Chapter 81 - Betrayal and Acceptance

"This is what happens when you are skilled, power causes you to become isolated and arrogant." — Itachi Uchiha.

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To no one's surprise, the moment the alarms blared throughout the whole of Seireitei that some Captains who were branded traitors were escaping, the whole Shinigami populace were up and active.

The traitors; Captain Kisuke Urahara, Captain Yoruichi Shihōin, Grand Chief Tessai Tsukabichi and Vice Kidō Chief Hachigen Ushōda – were accused of the crimes of aiding and orchestrating Kisuke Urahara's prison break, the Captain who is primarily responsible for illegal experiments on Hollows and Shinigami, even involving his fellow Captains.

Because of Kisuke Urahara, the Gotei 13 lost six Captains, a Kidō Grand Chief, two Lieutenants and a 3rd Seat – effectively halving the core strength of the Shinigami in just one day.

The greatest traitor amongst Shinigami till date, that was Kisuke Urahara.

…..

While everyone was running around and lighting up the Seireitei in a hub of activity, Itachi was having a moral dilemma. At least his main body, as a few of his clones were running around and blending into the crowd activity.

What he was finding hard to come to terms with was whether or not he did the right thing by just letting Yoruichi go.

Even if he knew he had no chance of winning against both of them, the fact that he was fine with them leaving with no question answered gnawed on him.

He might have made a terrible mistake there for all he knew.

'It all comes down to trust, does it not?' Like always his voice of reason, Tsukuyomi came when his thoughts were disorganized.

'You already know this, that the reason you decided to do nothing during their escape is because you trust Yoruichi. At least to a certain extent. Do you perceive my words as wrong?'

Itachi sighed. 'No. Not necessarily.'

'This is what it means to live, Itachi. The uncertainty and consequences of actions, great and small, is what makes life such a gift. You worry if your trust is misguided and if Yoruichi will betray it, but what if she does? So what if everything you thought you knew about her was a lie? At the end of the day it was your decision to trust her as it is her decision on whether or not to honor it. Such is life.'

He knew, of course he knew that. At the end of the day, the root of it lay in his inability and him doubting his own decisions.

'There's still that Aizen Sōsuke. She said not to confront him until I was strong enough. If the four of them couldn't confront him, then maybe I'm really nowhere strong enough either.'

He understood the sentiment of what it meant, especially when he fought two Hollowfied Captains.

There was a steep ladder when it came to the Captains. For someone like Kisuke Urahara, Captains like Kensei and Ginrei were no different from the Lieutenants strength-wise. Him fighting off two Captains in their Shikai was testament to that.

And yet, they still did nothing against the suspected instigator, Aizen Sōsuke, and Itachi knew why.

'It's his illusions, right?'

'Most likely. A complete illusion is quite the terrifying ability. Even if the extent of the ability doesn't equal that of the Tsukuyomi technique and its control of the target's sense of time, hypothetically speaking, just the fact that it is complete renders the prowess of Tsukuyomi redundant.'

Itachi rubbed the bridge of his nose as he arrived at what Tsukuyomi was building up to. "It means Truth-seeker might not be able to break through it if he actively controls it."

All the instances of the illusion he's come against were like pre-programming commands, meaning that they had already done their function and were going back to standby when he intercepted them.

"So in the end it still falls to getting stronger faster."

'For most part of it? Yes. Unfortunately, getting stronger takes time. You can't get to the height of power you want in a day. Let time take its due course.'

A hell butterfly appeared in Itachi and from it came the voice of the Fourth's Lieutenant, Isane, telling him to report to the Head Captain's 1st Division.

....

When Itachi arrived, the first thing he noticed was how few the number of Captains standing before the Yamamoto were.

He wasn't the only 3rd Seat called to the office as he saw a few 3rd Seats and Lieutenants in the office. Given how rare it was for normal Lieutenants and 3rd Seats to be called to this place, some of them were rightfully nervous.

Itachi took an inconspicuous spot where the rest of the 3rd Seats stood but it seemed someone had other intentions.

"Oi, Itachi. They got my Lisa." Shunsui Kyōraku stood in front of Itachi, scaring the other Lieutenants and 3rd Seats away from Itachi's location. "Ah, I'm sorry if I'm a bit harsh but my mood has been on a down trend lately. Did you know anything about it?"

Shunsui's face was a mask of impassion and his whole visage bore no trace of anger, but Itachi wouldn't believe that even if he was blind.

The current Shunsui was treading on a warpath and the last thing everyone needed was someone to prod him on, which was exactly the position Itachi was just put in.

