them like a scientist who wondered how their little toy had evolved.
Aizen had been wrong about one thing.
The Soul King wasn't evil and it wasn't good either.
It didn't abide by those rules.
It didn't abide by anything in truth.
When he'd accidentally first laid eyes on it, so long ago... He'd thought it almost ironic that the literal Soul King, seemed to lack a soul in its eyes. He'd had a hunch of the Original Sin back then. A hunch that had explained why it seemed to lack any soul in its eyes.
But that memory had proved him wrong.
The Soul King hadn't lost its metaphorical soul because of the betrayal, no. It hadn't had one, to begin with.
It was an idea that held so many layers in truth. The Soul King lacked what made up its kingdom. The Soul King, once a Quincy, a kind known for destroying souls, didn't seem to have one. The Soul-less King had created a system that fed on one's soul, one small piece at a time. One piece for every reincarnation. And that's if they were lucky enough not to become literal building blocks for a glorified sword. If they were lucky enough not to find themselves eaten by a hollow. Not to find themselves in hell.
And they called it their king? They were expected to be thankful for it? To feel pity for what had happened to it?
When it had seen and accepted the end result of what it was creating!?
Faced with that being... He couldn't blame the ancient nobles for their fears.
Even Aizen had more soul in his eyes than that thing. Showed more emotion too. Yes, it might've been the wrong kind but...
He held in the urge to shudder.
There was a cold outlook to life, to the people around one even. A cold look to... Everything...
But it wasn't the cold he felt when he looked at the Soul King.
It was a heavy weight that threatened to break him if he moved an inch in the wrong direction.
A weight that made him feel like a pawn being pressed down on to move toward its death. A piece of a puzzle that had long since been decided. Long since been made, by a being who had dictated that his own life was not under his control.
For all of Aizen Sosuke's vices, he never did stop one from pursuing what they wished to- Yes, it might've ended in him killing them for their choice, but at least he gave them that choice.
The Soul King didn't believe in that.
The Perfect Future was all he was after. The Perfect Future was all he wanted.
A being that could see every possible future would want nothing less after all.
Yet, it was that exact Perfect Future that made Urahra Kisuke capable of ignoring his instincts. That made him capable of working with the man.
Because to do otherwise made him feel peaceful. Turning his back made him feel free. Ignoring the future made him feel right.
Helping Aizen Sosuke with his plans? It felt heavy. Suffocating. Wrong... And all things considered, he wasn't sure he could trust anything but that anymore.
Because that alone made him feel alive. Gave his choices true meaning.
It stopped mattering whether it was the right thing to do anymore.
That alone... Helped him understand that, despite everything that had happened between him and the Aizen he'd known... He could finally, finally, understand why he did it.
He could finally understand why his Zanpakuto was the way it was given his goals.
Perfect Hypnosis, it was called.
Perfect Illusion.
A weapon fit for a king according to the precedent set.
The power to fill the masses with a lie.
It was irony at its finest, that the man who once wished to replace the King for the society he'd created, had been born with the very power that made him unable to stand the world he lived in.
It was irony at it's finest.
That power in the hands of a shinigami in this day and age? They'd call that shinigami a danger to society, to the worlds at large.
In the hands of an ancient being that predated them? They called it the Soul King.
And so long as the Soul King reigned, inner peace would be a lie he fed them.
And that wasn't a world worth living in.
...
Urahara turned towards the new arrival, his gaze roaming over the unkempt captain, or former one at any rate even though Yamamotto had yet to bother promoting someone else.
Ichimaru Gin had definitely seen better days.
Between the tattered captain's cloak he was evidently still allowed to wear, to the haunted if slightly confused look to his baggy eyes, the former captain from an appearance's viewpoint had taken the latest revelations rather hard. Though if Kisuke was to bet on it, he'd guess the man was likely still processing the fact the Aizen he'd once followed was no longer in the picture.
Said captain, Aizen, was currently humming an idle tune as he watched Kurotsuchi uncuff the bemused former prisoner.
The rest of the captains had all filed out to another room with a clear view of this particular one.
Despite perceived expectations, the gateway Kurotsuchi Mayuri had come up with wasn't a one-click button, nor an opening in space, that pushed someone down to hell but rather a surprisingly high level of reiatsu manipulation engrained into the very walls of the blank room they were in.
