2/3

Aizen's eyelid momentarily twitched as he mentally commended Kishin's bravery in blocking his sword strike with the metal cuff around his hand. Just then Kishin turned his body to the side to slash at Aizen's rib cage whilst the red crescent blade that he slashed out earlier changed directions and arrived in front of Aizen. Aizen narrowed his eyes and let the crescent blade crash into his Zanpakuto while purposefully lifting his feet off of the ground. He took advantage of the force behind Kishin's Saku ability and let it push him off into the distance allowing him to both defend against the crescent blade and avoid Kishin's sword strike at his ribs. Once Aizen had reached a far enough distance he swung his blade to the side and caused the bloody blade of Kishin's Saku ability to fly off crashing into the side of one of the nearby towers.

BOOM!

Kishin clicked his tongue in annoyance at how well Aizen continued to fend off his attacks, however he also couldn't help but continue to mentally praise how powerful and skillful Aizen was.

Tch. He's definitely showing off his experience. How he reacts in battle is incredible, but I just need to land one good hit on him and I'll gain the advantage. Best way to do that is to catch him off guard.

Aizen remained unperturbed as he stared at Kishin with expectant eyes. "Your skills alone as a Shinigami are quite fearsome, Chigetsu-kun. Since you will not join me then I suppose I should dispose of you. There is only one Shinigami amongst the Gotei 13 that, while little, poses a potential threat to my plan. That is Yamamoto Genryusai himself for his sheer fighting prowess, however I now see that you have a potential to reach the Head Captain's level in the future. Perhaps I should pluck the bud before it blooms."

Kishin scoffed and shouted, "Hirameku!" As a blinding light flashed in the room, Aizen grinned and mused aloud, "Using the same trick as me? Naive."

SCHLICK!

Aizen turned behind him just in time and slashed Kishin's arm clean off with a complacent smirk on his face, however he widened his eyes a mere second later as the Kishin he slashed dissipated into nothing but a piece of a ripped shihakusho sleeve. Kishin's emotionless voice then echoed in Aizen's ears from behind as Kishin slashed out with his sword, "Onmitsu Shiho #3: Utsusemi."

"KUH?!" Aizen exclaimed in a momentary state of shock. As quickly as he could he dashed off to the side and shouted, "Buki Henkan!"

TING!

A purple colored blade made of Kido quickly appeared by Aizen's side as he attempted to block Kishin's sword strike, however the moment Kishin's Zanpakuto came into contact with Aizen's Kido blade his Hollow mask immediately appeared on his face instantly boosting the power of not only his reiatsu, but all of his physical abilities as well.

CLANK!

SWISH!

The Kido blade in Aizen's hand shattered without resistance as Kishin's Zanpakuto slashed across Aizen's chest leaving a gaping wound on his body.

"GUH?!" Aizen groaned out as his feet slid across the giant room several tens of meters away with blood dripping down from his gash. Kishin smirked and stared at the trail of blood that was left on the ground from Aizen skidding across the giant hall.

"It's over, Aizen."

Aizen frowned as he held his hand over the gaping wound on his chest. Blood seeped out between his fingers unable to stop the bleeding.

"It's over you say..." He lowly growled in dismay, however his frown soon curled up into a complacent smirk. "Heh. It is indeed."

"Tch. Still acting tou-UH?!" Before Kishin could finish his sentence he widened his eyes in shock and felt a burning pain on his left arm.

PSH!

Not a moment later blood came spewing out of his arm as a large gaping wound ran down from the tip of his shoulder all the way down to the black shackle around his wrist. Kishin stared confusedly at Aizen in the distance, however once more he widened his eyes in shock as the Aizen he was staring at dissipated into nothing but a mere illusion.

"N-No...there's no way that I was affected by Kyoka Suigetsu…" He then took note of Aizen standing several meters away unharmed, albeit there was a long rip in his Haori and shihakusho that ran across his chest. "Aizen! What did you do?"

