Lex Talionis

Chapter 9

* Earlier Today *

Yoruichi ran away from her division, laughing quite hysterically at what would sure to be a humorous encounter between her new Lieutenant and young Byakuya. She sometimes wondered if she went a little too far in her pranks, but shrugged it off and continued her trek across the Seireitei. As fun as her small pranks were on Ichigo, she did have admirable goals in mind that would hopefully come as a result of said pranks. Yoruichi had one more in mind and hoped with the enlistment of a fellow Captain, her goals would be fulfilled.

"Lisa-chan! Where are you my Lisa-chan!" hollered the jovial Captain of the 8th Division. He felt rather dejected as of late. The ladies in his division were especially distant, and no one was interested in sharing a drink with him, but that never deterred him in the past so he didn't allow it to hinder him now.

Yoruichi landed gracefully behind the unsuspecting Captain before she lightly tapped him on his shoulder.

He curiously turned around, and there was no one to be seen.

He turned yet again to resume his search for Lisa, and was completely surprised to see Yoruichi but an inch away from his face, causing him to yelp in surprise and nearly drop his sake.

"Oh, Yoruichi-san, you shouldn't scare me like that," Kyoraku exclaimed.

Yoruichi merely smirked, "You knew full well that I was there, you're not a very good liar."

His only response was to smile softly and lightly shrug his shoulders, much to Yoruichi's amusement.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company Yoruichi-san," the Captain asked with a friendly tone as they walked on the division's grounds.

"What, I can't just stop by to see how you're doing Captain Kyoraku?" she said nonchalantly.

"You're not a very good liar, Yoruichi-san," Kyoraku retorted.

She laughed at the banter, but complied nonetheless, "I wanted to ask what you think of my new Lieutenant."

Kyoraku glanced upwards as he recalled the man in question, "Ichigo-kun? He seems well enough."

Yoruichi looked at him skeptically as they continued walking, "I'm a bit worried about him," she confessed.

"Why do you say that, he's probably just nervous about being a new member of the Gotei 13. I'm sure that once he's acclimated your worries will be put to rest," Kyoraku tried to assure.

Yoruichi halted in her steps, pondering over her worries and concerns, "But he keeps everyone at arm's length, or more accurately, he keeps everyone at sword's length. Only one thing can come from distrust like that, and I'd like you to help."

Kyoraku raised his eyebrows at that statement, "Me? I'm not sure what I can do."

Yoruichi raised her arms in a shrug, "Share a drink, share a woman, I don't care. All I know is he could use some friendly faces."

A grin suddenly sprout on Kyoraku's face as an idea formulated in his head at the sight of one of his subordinates, and Yoruichi soon found herself curious, "Got a plan?"

Kyoraku simply nodded his head towards the object of his gaze.

Yoruichi followed to where he nodded and saw the Lieutenant of the 8th Division, Yadōmaru Lisa.

* Currently *

Ichigo exited the Central 46 chambers, deep in thought and contemplation etched across his normally passive features. That is, until a voice interrupted his musings, "How did the meeting go?"

Ichigo halted in his tracks and looked behind him, the petite figure of Lisa was leaning against the wall of the Central 46 chambers. He couldn't seem to resist looking at her from head to toe, the shortened uniform easily revealing her long legs bathed in the moonlight.

"I cannot discuss the matter. May I ask why you are here Lieutenant Yadōmaru?" he asked trying to shake the thoughts that protruded his mind.

Lisa pushed off the wall and walked up to Ichigo, holding out in hand his Zanpakuto, "My Captain asked that I return this to you since he was called to an emergency Captain's meeting, and just call me Lisa."

Ichigo looked down at her extended hand before retrieving his Zanpakuto and strapping it to his waist in its usual position, "Thanks...Lisa. Do you know what the meeting is about?"

"Nope, but I was planning on finding out," she said.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her, "The meeting is for Captains only."

"Well I'm curious, it's human nature and can't be helped. Feel free to join me if you want, if it eases your conscience you can act under the guise that you were trying to stop me all along," she said nonchalantly.

Ichigo couldn't deny that he too was curious and so they both walked side by side in a comfortable silence, taking small pleasure in the night sky and light breeze as they headed towards the 1st Division.