He'd of course thoroughly checked through the man's invention- Even if the order had come from someone Kurutsuchi wouldn't cross so openly, that didn't mean he was stupid enough to trust the former underground prisoner on his word alone. Like Aizen did. Which, well, was just further proof of how utterly different this version was compared to the one he'd always known. He doubted that Aizen even trusted his own thoughts let alone another soul.
But still... Kurotsuchi's invention was... Admittedly impressive. Very impressive. Almost impossibly so at that rate.
For all the explanations the man had deigned to give every question he'd thrown at him regarding said gateway, regarding the process of creation he'd used, he'd barely understood half of it, and given he'd once figured out how to create a Hogyoku said quite a bit...
It was almost worrying in a way.
Yes, he'd been exiled for quite a while- Had been forced to work with whatever scraps he could get his hands on- But that alone couldn't have explained the sheer leaps and bounds the scientist in front of him had managed to figure out.
He knew, deep down, that had he been offered all the resources at hand, and all the time necessary for it, Urahara wouldn't have been able to replicate the accomplishment in such a small amount of time.
It was something he'd given the man genuine credit for- And surprisingly enough, when he'd done so earlier he hadn't taken it the way he'd expected.
Kurotsuchi had just shrugged at him for it, uncaringly.
...The world really had changed, he couldn't help but think, his mind briefly roaming back to simpler days.
Letting out a sigh at that, he turned his attention elsewhere from the feelings that thought gave him.
Instead, he watched Ichimaru Gin, the man currently rubbing his wrists, his gaze slowly moving away from the indifferent scientist, toward Aizen Sosuke. The suspicion in his face not wavering, nor having even changed since the last time he'd seen him.
Urahara wasn't sure how to feel about the fact the former captain seemingly didn't care about everything he'd been debriefed on so far, his goal clearly still the same as it's ever been.
"...So, let me get this straight." Ichimaru finally started up, his gaze locked with Aizen, now free of his reiatsu seals. "You want me and Urahara," The man idly pointed a long thin finger in his direction. "To come with you down to Hell," Idly glancing towards Aizen, Urahara held in the urge to sigh at the fact the guy looked like he wasn't even paying attention right now. "To fight an army of powerful souls that you claim is currently working for the Soul King? Who you've now convinced everyone else is our enemy..." A beat passed.
"Sounds about right," Aizen shrugged, evidently proving him wrong on the fact he hadn't been paying attention.
"Right." Ichimaru deadpanned. "Question, do I actually have a choice in the matter or..."
"Well, you did kill a noble so..." Aizen snorted. "I mean you can say no, but you'll probably get executed for what you did, and then you'll wind up in Hell anyway." He shrugged. "Your call."
And wasn't that another bitter pill to swallow? Urahara felt almost conflicted with that particular truth. Yes, he'd always had a hunch on what happened when a shinigami captain died but...
He let out a sigh.
Theories almost always held a sense of safety in them in a way. The chance that they could be wrong helped curtail the darkest ideas and concepts that filled his mind regarding their world, but when they were laid out in front of him as absolute truths?
When the Captain Commander and members of the Zero Squad themselves confirmed it..?
He had to admit, it felt a little suffocating to think about.
In response to the threat, because it really couldn't be classified as anything else, Ichimaru Gin just narrowed his eyes at them. "...What if I don't want to be pardoned?"
He blinked at that.
The pardon was effectively the carrot Ichimaru had been offered to join this little venture and the fact it was been offered for killing a noble definitely made it a hell of a big one-
"Odds are, I probably won't make it back alive." Ichimaru continued, pointedly. "So, that pardon ain' really much of an incentive, is it."
"There are quite a number of safety-" He felt the need to speak out, only to promptly be interrupted by a scoff from Ichimaru.
"Please, the only one who's likely to come out of this alive is him." A beat passed. "And I doubt he's got any priority in bringin' us back with him."
Urahara let out a sigh at that- The man really was convinced this was all a ploy wasn't he? Was still convinced the Aizen he'd known was the one behind everything, despite the mountain of evidence against it- Not that he could blame him he supposed- At least to a lesser extent. Even he himself had been quite set against it, and it had taken venturing into Huaco Mundo and the sheer utter mess it had turned into before he'd started doubting his own thoughts on it.
"Hm..." Aizen idly stroked his chin at the words, a considering look on his face- Urahara blinked at the fact he wasn't even trying to reassure him, evidently deeming it a lost cause. "What do you want then?"
