Crows x Souls

"The whole point of having a castle is for the enemy to show off its strength." — Kyōraku Shunsui. 

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[World of the Living] 

Three ex-Shinigami looked at their two guests lazily lounging in their yard without a care in the world, basking in the resplendent sun, and enjoying every bit of natural goodness. 

"Ah! This is the life." Starrk said as he rolled on the trimmed grass, eyes closed in pure bliss. 

Kisuke looked at Yoruichi, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed, and then trailed his eyes to their mostly unwanted guests. 

Before he could get out the word that had been stuck in his throat for some time, Tessai took it upon himself to serve their guest tea and some crumbs. It was common decency to entertain guests. 

"What are these?" Lilynette picked one up and looked at it with curious eyes. 

"Human delicacies. Try them." Tessai encouraged. The warm smile on his face told that her melting expression was all within expectations. 

"Starrk here. Try it!" Starrk couldn't get a word in before something sweet was shoved into his mouth. 

"Hmm." 

"Right?" 

Lilynette, ever the ignorant one, started stuffing her face full of delectable snacks while Starrk had to sit upright and face their host who were looking at him with slight apprehension, part confusion and a dash of intrigue. 

"Might as well ask what you want while at it. Answering what I can is the least I can do." He said to Tessai who silently nodded before beckoning to follow. 

They entered inside the small building and sat around the smaller table, with Starrk resting his hands on it and propping up his head.

"I'm guessing you want to ask about Aizen." He started. 

"We'll get to that." Kisuke interjected. "What I want to know is how you became an Arrancar…from what I assume a Vasto Lorde?"

Starrk gave him a lopsided stare, one Kisuke replied with a sly grin, and instead turned to Yoruichi and asked:

"Just how close is he with Itachi?" 

Yoruichi smirked. "Acquaintance at least. Former comrades at best. What? Gonna back out now?"

The former Uno Espada shook his head. "He reminds me too much of someone. And that makes me uncomfortable."

He turned his eyes to Kisuke who has been giving him an appraising look since he started speaking and answered his former question. 

"It's nothing special – at least the procedure isn't. A glow, a chamber, and boom! An Arrancar." The disparity between his dull face and his expressive words was something that made Yoruichi chuckle. 

They spoke more about Starrk's situation in Aizen's Espada which the older Hollow was kind enough to share and since they were the ones hosting his defection from Aizen's camp, he was generous in telling what he knew. Unfortunately, what he knew wasn't much. 

How could someone as unmotivated as him know more than the bare minimum? 

"So why aren't you with the Shinigami camp?" He asked, having already taken camp on the floor. 

"Oh, you know the usual. Alleged treason, alleged manslaughter, alleged framing and good 'ol blackmailing – allegedly of course."

"Aizen?"

"Allegedly." Kisuke replied with a good-natured smile. 

"Of course." He peeked over at Lilynette who was having the time of her life outside and couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. "I know us being here is likely a favor you're doing Itachi, but I want to thank you regardless. If not for me, it means a lot to her."

Yoruichi looked over at where he was looking and even she couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Now when you put it like that, how are we supposed to say 'no'?"

"If you remember the fact that I am a Hollow, then it shouldn't be that hard." Starrk countered. 

Kisuke nodded. "That you are. But you don't seem like the rest we are used to, so that is a point in your favor."

'In his favor.' Starrk couldn't help but snort. "Right. Technicalities."

...

[Seireitei, Soul Society]

The Captains were gathered back with Yamamoto for the update on Itachi's mission. The news they got was as surprising as it was chilling. 

It was at this point, after years of putting a whole lot of clues and evidence together – because everyone was skittish about the kind of information that were to be shared and those that were to be buried for eternity – that the few Captains that were close to Itachi knew just how deep and invested he was in Aizen's case. 

Arrancars – bridging the gap between Shinigami and Hollows. 

The Hōgyoku – the next step for soul evolution. 

The Soul King – the epitome of soul evolution. 

Aizen already had two of these so there was no doubt that he was going for the third strike. The lucky charm. 

