New chapter for you all, hope you enjoy. (also, been doing this fic for two years now... holy crap)

Tokinada walked the halls of the first squad. He had to admit his old friend did a great job of rebuilding after their late teacher had failed in his duty. He shook his head as he grinned. Of course Kyoraku would do a good job, he saw their teacher's follies for what they were, the Gotei under Yamamoto had become a glorified kendo club meant to enforce the agreement that created it in the first place and nothing more. All of these notions of 'honorable combat' were nothing but bullshit, and they both knew it. The quincy were shown no such honor in the war a thousand years ago, and so when they came back, they reciprocated. Yhwach showed their teacher the ultimate form of respect, creating a plan to specifically eliminate them from the board. Those little trinkets, killing Sasikabe, and declaring war directly to his face were all meant to goad him, and it worked. Shunsui was not vulnerable to such tactics, Tokinada had always known this.

Though declaring his intent to his face definitely made things interesting. Shunsui, Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Urahara were the four biggest threats to his plan, and countermeasures for each had been put into play. However, if he was to impose his new order, they'd each have to be eliminated.

The time has come when his political shield was no longer needed.

"Ah, Okikiba, it's been a while hasn't it? Glad to see you're doing well," Tokinada greeted the veteran lieutenant. He had been a member of the first for as long as Tokinada could remember.

"Ah, yes, the serpent has arrived. The Captain-Commander has informed me to direct you to him should you arrive," Okikiba's briefing on the matter was thorough. Tokinada was believed to be conspiring against Soul Society and was to be seen as a captain-level threat.

"Ah, perfect, I was looking to speak with him today," Tokinada ignored the insult. Okikiba had always disliked him. Something about being a psychopath raised with a silver spoon. He never really cared what the older shinigami had to say about him.

Okikiba's hand hovered over his zanpakuto, not that it would do much good. Tokinada was much younger, and much faster. Even though he had his zanpakuto confiscated upon his discharge, the noble was out of his league. However, a lesson Yamamoto had taught him back before the Gotei was founded came to mind.

'An inattentive predator can easily be felled by its prey,' A lesson his late commander seemed to have forgotten. So Okikiba kept himself ready, just in case he had the opportunity should Tokinada choose to strike.

The walk to Kyoraku's office was tense. Tokinada could tell Okikiba was weary of him. That could only mean that Shunsui had warned him. His old friend never really trusted him, so he didn't pay much attention.

Okikiba walked forward to open the door, but was surprised when Nanao opened it from the inside instead. Tokinada walked in without a word being said between any of them, allowing Nanao to exit the room and close the door behind her.

"Tell the division we have the rest of the day off and to go home," Nanao would only say such a thing if it was the captain's orders, and that order ment he expected a fight.

Okikiba turned to leave. While he was not the one to usually just take a day off if offered, this wasn't an offer. It was not his place to interfere in these matters, he'd only get in the way.

"Honestly Shunsui, I'd have expected better decor from you," Tokinada jabbed at the plain office they were in, and how it contrasted with Shunsui's usually colorful aesthetic.

"The office is temporary, not really worth decorating what's probably going to be a storeroom in a few months time," Shunsui played up his lazy demeanor. Tokinada knew it was a ruse, but perhaps if he gave the impression of thinking this is a social visit it may cause Tokinada to slip up.

"Please, you know that never worked on me, it's almost insulting," Tokinada found the attempt at misdirection as pathetic. He knew he was well aware of how much Tokinada knew about him.

"It was worth a shot," Shunsui shrugged, then his face darkened. "Why are you here?"

"I would say to check on a friend, but since we've skipped the pleasantries, I want to ask you something," This perplexed the head captain. He was expecting a fight, not a conversation. "Do you trust humanity to guide itself in its current state?"

"Our-"

"I don't want your boilerplate answer as head captain. I want your answer," Tokinada interrupted his 'friend.' The silence that followed was tense as Shunsui considered his answer. He could lie, but Tokinada could see through that. No, he had to be honest.

"No," he couldn't. How could he? They welded power over the balance that they couldn't begin to comprehend. The various nations of the living world had, within his lifetime, gone from fighting with swords and bows, to individual weapons with the destructive power to match a captain, and then point thousands of them at each other. They were recklessly destroying their environment to a degree that will eventually endanger them, and possibly endanger the balance as a whole.

"Thankfully, I have a solution," Tokinada smirked.

"It'd take a miracle for me to trust any solution that you propose," Shunsui spoke with a dry yet acidic tone.

"Shunsui, at least give me a chance to speak before you cast your doubt upon me," Tokinada knew Shunsui signing on was a long shot, but his old friend would make a powerful ally if it could happen.

"No need. I already know it," Shunsui broke off the line of conversation there. He had no interest in seeing what Tokinada would call a 'rightful order.'

"Ah, so Yoruichi told you," So he was a fool after all.

"Let me ask you a question," Shunsui stood up, looking at the snake he once thought of as a friend eye to eye, "did you kill her?"