Aizen smirked complacently and lightly grazed his fingers over the torn portion of his clothes. "My my, that was indeed quite close. I commend you for your efforts, Chigetsu-kun. You almost managed to injure me. If I'm correct in assuming that your Zanpakuto can still utilize all of its Shikai techniques whilst in Bankai then I would have been in a bit of a bind had your attack actually connected just now."

Kishin grit his teeth as he wracked his brain for an explanation, however no matter how he thought about it he couldn't understand when Aizen had placed him under his complete hypnosis. As if Aizen understood where Kishin's frustrated look was coming from he decided to give an explanation. "I see that you are confused. Indeed you are not wrong. During the entire fight I did not show you the release of my Kyoka Suigetsu. In fact you already confirmed that my Kyoka Suigetsu was already released, therefore I could not perform the ritual on you unless I undid the release."

Kishin frowned not liking where this was going. "Then what did you do to me…"

"Heh. You know about my Kyoka Suigetsu's power already don't you? Just seeing its release once will cause one to fall under its spell every time it is released thereafter. Has it ever occurred to you why? Exactly how does Kyoka Suigetsu hypnotize you?"

Kishin gripped his hands tighter on his Zanpakuto as he tried to think about what Aizen was saying. It was then a look of realization flashed in his eyes. "The soul…" He lowly growled out.

Aizen smirked and slowly clapped his hands. "How very astute. Indeed. Kyoka Suigetsu hypnotizes the very soul itself. That is why one only needs to see its release once to be affected every time thereafter. Do you understand now? Chigetsu Kishin." Aizen pointed to the Hollow mask on Kishin's face and said relaxedly, "From the look in your eyes it seems you've already guessed it. Correct. The unique Hollow you fought that granted you the power of Hollowfication was also under the influence of my Kyoka Suigetsu. Your soul assimilated the Hollow's soul, however it is not the dominant soul within you. Your Shinigami soul is the base and your Hollow soul is but a branch of your true powers. I cannot affect you with my Kyoka Suigetsu normally, however when you don your Hollow mask that is when you let your Hollowfied soul dominate the majority of the space within you."

Kishin clenched his hands into fists now understanding what happened and immediately removed his Hollow mask. "In other words...should I utilize my Hollowfication against you I'll be affected by your Kyoka Suigetsu, however since the source of that power didn't originate from within me then as long as I fight you as a Shinigami I'll remain unaffected."

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Aizen nodded in approval. "Indeed. You understand well, Chigetsu-kun."

Kishin narrowed his eyes and commented, "No wonder you taunted me to utilize my Hollowfication earlier. Your Kyoka Suigetsu was already released in the surrounding area so the moment I don the mask I'd be under your control."

Aizen was about to respond, however he narrowed his eyes in curiosity as he noticed that the blood that flowed out and around Kishin's wound was simply being absorbed into the blood mist around Kishin's Zanpakuto and cycled back into him. "Interesting…"

Kishin brandished his sword in hand and focused his attention on Aizen. "Tch. Well it's nice to know that my Hollowfication doesn't work on you. That just means I'll have to kill you without it."

Aizen smirked and shook his head. "It's too late. It appears you've lost your chance."

"What are you tal-hm?" He paused and turned to look at the entrance of the Seijotokyorin taking note of two new individuals in the room. "Captain Unohana? Lieutenant Kotetsu?" Kishin curiously called aloud.

Aizen lowered his sword by his side and slowly walked over towards the two newcomers and greeted, "Welcome. Captain Unohana. I thought that it might be time for you to show up by now."

Unohana took a moment to glance at the surrounding area and quickly analyzed and guessed what occurred before turning back to face Aizen. "Captain Aizen...no. That's not quite right. I suppose it would be Aizen Sosuke, the traitor."

Aizen smirked and paused in his step whilst Gin and Tosen came out from their hiding spot to stand behind him. "Hm. Did you immediately guess that I'd be here?"

