"Rukia?" Renji asked surprised. Rukia was equally surprised to see Renji.
"Renji? What are you doing here?" Rukia asked, confused.
"I was checking up on your mother-in-law and niece actually. I can assume you're here for Kaien and the others." Renji said as Rukia looked straight ahead.
"That's right, I am." Rukia replied with a light scowl.
"I suppose I should fill you in on what's been going on. Karin's been temporarily reinstated by the Head Captain so she can lead the task force to apprehend Kaien and his cousins. The rest of the Squads are focusing on apprehending the other three Ryoka." Renji explained as Rukia gave a nod, still not looking at him.
"Thanks Renji." She replied before she started walking towards the estate entrance, a determined expression on her face.
"I'll come with you for back up. If Kaien decides to disobey his own mother, I'll be there to help knock some sense into him." Renji said as Rukia paused.
"No, Renji, you can't come with me. If arresting Kaien is what you have in mind, then you might as well start by arresting me too." Rukia said, startling Renji and Masaki.
"What?" he asked as Renji turned towards him, reaching for her blank Lieutenant's armband and removing it, throwing it on the ground, stunning Renji and Masaki equally.
"You misinterpreted my purpose here Renji. I'm not here to arrest my son. I'm here to back him up." Rukia said before turning towards the estate entrance and beginning to walk on towards it only for Renji to suddenly flash step into her path.
"Hold it! You're not making any sense Rukia! I'm not letting you leave until you explain yourself!" Renji said as Rukia scowled and immediately drew her Zanpakuto.
"I can explain myself with this. A mother does whatever she can to protect the life of her child, even if it means sacrificing her own life to protect theirs!" Rukia replied as Renji grimaced.
"Do you realize what this means, Rukia? It means I'm going to have to stop you! Don't make me do this!" Renji said but Rukia was undeterred.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia declared her Zanpakuto becoming the beautiful white sword with the long white ribbon. Renji and even Masaki were taken aback by Rukia's releasing her Zanpakuto. Renji let out an audible sigh of frustration as he drew his Zanpakuto.
"You leave me no choice Rukia. As a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, I am now required to place you under arrest for treason." Renji said, hating the fact he was having to say this to one of his closest of friends.
"Do what you need to do, Renji. I will not back down." Rukia replied as both she and Renji stood ready to fight.
Meanwhile…
Kaien stood before Toshiro and Kenpachi while Rangiku finished applying some bandages to Kaien's wounds from his fight with Kenpachi.
"So you said you had questions for me Toshiro. What are they?" Kaien asked.
"I have several. First, why are you here in the Soul Society?" Toshiro asked.
"I already told you. I'm here to save Yachiru." Kaien replied.
"Yes, we know that already. My question is, why? Why are you risking your life for her?" Toshiro asked as Kaien glanced away.
"I'd be lying if I said it was just for personal reasons. Don't get me wrong, I don't have feelings for her but I'm not about to let her get executed for helping me protect my family." Kaien replied.
"I feel there's more to that than you let on, Kurosaki." Toshiro said as Kaien gave a nod.
"You're right, there is. I don't know the details of it myself. Ichimaru and Grimmjow didn't tell me much during training. What I do know is this. There's something going on in the Soul Society that could spell disaster if not stopped. A conspiracy, decades in the making. According to them, Yachiru's execution will be the catalyst for a disaster." Kaien explained as Toshiro gave him a studying glare.
"How did you enter the Soul Society? I know it wasn't through your clan's Senkaimon because you ended up in the Rukongai districts." Toshiro asked.
"Something called a Garganta. Grimmjow opened it for us." Kaien replied. Toshiro didn't seem fully pleased with his answers.
"So far, your answers are not improving your case, Kaien. Did you come to the Soul Society of your own accord?" Toshiro asked, earning a curious look from Kaien.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean was coming here your idea or did someone coerce you into coming here?" Toshiro asked.
"Both actually. I came here voluntarily but it was someone else's idea for me to come here." Kaien replied as Toshiro arched a curious eyebrow.
"And whose idea was it for you to come here then?" Toshiro asked.
"Kisuke was the one who suggested it." Kaien replied, causing Toshiro's eyes to widen. Even Kenpachi and Rangiku were mildly surprised by this.
"Kisuke? Kisuke Urahara? He's the one who sent you?" Toshiro asked as Kaien gave a nod.
