AStoryForOne
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Chapter 351
🕑 Added 2023-05-20 22:26:32 +0000 UTCA/N
Sorry for late release, I was sick yesterday, throwing up and with some bad stomach pain.
Also, I made a small edit to the end of last chapter, It's not essential to this chapter, but it rounds out the ending a tad in it.
Another A/N at the end.
@***@
I walked towards the Eighth Division without concealing my presence.
Shunsui had been extraordinarily polite and welcoming to me last time despite the fact that I was basically infiltrating their military society and stealing from them. The least I could do was reciprocate that even in this kind of situation.
Besides, pretty much any idea of secrecy had gone way out the window already. Ichigo’s Reiatsu was seemingly blaring without restraint and Yoruichi already said they could detect a disturbance by arriving to soul Society by Dangai, so here we are.
I suppose it didn’t matter as I was here to try and get his cooperation and this would probably endear him more to the ‘cause’ as it were.
I could vaguely feel his own Reiatsu probing mine without coming down hard like I know he could do. More as like a greeting and an acknowledgement to come in.
Ugh, this whole thing is annoying me.
With my lips thinning, I pushed open the barracks to the Eighth Division and found him sitting on the ground once more. He knew I was coming so it was clear he had prepared a little welcoming. And his Lieutenant was standing at the side.
Shunsui cast me a small glance and didn’t say anything as he threw his head back and down a glass of Sake. Though his Lieutenant was glaring my way and I could guess the reason.
“Sorry for dropping in again like this.” I felt I at the very minimum owed him an apology. He nodded and I took a seat opposite of him.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon….and I was hoping I wouldn’t.” He replied letting out a tired sigh. “The old man got mad at me last time even if I got out of trouble for the most part. A second time…I can’t do it again.”
I winced a little. “Yeah, I figured.”
“You came to me anyways.” He said as a matter of fact.
“I have….some manner of confidence that we can resolve this situation without fighting.”
“I’m open to any alternative. However if you can’t convince me, I won’t let you off like last time. Especially with what happened with Mayuri, I’ll have to take you seriously from the start.”
“Can you satisfy my curiosity first. How did that conversation go?”
He quirked a smile, barely holding back a laugh. “Which part? The Dragon or the Brick?” He asked.
I did snicker a little under my breath. “I suppose both?”
“Well, everyone’s scratching their heads about the supposed Dragon.” He revealed with no small amount of interest himself, though he didn’t outright ask me. “And Mayuri will never be able to live down the Brick.”
“Good.” I breathed out. “Did you know he exploded one of his subordinates to try and get me for whatever reason?”
He blinked, his expression shifting a few times. “I did not.” He said rather darkly. “I’ll be sure to tell the Old Man about that.”
Well, It wasn’t my place to interfere, and he seemed genuine in his own distaste for such action.
“I have a question of my own, if you don’t mind.”
“Shoot.” I reached for my own cup of Sake he had already prepared.
“…..did you meet Captain Unohana?”
“I did, did she say anything about me?”
“If nothing else, I owe you a drink for that alone.” He raised a cup up. “I don’t think anyone else here has the courage to flirt with her.”
“Really? What’s so strange about it? She has a very beautiful smile, and I enjoyed the time we spent together talking about this and that.” It’s not like I did anything beyond that. I wouldn’t take any large steps in that direction without consent from my other girls. Nor was I even sure I wanted to at the moment. The whole situation is…..turbulent.
We could very well end up enemies by the end of this little jaunt.
“Ara, you really…” He shook his head with a laugh. “You hear this, Nanano?”
His lieutenant pushed up her glasses with a slight twitch. “Yes, Captain.”
“Do you think she’d want to see me again?” I asked.
He chuckled, sipping on his cup again. “Normally, I’d give you my support but considering the circumstances…”
“Right…”
“Speaking of.” He set his cup down. “Should we cut to the chase?”
“I’m guessing my being here isn’t going to go over well.”