The other attendants in the room watched the brewing altercation with curiosity and heavy doses of skepticism.

"No, I didn't."

"But you suspected." Shunsui pressed on.

Itachi gave a calm nod. "I did. I also suspected the other Captains and Lieutenants, but the events of the last twelve hours were not things I'd thought possible. At least not with the Captains."

Shunsui stared critically at Itachi before smoothly apologizing with a slight smile and went back to stand with the other Captains.

The meeting started soon after which was a recap of what had happened and a rough outline of their objectives going forward.

Basically, the empty Captain positions will remain empty until a new Captain with the required requisites takes over. This also translates to a Shinigami completely learning the Kidō Arts, as well as the fundamental Zankensoki, and finally achieving Bankai.

Following the end of the meeting, Itachi trailed Shunsui because he felt a need to speak to the man.

"What do you want?" Shunsui asked with an annoyed expression on his face.

Itachi thought on how to break the ice, having little to no experience in doing something like this so he went with the first thing that came to his mind concerning Shunsui.

"Mind sharing a drink with me? The moon is still out, a perfect time for a conversation over drinks." Itachi offered.

Shunsui was taken aback with Itachi's offer but nevertheless he appreciated it and the sentiment behind it.

Thinking Shunsui might reject the offer, Itachi provided a middle ground. "I'm no stranger to how you're currently feeling."

Shunsui snorted. "It's nothing new. When you live as long as I, you'll realize that such things are too frequent that you end up getting used to them. It sucks every time but it's nothing you can't get over in a few days."

His words were cold but Itachi was no judge. Being in a military organization for over a thousand years, the mentality of souls like Shunsui were bound to be strange, maybe even apathetic, to the younger Shinigami.

Itachi however could understand, having been introduced to the horrors of wars at a very young age and watching his comrades life being snuffed out in practically every skirmish.

"I understand." Itachi said in a low voice that was all too familiar to Shunsui.

"I see." He nodded, accepting Itachi's sympathy and offer. Not caring where they were, Shunsui made Itachi sit down in the middle of a street and brought out a small gourd of wine and two cups from his inner sleeves and poured for both of them.

"No need for a toast, just drink."

There they sat, in the middle of an empty street under the moonlight, drinking wine and accepting life for what it was. Or maybe cursing it.

…..

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Itachi stood in front of the same door he had been knocking on for the past ten minutes but had yet to receive a reply.

Not minding the looks he was getting, he continued knocking in a uniform rhythm and it wasn't until he got to the one hour mark before the door slightly creaked open and gave him all the invitation he needed to go in.

"What are you doing, Soi Fon?" He frowned as he saw the girl sitting on the floor and staring dazed at him.

"She left." Soi Fon muttered absentmindedly.

"That she did." Tristan said truthfully.

"She betrayed u— She betrayed the Soul Society, choosing to become a traitor than fulfilling her Shinigami duties."

Itachi sighed heavily as he looked down at Soi Fon. "It's okay to admit that she betrayed you, Soi Fon. Leaving like that without so much as a word of explanation was her stepping on your trust, devotion and loyalty to her. She betrayed you the greatest, Soi Fon."

That seemed to do it as the girl who always showed an overbearing and haughty front broke down in sobs and started asking Yoruichi why she left her alone.

After some time, Soi Fon stopped crying and looked at Itachi with a lost daze in her eyes.

"What am I going to do without… without her, Itachi? I hate her so much, but… but.."

Itachi nodded in understanding. "Hate is a powerful motivation… but that is not what you need as a drive. She left the 2nd Division and Onmistukidō behind, so it's only right we start there. As for what to do… since she left without so much as a word, how about beating it out of her the next time you see her? She owes you more than anyone in my opinion."

Soi Fon sniffled into the back of her hands upon hearing Itachi's words. It wasn't what she needed at the moment but it was what she got, and she appreciated it.

"If you're done being miserable then pick yourself up. We have a Division to run."

"Itachi…" She called out softly to him as he turned to leave, making him halt his steps at her door.

She bowed her head in gratitude and appreciation to him for his words and thanked him with as much sincerity as she could put in her voice.

"Thank you."

Itachi smiled, a real genuine smile, as he looked at her over his shoulder. "Executive Officer Soi Fon, 3rd Seat Itachi reporting for duty."

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A/N: Thanks for your understanding and while it is understandable if I were to stop posting for a while, I really can't do it for too long, even as short as a bare week because typing sometimes is something of an escape mechanism for me. It's much better for me to get lost in my head and write things down than to just lie around doing nothing. That's just me though.

Once again, thanks for understanding.

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