Ichimaru let out a mirthless snort at that. "Not even going to deny it?" The man drawled, his eyes narrowed again. The words earned a shrug from the other captain. "...What do I want for my life, huh." Ichimaru settled for continuing on given the lack of reaction, before he slowly turned his gaze downwards for some reason. "Your sword." He blinked at that. "I want to touch your sword."
...Well, that was unexpected.
"That way," Ichimaru's face split into a slight grin. "Even if you do end up killing me, I'll at least die knowi-" And was promptly interrupted as Aizen lackadaisically drew his blade out and pointed it at him.
"Go wild," Aizen deadpanned while Ichimaru stared at it, slightly unnerved.
"...This feels like a trap." The man remarked warily as he hesitated his hand, his gaze switching between Aizen and him for some reason. "Oi, Urarara-" That wasn't his name. "-mind doing the honors first?"
He let out a slight sigh at that- During their previous stint as prison neighbors, the man had given him several lectures on everything he'd known about the former Aizen Sosuke's Zanpakuto spirit.
Needless to say, none of them had matched up with the thing that had put Ichibe in a blasted death loop.
He made to say he wasn't interested before he took in the serious look on the man's face and decided to oblige him. Taking a few steps closer, he touched the tip of said blade and moved back. "Happy?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll be happier when he's six feet under," Ichimaru muttered.
Aizen chose to just ignore that threat for some reason. No quips, no remarks to it- The man just wiggled the blade in his hand impatiently, which seemed to annoy Ichimaru all the more for some reason.
After another brief lapse of silence, with the two seemingly having a staring contest of sorts, Ichimaru slowly reached his hand out and grabbed hold of the blade.
Urahara's gaze slowly fell towards the impatient scientist in the background idly tapping a finger against his other hand, his gaze somewhat difficult to read- Well besides the utter annoyance visibly showing on it anyway.
Urahara had to admit, out of every other captain so far, Kurotsuchi was the only one that-
"Uh... You going to let go of the blade or?" Aizen's voice broke him out of his musing as he turned his focus back on the matter at hand. He tilted his head the slightest bit as he noticed the fact Gin was still holding the tip of the blade for some reason.
Hadn't he said that touching it was the only thing one needed to do?
Thinking on it for a moment, Urahara let out a sigh when he noticed Ichimaru's conflicted expression. The man had likely expected something to change. Had expected some form of illusion to waver or disappear... But nothing changed. There was no illusion to break out of- And he very much doubted Ichimaru had been prepared for that.
"Uh, Gin?" Aizen's voice washed over the room again. "You uh," The man coughed, and slowly tried to pry his blade away to no success. "I can't lie this is starting to feel like a H.R. complaint right now..." He deadpanned, before tilting his head.
H.R.? Urahar blinked. Was he... Was he talking about a Human Resources department..? After a moment of thinking that over, he personally ignored the need to double-take at the fact Aizen Sosuke apparently knew what H.R even was-
"Or would it be an S.R. complaint?"
And didn't that have an ominous undertone to it?
Soul Resources? Sheesh, given everything he'd learned so far that was probably far more apt than it had any credit to be, and not for any good reason either!
"...Nah, that just sounds like a mid-pull."
...Okay that he had no clue on.
"...What's a mid-pull?" He asked, idly wondering if that was some kind of department in the futu-
"A four-star," Aizen immediately answered as he turned his gaze towards him and away from the man still holding his sword, albeit with a lot more dread and panic than before.
"A four-star what?" He questioned, bemused.
"Well, if it's a Stheno, a four-star disappointment." Aizen deadpanned toward him while still trying to wriggle his blade out of Ichimaru's grasp.
...What? "What?" He repeated himself.
Aizen idly scratched at his head with his free hand. "...Look at it this way," He locked eyes with him. "If the Soul King got a Stheno, he'd kill himself."
That... That told him nothing at all-
"Probably." Kurotsuchi decided to join the conversation at that point for some reason.
Aizen in response to that, and his clear growing confusion, elected to chuckle. "Yup, even the Almighty must answer to Gacha."
What the hell was a gacha!? Was he missing something? Was this important? Why was he the only one here not to understand it? Had he missed some sort of advancement by Soul Societ-
"...I very much doubt the Soul King," Kurotsuchi emphasized, evidently offended for some reason, "would abuse his power for such a selfish and pointless reason."