“One time, we could write it off and sooth over any bruised egos. A second time, especially so soon, people are going to be unhappy. I hope you have a good reason for being here. We were alerted that someone broke through the Dangai into Soul Society and we’ve been on alert since then, especially with what happened right around the same time. Ever since that weird feeling swept through Soul Society, everyone’s felt like there was someone looking over their backs and it’s made everyone rather tense.”
Oh….I guess Izzy’s anger was felt here by everyone without a doubt.
“I actually didn’t intend to come back so soon.” I scratched my head. “Funnily enough, I’m just a tag along this time.”
“A tag along?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah…imagine my surprise when some kids get the idea into their heads to invade Soul Society to rescue a friend of theirs that was recently arrested.”
“You’re talking about the Kuchiki girl.” He hummed, pouring more sake into his cup. “I heard the report that you were present when Captain Kuchikiand Captain Ichimaru both apprehended her. They mentioned the human that she gave her powers to, a young kid who went by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo.”
“….yeah.” I sighed. “That little joke came back to bite me in the ass.”
“So you say that a group of humans came to rescue Kuchiki Rukia?” He summarized.
“That more or less is the gist of it.”
He nodded in understanding. “Answer me something.” He stroked his beard after setting his cup down. “Why haven’t you simply gone to rescue her yourself? I think everyone underestimated you last time, but it’s clear you’re capable. Mayuri was one matter, and Captain Ichimaru was another. I wouldn’t call Mayuri particular strong among us Captains, but Captain Ichimaru is…..I would have to put my life on the line to beat him if it came down to it. And the report says that he was ready to release his Bankai. That isn’t a feat many could claim, especially a Human.”
“In all honesty I could confidently break her out and take her away. I wouldn’t say it’d be particularly difficult either unless you have Captains guarding her nearly every minute of the day.”
“That’s a bold claim, but I believe you.” He didn’t look the slightest bit disturbed by my reply. “Continue.”
“For all their good intentions, they’re just a bunch of stupid kids. Their ring leader doesn’t have any plan beyond beating up anyone who gets in his way.”
Shinsui snorted with a little laugh. “Sounds like he’d make a good Shinigami.”
“But realistically, what happens after? Assuming he grabs Rukia and they leg it out of here without any fuss. Would Soul Society leave them alone?”
“Not a chance.” Shunsui shook his head. “It would become a matter of pride at that point.”
“Right, that was my thought as well. Not to mention, what would Rukia even do afterwards? Soul Society is her home, where would she go? What would she do with her remaining existence?”
“And you have a solution I assume?” He asked, being very patient even though he was supposedly supposed to be arresting me at this moment.
“I do, but first let me ask you. What exact crime Is she guilty of? And does she have any kind of hearing or ‘court’ sentencing?”
“She was already sentenced to death by the Central 46.” Shunsui revealed with a hint of distaste in his tone. “As for her crime, specifically, it’s a punishable offense to transfer our powers to a Human.”
“Supposed that there was a miscarriage of justice that happened in this situation. How difficult would it be to overturn that ruling?”
He raised an eyebrow and looked thoughtful. “Central 46 is known for being….inflexible. However, her being a Noble does have benefits in this situation.”
“What if she didn’t transfer her powers to a Human?” I offered.
“Semantics won’t do much good here. This isn’t like your human courts where you can get off on something small like that.”
“Did the report say what that Captain Ichimarudid to Ichigo?”
“I believe he said that he destroyed the source of Shinigami powers that the Kuchiki girl transferred to him before you arrived.” And there was a flash of understanding as his eye slit up. “So that begs the question, how is that young man here at the moment.”
“He apparently awoke his own Shinigami powers.” I revealed. “So that is to say, did Rukia really transfer her powers to a Human?”
“That…..” He blinked and again looked rather thoughtful. “We might be able to work with that. I know that Ukitake would be ecstaticto know that he might be able to save one of his squad members.”
Yoruichi said something about that, the captain of her squad.
“However, you’re still overlooking one important detail.”
“What’s that?”
“You all are here.” He said simply, taking another drink.