Unohana closed her eyes deep in thought for a moment before she responded, "The corpse doll that you created was quite convincing. The Seijotokyorin is strictly forbidden to all no matter the status or reason a person has for visiting. It is the only place in all of the Seireitei that you could hide and escape detection." She then turned to glance at Kishin and continued, "Furthermore, I found it strange that Lieutenant Chigetsu was the one who was blamed for your death. While it may have been short, he did serve under me in the 4th division at one point and time. As I had personally trained him I had gotten to know his character quite well. Even then he seemed to have his misgivings about you. I followed his reiatsu signature here to find quite an astonishing sight."

She then closed her eyes recalling a conversation she had with Kishin a long time ago when he still served under the 4th division.

Flash Back

"Since you're planning to later transfer out of the 2nd division into the 12th I reckon the 12th isn't your last stop either is it? You're skilled in Hoho, Hakuda, Zanjutsu, and Kido. Are you planning to join the 5th division then? I hear that under Captain Aizen they are a division that are quite well versed in all four combat forms."

Kishin gave a thoughtful look and shook his head. "I haven't considered it."

"Oh? You haven't? You seem to be quite meticulous about the divisions you choose so I thought you might end up there."

"Ahhh...well don't tell anyone this but Captain Aizen just seems too nice."

Unohana's eyelid slightly twitched from his words. She too had always had a feeling deep down that something was off about Aizen, however she could never pinpoint what it was. No matter how many times she secretly observed him she never found anything wrong, but her instincts told her that there may be more to Aizen than meets the eye. To hear Kishin voice his own misgivings about Aizen made her curious.

"You say he's too nice huh? If that's the case is there something wrong with being too nice? Ukitake was the one who discovered you correct? I would also rate him as a very nice person wouldn't you?"

"Ah, Captain Ukitake. That's true. The Captain can be very very nice, however his nice is different. Captain Ukitake's nice is warm and playful. Captain Aizen's nice is...it just seems nice, but I don't know if I feel any real substance from him."

End Flashback

When she reopened her eyes she nodded to him and said, "It appears that you've known about Aizen all this time, haven't you? Chigetsu-kun. I apologize that I was unable to be of any help in clearing your name when you were accused as a traitor. Although I must say...you did quite a number on Captain Komamura."

Kishin lowered his Zanpakuto and deactivated his Bankai knowing that the fight between him and Aizen was over. With Unohana and Isane present along with Kyoka Suigetsu still in effect, continuing to fight would only be disadvantageous for him. He let out a light sigh and responded to Unohana, "Knowing or not knowing, it made no difference. He already placed the entirety of the Gotei 13 under his hypnosis. All it takes is seeing the release of his Zanpakuto once for it to take effect. Besides, I have no qualms about being labeled a traitor as long as Rukia is safe. As for Captain Komamura, he attacked me first."

"Hypnosis?" Unohana inquired warily.

Aizen smirked in amusement and joined back in the conversation, "Chigetsu-kun, if your only true concern is that of Kuchiki Rukia's safety then you should truly consider joining my side. As for you, Captain Unohana. Your guess was quite close. Your insight and intuition is good, however you made one crucial mistake. What you analyzed was not a corpse doll."

"UH?!" Unohana and Isane widened their eyes in shock as they stared at the identical corpse doll held in Aizen's hand.

"W-When?!" Isane questioned, completely bewildered.

Aizen narrowed his eyes with a complacent smile. "When? I've been holding it this entire time. It's just that I did not let you see it until just now." He then glanced over to Kishin and commented, "Then again only you remain unfooled by this little trick."

Unohana furrowed her brow and questioned, "What is this?"

"Heh. You'll soon understand. I'll release it now. Kudakero, Kyoka Suigetsu."

Clank!

