ccnovels Chapter 404 Divide Rule
Chapter 404 Divide Rule
Meanwhile, back at the Central Underground Assembly Hall, a stunned Hinamori stands at one of the entrances and wonders what is going on as she stares, horrified, at the dead council members. The scent of old blood and the silence of death were overwhelming. She hadn't expected that after following Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku, she would encounter such a shocking, desolate scene.
While Hinamori recounts what she witnessed and questions why Hitsugaya was so shocked at this if he killed Aizen and, by extension, the council members, the false narrative still clinging to her mind like a desperate shield, leading her to question if Izuru did it, her thoughts were a frantic, illogical spiral.
While she was muttering to herself, a presence she instinctively trusted appeared. Captain Ichimaru Gin approaches her from behind and leans over her shoulder, his Reiatsu signature warm and familiar, and greets her with his usual sly smile. "Hi, Hinamori," His voice was a low, smooth sound that offered a false sense of security.
"Captain Gin, why are you here? Are you involved in this atrocity?"
Hinamori startled and exclaimed, shocked by his presence, the question slipping out before she could stop herself.
"This is not the right place to talk. There are still shadows and dangers here. Follow me."
Gin glanced at her with a smirk and requested, his eyes slits of amber, a chilling predator's calm in his tone.
While Hitsugaya rushes back to the compound, his heart a frantic, icy knot of dread, Hinamori follows Gin to the Seijotokyorin and inquires why Gin has brought her here, her anxiety a dull ache in her chest.
Upon being asked by Gin if she has ever been here before, Hinamori denies having even seen it prior because it is off-limits, a sacred and forbidden place.
However, while entering a dark room, the air inside growing cold and heavy, Gin reveals there is someone he wants Hinamori to see and instructs her to look at the doorway behind her, where Hinamori is stunned to see her captain, Sosuke Aizen, standing calmly, a vision that shattered her grief and replaced it with a blinding, desperate hope.
"How have you been, Hinamori? I apologize for worrying you." Aizen asked with a warm, gentle smile, his voice like a soothing balm to her wounded spirit.
"Captain Aizen!" Hinamori expresses disbelief at seeing him again after thinking he was dead, her eyes welling up with a torrent of relief and joy that bordered on hysteria.
While Aizen simply replied, "I am clearly alive; can't you see? It takes more than a simple blade to kill a man like me," his voice infused with a quiet power.
Hinamori walks up to him and grasps his haori, her fingers clutching the familiar fabric, as she begins to tear up, the floodgates of her sorrow finally breaking. Aizen reached out a gentle hand and caressed her head, leading her to apologize for how heartbroken she must have felt.
Internally, Hinamori felt a profound, aching relief, detailing how his hand heals her heart, driving out the pain and fear, as it did the night before his supposed death. She realized by the unique, calming scent of his Reiatsu that it really is Aizen, causing her to begin sobbing uncontrollably, burying her face in his shoulder.
Aizen pulled her into a comforting hug, observing she has lost weight before apologizing for how badly he has hurt her and then added, his voice low and sincere.
"I apologize for not telling you beforehand, something urgent came up that's why I had to stay hidden and fake my death and let you receive my letter. It was an unfortunate necessity."
"It's alright, Captain, it's enough for me that you are alive and doing well. I can handle anything now that you're back." Hinamori assures him while clearing her tears away, her spirit utterly devoted once more.
Aizen heard her words, his smile unwavering, and told her that their time together was a joy to him and thanked her, the words dripping with honeyed deceit.
Only to bid her farewell, the false warmth in his eyes suddenly replaced by a chilling, empty cruelty, as he shoves his Zanpakuto through her chest. The strike was sudden, silent, and precise, aiming for the heart she had just offered to him.
Shred!
Left speechless by this ultimate betrayal, a soundless scream trapped in her throat, Hinamori looks up at Aizen, who merely stares coldly at her, his expression utterly devoid of emotion, and pulls his Zanpakuto out, the spiritual blade slick with her own Reiatsu, leaving Hinamori to collapse before departing alongside Gin, the traitor's work complete.
During this time, 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana and her lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu, approached the central chamber, sensing the terrifying surge and then immediate plunge of a powerful Reiatsu... the tell-tale sign of a Captain-level confrontation.
Back at the Seijōtōkyorin, Aizen smiled maliciously as he walked outside the room with Gin, the setting sun casting long, ominous shadows.
Suddenly, Hitsugaya arrived, his Bankai already humming with cold power, and is shocked to see Aizen standing alongside Gin, a scene that confirmed his worst fears with brutal clarity.
"How have you been, Captain Hitsugaya? I trust your pursuit of the truth has been illuminating?" While Aizen greets him calmly, his usual gentle tone now replaced by an arrogant, mocking lilt.
"Is it really you? Speak, fiend!" Hitsugaya asked seriously, ignoring his greetings, his voice trembling with raw, untethered rage.
"Don't worry, Captain Hitsugaya, it's really me in real flesh and blood. Your nemesis stands before you."
Aizen assures him and then glances at Gin beside him and says, "It seems Captain Hitsugaya is here prior to our expectation. A shame, I rather enjoyed the silence."
"I apologize, Lord Aizen; it seems the Izuru failed to keep him distracted. I misjudged his attachment to the girl." Gin replied, his voice a flat, non-committal apology.
Hitsugaya, confused by their conversation, his mind struggling to piece together the depth of the conspiracy, wonders what they are talking about, the truth feeling like a physical weight crushing his soul.
Aizen glanced at his confused expression and spoke, "I am referring to the tactic of dividing and conquering; Captain Hitsugaya must be aware of that, the most basic way of weakening an enemy. You were so busy chasing ghosts."
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