The quincy invasion started not so long ago and yet it was already looking terrible : They came out of nowhere, started killing everyone left and right, and the worst yet four bankais have been stolen now.
Kuchiki Rukia, the thirteenth squad lieutenant, was trying to compose herself after learning that her brother's bankai had been stolen. She has been relentlessly fighting an onslaught of quincy soldiers for a while and now she was fighting a so-called sternritter, one of the higher grade quincies.
In a moment of weakness, Rukia's stamina caught up to her, causing her leg to lose its strength, which resulted in her tumbling on the ground.
The sternritter was quick to capitalize on her mistakes, launching arrows in her direction.
Rukia thought she was done for, until she heard. "Bakudo number 63 : Sajusabaku!"
The bakudo used created a chain made out of light that strangled the quincy like a serpent.
Without so much as a second, the quincy's head fell from his shoulder, presumably from the caster of the kido spell.
Rukia glanced toward her savior, more specifically the familiar oddly shaped zanpakuto that didn't seem like the most efficient sword in a battle.
The zanpakuto's name was Wabisuke, its holder was none other than the squad three's lieutenant Kira Izuru.
Rukia looked relieved to see him in the middle of this war. "Thank you Kira, you really sav-"
Rukia stopped when she noticed something, there was no doubt that the man before her was Kira, he had the same hairstyle, he looked at her the same way, he stood like Kira would stand. He had Wabisuke, his signature Zanpakuto. The man in front of her was definitely Kira Izuru.
And yet, in that moment, what was that spiritual pressure?
Rukia did not believe it. She of all people recognized that spiritual pressure, there is no way she would have mistaken it, not after everything that happened. So the question now was. "What the hell are you doing here, Aaroniero?!"
Rukia quickly readied her stance with Sode no Shirayuki, ready to use her Hakuren the moment the imposter in front of her made a wrong move.
Kira, or rather Aaroniero, frowned. "Tsk, you found out, so much for going under the radar."
"Answer my question!"
"I'm under Kurotsuchi's orders."
"Captain Kurotsuchi? How did that happen?"
"That captain of yours found my body and kept it in his lab for while and he deployed me so I can help him analyze the quincies' abilities."
"That's impossible, the Head captain banned arrancars and visored from using their abilities."
"That is why I alone was sent out here. I'm the only one who can blend in, until you found me that is." Aaroniero smiled slyly. "But, In a way it does make me happy you recognize me no matter the body I'm in."
Rukia felt repulsed, she wanted to puke at the arrancar's last comment, his existence alone was an insult to Kaien and now Kira and now he dared make a comment like that. "Why did you take Kira's body?"
"Because he is dead." Rukia's eyes widened in horror at his words. "He was one of the first casualties of this war and Kurotsuchi didn't want to lose valuable members this early on so he made me take over him."
Rukia bit her lips, her grip tightened on her hand. "Let me contact Captain Kurotsuchi." She said coldly.
Aaroniero brought a phone from his pocket and gave it to Rukia, Rukia immediately called.
The captain answered the next moment. "Do you have any good news?"
"Captain Kurotsuchi! Don't you have any shame?! Using a dead man's body to fight and bringing this monstrosity back to life."
"Will you shut up already, I'm doing everything I can to win this war, that's the only thing that matters. Shame, honor, pride, ethics, all of this will get us nowhere but the grave, so bury your emotions for a moment and let me do my job."
Aaroniero didn't even attempt to hide his smile. "You heard the captain."
Rukia was furious at these two, her stare would burn the phone in front of her if she had the ability. What did she expect when she yelled at Kurotsuchi, that he would change his ways? Of course he would not. Rukia was feeling stupid for even trying to talk to the captain.
However, there is still an undeniable fact that she could use to her advantage. And so she said. "You want to let this abomination out, fine! But the moment he makes the slightest mistake or goes out of control I will use Tenteikura and warn everyone that an arrancar escaped your lab. Let's see how you two can handle that."
Both the arrancar and the captain clicked their tongue in annoyance and Rukia smiled a bit in satisfaction, Kurotsuchi may be a captain but even he could not go against the head captain's words without facing consequences.
Aaroniero, on his part, complied. "Alright, alright. I'll play nice, I will just do my job here."
