Aizen sat perfectly still, breathing slow and steady. He delved deep within, mentally disassembling the fusion binding his soul. The process was delicate, requiring utmost precision. One misstep could destroy the vessel beyond repair.
But gradually, metaphysical strands loosened and separated under his guidance. The gestalt unraveled, freeing previously inaccessible pathways. At last, he could traverse the openings between body and spirit.
With a final gentle tug, Aizen's soul peeled away, emerging in Shinigami form before his seated gigai. He flexed gloved fingers experimentally and rolled his neck, adjusting to full manifestation.
It had taken weeks of intense inward focus, but the knowledge extracted from Ginjo proved correct. He could walk freely as a spirit whilst still tethered to Ichigo's mortal frame.
Now, on to the next phase. His recent brush with the ascended Espada drove home the need for greater combat versatility if he hoped to challenge his doppelganger and the Soul King.
Luckily, there existed a convenient trove of unique talents ripe for the taking - the Fullbringers. Those who derived power from Hollow reiatsu were still human enough for their abilities to mesh with his composite physiology.
First on that list was Orihime Inoue. The girl's rejection powers could grant defensive and restorative boons Aizen sorely needed. Once under his command, those shields would be nigh impenetrable, and any injury could be reversed in moments. Yes, the princess would make a fine addition to his arsenal.
Tracking her familiar signature, Aizen located Orihime walking alone down a wooded park path. Perfect. An isolated location suited his purposes well.
"What a pleasant surprise seeing you here, Orihime."
She jumped, whirling to face the source of the unexpected voice. "Kurosaki-kun! I didn't know you were..." Her words trailed off uncertainly as she took in his black shihakusho and Zanpakuto.
Aizen smiled disarmingly. "Just out for some evening training. Care to join me for a bit?" He gestured off the path to a more secluded grove.
Orihime fidgeted with sudden nervousness. "Oh, that's alright, I wouldn't want to disturb your practice..."
"Nonsense. I could use a partner, and I'd enjoy your company." He radiated gentle encouragement, willing her to acquiesce.
"Well...if you're sure I won't be a bother..." Against her better judgment, Orihime allowed him to lead her into the trees.
Aizen selected a small clearing encircled by pines. Turning to Orihime, he drew his sword.
"I'll activate some low level kidō targets and defend myself. You can observe, if that's alright."
She nodded uncertainly. Aizen focused, materializing a series of spinning disks in the air around them. They hummed with kinetic force, ready for release.
"Here we go. Santen Kesshun - I reject!"
Two golden shields manifested before Aizen's outstretched palms. The kidō disks crashed against them, falling broken and inert to the grass.
Orihime gasped in surprise. "How are you doing that?"
Aizen allowed the energy shields to dissipate. "Oh, just something new I'm trying with my reiatsu control. Speaking of, would you care to demonstrate your power? I'm most curious to experience its effects firsthand."
Her eyes widened nervously at the prospect. "O-okay, I can try..."
She moved closer, hands hovering just above his arm. "Sōten Kisshun - I reject!"
Aizen focused intently as the oval dome materialized over his skin. She was exposed - he had to act fast before her suspicions arose. Delving swiftly into her energy matrix, he seized hold of the restoration sequence brightening his cells.
With a wrench, he tore it free from her control, instantly absorbing the reaction deep into his own spiritual network. The dome dissolved as Orihime staggered back in shock.
"Kurosaki-kun?! What did you..." Understanding dawned in her frightened eyes. "No! You can't be-"
"Too late, my dear." Aizen smirked, the last trace of pretense gone. "Though I do appreciate your contribution."
Tears spilled down Orihime's cheeks. She turned to run, but an iron grip locked around her wrist before she made it two steps.
"Please, let me go!" she sobbed, pulling desperately. "I won't tell anyone, I promise!"
Aizen twisted her arm roughly behind her back, drawing pained whimpers. "Come now, why leave so soon?" he purred. "We've only just begun."
Orihime screamed then, high and shrill. The sound reverberated through the silent park.
Aizen scoffed. "No one will reach you in time. But very well, I am not without mercy."
He tapped her temple sharply with two fingers. Orihime's cries died abruptly as her body went limp. Catching her gracefully, Aizen lifted the girl's comatose form and opened a void back to Las Noches. He had what he needed from this one. Time to get rid of the body. Time to prepare for the next.
Chapter 9
The Collector Reborn
Within his spartan dwellings, Aizen focused intensely on the newly integrated ability thrumming within. Carefully, he reached into the luminous void, guiding strands to rearrange and entwine along his soul.
Bit by bit, the sequences aligned and activated according to his will. There - rejection energy now blossomed to coat his forearms in shimmering shields. They could expand instantaneously to guard his whole body at a thought. Excellent.
Now for true experimentation. Aizen conjured a focused lance of blazing kidō. Taking aim, he hurled the crackling bolt directly toward his chest. Just before impact, the shields flashed up. The kidō sundered violently against them, leaving him unscathed.
A satisfied smile tugged at Aizen's lips. Even condensed, the defensive potential proved extraordinary. And that was merely the beginning. All possibilities branched out before him, limited only by imagination.
But he could indulge in finer control later. For now, it was time to seek the next addition to his expanding repertoire. One by one, each Fullbringer would fall before him, their powers stripped away and repurposed toward his transcendence. None could stand against him - neither Shinigami, Arrancar, nor even their pathetic human shadows.
