Lex Talionis
Chapter 10
They both crept carefully into the room of Lieutenant Aizen as they looked for anything suspicious. The room itself was rather plain, a bit too plain as far as Ichigo was concerned. The room consisted of one bed, one desk, and one closet. There were no decorations, mementos, keepsakes, or anything that would inform anything about the individual who occupied the bedroom.
Ichigo smiled lightly as realization dawned on him, "He's an arrogant one, Lieutenant Aizen," he remarked to Kyoraku.
Kyoraku continued to inspect the bedroom before asking, "Why do you say that, Ichigo-kun?"
"He doesn't think anyone would suspect him enough to search his room, and thus he found no reason to decorate it. Most people feel compelled to add something to a room, to give them a sense of stability, something that can make them feel more at home. Since he doesn't want anyone to suspect him of anything, he tries to pass off as a normal person. It stands to reason that since he never expected anyone to search his room, he didn't need to keep up the facade in his own quarters," Ichigo explained while looking for any security measures set in place along the walls.
Kyoraku paused in his inspection, pondering a thought before saying, "Do you have any decorations in your room Ichigo-kun?"
"No, but I'm not a normal person either," he replied simply.
Kyoraku chuckled and resumed his examination.
As Ichigo's palm slid against the wall feeling for any points of no resistance, his eyes widened as he discovered an empty space behind the wall, "Here."
Kyoraku ceased looking along the roof and approached Ichigo, looking at where his hand had paused, "Behind the wall?"
"Well, considering you have to cause some irreparable damage to the wall in order to access it, Aizen will know upon returning that someone was both in here and discovered whatever it was he's hiding," Ichigo theorized.
Ichigo focused some reiatsu at the tip of his fingers before he slid them across the wall, allowing him to pull down the concealment and thereby creating a rather noticeable hole. Behind the hole, however, was a green opaque barrier.
Ichigo tried to gauge the barrier's strength by pushing some reiatsu against its outer edge, and soon discovered it was Kidō far beyond his level of experience. He glanced at Kyoraku, "Think you can dispel it?"
Kyoraku smiled lightly, "Let's find out, shall we?"
Kyoraku mimicked Ichigo's previous movement and tried gauging the barrier's strength by pushing some of his reiatsu against its outer edge. He then began whispering a very quiet incantation, far too quiet for Ichigo to overhear, and a few seconds later the barrier was dissolved.
They both saw three vials behind the barrier, all of them placed in some sort of rack much like one you would see in a laboratory. The contents of these vials had some sort of clear liquid in them with speckles of black. What stood out the most to them, however, was the feint detection of Hollow reiatsu that emanated from the vials, which concerned them both immensely.
"Do you think this has anything to do with the vanishing souls?" Kyoraku asked a bit worriedly.
"I have a feeling they do, Captain Kyoraku," Ichigo stated.
Ichigo carefully reached out towards one of the vials and with a gentle and steady hand picked it up. After noticing nothing happened, or exploded, he was slightly relieved that the vials could be transported.
"My apologies if I am overstepping my authority Captain Kyoraku, but I have a request to make of you," Ichigo said.
"Given the circumstances it's quite alright Ichigo-kun, what is it?" Kyoraku asked, his seriousness matching Ichigo.
"I would like you to take these vials. Give one to the 12th Division and the other to the 4th Division, ask them to analyze and determine what the exact contents of these vials are," he replied.
"And the third vial?" Kyoraku said.
"Hold on to it in case something happens to the other two. The less people know, the better, and if anyone asks...you only found two vials," Ichigo elaborated.
"Understood," Kyoraku said before retrieving the vials and carefully placing them within his uniform, "What will you do?"
Ichigo stood up and walked outside the quarters, "I'm going to find Aizen and figure out what he's up to," he replied before drawing a black circle on the ground and beginning an incantation, "Bakudō #58. Kakushitsuijaku," and the circle glowed brightly as he focused intently.
He searched and searched until finally he located the spiritual signature he was trying to track, "Found him. Aizen is somewhere near the 63rd District of North Rukongai, and the investigation team is nearby, but their signatures are erratic."
Worry glazed over Kyoraku's features, concern for his Lieutenant quite evident much like the Captain himself observed in Urahara earlier that evening.
"I will handle them, you must get those vials to the 12th and 4th, Captain Kyoraku," Ichigo said, trying to instill a little more focus into the distracted Captain.
