Chapter 88 - Preparation for Hueco Mundo

"If I had been open with you from the start… and looked you straight in the eyes and told you the truth, then I wouldn't have had to stand before you, from above, as a failure, telling you all of this. I failed." — Itachi Uchiha.

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Two figures blurred in a furious clash, trying to get a fatal strike on the other but given as how none of the blurs stopped or slowed down, it could be said as none of them being successful so far.

The two figures – Itachi and Soi Fon – aggressively parried and struck at the other, no restraint shown in either of their actions.

Shurikens flew out from the arm guard Soi Fon wore and arced towards Itachi who weaved and threw a backflip over the wave of projectiles.

Soi Fon drew her hands back and the wires that were connected from her hands to the shurikens became visible, which she used to control their trajectory in an almost complete 360°, except that Itachi wasn't one to be caught in such an obvious move.

In midair during his backflip, a puff of smoke revealed a giant shuriken in Itachi's hands – which suddenly became coated in lightning – which he threw at the incoming rain of shurikens.

"Lightning stream."

The first impact of their shurikens conducted the lightning in Itachi's shuriken to swallow all of the smaller ones.

"Hadō #58: Tenran."

A tempest of tornado crashed into Itachi who was midair and pushed him further back where Soi Fon was surprisingly waiting for him to stab him with a released Suzumebachi.

And stab she did.

A butterfly pattern appeared on where she stung him but she froze before she could go for the final kill as a short blade was now protruding from her stomach.

*POOF*

She turned into a poof of smoke while the Itachi who was behind her slowly fizzled out, drowning the place in silence which lasted barely a second as the sound of intense clashing resounded in another place.

This time however it was two Soi Fon against Itachi, both respectively wielding lightning and wind over Suzumebachi, as they tried relentlessly to skewer Itachi with it. Copying Itachi's usage of jutsus and Kidō inline with his Zanpakutō, Soi Fon managed to do the same with Hadō, even replicating some of his jutsus like his Shadow Clone technique and Substitution Jutsu as they were both Reiatsu-based techniques now.

On the other hand, Itachi kept flickering on and off in different locations around Soi Fon without any rhyme, sometimes with him being midstrike, giving her a really hard time in hitting him. Except that Itachi wasn't using any movement technique.

Since his illusions could now physically affect their targets, Soi Fon was pressed to fight off any instances of him, never minding whether or not she was inside an illusion.

When she finally managed to stab her wind enclosed hand through Itachi, her and her other clone's eyes widened when they saw that they were both skewering each other.

"H-how?" The clone stuttered by Soi Fon was too busy scanning the room for Itachi while in a fetal position.

"You should keep your eyes on your opponent more, Soi Fon." Her head whipped back towards her clone who now appeared as Itachi and suddenly he was the only one now skewering her with his lightning clad hand.

…..

*Huff huff*

Soi Fon knelt down with sweat furiously running down her face as she tried to control her erratic breaths.

"H-how long?" She coughed as she asked.

"Since the beginning."

She chuckled wearily. "So for the past two hours?"

The world around them collapsed in broken mirror-like fragments with Itachi's sword still sheathed.

"No. 37 seconds." He replied succinctly.

She just sighed. She had been trying to get used to the effects but she was just now realizing the fact that her mental state was free to be manipulated once she got trapped inside an illusion. Not put into one but trapped in one – there was a clear difference.

"At this rate, I don't think I'm ever getting used to it." She grumbled. It wasn't like she was suddenly weak after getting out, but instead the mental toll of having fought for over two hours still persisted and it would definitely affect her focus and control should she continue fighting after.

She looked at Itachi who decided to remain quiet, a bit disgruntled as she reluctantly asked. "Compared to her, how far am I?"

"Resistance to illusions and combat prowess? You're far behind in both." Itachi said without any emotion in his voice. While his relationship with Soi Fon was the best out of everyone else he knew – due to circumstances –, he was more critical with her than anyone else, even more so than he was with Junpei.

