Author's Notes:
Uh, well. . . how long has it been? Nine months? Yeah, I. . . don't really have a good excuse here. It's all just a combination of life and laziness. The next chapter though should be easier to get done, due to it being less action-focused. . . well, should.
Soifon was, before all other things, a professional. Protocol had demanded that an officer of any rank heading into a scenario with so many unknown factors would have backup, and as such she had assembled appropriately strong, seasoned veterans to cover her, should she need them. But as she made her way toward the targets, she became increasingly doubtful that there would be call to use them. The reiatsu sources were small- well, enormous by human standards, but incomparable to the vast well of energy that comprised the spiritual mass of a captain-class shinigami. Unless they were ludicrously good at hiding their strength, or unless they carried some very special tricks up their sleeves, this should not be too challenging.
Of course, she would not be giving them much time to react, at least not if they had any considerable strength. She was an assassin, and she would behave as such- honourable fighting was an idea invented for fools who weren't prepared to do what you needed to win.
"Han, Sen, take position to the south." She said quietly, and the two operatives nodded, wordlessly obeying her orders, dashing away to the south. "Mei, Doku, east and west flank. Sei, cover my rear. There are seven hostiles in that building, empowered humans of somewhat unknown level of strength. I will exterminate them personally. On my signal, if necessary, you will storm the building. Protocol six- you know the drill."
Protocol six: Complete annihilation. When the solution to a problem was death, and the most effective tactics had to be employed. She would handle this personally- if not for her pride as a captain, then for how she was the strongest, fastest and most vicious in the corps. She had earned her robes, and it was good practice to keep her skills sharp with real action.
The building was in sight. Moving fast, and without a sound, Soifon and her team took their positions. Soifon climbed the side of the building with ease, looking in through the cracks in the wall as she prepared herself to strike. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven… all accounted for. Scanning them all carefully, she picked the first target…
Far off, at a distance where she could not even see them, Tatsuki followed, feeling… excited. She didn't have to see them, really- she knew where they were headed, toward the Fullbringers' headquarters. Part of her wondered if she should help, if she should alert them… but this was shinigami business, and it wasn't for her to meddle. If captain Soifon had business with them, then that was between them and her.
Tatsuki was not naïve. Soifon was an expert killer. She had heard enough back at the Soul Society, and though she hadn't asked much about the stealth corps, putting two and two together wasn't difficult. They were professional killers, and they were going to target the Fullbringers.
It made sense. They were shady as hell, and they had obviously been trying to manipulate them- her, and Ichigo especially. Get them on their side, because… they were strong, they had bankai, and that made them assets of war. Just what was going on, she wasn't sure of- but whatever was coming, they were probably bringing on themselves.
Moving as carefully as she could, Tatsuki headed toward the Fullbringer house, her heart pounding. She should probably walk away… but somehow, she didn't want to.
oOo
In the residence of the Fullbringers things had settled down for the night. Although all of them had been gathered in the mansion's living room, the reason behind it had been more coincidence than anything else. Jackie, Riruka and Moe were watching some sci-fi movie on the only television in the house, with Ginjo's permission, and despite Yukio's protests- he would much rather have used it for some console gaming. In response, Yukio had decided to sit down together with them in silent protest to play on his handheld, which thus far seemed to be rather unsuccessful. The three of them were too caught up in space battles, explosions and light saber duels to take much notice of a sulking teen.
Meanwhile, Giriko was busy cleaning up the remainders of their dinner, despite some half-hearted protests against this, and how he with as a former barkeeper always ended up doing this sort of thing. As usual however, his protests had been short-lived, since the old man usually couldn't resist the others' pleas for too long.
Ginjo and Tsukishima had withdrawn themselves to the other end of their room, to their favourite spot: The big, ominous armchairs. Away from the distracting noise of the television (as far away as you could be from it without leaving the room, that was), Tsukishima sat. As usual, he was reading a book, while Ginjo was- not as usual- hanging after his own thoughts.
"…Can you believe it, though?" Ginjo suddenly said at one point, breaking the silence between them.
Knowing full well that he'd not be able to continue reading now, Tsukishima let out a sigh and put a bookmark into his book, closing it. "What is it this time, Ginjo?"
Ginjo turned his head to Tsukishima and gave him a frown. "I did notice your tone, y'know. But, anyway… don't you think that it is an odd feeling? That after all these years we may finally be able to reach our goal? Being able to abandon this life… and finally openly fight against the Soul Society. Make them pay for what they did to us."
"It probably wouldn't feel as weird if you hadn't been asking me variations of this exact question at least once per day recently." Tsukishima noted dryly.
"I didn't-!" Ginjo protested, only half indignant, because he knew Tsukishima was not wrong.
"But even so… you're right." He cut Ginjo off before he could voice any complaint. "This… everything has been how I've lived most of my life. The thought that it might all change soon is, admittedly, feels rather unreal."
Ginjo's agitated expression softened, and he started to smile. "It'll be a change for the better. For you, and all the others, regardless of whether they'll decide to stick around for the war against Soul Society or not. Once we've convinced Kurosaki-" He paused.
Slowly, Ginjo turned his head towards the nearest window, his eyes growing wider and his skin paler as he did.
"…Ginjo? Are you alright?" Tsukishima asked, confused.
Ginjo turned his head back towards Tsukishima, cold sweat running down his face. "Don't you sense it?" He said, his voice sounding strained. "Something's here… Shinigami… strong Shinigami!"
"But- there's no way they could know where we are, right?" Tsukishima asked, more composed than Ginjo but no less shocked.
"They shouldn't, no… but we can't take any risks."
Ginjo stood up. "EVERYONE, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING! WE'VE BEEN FOUND!"
oOo
A hint of annoyance passed across Soifon's mind, as she launched herself into the building. The humans had somehow been able to sense their presence. How it had happened, if she hadn't concealed herself well enough or if they were especially talented, didn't matter. As she descended through a crack in the wall, having broken it wide open with a single, charged punch, she headed for her first target, pulling her zanpakutou out in the blink of an eye. In less than a second she had closed the distance, toward a tall, mustachioed man. True to an empowered human he had reacted, bringing up an arm, and she could feel his reiatsu surge-
But it was much too late. Brushing aside his pitiful attempt at guarding himself with her free arm, she let her blade slide into his throat from the side, and with a simple twist she cut it open. Blood gushed from the man's neck, and he let out a gurgle, grasping at it as if it could save him. Soifon was already moving, a single step having taken her several yards away before the blood could spray on her.
For an instant, she paused, quickly looking around her, analyzing the situation. Unless some extraordinary ability kicked in, the man she had just cut was dead. Less than ten seconds had passed, and you could tell a lot in that time. Whenever she put her men on a drill, rapid response was always of the essence. In ten seconds, you could grab a weapon, get into a stance, begin an attack or evaluate your enemy.
These humans, though, were barely reacting. Some of them looked on in shock. One or two seemed horrified at the death of their comrade. It was clear to her that these were not trained soldiers, or experienced fighters. Just humans. Remarkably powerful humans, but humans still.
Before she picked her next target, she looked through the group of humans. Two stood out- Ginjo, the traitor, already had a sword out, and a young-looking man near him had produced a weapon as well, looking perfectly calm. Soifon made a note to consider the two the most dangerous- priority targets whenever possible. There was a child there, looking no older than thirteen- shocked. A pink-haired young woman- angry, shocked. A dark-skinned woman- shocked. An angry young man with a strange hairstyle- assuming a stance, although a clumsy and untrained one. None of them looked particularly fit, or experienced, but there was always the possibility of unknown abilities.