"He's convinced that there's something happening here in the Seireitei that could be disastrous for us all if it isn't stopped." Kaien explained as Toshiro put his hand to his chin in contemplation.
"This changes things." Toshiro said before looking back at Kaien.
"Tell me everything that Kisuke told you about this." Toshiro said.
"He said that this scheme's been in the works since shortly after Aizen first betrayed the Soul Society twenty three years ago. That it's connected to Aunt Karin's loss of control over her Inner Hollow and her subsequent dismissal by Central 46. It's also why the Soul Reapers sent by the Soul Society to help my dad's squad were unable to defeat any Hollows during their time there. Lieutenant Matsumoto can confirm that part." Kaien said as Toshiro and Kenpachi both looked towards the Lieutenant in question. Rangiku gave a nod.
"It's true Captain. We couldn't find any Hollows until the last day when they suddenly appeared." Rangiku replied.
"That was when my friends and I disabled a sort of cloaking device the Hollows were using to stay hidden from the Soul Reapers. It only worked on Soul Reapers that the Soul Society knew about and had collected detailed spiritual energy composition data on. Kisuke thinks this data was used to hide the Hollows from their sight but since they didn't know about me or my friends, they couldn't hide from us." Kaien explained as Toshiro scratched his chin in thought.
"What you're saying does make sense. But where does Lieutenant Kusajishi factor into all of this?" Toshiro asked.
"Yachiru got captured by Hollows shortly after she returned from the Soul Society. There was an Arrancar leading the Hollows that had her hooked up as a living battery to power the disruption signal. We freed her and Kisuke found evidence that a forbidden memory replacement spell had been used on her. The memory made her believe she had stolen the information on the Soul Reapers and given them to Hollows in exchange for their giving her a Hollow Mask." Kaien explained as Toshiro and Kenpachi both exchanged looks.
"That lines up exactly with what Lieutenant Kusajishi claimed after she recanted her confession. It seems that your great aunt caught on that her memory had been tampered with and found a way to remove the tampered memories, restoring her original memories. She mentioned the hollows too. Unfortunately we weren't sure which statement to believe and most of us took her initial confession as gospel." Toshiro said as Kenpachi grunted.
"Not everyone." Kenpachi said as Toshiro looked back at Kaien.
"You mentioned that Kisuke believes the incident surrounding Karin's dismissal are connected to the events in the World of the Living. What does he mean?" Toshiro asked.
"Grimmjow and Ichimaru told me about this actually but Kisuke confirmed parts of it. He says that there's some kind of energy field being used to amplify Hollow based powers here in the Soul Society. Kisuke sent Grimmjow here to try and locate it." Kaien explained as Toshiro looked contemplative.
"Karin did mention that the energy which empowered her Inner Hollow felt foreign, like someone else had pumped a lot of energy into it, enough so that her Inner Hollow was able to take control." Toshiro said.
"Captain, could it be that this energy field is what's causing her migraines?" Rangiku asked as Toshiro pondered.
"It's possible." Toshiro said before looking at Kaien.
"Alright, one final question. Why is Gin Ichimaru here?" Toshiro asked.
"That I can't tell you. He never told me why he was coming save for the fact he was going to guide us through the Seireitei. I got the feeling though that he had his own reason for being here. I think he, Grimmjow, and Yoruichi had their own objectives." Kaien replied as Toshiro and Rangiku both looked surprised at the mention of the Goddess of Flash.
"Yoruichi Shihoin? She's here with you?" Toshiro asked.
"Yeah but I haven't seen her since we got into the Seireitei." Kaien replied as Toshiro took a breath.
"I see." He replied before glancing towards his Lieutenant.
"Rangiku."
"Yes Captain?" Rangiku replied, snapping to attention.
"My next orders, should you choose to follow them, will be considered treasonous in nature. I'm giving you the opportunity now to turn me in to the Head Captain. Refusal to do so will mean you could easily be branded a traitor along with me." Toshiro said as the others looked at him in surprise.
"Captain?" Rangiku asked.
"Kaien's answers have convinced me that there is indeed something foul in the Seireitei. A conspiracy that could conceivably destroy us. While I don't have the details surrounding this conspiracy or what it entails, I would rather fight to make sure the conspiracy fails than to let it happen. What is your answer Rangiku?" Toshiro asked. Rangiku looked at him in surprise for a moment before a determined expression appeared on her face.