His gaze turned outward, scanning the web of reishi for another shining thread to pluck. There - a distinctive pressure pulsing from a nondescript neighborhood. The signature was unmistakable, though fainter than once before without the fullbring mantle.
It seemed Sado Yasutora misery had drawn him back to old haunts and habits. No matter, it saved Aizen the trouble of hunting his first friend down. How fitting that the man who enabled his life would now directly expedite the next phase.
Veiling himself from mortal eyes, Aizen stepped silently down the apartment complex hall. Finding the correct unit, he phased directly through the closed door.
Just as expected, Chad sat slouched on the floor amidst a pile of empty bottles. Days old takeout containers were strewn haphazardly about the room, filling the air with a stale, unwashed stench.
Chad himself looked even more disheveled than during their previous encounter, eyes red-rimmed and dulled by drink. He gave no notice as Aizen materialized within his abode.
"Still chasing ghosts, I see," Aizen remarked casually, glancing about the squalor. "How the mighty have fallen."
At the sound of an unknown voice, Chad jerked alert, fumbling for a weapon that was no longer there.
Seeing no visible intruder, he squinted blearily. "Who's there?!" His words slurred together in a drunken stupor. "Show yourself!"
Aizen allowed his form to manifest fully. "No need for hysterics. As you can see, it is only me." He flashed a cold, polite smile.
Chad's eyes widened in recognition and fear. "You...no, I must be hallucinating..." He rubbed his face vigorously, as if to banish the terrifying mirage.
"I can assure you, this is anything but hallucinatory." Aizen stepped closer, relishing the terror on the man's face. "In fact, you could say I'm here to repay a debt. Your skills proved quite useful to me, after all."
Panic sobered Chad quickly. He scrambled back, searching desperately for an escape from the smiling demon before him.
Aizen watched the pathetic display with detached amusement. "Please, let's not make this more difficult than needed. Your powers will serve me best now."
He seized Chad by the throat and hoisted him aloft as the man choked for air. "Do try to relax. The process is entirely painless...for me at least."
Chad struggled helplessly, face purpling. But Aizen had already initiated the extraction sequence, cording Chad's Fullbring energy out through his clutching fingers. The man's eyes rolled back as the life force of his power drained away.
Moments later, the transfer stabilized, and Aizen released his hold. Chad collapsed in a limp pile, gasping raggedly. The predatory Focus in his eyes had vanished, replaced by dim confusion. He stared vacantly up at Aizen with no recognition.
"Thank you for your contribution," Aizen said politely. "I'll take things from here."
He turned and stepped back through the void, leaving the hollow man alone on the stained floor. Arrival in Hueco Mundo greeted him along with surge of newly harnessed might. Chad's power thrummed in synchrony with Orihime's, ready to unleash.
Soon they would be joined by the remaining Fullbringers. Then at last he would stand prepared to face all challengers.
Aizen moved swiftly through the following weeks, tracking down and seizing each thread of Fullbring ability one by one. None could stand for long before his onslaught.
He took the manipulative Book of the End from Shukuro Tsukishima first, relishing the anguished betrayal in the man's eyes when his own power turned against him. Then came Jackie Tristan's dirty boots, Riruka Dokugamine's Love Gun, Yukio Hanzakura's Invaders Must Die. Each fell swiftly before Aizen's advancing might.
With powers sampled from Visored Shinji during a brief but brutal confrontation, Aizen's pool expanded to include Soul Manipulation, spatial domination, lightning strikes and more. He fine-tuned them in isolation, patiently strengthening his sickly human frame to contain the influx of mixed reiatsu.
Soon, only one target remained: Kugo Ginjo, the first Substitute Shinigami. Even depleted, the man possessed formidable combat skill. And his Cross of Scaffold could potentiallysiphon Aizen's carefully cultivated energies.
Luckily, one advantage persisted across their repeated battles - Ginjo still perceived his original form. One glance at Kyoka Suigetsu's release, and the playing field tilted decisively.
Aizen tracked his mark to a remote mountain temple. The man had donned a monk's robes and tried in vain to drown past glory in mindless ritual. But peace would not come so easily for one so marked by death.
Under illusion's veil, Aizen ascended the misty stone steps to the ancient shrine. Inside the hall, Ginjo knelt facing the scroll-filled altar, oblivious to the silent wraith creeping up behind.
Aizen struck swift as a viper, sealing Ginjo's fate before he could utter a breath. The extracted power flowed eagerly into its new master, threading through his core alongside the other harvested strands.
At long last, the work was complete. Aizen's soul blazed with the integrated tapestry of abilities. Subjugation, evolution, rejection, manipulation, domination - all flowed in discordant harmony within him. And through their union, his shackled form approached nearer still to transcendence.
The stage was set. His strength was boundless, his sight pierce all veils. No secrets lay beyond his reach, nor any soul escape his judgment.
Let them all come - Shinigami, Arrancar, Quincy and the false gods above. He would break them against the wheels of destiny. A new order dawned, and he stood enthroned at its center.
With open palms raised to the infinite heavens, Aizen sent a single silent vow. The boards were arrayed and the pieces set in motion. The game was on. Checkmate grew nearer with every breath. None could stop it now.