I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.
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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, and MasterQwertster, whose own stories and art you should definitely check out!
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Guest Review answers :-D
Guest
LOL love "For maximum irony, I hope the Negacion cut out right when he was boasting about becoming the new god. Guess the new god is a little behind on his lighting bills, then." Lightning bill! X-D
As for Wonderwiss, well I mean the Hollow that would become the Arrancar known as Wonderweiss after being modified by the Hougyoku for a 'certain' task.
Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D
Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D
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Guest
I am open to suggestion about Lilynette and her robots.
Aizen is such a good smooth liar and manipulator he really can just claim credit for just about anything, and it is hard to deny.
That Aizen had his own Hougyoku is something that goes surprisingly overlooked by other authors . . .
Yes, Aizen is definitely going to have a *Fun* chapter here! ;-)
Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D
Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D
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Dr. No Good
Going to keep the two worlds utterly separate except for the Straw Hats. Otherwise the One Piece world might overwhelm the Bleach one too readily.
Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D
Thank you for your Reviews and Support! :-D
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HUNTER020020
Sorry to disappoint, but there will be no other people from One Piece besides the Straw Hats.
Great to hear the characters are spot on! :-D
Nah, it was just candy. Honest… X-P
Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D
Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D
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TheB
Glad you liked the cliffhanger so much :-) And yeah, definitely going to have to make an epic reaction by Urahara to that revelation!
Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D
Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D
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Seas of Souls
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Chapter 4: Aizen Sosuke and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
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Previously:
The Straw Hats finally reached the palace of Las Noches, only to discover that their fellow Hollows who lived there were no better than slaves to a Shinigami of all things. Fortunately for Luffy and Co., this 'Lord' Aizen Sosuke was preparing to return to Hueco Mundo, and thus demanded a full audience of his strongest Arrancar to wait for him, while taking his sweet time to actually arrive. Thus, most of the guards were absent, and forced to impotently sense the intruders loot Las Noches without being free to intervene. When they realized the Straw Hats were leaving, the Cuatro Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, fired off an attack at them . . .
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Soul Society.
The afterlife.
Where all the souls passed on to, while awaiting reincarnation back to the World of the Living.
Overseen by the Shinigami, the Death Gods, who not only oversaw this process, but protected the vulnerable Souls from the fallen ones. Protected them from the Hollows.
Their headquarters was the fortress city known as the Court of Pure Souls, the Seireitei, which was the center of authority for all of this. There these Shinigami operated as part of the military organization, the Gotei 13. Or, the 13 Court Guard Squads, who served the distant and unseen Soul King, Reio.
A place of power and authority that oversaw the Balance of Worlds, and the flow of immortal souls that endlessly reincarnated. Thirteen mighty Divisions, each obeying the commands of the awesome power of their personal Taichou, served to maintain the flow and balance of Souls throughout the cosmos.
Over the last few days though, it had suffered from both invasion and civil war.
An entire Division, the 11th Division, which was viewed as the strongest of all, had suffered nearly 99% casualties.
Senior officers from other Divisions had been hospitalized. Had turned their blades upon each other.
The Central 46, the judicial, legislative, and all-around government, had been found murdered.
Fortunately, the one responsible for all of this had been brought to light, and was now surrounded.
Aizen Sosuke's arms were pinned, with his Zanpakutou and its power of Complete Hypnosis safely stuck in its sheath. Another Zanpakutou was at his throat, as well as that of his subordinates.
All around them were the majority of the still-loyal Taichou, Fukutaichou, and even the mighty Soutaichou.
"It's over," Shihoin Yoruichi coldly said. Truthfully, the man who had been the oh-so `beloved` Taichou of the 5th Division, was a little amused she had not tried to kill him already. She was Soul Society's ex-chief assassin after all, and Aizen was the one responsible for her and her best friends having to go into exile. Plus various other so-called 'crimes' he had committed. Maybe she thought if they took him alive, it would be possible to get a pardon for herself and everyone else he had framed? Even those poor, second-rate officers he had Hollowfied a century ago?
Best of all, she thought she had won! His mental countdown was nearly complete too.
So he let his amusement show.
"What is it? What's so funny, Aizen?" she demanded.
"Oh. I'm sorry. It's time."
He saw the look of comprehension on her face as she leapt back while yelling for her former student Soifon, the poor child with her Zanpakutou at his throat, to do the same.
They barely escaped alive.
Right before openly revealing himself, he had used a custom Kido to activate a delayed signal for his retreat. Carefully keeping track as time went by, he had entertained himself humiliating the Taichou, giving long dramatic speeches, handling any interference, and most importantly, acquiring Urahara Kisuke's Hougyoku. Now precisely on schedule, a rip appeared in the sky above, and out shot a golden beam to envelope him.
Giant hands tore open the opening further, revealing massive black figures with white, long-nosed masks. Easily towering over even the four legendary gatekeeper giants of the Seireitei, they were all visible to every Shinigami as they stared up at the sky in mounting shock.
Why, it was even supposed to be impossible for a Hollow to enter Seireitei in the first place. What a shame.
The show continued with the twelve gigantic Gillian-class Menos Grande Hollows continuing to enlarge the hole. A casual display of Aizen's power, as even most of the individual taichou would be wary of facing that many of the beasts on their own. Wider and wider they tore open the Garganta until the even-more massive eye of Hooler, the largest of Aizen's subjects (barring Yammy's Resurreccion, although Hooler still had some interesting abilities), ominously stared out.
Two more beams of light stabbed down to safely shield and extract Aizen's subordinates: Ichimaru Gin, the now ex-Taichou of the 3rd Division, and Tousen Kaname, the former head of the 9th Division. Their own respective guards barely making enough space to save their arms.
The ground cracked beneath the traitors, and the segments they were standing on began to rise through the air. Yamamoto-soutaichou diligently informed the uninformed amongst his subordinates that nothing could penetrate the light surrounding them, called Negacion. As he said: ". . . the moment that light came down, Aizen was beyond our reach."
"Tousen!" screamed the familiar voice of Komamura Sajin. The wolf-like Taichou had finally regained consciousness, dripping in blood from innumerable wounds in a futile attempt to take on Aizen himself. The ex-5th Division Taichou did not even bother glancing at the proceedings; it was all too predictable, and equally irrelevant, as Tousen had been his for well over a century.
"Come down, Tousen!" screamed the 7th Division Taichou. "Why!? Why did you become a Shinigami!? Wasn`t it for your dead friend!? Wasn't it to uphold Justice?!"
Naïve fool, thought Aizen offhandedly.
"WHERE HAS YOUR SENSE OF JUSTICE GONE?!"
"I told you, Komamura," Kaname coldly answered, "I follow the path least soaked in blood. Justice is there always. The path I walk is Justice."
Perfectly vague and misleading. Gin couldn't do it better, complimented the mastermind. Although he would be sure to make sure it was more unsettling."
"Tousen!"
"You joined forces with the Menos."
