It didn't take long for the other Captains to make their way towards Itachi and Miyako, who had managed to calm down but clearly was still under a degree of pain, each sporting a frown on their faces when they arrived to see Itachi holding Miyako's hands while his eyes stared directly at the mismatching energy with her, especially on her mask.
"Miyako!" Kaien looked just as confused as the Captains but instead of confused frowns his face was etched thick with concern.
"Oi, why the holdup? And what's with the lass?" Kenpachi strode to the front, pushing aside the others and bent down to get a closer look at the Visored, his hands going to tap on her mask only for it to be smacked aside by Itachi.
"Hands off, Zaraki." Itachi warned but Kenpachi nonchalantly shrugged it off.
"What is wrong with her, Itachi?" Isshin asked, getting the man back on the main subject. "And I also noticed that this place suddenly feels empty."
Itachi pointed at Miyako, specifically her mask. "You can sense the foreign Reiatsu inside her, can't you?" They nodded.
"What is it doing to her?" Byakuya asked, an almost detached frown sitting on his face.
"It is more concentrated around her mask and it's currently acting as an anchor." Itachi replied, his Sharingan trailing from her mask to the walls behind her. "As for what she is anchored to, my guess would be this Forest of Menos. Or at least a portion of it."
"So?" Kenpachi interrupted impatiently. "She got her stupid self caught and sealed. Let's not waste our time on the weakling and go to where the fight is."
His words angered everyone in the room to varying degrees, with Isshin and Kaien being the most affected and most expressive as they glared daggers at him, which was effortlessly ignored. Byakuya's face was filled with contempt and his evident dislike of Kenpachi. Itachi regarded him blankly while Junpei just deadpanned at the man. The young man still remembered his hollow days at the 11th and was wise enough to keep his displeasure in a place Kenpachi couldn't see it, wanting nothing more than to avoid the tyrant's attention.
Itachi held out his hand and Junpei handed him the device Kisuke gave to him which he then threw at Isshin who caught it and looked at it curiously.
"It's no longer working. I doubt Kisuke can reach us right now, nor can we contact him to open a Garganta here."
Junpei and Kaien had tried using it to leave with Lilynette but ultimately failed so Lilynette had no choice but to use a Garganta to leave. They stayed behind because without the device, it was uncertain if the remaining Captains could locate the anchored space.
"And where is the problem there? We can still use the Dangai to return with our Jigokuchō." Byakuya countered, not quite seeing the issue Itachi was pointing at.
To prove his point, Byakuya summoned his Jigokuchō, the tattoo mark of a butterfly appearing on his left hand. The purple wings flapped as it detached from Byakuya's hand and flew around him for a few seconds before to their silent shock, it started fading away.
"It would have been too convenient otherwise." Itachi commented, his eyes still on Miyako. "Whatever she is anchored to is preventing both the device and the butterflies from functioning."
Byakuya looked skeptical, his words hesitant and clipped. "That seems too convenient, don't you think?"
"That is the advantage of a working plan. And when I said convenience, I meant for him not for us."
"Is there any way to sever this anchorage?" Kaien took the hands of his wife, hoping to alleviate any modicum of her pain he could.
"Give me a few minutes." He said calmly, greatly reducing the worries in the hearts of the Shiba men. If this was Aizen's play for a delay, then the man was gravely underestimating him. And Itachi wished he underestimated him even more.
....
[World of the Living, Anchored Dimension]
Aizen stepped into the anchored dimension with a composure that radiated complete confidence.
He could have waited. Hidden even deeper now that he had his hands on the Hōgyoku he has so long sought after but that would have availed nothing.
He had taken the precaution of slowly tempering his body to his half of the Hōgyoku which made the complete Hōgyoku have an easy time finding reception in his soul. Now all that remained was to stimulate it with his desires and the desires of the people around him. And with Hollows being the purest beings of desire, the evolution process will have an easier time kicking off. This was the main reason he recruited these powerful Hollows to himself. The crux of their use to him.
"What an apt location they have prepared for us. Though I find it subpar with its lack of activity." He chuckled, making the Hollows behind him let loose.
"Come out, Shinigami. And bring the strongest of your bunch here. I need a good fight to get my claws roaring." The blue-haired Hollow, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, challenged the hiding Shinigami loudly.
