"Truth can be a heavy burden, but it's the foundation of understanding." — Itachi Uchiha.
°
°
°
°°°°°°°°
The stare off between an angry(?) Harribel and an embarrassed Starrk continued in full force while the one-sided stare off between Ulquiorra and Itachi pelted out at an unhurried pace. At least it did for one of them.
Itachi, appearing just as unaffected as Ulquiorra, spent the silence talking to Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, or rather it was them talking to him more animatedly, especially Amaterasu, after his first time using their Bankai.
He finally realized why Amaterasu had been impatient and frantically urging him to use his Bankai.
That level of resonance and oneness couldn't be replicated by anything else. It was a feeling that sprouted a sense of 'completion' that was both addicting and right.
He idly wondered if it was the same for the other Captains. 'I'll ask Shunsui how he deals with it.'
Itachi wasn't joking about how addicting it felt. It almost wanted him to release it again just so he could be in a perpetual state of Bankai.
He strangled those urges and finally focused on what was happening around him. His first question was directed at Ulquiorra. "Can I help you?"
"You are Starrk and Lilynette's friend?" Ulquiorra asked, to which Itachi gave a soft nod.
"How?" Ulquiorra asked but then frowned and shook his head. That wasn't it. "Why?" This one instead filled him with satisfaction.
"I don't understand." Itachi replied. "'Why' as in 'Why are we friends?' or 'Why did we become friends?'"
"Why are you friends?" Ulquiorra said, picking the first option.
Why are Hollow and Shinigami friends? Itachi saw the question as so. It was like asking why black and white weren't mixing or why they suddenly weren't opposites.
The others were silently listening in, not just the Hollows but also the Captains around Kisuke's small shop, but Itachi didn't notice nor would he have cared if he did.
"Because we tried to be." That was the simplest answer Itachi could give but he somehow knew that Ulquiorra wouldn't understand.
"We stopped trying to kill each other for a second and talked. We sat and talked for hours… and suddenly ended up travelling together for a short while."
"That was all it took?" Ulquiorra looked skeptical, which was the most expressive emotion he's ever shown on his face, but no one could blame him.
Preconception was the bane of understanding.
"That was all it takes. Nothing more. Nothing less." Itachi spoke while staring straight into Ulquiorra's eyes. "It shouldn't have been hard in the first place."
Finished saying his place, he stood up and left the Hollows to themselves. They had been the ones to surround him when they found Starrk sleeping next to him as he meditated.
"Are we ready to go?" Junpei asked as Itachi sat with the other Captains around the small table in the middle of the tiny room they were all resting in.
"Soon."
"So Itachi, when were you planning on telling us you had Hollow friends?" Shinji asked with a lopsided smirk.
"No time soon." He replied without missing a beat. There was a boiled pot of tea on the table so he helped himself to some.
Byakuya's brows quivered a tiny bit at Itachi's reply. "You weren't planning on telling anyone? Not even when said Hollow was Aizen's strongest Espada?"
Itachi poured some for Unohana who thanked him with a nod before bringing his cup to his lips and taking a calming sip for a few seconds before placing the cup down with a soft relaxed breath.
"Would it have made a difference? It's not like he knew most of Espada's abilities. So really, why should I have spoken of him?"
He nonchalantly ignored the mixed reactions around the table and picked up the pot to refill his tea only for Shunsui to stop him with a grin. The grinning Shinigami placed a few cups down and procured a gourd from his sleeves (no one questioned it) and poured out for them.
"This is suitable for the occasion." He simply said with a small laugh.
Itachi didn't reject this one. Like Shunsui said, it was suitable for the occasion.
They all drank their cup with a few sharp inhales for the burning lungs.
However this small distraction wasn't enough to let Itachi out of the scope of a few Captains.
"Did you decide on your own that such a decision shouldn't be made known to the other Captains?" Byakuya asked with a sharp edge to his words. He might respect Itachi's strength, just as he did Isshin and Kenpachi, but that didn't mean he'd tolerate his code of conduct.