“So even if Rukia is found innocent, they won’t let everyone off. Is that what you’re saying?”
He nodded again. “They’ll want to save face.”
“What are my options?”
“Well…..” He put his cup down, scratching his cheek.
“What if I strike a deal with your boss?” I asked.
“My boss?” He blinked. “You wanna go talk to the Old Man?” He had a strange look on his face. “Ara, you really are a daring kid. You would walk up to the Old Man while being a wanted criminal and try to…..negotiate?”
“Would it work?” I asked again.
“…maybe.” He didn’t sound too sure. “If you told me you were going to talk to the Old Man, I could let you off though. He wouldn’t get on my case if I sent you his way quietly. Well….he’d probably get a little mad, but I could talk my way out of it based on what we’ve said so far.”
“I think I have a way to get everything settled neatly after the dust settles. Though, I’m hoping that your Boss is willing to even sit down talk. He won’t just call for my head the moment he sees me, will he?”
“You should be more worried about being burned to a crisp. But….The old man isn’t inflexible these days. At the very least he won’t cut down someone who isn’t looking for an immediate fight. He’ll probably listen to what you have to say, but how receptive he is depends on his mood.”
“I’m good at running away, so if things go sideways, I can always get out in a hurry.” I slowly stood up from my spot. “Would it be bad if I asked you for directions again?” I’ll go check up on everyone else then tell them what my current goal is before heading over there.
He let out a bark of laughter. “Sure, I’ll tell you how to find the old man’s office.”
@***@
Izanami POV
“Shatter – Kyōka Suigetsu.”
I watch the man, spirit – Shinigami use his sword. Wilhelm had briefly described the whole thing to me, these Zanpakutō of theirs. It’s strange, these Shinigami almost reminded me of lesser deities even if they possessed no Divinity. And these swords of theirs were a little reminiscent of Authorities as well.
I felt something try to tickle at my senses. Invisible tendrils shot out and tried to latch onto to me. It was as if they were trying to obscure my entire perception of reality.
No.
It didn’t take much more than a thought to shunt off that attempt. Perhaps if it were another God, it would have been more difficult to shunt off the attempt, but too many things stacked in my favor that I didn’t have to treat it as a real threat.
I could admire how elegant it appeared. Frankly, If I was not a Goddess, I don’t think I would have even noticed what was going on. This Shinigami was exceedingly strong if the power he was suppressing was anything to go by. I believe they measure strength by the pool of Spiritual Power they contain, and his feels much higher than the spirit masquerading as a cat.
It’s funny, he would have had a better shot if he’d gone the more forceful and brutish method. I can stop those types of little probes and touches easily, but if he just brought his strength to bare, I would have to put effort into defending myself. If he simply gathered all his power and released in in the most abrasive and direct way, it would do a significant amount of raw damage. And Gods aren’t immune to that kind of thing, there have been Gods slain by mortals in the past by achieving monumental feats of direct power.
Wilhelm was correct, these Shinigami shouldn’t be underestimated if this one was anything to go by.
Almost immediately, the spirit disguised as a cat changed her form back to what it should properly be. And I’m unsurprised that it turns out she is a beautiful woman. Should I be worried that Wilhelm is wooing this one as well?
I suppose that on a list of flaws, being a womanizer is rather low on the negative aspect.
Hmm, was I the only one not caught up in his ability? It’s clear he has some sort of method to trick the senses and I could see everyone else staring at the spot he was standing in a moment prior as he moved to the side.
“I have some questions, and I feel you will not be cooperative. So, I will have to use a bit of force and incapacitate you.”
He went to stab the woman at the front who was standing forward protectively, however, she jerked her body and dodged, throwing a haphazard fisted at his general direction, blowing a hole through the nearby wall.
The Shinigami looked mildly surprised as he disappeared in a flash, reappearing a few feet away.
Once more, Wilhelm was correct.
Their speed was absolutely nothing to scoff at.