"Of course," Kyoraku stated, and just before he flash-stepped away Ichigo spoke once more, "And one more thing. Refrain from telling the Captain-Commander until I give you a signal," Ichigo said before flash-stepping away from the 5th Division and soon out into the Rukongai districts heading north.
Ichigo did his best to remain undetected upon his approach, but he was well aware of the fact that time was crucial, so he had to find a balance between perfect stealth and his quickest flash-step.
He landed gracefully in some brush and silently maneuvered through the dense forest until he found an opening within the woods where he discovered the investigation team. He settled himself behind a tree and some bushes as he observed what he saw before him, unbeknownst to anyone in the area.
Captain Hirako was laying on the ground, obviously injured, but shock seemed to preoccupy him more than pain did at the moment, "You're...Tousen!"
The man he was referring to had some type of mask on his face and based on his uniform he appeared to be a Shinigami.
"Why? You...betrayed Kensei..." Shinji continued.
"Kensei is the Captain of the 9th Division, this Tousen must be someone within his division then, so he is indeed a Shinigami," Ichigo mused.
"Your own Captain?" Shinji confirmed as Tousen removed his mask.
Ichigo heard more than sensed the arrival of the man he was looking for...
"He didn't betray anyone. He's quite loyal. In fact...he obeyed every order that I gave to him. Please don't get angry with him, Captain Hirako."
"Aizen!" Ichigo thought, while Shinji vocalized his thoughts.
"Aizen...? I knew it! So you started all this!" Shinji exclaimed as he looked up from where he lay.
"Then you noticed? I'm not surprised," Aizen commented casually, as if this were an everyday conversation.
"Course I did!" Shinji stated.
"Since when?" Aizen replied, his calmness conveying how well prepared he was, or so he thought.
"Since you were kickin' around in your mama's womb," Shinji said, much to Ichigo's amusement.
"I see," the 5th Division Lieutenant replied.
"No, you don't," Ichigo thought with a bit of humor despite how grave the situation was at the moment.
"I always...knew ya were dangerous; that ya weren't a man to be trusted. That's why I chose ya to be my Lieutenant. It was so I could watch you, Aizen!" Shinji said.
Aizen merely chuckled in amusement, his arrogance quite obvious to Ichigo given what he had discovered thus far about the Lieutenant and his plans.
"Yes, and I'm most grateful, Captain Hirako. Thanks to your constantly doubting me, you never even realized," Aizen said appreciatively.
"I just said that I did!" Shinji said with growing frustration in his voice.
"No, you didn't see a thing. For this whole month, I wasn't the one walking behind you," Aizen revealed, much to both Ichigo and Shinji's surprise.
"A whole...month?" Ichigo thought with utter shock, "Impossible!"
"I can...make my enemies believe anything I want them to. That's my Zanpakuto's, Kyouka Suigetsu's, true ability. I refer to its power as...absolute hypnosis," Aizen stated.
"Absolute hypnosis?" Shinji questioned.
"You're a clever man, Captain Hirako. If you had treated me the same way the other Captains treat their Lieutenants, you might have seen through it. But you never tried. Since you never trusted me, you always kept me at arm's length. You never opened your heart to me, never shared any information. You never tried to know me. And that is why you never noticed...when I had someone else take my place. I had my substitute memorize my behavioral patterns and the way I interacted with you and the other Captains. If you had truly formed a relationship with me, you would have noticed slight differences in our ticks and mannerisms. The reason you're down on the ground right now is all because you never bothered to get to know me," Aizen explained with great detail, which proved to be very informative for Ichigo.
"Why...why didn't I see his illusion? Why is it Captains Kyoraku and Hirako were both susceptible to this...ability?" Ichigo thought intensely. "I'm quite sure they would've noticed getting hit by some type of attack while Aizen's Zanpakuto was released, otherwise it would've drawn far too much attention. Unless it's an attack that affects an entire area and doesn't necessarily require a point of direction. Or perhaps...perhaps the release induces these effects with some form of visual or auditory signal. Mirror Flower...Water Moon, his Zanpakuto's name implies some form of visual qualities. Since I have yet to see his release or any abilities exclusive to his Shikai, then it stands to reason that witnessing either one will place me under this 'absolute hypnosis' so it would be best to monitor my vision," Ichigo rationalized before diverting his attention back to the conversation at hand.
"You should take the chance to apologize to your friends. They're on the ground, bleeding and unconscious because I chose you," Aizen said in a very neutral tone, but it was easy to interpret the fact that Aizen was being very condescending.
