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Chapter 1

=DA=

Part 3

=DA=

Fourth Division Barracks

Soul Society

Ichimaru beheld utter madness. That monster was doing it again, he was going to get away with everything he had wrought, again, and almost worst of all, Aizen was going to cast much if not all of the blame on him, Gin was sure of it beyond any shadow of a doubt. Perhaps if he had acted first, if he had gone to the Captain-General and came clean, throwing himself at the man's mercy, then he might have stood a chance of avoiding this sheer insanity.

The fun thing was that when this particular meeting began, Ichimaru actually held a small grain of hope that the monster might have mis-stepped. Right here and now, Aizen's Zanapakuto's was supposedly bound, his Reiatsu was kept in check by two of the strongest Shinigami in existence and the Kido fueled by those two was meant to ensure that Sosuke could tell only the truth. The spell was supposed to bare his soul for all to see, so to speak.

Well, about that forlorn hope… It died stillborn when Aizen began to successfully lie in the faces of the Captain-General and Unohana of all people. Or perhaps he wasn't lying, not really. Perhaps all the crimes Gin saw Aizen commit were mere illusions, perhaps the mad genius had accounted for all possibilities, planned for them and saw something like this happening. That very much might be the case. Perhaps this was the real plan. After all, Aizen had been deceiving Gin for at least a century now. He could see it now, he thought. All the crimes Aizen was supposed to have done in front of his eyes… It has been someone else doing it, bound in tight illusion just like Ichimaru was. Perhaps it was Tosen, perhaps someone else. It no longer mattered.

Unless all of this was an illusion, then the case might be that Aizen hadn't technically committed a single crime with his own hands. Either that or he had somehow modified his very soul so it could deceive them all.

"Captain Aizen," Gin spoke for the first time since the joke of interrogation began. "How many crimes against Soul Society did you order, even if you haven't done them with your own two hands?" Ichimaru cursed himself when his voice trembled with emotion, thus shattering his carefully crafted image at the worst possible time.

Gin found that he wasn't capable of caring any more. Soon enough he would be labeled as traitor for crimes he did commit. The least he could do was try and take down Aizen with him or at lest make the monster's life as difficult as he possibly could in what little time he had left.

"All I've ever done was for the sake of Soul Society, for the balance between the worlds. I've done my duty in life, I've done it in death as Aizen Sosuke, and I'll continue to do it as a Shinigami if I'm allowed to continue doing it." Aizen spoke firmly, conviction ringing in every word. Then he had the gall to smile!

Gin grit his teeth at the obvious lies even as doubt wormed its way within his heart. Could Aizen be telling the truth? Could it be that everything was going as planned? And if that was the case, then how?! There was no way in hell that Aizen was innocent! At that thought, Ichimaru's breath caught in his throat when a terrible idea occurred to him.

Central 46, who were supposed to be dead – Gin helped slaughter them, he knew they were dead… and they were the people who could make all that Aizen wrought legal, and thus not a crime. What did it take? A mere hypnosis? Blackmail, or perhaps more traditional mind-fuckery?!

The government was dead, Gin was suddenly convinced of it. If he was a betting man, when Gotei 13 discovered that fact, there would be just enough evidence left to doom him, perhaps Tosen as well, just nothing to hint that Aizen was responsible at all. Central 46 was now dead, because they were a loose end after granting permission to Aizen to do all his crimes legally. Just like Gin and perhaps Tosen as well were loose ends that needed trimming…

It was at that moment, when he met Aizen's calm eyes, that Gin truly comprehended how completely and utterly he had been played. It was then and there that his reality shattered and he fell in bottomless pit of utter despair.

=DA=

"I can't believe this is working!" Aria, no Kuoka now, exclaimed in my head.

"We've had this lesson before, my dear Apprentice. The greatest gift and betrayal the Dark Side offers us is the masks we wear, the masks that allow to deceive even ourselves."

"It still shouldn't have worked! Not here and now! Not like this!"

"It works and that is all that matters. Besides, I haven't committed a single crime yet, hell, all I've done was try and protect my Lieutenant and comply with coming to the medical division for a check-up." I offered. "I haven't uttered a single lie. Everything I said is true from certain point of view, often mine and that is my firm belief."

"You didn't know that this will work!" Kuoka accused.

"It was worth a shot. It bought us more time to recover. Besides I've been telling the truth as I know it. In a previous life I might have been Aizen Sosuke, however I'm not that cunt. I may answer to that name now, I might make it mine and redeem it, however his actions are not my own. He is a monument to most things I loathe in power mad Sith!"

"Yet this time around, your soul managed to kriff up royally without any input from the Dark Side."

"Our Bankai surely helped?"

"Aizen went odd and became a self-centered cunt long before he could fully unlock our Bankai and it could begin to influence him. Its all on him." Kuoka huffed.

"I'll keep stating until the day I die for good that I am not responsible for Aizen's crazy schemes."

"You've done worse!"

"For good reasons."

"Tell it to the Bothans."

"I had excellent reasons." I declared firmly.

"You got yourself killed and somehow you drew me in this mess as well!"

"And for that you have my humblest apologies, my dear Kuoka. I know it would be hard, however I promise you I'll make it up to you."

"Promises, promises…" Kuoka sighed. "I still can't believe this worked…"

"Just be glad that no one is asking the right questions or we'll be hard pressed to flee more or less intact, emphasis on less..."

=DA=

Part 4

=DA=

Fourth Division Barracks

Soul Society

"Say, Kuoka, are you willing to do me a favour once the current unpleasantries are over?" I asked while smiling pleasantly at Aizen's accomplice.

