“Pain is pain, call it what you will. Do you feel it any less deeply by thinking it’s not real?” — Itachi Uchiha.

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In a dark room filled with monitors that showed different strings of data, Aizen looked with intense focus as his eyes greedily read through all the data reports he had been able to get his hands on.

“Kisuke Urahara. I commend your intelligence for it truly is a frightening thing, enough to make me extremely cautious.” He said with what was almost an admiring voice. “Nothing truly is new under the sun because just like me, you’re looking for a way to break through the soul’s natural ceiling.”

A pity that that was where their similarities end because while he, Aizen, was resolute in taking his research further and experimenting on different types of souls and Hollows, Kisuke Urahara limited himself with his self-imposed morals.

“But I sincerely pray for your success. Because what better gift for a god than the seed of his ascension.”

He couldn’t wait. While everyone went about dumbly, he went ahead and started assigning them as pieces in a chessboard, even the famed genius that was Kisuke Urahara was a piece in his board. A bigger and important piece, but a chess piece nonetheless.

He walked to a corner of the room and brought out a small box. He opened it and took out what was inside, a crystalline shell with what looked to be a purple flame inside it.

He had tried creating something that’d erase the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows, though incomplete, he was successful in creating the tool which was the culmination of his desires – the Hōgyoku.

He had tried perfecting it over the years but he wasn’t successful… but that was before Kisuke started threading on the same path he’d walked on and started creating a Hōgyoku of his own and that was when Aizen saw the completion of his goal.

He needed Kisuke’s Hōgyoku to make his complete, and he was determined to get it no matter what.

……

Itachi woke up silently with his only movement being after he had looked over the room to confirm where he was.

Looking under his shirt, he sighed in relief that his wounds were finally healed up.

Despite his words that day, he had gone to the 4th Division to get healed from the wounds he sustained from fighting Kenpachi; something that earned him one of the most blankest stares he had ever received, courtesy of Unohana.

It hadn’t been that long but the quick change he noticed after his fight was that the child Lieutenant of the Eleventh was at his doors the very next morning.

She had arrived when he was about to have his breakfast, something he rarely ever bothered with these days but had to because of how tired and injured he was the previous day, and had agreed to join him for breakfast when he had politely asked.

He hadn't come across Kenpachi ever since then but Yachiru was almost a constant in his house everyday.

It was easy to see how Itachi was gradually changing in his time away from everyone and everything that held him attached to his Shinobi life.

He hadn't forgiven himself for what he did to his family, not by a long shot, but he had grown up to accept these as things that he did, NOT what the village did.

Walking into his small kitchen, he started his day with making a simple breakfast but did so with two portions. Yachiru managed to get him to intentionally cook for someone else, something he hadn’t done since he was a child.

The last time he could do something like this so freely was the few times he cooked for Sasuke or their family, before the missions and village secrets took away all the time he had.

He kept her portion aside before he left since it was possible she could drop by when he wasn’t around. As for locking his doors, he saw no reason to when he literally had nothing of value in there.

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Stepping inside the gate of his Division, he came across Kisuke who was just leaving.

“Ah, Itachi. How goes it?”

“Urahara.”

“Serious as always I see.” Kisuke said with an easygoing smile. “Oh and if you’re looking for Yoruichi, she’s not in.” With that he bid his goodbye and walked away.

Since Yoruichi was not in, he made a beeline to the private ground behind her office where he could feel Soi Fon’s Reiatsu, most likely training.

He didn’t disturb her, just settling on sitting idle to meditate and pass the time.

SWOOSH!

He caught a blade between his hands and proceeded to give Soi Fon a look, threw the blade back and said nothing else.

“I thought it was someone else.” She gave a simple excuse knowing that none of them cared much about the knife. “Are you waiting for Lady Yoruichi?”

He nodded and said nothing else but it seemed Soi Fon had other ideas.

“Mind a spar to pass the time?” She asked, causing him to open his eyes to look at her. She was very diligent in her training, using most of her free time in training than in anything else.

He agreed since they both had nothing to do and drew out Tsukuyomi since it was the shorter of both blades, while Soi Fon drew hers.

……

[The 4th Division]

Inside Unohana’s office, she and her Lieutenant, Isane, were playing a board game when the doors were swung wide open by a short pink head.

“Re-chan! Kotetchin!”

Isane sighed dramatically while Unohana merely smiled fondly at the little Lieutenant.

“Stop barging into places like that, Yachiru. It would have been better if you just came in through the window like you normally do.” Isane chided halfheartedly, more focused on the game she was playing against Unohana than the interruption.

“Good to see you in high spirits like always, Yachiru.” Unohana said fondly as Yachiru joined them at the table holding something in her hands.

“Is that a food box?” Isane asked to which Yachiru nodded happily as she opened it. Normally she preferred sweets to anything, still do, but she also enjoyed these.

“Tachi-tachi made it for me.”

“Tachi-tachi?”

“Do you mean Itachi from the Second?”

“Hmm-mmn.” Yachiru nodded at Unohana while stuffing her mouth. “He and Kenny became friends and he’s a good cook. Here..”

She stuffed the chopsticks inside Isane’s mouth before she could refuse.

“See?”

“I see–”

“And Kenny said he wants to fight him again because Tachi-tachi was tired the first time.” She looked serious for a moment as she pursed her lips while tapping them with her chopsticks, “Tachi-tachi is really strong though. Especially with his second Zanpakutō.”

Finally swallowing the admittedly tasty food shoved into her mouth, Isane could now finally speak. “What’s his second Zanpakutō abilities?” She asked curiously.

“It’s a fire-type like Gramps but it’s black and it's not hot.”

“It isn’t hot? Maybe it’s not exactly fire but something else?” She conjectured but Yachiru shook her head.

“It’s not hot but it burns. It burned Kenny’s Reiatsu and made him retreat a couple times.” She said with a heavy nod as if convincing herself that what she said was the right thing.

Isane was surprised but not that much. The man in question had fought Captain Shiba and Captain Yoruichi, who he brought to the ward a few days ago.

Unohana was of the same thought. Kenpachi wasn’t who he once was so that was understandable. What she was however interested in was the black flames that Yachiru said could burn Reiatsu but she didn’t know much about it.

“Illusions and flames that burn Reiatsu? I can’t see the connection. Shouldn’t twin spirits have at least some connection in their abilities?” Isane asked her Captain.

Unohana calmly drank her tea and moved her piece on the board game as she replied. “Two out of thousands in over a thousand years can barely be considered a reliable metric to make a correct judgment on the nature on Dual Spirit Zanpakutō.”

Isane nodded and they both got back to their game while Yachiru happily ate beside them having pulled out her snack bag from somewhere when none of them were looking.

…..

“I thought you were leaving him be?” Gin asked with his trademark smile as he walked behind Aizen.

“A variable that cannot be accounted for is an error. His illusions aside, him being a Dual Zanpakutō wielder and the nature of those flames are interesting topics to study.” Aizen replied with a genial expression that was masterfully worn on his face. “And besides I am yet to find out what kind of piece he is so this will help me know where to place him on the board.”

“You’re the boss man, Vice.” Gin’s smile stretched a bit as he said that. “So got anything interesting for your new toy?”

Aizen glanced at Gin who had a predatory grin on his face, smiled himself but said nothing in answer to Gin’s question.

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