While Ichigo was perfectly comfortable walking in silence the entire way there, Lisa fell prey to her curiosity once more as she asked Ichigo a question since she knew so little of the 2nd Division Lieutenant, "How do you like the Gotei 13 so far?"

"Different than I expected," he replied.

"And the 2nd Division?" she asked.

"A bit lackluster," he said as they turned a corner and walked down a different corridor.

"Care to elaborate?" she asked in attempt to garner more information.

"Not particularly," he stated.

Lisa glanced towards him as they walked side by side, "You're not very social, huh?"

"You could say that," he replied vaguely.

After several minutes of more silence, Ichigo decided that a little divulgence wouldn't hurt, "The previous Lieutenant's example didn't help motivate the members to train at the level that's to be expected of their position, but the Captain is acceptable, although I could do without her eccentric tendencies," he explained.

Lisa could easily understand his rationale; the previous Lieutenant of the 2nd Division was a bum, and her Captain had the market on eccentric behavior.

"She even allowed me to make some changes to Seireitei security," Ichigo said as he recalled his meeting with Yoruichi.

* Flashback *

Yoruichi was sitting down in her office snacking on her usual food when Ichigo entered and sat himself down next to her.

"What's up Ichigo, want to spar?" Yoruichi asked cheerfully.

"Perhaps another time. I wanted your permission to make some security changes to some of the Onmitsukidō divisions" he requested respectfully.

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow, curiosity evident, "What kind of changes?"

"While I was looking over the structure and policies of each division, I noticed some flaws. Most importantly, divisions such as the Inner Court Troop are extremely vulnerable to becoming compromised," Ichigo stated.

This caused Yoruichi to straighten her posture a bit more and place her snacks down on the table beside her seat, "Explain," she said in all seriousness.

"The messengers of the Inner Court Troop maintain anonymity, as do some of the members of the Patrol Corps, which is required given the need for confidentiality, but that anonymity creates the risk of anyone being able to pose as a member of either two divisions," Ichigo pointed out.

"What do you suggest then?" she asked.

"It's not a complete and perfect solution, but it would significantly reduce the chances of infiltration: passwords," he said.

"Passwords?" Yoruichi said curiously.

"Yes, passwords. First, we'd assign unique passwords to every member or team of the Inner Court Troop and Patrol Corps. These passwords would originate from either you or I and be relayed to a division's Corps Commander, and from the Corps Commander they would be relayed to members and teams within their division. Second, the passwords would change every twelve hours or when necessary. Lastly, unless on special assignment, members and teams will be rotated with inactive members at random as an extra precaution in case their password is compromised," Ichigo explained.

Yoruichi scratched her temple, obviously trying to comprehend this new idea her Lieutenant wants to implement, "That's a fairly complex system Ichigo, what exactly do we achieve by implementing such changes?" she asked.

"We can confirm the legitimacy of their position within the Onmitsukidō, or at the very least it provides a line of defense against infiltration that otherwise wouldn't be there," Ichigo stated.

"I'll leave it up to you then," she said lazily, reaching for her snacks once again.

Ichigo nodded in acknowledgment.

* End Flashback *

"Seireitei security?" Lisa questioned, but Ichigo merely gave her a look expressing quite clearly that he wasn't going to expound on that kind of information. She settled for what she got and didn't push her luck, and then something her Captain told her when he asked her to return Ichigo's Zanpakuto came to the forefront of her mind.

"My Captain tells me you were checking me out when I went to go read with Nanao," she said with the most neutral voice she could muster.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the ever subtle signs of a blush, and his nervousness certainly made the site amusing, "Glad to know there's a person in there," she thought humorously.

Ichigo soon contained his anxiety and just before he could retort to her remark, she cut him off, "We're here."

While Lisa positioned herself directly beneath one of the windows of the meeting room, Ichigo opted to lean against a wall roughly twenty yards away.

Several minutes passed in relative silence, until a commotion inside the meeting room could be heard, and eventually Lisa raised herself up to the window and peaked inside, much to Ichigo's surprise.

A moment later Lisa was running away from the meeting with a determined look on her face. She looked towards Ichigo and merely said, "I've got an assignment, see ya."