Tokinada thought for a moment before beginning to laugh.

"You mean Lieutenant Ise's mother?" He stifled the last of his laughter. The pained expression on the head captain's face was exquisite, "unfortunately no, had I planned it I would have ensured you had an unobstructed view of her execution, even put you at risk of getting some of her blood on that kimono you always wear."

Tokinada barely had enough time to react to Shunsui throwing his desk at him. Moving to release the shikai of his ancestral zanpakuto.

"Venerate, Kuten Kyokoku," a bright wall formed in front of Tokinada, catching the flying desk before reflecting it back with violent force.

However, Shunsui had completely evaded the retaliatory strike, and stood, shikai released, across from his former friend.

"That's not your sword's true name is it?" He has noticed the underwhelming release of reiatsu, especially for one of the legendary ancestral swords, as well as the name's uncanny similarity to his own shikai.

"Shame, I was hoping to surprise you, but there's no point in keeping up the ruse now is there," Tokinada grinned. While this was sub-optimal, he still held the cards, and Shunsui had struck first, meaning he had full right to not only retaliate, but to kill him for daring to attack a member of a great house.

"Sip from the four seas, the heavenly shores entwine, equally duplicate ten thousand, and sharpen, Enrakyoten." a bright flash enveloped Tokinada, and when the light cleared, the blade he held was almost invisible.

Shunsui knew there was more to it however. The sinister reiatsu warned him as much. So Shunsui continued to wait, holding his stance and contemplating what games to use against someone who knew his entire bag of tricks.

A second blade then manifested in Tokinada's offhand, and he began another chant.

"The flowery winds become disturbed," no, that couldn't be, "The god of flowers sings," Shunsui changed his posture to be more defensive, a shocked confusion washing over him, "The heavenly winds become disturbed, the devil of heaven sneers, Katen Kyokotsu."

What the hell was Shunsui witnessing? This should be by all rights impossible, and yet, when the air cleared, Tokinada was holding an exact replica of Shunsui's own zanpakuto.

"Now then, what game shall we play?" The office was constrained and the fight would inevitably spill into the barracks at large if it continued for long enough. Tokinada's grin widened at the thought. "Irooni should do."

Shunsui prepared to strike but Tokinada had somehow gotten inside his guard in that one moment.

"White."

He felt the touch of his blade on his Haori beneath his kimono, and the accompanying slash across his gut. He could take the hit, but the pain was surprising. This had been the first time in a while he had been hit by his own ability, and he could hear Ohana yelling at him in his mind.

Fortunately, since he attained Bankai all those centuries ago, he had lost the need to declare the games before they started and faded into his own shadow.

Tokinada knew immediately what was happening and turned to face where he expected the attack to come, which was exactly what Shunsui was counting on.

"You're it."

Before Tokinada could react Shunsui was already behind him, forcing him to dodge a decapitating strike by diving away.

"Well played. This is just like old times isn't it?" Tokinada grinned as he got up rapidly and wiped the blood that bubbled up from his lungs, remembering the drills Yammamoto had him and Shunsui do until they were burned into their very bodies.

"No. It isn't. Because now I know what you have always been, and I don't aim to let you escape," Shunsui's face was obscured by the shadow his hat cast upon it.

"Oh? And what will Central 46 think? Killing me without due process?" Tokinada didn't really care what those old farts thought. Creating the court to begin with was folly in his opinion.

"You have conspired against Soul Society, I have every right to kill you where you stand," Shunsui was always the hardest for Tokinada to understand, but here, holding an exact copy of his old friend's shikai, now he got him. The playful act was always a ruse, he had known that, but what it was hiding always eluded him. His old friend was tired. Tired of loss, tired of being trusted with things his friends cherished, tired of picking up the pieces.

If he was so tired, then he'd give his friend the rest he so clearly wanted.

Shunsui was careful in his decision-making. He knew what Tokinada could do, and he was unsure what limitations there were to the copy. So he waited. Right as Tokinada was about to charge him, his opportunity came. For a moment Tokinada broke line of sight, allowing Shunsui to get behind him.

"Kageoni," Tokinada responded the moment he felt Shunsui move behind him, opting to melt into the shadows than take the hit.

Shunsui kept his guard up for a few moments, waiting for Tokinada to attack. When that attack never came, he moved for the door. He needed to get that wound on his gut healed, and then call an emergency meeting.

The night was young, and Uryu intended to save his kin before it was over. Sure, Karin and Yuzu were second cousins at most, and he had been distant with Ichigo, but that was before he learned of the connection and that all three were quincy.

As a prospective king, and one who sought to bring peace and protect those who remained, letting them come to harm was a bad look.

His retinue was at his back, even if some were there begrudgingly. Bambietta had mader her thoughts clear in the briefings. She saw them as Shinigami first, and quincy second at best. Liltotto was more accommodating, she wasn't keen on helping Shinigami either, but they were not guilty of the massacre like their father. The rest were indifferent or simply followed Uryu because he was in charge. Domino in particular fell into the latter category.