Information on the Soul King was practically nonexistent so the fact that Itachi had been able to get information, not only from the obscure archives of the Research Institute, but also from the Noble Clans. Now wasn't that a daring reveal. 

'You sure are the leader of the Onmistukidō alright.' Was Kyōraku's comment after that teensy bitsy exposé. 

For those who haven't known Itachi that long, mostly Byakuya and Komamura, the leeway he had in snooping around even matters considered private was… a bit unsettling. And that was putting it lightly. 

It was different when it was someone like Yoruichi. With Yoruichi, it was understandable that she was privy to the oldest secrets of the Soul Society because of her position as Head of one of the Noble Families. 

The problem however was how he planned to usurp the Soul King. 

While Yoruichi had been generous enough to clear up most of Itachi's questions, the finer details still escaped him since even she was caught in the loop of Aizen's plans. 

The answers were there but it was the form it took that still eluded them. 

From what Itachi knew from Kyōraku – even as unwilling as the man had been about the subject – the Soul King did exist. Yoruichi had said it was a palace high above the Seireitei with no viable ways to get there. Except there was a way – Aizen had found it – so Yoruichi had to go back and pick Kisuke's brain for anything they missed. 

While the ex-Shinigami Captains had something very important to think about, so did the Shinigami Captains. 

"So with all that we know, what should we do now?" Isshin asked. 

"Attack Las Noches is what! Aren't you all tired of moping around and letting someone else clean up your shit?" In a rare fashion, Kenpachi actually said something wise, but there was a 100% chance he didn't mean it in the way he said it. 

"He is right, Head Captain. Now that we are aware of the details of Aizen's forces, we should attack while this information is still viable. A stronghold or not, Las Noches can't stop us Shinigami with its paltry might." Komamura somewhat agreed with Kenpachi. And although what he said was right, he and everyone else was still missing a key fact:

"Las Noches is no more."

"…"

"What do you mean 'Las Noches is no more'?" Jūshirō asked curiously. 

The other Captains looked at Itachi, curious as to what he meant with the words that Las Noches was no more. 

He wasn't one to overly state something, instead choosing to be literal as much as he could. 

"I meant it as I said it. Las Noches is no more. I blew it up." It was said with all seriousness that even the most laidback of the bunch couldn't find any joke in the statement. 

"… Like to smithereens… or something else?" Isshin asked tentatively, almost careful even, as if cautious not to spook out any more unnatural statements. 

"Yes."

Silence pervaded the hall and if anyone had been looking closely enough they would have seen the Head Captain's long brows twitching in part frustration and part exasperation. 

Truly this very stoic Captain was a troublesome one. 

"Hahahaha! That's more like it. See that? That's the way to go!" Kenpachi bellowed unrestrained in the silent room while also pointing at Byakuya as he said the last part. 

"Captain Uchiha." Yamamoto called. 

"Yes, Head Captain."

"You destroyed Las Noches, by your own words, am I correct?" Seeing Itachi nod, he continued with only one question asked. "Why?"

There had to be a reason why he let himself be encircled by Hollows, clone or not, and didn't use his Bankai to kill any of them, but instead used it to destroy a castle. 

"Aizen has conjoined himself with the persona of king. What King will stand by when their castle is destroyed?"

Kyōraku frowned at that. "You think he's that easy to rile up? This is Aizen we are talking about."

"That matters little." Itachi started. "Las Noches is no more. He'll have to find somewhere else to lay his head. Aizen might have the virtue of patience, but for one who has rarely ever felt deep anger and the frustration of inconvenience, you'll be surprised how quickly they'll devolve. It starts from the little things."

An illusory chessboard formed in front of Itachi, Aizen's tag floating about the white pieces while the Shinigami tag floated above the black. 

"A game of strategy and intelligence. That is what it used to be." The pieces moved in intricate complicated patterns, resolute in how they knocked out the pawns of black. It could be seen that they were boxing the black pieces into a cage… 

"This is not a game of rules and patterns." In an instant, the whites lost their two rooks in a move that was illegal in any form of chess. 

And then the bishop. 

The knights were boxed in. 

In the same unfamiliar move, the king was surrounded. 

"This is a tug of war. A game of power."

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