"Pitiful." She said, looking over them. There was no need to rush this. They were weak, much weaker than anticipated. Clumsy, untrained, and the only unknown factor was what unique abilities there might be. Getting too hasty could be a mistake. She would take them on, and hit and run if necessary. "This is the rabble that a traitor gathers for himself?"
Ginjo blinked. "Who- who the hell are you, shinigami?" He blurted out angrily.
"Your executioner, scum," Soifon said coldly. "You need know no more than that."
"Damn it…" Ginjo muttered. Soifon could practically feel him think, plan his next move- decide if he should run or fight, if he could do either one… hopefully he decided on the latter; hunting them down individually would take time.
However, both their trains of thought were interrupted, as Riruka stepped up. She held up her hand, and as she raised her thumb, a small heart appeared, twirling around rapidly.
"I don't know who you are, bitch," Riruka said loudly, "but I permit you! Addiction shot!"
Quite rapidly for a human ability, the little heart shot toward Soifon. She could sense nothing strange about it, no real power behind it- but she was taking no chances. Quickly, she moved back- only to find the little heart moving after her, still closing in as if a quick burst of shunpo had done nothing. Inexorably, the heart came after Soifon, and within a couple of seconds it had connected with her arm. Instantaneously, the whole world seemed to warp, and in a flash of pink, Soifon was seemingly gone from the world.
"Well…" Ginjo said, taking a breath. "That was close. Jackie, Moe, check outside, and be careful. Riruka, make sure she stays inside.
"Oh, please," Riruka said, rolling her eyes. "Nobody escapes my doll house. She just got cocky, and now she paid the price."
"We need to know more." Tsukishima said. "Who sent her, and why. Who tipped her off."
"Well and true," Ginjo said, "but right now, we need to move, and I mean now. If they found us once, they'll find us again."
Soifon found herself in an unfamiliar environment. It looked like a house, the strange and modern kind you'd find in the world of the living sometimes- only not quite right; everything was too bulky, too clumsy, and… well, there were the toys. Giant-sized teddy bears, bunny rabbits, dolls- and that was just this room. The room in question took the shape of a luxurious bedroom, although poorly designed. Cautiously, Soifon made for the door. What was this trickery? That had been no attack spell- was this some pocket dimension created with magic? It had to have been potent to draw her in so efficiently.
She might have wondered and wandered for some time, but then the roof came off- lifted away, she could see, by a giant hand. She raised her head, and staring down on her from above was that red-headed woman with pigtails… only enormous. Gigantic.
"How do you like my doll house, murderer?" She said gleefully, her voice being like the rumble of thunderstorm. Doll house. Giant. Badly proportioned house. Soifon hadn't been teleported elsewhere, she had somehow been… shrunk. She was under the effect of somebody's magical ability- this was exactly the kind of unknown she had feared.
"We're going to have a talk later, oh yes," The red-head continued, "Tsukishima is going to get to you, and then you'll tell us everything we know…"
Soifon resisted the urge to swear. She had chosen caution, to evaluate her opponents, when she should have dashed forward to kill. Well, cursing your past mistakes was no help. So… what to do? There was precious little one could do to counteract a special ability, be it from a zanpakutou or elsewhere.
Well, except one thing. The most fundamental rule about battles between spiritual entities, like hollows or shinigami, was: it's your reiatsu against theirs, and any ability either one has is only as effective as the power source behind it compared to the power of its target. This one was human, and a young one at that. Soifon was well over a hundred, an experienced captain… they were not equals. Which meant she had a card to play, albeit one she had certainly not expected to play so soon. Simply, she let her coat drop to the floor, and put a hand to her shoulder. She could feel the second division insignia on her skin glow and stir, as it began to activate.
"Limit release," She murmured to herself, and prayed it would work. Being the commander of second division had its advantages- like not having to wait for approval for this sort of thing.
"-and I want us all to get to the safe house downtown… no, that's too close-" Ginjo said, when suddenly he and everyone else felt the surge, the spike in power. Riruka's dollhouse strained and groaned under the pressure, until it finally cracked, and standing before them again was the shinigami, reiatsu blazing off her at full throttle. There was no mistaking it- this was a captain. Ginjo tried, and failed, to resist swearing.
"Well, fuck," He grumbled, pulling his sword up.
"Nice try," Soifon said coldly. "My turn."
oOo
Letting out the very definition of an annoyed groan, Ichigo let his head fall on his desk, which at the current time was entirely covered in his notes. Thrilling and adventurous as his life as substitute Shinigami might be, it did not help him with his studies in the slightest, as the vast majority of his evening in over the last few weeks had proven. Keeping up with… just about anything had never been particularly easy as a law student, and hunting hollows with the others had made it even harder.
By far the most bothersome thing to Ichigo about this situation, however, was that he used to be a lot better with regards to his studies. He used to have no problem understanding most of the subject matter in class, and while his grades hadn't been top-notch, they were still rather good. Now, his understanding of the things that he was supposed to learn was slipping and his grades would most likely follow suit soon. And all because of his little substitute Shinigami hobby…
Pausing his thoughts for a moment, Ichigo started to grin. The thought was just too ironic: Over the past few months, he had been in mortal danger more times than he could count, and yet here he was, feeling anxious over his academic situation. Not that it wasn't appropriate, though… he would need to seriously rethink how he wanted to balance out his substitute Shinigami duties with the rest of his life if he didn't want to drop out. Fulfilling and (often enough) thrilling as it was, this little Shinigami hobby that Rukia got him into would not help Ichigo in any way with his actual life.
Giving up entirely on his studies for the time being, he let his thoughts start to wander. Rukia… how was she doing now right now? All things considered, probably decently at best. After all, if what Ichigo remembered from the situation at Soul Society back when they left, the entire Gotei had been starting to make preparations for war. By now, they would most likely be in the middle of this preparations- and seeing as Rukia was ultimately just one of many Shinigami, she would be caught up in these preparations. That was definitely still preferable to being executed, though.
Thinking about this, Ichigo could not help but to feel a kind of nostalgia for all the time that he spent with Rukia. Sure, she could get on his nerves very easily (and he could easily get on hers), but she had nevertheless just been fun to be around- and that wasn't even getting into the gratitude that he still felt for her bringing him into this world…
Ichigo raised his and looked up. For a moment, he thought that he had felt Rukia's reiatsu… but he quickly realized that it was something else entirely.
Another Shinigami. Or to be more precise, another strong Shinigami, fighting.
Ichigo stood up. Whatever was going on, there was no doubt that it was more important than his studies.
oOo
"No!" Riruka cried out in disbelief, staring at her broken dollhouse. "I per-"
She got no further than that, as Soifon surged forward. The pitiful human didn't even try to guard herself- or more likely, couldn't- as in the space of one second, Soifon stabbed her sword into her chest once, straight forward, through one of her lungs. Before Riruka had even let out that breathless gasp and sunk to her knees, blood pouring copiously from the fresh, vicious cut, Soifon was on the move. In the space of a second she had moved, a single flash step taking her halfway across the room. As she had predicted, only the traitor and his cold-eyed friend had at all kept up, bringing their weapons to bear.