Ichigo observed her running away, very much becoming distracted by her form once again, and much to his embarrassment she looked over her shoulder and stared knowingly into his eyes. Ichigo abruptly turned away and walked towards the meeting room doors, while Lisa stifled a laugh at his behavior before she faded into the Seireitei.

The doors to the meeting room opened, revealing the exiting forms of the Captains. Ichigo patiently awaited the arrival of his Captain to discover the reasons for this emergency meeting. Although he had only been Yoruichi's Lieutenant for a couple of weeks, he was quick to learn her expressions, however subtlety different they were, and she was definitely concerned.

As he approached she was soon to notice him, beckoning him over with a stern look on her face, gone was the normally mischievous expression.

"I want you to update all of our patrols within the Seireitei, we're on high alert, and change the passwords," Yoruichi ordered.

"Of course. May I ask why we're on high alert?" Ichigo asked following in step with her.

Yoruichi paused in her brisk walk towards the 2nd Division, "The investigation team from the 9th Division just went missing, Captain Kensei and Lieutenant Kuna included," she said grimly.

"I'll move out at once," Ichigo said before flash-stepping away.

Ichigo flash-stepped throughout the Seireitei, intercepting and updating the stealth patrols of the details concerning the emergency meeting, or at the very least the details he was aware of, before finding a secluded area to update the passwords.

Ichigo began drawing black lines on his arms and hands while he started an incantation, "Black and white net. Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly though the heavens. Bakudō #77. Tenteikūra," and as he held out his palms, a glowing box formed and he had now established mental communication with the various members of the Onmitsukidō to update their passwords.

Since meeting with these members would draw attention to them and possibly lead to them becoming compromised, and relaying the passwords via paper or word of mouth, either could be intercepted or overheard. Bakudō #77. Tenteikūra ensured the maximum amount of secrecy for all involved.

As he continued traversing around the Seireitei, checking the security detail and further updating patrols, he noticed Captain Kyoraku walking through the streets and decided to try and garner a bit more information on the situation.

Ichigo landed on the ground several yard behind the 8th Division Captain and called out to him, "Captain Kyoraku!" as he tried catching up.

Kyoraku looked over his shoulder, recognizing the voice, "Oh, Ichigo-kun, working hard I see," he said ever so friendly.

"Ah, I've been checking security and updating our patrols on the situation, but I know very little on the matter and was hoping you could shed some light on the crisis at hand," Ichigo said.

"Hmm, I suppose there's no harm in telling you, especially given your responsibilities," Kyoraku mused before continuing, "As you may have been aware, souls in the Rukongai have been vanishing over the past several weeks, and the 9th Division was charged with leading an investigation into the matter."

"Yes, I heard as much," Ichigo replied.

"Well, ten of their members didn't report in, and tonight we discovered that those who were sent to find them also went missing, including both the Captain and Lieutenant of the 9th Division, hence the urgency," Kyoraku explained.

"Do you know the details surrounding the disappearances of the Rukongai citizens?" Ichigo asked.

"The Rukongai citizens?" Kyoraku thought aloud, "Well, according to the 4th Division, the souls are no longer able to maintain their form and as a result disappear, or so goes the theory."

Before Ichigo could ask any further, Kyoraku's attention diverted up towards one of the nearby building's second floor, much to the confusion of Ichigo.

"I guess I was being paranoid," the Captain muttered more to himself than anyone else, but Ichigo heard him quite clearly, "Well, it looks like Lieutenant Aizen's having a bout of insomnia too."

"Captain Kyoraku, have you been drinking tonight?" Ichigo asked, a hint of concern in the sound of his voice.

Now it was Kyoraku's turn to be confused, "Why do you say that Ichigo-kun? I'm as sober as Yama-jii."

Ichigo looked up to where Kyoraku was looking, then looked back at the apparently sober Captain, "There is no one up there."

Kyoraku's eyes widened in complete shock, looking back at the second floor and seeing Aizen quite clearly. He then noticed two patrolmen heading towards them, "Oi, do you see Lieutenant Aizen up there?" he asked, pointing his thumb towards the second floor building.

The two patrolmen straightened at the sight of Captain Kyoraku before looking at the direction he was pointing and nodding in the affirmative.