Itachi placed his cup down with a small clack and studied Byakuya with half lidded eyes, his retort simple and direct. "I ask you, to what end?"
Byakuya fell silent but Shinji quickly came to his rescue, even if it was unintended.
"That doesn't change the fact that you were colluding with Hollows. That's slimey, ya know."
"There was no 'colluding'. I simply gave them sanctuary after I destroyed Las Noches. Neither Kisuke, Yoruichi or Tessai found any issues with it. Why you?" The small talks were slowly getting to him.
He was a master of his emotions but he was currently tired, both spiritually and mentally. And not to mention he had another debacle to clear up with the Head Captain as soon as they returned to the Seireitei.
Shinji and those dissatisfied with Itachi dropped the issue, but they all knew it was bound to come up when they returned.
As for said Hollows, they'll return back to Hueco Mundo and continue from there. They could do whatever they wanted as there was no longer a Baraggan or Aizen for them to look out for.
"Now then, my esteemed guests. It's time to return." Kisuke popped up at the end of the hour with a walking stick in his hand and Yoruichi and Tessai behind him, the former smirking all the way while the latter wore a full grim.
"Finally. These bastards were talking my ears off." Kenpachi was the first to bolt out, having been bored out of his mind for the past hour.
They gathered in front of the shop where a Senkaimon was waiting for them.
The Visored and the Exiled looked at the door with a solemn face and complicated eyes.
"Ugh, to hell with it all." Shinji stepped through the open doors and the others followed through. First the Visored, then the Shinigami, and then the Exiled.
"Tch. The air even feels the same." Shinji appeared even more irritated upon his return while his cohorts looked skittish.
"Come on guys. Don't you think you're overreacting quite a bit? Chill out." Yoruichi smacked Rōjūrō and Lisa on their backs and laughed. "Let's go. We don't want to keep the old man waiting."
It didn't take them long to arrive at Yamamoto's building. Though they did scare the few Shinigami that saw them when they arrived. The poor souls stood rooted in fright upon the arrival of ten Captains at the doors of the 1st Division.
Yamamoto's office was open for them when they arrived so they filtered in with familiar pace. Inside the room was Yamamoto seated on his chair with a heavily frowning Mayuri standing off to the side.
"Finally stopped creeping did you?" The face painted Captain sneered loudly. His eyes then landed on the Visored and an interested gleam appeared in them. "At least you brought some interesting specimens with you this time."
"Keep spouting those drabbles, clown, and you'll be needing a facial redo." Shinji and Mayuri wasted no time in glaring at each other with everything they had short of killing intent.
"Welcome back." There was a subtle touch of approval when the Head Captain said that.
"Yes yes, welcome back and everything." Mayuri rolled his eyes with bleeding sarcasm until they landed on Kisuke. "And you? Are you so inept that you can't even hide the space you anchored from any willy nilly wandering around the Dangai?"
The fact that despite Mayuri's best efforts Aizen had somehow prevented them from opening a Senkaimon there or even locating the place pissed Mayuri more than anything today.
Everyone wholly ignored Mayuri's wailings and gathered before Yamamoto in two straight lines.
"It is regrettable that we lost Mugurama and Aikawa. They won't be forgotten. The comrades they left behind are proof of this."
Yamamoto's words pricked wounds that had barely stopped bleeding. The Visored were understandably angry and sad at the early reminder of their departed friends. Shunsui hid his expression with his hat, but like the other Captains who knew Kensei and Love, he was just as sad.
"We will mourn our passing comrades in our own way. For now there are a few matters that need discussion." Even if it was somewhat harsh, everyone here nodded and sealed up whatever sadness they felt.
They were all people who have lost numerous comrades in the century's they've been living. They could stave off sadness for however long was needed.
"Good." Yamamoto nodded, his voice frail and strong at the same time. "Now, we'll start from the beginning."
––––––
Patreøn*com/QuackVader
––––––