Now Aizen did deign to pay attention to who was speaking. After all, the experience, intelligence, and surprisingly open-mind of Ukitake Jushiro, the venerated Thirteenth Division Taichou was someone Aizen nearly respected.
"Why?" asked the man, who despite his long, white-hair seemed far younger than his vast age.
"To seek greater heights," he simply answered.
Uncharacteristically harsh, Ukitake demanded, "Have you fallen, Aizen?!"
"Don't kid yourself, Ukitake." Carefully he positioned himself so he was framed by the Hollows as he rose up to them. "No one has ever stood atop the heavens before. Not you, or I, or the gods." With delicate care he removed his glasses which had long been part of his deception, while with his other hand he slicked back his hair he had always kept so artfully ruffled. "But the unbearable vacancy of Heaven's throne ends now." The glasses crumbled to dust between his fingers. "From now on," he paused to let his new —true— appearance show.
"I will stand at the top."
The world exploded.
Impossible to sense from the other side, a powerful attack pulsating with Hollow —no, Arrancar!— Reiatsu, burst out of the other side of the Garganta, with some of the concentrated energy funneled directly down the Negacion at the trapped occupants.
For all their shock, each man still possessed over a century of honed reflexes which reacted faster than their minds. Palms infused with their own Reiatsu met the blast at the last second, blunting it so that burnt palms were all the traitors suffered.
Well, Gin and Tousen's were. Aizen's was hardly marked.
Blinking the intense light out of their eyes, they could only gape at how the Garganta, their escape route, was now sealed shut.
—Seas of Souls—
Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends could only blink in surprise at this sudden (and newest) turn in events.
The surrounding Shinigami of the Gotei 13 were equally stunned.
—Seas of Souls—
Impossible! Aizen thought in disbelief. Who would dare!?
From the Reiatsu, intensity, and where it must have come from, it was obvious an Espada must have done this. Except none of the Espada should have the spine. Not anymore. Plus, I would have recognized them . . . he distractedly noted.
His confusion cost him a crucial half-second.
"Shunko!"
The fists of Shihoin Yoruichi, the dark-skinned 'Flash Goddess' pummeled him, striking his vulnerable points with immense power and, above all else, speed. Enhanced as she was with her special technique, he had never sensed her arrival.
Bones cracked before he readjusted his Reiatsu to protect himself, and an elbow strike hurled her through the air. The spine of any other Taichou would have been reduced to mere shrapnel by that point.
The temperature skyrocketed.
Despite knowing what it meant, Aizen still looked down to see the flaming sword in the hands of Yamamoto Genryusai-soutaichou. The strongest man in the history of the Gotei 13, and his Zanpakutou, Ryujin Jakka, which wielded the strongest flames of all.
The most powerful team.
Until Aizen Sosuke and Kyoka Suigetsu.
Oh, maybe not in raw might, yet with their ability and intellect, they were more than up to the challenge.
As a demonstration, Aizen quickly drew his sword and cast Complete Hypnosis to cloak his and his subordinates' position, leaving illusions of them behind as they rapidly moved aside.
Just in time as a burst of fire rocketed past their new position. The illusion of himself seemed to merely cleave the flames aside with a casual stroke of his blade.
"Well, that was a surprise," cheekily noted Gin, still smiling despite this mess they were now stuck in.
"A rebellion perhaps," murmured Kaname. His blind eyes were turned to the ground where the rest of the Shinigami and Ryoka invaders were trying to marshal themselves.
While irritating, the situation remained fairly straightforward. They would simply move elsewhere and create a Garganta themselves to take their leave. Not as dramatic or demoralizing, but it would suffice.
Aizen had an appointment with some traitors in Hueco Mundo after all.
Hmm, a raw display of power instantly and effortlessly slaughtering whoever was responsible, or dragged out torment? Decisions, decisions.
A large scimitar burst out of his chest.
Gasping in disbelief, Aizen turned his head around to see a silent and grim Kyoraku Shunsui-taichou emerge from a shadow cast upon Kaname's chest from the sun behind them. A sneak attack launched literally out of his own subordinate. On the 8th Division Taichou's face, there was no sign of the jovial, alcoholic lecher; only the merciless warrior.
Inconceivable.
He would allow that the man's Shikai allowed him to fight using shadows, except with Complete Hypnosis it was impossible for him to locate them, much less find a usable shadow.
Unless . . .
Shihoin Yoruichi!
Quick as a snake, Gin drew his sword, yet before anyone could react, Aizen flared his vast Reiatsu, knocking them all away. This also erased the trace of Shihoin's own Reiryoku that she had planted on his back during her attack.
"Taimatsu."
An inferno erupted from Ryujin Jakka and filled Aizen's vision as the Soutaichou decided to 'reprimand' the traitors himself. "Bakudo #81, Danku!" Aizen yelled in desperation, powering into it all the Reiryoku he could summon in such a short period of time.
The Kido barrier held against the flames.
Almost.
Burning through, it caught him in savage fires to reduce him to ash.
If he had stood still.
Even moving as he can conjured the spell to slow it down, Aizen's Shunpo gave him the speed to escape, while only being burnt by the edges of it.
Third degree burns still covered one foot.
Bleeding from the chest still as well, Aizen panted to catch his breath.
Ducking his head back, he dodged a kick from Shihoin, still wreathed in the lighting-like aura of Shunko.
He had to give her credit, reacting so quickly to this unforeseen turn of events and attacking him while simultaneously coming up with a plan for the others to follow through on. Kyoraku, a sharp man in his own right, must have realized she would have had some sort of plan, and even while speaking the incantation for his Shikai, had stretched out his senses for some kind of clue. With that to guide him, his Shikai must have locked onto a shadow, and he gambled on where he would end up. The Taichou was fortunate that he had emerged on Kaname as opposed to Aizen's own body, as the blind traitor was too weak and too easily stunned to react properly. Possibly it had been deliberate.
Regardless, that had thrown Aizen off enough to drop his Complete Hypnosis, leaving him vulnerable to Yamamoto-soutaichou, and nearly ending this all here and now.
For there was only one and only one true weakness to Kyoka Suigetsu's power: her wielder needed to be consciously projecting the illusions. A triviality in everyday life for him, even kilometers away, or even as he multi-tasked with plotting, researching, and experiments. Despite what he had told Gin years ago, he did not consider the immunity to his illusions granted by touching his blade before releasing his Shikai to really be a concern. After all, he could just cut off their offensive hands.
Creating an opening that left him impaled with an oversized blade certainly qualified as a 'distraction.' Doubtless Urahara had realized the basis of that, and told his childhood friend.
Commendable of Shihoin.
Almost.
Still, worthy of some measure of respect.
So as Shihoin flashed by, he cut off her right leg. Continuing to move, he raised one palm and intoned, "Hado #31. Shakkaho." A ball of red energy incinerated the missing limb, taking it beyond even Unohana-taichou's realm to re-attach.
Staggering on mid-air, she quickly readjusted the spiritual particles under her remaining foot, and heedless of the spilling blood turned to punch him.