The sound of a mirror shattering echoed in the large room as the corpse doll in Aizen's hand transformed into his Zanpakuto. It was a regular looking katana with a green hilt and elongated hexagonal shaped guard. Isane and Unohana instantly widened their eyes in shock, however Unohana quickly recovered from her startlement as Aizen continued his explanation, "This is my Zanpakuto. Kyoka Suigetsu. Its ability is perfect hypnosis."

Unohana furrowed her brow and quickly came to an understanding after putting together the bits and pieces of information that both Aizen and Kishin had told her. "I see. So that's how it is. Seeing the release of your Shikai is the ritual for placing others under your perfect hypnosis. Indeed...I was one of the Captains present during your Captaincy test. That means that Ukitake, Kyoraku, and the Captain Commander are also under your spell since they were also present at that time. Then you found some other time or opening to show the release of your Zanpakuto to the other Captains and Lieutenants."

Aizen grinned and sheathed his katana back by his waist. "Correct. Perfect hypnosis controls all five senses. It can control every facet and dimension of a target including mass, weight, touch, sight, smell, hearing, form, shape, and more to replicate that of the enemy. In other words, it can make a fly appear to be a dragon or turn a marsh into a flower bed. And all I need to do to activate it is to simply show the release of my Kyoka Suigetsu to the enemy. Whoever lays eyes on it even once will be hypnotized into doing my bidding."

Unohana slightly frowned as she then questioned, "Then your Bankai...after showing the release of your Kyoka Suigetsu during your Captaincy exam you utilized your hypnosis to fabricate a false Bankai to us didn't you?"

"Heh. Correct again, however...do not be mistaken. Just because I elected not to reveal my true Bankai does not mean that I do not have one. You should take solace in having that knowledge, Captain Unohana."

Kishin didn't miss out on hearing that part and furrowed his brow in caution.

If his Shikai is perfect hypnosis...just what in the world is his Bankai? In general a Bankai grants a strength multiplier of at least 5 to 10 times greater than the Shikai. Just what could be 5 to 10 times greater than perfect hypnosis…?

For a good long minute nobody made a single move. Aizen finally closed his eyes and took a step forward before Gin and Tosen both pulled out some long white cloths causing it to encircle them and Kishin.

"What the?! Sentan Hakuja?" Kishin let out confusedly wondering why he was being taken with them.

Aizen just smirked and said reassuringly, "No need to panic, Chigetsu Kishin. You wish to know the truth do you not? I shall simply explain on a different stage." He then turned his attention back to Unohana. "This is farewell, Captain Unohana. I don't foresee us meeting again."

FWISH!

A burst of wind erupted in the giant room before Aizen, Tosen, Gin, and Kishin disappeared from their spots.

"C-Captain Unohana. What should we do?" Isane worriedly questioned.

"Haaah...Isane. Prepare the Tenteikura and relay what we have discovered to the other Captains and Lieutenants. Include the Ryoka as well."

"Yes!"

888

FWISH!

As the swirling white cloth began to dissipate Kishin took note that he was now back atop of the Sokyoku Hill. Aside from Aizen, Gin, and Tosen there were others present as well. Sentaro, Kiyone, Chojiro, and Nanao were here as they had never left. Even Omaeda and Iba were back after Kishin had knocked them out earlier. To Kishin's surprise Byakuya and Ichigo were present as well. Both of them looked beaten and bloody, but they were otherwise alive and standing. It was at this moment that Ishida, Orihime, Sado, and Ganju made it up the long flight of stairs on the side of the giant hill and came dashing over. In fact, even Renji was with them.

Kishin raised his eyebrow in curiosity and figured that Ishida must have found out where Orihime and the others were being kept prisoner and broke them out. He had no idea how Renji ended up with them. Then again the last he saw of Renji was inside a dark warehouse within the 13th division grounds being healed by Kinji so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that they all met by coincidence.

"K-Kishin?!" Ichigo struggled to question both startled and confused in his bleeding banged up state. "What are you doing back here? And wait, where did you go? And who are those guys?"