...He was so confused right now... He made to turn towards Ichimaru if only to see whether the man was understanding any of this- Nope, he was just staring at the blade with a thousand-yard look for some reason.
"Shit, I definitely would." Aizen snorted.
"Clearly." Kurotsuchi sighed.
"...Is anyone going to tell me what a gacha is or not?" Urahara ignored the sense of disappointment that had swelled in him for having to ask- Based on the ease they spoke about it, they made it sound like it was common knowledge, and Ichimaru Gin didn't look like he was going to help him confirm that.
Honestly, it was starting to feel like a personal attack at this point.
"It's a future thing," Aizen shrugged.
"...But Kurotsuchi isn't from the future?" He replied, warily.
Aizen snorted at that as well. "Mayuri technically ain't from the present either."
His eyes rapidly narrowed at that, his mouth almost just as quickly about to open to ask what that could've meant- Had Kurotsuchi somehow figured out a way to peek into the future!?
"He's calling you a boomer." Kurotsuchi promptly cut off his coming question and left him with his jaw slightly open.
"...What?" He questioned, once again lost. "What the hells a boomer?"
Aizen gave him a deadpan look. "With hindsight, it's ironic is what it is." A beat passed. "Him calling you one I mean."
...That told him absolutely nothing. "You're not making any sense right now," He remarked passively, his annoyance dying down as his gaze moved between the two scientists- When he caught Ichimaru still holding the former's blade, he felt a headache start to form. "Is this important? 'Cos I am starting to think you two are just trying to-"
"It's a human world term." Kurotsuchi cut him off again, though this time with a loud sigh. "Stop overthinking it," He shook his head at him, clear disappointment on his face.
He wasn't sure what he twitched at there, but it was definitely warranted. "...I find that hard to believe," Urahara remarked, grinding his teeth the slightest bit. "On account of having been exiled in said human world for the past century!" He took in a breath. "If anyone's likely to know the terms associated with that place, it'd be me." He finished, calmly.
About as calmly as Ichimaru Gin was currently holding Aizen's blade anyway. Which given the man seemed to be shaking his head in sheer disbelief, and likely mounting panic, said quite a bit.
In response to that, Kurotsuchi just gave a deadpan look. "...And the fact you don't, just proves my point that you are one."
He held in the urge to twitch at that.
"Okay, okay, let's cut him some slack," Aizen decided to cut in. "We got a Soul King to stop remember, this hardly seems like the time to be doing a bit like this, don't ya think Mayuri?" The man blinked once at that, took in Kurotsuchi's passive expression, and promptly snorted for some reason. "Alright, you know what- Even you gotta admit asking you that was funny."
He gave up then and there on trying to understand what was going on.
Kurotsuchi for some reason just let out a sigh at them. "Just go to Hell already," The captain made to turn towards- Urahara blinked at the sight of an inconspicuous lever mounted to the wall behind him.
He hadn't noticed that there before.
"Ironic." Aizen chuckled.
"It really isn't." Kurotsuchi instantly responded. "I am starting to think you don't understand the meaning of that word."
For a moment he made to question it before the sound of Ichimaru taking a few steps back took his attention. The man had finally let go of the sword, even though the look on his face was still filled with disbelief for some reason.
"...You lied to me?" He barely heard the whisper that came out of him. "That's it right? You must've lied to me about it?"
Needless to say, the other two elected to ignore the man's words, instead focused on... The meaning of irony for some reason.
He let out a long, long, sigh at that and calmly held the bridge of his nose as Aizen gave out one wrong example after another.
"...I got it," Aizen called out, idly sheathing his blade. "Irony is... Not resetting over a Fionn just because it finally wasn't a Stheno?"
Kurotsuchi processed that for a moment- The sheer concentration on his face, for some reason, filled him with annoyance even if he didn't understand a single blasted thing that had come out of Aizen's mouth there-
"No, I believe that's just plain stupidity."
"Aha, plain stupidity just a symptom of irony!" Aizen responded with glee.
"...I can't believe the fate of the Balance is in your hands," Was all Kurotsuchi had to say to that.
"Okay, you saying that is-"
"No it isn't," And without so much as a word regarding the stupidity going on, Urahara watched as Kurotsuchi pulled the lever behind him, and activated the gateway on the floor.
...
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