Her fist passed right through his image.
Complete Hypnosis, success.
Backing up, Aizen saw that Kaname was under attack by Soifon, the Second Division Taichou, and former protégé of Shihoin. Unfortunately for the dark-skinned man, he was at a clear disadvantage as his hands were still burnt, making it harder for him to wield his Zanpakutou. Moreover, his serious wounds from fighting Kenpachi earlier were starting to re-open. Of course, when the young woman saw her mentor's state, she would be suitably distracted.
Gin was another story.
Despite similar burns of his own, Gin was squaring off against Kyoraku, and had already unleashed his Bankai, the final release of his Zanpakutou, his Kamishini no Yari, the God-Killing Spear. While still appearing as a simple wakizashi, the short blade was surprisingly powerful in this form, as the incredibly sharp blade could extend and contract at five hundred times the speed of sound.
However, the difference in their respective skills, compounded by painful injuries, was tragically clear to witness. Kyoraku was clearly overwhelming the young, silver-haired prodigy with just his Shikai. Not only was the centuries-old Taichou in a league of his own when it came to swordsmanship, as shallow cuts began to show over Gin, but once his Zanpakutou started activating more of its multitude of special abilities, it would be all over. Thankfully, it appeared his quirky and opinionated Zanpakuto had not deemed the battle worthy of its unique and varied abilities, giving Gin some breathing room. Moreover, the fox-faced man had the cunning and will-power to hold on a little longer.
Satisfied, Aizen immediately began an emergency battlefield Kido to repair his injuries, starting with his spine. Kaname will last long enough, and Gin too. Still, it wouldn't do for them to die right now. Especially Gin, as it would be duller without him around.
He was invisible to all senses now, and multi-tasked by looking down to see Kurosaki Ichigo being desperately healed by his lady friend. What an interesting technique she is using. Still, he won't be able to walk for a bit yet, and none of the other Ryoka are worth mentioning.
As for the remaining Taichou, Komamura Sajin and Kuchiki Byakuya were both too injured to fight still, and neither Zaraki Kenpachi nor Kurotsuchi Mayuri were present. Unohana Retsu was likely still healing Hitsugaya Toushiro after Aizen had sliced his chest open.
The Fukutaichou, the direct subordinates to the Taichou, were not even worth considering.
So no worries there then.
Only Ukitake Jushiro-taichou and his mentor Yamamoto-soutaichou remained as a threat, and both were stuck hovering in the air trying to find him.
Hmm, Ukitake was trying to use his Shikai's ability to absorb the energy behind an enemy's attack to use it against them. Laudable, except Aizen had checked over a century ago to be sure that was not a threat. While his Complete Hypnosis relied upon his Reiryoku of course, the actual illusions were dispersed enough to go unnoticed by Ukitake's Zanpakuto.
A quick shift in his deception, and Soifon and Kyoraku were trying to kill each other.
Recognizing this, both Gin and Kaname regrouped with their master. He had also insured that Gin could not detect the extent of his injuries. Just in case. Kaname (blind and thus unable to be ensnared by Kyoka Suigetsu), could be counted upon to keep his silence.
Both men were panting a little, while Gin was trying to put pressure on a moderate cut on his left arm with a burnt palm. That looked painful really.
"Well then," Aizen lightly said. "I do believe it is time for us to say our goodbyes."
"Taimatsu."
The sky lit on fire at Yamamoto's will.
With perfect precision, it engulfed all but a small section where Soifon and Kyoraku were fighting each other. Recognizing what this meant, the latter quickly waved his arms up and down, making the head of the Second Division and Onmitsukido hesitate at what 'Kaname' was doing. Then the head of the Gotei 13's assassins and saboteurs caught on as well, and stopped trying to inadvertently kill her comrade.
The three traitors were not so fortunate.
All of them were suffering serious burns now, and only another barrier of Aizen's saved them from death. That and the fact even the legendary Soutaichou could not create such a spread with the same intensity as his previous –more focused— strike against Aizen.
"He's covering the whole region in flames until he kills us!" coughed Kaname. Being weaker, their burns were far more extensive.
Aizen nearly killed him right then and there for speaking the patently obvious. Clearly Yamamoto was starting to get an idea for how Aizen preferred to use his Shikai. That or the surprisingly-wily Ukitake had advised him.
His heart was pounding, pain he had not felt in years covered his body, and he knew that once again his Complete Hypnosis had been stripped away by his distraction.
"Hado #90, Kurohitsugi," he snarled, and a black spiritual coffin engulfed Ukitake. The man would survive, especially if he managed to use his Shikai in time to absorb away some of the power, yet the strain of that attack all across his relatively weak body would take him out of the fight.
More importantly, Yamamoto's eyes flickered for the briefest moment to look to the fate of his surrogate son.
Too long.
Kyoka Suigetsu's power sang again, and Yamamoto moved to block the false sword swing at his head, only for Aizen to stab him through the gut.
A scarred hand grabbed his Zanpakuto, holding it in place, while the aged fist drew back to crush the young upstart's skull, now able to detect him through his own blade.
The traitor's palm reached the old man's face first. "Hado #63, Raikoho."
Immense lightning blasted the Soutaichou's head back, yet he was far from being out of the fight.
Twisting Kyoka Suigetsu, Aizen tore it out of the man to the side, half bisecting him, and followed through with a long slash across the chest.
"Brat," growled Yamamoto, and this time his punch connected and utterly shattered the younger man's left shoulder bones.
"Hado #4," hissed Aizen. "Byakurai." The overpowered lightning bolt went right through Yamamoto's heart. His injuries rising, and his spinal column aching dangerously, it was clearly he was outmatched up close, so Aizen made some distance.
Flames burned towards him, yet just in time, Kyoraku passed right in front of him as Aizen's ongoing illusions made him think he was heading to Yamamoto's aid.
Dropping the apparition, Aizen let Yamamoto see the charred form of his pupil and surrogate son.
Ukitake was still falling down to the ground.
It was not sentiment that made Yamamoto hesitate this time, having already hardened his heart. Instead, it was genuine confusion that stayed his hand as he only now fully understood the repercussions of the power he faced. A hasty move, or worse, his Bankai, could decimate the entirety of the Seireitei.
Having regained his composure, Aizen bade a hasty withdrawal. Yamamoto was a dangerous foe on a good day, and he was still applying more and more emergency healing.
It was only then that he chose to fully register a familiar spiritual presence rapidly and implausibly approaching.
"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
While he had been well aware of who was approaching before hearing that maniacal laughter, the fake copy of Aizen everyone could see only now acted as he had noticed. Pretending he had been oblivious until hearing that grating sound from the powerhouse flying towards him. Eyepatch removed so his full, incredibly immense power was unsealed.
Zaraki Kenpachi-taichou.
Indeed a threat.
If he was actually capable of hitting the real Aizen.
Although how is he coming at me mid-air? He doesn't have the spiritual control to fly. Leaping this high on pure muscle? And he wasn't even at the Soukyoku Hill, so how did he reach here so quickly?