Byakuya was even more shocked than Ichigo was as he stared at Aizen in disbelief, however he managed to quickly recompose himself as he commented, "Captain Aizen...so y-" He paused mid sentence as a voice boomed in his head. In fact, it wasn't just him. All the Captains and Lieutenants throughout the Seireitei heard Isane's voice at this very moment. A look of understanding soon flashed past Byakuya's face as he narrowed his eyes at the three traitorous Captains.

Aizen smirked and stood completely still with a look of contempt on his face. "I see. So Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu have relayed what they discovered. Well, it would be strange if they didn't."

It was then that the sound of Toshiro's loud screaming voice could be heard as he appeared from the bottom side of the Sokyoku Hill. "AIZEN!"

FWISH!

Toshiro landed by Kishin's side as he glared murderous daggers at the traitorous 5th division Captain.

"Ohya. Captain Hitsugaya. So you were still around then I see. And Hinamori?"

"Don't you dare speak her name. You're unworthy!"

"Heh. Unworthy you say? What's the matter? Ah, is it perhaps that the only person she can spare to think about is me? Well, that's understandable. After all, I did train her not to live without me."

Toshiro clenched his hands into fists so hard that he drew a little blood from his palms. "You bastard! What did you do to her?!"

"Me? Didn't I just tell you. I trained her not to live without me. After she heard news of my death did she attempt to kill herself? I advise you to simply kill her yourself and save her from her misery."

"YOU-"

"Toshiro." Kishin interjected, catching his friends attention. "What are you doing here?"

Toshiro took a deep breath to calm his emotions before responding, "It hasn't been an hour yet so we waited as per planned, but after hearing what Isane said I can't just leave this be. Hinamori's suffering inside because she wasn't executed and now she's trying to take her own life wanting her body to be buried beside Aizen's! Do you know how absurd that sounds? I'll kill him!"

Kishin turned his attention back to Aizen and asked, "What did you do?"

Aizen just smirked and closed his eyes. "Did I not tell you long ago? I made modifications to my plan."

"What are you talking about? Hinamori's strong attachment to you was one of your modifications?"

Aizen let out a light chuckle. "Correct. After having learnt that Kuchiki Rukia was no longer suffering from her internal turmoil over Shiba Kaien's death and that she had begun to drastically improve her skills as a Shingami training under you, she no longer became as perfect of a piece in my plan as I had hoped. In light of this I had to condition Hinamori even more to devote her entire being to me. I even trained her to fear the Hollow that I sent to Karakura Town the night that she transferred her powers to a Human." He then turned to Ichigo and continued, "Since she could not fight properly due to fear, she was gravely injured and was left with no other choice but to transfer her powers to you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Kishin furrowed his brow and inquired, "Then why did you send Rukia with her?"

"Heh. Have you not figured it out? For two reasons. The first is that Hinamori's mental condition was not stable enough to give proper training instructions. That was the role I entrusted to Kuchiki Rukia. As for the second reason, it was simply because I wished to see exactly how you would move against me."

Kishin furrowed his brow feeling slightly angry. "You did it on purpose just to see how I would react?"

"Correct, Chigetsu-kun. Ever since I found out that you were in contact with Urahara Kisuke I kept close tabs on him and the Hogyoku. I knew that you both were probably planning to hide away the Hogyoku, however I did not know how yet. I observed him for a few years after our confrontation in Hueco Mundo and discovered what his plan was. He was preparing a Gigai that breaks down the reiryoku of a spiritual being turning them into a Human and he planned to implant the Hogyoku in the soul of that being. After knowing that, I deliberately set up the events behind Hinamori's loss of powers. I knew that Urahara Kisuke would take this chance to implant the Hogyoku inside of her. All he needed to do was wait until she was completely Human to alter her memories and hide her away from me."

Toshiro widened his eyes in shock and dashed out in anger. "You bastard! You dare!"