Another one of their comrades dead, one of the fullbringers seemed to have had enough. The young man with the odd hair style had produced a pair of brass knuckles, which judging by their reiatsu emissions were his weapon of choice. A look of absolute fury on his face, he charged forward, and roared,
"YOU FUGGIN' MURDERER-"
In one quick move, Soifon stepped forward, and swung one leg in a strong roundhouse, and felt the small, noticeable crack as his neck snapped. Hit by the momentum of her kick, the young man slammed into the floor, slid a yard or two, and stopped, his head twisted to an unnatural angle, his eyes rolled back into their sockets and his tongue hanging out. His reiatsu was fading quickly; he was quite dead.
It was pathetic. They were weak. Powerful, accomplished for humans to be sure, yet completely beneath her. But she was not here to pass judgment. She was here to eliminate her targets.
"Who the hell are you?" The traitor demanded. "Are you with the Gotei?"
Ignoring the idiotic question, Soifon took a step forward.
"Shit!" Ginjo said. "All right, Tsukishima, try to get a hit in! Tristan, cover my back! Yukio, hang back and support!"
He had barely finished the sentence when Soifon jumped forward again. He raised up his sword, reacting quite well for a human, but Soifon gracefully moved past him, sailing over his swing. Her target was the chaff, the weaker two. She could deal with the two of them later, and would rather not risk being exposed to any more random abilities. Quickly, she flung a throwing knife at the child, who was trying to conjure some sort of weapon. It caught him in the chest, and he fell over, but she didn't even see it, as she was already moving to take on the tall woman. Her reiatsu had surged; no doubt she had activated her own power. Surprisingly quickly, she let a roundhouse kick fly at Soifon. It was ridiculous- however fast she was, it was only a human with a human's limitations. Easily, Soifon dodged under the kick, and launched herself up, slamming a fist into the tall woman's face. She staggered, and before she could recover, Soifon had raked her blade across her neck, arterial blood spattering over the floor.
Flicking her zanpakutou, to get rid of the excess blood, Soifon turned to face the remaining humans. Five down. Two to go.
oOo
Warily, Tatsuki eyed the mansion. She had followed the Shinigami all the way from Karakura to this place, trying her hardest to not draw attention to herself. Just as she had expected, Soifon had led her group right to the Fullbringer's headquarters, which she herself had just entered, while the rest of her team was apparently observing from the outside. Tatsuki herself meanwhile had climbed a nearby tree, from which she could keep an eye on both the Shinigami and the mansion without being discovered herself… although she had a rather strong suspicion that the Shinigami would not notice her even if she was in a more open spot.
These Shinigami were here on a mission. They had a goal that involved the Fullbringers and seemed way too focused to even take notice of any other Shinigami around. Of course, the key word in this was "seemed". These Shinigami were trained assassins – there was no telling if they were aware of Tatsuki's presence or not, or what they would do if they did in fact know she was here. In any case, she was determined to not draw any unnecessary attention to herself. There was no way she would pass up an opportunity like this to-
To… do what, exactly? Help the Fullbringers in case they would be attacked? Watch the Shinigami do whatever they intended to do with them? Help the Shinigami? Inform Ichigo, Orihime and Uryu somehow of what was going on?
During the entire way from Karakura town to this place, the question on what to do had been lingering on her mind, although she pushed it back, hoping that she would have an answer ready by the time they reached their goal- but now they were here, and Tatsuki was none the wiser on what to do. Of course, the Fullbringers were terribly shady people, and to the Gotei probably terrorists at best… but did they really deserve to be killed like that (which, Tatsuki was sure, was the entire reason why Soifon and her team were here)? But on the other hand, it was not like she would be much of a help even if she did decide to help the Fullbringers. Back at the Soul Society, she had barely been able to take out one captain, and that was together with Ichigo, Orihime and Uryu- and now, there was an entire team of assassins, including their captain who was an assassin herself. No… taking any kind of action here would be suicidal.
Taking a deep breath, Tatsuki focused her attention back on the Fullbringer's headquarters. She would remain where she was, and just observe what was going on. Any other decisions could still be made as the situation progressed.
Although admittedly, there wasn't really anything to "see" per se. The windows of the Fullbringer's house were illuminated alright, but seeing what was going on inside was just downright impossible. The only thing Tatsuki could tell was the presence of the reiatsu inside the house, and that was not really all that revealing in regards to what was happening. All she could tell was that the Fullbringers were moving about a lot, and seemed to be… upset, or something along those lines?
And then one of them was gone.
Tatsuki felt a cold shudder run down her spine. Any last doubts that she might have had about the reason behind the presence of the Shinigami were gone now. This was, beyond any doubt, an execution.
By now, she could also hear yelling from inside the mansion – the Fullbringers were readying their powers, and started attacking… more moving about… they seemed to be calming down… and then…
And then a new reiatsu seemed to appear out of nowhere. Strong, very strong- Soifon. The Fullbringers' reiatsus tensed once more, and one in particular flared up, got stronger, as if to launch an attack- and just a moment later, there was a huge hole in the wall closest to Tatsuki.
Well, at least she wouldn't have trouble in seeing what was going on now.
oOo
Ichigo dashed through the park, an increasing feeling of uneasiness building up inside him. The closer he got to the point where he had felt the surging reiatsu the less he could deny the obvious. Whatever was happening, it was happening in-
The Fullbringers' mansion. The voice of Zangetsu echoed through his head.
Startled, Ichigo slowed down for a moment and almost tripped, but still managed to keep his balance without losing much of his speed.
"Why do you have to speak to me now, of all times?" Ichigo snapped mentally, trying to stay focused enough on actually getting to his goal.
Do not worry, I will be silent in a moment. I just want to warn you. The spirit said coolly.
Ichigo resisted the urge to groan. "Oh, and what is that you know and I don't that's so important that you have surprise me like that?"
I am part of your very being, Ichigo. Said Zangetsu, his voice humming through Ichigo's consciousness. What I know is what you know- the only difference is that I am aware of things that you'd rather keep in your subconscious. That said, I want you to realize that whatever it was that you felt, it will have far-reaching consequences- and what you do when you get there will play a part in this. You know this already… but I wanted to make sure that you are actually aware of it.
"...What?"
Zangetsu sighed. To put into your terms: There's more serious shit going on here than you might think.
Ichigo remained silent, and so did Zangetsu. The uneasy feeling that was building up inside him was probably best described with what Zangetsu had just told him… the vague hunch that this was more important than he realized. Without another word, mental or otherwise, he continued to shunpo through the park.
Before long, the Fullbringers' hideout came into view- and one look at it made it already clear enough that nothing good would happen here. A large chunk of the building's top floor had been blown away, leaving an entire room open under the night sky, still illuminated by some lamps that he could not see.
Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks, and just stared at the scene in front of him. An odd feeling calmness filled him now that he was at his goal. Whatever was going to happen now, there was no turning back.
A loud, upset voice could be heard from the destroyed room, yelling something that Ichigo could not understand from where he was.
Figuring that he would have to climb one of the nearby trees to get a better view of what was going on, he looked around him. Only one of the trees was reasonably close enough to be suited for observing… and it was already occupied a figure in Shinigami robes that seemed very familiar to Ichigo.
"Tatsuki?" He asked, running up to the tree. And sure enough, the figure turned around, revealing herself to be his friend.