"Is this it?" Uryu spoke quietly as the overlooked a large compound in the forest just outside Tokyo. It was clear this was Xcution's main headquarters and worship area. The large compound was likely an old family palace before it was abandoned. The property had been refurbished and made to support the much larger membership of the cult it now supported.

"Yes. I sensed Aura's reiatsu not long ago. As well as that of the child Bambietta and Candice encountered," Shaz's statement was not exactly good news. If Hikone was here, that meant they were in for a big fight, one that might hurt those they were here to save.

"Boss, I'm not sensing the twins," Liltotto spoke up. Yuzu's soul burned particularly bright for someone who couldn't see spirits, and she should have been able to sense her, and if not Yuzu, Karin's soul was like a road flare by comparison. Not as intense as their brother, but she still should be able to sense them.

"They could be being forced to wear something to disperse their powers," Uryu hoped that was the case, and he motioned to begin the operation.

Shaz threw out some of his knives, each hitting key sensors. Cameras, motion sensors, reshi detectors, anything that could set off any alarms. Candice then stuck her hands in the ground and dumped as much power as she could into the ground.

The hope was to fry the security system before she took out the local grid. She had been practicing on achieving exactly that through multiple forms of surge protection. It was inconsistent, however, so they simply hoped she could do enough damage before the circuit breakers tripped and the fuses burnt out.

The various lights popping out was a good sign.

"Surge protection tripped, can't get any more juice in there," she wasn't sure what happened. If she was able to arc across the breakers, then that meant she had burnt out the fuses, likely including those in the sensitive electronics she was targeting. Point was, everything was offline, assuming there wasn't an air gapped auxiliary power system.

"Here goes nothing," that's when they jumped the wall and entered the main courtyard. Uryu was expecting a fight, mannequins, cult members, shinigami, anything. However what they found was nothing. That was something that befuddled everyone. This was Xcution's HQ, and if their theories were correct, a visuals Department blacksite. Why would it be undefended?

"Split up, we need to cover as much ground as possible," each and every one of them represented at least a lieutenant-grade threat, possibly higher, and so any threat this place could pose was negligible. They needed to find Karin and Yuzu as soon as possible, or confirm that they were moved to a different location.

If there was one thing Tokinada hated even more than the hypocrisy of his fellow nobles, it was gaps in his information.

One such gap was Uryu Ishida. "The War in Defense of the Soul King" had changed everything about Uryu, even granting him an unknown shrift. He had assumed preying on his perceived obligation to the quincy would have paralyzed him. Making the stakes too great for him to take action. Obviously he had assumed wrong, as the sensors and security for the Tokyo black-site all went dark. There was only one person capable of overburdening the systems to that degree in the living world, and that someone was in Uryu's service.

Thankfully that site had already done its job, and now they were in a valley of screams. An island of form in the formless between-space of Garganta.

"Uryu has made his move, I assume?" Aura was similarly displeased. The status of Uryu as a total wildcard complicated their plans. Not to mention, his fine reiatsu control completely disarmed their entire reason for kidnapping the girls in the first place.

"Yes, though I have already taken precautions. You may begin the show, and Yukio, let our guests see this," Tokinada had rarely seen the limits of Aura's abilities, he wasn't sure if she even had any. Her ability to command the world around her was beyond impressive, and this coming feat would simply further cement that.

Yukio motioned like he was pulling something out of the screen of his hand-held, and out came Karin and Yuzu, hands bound so as not to cause trouble.

"What the fuck!" Karin yelled as she spat out the dirt that came with her unceremoniously being thrown into the ground.

"Now now, I just wanted you to see something I am sure you'd find awe-inspiring. I know I've been anticipating this myself," Tokinada's words almost served as a cue for Aura as she began moving her arms in calculated motions. Soon, chunks of the surrounding earth began to rise into the air, shaking the ground they were on.

Karin could count six chunks of earth floating in the air, each the size of mountains. Then she began to feel the ground beneath her rise.

"Karin…" Yuzu was terrified. She had no idea what was going on, hell, Karin didn't either.

"Just hold on," Karin didn't dare say things would be alright. They both knew the platitude would be a lie. She had a plan, but they needed to wait.

Soon five of the chunks flattened out into disks, while the central chunk became a cylinder with a tapered top and bottom. Fine details then started to form, and the chunk they were on started to shift as well.

The process only took a few minutes and after the shaking stopped Aura turned to look at Tokinada.

"Is this satisfactory?" Aura's tone almost seemed proud. As though she never doubted she could do this.

"Satisfactory? My dear, you sell yourself short, this is spectacular!" Tokinada's proclamation was followed by mad laughter.

Karin didn't know it, but Aura had perfectly recreated the Soul King's palace, purely from photographs and surveillance footage.

So Tokinada has taken the gloves off, and very soon we'll be at all the fights I've been choreographing in my head for the past two years!