"Wait!" Kishin stretched out his hand to stop Toshiro from charging in, but just then he was interrupted from Ichigo dashing in front of him and charging in as well. "Stop!" Kishin attempted, however it was no use.

Toshiro dashed in the air above Aizen and shouted, "Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!" Near instantly his right arm transformed into an ice dragon head whilst his left arm transformed into an ice dragon claw. Giant ice wings protruded from his back as a long ice tail extended from behind him. His feet were covered in icy talons as 3 giant diamond-like purple colored ice flowers floated above his head consisting of 4 petals each.

Ichigo also slashed out with his sword as he was already in Bankai and shouted angrily, "You're the one who caused all of this you bastard!"

Aizen just smirked and stared indifferently at the pincer attack of Toshiro and Ichigo. With a simple swing of his sword he destroyed Toshiro's Bankai and left a large gash on the Captain's chest and shoulder and with his free hand he lifted up a single finger and caught Ichigo's Zanpakuto.

"UH?!" Ichigo exclaimed in shock.

No way! Even Kishin didn't dare to stop my blade with his bare hands when I'm in Bankai!

FWISH!

With a single slash Aizen left a giant wound along Ichigo's waist causing blood to spurt out on the ground. "Ohya? I thought I cut you in half, well, no matter."

Thud.

Ichigo fell to the ground unable to move as he recalled how Kishin told him that Aizen was probably stronger than him.

D-Damn it…

"KUH?!" Aizen widened his eyes in shock as he looked down at his chest where Toshiro's sword pierced through him. Toshiro growled and pushed his sword further and further into Aizen's body as he commented, "What you cut down was an ice clone. It's only effective once against my enemies, but that's all I need. Pay with your life, Aizen Sosuke..."

"Hn. Don't speak so carelessly, Captain Hitsugaya. It'll make you appear weak." Toshiro widened his eyes in shock as he heard Aizen's voice behind him. It was then the Aizen impaled with his sword vanished into thin air.

CLANG!

The sound of two metals clashing echoed in everyone's ears as Kishin arrived just in time to block Aizen's sword strike against Toshiro's back.

"Well countered, Chigetsu-kun." Aizen amusedly remarked.

"K-Kishin?!" Toshiro inquired in shock as he had been caught off guard by Aizen's trick.

Kishin just clicked his tongue and disengaged from Aizen whilst dragging Toshiro back with him. "Don't rush in so recklessly you idiot." He glared at Aizen and mentally cursed the traitorous Captain as he had felt that something was off the moment that they returned to the Sokyoku Hill.

This bastard. So he released his Kyoka Suigetsu in the surrounding area immediately after we landed. He didn't even bother to wait and show me its release either.

Kishin then turned to look at Ichigo's sorry state on the ground bleeding out to death and was just about to walk over to help, but it was then a hand rested on his shoulders.

"Kinji?" He questioned.

Kinji nodded and walked over to Ichigo placing him in a barrier to stop him from dying. "I've got this."

"But what ab-"

Before Kishin could voice his questions he was stopped as he felt Rukia's presence behind him. "Kishin, we heard everything from Isane. Don't worry, Yushiro is with Hinamori."

Aizen narrowed his eyes in amusement and stared at Rukia and Kishin for a moment in consideration. "My my...Kuchiki Rukia."

Rukia furrowed her brow and stared cautiously at Aizen causing the defected Captain to let out a light chuckle. "Hahaha, now what is with that glare of yours? No need to be wary. In fact, I have a proposal for you."

"A proposal?"

"That's right. Why not join me?"

Kishin stepped in front of Rukia to shield her from Aizen's gaze and growled, "What do you think you're doing? Aizen…"

"Oh? Why nothing really. If Kuchiki Rukia were to join my side then wouldn't you too join me? I am merely extending an invitation."

Rukia peeked out from behind Kishin's back and shook her head. "Never!"