"Ichigo? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I sensed something going on, and came here as fast as I could… what about you? And more importantly, what's going on here?" Ichigo responded, all while making sure not to divert his senses entirely from the mansion. At the current moment, nothing major seemed to be going on there, but who knew how long that'd last.
Tatsuki nodded, having seemingly already expected that answer. "Same here, more or less. I was on a walk when I saw them arrive. I decided to follow them and see what happens."
Ichigo shot her a confused look. "And who are they, exactly? I sure didn't see them arrive, and could only tell that they are Shinigami."
Tatsuki gave him a look. "You met her already. Don't you recognize the energy? This is the captain of Squad Two, Soifon, together with her assassins. They are going after these Fullbringer guys."
A cold shudder ran down Ichigo's spine. Part of him had already expected that it was something like this was happening, but to actually have it confirmed…
Using a shunpo, he jumped up on the same tree branch that Tatsuki was standing on. Any last doubts that he might have still had after her words were blown away by the scene in front of him.
The entire room was blown to pieces. Bodies were lying all over the ground… one, two, three, four, five… and two figures that he could not make out clearly in the weak light were still moving about, clearly fighting.
Ichigo whirled around and grabbed Tatsuki by the shoulders. "They're killing them! They're killing them, and you're just standing here, doing nothing?!"
Tatsuki pushed his arms away and violently shoved him back, causing Ichigo to almost fall of the branch. "Well, why should I do anything? We are substitute Shinigami! We work for these guys! Or um, with them, at least!" She paused, and took a deep breath- he was clearly upset, and she had to be the mature one. Otherwise, it would just get worse. "What am I supposed to do, anyway? Charge in there to save a bunch of shady people? From a captain and a full team of assassins? I don't know about you, but I'm not going to commit suicide for them. They're dying and that's… that's horrible, obviously, but I can't do anything about it."
Ichigo said nothing, and just stared at Tatsuki. That's right… only he had heard Ginjo's stories. Only he knew what they wanted, and why the Gotei would hunt the Fullbringers down…
"…You went back to talk to these guys… didn't you, Ichigo?" Tatsuki said, looking at him with an increasing sense of disbelief in her voice. "Even after we all agreed that they were shady and untrustworthy?"
Ichigo opened his mouth to say something in response… but he couldn't think of anything to say. What did she know? Tatsuki hadn't been there to listen to Ginjo's story… of course, there was no guarantee that he had told him the truth, but if the others had heard it, it could helped them decide on what they'd do in regards to the Fullbringers, and in regards to the Gotei.
He shook his head. "Look, I thought that it would help if we-"
Before he could get any further, a loud scream from the mansion interrupted him.
"TSUKISHIMAAAA!"
Ginjo fought, swinging his sword with a desperate kind of focus. The assassin was fast, damn fast, and this was easily the hardest fight he could ever remember having. The controlled, heavy swings of his weapons was a terrible fit for her nimble, quick fighting style, and she would surely have found an opening- probably several- if not for Tsukishima having his back, covering his blind spots with quick little thrusts, not designed to hit but to deflect, to stop her from lunging forward and stabbing him.
His friends had all been killed. That fact had not escaped his mind, pushed away from his thoughts though it was. His ambitions were gone, crushed, null and void, and all the people in his group had paid the price for them. But all was not lost, not yet.
She had called her shikai already, which meant she took the two of them seriously. That was in itself even more bad news- otherwise, they would have stood a chance. But there was a ray of hope. Tsukishima's fullbring could turn the tide entirely. Just the one opening, the one clean hit, and she would be theirs- a captain, fully under their control. They could kill her and be done with it- that was certainly tempting. But Ginjo was practical, and he knew they'd be better off using her for their own gain. Just one hit…
Ginjo evaded yet another quick thrust from the captain's needle-like weapon, which was no doubt carrying some form of exceedingly potent poison, and swung his blade in a wide arc sideways. The captain dodged under it, but Ginjo had been ready. Quickly he spun around and launched a kick right to where the assassin would be. She caught it, naturally, blocking it effortlessly with both arms, but it was enough to send her reeling for just a moment. Immediately Tsukishima rushed forward, knowing he had only the fraction of a moment to strike. He raised his blade and brought it down, quickly. The assassin attempted to twist out of the way, her stinger launching forward to block it, but she missed. The sword cut right into her shoulder, and well into her chest, not leaving a single mark. They had done it. There was a look of confusion in the captain's eyes as she stood up straight. Tentatively, Ginjo took a step back- potent as Tsukishima's weapon was, it could take some time for it to take effect.
"Well, that was a close one," Tsukishima said with a smile. He was a psychopath, Ginjo knew, and the dead bodies of his comrades around him was likely no more than an inconvenience to him- he had won, and that was enough.
"Well, captain," Tsukishima said. "Remember me-"
He stopped, and let out a wheezing cough. A mark manifested on his chest, looking like a stylized butterfly. Just a second after it manifested, it grew twofold, the four petals of the mark becoming eight as another mark appeared over the first, twisting a few degrees to the side.
"Nigeki Kessatsu," The captain said coldly. "Anything my zanpakutou hits twice will die. But you didn't even notice that, did you?"
"N-no-" Tsukishima began, clutching at his chest. Ginjo felt his reiatsu fluctuate, spinning out of control, his soul being torn apart in the span of seconds. Tsukishima let out a desperate wheeze as he raised his sword- and then his eyes rolled back into his skull, showing only the whites, and he collapsed to the ground, quite dead. Ginjo took a short, sharp breath. Tsukishima. Him, too. In an instant she had stabbed him twice with that accursed weapon, faster than he had been able to see, and now he was… gone. He had watched over him since he was a child. They had always been side by side. They had been partners. As cold as Tsukishima was, he was the closest thing Ginjo had ever had to a son. Inside him, something broke.
"No… no…" He whispered. "TSUKISHIMAAAAAAA!"
"Thus to all enemies of the Gotei." The captain said matter-of-factly.
"You evil, ruthless, heartless bitch!" Ginjo snarled. He let the sword drop, its point burying itself in the floor, and he sunk to his knees. "Your people are monsters! You killed them all- all of them, and for what? For your chief tyrant? For your petty government of ignorant, oppressive bullies?"
"You turned your back on the Gotei, and broke its laws." The captain said indifferently. "Now you reap the consequences. If that has you in tears, your first mistake was trying to play the game at all. You are an enemy of the Gotei, and as such, you must die. That is my purpose. I need know nothing more."
As Ichigo heard Ginjo cry out, he jumped forward unthinkingly. Swallowing a curse, Tatsuki followed behind him. A quick couple of shunpo steps brought them inside the house, landing right beside Tsukishima. The sight of the place nearly made Ichigo sick. The fullbringers lay limp and lifeless all over the place, their blood leaking across the floor in ever-growing pools. He could see one or two of them twitch, he thought, but for the most part they simply lay very still. Ginjo was on his knees, with a desperate, defeated look on his face, and next to him lay Tsukishima. There was no blood, but he was very still, and his reiatsu had faded. There was no doubt he was dead.
"Ichigo?!" Ginjo cried out, having noticed him and Tatsuki. "Of course, now it all makes sense… you didn't believe a thing of what I told you, right? You just sold us out, and now you're here to watch them kill us off!"
"That's not-!" Ichigo blurted out, but Ginjo cut him off almost instantly.