"Aizen!" Shinji shouted as he stood up with his sword drawn and before he could strike at his Lieutenant, a thick white substance sprang forth from one of his eyes and mouth, much to both Shinji's and Ichigo's surprise.
"Thank you for letting my little taunts anger you," Aizen said again in a neutral tone.
"Damn it! Me, too?!" Shinji said in disbelief just as the investigation team standing behind him all displayed the same symptoms Shinji just presented.
"Aizen! What's going on?!" Shinji said, his temperament becoming more erratic.
"It seems that Hollowfication proceeds quicker if the subject is agitated," Aizen observed.
Ichigo's thoughts immediately went to the three vials he and Kyoraku discovered in Aizen's quarters, "They must be related. The strange liquid, the Hollow aura that surrounds it, the two can't be a mere coincidence."
"Hollowfication? What's...that?" Shinji questioned, half of his face now dawning what appeared to be a mask very much resembling that of a Hollow.
"You don't need to know," Aizen said before glancing off to his right and saying, "Kaname."
The traitor within the 9th Division whom Shinji referred to as Tousen replied, "Yes sir!"
A look of realization dawned on Shinji's face as he shouted out, "Don't!"
But it was too late, Tousen had flash-stepped in front of Urahara's Lieutenant and slashed her across the chest, causing her to fall face forward.
Shinji immediately retaliated by attacking Tousen, but Ichigo's attention was diverted by something that caught his eye long before Tousen even moved let alone attacked a member of the investigation team.
Ichigo stealthily made his way through the brush and placed his blade against the neck of whomever ventured out here. The individual wore a dark blue robe with an upturned collar, which seemed quite unusual to Ichigo, but he disregarded it for now, "Do not move. Do not make a single noise. If you do, I will kill you," he said quietly but enough to be heard.
He could feel the person stiffen against the touch of his blade, and much to his shock he found himself in a similar situation, "The same goes for you," he heard a voice behind him.
"I didn't sense him at all...what the hell?" Ichigo thought, quite dumbfounded at being caught off guard.
He soon regained composure however, as he recognized the voice of the man who stood behind him with a sword pressed against his throat, "Captain...Urahara?" he asked curiously.
The blade against his throat was a bit more slack, but Ichigo decided against taking advantage of the lapse as a fight now would reveal them all to Aizen, which he was sure would do none of them any good.
Ichigo slowly removed his sword and held it out to his side, "It's me...Lieutenant Fushou," he stated.
Urahara immediately withdrew his blade and they all exhaled in a sigh of relief.
Ichigo spared a glance behind him and was relieved to see it was indeed Urahara, and he wore some sort of cloak, which he gathered was the reason for why he couldn't sense him.
Recognizing that he wasn't alone in this situation anymore, a plan began to formulate in his already active mind, and as he knelt next to the man in front of him he realized that this plan might just work.
"My apologies for usurping your authority in this matter, but I'm following orders from the Central 46," Ichigo explained, both men a bit taken aback at this revelation.
"I will share with you what I know," he said before taking a glance back at Shinji and Aizen, not noticing anything to worry about right away he continued with his explanation, "I will have to give you the condensed version as we are short on time, but I will do my best to not leave anything out. Kyoraku and I discovered two vials in Aizen's quarters this evening. These vials contain some kind of liquid substance with black specks and has the aura of Hollow reiatsu. This leads me to believe, after witnessing what has just happened to Captain Hirako and the investigation team that Aizen used the contents of these vials to cause this 'Hollowfication' process to take place," Ichigo said quickly and quietly.
Urahara's eyes widened in surprise, "Hollowfication?" he asked.
Ichigo simply nodded his head in the affirmative.
"Hollowfication breaks the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow, it was something I came across in my research to strengthen souls, given the recent disappearances of souls," Urahara explained.
Ichigo absorbed the information and continued on with his report, "Well, Aizen's Zanpakuto has the ability of complete hypnosis. As we speak, an illusion of himself is in the Seireitei. Apparently for the past month Aizen has put this illusion in his stead," he explained, "But it doesn't seem to affect everyone. I only noticed it this evening because Kyoraku acknowledged Aizen while we were having a discussion, I've been otherwise preoccupied with my responsibilities to discover Aizen's illusion."
"Why doesn't it affect everyone?" Urahara questioned, his curious scientific mind at work despite the graveness of the situation.