Regardless, the conspirator turned his attention back to healing his wounds, content to let the berserker just sail by towards what was really just empty space.
He barely brought up Kyoka Suigetsu in time.
Arm shuddering as sparks flew, he blocked Kenpachi's casual swipe, seeming just as surprised as him.
"Huh, so there was someone there after all."
Instinct! raged Aizen. With so much going on, and with the pain and so many targets, small flaws were creeping into his hypnosis. Enough for someone like the latest Kenpachi, who relied almost solely on reflexes and instincts like the primitive he was, to react.
Fortunately the madman kept sailing right on by.
No.
"Bakudo #61. Rikujokoro."
Six bars of light speared into Kenpachi, holding him struggling still mid-air.
I'll take off his head.
An erupting spiritual pressure from behind forced him to withdraw, as a massive blade swung down where he had been before.
Komamura Sajin-Taichou was back in the field.
Ah. I see. Kenpachi could not have reached here so fast, nor made such a leap with perfect accuracy. While Komamura was probably still not fully conscious of what Kyoka Suigetsu was capable of, bringing one of the strongest warriors straight to the battlefield was straightforward enough, especially if he pulled another little trick.
Persecuted for his wolf-like appearance though, Komamura had learnt to hide his presence like a master. Obviously, despite his grievous wounds, he had reached Kenpachi with Shunpo and brought him here. With uncharacteristic craftiness, he had propelled Kenpachi into the air, while hiding his personal Reiatsu under the other man's own as it overflowed and choked the air around him. As a final touch, he had followed right behind, hiding himself further as much as possible by narrowing his profile to stay in the blind-spot made by the smaller man and his flapping coat. By pure luck they had been heading by close enough to take advantage of it, despite how Komamura had been intending to head towards one of the illusions. Doubtless he had still seen the berserker's strike at an invisible foe, and his own keen, dog-like senses must have then detected a flaw in the hypnosis as well.
Irritating.
Pathetic really.
With a burst of his own Shunpo, Aizen was before the 7th Division Taichou, carving up his chest with a single swing.
Ignoring the fate of his supposed friend, Kaname took the time to approach Kenpachi, who was still straining to break free and fight. If it had been anyone besides Aizen who had performed the technique, he may very well have succeeded.
"Zaraki Kenpachi," Kaname said to the man who had so brutally bested him less than an hour ago. "May this lead you to understand the truth of your needless violence."
With a flick of his Zanpakutou, two hands were removed from their wrists.
Seeing no reason to maintain the Kido, Aizen released it so that Kenpachi could follow Komamura in falling down hundreds of meters to the ground.
With that out of the way, he could take the time to reflect a bit more, and knew what his next step must be.
Only Yamamoto (applying emergency first aid to himself as well) and Soifon remained as active combatants, and he was not going to consider the latter a real threat. Shihoin was safely behind the Soutaichou, and had torn off her shirt to make a tourniquet for the stump that had been her right leg, shamelessly showing off her massive bust. Personally Aizen did not find her dazed complexion, as shock set in, very attractive. Briefly he considered the threat of her own trained instincts, and then dismissed it. Kenpachi had been a fluke, and he could easily overpower her.
With a flash of light, Gin impaled Soifon through the stomach with his Bankai.
Coughing up blood, the diminutive woman tried to make some space, only for Shihoin to blitz in to grab her, and they both disappeared in another Shunpo.
The Gotei 13 were no longer a threat. Only the Soutaichou could hurt them, yet not find them.
Silently he took off, Kaname and Gin obediently following behind.
Mind racing, Aizen went over what had just happened. Everything had been perfect until the Negacion had inexplicably been destroyed.
Some new variable had been introduced, and he was unsure how long it would take to handle it. Thus he must remove the Seireitei's abilities to adapt while he was distracted.
With a burst of speed he took off in a certain direction with his subordinates following right behind. Gathering his power, he began an incantation:
"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired. Hado #91. Senju Koten Taiho!"
The purple spears rocketed down upon the Shinigami Research Institute, precisely targeting the most vulnerable point of the sprawling complex.
Of course, Kurotsuchi-Taichou, a fair-hand at science and safeguards himself, was well aware of the dangers associated with storing most of his most volatile components in one place. A good-sized chunk of his annual budget routinely went towards renovating and upgrading the security features.
Not that it did any good against Aizen's sheer might.
The explosion engulfed one of the massive buildings, setting off a chain reaction that sent fireballs tearing through the rest of it.
Idly he estimated that he had just halved the 12th Division. For certain he had eliminated every piece of sophisticated equipment throughout it. Now he could handle these new variables with less distractions.
Taking a deep breath as he made another assessment of his injuries, he ordered Kaname to create another Garganta so they could finally leave.
—Seas of Souls—
"Orihime," gasped Ichigo as they watched the sky seemingly light on fire. "Heal Byakuya first!"
"But Kurosaki-kun!"
Currently the Human/Soul Reaper was within the bubble of her Soten Kisshun, using her ability to heal him as fast as possible. Unfortunately that included a nearly severed spine, along with an extremely long list of other injuries he had accumulated over the last few days. He felt it healthier not to dwell on them all. Besides, that was unimportant.
"I'm good enough now, and they need every Taichou-class they can! Get Byakuya back on his feet!"
"No."
A thousand years of authority echoed in that command as Yamamoto-soutaichou rejoined them, carrying the white-haired Taichou in his arms. The guy with the prim mustache who was his Fukutaichou, was carrying a guy wearing pink of all things. Or what had been pink, as it had been burnt off. As delicately as they could, they laid the unconscious figures down on the ground.
Despite himself, Ichigo felt a tingle go down his no-longer-exposed spine. When he had looked down upon the leaders of Soul Society while rescuing Rukia from the execution platform, he had dismissed their leader. Seeing only an elderly man hunched over his cane. No, his attention had been focused upon Byakuya, who he saw as not only a personal issue to be dealt with, as one brother to another, but most likely the strongest of the assembled Taichou.
He had been naïve.
The Soutaichou was muscled in a way that made Chad seem scrawny, covered in a horrific number of scars. Ichigo had seen and felt the flames he had unleashed, as well as the terrifying Reiatsu. Even now the 'old man' was seemingly ignoring the quarter-sized hole through his heart!
Ichigo's dad was a doctor! He knew where the human heart was!
Or that his guts should be spilling out!
We were lucky he didn't come after us himself.
Ishida, Chad, and Ganju rushed forward, and started binding the various, horrible wounds as best they could. Ishida especially seemed to know what he was doing, and Chad had hung around the Kurosaki clinic enough times to have a decent idea of what to do. Seeming to think they had it handled, the Fukutaichou disappeared in a blur.
Yoruichi appeared next, panting as sweat ran like rain down her face. Overall though, her focus was on keeping the smaller woman in her arms alive, as she tore off one of her pant legs to press it against the horrid gut wound.
Her only pant leg.