"Take a good look around you, then! This- this is what the Gotei does! If you're not for them, you're against them, and it is only a matter of time before they hunt you down like you're just another target! Even selling us out won't do you well in the long run! Before long, they'll go for and your friends to, unless you agree to become their slaves!" With each word he shrieked out, he spoke faster and more agitatedly, until his voice cracked. He was beside himself, wide eyed, his shoulders trembling, a man at the furthest of emotional extremes.
"We didn't sell you out! THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT HERE BECAUSE OF US!" Ichigo yelled at the top of his lungs. He could tell that Tatsuki behind him was giving him a weird look, but it did not matter to him. Seeing Ginjo angry, worn down, broken as he accused him of betrayal... it somehow got to Ichigo more than anything else he had seen on this evening.
Ginjo gave Ichigo a glare of sheer, hopeless disdain. "Prove it, then. Help me. Help me avenge the death of my friends."
A cold shudder ran down Ichigo's spine. He turned to look at Soifon, who, since Tatsuki and he had shown up, had made any move. Her stance and expression made it clear that she was only waiting to see what they would do, and that she was ready to strike at any moment- no matter whether the target was Ginjo or Ichigo.
Ichigo shot a quick glance to Tatsuki, to see if she had any better idea on what to do, but all he got from her was a look that was as calculating as Soifon's.
"I- I can't…" He began, only for his voice to trail off. He wanted to say something, do something, raise his voice in support, in protest of this atrocity, to let Ginjo know that he was on his side on this. But at the same time, doing anything would be nothing short of an open rebellion against the Gotei while its best assassin was right in front of him.
Once again, Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but he still couldn't find any words. What could he even say? What words would work?
"Enough," Soifon said, taking a step forward. "Your heretical babble ends here, traitor."
"NO!" Ginjo cried. "No, you bitch, I won't let you, I WON'T LET YOU-"
He rose to his feet as he screamed, bringing up his sword for a last effort, but Soifon was faster. Before Ginjo had time to bring the sword down, she had raised her hand, and stabbed it forward once, twice, in the blink of an eye.
"No! DON'T!" Ichigo shouted, but it was much too late. With a shocked look on his face, Ginjo looked down at his chest, where the flower of Suzumebachi bloomed. He let out a last gasp, shot Ichigo a helpless look, and collapsed to his knees. Two seconds later he fell over, dead.
For what seemed like an eternity to him, Ichigo just stood there, staring at the corpse of Ginjo. Then he raised his head, fixating Soifon with an empty stare. Unimpressed, she just stood there and watched him, waiting for what he was going to do.
Ichigo put a hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou and let his reiatsu flare up.
Suddenly, he felt a strong grip on his shoulder. "Have you lost your mind, Ichigo? What are you doing?!" Tatsuki hissed at him.
Ichigo paused. Tatsuki was right… what was he doing? What should he be doing? Ginjo, Tsukishima, and all of the other Fullbringers were dead, brutally murdered by the captain of the Gotei's second Squad, and for what? Turning against the Gotei? No matter the reason, what he had just witnessed was cruel and unjustified. But attacking Soifon would only make things infinitely and unnecessarily worse for both him and Tatsuki.
He let go of his zanpakutou's hilt, and let his reiatsu drop. Ichigo took a deep breath. Now, that was forcing himself to calm down, he was starting to feel a bit nauseous… he'd need to sit down for a while and think.
Ichigo turned around to Tatsuki, removing her hand from his shoulder. "I'm sorry… I think I need a moment..." He mumbled, before trudging to one of the remaining walls which he leaned against.
Tatsuki let out a sigh of relief. It just absolutely baffled her how Ichigo had been behaving ever since he had shown up here. Jumping into an ongoing battle between the Gotei and the Fullbringers, talking to Ginjo like he owed him something, and almost attacking a captain of the Gotei… she'd really need to have a long talk with him later. For now, there was something else that she needed to do.
After taking a last look at Ichigo to make sure that he was staying where he was, Tatsuki nervously walked over to Soifon, trying to ignore the… remnants of the battle. Well aware of what risk she was taking by doing this, she stopped a decent distance away from her. The captain of Squad Two meanwhile just eyed her coldly. Tatsuki swallowed. Even though she was taller than the captain, she still managed to be the most intimidating person Tatsuki ever came across, even surpassing Kenpachi and Byakuya. And yet, at the same time, there was something undeniably impressive about her…
"I apologize for my friend's behavior. I promise that I'll make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid again." Tatsuki said, bowing. Silence followed her words, as Soifon continued to simply look at her.
"You needn't worry. Had your friend chosen to attack me, I would simply have incapacitated him. We have no orders to kill any of you." She then finally said. But despite the captain's reassuring choice of words, Tatsuki shuddered. The tone in which she had spoken made left no doubt for Tatsuki that she didn't have an order to kill yet…
Her mind was racing. She needed to say something else- something to reassure Soifon that they wouldn't be causing any trouble, that they could be trusted- but at the same time, she knew that there was nothing she could say that would change her mind about anything. But even so, she wanted to say something to better her standing with the captain. But before she could come up with anything, a familiar voice made all of it irrelevant.
"Well Soifon, it seems like you've found something to keep you busy." Tatsuki looked behind her. Standing amidst the corpses and rubble was Kisuke Urahara, grinning complacently.
"Urahara. What do you want?" Soifon asked, her tone and attitude shifting from the cold professionalism to one of simple annoyance.
Realizing that she had no part in this conversation, Tatsuki stepped back, and moved to Ichigo, who was still sitting with his back against a wall, paying minimal attention to the newly arrived shopkeeper.
Said shopkeeper meanwhile made himself comfortable in an armchair that had survived the battle relatively unscathed, ignoring Soifon's question until he had sat down. "Oh, I just want to congratulate you on a job well done. Nothing more… well, I like to make sure of things."
"…I will make sure that the soutaichou receives a full report on this mission and your involvement in it." Soifon responded after a pause. Tatsuki could not help but to smile a little- she was obviously not enjoying this conversation.
Urahara sighed melodramatically, and nodded. "Fair enough. Just make sure he knows I've been a good boy."
"A 'good boy'. A trustworthy ally, right…" Soifon scoffed, slowly walking around Urahara in his armchair. "You just so happened to make yourself a little useful. It does not entitle you to respect."
"My, my, my, dear Captain Soifon. What are you implying?" The shopkeeper spoke, remaining perfectly calm, not even looking her into the face.
Soifon stopped walking. "You may be an ally now, but you are a traitor at heart. These outlaws… you knew everything about them for a while before you even passed on the information, didn't you? Who knows- perhaps you were even allied with them yourself, and just send them to their death when you saw the most use in it? You have no place with us."
Urahara slowly rose from the armchair, and turned around to face Soifon. While his expression hadn't exactly changed, there was just… something about him that made it seems to Tatsuki like he was not quite as calm as before. "I'd like to ask you to refrain from making these pointless accusations. You know full well that I am not foolish enough to send you after these people if there was any connection between them and me. As for me withholding information from the Gotei- what does it matter to you? You wouldn't have listened to me before we became allies. I was just an exile to then, acknowledged but not accepted. But now? Now you need me, whether you like it or not."
"And really, whether these outlaws are dead earlier or are dead now is ultimately inconsequential. These Fullbringers were foolish, delusional people who were chasing after a pipe dream of getting their revenge against the Gotei. Had I not told you about them, you would've found and murdered them yourselves eventually. All I did was speed up the process- a quite merciful act of mine, I might add. You get something you want, I get something I want. A fair trade, I believe-"
He didn't get any further, as he found himself busy flying into a wall.