"I was wondering how you would receive us, Shinji Hirako." Aizen had his hands in his pockets as he welcomed the arrival of the Visored, led by Shinji who was smiling at him with tainted mirth.
"Where are the rest of you?" Aizen asked curiously. "I thought the whole of the Visored would be present for this fateful reunion. You should have invited them, Shinji Hirako. I'm sure they were looking forward to this belated reunion."
Shinji's smile twisted and deformed but he held onto that brittle smile. "You bastard."
"Strong words are the evidence of a brittle mind, old friend. Surely you're not that far gone." The amusement from Aizen were like thin pricks against the last veil of composure he wore over his mind. "On the topic of old friends, the last time Kensei, Love and I shared a drink, they asked me to look after you, old friend. They were worried you'll lose yourself along the way, and that's why I am today. And I even brought along some familiar souls to reminisce about the good old days."
"Aizen!" Shinji finally lost it. The death of Kensei and Love was still an open wound, and while he would have maintained a high degree of calm despite the loss and the words, the fact that it was Aizen, the man he hated the most, who those mocking words came from was a tipping point for him.
Grossly outmatched and outnumbered, Shinji, Rōjūrō, Lisa and Hachigen donned their Hollow masks and attacked in a rage-induced frenzy.
Grimmjow, Szayelaporro and Zommari stepped forward to receive the Visored with equal, if not greater, vigor.
"Old reunions aside, introductions are necessary when meeting new faces." Aizen said as he gave a lazy glance to the bunch of Shinigami surrounding them.
"Unwelcome visits usually forego basic courtesy, I'm afraid." Shunsui replied with an easy flair.
"Is that so?" Aizen's eyes narrowed slightly as he regarded the Shinigami present.
Shunsui Kyōraku. Jūshirō Ukitake. Sajin Komamura. Soi Fon. Rangiku Matsumoto. And Kisuke Urahara who stood afar.
On Aizen's side was Baraggan Louisenbairn, the new Primera Espada. Tier Harribel, the Segunda Espada. Ulquiorra Cifer, the Tres Espada. And Kaname Tōsen.
Off to the side was Grimmjow, Szayelaporro and Zommari, the Cuatro, Quinto and Sexta Espada respectively. And Harribel's fracción off to the side.
As far as Aizen was concerned, both sides were evenly matched- no, his side had the higher advantage. He was here after all.
"You've caused us quite some trouble, Aizen. I know it's a youth's rebellious phase, but can you tone it down a bit?" Shunsui asked imploringly.
Aizen barely spared him a glance, instead making sure he knew the position of the outliers. Retsu Unohana, Tessai Tsukabichi and Yoruichi Shihōin.
"Go forth, my Espada." He easily said.
They needed no more words as they all moved towards the Shinigami they had in their sights.
Shunsui let out a heavy breath as he cursed his luck. Having to face Baraggan twice was not something he was looking forward to. Jūshirō faced Ulquiorra, Shunsui could already see the problem with that but he wasn't in a position to warn others. Harribel faced Sajin, whose heavy eyes under his helmet often drifted to the aloof Tōsen who stood before Soi Fon and Rangiku.
"Are you not worried about what happened to the Captains you sent to Hueco Mundo?" Tōsen asked Soi Fon and Rangiku, knowing that their Captains were among them.
"Are you trying to say something like 'their lives are in peril'? Or that they might be dead?" Soi Fon took a bold step until they were but an arm's length apart. "Save your breath. If that fantasy were to be true then you all would have been dead?"
Tōsen scoffed, hateful venom glazing his words. "And you still remain arrogant and blind as a Shinigami. Rejecting the truth even when it is in front of you."
"Don't speak of sight when you have none. That is the ignorance of blind men talking." Soi Fon said and slowly withdrew two tantos, Tōsen mirroring her actions as he drew his Zanpakutō.
"Justice will be served today by Lord Aizen–" He began only to be cut off by Soi Fon.
She spoke tentatively. "I don't care about justice today." In her eyes the man before her was already dead, and she made him know it. "I just want to kill you. Nothing more. Nothing less."
The apathy with which she said those words resonated a painful memory within Tōsen, smoldering hotter the flames of the hate he felt towards the Shinigami.
.
.
.
.
––––––
Patreøn*com/QuackVader
––––––