If my current improvisation was to have any chance of working, certain issues needed to be resolved. Issues like Aizen becoming a bit sloppy as of late, because he had intended to leave Soul Society for good. The most glaring issue was the murder of the government. Sooner or later it would be found out, and I was betting on sooner. I needed a few things to happen before that.

"Do you really expect to be left unchecked in Soul Society after all you wrought as Aizen?" Kuoka incredulously asked.

"There's a chance. If you're willing to help anyway. On the bright side, if it works, we'll be pranking everyone, Shinigami and your fellow Zanpakuto spirits as well…" I pointed out.

I could feel my former Apprentice lit up with glee in my Inner World. "I'm in!" Did she just squeal in my head? I filled up that thought for later.

"Here is what we need to do…" I began. "Central 46 – we need evidence pointing at our buddy Gin, perhaps a trace or two that Tosen has been involved as well. More importantly, I need a fool-proof authorization making Aizen's various experiments legal. Can you manage this my dear Kuoka?"

"Challenge accepted! You'll need to use your Bankai however."

"I know."

"You'll need to master my Bankai as well, Master." At that, she sounded positively gleeful.

"I will. I do remember the most important lesson, you know. I did teach it to you after all."

Kuoka laughed merrily.

"Gin, pray tell, is Lieutenant Matsumoto all right? Did the Ryoka hurt her? I don't believe that there is anything or anyone else in existence that you could be concerned, even afraid for?" I asked, putting as much concern in my voice as possible. My body acted on instinct, leaning forward and at the same time, my face twisted in a perfect mask of worry.

Having access to future knowledge, even if it was mostly forgotten, was a beautiful and terrible thing, especially on the rare occasions you could use it to a great effect.

=DA=

"That's a good question, Gin." Sunishi peered at him with a frown, while Hitsugaya outright glared balefully.

Ichimaru? He froze, standing utterly still in shock. Of course the monster knew! He had known from the very start, hadn't he?! The moment Gin began to craft his current persona, it had already been for naught. Aizen remembered violating Rangiku's soul, he knew that Gin was her friend if not more at the time… and Sosuke remembered it very well when he approached Ichimaru all those years ago. Yes, he had been played from the very beginning.

That fake kindness on display didn't fool him for even a moment. Gin always knew that Aizen was a monster, it was just that until tonight, even he failed to comprehend how dangerous Sosuke was. He knew what the fake concern meant. He was to play his role to the bitter end or Aizen would do unspeakable things to Rangiku. Damn that man to the deepest pit of hell!

"I'm merely… concerned for my… childhood friend…" Gin bit off as if every word was dragged past his lips by barbed chains.

"Commendable." Aizen solemnly nodded. "I only wish that more of us cared about our friends and family."

For a moment, Gin wondered how even an accomplished liar like Aizen could say that with a straight face. Then he figured it out – it was all a dig aimed at their resident mad scientist, perhaps the only one beside Tosen and Zaraki who the monster couldn't manipulate through their bonds with friends, family and subordinates.

Gin screamed inside, desiring nothing more than to go Bankai and erase Aizen's taint from existence, something he now knew deep in his bones could never happen without a direct divine intervention.

"Do you have any more questions that need immediate answers, Captain-General? I must admit, after tonight's events, I'm feeling weary." Aizen stated shamelessly.

Briefly, everyone's attention shifted from Ichimaru to Yamamoto.

"Children…" The Captain-General grumbled quietly.

"That's the Ryoka. I've seldom seen so much potential, especially in humans." Aizen spoke with a far-away look in his eyes.

At that point, Gin honestly pitied those poor bastards, especially Aizen's pet project. One way or another, they were all doomed.

"We'll discuss them on the next Captain's meeting. I'll expect to see you there, Captain Aizen." Yamamoto ordered, confirming what Gin already knew.

Aizen did it. He deceived Gotei 13 once again and would get away with it, again. Damn that man!

"I would be honoured to attend, sir." Aizen nodded respectfully, earning himself points with a lot of the present Captains.

"Speaking about the Ryoka, if it was up to you, how would you handle them? Theoretically speaking?" Ukitake asked, curiosity coloring his tone.

"I would go to speak with them. Gotei 13 got damaged more than enough already for no good reason."

That admission earned chuckles from Yamamoto's students as well as more than one scowl from the others.

"See that you will, Captain Aizen. This nonsense has gone for more than long enough." Yamamoto declared and Flash Stepped away.

With the Captain-General's departure, the pressure within the area immediately lessened significantly. Even Aizen himself slumped, leaning on his Zanpakuto.

"I feel like I need a week of sleep or something." The monster grunted, earning himself both scoffs of derision and a few chuckles. "No offense meant, Captain Unohana, however when do you believe I should be able to leave your tender care? I just got my marching orders and given the circumstances, I don't believe it would be good idea to disregard the Captain-General's instructions."

"Once I'm done examining you and your Reiatsu is recovered." Unohana answered, while observing Aizen with a hungry smile.

"As you wish."

Under different circumstances, Gin would have almost pitied Aizen. As things stood, he didn't know what was worse – the monster getting chummy with Unohana of all people, what just happened tonight or, well all the lies and deceptions he had been subjected for the longest time.

There was only one thing Ichimaru knew. He had to find a way to protect Rangiku while he was still around.

"I have a patient to attend. Leave us." Unohana ordered.

It was telling that no one dared object.