Sōsuke Aizen drew his Zanpakutō as Momo Hinamori's body slowly collapsed to the floor beneath him.
His face held no trace of emotion-no smile, no regret. Just the cold indifference of someone far removed from the humanity around him.
"Let's go… Gin," he said.
"It's… Lord Aizen," Gin Ichimaru replied with his usual closed-eyed expression.
Their captain haoris billowed as they turned to leave-one marked with the character for "three," the other with "five." The inked numbers felt almost symbolic, as though those identities had finally been discarded.
Hinamori lay collapsed in her own blood. Her unfocused eyes stared in the direction of the two departing figures. All she could see was the hem of their robes and their white socks, walking away without turning back.
Her thoughts spiraled in confusion. There had to be some mistake-Captain Aizen must have been under someone else's control…
Despite falling unconscious, her hands remained clenched tightly. She looked as if she had tried to hold onto someone, even with the last of her strength.
Outside the room, Aizen and Gin stepped into the corridor-where they encountered the exact person they expected.
"Hi… Hitsugaya," Aizen said casually, acknowledging the boy captain's arrival as if greeting him on any other day.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya's eyes widened in disbelief. "Ichimaru... and... Aizen?"
His gaze shifted between them. Aizen was clearly the one in command, and Gin stood behind him willingly. The implication was evident-this wasn't coercion or confusion. This was betrayal.
"How... How is this possible? Are you really Aizen?"
"Obviously," Aizen replied, his hands buried in his sleeves. The position would slow any attempt to draw his sword, but he showed no concern at the disadvantage. "You saw everything with your own eyes, didn't you?"
"Captain Hitsugaya, looks like you came earlier than expected," Gin added with his familiar smile.
He tilted his head slightly. "Too bad... I guess Izuru didn't manage to delay you for long."
"No... Though it's slightly off... the timing is perfect," Aizen replied. "With the other captains absent, we have the chance to deal with you first... Hitsugaya."
Hitsugaya recoiled as if struck. "You said... 'enemy'?"
His gaze hardened as he recalled why he came. "Where is Hinamori?"
Behind Aizen and Gin, he sensed it-a faint but familiar spiritual pressure. Without hesitation, he moved past them and entered the room they had just left behind.
He froze at the sight before him.
Hinamori Momo was lying in blood. Her limbs were motionless, her eyes blank. Her hands, however, remained clenched tightly around empty space, as though refusing to accept what had happened.
"What… What is this?" Hitsugaya managed, barely above a whisper.
"Ah... I apologize," Aizen's calm tone drifted from behind. "I didn't want to scare you. I suppose I should have cut her into pieces instead-so you wouldn't find out."
Hitsugaya's fists tightened, his anger mounting rapidly. "When did this start? You… and Ichimaru?"
"From the beginning."
"Before you faked your death?"
"Everything began then," Aizen replied flatly.
Hitsugaya's heart pounded. "From the start… you lied to everyone-Hinamori, me, our squads… even the whole Gotei 13?"
"It wasn't my intention to lie," Aizen said. "It's just... none of you could understand my true self. Except for one person."
His face remained partially hidden in shadow, obscuring his expression.
Hitsugaya couldn't make sense of what Aizen was implying. "Who is 'that one person'?"
He lowered his head, struggling to contain his rage. "You know she looked up to you... Hinamori admired you from the beginning. She joined the Gotei 13 because of that admiration... She worked harder than anyone to help you. She earned her place as vice-captain..."
"Yes, I know," Aizen said without remorse. "Worship is easy to control. That's why I chose her. Remember this, Hitsugaya-admiration is the emotion most distant from understanding."
Hitsugaya could barely restrain himself upon hearing that. The casual cruelty in Aizen's explanation pushed his patience beyond its limit.
He drew his Zanpakutō and slashed forward without hesitation.
Boom.
Spiritual pressure erupted violently, shaking the room. The sheer force of his movement pulverized the ground and walls behind him.
Dust and smoke billowed as his reiatsu flared completely unchecked.
From within the chaos, his next words broke through clearly-
"Bankai-Daiguren Hyōrinmaru."
Frost climbed his blade, then spread up his arm and across his back. Massive wings of ice manifested behind him as the temperature plummeted. Heat vanished from the space. Summer faded, replaced by the chill of winter in moments.
Dozens of pillars formed around him, each thick with ice crystals. Behind his shoulders, three lotus-like clusters of red petals hovered, signifying the bankai's progression.
His blade was encased in dragon-like ice patterns as he exhaled-
Each breath visible as white frost crystallizing in the air.
His focus remained on Aizen. "I'll kill you," Hitsugaya said, clear and direct.
Sōsuke Aizen responded coolly. "No. Speaking with that tone only shows your lack of confidence."
Hitsugaya said nothing further-he simply moved. A single slash carried the full force of his intent.
Yet before the strike could finish, blood erupted from his chest.
It burst forth with speed so great the sound of it catching up came after-like red thread unraveling from his very core.
His thought process staggered. The rage boiling inside him vanished in one moment-extinguished before Daiguren Hyōrinmaru could carry it forward.
"How... how could this be?" he whispered faintly, frozen in utter disbelief.
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