"Yoruichi!" gasped Ishida, and everyone else in Ichigo's group was equally stunned at the stump that was her leg.
"Never mind me!" she gasped. "See to the others!"
They only briefly hesitated before getting back to what they had started. The mustache man reappeared with Kenpachi, although even as he laid the giant man down, he told the teens, "Switch. Their injuries are worse than Kenpachi's." Even as he spoke, energy flowed from his hands to encompass the warriors.
Obediently Ishida and Ganju complied, having just finished checking over the first two Taichou for any particularly serious or noteworthy wounds. The two Ryoka ripped off some of their own bandages to then wrap around the man's wrists, helping cut off any further blood loss. The sick feeling in Ichigo's gut somehow grew even more as he realized the proud (insane) warrior would never be able to wield a sword again.
A man with sunglasses appeared in a blur, struggling to hold onto that massive, dog-like guy (which Ichigo would be sure to question about when he had the chance). Chad evidently had sensed them coming, for he had been standing aside until they arrived, followed by immediately pressing down his torn-off sleeves, to help staunch all the bloody wounds.
Orihime had not budged from Ichigo, committed to finishing what she started.
Renji was still conscious despite his wounds, which elevated him to the presently prestigious title of 'healthy enough.'
Rukia was tearfully doing what she could for Byakuya now that all that Reitasu was not crushing her to the ground. From how frantically she was working, Ichigo was almost starting to regret hacking up her brother so much earlier.
Well, hacked up by him and . . .
He shoved the thought deep down, where he hoped to forget about it.
The orange-haired teen distracted himself, by noting how Rukia was also shooting fretful looks towards the white-haired guy. Well he did destroy the execution thingy. Oh wait, yeah, Yoruichi said he's Rukia's Taichou. Alright, now things're making sense.
"Appreciated," grunted Yamamoto to the Ryoka, having finished sealing up his own wounds. With that out of the way, he also began helping at the same time, both Ukitake and the other guy who had somehow dissolved or dispersed the Soukyoku. "The 4th Division will be here momentarily," rasped the old man, healing energy flowing from one palm. "We just need to keep them alive until then."
"But what about Aizen! He—"
"Boy," Yamamoto cut him off. "He's gone. Only you and your friends can see him, and none of you are fit to be part of such a fight. He could kill you with his Reiatsu alone. He may have won this time, yet even he took wounds enough to make him retreat. We will have another day."
Just then, a bunch more people suddenly rejoined them, including the blonde, busty woman, the big fat guy, and the one with what looked like three scars down their faces. All of them were carrying at least two other Shinigami in their arms, and basically threw them towards the pile of wounded.
To his surprise, the newcomers got right to work, hands glowing with some kind of energy, and Ichigo realized that they must be medics like Hanataro. Fourth Division, right? So that's what the Fukutaichou ran off for.
The big, fat guy was practically fretting around the small woman, who Ichigo guessed was his Taichou, until said woman demonstrated that no, she was not about to die like he was 'blubbering,' and punched him in the gut.
"Agh!" she groaned in pain, clenching her teeth.
"Stay still, Soifon!" ordered Yoruichi. "You can't aggravate your injury!" She waved off a medic trying to tend to her, only for Soifon to finally notice what had happened to the older woman.
"Lady Yoruichi! Your leg!"
"It's fine!" snapped Yoruichi.
"The hell it is! You need a doctor! They can reattach it!"
"Aizen destroyed it," Yoruichi said with blatantly forced calmness. "I—"
She collapsed as a doctor put aside the little tranquilizer drug he had just used on her. He got right down to treating her.
"Hmmph," grunted the old man. "If Shihoin was that distracted not to notice, then she is both rusty and truly at her limits." He glanced at the Fukutaichou for these men and women, who were anxiously standing aside to let the 4th Division work in peace, with Ichigo's still mobile friends now doing the same. "Well done getting medical help. Ah, and here is Unohana-taichou."
Indeed, there was a large creature like a manta-ray flying towards them, with the figure of a woman wearing a Taichou haori on.
She glanced at what Orihime was still doing for Ichigo, before letting her be, taking charge of her subordinates. More and more medics began to show up. From what Ichigo overheard, it seemed they had been held back by the raging Reiatsu of the battlefield. Indeed, many of the weaker Shinigami throughout the Seireitei had outright collapsed like Hanataro had when Kenpachi had come after them days —or maybe a lifetime—ago.
As the 4th Division fought to save the lives of the various Taichou, Ichigo's friends all grouped together around him.
"All that," murmured Ishida, remembering what he had talked to Ganju about when they had shared a prison cell. Learning details the man had assumed they had all known before planning to break into Shinigami central. "He did all that, and with just his Shikai . . ."
—Seas of Souls—
Through a tear in reality, the three traitorous Shinigami exited the Garganta.
"Well, tha' was interestin'," remarked Gin, patting his head. The left half of his silver hair was now burnt off, somehow making the foxlike man somehow even more unsettling to look at.
"Be silent," snapped Kaname. "Lord Aizen—"
"Why are we not in Las Noches?" interrupted Aizen. Indeed, they were standing within the lonely dunes of Hueco Mundo, not his fortress.
This was not a good day to be on his bad side.
"Because the Espada are unnecessary."
Aizen did not so much as blink at the absurdity of that statement. Clearly the man was going into shock, or mutilating Kenpachi had left him hungering to do the same to Nnorita or Grimmjow. Especially Grimmjow.
More importantly, in all honesty he did not care about punishing the Espada. Much.
Alright, a little.
. . . Okay, someone was going to die. Painfully. Maybe their fates would even serve as a warning to others.
"Lord Aizen," Kaname repeated, emphasizing his servitude, "what is to stop us from going to Karakura and making the Ouken, the King's Key, right this moment?"
"Ya mean despite all our injuries?" Gin sarcastically said. "We're hardly in any state ta be takin' on Zero Squad right now. You remember 'em, right? The most elite of the elite? An' whatever healin' we have is only a temporary fix? We need proper treatment!"
"Except Aizen already has at least one of them vulnerable to Complete Hypnosis, and they won't know of his Shikai's power yet. To say nothing of his Bankai," argued Kaname. Turning back to Aizen, he bowed his head. "Milord, why do you hesitate to unleash your incredible power? Even Yamamoto, touted as the strongest of all, was helpless before you. What is wrong?"
Aizen blinked. What is 'wrong'?
He had just been humiliated in front of everyone, his body was covered in burns, likely hairline fractures through his spine, been stabbed through the back and chest, one foot was nearly burnt right through, and his left shoulder was frankly mush.
Even more disturbingly, he had never felt so alive!
His heart was pounding in excitement at taking on the entire Gotei 13 despite nearly losing everything in a single moment. They had thrown every trick they had at him in his sole moment of vulnerability in centuries, and he had overcome them all! It was a rush beyond anything he had ever felt before! More intoxicating than any narcotic he had ever tried.
What had happened to throw up the playing board like this?
Another blink.
Why was he so thrilled? He had . . . been . . . hurt . . . ? Why was he . . . happy?