I had to focus to follow his movements. I watched them do a strange dance where it was clear that the woman didn’t quite know where he was, but still was throwing out attacks that he had to move out of the way, even if they weren’t all that decisive. Well, the Shinigami didn’t look too concerned after the brief moment of surprise subsided, he seemed to be dodging easily.
“I see, I suppose I should not underestimate the instinct of the former Commander of the Onmitsukidō” The one named Aizen came to a stop.
“No, keep underestimating me, I’ll eventually punch that stupid face of yours.” The Cat held up her fist with a little grin.
The Shinigami tilted his head and looked our way. “I wonder if such honed instinct works if I target someone else?”
“Aizen –“
He moved completely around her and she didn’t notice him much. There was a twitch here or there, but he appeared near use.
I believe he merely picked at random, as he appeared next to the child born from both Japan and Mexico.
It did not appear he intended to kill the child, but even so. Before he could lower the edge of his blade into him, I grabbed it.
“These children are under my protection.” I told me, looking him right in the eyes.
His own widened in surprise as he struggled to pull his weapon free. “You –“
I did not wish to hear his words. I used my other hand, and slappedhim with a gathering of shadows around me.
I watched his body get sent hurling through a wall or two before he disappeared from my sight.
“What the hell?!” The Cat looked at me in surprise as well. “You can see him!?”
“Yes?” I tilted my head.
“But –“
“You escaped my Zanpakutō’s power?” The one named Aizen pushed away the debris blocking the new exit he had made with his body, walking back over a little disheveled. “No….it never had an effect on you. I cannot sense any Reiatsu nor can I even perceive your existence beyond my physical senses….”
“Shit you weren’t caught in it? Then we might have a chance.” She landed next to me. “Can you call out his location when he moves?”
“Is he a danger?” I asked.
“That’s an understatement. He’s hiding behind a masquerade right now, but if he shows his real power…”
“Is that so.” My lips tinned as I glanced at the Children who had taken up a defensive posture behind us. Even the brash child with orange hair was acting protective of the ones he brought into this situation. I didn’t really know the situation, but Wilhelm asked me not to kill anyone. And if this Spirit decided to go all out, I did not wish the children to suffer in the aftermath.
Well, he did look like he wasn’t going to play around anymore. Very well, I shall do what I promised Wilhelm.
“I see, you are certainly no human, you are no Hollow, and you are no Shinigami.” The man looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes. “What are you?”
“Annoyed.” I answered flippantly, raising my hand up and tensed as the light above disappeared, and a large hand instead blotted out the sky. My hand to be precise. It was enough to flatten the area around us for a good distance, and he appeared to look a little serious at my ‘attack’.
He raised his hand up and that Spiritual Power of his gathered in a significant quantity. I believe he was about to cast one of those Spiritual spells that Wilhelm told me about.
Though, it didn’t really matter.
Before he could even utter a word my large ‘hand’ in the air dissipated as if it was never there in the first place. Instead, his eyes shot downward where the shadows crept up and grabbed onto his legs. He realized the danger immediately and tried to swipe his sword through them, which….did sever many, but they descended upon him in droves, an uncountable number that soon enveloped him entirely within the blink of an eye.
“You can go away now.” I swiped my hand downward before he had a chance to respond, and I dragged him into the space that existed underneath this place in the shadows.
That should take care of that for now. I think Wilhelm will be proud of me, I handled that without much collateral damage and without putting the children in harms way. I’m sure he can escape that place eventually, and I can always retrieve him before we leave. Besides, I felt there were other people down there, so he should be fine. At the very least, he won’t be a problem for a while.
Wilhelm had requested that I don’t kill anyone if possible, so I believe this is a job well done. Not that I could have killed him so easily, I believe it would have taken significantly more power to kill that spirit based on how much power he was hiding.
“I gave him a time out; I believe we can proceed now.” I figuratively wiped my hands clean of this mess. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked toward s the cat who had an indecipherable look on her face.
@***@
A/N
For the chapter, an alternative title -- Izzy banishes Aizen to the shadow realm.
But yeah, Aizen is in serious 'wtf mode' and Izzy is being a protective mother Hen and just pushes him down into the shadows below Soul Society. I'm sure there will be absolutely no consequences for this.
