"Live a good long life. Grow old and die after I do." — Isshin Kurosaki.
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The pained moans and groans was one of very few terrible things that was a constant in this tiny pocket of existence. In a dark room that echoed the sound of the crying world outside, a figure wrapped in shadows watched with rapturous focus as a recorded event played in front of his eyes.
Their eyes glowed with manic glee as they watched the display of power in front of them. It was frankly enlightening, but that wasn't the highlight of the video.
No. The crown jewel came after the other individuals in the video got through their fights.
The display of might enraptured him and he couldn't help but salivate at the prospect of what that kind of power could do for him. This could be the key he needed to finally escape this hell.
The risks were heavily mounted but the thought of freedom easily prevailed over any growing misgivings.
His target was that man, or rather the power the man wielded, and he had done all his homework to ensure that his answer came to him.
He knew of the Shinigami and their ways and knew that getting to his target would be a taxing endeavor, but that was where his little help came in.
He couldn't help himself as he re-watched the video over and over again and seared every second into his brain.
And that glorious climax—
—"Bankai: Amenominakanushi – Tengoku no chūshin."
All he needed to do was isolate the man and push into the far corner where he would have no choice but to use that power. Especially those black flames of his.
Despite his hungry excitement, he knew he had to be patient. He only had one shot at this and he couldn't fail as failure would mean something much worse than the worse hell could offer.
He didn't yet know how that ability worked, but from the few documented displays of it, he had an inkling that it could produce something truly interesting—something possible only if he could draw the man to him.
He had the barebones of a working plan, but that was nowhere near enough. He needed to know how the Shinigami as a collective would react to certain circumstances, and luckily for him he knew more than a handful of Shinigami he could ask.
He would gain nothing if he had to fight an army of Shinigami— in fact, it would be ideal if he didn't have to fight anyone.
He tore his eyes from the only glow in this river of darkness as he slowly realized the mountainous task that was set before him. It did not deter him one bit.
For the first time in what felt like eternity, the madness that consumed his every waking moment shifted into something else.
It didn't disappear — it was engraved into their souls — but it gave him the illusion of clarity, and on the flip side it deepened the hunger in him that it consumed.
He didn't particularly care what this place did with him. He had long since lost his fear of this damned place. No, what he cared more for was that he now had the outline of something he could work with.
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...…
[POV: With Itachi]
A new year rolled in and in typical Shinigami fashion, practically no one cared or saw anything important in it other than a new calendar and arrangement of dates.
He didn't particularly celebrate the new year, but he at least observed it in his own way.
Well, Kyōraku did observe the new year, but all it meant to the man was that it was an acceptable excuse to drink the whole day away. His Lieutenants, Lisa Yadōmaru and Nanao Ise, certainly had their hands full as they had to deal with their completely drunk Captain for the whole day. While they were saddled with the tremendous task of caretaking their Captain and picking up the pieces of his tattered dignity from the bottom of broken wine gourds, said Captain seemed like he could care less about theirs.
He and Isshin did share a drink with the man on the very next day, so maybe he shouldn't criticize Kyōraku since he also indirectly indulged the man's indulgence.
That, he recalled, was the only memorable highlight of this new year and he was fine with it.
Alas, in typical Shinigami fashion, just because it was a new year didn't mean anything changed. It didn't with his official workload.
On the bright side, it looked as if the volume of his workload was reducing with every year that went by. Other than the mundane tasks of managing his Division, there has been no new mission or report on his desk. It won't always be like this, so he silently accepted the free time he got.
One of his crows perched on his desk and tilted its head at him.
"Quite bored, yes." The crow cawed and flew away through Itachi's wide open window.
The exit of one crow gave entrance to four more crows who just flew around Itachi's office, perching when they wanted to and taking off in another flight circle in the next second. Their presence in his office was already a natural sight to those who came here often, so even as they flew around and cawed their song, they never interrupted his work.
As for where they came from; a murder of crows had commandeered the tree behind his office into their perch. Their number was so great that they had turned the once beautiful tree of vibrant white and pink flowers into an umbrella of black splotches.
They had turned it into quite the sight that terrified most of his Shinigami for some reason.
A pair of crows landed on either side of his shoulders and cawed near his ears before taking off once again.
Any other time and he wouldn't have been able to stay bored for so long because Yoruichi would have crashed into him by now and pestered him with her usual antics before slinking away whenever she had her fill — which she couldn't do because she was at her Clan's meeting.
Unfortunately for her, abdicating her position as Clan Head didn't exempt her from meetings. Since Soi Fon was with her, it was probably a meeting between the Shihōin Elders and the Heads of their vassals clans.
He would have gone to the Academy but they were on a short break after their first semester exams.
He stood up and left his office, deciding to take a walk to refresh his mind rather than remaining idle in his office.
He wandered aimlessly and then realized he had taken quite the walk as he found himself near the entrance of the 4th Division when Isshin called out to him.
"Hey, Itachi, how are you doing?" Isshin's boisterous voice drew the attention of everyone around them, but they quickly minded their business when they saw the two Captains together.
"Some of my guys got hurt bad due to some tricky Hollow, so that's that. They are lucky enough that none of them died." Isshin said with a resigned shrug.
"True." Itachi agreed. "And the Hollow? Did it escape?"
Isshin snorted. "It wished. The reinforcement got to them before the Hollow could. A minute later and the Hollow would have been picking its teeth with their bones."
"Captain, I've placed them under the care of Lieutenant Kotetsu." A voice behind Isshin attracted both of their attention to see Tōshirō walking out of the hospital with a concerned expression that immediately turned white cold when he saw Itachi.
"Captain Uchiha, I'm sorry I didn't see you there." The words came out monotonous and dead. "I'll be going over to see if Rangiku needs a hand."
Watching him walk away without another glance in Itachi's direction, Isshin scratched his head awkwardly.
"No need. It's alright." Itachi put a stop to it before Isshin could come up with an excuse for Tōshirō's behavior.
"Doesn't seem alright to me." Isshin's smile was sardonic. "Going to tell me what really happened for him to suddenly hate your guts?"
"I'm not." Itachi simply said. "It's not my place to say."
Isshin shrugged noncommittally. "Eh, kinda expected that response. As long as it does not hamper his abilities and focus, I'll keep my nose out of it."
Itachi nodded. Having Isshin press the boy about it would do no good for anyone. On the flip side, confronting Tōshirō about it would unravel all the progress he had made and he would be left worse for it. So he would let the boy heal on his own.
And if Tōshirō never spoke to him again… it was an outcome he'd long accepted.
"So, I doubt you have anything important on your desk if you're out here just walking about."
"Not necessarily."
Isshin smirked. "Oh, I'm sure. You looked like you were debating going over to the Head Captain's office — that bored huh?"
He turned around and motioned for Itachi to follow. "Let's hunt some unfortunate Hollows to cure our boredom." He smiled fully as if he was genuinely looking forward to killing any unfortunate Hollow they came across.
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