Was it because he had finally been actually challenged? To have struggled so much for his victory after all his planning had been ruined, and to still triumph?
It was all so confusing for Aizen.
Belatedly he realized he had not even renewed the more intense healing of himself, and began using a more precise Kido with his sole, functioning hand. The others followed suit, albeit with far cruder skill. An illusion of himself bearing only a few scratches and burns to his clothes was still facing Gin, with Kaname playing along while he put his shoulder back together. Doing so while balancing on one foot made it trickier, yet he had the pain under control so at least he could maintain the charade.
I started on this path because I refused to allow anyone to stand above me. To be my better. Including the Soul King.
To break free of the limitations imposed upon me and all others.
Especially by that thing.
That is all that matters.
. . . So why am I hesitating? What truly is there of value for me to keep the Espada, despite all the efforts I have put into increasing their strength? After all that I have . . . done.
No.
Kaname is right. I do not need them. Not at their level.
So why did I spend so much time trying to make an army? Making them stronger?
Why invest all that patience into Kurosaki Ichigo? Encouraging his growth? Why?!
Adrenaline still pumping through his veins, he began to fear —no, be terrified— that there was something about himself he was overlooking.
I can just go to Las Noches and finish healing myself with my supplies and compounds there, get my own Hougyoku, break this barrier around Urahara's, even just by using mine, and go to Karakura City. A hundred thousand souls will be nothing, and the Shinigami are in no condition to react. After I destroyed the 12th Division, they will not even be aware. With Kyoka Suigetsu, Urahara and his little followers will not even know I'm there until they're being consumed by the new Ouken.
This was all true.
So why am I just standing here!?
Why do I want to go through that all over again!?
He cast his mind to Kyoka Suigetsu, yet she too was strangely silent. His own Zanpakuto.
. . . Evolution requires challenge. That is the very same reason why I permit Gin's existence. I must be challenged once more to ascend. That is all there is to it.
Except deep down he knew it was not true.
He snapped out of this introspection as he realized he had been silent for too long, and now Gin and Kaname were looking confused.
"We shall go to Las Noches and deal with the traitors first, and you two will finish healing," he managed. He need it as well, although there was no need to advertise it.
". . . As you command, Lord Aizen," said a slightly subdued Kaname.
"Let's go murder some Espada," Gin cheerfully said, his eternally sly grin as fresh as ever, and opened a Garganta straight to Las Noches.
—Seas of Souls—
Internally, Gin was planning an appropriately horrific demise for Tousen.
In fact, since he was feeling so generous, he would invite the blind man's ex-Taichou to play. The one Tousen had literally backstabbed.
Today had probably been the second-worst day of Gin's life.
His hair had been half burnt off.
Poor Kira was hurt.
He had upset Rangiku.
Oh, and he had failed to kill Aizen.
For what may have been his last chance.
Frankly he wished to shake the hand of whoever had come up with that plan to leave Aizen vulnerable; it had very nearly been a masterstroke.
Soooo many times it seemed as if Kyoka Suigetsu had slipped and left its wielder vulnerable, only for one of the Gotei 13 to mess things up!
Of course Gin's hesitancy as to whether or not said moments of weakness were genuine or not had probably been equally costly. Kyoraku had not helped in that regard. Had to give the old man props for skill though, as infuriating as it had been.
Even now he knew that Aizen was more seriously wounded than he appeared, except the man was also much more on guard as well. Gin would honestly be surprised if he was even staring at the real thing right now.
His only real accomplishment was attacking Soifon before any of the others, probably Tousen, did something more permanent to her.
Regardless, Aizen had finally demonstrated the true depths of his power, and it was quite obvious to everyone how absurd it was.
A power that Tousen had opened his fat mouth about, goading their 'Master' on, and the worst part was that he was right!
Almost single-handily Aizen had taken on the majority of the Gotei 13's military strength, and eliminated the majority of them, all despite being initially caught off-guard.
There was no one, and no army, who could stand before him.
No, Gin was on his own for this one.
No one else could kill Aizen except himself. The only question was how!?
—Seas of Souls—
They appeared where they had originally intended to before everything had become messed up beyond recognition.
"Hmm," hummed Gin. "I don' seem ta recall that big crater before."
"That was part of the attack that struck us in the Negacion," observed Aizen. "We were only hit by the fringe of it."
Indeed, not only had the impressively large attack blasted a massive hole in the ground, it had turned the surrounding sand into glass.
"We could turn it inta a pool," offered Gin, trying to act as if he did not have a care in the world.
"Where is the army?" interjected Kaname.
The entirety of the Arrancar were supposed to meet them here, yet mostly there were just corpses. Including Hooler, which was unfortunate. Although he was not as strong as his size suggested, knew Aizen. He spent another minute idly looking around and extending his senses, before deigning to notice the sole Espada waiting for them: Yammy Llargo.
His presence made Aizen readjust his plans as he saw his most powerful subordinate kneeling down on the ground below, obviously waiting for him. While the Cero Espada was loyal, he was also too dumb to truly think for himself (and incidentally his loyalty was assured because frankly he was too stupid to be treacherous), so the others must have left him here, hoping that his value would make their Lord and Master hesitate long enough for an explanation.
Hence why he decided to take the time to look around and take note of what had happened in his absence. In particular, given the hole in Szayelaporro Granz's palace, and the lack of other presences inside, it had been attacked. The scientist would be punished for that alone. How subtly was yet to be seen. He also sensed the rest of his Espada flirting around at high speeds. Despite their typical lack of coordination, he realized they were trying to search for something, or, given the state of his fortress, someone.
They were attacked, and decided that finding some evidence or prisoners was more important than waiting here and obeying my orders. Yet for someone to have pulled this off . . .
Alright, he would give them a chance to explain before killing them all. One chance.
"Yammy," he pleasantly said to the heavily sweating individual. "How are you?"
"Uhm, not so good, Lord Aizen?"
"Oh my, that's distressing to hear. Did something happen?"
The large figure was practically squirming at the banal questions, especially given how obviously something was wrong. "Well, ur, y'see, we, uhm, had some intruders."
"You did?"
"Yes. They, well, robbed that freak Szayelaporro's lab of stuff. Everything really. And we couldn't stop them because we were loyally waiting here as ordered. Not that there was anything wrong with that of course!" he quickly added, still not daring to look up from the ground. "So when it looked like they were leaving, Grimmjow shot a Cero at them, and they shot back what Ulquiorra said was a Gran Ray Cero, and, well, killed Hooler and the Gillians that were bringing you, Lord Aizen, to Las Noches. To rule over us all." Yammy trailed off, clearly unsure whether or not it was best to continue.
"Gran Ray Cero? So they were Arrancar?" quizzed Aizen. Inwardly he fumed at how Yammy was trying to defend himself by insinuating that it was his orders to the Arrancar that had led to this. Such insolence!
