Crows x Souls

"The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. We are all one people, but we live as if divided." — Guru Pathik (Avatar). 

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The situation evolved in a way no could have predicted. With Yoruichi's presence, the danger Itachi faced instantly skyrocketed. Yes, it skyrocketed. 

If before the Hollows were confident in killing Itachi, an assurance that made them lax and laidback, now they were alert and outright hostile. 

Unwittingly, Yoruichi's appearance which was supposed to give him a better chance at escaping, now made it harder. Unbelievably harder. 

"Sheesh, tough crowd." She joked. Oh she was very aware of the current situation but that didn't stop her from telling a joke. "Oi, Itachi, looking spry as always."

She smirked as she saw the twitch in his eyes. Just like old times. "Seriously? Talking to other women already? You break my heart."

Her appearance caused everyone to stop what they were doing and zone in on her, no one moving even as she appeared beside Itachi. 

"What are you doing here?" Itachi asked in a clipped tone. Yoruichi was pleasantly surprised seeing how genuinely worried Itachi was. It warmed her heart that he was genuinely worried about her but someone had to get it through his thick skull that she was just as worried about him as he was of her. 

She frowned. "Take a guess." She had to take a moment to stop herself from whacking him across the head. 

What the hell were the Seireitei thinking letting him go on a solo suicide mission? If only she was back in the Court she would let the old man hear it. 

"And wipe that frown off your face while you're at it. You should be happy that I'm here to rescue your ass, not looking angry." 

Itachi on the other hand was conflicted. How could he tell her that everything was still within the margins of his plan? How could he begin to explain to her that her presence here just made her the one who is in the most danger? 

He had to come up with a new plan on the fly that would still lead to the same end result. The Hollows gearing up to attack did not bode well for either of them. 

"Tell me you've got a plan." Yoruichi asked as they stood back-to-back. 

"I had one. You interrupted it." He said, earning a snort from her. 

Now it wasn't just Harribel and Ulquiorra, but also Baraggan and the other Espada that were present – all of them wanting a piece of the two pitiful Shinigami. 

"What now? Fighting is just slowing down our death sentence." She said as lightning danced around her. 

Itachi clicked his tongue, appearing more distraught and frustrated than she'd ever seen him. "Just hold on for a little while."

That was all they could do for now – hold on. 

... 

[POV: With Itachi, Inside Las Noches] 

The intense vibrations that ran through the castle walls were all the reminder he needed to hurry up. Even now he had no idea what the main was up to. 

At one point during his infiltration, he had felt Kaname Tōsen's presence lurking nearby, no doubt waiting for him on Aizen's orders, and fortunately for the ex-Shinigami he was not Itachi's priority. 

Sneaking over Kaname was an easy task and not even the man's heightened senses helped him in knowing when the clone passed over him. 

Right now, he was closer to the heart of the castle and wherever Aizen's lab was, it was no doubt hidden among these parts. 

His objective was clear: find out what he could about Aizen's method with the Hōgyoku in relation to the Arrancars while the main drew most of the attention to himself. 

There was little Aizen could do to hide his lab from someone like Itachi. While a Bakudō used by someone of Aizen's expertise was enough to hide most things from a lot of soul beings, Itachi was the sole exception. It was almost impossible to hide energy flow from the Sharingan, especially one as acute as Itachi's. 

It took him little time to find Aizen's personal space and even less time to bypass it – which undoubtedly would have alerted Aizen, wherever he was. Compared to Chakra, the limitations of Reiryoku were looser. It was a mostly unified energy form which meant all sorts of good things to Itachi. His mastery of Kidō for example. 

Since he believed that Aizen was already aware of his presence in his lab, he acted a bit more freely in the way he perused the laboratory. The equipment and Hollow carcasses floating in them, if anything, showed that Aizen has been really busy for the past couple of years. 

And there, protected by a special barrier and a technological wonder. The premise of the barrier was similar to a Sealing Jutsu and while he could try to disarm-

Black flames surged and wrapped around the case holding the prized purple jewel – the Hōgyoku. 

As if in reaction to his flames, the Hōgyoku's light shone even brighter and when it all subsided, only the light of the unharmed stone remained. 

It turns out that Kisuke Urahara wasn't lying when he said that he tried to destroy the Hōgyoku but to no avail. 

He tried grabbing it but was forced to retreat when it released sparks that would have destroyed his body had he held on even a fraction of a second later. 

Since there was nothing he could do about the Hōgyoku, he did the only thing he could. 

Amaterasu. 

The whole lab was engulfed in black and Itachi turned to face the person he surprisingly hadn't come to meet. 

"You knew I couldn't do anything to it, that is why you left it out in the open."

"The perfect bait. Won't you say?" Aizen said. "I half thought you would want to do this yourself while your clone drew all the attention."

"It wouldn't have worked as well as it did. Like you said yourself," they both looked at the Hōgyoku that was surrounded by black flames all around, "the perfect bait."

"Such a marvelous thing, your cloning technique." Aizen said, an appreciative look in his eyes as he regarded one of, if not the best subtle techniques he's ever seen. "I spent quite some time thinking about it, even trying to analyze it, but I couldn't. I have never had the chance to observe… not until now that is."

"It is not that complicated a technique. And when someone is used to it, it decreases its efficiency by a lot." Itachi said, not at all bothered by Aizen's interest in clones. 

He came from a world where every Shinobi knew different variations of cloning techniques. It wasn't considered much in his sight. 

It wasn't like he couldn't see the dangers of someone like Aizen, with his Zanpakutō, learning a cloning technique. Except there was little to nothing he could do about it. 

Aizen was a genius, but so were Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Kyōraku, and even Mayuri. Even if he did not teach them the technique, all they needed to do was observe it for some time, use their mastery of Kidō, and do the same thing. If even Genins could pull off a cloning technique then there was no need to be surprised if a Captain could pull it off too. He wouldn't even be surprised if it turns out that Kyōraku had learnt how to do it a few years back. 

"Where is Starrk?" Itachi asked the final question he needed to ask of Aizen. 

Aizen smiled. "What is it, Captain Uchiha? Afraid I killed your friend?"

"Worried? Yes. Afraid? No." Itachi answered. For someone who claimed to be a good liar, he was awfully truthful.

"If you're asking, that means you couldn't see it, right? I will admit, finding ways to fool those eyes of yours was quite the task." He stepped aside and let Itachi walk past him. In both of their eyes, whether he destroyed the clone or not wouldn't change anything. 

Seeing Itachi ignoring him and leaving for Lilynette, no doubt, Aizen couldn't help but ask him a question. 

"How is the Seireitei doing these days? Still the same I guess."

Itachi didn't look back as he answered just as easily. "Not as bad as you would have thought, but not as good as it used to be."

The ex-Captain chuckled, very amused by Itachi's choice of words. 

"Should you be telling me all that? This easily even?" 

"Do you find any importance in it?" 

"… No. No, I do not."

Itachi nodded. "Then it does not matter if I tell you or not."

By now Itachi was already at the end of the hall, and yet never showed an ounce of interest in Aizen. 

"So you come all the way to my castle to ignore me?"

Finally, Itachi stopped, and Aizen smiled. The man before him was so interesting that he couldn't help himself. Couldn't stop poking until he got a reaction out of him. 

"An advice on the clone technique, Aizen: it would have been better if you had just used your Kyōka Suigetsu on me. Clones – they make for a poor imitation." A good distraction, yes, but never a good imitation. 

Aizen raised a brow at Itachi's unexpected advice before he stilled. Slowly, he looked down at his chest and saw the black flames that pierced through it and chuckled before dissipating. 

"Noted."

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