Comments
Megaslayer321a
Aren't the Quincy beneath SS?
Eineus .
Thanks for the chapter. The Izanami vs Aizen "fight" if you even want to call it that, was pretty much everything I wanted. Aizen being humbled and completely out of his element. Regarding Unohana, I am of two minds regarding her. On one hand, she was a prolific serial killer that had a mountain of corpses in her wake, on the other, she did contribute pretty greatly to Soul Society as both a Captain and a healer. My interpretation, she and Scáthach are the exact same kind of people, but they went completely different ways. Scáthach in my opinion learned to control and temper that aspect of herself, even using it as a weapon if needed. Unohana on the other hand indulged in it. And then suddenly just suppressed it when she became the Captain of the fourth division. Not controlled, but hidden away.
James French
Great chap as always man
LuluViBritania
Don’t forget guys that “after 900 years he will regain his pulse, after 90 he will regain his intellect and after 9 his power.” The final 9 years have not passed so Yhwach is shit out of luck without most of his power, dudes probably not even lieutenant level atm
Caliburn0
On the subject of Unohana... I hope she doesn't get added to the harem. I absolutely understand why Wilhelm would want to flirt with her, and why Unohana would find it fascinating enough to maybe be open to it but the fact of the matter is that everyone has a REASON for reacting like they do. Oh, sure, Wilhelm is brave/foolhardy/horny enough to push through a scary smile and uncomfortable aura, but... Well... Unohana is a mass murderer who enjoys being a mass murderer. Unlike Salem who did what she did because she was 1. kind of cursed into that kind of mindset. 2. Actively suicidal and killing humanity was a side effect of her own suicide plan. Unohana is... She was approached by the ancient Shinigami because she was the biggest baddest killer around. They gave her a magic sword and pointed her at their enemies and she gleefully took the direction, because killing Quincy was far more interesting than killing (mostly normal) people in the Rukongai. She learned to heal so she could kill people over a longer timeframe. She's a battle maniac, sure, but she's also a murderous psychopath far worse than any Wilhelm has tried to seduce before. The thing about Zaraki Kenpachi that interested her the most was his murderous instinct in addition to his power. She stopped fighting and retreated into herself out of shame when Zaraki unconsciously started to suppress his own power because he primarily wanted good fights and weren't allowed to kill people indiscriminately any more. Unohana is less like Zaraki that she enjoys good fights (though she does that too) and more a murderous monster who enjoys slowly killing her opponents. She has restraint, thankfully. She respects Genryusai (the Captain Commander) because of his power and killing instinct. That's why she's still around after all. The Shinigami system is the Captain Commander's life's work. Something he's dedicated his all to. Unohana just came along for the ride because there were fun things to kill along the way and while killing by his side came to respect him enough to stay around even during peace. Unohana is a villain. She wants to be a villain. She chose to be a villain. Salem had it thrust upon her. I can... barely... see Salem becoming a part of the harem. It will be difficult, and there will be friction (like with Jinn visiting her) but ultimately the other girls are mostly above casual moral judgements (with some exceptions), even for crimes as awful as hers. They can probably accept her as long as she acts more in line with their morality in the future. Unohana... I can't see that happening with. She's also thousands of years old and not once do we get any indication that she regrets her previous path or would want to change it. She died happily knowing she made Zaraki into an even worse monster than she was. It's your story though, and if you want to write about a kinder Unohana than we actually got then I guess that's your prerogative.
Caliburn0
More like Spirit Germany.
Christian Perko
I like to think Aizen dropped right onto Yhwach's lap. Needless to say, all is NOT going according to his plans. Must be a novel feeling for him.
Buddha palm?
Einar Strandberg
SHE JUST SENT AIZEN TO THE QUINCY. I'm dying this is perfect I love you.
RJKY
Aizen just got Wandenreich'd, lol.