"We uhm, don't know. Some guys said they didn't feel like it, but Ulquiorra says they must've been hiding their power, and only an Espada-class Arrancar could have the strength and control to do that move." Yammy himself lacked either the self-discipline, or inclination to master Gran Ray Cero given his own mighty Ceros.
Unexpected, Aizen thought, a strange sensation going up his back. Although it would also be possible for a Visored to do that. Still, the others had better have better intelligence for me than that!
As if reading his Master's thoughts, Ulquiorra arrived right on cue.
The so-called 'Segunda' was the most reliable of Aizen's Espada, and he was well aware the morbid fellow was hiding his true power, Segunda Etapa, the Arrancar equivalent of Bankai. The only one to achieve it.
Of course after this little fiasco, it was very possible his value had been overestimated.
Well, cannon fodder against the Zero Division was still useful. Even if only to offend their sensibilities by having a Hollow in the palace of the Soul King.
"Y'know," Gin offered. "Maybe before we decide the fates of the Espada, we should all sit down fer a good cup of tea like usual?"
—Seas of Souls—
"What do you mean there's no tea!?" hissed Aizen with a face of death.
Smoothly Ulquiorra popped out an eyeball and crushed it. The particles scattered through the air, and created a vision of what he had seen.
Usually this would be the point where Gin made a joke to Tousen about what they could 'see,' but instead he just politely said, "It's the food storerooms, and they're all empty."
"All of them," repeated Tousen with surprise.
"Yep. An' now I want to kill whoever did this just fer wastin' my time! We spent years smugglin' food there without anyone noticin'!" We'll have ta steal some more, Gin knew. Especially since Aizen considers cannibalization ta be 'uncivilized.'
The Seireitei was the only place you could grow Reishi enriched food after all. Which was necessary for both the Shinigami and Arrancar, although the latter usually only ate it begrudgingly.
"Aaaaand now the tea room."
"We had a thousand years' worth in there. Literally."
"Yep," Gin echoed with a strained tone. Oh how he ached to make some smart-aleck comment. Alas he was not ready to die just yet.
Aizen's appearance was perfectly calm, except Gin knew that this was likely still an illusion, and given the growing sweat on Tousen's forehead —the only one here immune to Kyoka Suigetsu's power— he had a pretty good idea what the reality was like.
That tea had been a rare blend that Aizen had dubbed his 'only vice,' and had stolen the entire stockpile to enjoy for his next millennia of godhood. The plan being for subsequent years he would enjoy newer, ever better blends.
Unfortunately, they had failed to snatch any of the seeds, and the creator had gotten so drunk in despair he had destroyed both them and his notes, and gone to pick a fight with the 11th Division.
It had ended predictably, with Tousen being sent to discretely kill the offenders.
"What about surveillance?" he asked to be helpful.
"As near as we can tell, they uncovered Szayelaporro's own recording devices, and either destroyed or stole them all," confessed Ulquiorra. "However, that also led them to discover the main ones for Las Noches, and managed to somehow sabotage that as well. There are no viable recordings to be found, nor any living eyewitnesses."
Whelp, Szayelaporro just bumped himself ta the top of the 'demonstration' list. Especially since it was likely 'is own backdoor programs that made it possible. I'd feel sad, if not fer 'ow much 'e's like Kurotsuchi.
—Seas of Souls—
Szayelaporro could only shake with rage as he looked at the gutted room that had once held his research specimens: irreplaceable treasures that he had travelled across Hueco Mundo to find. Harvesting them for their unique abilities.
All gone.
Oh, he would find who was responsible for this. They could be sure of that!
With some trepidation, he had kept quiet about how he had recognized a particular two of them. He was so far into disgrace right now that no one would listen to him anyways. No, he would keep quiet, if only to ensure that he was the one who found them, vivisected them, and brought them still alive to be dropped at the feet of Lord Aizen!
Vengeance, he promised himself.
Now he just had to survive his Master's wrath long enough to do so.
—Seas of Souls—
By this point, the rest of the Espada, minus Szayelaporro who was either sulking in his palace or wisely keeping his distance, had returned.
"Report," Aizen cordially said, except with a touch of venom that they all heard.
Coughing into his fist, Luppi weakly said, "Your personal library has been stolen, Lord Aizen."
Well, he had memorized those long ago, keeping them out of sentiment for such engrossing reads. It was still puzzling.
"The medical lab has been emptied," said Aaroniero.
Given how little Aizen cared for their lives, no real loss there. His personal infirmary's barriers would have kept them out.
"One of the clothes depots was ransacked," Dordoni formally reported. "They cleaned it out too."
"Well then, I look forward to hearing your timely report on what you do know," Aizen pleasantly said, before turning and leaving. That would unnerve them all, and he could trust Gin to manage things while he handled his own affairs in the meantime. His foot was still not fully healed for one.
Heh, Gin. His most trustworthy and dependable servant, as well as the only one he was ever expecting to be moderately successful at betraying him. It was dualities like that which made life worth living. Why, it was a testament to Kyoraku's prowess that he kept Gin too busy to try and backstab his 'master' during their withdrawal.
In a flicker of Shunpo, Aizen slowly walked down the hallway to his private quarters, disregarding the lingering pain from burnt flesh.
Any sensation of cravings for his personal tea were obviously just his imagination.
The very pain would help him concentrate upon this new development. And what a fascinating one as well!
A single raiding party exposing a moment of weakness that I had overlooked, mused Aizen. Neatly leaving me at the mercy of the Seireitei. While they underestimated me, it was still a close thing.
Yet why the fixation on Szayelaporro's lab? To misdirect us? To hide how there was one particular thing there that they so desired?
While it was possible Szayelaporro had made some sort of 'impossible' discovery, it was unlikely. Admittedly brilliant by the standards of those so-called 'scientists' who shackled themselves with morality, once freed from the confines of living amongst sand dunes, the Septima Espada had adapted to modern science with surprising speed. Instead of morality however, it was arrogance that blinded him to his true potential. Moreover, Aizen always kept a careful eye on what he was doing, and for the life of him he could not conceive of anything that would be worth such a brazen raid.
Especially since it would require in-depth knowledge of Las Noches, which is impossible. Hmm, perhaps Nelliel and her Fraccion were recruited?
Possible, but not enough to explain everything. Including why the cleaned out all the storerooms like that. There is something I'm overlooking.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like whoever had raided his palace had done so to gather the resources for their own fortress. Taking supplies and recreational aids. Enough to provide for a small army even. Most curious.
According to his Espada, their Pesquisa said the intruders were Hollows, possibly all Arrancar. Except their behaviour was highly out of character for them. Plus, at least one of them had proven themselves to be on the same level as either an Espada or Taichou.
Most fascinating of all, was how the timing of the raid was so perfect that he refused to believe it was mere dumb luck.
A potential rival? he wondered, unaware of how his lips quirked up in a grin. Perhaps—
All other thoughts were caught off as he opened the doors to his personal quarters —Loly and Menoly were wisely absent— and immediately caught sight of the hole in his floor.
The safe he stored his own personal Hougyoku in, was torn open, and empty.