"That's more lik-"
Rukia and Aaroniero's conversation stopped when they heard. "I found soul reapers!"
The duo was quickly surrounded by a number of quincies soldiers aiming their arrows at them. "Our conversation will have to wait, time to kill these quincies. Don't slow me down, Kuchiki!"
"Don't try anything, Aaroniero."
Both soul reapers engaged with their foes, slicing through the battlefield, one with grace, the other with carnage.
"Rage throughout the seas and heavens, Nejibana!"
Rukia paused momentarily at what she heard, Aaroniero was using Kaien's zanpakuto yet again, in addition to Kira's Wabisuke. She tried to focus on her opponents and ignore the arrancar, but that proved to be difficult when said arrancar reopened deep wounds within herself.
Although the use of a second zanpakuto had its advantages.
"How is he using two Zanpakuto?!"
"We have never heard of such a thing!"
"It must be his bankai, try to steal it now!"
"I've been trying, It's not working!"
The sounds of painful screams and vicious sword wounds deafened Rukia's ears. As much as she hates to admit it, Aaroniero is strong and most importantly, he is an anomaly, one that the quincies don't know how to deal with.
After finishing the groups of soldiers the arrancar stood over the body of one of the nameless quincies in front of him, his left arm transformed into something different, a brown-tentacled appendage with a gaping maw at the center. Aaroniero's own zanpakuto rather than one of his victims.
"What do you think you're doing?" Asked Rukia.
"What does it look like? Eat it of course."
"I knew you would not last long before trying something but I thought you would try to be more sneaky about it. Want me to tell everyone you're here?"
Aaroniero smiled confidently at Rukia. "I'm still within my orders, my purpose is to analyze the quincies' abilities, and what better way to do that than eating them and trying them for myself."
Rukia stayed quiet for a while, she didn't know how to respond to that. Then she said the only thing on her mind. "How low can Kurotsuchi get?"
Aaroniero chuckled. "It's lower when you're inside his lab. Want to turn back? This may be a bit… grotesque for you."
"And let myself wide open to you? No thanks."
Aaroniero shrugged. "Suit yourself." his hand began to devour the quincy lying on the ground, much to Rukia's disgust. as he finished he commented. "Tasted weak, then again this one didn't put up much of a fight. Let's see with the nex-" The man stopped himself as he felt pain in his stomach, his body began to convulse violently.
After struggling to stay standing, Aaroniero fell on his knees and threw up the content of his stomach and breathed heavily. After a few seconds he screamed. "What the hell?!"
"What happened?"
"I… can't eat it."
Rukia looked genuinely confused. "You? Could not eat a human?"
Aaroniero ignored the girl and quickly came to a conclusion, used the phone he was given and shouted. "Oy! Kurotsuchi, what did you do to my body?"
"Why is everyone so damn loud? I did nothing to your body." Aside from the usual drugs. "What's wrong with it?"
"I could not eat this quincy, you must have done something."
"You? Could not eat a human?"
Aaroniero felt insulted that his whole identity was being questioned. "Yes! Now tell me what you did."
"I already told you I didn't do anything, do you understand how ridiculous what you are saying is? We would not be in this mess if hollows could not eat quincies. The problem must be something unique and personal…" There was a silence on Kurotsuchi Mayuri's end before he continued. "I see, it is not that you can't eat the quincy, but you could not assimilate his cells as your own. A cellular rejection. Arrancar, come back to my lab NOW, we may just have found the quincies' weakness."
"Slow down, I don't know how this led to that."
"No time, come quick and bring me a few Quincies corpses."
Aaroniero sighed and scratched the back of his head, in a manner Kaien would do rather than Kira. "Damn it, So much for being free, and so much for trying to be a hollow, soul reaper and quincy hybrid. I guess this is where we part ways. Take care, Kuchiki."
Rukia sneered at him. "The idea that the two of you are the key to winning this war disgust me, but we need to know a weakness to counter them, so go away now and remember : One misstep and I stitch to everyone."
I hope you enjoyed this. Leave me a comment if you feel like it (Was the writing decent? Is the idea interesting? Is theresomething I can improve on).
The part about head captain's orders is a popular headcanon (I think) and I try to use it to my advantage here.
Crossposted on Ao3 with the same name.