Tatsuki blinked. Ichigo was standing where Urahara had been standing a moment before, his fist still raised. "BASTARD!"
Drawing his zanpakutou, Ichigo rushed after the shopkeeper, to try and slash him- only to find his attack blocked by Urahara's cane.
"Kurosaki-kun! That was really rather rude of you. Couldn't you see that I was in the middle of a conversation there?" Urahara asked casually, as if he weren't busy locking blades with Ichigo.
Ichigo was in shock for the most part, slouched against a wall as he was. He was only vaguely aware of Urahara when he first walked in. But in the conflicted mess of emotion that was Ichigo's mind, it dawned on him. Urahara. Always with a hand in the game, some string to pull here or there. Of course he was involved. The shinigami had found the Fullbringers, hadn't they? They had hidden themselves for so long, but suddenly they were just… found. That didn't happen by itself. No, it was him. Of course it was him. Who else? Ichigo felt anger rising, rapidly replacing the shock and horror. All of this, all this bloodshed, all these people dead, because Urahara had sold them out…
They were no angels. That was probably true. But they hadn't deserved this. Quietly, he got to his feet, and ran at Urahara, who didn't even take notice of him. He slammed a fist into the man's chest, sending him flying into a wall.
With a yell of "BASTARD!", Ichigo held his sword up, thoughtlessly charging at Urahara again, looking to hurt him, to make him pay-
But then he stood up, that accursed shopkeeper, and blocked the blow with his cane like it were nothing.
"Kurosaki-kun! That was really rather rude of you. Couldn't you see that I was in the middle of a conversation there?"
"Rude?" Ichigo snarled. "You let all these people die! And for what? For money? Because you get off on having power over people?"
"You didn't know these people. I did." Urahara said calmly, not missing a beat. "Their leader was a manipulative bastard with just enough ambition to want to be somebody else's lapdog- Aizen's, as it happens. His second-in-command was a psychopath whose special power was brainwashing. If you rejected their offer, you could look forward to being made to think he was your best friend, to whom you owed everything. They chose the softer approach because it's more cunning, I suppose. Maybe they just wanted to prove they could."
Ichigo pushed, hard, but Urahara pushed back, and their swords strained against each other.
"These people were criminals, by soul society standards and by yours," Urahara continued mercilessly. "They were clever enough to humanize themselves to you, which is why you are confused enough to hold a blade to my neck- I, who have done nothing but help you."
"On whose word? Yours?" Ichigo growled. "Because I'm not feeling a whole lot of trust right now!"
"Ichigo, I understand." Urahara said dismissively. "You're young. You're not sure who to believe in. These people, who you got to know in some small way, just got killed before your very eyes. Because you're a good person, you assume killing is wrong. But believe me, nobody will weep for these people. They knew the risks of what they signed up to do, all of them, and the ones who were not psychopathic knew they were throwing their lot in with psychopaths."
He pushed back, and it was infuriating to Ichigo with what ease he did so.
"This was business between shinigami and their enemies. They challenged a powerful enemy. They lost. That is the way of conflict- you win, or you lose. All I did was expedite the process."
"You sound so damn sure," Ichigo growled. "That you have the right to just kill and take lives, right? Well, I'm hearing a lot of fancy fucking words, but the bottom line is you're an accessory to mass murder. Criminals? What a fucking joke! Criminals get a trial! Criminals are innocent until proven guilty! We don't act judge, jury and executioner!"
Urahara sighed.
"The unbearable softness of the modern generation…" He muttered. "Innocent until proven guilty? Fair trial? Those are beliefs held for a fraction of humanity's history. These people put themselves in harm's way, and paid the price. Now stand down, because I'm getting tired of you trying to overpower me because you're too emotional to try and talk like a civilized person."
"Ichigo, you heard him," Tatsuki said. "They worked for Aizen. I mean, we told you it was a weird timing! We come back, and suddenly this group of shady people is interested in us… of course it's him behind this."
"Shut up!" Ichigo growled. "How the hell can you look at all of this and take his side?"
"Ichigo, calm down-" Tatsuki began, but Ichigo let out a snarl, and pushed Urahara back, sword at the ready. He was too angry, too caught up in a maelstrom of emotion to stop, to even want to stop.
"I will take care of your friend's little tantrum, so please stand back, Ariwasa-san." Urahara noted, a bemused- and to Ichigo, just unbearably arrogant- grin on his face, as if he wasn't even taking this seriously-
Aiming for the neck, Ichigo brought down his sword once more- only to find it blocked by the cane again. "Oh, same goes for you, Soifon." Urahara added casually, turning his head.
Soifon scoffed. "Do you honestly think I care?"
Ichigo grit his teeth until his jaw started to hurt. Even now- even now, this bastard thought that he wasn't worthy of his full attention, acted like it was all just one big joke to him-
Pushing against the bastard's cane even harder, Ichigo threw a punch aimed at his smug grin with his free hand. Before his fist came even close to his face, Urahara blocked it with an open hand.
"Stand down already, Ichigo! Surely you must already realize just how pointless this is." The bastard said, turning back towards him, still grinning-
Taking a step back, Ichigo kicked him in the gut. Startled by the unexpected attack, Urahara stumbled a bit backwards, but still kept his footing effortlessly. Without another thought, Ichigo charged after him fully intent on slashing the bastard.
Despite his unyielding rage, Ichigo's mind felt oddly… clear. All of his surroundings had moved far into the background, where he didn't take notice of them. Right now there were only two things on his mind: His anger… and the will to wipe the smugness right out of Urahara's face, no matter how.
Tatsuki clenched her fists until they started to hurt as she watched the battle. Of all the stupid, asinine things that Ichigo had ever done, this had to be the most idiotic one. True, Urahara Kisuke had never been trustworthy, and it was pretty damn likely that he was responsible for this entire… incident, but attacking him like this? It was just stupid. What could that possibly accomplish?
Again and again, Ichigo charged at the shopkeeper, slashing, stabbing, punching and kicking at him, but again and again he either evaded, blocked, or backed away from the attacks before they could hit him. In itself, this was nothing to worrisome: Ichigo would probably just tire himself out eventually, and give up his attack. But the expression on his face gave off another impression entirely…
Tatsuki had seen Ichigo angry before. She had seen him in moods where he could not be reasoned with. But this… this was entirely different. He had gone beyond the point where he would yell, curse or scream his frustration out, and was entirely silent. Everything he did, every attack he attempted, he carried out in complete silence, with only his face, distorted into a mask of pure rage, making his state of mind clear.
Urahara, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the entire situation a bit too much. His initial surprise had worn off quickly, and by now he appeared to grin wider and wider with each attack that he blocked, just as if he thought that Ichigo was making a fool of himself. Tatsuki grit her teeth. This shady shopkeeper obviously didn't plan on finishing this fight any time soon. Perhaps she could wait until Ichigo had tired himself out some more, and then knock him out? It would definitely be better than just standing around stupidly, while waiting for this idiocy to end…
"Just give up already, Ichigo… I mean, even you must understand by now that you're way in over your head." Urahara said casually, having just knocked Ichigo away after yet another blocked attack.