AkaY
I'm not really sure that he can... He don't have a power to travel through dimensions, he need tech, hollow or maybe the hogyoku, so... Without the help of the Quincy, he is a bit... stuck XD
Tristan R Mitchell
Except that, IIRC, the two were already aware of each other and don't get along.
Trihexa71
I think you might have screw everyone over. You sent an insane psychopath genius to an insane warmongering psychopath
ExodiaTheForbiddenOne
Just casually puts aizen in time out that’s a Giga chad move right there
Tobias Law
Did Izzy just put Aizen in Quincy-Land? hahahahaha "Who are you?" - Aizen "Wilhelm calls me Izzy out of Love and Respect. I'm Izanami-no-Mikoto [the WORLD shudders] Mother-Goddess of Japan and the Goddess of Death, Queen of Yomi. You are in deep shit lil' One!" And so Aizen ceased to exist.
Joaquin Cisterna
Yhwach debilitado vs Aizen sin el Hōgyoku buena pelea más todos los demás quinci si están hay creo que Aizen está en problemas cuando izzy Bea a Rukia no creo que se le pase por alto una jema con poder conceptual atada a su alma, un plan de 500 o más años frustrados por una madre sobreprotectora.
Erick Myrthil
She's already the Queen of Games. She set the rules. Plus, Aizen attacked the children while already in a match with Yoruichi. He broke the rules of the shadow game.
Bookreader
I am 100% certain that nel and jinn would it it off right away
TheXinoz
But how did Izzy banish Aizen to the Shadow Realm? She never challenged him to a children's card game.
Ley Lockles
nice chapter, thanks, go izzy is the best `-`
Oscar Sampedro Lopez
Thank for the Chapter. Did Yhwach just got screwed over by accident? Since he has not recovered his power yet "After 90 years, he shall recover his intellect. After nine years, he shall recover his power." I think Aizen will rampage trough the Qincy castle to get out
GoodGodISuck
Aizen is going to brazil
Lazy Ghost
I honestly have no idea what the heck’s going on with the Bleach stuff (more missing context than not following the story), but Izzy accidentally winning the traditional shonen dick measuring contest is fun.
Smitty
Thanks for the chap, please send more
Delltree100
Great chapter author sama.
Jonathan Davis
Quick question: Would Izzy's stated antipathy towards hollows preclude us from seeing some espada-girl action? I personally could see Nel + Kunou bonding leading to all sorts of 'wrong' when Wilhelm 'finally' discovers Nel's adult form...
Nazarickk
Thanks for the chapter
Iori Daemona Angel
Aizen was handled like a redheaded step child
Matt M
I love just the pure casualness with which she deals with him.
Dancingrage
As I mentioned in Discord: FLAWLESS VICTORY... FATALITY... Picturing him fighting off a million hands as he gets dragged slowly into the shadow realm.
Banat
I hope you feel better soon :)
AStoryForOne
It's not a prison realm, the Quincy are hiding there under the nose of the Shinigami.
Ototsu_Yume
So possibly where Yhwach and his goons are or one of the prison realms the Shinigami like to lock up their undesirables in?
Fire_Fox2590
Out of Context problems are the most fun when they are an enemies problem.
theMadLad
Poor Aizen, No ammount of Kaikaku can account for an Out of Context problem
Skoll
Aizen lost the duel and was banished to the shadow realm. Question for canon: Ichigo was considered Aizens counter in the Hueco Mundo Arc cuz Aizen never shikaid him. Since he just shikaid in front of him, what bearing does that have on the story's plot? Ichigo's need for sudden strength gain to fight Aizen set off a large part of the later plot in Bleach. Are you planning to have Wilhelm be a big, gigantic bandage?
Danielle
*giggles* the shadow lands for you!
willowskeith
Hey aizen you know that god complex you have? Well a goddess decided the baby god needed a spanking.
Enthessi
Lmao I can just see that 2nd in command of the Quincy eating breakfast only for Aizen to land on his kitchen table mid meal.
Robert Williams
HA! Got'em.......wait she sent him where?......oops?
Starfall20
Ah…. Ooops. Aizen meets the Quincy. Well then.