Las Noches trembled.
—Seas of Souls—
As one, all the Espada and Tousen turned to Gin.
"Ah, yer leaven' it to me, huh?" he grinned, while inside he desperately wanted to kill them all.
Aizen prided himself with his control, either of himself or others. Even in the face of a day like this. For him to now slip like that to the extent he made a place as large as the Seireitei shake with just his Reiatsu?
Not good. Not good at all.
Along with Tousen's oh-so welcome pep talk, who knew what the man's emotional state was in!?
Of course, he was still Aizen's loyal right-hand man, so who better to go see what was wrong?
With a quick Shunpo he reached the tower in question, and then continued at an even pace. No need to startle anyone after all. Plus it let him procrastinate as he furiously tried to figure out what to do.
My Bankai's still active, 'cept I can't tell yet if I should use her or not. While he's rattled right now, he'll also be expectin' me.
With those thoughts in mind as he schemed out plan and counter-plan –most of which were futile in the face of such power—he entered the room.
Kyoka Suigetsu was firmly held in Aizen's hand, naked blade glittering malevolently.
Without missing a beat, Gin aped Yammy and dropped to his knee. Something he had never done before in his life, hoping that the novelty of it would make the egomaniac curious enough to spare him.
.
.
.
The silence was oppressive.
A cheap trick to establish authority, or was Aizen truly that distracted?
With the briefest glimpse he had gotten, it seemed as if the traitorous ex-Taichou had been fixated on something on the ground.
"Gin," flat and sharp as a Zanpakutou.
"Aizen-taichou."
"Rise, and tell me what you make of this."
With an effort Gin forced down his heartbeat, and stepped forward to see what the situation was. He knew that his next words had better be some of the best he had ever used in his life.
There was a hole in the ground, leaking Reiryoku, the majority of which was Aizen's, and someone else's. Obviously it had been broken open, and within was an empty space. Perfect to hold something . . . small.
Oh.
My.
"Your Hougyoku," he said, smile slipping away in shock and eyelids cracking open.
Rangiku's Hougyoku.
Supposedly incomplete, it had still been sufficient enough to begin the creation of Arrancar for the army, creating ones far more powerful than the 'natural' variety. Urahara's one was needed to create a single, completed version, possessing inconceivable power.
Gin had always assumed that Aizen kept his Hougyoku on himself, except now he realized the flaw in that. Everyone would assume so, meaning that Urahara Kisuke would too. Would try and scheme a way to steal it. Moreover, while he had never held it himself, the foxlike-man had still faintly sensed something 'off' about it. Carrying that in the presence of the older Taichou, particularly the Soutaichou, would have been just asking for trouble.
Ergo, it needed to be hidden somewhere.
So Aizen had forged a massive fortress, staffed it with an army of powerful beings conditioned through various means into absolute loyalty, and then hidden it. Doubtless it was invisible to anyone who had seen his Shikai, with every barrier he had ever heard of either protecting or hiding it.
And someone had apparently literally torn right through it all.
—Seas of Souls—
In the void between worlds, the little purple ball in question finished its work, altering its new owner and his companions. . .
Because it had been literally snacked upon by Monkey D Luffy, he was unable to sense what was happening as his senses were tuned outwards, not inwards. As for the rest of those who might have detected anything amiss, they were too distracted by anticipation as they travelled.
—Seas of Souls—
"Obviously," said Aizen with a condescending tone. A rather familiar one.
If next thing that came out of Gin's mouth was not particularly intelligent, then he was going either become an object lesson, or a dead man. Or both.
Wait, intelligent . . .
Desperately he threw together a half-baked strategy that had the best chance of killing Aizen and helping Rangiku.
All within the span of the second between Aizen's statement, and him reflexively opening his mouth.
"Well then it's a good thing yah didn't kill of the Espada since we'll need them ta find this new party."
He barely got that all out with one breathe, and dared not look at the man he so desperately wanted to kill.
One heartbeat.
Two heartbeats.
Still untouched.
"We'll have ta start search parties immediately, Aizen-taichou, since it doesn't seem like Urahara Kisuke or Hirako Shinji's work."
Still silence and no agonizing pain.
Shrugging with (false) nonchalance, he continued. "Yeah, sure, it was a perfect raid. But how're they ta know we'd be at our most vulnerable in terms of timin' an' security? If either of 'em had, it would have been a lot better. If it was the Visoreds, they'd would've tried ta kill yah. Or us never knowin' they was here if it were Urahara. In an' out with yours substituted with a booby-trapped fake. An' he wouldn' have had ta rely upon such a clumsy plan like sending in those poor Ryoka kids ta get his Hougyoku back.
"So, we know it wasn' either of those groups, which means it was someone else."
"Yes," mused Aizen, once more the smooth puppet-master. "Urahara didn't even give the Ryoka his special cloaks to conceal themselves. While he might be interested in the scientific accomplishments of others, he would never risk the mission for such relative trivialities like those. Or books and clothes. So who could it be then?"
Doesn' matter, Gin thought, while cupping his chin as if trying to figure out who was responsible. Just so long as yah don' go after Kisuke or Soul Society. That yah don' figure out who has it. Buys me time for them to recover, and then distract yah so I can find my openin'.
Especially since whoever did this is likely a Vasto Lorde Arrancar who's not affected by your Shikai, makin' it even better.
Above all else though, I need your current attitude ta ease so yah go back ta your usual complacency.
And isn' that just a terrifyin' thought!
"Well, we can always kill 'em and work out the details later," he offered.
"Indeed," Aizen finally and genially said. "Begin forming search parties." His eyes hardened to something dark and ugly. "They are to burn whatever or whoever gets in their way of finding my Hougyoku."
—Seas of Souls—
Author Notes:
This is for everyone who was put off by Aizen's needlessly convoluted plans.
Right here we see an Aizen who was forced to display to not only the world, but himself, just how terrifyingly strong he really is. On a very much related note, I should tell you:
If Luffy fought either Yamamoto or Aizen, with both Soul Reapers going all out, Luffy would have a 20% chance of winning. This is not a story where Luffy's going to be trouncing everybody with ease. Even the fire resistance mentioned in chapter 2 is only resistance. Yamamoto's Bankai trumps it by a far margin. That said, their odds of winning would be only 30% unless they pulled out their respective Bankai, since Luffy is indeed abnormally powerful in his own right. Moreover, the sheer act of pushing them to that extent is a feat no Hollow or Shinigami ever managed in canon.
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Want to know something scary about Yamamoto? According to the wiki, his strength is his weakest stat. Now stop to reflect upon all the feats of physical strength he displayed . . . :-O
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I confess I seriously wish I could have written that conversation between Aizen, Gin, and Tousen to be like the one in chapter 18 of "Uninvited Guests," by Moczo. My absolutely favourite fic period.
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I strongly recommend "You Have But Two Choices," by LordVishnu, which was very helpful in writing all of this.
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Next Chapter: "Home, Sweet Home"
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Please Review, and I will get back to you!