Much to Tatsuki's surprise, Ichigo did not rush at the shopkeeper again after getting back up. Instead he just stared at him, his expression unchanging. For a moment, Tatsuki thought that perhaps he was really going to stop now- but then he held out his zanpakutou in front of him in a way that left very little doubt as to what he was going to do next. "Ichigo you idiot, DON'T-!"
"Destroy him, Zangetsu!" Without even waiting for his zanpakutou to finish changing shape, Ichigo rushed at Urahara once more. The shopkeeper, somewhat surprised, only barely managed to raise his own sword in time to block the attack, the force of which was enough to break his balance- not by much, but just what Ichigo needed to follow up with a kick to his gut. His defense broken, the shopkeeper was sent flying into another wall with a force that almost made Tatsuki feel the impact by just watching.
But just the one successful attack was far from enough to take Urahara out. Before Ichigo managed to catch up with him, he was already back on his feet, and ready to block the slashes. Unlike before, however, he had a much harder time blocking Ichigo's attacks, with the different shape of his zanpakutou as well as the additional force behind the strikes making it more difficult for him to keep up.
With a frustrated grunt, Ichigo followed up one of his sword strikes with a punch to Urahara's face. His zanpakutou was blocked, just as before- but his fist found its target. For the first time since he had started attacking Urahara, Ichigo stopped for a moment. Throughout his rage, his first clear thought in minutes formed: He had finally wiped that damned grin of that bastard's face. But this fight was not over yet. Ichigo raised his foot, intending on kicking the bastard away- but instead found himself knocked away by fierce punch to the chest.
Slowly, Urahara stood back up from the off-balance stance that Ichigo's attacks had left him in. As Ichigo was getting back up, the shopkeeper wiped over his face with the back of his hand, and found blood on it, just as he had suspected. He took his eyes off the blood- the first time he had seen it quite a while! – and fixed his eyes on Ichigo, glaring at the young shinigami. At first, the substitute shinigami's little outburst of emotion had been amusing. The fact that he had attacked him had been unreasonable, but still interesting. Now, this entire thing had become a nuisance.
"Very well." Urahara said quietly, as he held out his zanpakutou in front of him. "Awaken, Benihime."
Somewhere in Ichigo's mind, some rational part started to get through, one that had fiercely fought to reach through his anger, finally making its voice heard. It was the kind that warned you against doing unnecessary, stupid things, the kind that reacted to that sinking feeling. Ichigo was still angry, still wanted to fight, but something inside him started to realize that maybe, just maybe, he was in over his head. Urahara's sword had changed shape, having become a short blade quite different from the typical katana. He couldn't sense anything special about it, nor did the shopkeeper's reiatsu seem to have changed, but he knew better than to underestimate him. Urahara raised his arm, and almost instinctively, Ichigo hopped back as the shopkeeper made a horizontal sweep with his arm. Not a moment too late, either, as a streak of red energy surged forward. Ichigo could feel the edge of it as it ripped through the ground, arcing upward after ten yards or so. The smallest part of the energy nicked Ichigo's chin, and Ichigo felt in that instance as if it would have split him in two.
Shocked, he realized that Urahara could have killed him. Still might. And who would blame him? Ichigo had come at him pretty seriously. What the hell had he been doing?
Ichigo had no time to think further, as just one second after having dodged the energy, Urahara stabbed forward with his Benihime, like a rapier. Ichigo caught it, just barely, but it was a feint- in an instant, Urahara had jabbed him in the throat with a fist. He quickly followed up with two more thrusts, Ichigo almost panicked as he blocked, and then he found another opening, jabbing Ichigo in the solar plexus. The shinigami body was sturdy and strong, capable of withstanding far more than any human body- but it also seemed to share some of its weaknesses. Ichigo saw stars. Instinctively, not even conscious of his movements, Ichigo parried as best he could.
Relentlessly Urahara pushed forward, thrusting and stabbing with his blade with viper-like quickness. He couldn't have been fully serious, else Ichigo would already have been down.
"Sho!" Urahara cried, thrusting forth the most basic offensive kido with his free hand. The force of it would normally not have had much effect, but as it was, it knocked Ichigo off his feet. Urahara raised his sword, and-
-then Tatsuki was there, having moved in between the two of them. She held no weapon of her own, her zanpakutou still sheathed, only holding her arms out.
"Stop! STOP!" She cried, her face aflush with anger. "You've made your point!"
Urahara stayed his blade, and looked at her. In the little light there was, his eyes looked cold.
"He's an idiot, all right? He runs in, doesn't think before he acts, he gets too emotional and he cares too much, but you made your point! You're allies, not enemies!"
Something twitched in Urahara's face, a quick expression of bloodlust passing across his features, but then as if awoken from a dream, he lowered his sword. A jovial smile passed across his face, as his sword sealed itself, and it became a cane again.
"Of course, Arisawa-san," he said solemnly. "My, oh my, it's unusual for me to lose my temper like that."
"You-you-" Ichigo gasped, still lying on the ground.
"I wouldn't get up for a while if I were you." Urahara said. His voice was friendly, but there was a hint of danger in his voice. Stay down, the message was clear, and Ichigo decided he had made enough stupid decisions for one day.
"We leave." Soifon said simply, having watched the exchange quietly. There was a quiet rustle as her agents moved to her side, seemingly out of nowhere. Before long, a portal was opened.
"Rest assured that I will report in full, shopkeeper. You will get what is your due."
There was a not-so-quiet contempt in her voice, but Urahara just bowed sardonically, and shot her a smile as she exited.
"Come on, you idiot, get up…" Tatsuki murmured, pulling Ichigo to his feet. She had grabbed Zangetsu with one hand, and had one of his arms over her shoulder. Ichigo felt a bit groggy, and deep down more than a little grateful to Tatsuki. Urahara had been… frightening. Awkwardly, the two of them made their way out, but not before Tatsuki shot one last glare at the shopkeeper. Ichigo would remember this, but for now, he had been scared straight.
oOo
Having watched them leave, Urahara took a breath. Letting himself get riled up like that… his sword was bloodthirsty, and he had been careless enough to listen. Kurosaki? An idiot, but young people usually were. He was not the sort to admit shame, even to himself, but even so he had to admit- this should have been beneath him. The barking of a puppy should offend nobody. He might have to talk to Yoruichi to figure out how to regain at least a bit of the young man's favour… eventually.
But, even so… tonight had been fruitful. He had got rid of a thorn in his side, and foiled Aizen at the same time, all the while making a profit off of it. It was not bad.
There was a groan from the room, a small, sharp breath of a creature trying very desperately to stay alive, and Urahara let his lips curl up in a smile. Soifon hated him, he knew- an immaculate professional, except in a few key areas, like her fixation on Yoruichi, and her disgust for himself. That sort of thing made you forget things- like making sure the people you killed were properly dead.
Slowly, he approached the dying Fullbringer. Soifon's oversight wouldn't matter a few minutes from now. The child- Yukio- was bleeding out. Soifon's mistake wouldn't matter… unless some kind Samaritan were to save him, of course. Quickly, he looked around, remembering his old training from second division. Was anybody else alive? The room was full of the emissions of dying, dispersing reiatsu, and in it he felt only one- no, two- sources not yet extinguished. The boy, Yukio, and that angry young woman, Riruka, both on the cusp of passing over. Leaning over Yukio, he said,
"Well, that looks nasty."
The boy only blinked, staring at him with fear in his eyes, the kind of panic that near-death brought anyone who had not experienced it before.