"I will follow your orders, Captain, no matter what they are." Rangiku said as Toshiro gave a nod.
"Locate Gin Ichimaru. Assist him with whatever he might be planning but first order all of Squad 10 to fall back and regroup at the barracks and to await further orders." Toshiro said as Rangiku gave a nod.
"Yes Captain." She replied before disappearing in a flash step. Kenpachi then grinned.
"Well, I guess it sounds like we're pulling an Aizen." Kenpachi said as Toshiro gave a nod.
"Indeed. But the person we stand opposed to is still unknown to us. I imagine that's what Yoruichi Shihoin is looking into right now, and I believe I might have a clue as to where to begin some of my own research." Toshiro replied as Kenpachi rested his Zanpakuto on his shoulder.
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm going to find the guy responsible for making Yachiru's life a living hell." Kenpachi said as Kaien looked up at him.
"Your Squad's already working on finding him. Ikkaku and Yumichika are rallying Squad 11 in preparation for something like this. They want to save Yachiru too." Kaien said as Kenpachi grinned.
"Good, saves me the trouble of me doing it instead." Kenpachi said as he turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Toshiro asked.
"I already told you. To find the bastard that tried to frame Yachiru and get away with it." Kenpachi replied before kicking down one wall and suddenly taking off down the streets at high speeds.
"Kaien, before I go, I should warn you. Your Aunt Karin is looking for you personally. She is a Captain and a formidable foe even without her Hollow Mask. She'll probably even go so far as to use her Bankai on you if you put up too much resistance. Her attacks are fast and powerful. If you haven't heard of her nickname amongst her fellow Soul Reapers yet, it's the Thunder Goddess. She's not to be taken lightly." Toshiro said as Kaien gave a nod.
"Thanks for the warning Toshiro. But I can handle her just fine. Don't worry about me." Kaien replied as Toshiro scowled towards him.
"Good. One more thing. It's not Toshiro, its Captain Hitsugaya." Toshiro replied before he disappeared in a flash step. Leaving Kaien alone in the construction site.
"Well, that's a relief. Looks like Toshiro and Kenpachi are on our side now." Kaien said, wiping his brow with relief.
"Yeah, I was worried."
"You can say that again." Kaien replied before pausing in surprise. He spun around to see a little girl behind him, no more than five years old, with crimson red hair in a bowl cut and calm blue eyes. She wore an indigo vest with a large maroon colored cloth belt around her abdomen, keeping the vest closed since she had no shirt on underneath. She had black fingerless gloves with long sleeves that disappeared into her vest and seemed to meet at the neck, creating a collar. She also wore black shorts, ankle length gray socks, maroon colored sleeves on her arms and legs. The sleeves on her arms went from her wrists to just below the elbow while the ones on her legs went from her ankles to just below her kneecaps. In her hands was Ametsuchi's Tenjoukai Kenbu form with the red cloth ribbon at the end of the blade wrapped around her waist. She was looking up at him expectantly.
"Uhh…" Kaien stammered before leaping back in alarm.
"Yikes! Where did you come from?! Who are you?!" Kaien asked as the girl blinked in confusion for a moment.
"Who am I? I'm Ametsuchi, silly." She replied as Kaien blinked.
"W-What?! Ametsuchi are a pair of identical teenaged twin girls! You can't be them!" Kaien argued as the girl cleared her throat.
"Maybe I better introduce myself Kaien. I'm Tenjoukai Kenbu Ametsuchi." The girl introduced as Kaien froze.
"Tenjoukai Kenbu-…oh so this is what you look like when the two swords are put together." Kaien said as Ametsuchi smiled with a big grin.
"Yep-yep! That's right!" she replied as Kaien looked contemplative.
"Well…you aren't exactly what I pictured you to be." Kaien replied, imagining an older and more curvaceous woman with large bosoms. Ametsuchi scowled at him.
"Hey! Just what exactly were you imagining I'd look like?!" she asked as she noticed Kaien blushing slightly.
"Gah! Nothing-nothing!" Kaien replied as Ametsuchi puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"Look we don't have time to debate this. Come on, we need to get moving. It's going to take us a while to reach the hill and Kenpachi didn't exactly speed us up." Kaien said, turning towards Sokyoku Hill. He then felt something light land on his right shoulder.