"You're not quite on the base level of a Captain with their Shikai. Your technique, while improved, is sorely lacking compared to Yoruichi's." Itachi said, turning to look Ina specific direction as he did. "You should know this more than anyone."

'Aren't you a bit overreaching in your critique?' Asked Amaterasu in a bored voice.

'Not entirely so, Amaterasu. If he was comparing her to the normal standard then I'd agree with you, but he's measuring the standard of her growth compared to that woman, Yoruichi.' Tsukuyomi argued.

'It's only fair to her. She wouldn't want that-' Itachi remarked, '- and it looks as if Junpei just achieved Shikai.'

'The useless one? Finally about time something good happened to him with all the work he's been putting in.'

'Are you going to meet him?' Tsukuyomi asked with a flow in his words but Itachi shook his head.

"Not today. Me going will be a distraction to him and his Zanpakutō."

....

Itachi later found himself in the familiar red world of his mindscape where the crimson moon shone over the infinite world of black – crows and flames – and standing in the middle where both parts melded into each other.

On one side of him was the gigantic crow form of Tsukuyomi with his red beady eyes, while on the other was a very tall column of fire in the shape of a woman, equal in size with Tsukuyomi, with both of them looking down at him.

"You seriously don't think you're ready yet, do you?" Amaterasu asked him with a contemptuous edge to her words.

Who isn't privy to the relationship between Itachi and his Zanpakutō spirits would believe that Amaterasu was the one who liked Itachi the least, but Itachi would disagree given how her flames were quick to wrap over his body cozily every time he appeared here.

"I do." Itachi answered.

"Mm. It won't be as easy as you think, Itachi." Tsukuyomi warned.

"I never for once thought it would be easy." Itachi retorted but gained a snort and a head shake in return from the both of them.

"That in and of itself is an easy thought." Tsukuyomi's reply sounded like an ominous warning to Itachi who'd rarely ever hear him speak in such a way. "Go do your mission in Hueco Mundo first before trying to attain Bankai."

Itachi remained silent as he stood under the watchful gazes of his two spirits. He turned towards Amaterasu, the most expressive of them three.

"You too?"

"As much as I'd love us to dance in blazing black inferno, Tsukuyomi is right. Take some time, rethink what you want and why you think you need to unlock Bankai now. Then come back and challenge us."

Itachi nodded, not having much else to say when the two of them were advising him. There is a reason why they said later and not now, and though he was curious he didn't ask, showing the trust he had in the judgment of his spirits.

The world faded away and Itachi was back in his private room.

As much as he didn't want to, he still needed to speak to Mayuri to know how far he had gone in figuring it out.

"And then there is Junpei."

If everything went according to the timeframe Mayuri gave him, he'd probably be in Hueco Mundo by the time the boy took his final exams. He'd already sent in his request to join the 2nd Division which Itachi had Soi Fon go over since she'd be in charge of his admittance, not him.

"Oiya? Is that Lieutenant Itachi? How rare to find ya up an' about." A chirpy voice called out to him from behind but Itachi did not turn back to see who it was as he could already feel the person behind him.

"3rd Seat Gin, do you have any business with me?" He asked while walking.

"Oh c'mon. I was a little bored and I think Lieutenant Aizen is ignoring me." He said pitifully.

Itachi wasn't quite sure but he knew he hated Gin's way with words. It felt like anytime he said something, it wasn't because he wanted to but rather because he wanted to see how people would react.

"A wise decision on his part." He replied disinterestedly.

"Not you to—"

"Gin!"

Itachi stopped when he felt the shift in Gin's Reiatsu and turned to look at who had called at him to get him to react that way only to see the Lieutenant of the Tenth, Rangiku Matsumoto, looking surprised and happy at Gin, as well as something else.

'Hurt?'

"Well, I'll catch you later Itachi." Gin suddenly said, no slimy smile on his face, and he was gone the next second.

'Unrequited feelings maybe?' Itachi thought, noting the weird way the ever smiling man's attitude changed.