"I could save you. That stab wound of yours? There's a medical kido that stops the bleeding. At my place, I've got supplements that could counteract the blood loss and let your body produce more."
The boy let out a small gasp, drawing in breath as if he tried to speak.
"Shush," Urahara said gently. "Don't waste your strength. Here's the thing: I don't do charity. I'll save your life, and you will be indebted. If you understand and accept, just blink twice, slow and clear."
Yukio stared at him. He blinked once, but it was erratic, slow, and Urahara got the impression he was weighing his options. He resisted the urge to sigh. People got so irrational when they were in situations like these.
"It's very simple, really." He said, his voice the verbal equivalence of a shrug. "You can die now, and find out what the Soul Society looks like. It's not that bad, I suppose, but you better hope you wind up in a good district. Or... you can accept, and live a little longer."
Slowly, Yukio blinked, first once, then twice.
"Excellent!" Urahara cheered. "How about you, young miss Dokugamine? Live or die?"
"Fuckin'…" Riruka hissed, seemingly not having been hurt quite as badly as Yukio.
"Since you can speak, yes or no?" Urahara said. "Come on, I haven't got all night."
"…yes." She said, sounding too exhausted to manage any foul-mouthed reply.
"An excellent choice, young miss." Urahara said, and smiled. The night had just got even better- a few medical kido, having Tessai nurture them, and he'd have access to inside information- not to mention a couple new helpers. The night was good, indeed.
After administering a few basic medical techniques, Urahara went to take a last look at the scene before moving on. There were the dead bodies, of course, but he wanted to look at the one that mattered.
Shaking his head, Urahara looked down at the corpse of Ginjo. It still kind of puzzled him how Ichigo could have fallen for such an obvious manipulation attempt from such a suspicious, clearly untrustworthy person… but perhaps Yoruichi could help him understand it later? He'd need to have a chat with her on how to proceed with certain substitute Shinigami, anyway...
Pushing the thought aside, the shopkeeper kneeled down, and started searching the fallen substitute shinigami's body, or rather his pockets. Before long, he had found what he was looking for: A simple, inconspicuous-looking flash drive. Smiling contently, he put it into his pocket and stood back up.
As he looked around him, Urahara could not help but to wonder what sort of explanation Karakura officials would come up with once they found the house. Their attempts at trying to think of ways to make sense of things that could only be explained with Shinigami, Soul Society and the like were always amusing to learn about. Stepping through the rubble, the shopkeeper went over to the luckily largely intact staircase, and headed down.
Just as he expected, Urahara found what he was looking for in the house's basement: A room with what to the unknowing observer might look like a weirdly designed computer. Urahara put in the flash drive and started it up, knowing full well that that was all that he needed to do to make this call.
For a short while, nothing seemed to happen. The computer's screen remained black, and nobody answered the call. But then, just as a shadow of doubt came over Urahara, the screen was filled out by a revolting face that he hadn't seen in many, many decades.
Urahara grinned widely. "Sousuke, old friend! Long time no see! I gotta say, those glasses looked absolutely terrible on you!"
"Kisuke." Aizen noted calmly. If he had been caught off-guard by being called by Urahara, he sadly wasn't showing it. "Since you're using this line, I take it that means-"
"That your little henchmen were taken out, yes." Urahara said, nodding solemnly. "Though I have to say that I'm quite hurt too hear that you deem them more important than a reunion with your long-lost friend."
Aizen scoffed, and gave Urahara a look, as if he was conversing with an ant, just barely worthy of his attention. "I figured that you would eventually find a way to contact me. So why should I act as if it is something special, when the only purpose of this call is for you to feel special before you get brushed aside entirely by my revolution?"
"Ah, and now we see that good old arrogance. Always so sure of yourself, Sousuke. So certain that there is nothing that could possibly stop you… and yet here I am, having effortlessly taken out- well, what were these Fullbringers to you? Agents? Scouts? New recruits?"
"You honestly believe that these Fullbringers were of any importance to me?" Aizen asked, and if he had been the kind of man to allow himself an open display of mirth, he might have chuckled. "They were nothing more to me than surplus tools. I would not have minded if they had accomplished something, but their loss is ultimately meaningless to me in the grand scheme of things. However…" He paused and glared at Urahara. "They were my tools. Had they ultimately made it to the end of this, I would have rewarded them for their loyalty… and you killed them."
Urahara let his eyes widen in faked surprise. "Well, what is this? Something resembling compassion, from the great revolutionary Aizen Sousuke? Are you sure that you are feeling all right? Maybe you should have one of your little hollow-servants eat your soul, just to make sure that everything is alright with it."
Aizen sighed. "Is this all that you have to say, then? If you do not mind, I would end this call now- unlike you, I have matters of great importance to attend to. Rest assured that I will take care of you before this all is over. If I find the time that is, though."
"Tsk, tsk. How very rude of you." Urahara said, shaking his head. "Let me get to the point then: I'm coming for you. I will eliminate you, just like I took out these tools of yours. You're going to die, and I will come out on top. How's that sounding for you?"
For a moment, Aizen just stared Urahara bewilderedly. Then, despite his general lack of mirth, he let out a small, quiet chuckle. "You, coming out on top? I, dead?! And just how would you accomplish that? You may not have realized it, but you have no allies, no forces, no weapons, no defenses, and most certainly no plans!"
Urahara smiled. "Yeah. And doesn't that just scare you to death? You're going down, and you have no clue how it's going to happen."
Then, in a swift movement, he raised his cane, pointed it right at Aizen's face, and then stabbed it right through the screen. Before the screen faded to black, Urahara was certain that he saw just a hint of uncertainty in Aizen's expression. Maybe even fear.
Author's Notes:
GKR speaking: So, I thought of a few concerns some people might have, and I thought I'd address them.
If anybody thinks this chapter looks like a vindictive revenge fic against the fullbringers, they'd be more right than they are wrong. I hate that arc passionately, and seeing them offed was pleasing.
Now, secondly, I think some people might think that one captain being able to take them out is implausible. To which I say- the dickens it is. Mere empowered humans? Versus the pinnacle of shinigami power? One captain is more than enough, especially a vicious assassin speedster like Soifon. If your complaint is that it's not believable, then... well, don't bother posting it in a review, because we disagree.
Thirdly, about Urahara: it's never been more apparent that our Urahara is quite noticeably different from canon. If your complaint is that he's OOC- then yes, he is. We're taking him in a different direction, intentionally, and that's just the way it is.
CW speaking: To add my two cents to what my co-writer has to say, I personally don't really have any strong feelings towards the Xcution arc, and think that the Fullbringers are decent characters in theory. . . but even so, there's just no real use in having them around for the story. We're already dealing with way more than enough characters as is, so I didn't really have any objections to killing almost all of them off.
As for the sentiments on Soifon being able to beat them all without much trouble: I fully second those. Remember, in canon all the Fullbringers just barely stood a chance against the shinigami with the power-up they got from Ichigo, and here they don't even have that. And to clarify why Soifon was able to kill Tsukishima after getting hit by him: It was shown that his ability takes some time to actually kick in. More than enough time for her to kill him, and prevent the brainwashing from tacking effect.
Lastly, on a note unrelated to the chapter: We're aware that Urahara's Bankai has been revealed in canon by now, buuut. . . well, we already thought of a Bankai for him of our own about three years ago, and quite prefer it over the canon version.