"Kyoraku said that he could see Aizen on the second floor of a nearby building, but I saw nor sensed anyone in the direction he was referring to. Since it's his Zanpakuto's ability, that would at the very least require Shikai. That being said, this hypnosis must either be induced by witnessing the release of his Shikai, or it's an ability he executes while his Shikai is active, and since I have seen neither..." Ichigo trailed off glancing back at the ongoing battle between Shinji and Tousen.
Urahara also looked at the fight, worry etched across his face and he began to stand, "We need to help him," he said solemnly.
Ichigo placed a hand on his shoulder and lightly pushed him back down, "Wait!" he whispered abruptly.
"Aizen has been operating in secret for this past month...I saw him in the Spirit Library the day before the Shinigami Academy Graduation Ceremony. Would this 'Hollowfication' information be in such database?" he questioned, his mind racing to discern exactly what Aizen was plotting.
Urahara ignored being pushed down and pondered the thought, "I suppose so, I can't imagine where else it would be except for my division's computers."
"He put in place this illusion so he could operate in secret and yet...the timing of his appearance at such a late hour in front of Captain Kyoraku and several other division members can't be a mere coincidence. Aizen is far too calm and collected right now to not have planned in advance...so what could it be? Why would he need to be seen if he didn't plan on killing the investigation team? With everyone who witnessed tonight's betrayal dead, why concern himself with having an alibi..." he contemplated, and then an epiphany smacked him directly in the face as he stared at Urahara's look of concern as he peered out at the battle between Shinji and Tousen.
"Captain Urahara, is it likely that if no survivors were accounted for, that Soul Society would investigate further into this matter?" Ichigo questioned.
Urahara glanced back at Ichigo, prying his eyes off the ensuing battle, "Why of course, they wouldn't ignore something like this."
"The souls in the Rukongai...if they were exposed to this 'Hollowfication' what do you think would be the most likely result?" he questioned, hoping his theory was wrong.
"They would likely...vanish!" Urahara exclaimed, although aware not to raise his voice.
"Aizen began this experiment on Rukongai citizens, which eventually gained the attention of the Gotei 13. The Gotei 13 then charged the 9th Division with investigating and soon followed were ten missing Shinigami..." Ichigo said before Urahara cut him off.
"And tonight we will have several Captains and Lieutenants who will either die or vanish...Aizen wanted stronger test subjects who could withstand the exposure!" the 12th Division Captain stated, catching on to Ichigo's train of thought.
"Unless Aizen plans on luring the Captain-Commander out into the Rukongai, it stands to reason that this is the end of his experiments since there is no one stronger than a Captain or Lieutenant. He must have some plan in place to cease any further investigation, and since the Gotei 13 would continue their investigation with no survivors, he plans on leaving a survivor, or rather..." Ichigo said with a deathly tone.
"Someone to...take the fall," Urahara said in fear.
"Tell me, Captain Urahara. Who would you think was capable of something like this?" Ichigo asked, the graveness of his words bearing down on the 12th Division Captain.
"Me."
"He is expecting you. That is why he had his illusion display itself in such a public location, because he was going to let you live in order to take the fall, and with such a numerous amount of witnesses, any blame directed towards him would be completely ignored," Ichigo realized.
Urahara was shocked. Shocked to the point of speechlessness. But Ichigo's suspicions of Aizen mentally prepared him for these revelations.
Ichigo glanced back at the battle, Aizen was walking towards Shinji with his blade drawn, they needed to act quickly or else they could consider the 5th Division Captain dead.
"Who are you?" Ichigo asked the man he pointed his blade at earlier.
"Captain Tsukabishi, of the Kidō Corps," the man stated evenly.
Ignoring the surprise that welled up within him, Ichigo quickly laid out his plan, "You and Urahara shall transport the investigation team back to the Seireitei. Both the 12th Division and 4th Division have already begun analyzing the contents of the vials, and with you there assisting them, reverse engineering it could lead to a cure. I will distract Aizen long enough for you to execute a Sentan Hakuja, but we must go now!"
Urahara regained his confidence and composure, and both he and Captain Tsukabishi nodded their heads in acknowledgment. Before Ichigo left from their hiding spot, he turned back to look at Urahara, "When you arrive at the Seireitei, tell Captain Kyoraku that I said...he can drink sake now, he'll understand what it means," and before they could ask him anything else he flash-stepped into the open, casually walking towards Aizen.
"We will wait for his distraction," Urahara said with seriousness.
"Yes, Urahara-dono!" Captain Tsukabishi responded.
Moments before Aizen's blade came down upon the suffering 5th Division Captain, the arrival of Ichigo halted it in its tracks, much to Ichigo's relief.