"Ready when you are." Ametsuchi replied as she rode on his right shoulder. Kaien was about to argue but sighed in defeat.
"Fine just hold on." Kaien replied before flash stepping up onto the top of the north wall, back down into the street, and then starting to run quickly down the street towards Sokyoku Hill.
Meanwhile…
Sora, Sosuke, and Tatsuki stood surrounded by members of the 2nd Division while Captains Soi Fon, Kyoraku, and Ukitake stood in their path. Sosuke looked over the situation before taking a deep breath.
"Looks as if I have no choice." He said, reluctance clear in his voice, placing a hand on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
"If you think you can fight your way through us, Kurosaki, my Punishment Force and I will gladly prove you wrong!" Soi Fon said as Sosuke relaxed his gaze towards her.
"I want it known here and now, that my next action, is in no way to be interpreted as any sort of hatred or dislike of any of you. On the contrary, I hold you each in high regard, especially you Captain Ukitake. But our mission here is too important to allow us to be held back by our attitudes towards you all." Sosuke said as he started to draw his Zanpakuto, something that made both of his siblings look at him in alarm.
"Wait, Sosuke, you're not going to-…" Sora said as Sosuke sighed.
"I have no choice." Sosuke replied as he held his blade in front of him with one hand, holding it out for everyone to see. The moment the Captain's saw it, their eyes widened in alarm.
"That Zanpakuto!" Soi Fon gasped.
"It can't be it, can it?" Jushiro asked. Sosuke's expression was that of sadness and hesitance.
"By the mere sight of my Zanpakuto, you can understand why I hate it so much. Why I never use its true name. Why I equally hate my own name. To be named after him is something that I will never quite forgive my father for." Sosuke said as he turned the blade so it was pointed down and he was holding it in a reversed grip. Sora and Tatsuki were both visibly nervous.
"It can't possibly be his Zanpakuto! It's a trick!" Soi Fon yelled angrily, although she was visibly shaking.
"Hanamizu, a nickname my Zanpakuto abhors, so it only partially releases its Shikai. I use it this way deliberately unless the situation demands its full name. I'm sorry but the situation demands it. Again, I don't want to do this, but you leave us no choice." Sosuke said as he loosened his grip on his Zanpakuto slightly.
"Move in! Apprehend them!" Soi Fon ordered, the Punishment Force moving in to try and arrest the three but Sosuke merely spoke three words….
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."
The charging Soul Reapers were suddenly launched backwards, blood bursting from large wounds across their chests. No one had seen Sosuke even move from his position.
"Sting all enemies to death! Suzumebachi!" Soi Fon exclaimed before charging in towards Sosuke but as she reached him, time seemed to slow down until she was suspended in midair. Sosuke calmly reached up and gently grasped her wrist. Blood suddenly burst from a fresh wound in her chest before he threw her way. Jushiro and Shunsui quickly drew their respective Zanpakuto but didn't have a chance to react as they suddenly saw Sosuke standing within arm's reach, the two suddenly feeling blood spraying from fresh wounds across their chests. Sosuke sighed from his spot in the middle of the area, having never actually moved from his spot. Lying around them were the wounded Soul Reapers, all of them either unconscious or clutching their wounds in pain. Sora and Tatsuki both looked at Sosuke with a mixture of fear and pity. Sosuke himself looked pained from his own actions as he stared at his Zanpakuto. Sora then looked at the wounded Soul Reapers, noticing something peculiar about them.
"Brother, their wounds…" he said as Sosuke sheathed his Zanpakuto.
"I could never actually harm them. Kyoka Suigetsu's complete hypnosis made them believe I had injured them. They perceive their wounds as real so they react accordingly. When I dispel their hypnosis, they will realize their wounds were imagined." Sosuke said as he turned towards his siblings.
"Remind me to never beat you up again." Tatsuki muttered but Sosuke glared at her in annoyance.
"You two should know me well enough by now to know that I would never use Kyoka Suigetsu against you. Hanamizu perhaps but never Kyoka Suigetsu." Sosuke said as his siblings both looked at each other with somber faces before turning back and giving him a nod.
"You think it's easy for us too? To know we're descended from Aizen? We hate it just as much if not more than you." Tatsuki said as Sora nodded.