"See Ichigo-kun, they see him too, are you alright?" Kyoraku asked.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He doesn't see or sense anyone in that vicinity, and yet these two patrolmen and Captain Kyoraku are convinced otherwise. What is going on? Why does he suddenly have a bad feeling about tonight?

"Think. Why would there be an illusion of Aizen?" Ichigo pondered as Kyoraku continued looking at him with concern, as uneasiness began to grow in the pit of Kyoraku's stomach.

"He placed this illusion in a visible location, but why? He wanted people to see him, or his illusion rather for the purpose of..." the gears in his head were turning, and realization dawned on him, "witnesses!"

"Why does he need witnesses...it convinces them of his location and his actions. His actions would likely be routine as to not arouse suspicion, as suspicious actions would be counterproductive to his goal. All that remains is his location. He wants to prove his location, at a specific time. Wait a minute...time! He proves his location at a specific time, the same time that the 9th Division's investigation team goes missing!" Ichigo knew he could always trust his instincts, and something was definitely off this evening.

"Captain Kyoraku, how are we responding to the disappearance of the second investigation team?" Ichigo asked quickly, urgency seeping through his words.

"Several Captains and Lieutenants were dispatched to the last reported location, why? Is something wrong?" Kyoraku asked, keen on sensing Ichigo's mood.

"I'll explain on the way," he said before flash-stepping away, Kyoraku hot on his heels, and the two patrolmen thoroughly confused.

Both Ichigo and Kyoraku were leaping from wall to wall, roof to roof, the destination unknown to the 8th Division Captain, but he felt he could trust Ichigo's judgment, "What's going on Ichigo-kun?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes in concentration, still trying very much to make sense of what was going, but replied nonetheless, "I believe the Aizen you just bore witness to was indeed a fake, more specifically an illusion."

Kyoraku's breath halted in shock and eyes widened in surprise, which Ichigo noted as he looked behind his shoulder at the normally laid back Captain, "It seems as though you weren't being paranoid at all, Captain Kyoraku."

After traveling for what seemed to be mere minutes, which wasn't surprising because of the speeds they were flash-stepping, Kyoraku recognized where they were at, the 5th Division.

"This is Aizen's room," Ichigo stated as he slid open the door.

"Ichigo-kun, we cannot be breaking into a Lieutenant's quarters," Kyoraku admonished.

Ichigo paused, obviously considering something, before he said softly, "Do you recall that I was summoned by the Central 46?"

"Yes of course, I was there," he said.

* Flashback *

As Ichigo entered the Central 46 chambers he didn't know what to expect. After setting foot in the chambers he already devised seven different scenarios in which he could execute them all and escape differently each time. This summons caused an almost overwhelming amount of suspicion and concern to attack his mind, but he remained calm and calculating, a level of composure that allowed him to survive this long in life.

He stood in the center of the room and one of the highest judges in the room spoke, "Fushou Ichigo. Lieutenant of the 2nd Division of the Gotei 13. Corps Commander of the 1st Division Executive Militia of the Onmitsukidō" he stated before a pause, "Welcome to the Central 46 chambers."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, that sort of greeting doesn't resemble the kind that would be addressed to that of a criminal.

Knowing full well the personality of those in the position of power such as the Central 46, Ichigo had to watch what he said and how he said it, otherwise they might be addressing him in a much more hostile manner.

Ichigo bowed at the waist and spoke clearly, "It is an honor to be in your presence. I humbly thank the Central 46 for the privilege to stand in your chambers. How may I be of service?"

He could hear several murmurs of approval; it was so easy to manipulate individuals of this arrogance.

"It has come to our attention that one of the members of the Gotei 13 are under suspicion. We would like you to determine whether they are a threat to their fellow Shinigami and should be detained in Special Underground Detention Facility," the man explained.

"Forgive my ignorance, but would this task not be more appropriate in the hands of our 3rd Seat and Corps Commander of the Detention Unit given the nature of this assignment?" Ichigo asked, trying to acquire more information behind this mission.

"You were recommended specifically by Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni and the suspect's Captain, Hirako Shinji," the man stated.

Ichigo couldn't entirely hide his reaction, but enough to prevent suspicion, "The suspect...is Aizen Sōsuke?"

"That is correct."

* End Flashback *

Kyoraku was speechless, to say the least, but soon regained his composure as he relented and they both entered Aizen's quarters.