"Lieutenant Aizen," Ichigo said passively.
"Lieutenant Fushou," Aizen said kindly.
Shinji was both relieved and surprised at this development, but was struggling as it was to hold back the progression of the Hollowfication.
"What are you doing here, Lieutenant Aizen?" Ichigo questioned as he continued closing the distance between himself and the traitors.
"Oh, he found us," Gin chimed, but Ichigo paid him no attention.
"I'll kill him!" Tousen spouted as he began to draw his sword.
"No, there's no need," Aizen stated.
"But-!" Tousen began to retort before Aizen cut him off.
"Kaname, I said that there is no need," effectively silencing him out of fear.
"Yes, sir! Please forgive my impudence!" Tousen nearly begged as he kneeled before Aizen.
"Lieutenant Aizen, I will not ask again. What are you doing here?" Ichigo said.
Aizen's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "I'm afraid I do not report to you, Lieutenant Fushou."
Ichigo slowed his approach, placing himself between Aizen and Shinji, before glancing at Gin, "Tell me Gin, when the Gotei 13 are an interior guard, who is the exterior guard?"
Gin had his ever present smile plastered across his face as if he didn't have a care in the world, "That would be the Onmitsukidō, Fushou-san," he chimed.
"Ah, the Onmitsukidō. As you can see Lieutenant Aizen, given the fact that Seireitei is on high alert with the Gotei 13 positioned as interior guards, I am well within my right to question your purpose for being this far away from your assigned post as a Corps Commander of the Onmitsukidō," Ichigo stated.
Ichigo noticed Aizen's brows furrowed a mere centimeter, but it was a big enough tell for him to realize he was getting to the normally composed Lieutenant.
"As you can see, I just so happened to have stumbled upon the investigation teams, which were apparently injured in battle. I was going to try to heal their wounds," Aizen explained.
"You two-faced sack of shit-" Shinji roared before falling prey to the Hollowfication once more.
Ichigo began circling Aizen and his apparent followers, turning their eyes away from the investigation teams as he spoke, "Why are you lying to me?" he asked, letting the question hang in the air.
"Lying?" Aizen asked curiously.
Ichigo decided to test one of his theories, "Tell me, Lieutenant Aizen. Would your research in the Spirit Library, and the state the investigation team is currently in, have any connection with each other?"
The surprise was evident. Aizen's eyes had visibly widened, and that was all he needed to confirm his theory.
"You're falling into my trap Aizen," Ichigo thought with amusement, "I just need to push him a little more."
"Tell me, Lieutenant Aizen. What healing technique involves the use of one's Zanpakuto?" Ichigo pressed on as he continued circling around them.
"Tell me, Lieutenant Aizen. Why does a member of the 9th Division appear to be so loyal towards you? Why is it that the only unharmed member of the investigation team just so happens to be someone who loyally obeys you?" Ichigo continued.
"Tell me, Lieutenant Aizen. Why did you just try to kill Captain Hirako?" Ichigo said before stopping.
Ichigo could notice the clenched hands and furrowed eyebrows of Tousen, he had obviously struck a nerve with him. As far as Ichigo was concerned, he didn't look all that different from Aizen, it's just that the Lieutenant had far more control containing his expressions.
"Now!" Ichigo realized.
"Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō" he said while pointing his index finger at Aizen.
Six thin, wide beams of light came crashing into Aizen's midsection effectively immobilizing him, much to his surprise.
Ichigo didn't want to chance anything and began a second incantation to strengthen the spell before using another binding spell, "Bakudō #63. Sajō Sabaku," he said while holding out his palm and then closing it, and golden chains quickly wrapped themselves around Aizen, further immobilizing him.
Ichigo faced both palms outwards before saying, "Bakudō # 21. Sekienton," and red smoke propelled out of his hands, obscuring everything from view that was both to the left and right of them, including the injured investigation team.
Ichigo was going to cast another Kidō spell but soon ceased in his movements as a voice spoke to him, "I want to play, Ichigo."
Ichigo resumed his original posture before he lightly chuckled, "Interesting," he said more to himself than to Aizen.
Aizen was quickly trying to dispel the binding spells so he could make use of his Zanpakuto, but it was taking longer than he expected.
"It appears...that my Zanpakuto wants to play with you three," Ichigo said, the deadliness in his voice betraying no emotion as they recognized the implications of his words.
Ichigo drew his sword, and held it out to his side with the blade pointed upwards and he said in the softest of whispers, "Hide, Gekkō."