"But we take greater pride in being Kurosakis than shame in being Aizens." Sora added as Sosuke smiled at them both.
"I'll be sure to remember that!" a voice echoed from ahead of them, a powerful spiritual pressure flooding the area. They all turned towards the north passage as three figures approached their position. Two of the figures they recognized but the third they didn't.
"We finally found you. Do the three of you have any idea of how much trouble you're in?" Kaichou Kurosaki asked as she, Isshin, and Captain Sajin Komamura entered the area, the sight of their former clan matriarch and grandmother made the triplets pause in alarm.
"G-Grandmother." Tatsuki stammered, the three visibly afraid of her especially as she stood with her Zanpakuto drawn.
End Chapter 47
Arrancar Encyclopedia
"Arrancar daihyakka." Sosuke Kurosaki's voice over said. Kisuke then appeared with the pointer in hand.
"Hello again. Today we'll be discussing how Sosuke Kurosaki is able to wield his grandfather's Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu." Kisuke said as the monitor then switched to display Kaichou's branch of the Kurosaki family tree which had her and Aizen leading to Hanashiro Kurosaki who then joined with Orihime Inoue to lead to Sosuke, Sora, and Tatsuki Kurosaki.
"Zanpakuto are commonly believed to be restricted only to their proper wielder. In truth, they can be wielded by anyone provided their hearts acknowledge the wielder of the Zanpakuto in question as family. For example, Rukia acknowledges Ichigo as her husband so she could conceivably wield Zangetsu while conversely Ichigo can conceivably wield Sode no Shirayuki. Despite the animosity against him, Sosuke and his siblings each acknowledge Aizen as their grandfather so any of them could technically wield Kyoka Suigetsu." Kisuke said as an image of Sosuke Kurosaki holding Kyoka Suigetsu appeared on the screen.
"In this instance, Sosuke inherited Kyoka Suigetsu naturally. Hanamizu is just the nickname he calls it as he abhors using its true power unless the situation demands it. Observant followers of the Black Wrangler trilogy will notice that Ichigo broke Kyoka Suigetsu in the climactic final battle between him and Aizen in Children from the Dark Night. When Kyoka Suigetsu chose Sosuke Kurosaki as its wielder, it was repaired by Sosuke's spirit energy although the damage was never fully repaired, leaving a hairline crack in the blade where it broke." Kisuke explained as the image shifted to four smaller images of Ichigo, Isshin, Kaichou, and Karin using their own variations of the Getsuga Tensho.
"Similarly, some Soul Reaper families inherit abilities that are available to anyone and everyone that believes themselves a part of that family in their heart. In the case of the Kurosaki clan, the clan ability is the Getsuga Tensho. Ichigo's Getsuga is by far the most powerful while Isshin's is more basic as he relies on different abilities aside from just his Getsuga. Karin's is the fastest but weak compared to others. However it is electricity based. Kaichou fires a double Getsuga. Yuzu Kurosaki has a Getsuga Tensho of her own but can only use it while using her Bankai. Her Getsuga homes in on its target. Hanashiro Kurosaki also has a Getsuga called Forute Getsuga Tensho. It's really just similar to other Getsuga like Isshin's. In the case of the Kuchiki clan, Rukia and Kaien both have abilities that mimic Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura. Rukia's is the fourth ability of her Zanpakuto: Kakoushiro. In this form, her Zanpakuto blade becomes a flurry of snowflakes that she can control. The snowflakes can cut her opponents but also freezes them where they're cut so they're left to either die of hypothermia or thaw out and die of anemia. And we've all seen Kaien's Nobara Heimaku which is strong on offense and not so much on defense." Kisuke explained as Sosuke stepped onto the stage but said nothing.
"The author would like me to remind everyone that this rule of familial inheritance for Zanpakuto and abilities applies only to his stories and is not at all applicable to Bleach Canon." Kisuke said as Sosuke gave a quiet nod.
"So, just curious, have you ever used Kyoka Suigetsu to hypnotize people you really hate?" Kisuke asked.
"You mean aside from the Hollow in chapter 22? Never." Sosuke replied as Kisuke shrugged.
"Well we all thank you for showing restraint and not attempting to overthrow the Soul Society." Kisuke said but Sosuke smirked.
"Well…everyone needs a hobby." He replied, unnerving Kisuke.
"Eh?"
Fin