Crows x Souls

"People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define 'reality.' But what does it mean to be 'correct' or 'true?' Merely vague concepts." — Itachi Uchiha. 

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Itachi and Yoruichi quickly sped through the dunes, using it overarching shadows as camouflage, as they made their way farther from Las Noches. 

"Are you sure they are not going to see us?" Yoruichi couldn't help the tinge of worry in her voice. It couldn't be helped. A gathering of such powerful Hollows was a fearful sight.

"They might but-" 

"What do you mean 'they might'?" She tried to whack him across the head but he simply dodged her pitiful attempt and kept moving. 

When she asked why they still haven't hightailed it out of Hueco Mundo yet, his answer was that he still had something left to do – the final piece of his mission. 

It wasn't until they made it a considerable distance from the edges of Las Noches that Yoruichi was greeted by a surprise sight. 

Right there, unhidden, in the open sands was Itachi sitting with his eyes closed. 

She looked at the one besides her and instantly came to a realization. 

"You cocky bastard!" The main Itachi could only quirk a brow before Yoruichi slammed herself into him in a crushing hug while smacking his back. "You had me a little nervous back there."

Used to Yoruichi's quirkiness, he let them slide all over him while he remained on the task. 

"How come I never noticed it was a clone? I was sure it was the real you before I jumped in." Yoruichi asked. 

"It was. I took the chance when she hit me down to substitute myself with a clone. A suitably robust one."

"I see. So that's the weirdness I felt. No wonder it felt as if you were still holding back."

She sat beside him, saying nothing as she watched his clone turn to smoke, and looked in the direction of Las Noches where she could feel the minute reverberations of what she could tell was his clone's fight with Aizen. 

Feeling it even from this distance she couldn't help but give him a discreet glance. He has come so far that not only can he stand just as tall as she could, but he has taken a step further, leaving her just a step behind. 

She crossed her hand with a satisfied smile on her face. 

"You are pretty strong right now, aren't you?"

He looked at her and then at the pale moon up above. "… I am."

He was: she nodded contently. "You found all you were looking for along the way?" It was never about strength or the duty to him. She remembered how she had to prove herself to him, when he was still weaker than her, just so she could earn his loyalty, and earn it she did. Even now. 

"I am still looking." His eyes, as dark and gloomy as it always were, to her, could never seem to lie, no matter how red it shone to everyone else. 

"Well then, keep on searching." Was all she said. Few words it may be but the understanding between them was a discussion that spread far wider than whatever words they could say. 

He still trusted her. She still had his loyalty. He was stronger, and so was she. It wasn't complicated – it could never be. 

They didn't have to wait long in their comfortable silence because they both picked up two approaching Reiatsu that quickly put Yoruichi on edge but Itachi held her shoulder and softly shook his head, to her great surprise. 

The two were Starrk and Lilynette, both of whom looked back at Hueco Mundo with a tired sigh and regretful longing. 

Starkk scratched his head furiously, not at all worried by Yoruichi's presence, plopped himself right down beside Yoruichi and grunted deeply in frustration. 

"Couldn't you at least give us a head start?" He said looking in the direction of Hueco Mundo where a bunch of rising Reiatsu could be felt. 

"Who?" Itachi asked. He wasn't so emotionally blind that he couldn't see what was affecting Starrk. 

"Ulquiorra!" Lilynette shouted. "We can't let him stay with Aizen. He's too young. Aizen might take advantage of him."

Now it was Itachi's turn to be surprised. He had thought it was the yellow haired woman, Harribel, and not the despondent green eyed one. 

He stood up, startling the trio with him, and his Reiatsu started surging. 

"Oi, Itachi, what are you doing?" 

"A warning from the Seireitei."

Before anyone else could ask, he flicked out his Zanpakutō and immediately dark Reiatsu swallowed the area they stood on and kept rising higher until it blackened the sky. 

"Bankai: Amenominakanushi."

Swirling darkness was all that they knew from that point onwards. The darkness was so thick that they could feel themselves sinking into it – and it wasn't a mere illusion. 

It was as real as they could believe it to be. No. It was as real as he made it be. 

"What th-" Whatever words Starrk and Yoruichi wanted to say died in their mouths and they saw the darkness coalesce into a form. A very gigantic form. 

Unknown to them, something else, eerily similar and sinister, had already taken up the spot of the sole moon in Hueco Mundo. 

Four arms shot out of the darkness. Four red skeletal arms that were soon coated in shimmering dark. 

Slowly and surely it stood. The darkness around them had become so thick that instead of a slow sink, they were outright drowning in it. 

Because of how dark it was none of them could make out the finer details on the form but they all knew when it drew its hands back, and as if beckoning its command, black lightning, dark fire and darkness followed. 

An arrow nocked on a bow: the sight would have been ridiculous if not for the tip of the arrow pointing at Las Noches. 

At this point they couldn't see anything. All they could hear was the thunderous release of the arrow and after a few seconds of silence, the rapturous explosion that was set off into the distance. Yet the light of it never reached them. 

It took them a second to realize what he had done, and a second as the darkness receded to acknowledge the result of what he did. And it left Yoruichi, Starrk and Lilynette swallowing huge gulps of air. 

Las Noches was no more. 

... 

[12th Division Research Institute, Seireitei] 

Soi Fon and Junpei stood with Mayuri in the middle of his lab, despite his threats, and resolved to stay there for the entirety of the duration of Itachi's mission. 

Soi Fon trusted Mayuri as much as she decided to sting the face painted madman to death. They were easier things than dealing with the Captain of the 12th Division. She would take the lollygagging bastard, Kisuke Urahara, over him any day. 

So it was much to hers and Junpei's worry when the systems that Mayuri had monitoring the vicinity of the device he gave Itachi started screaming in alarm. 

Instead of questioning the man who was muttering unintelligible gibberish to himself, she zeroed in on his Lieutenant and bore down on the poor man, forcing him to explain what was going on. 

Before Akon could open his mouth, they heard Mayuri's scream in front of a screen and if what she was reading was right, the Reiatsu levels around the device were shooting up crazy like never before, even passing the limit mark for danger. 

Except this was Itachi's Reiatsu rising. And the only way for his Reiatsu to rise to such levels was if he used-

"Bankai? Did that fool just use his Bankai? Hmph! Guess he's in more trouble than he thought. Good riddance I say."

That actually got them worried. Really worried. 

As much as they worried, they were placated with the knowledge that while something must've forced him to use his Bankai, which wasn't too hard to understand, he still seemed to be relatively fine. Other than the abnormal spike in his Reiatsu, he'd seemed fine throughout the whole thing. 

Luckily for them, almost an hour later and Mayuri's receiver was pinged and as much as the man seemed unwilling, he gave the go ahead and they ruptured a spatial tear that Itachi soon stepped through. 

Soi Fon was the first person by his side the second he arrived, though her face was set in its perpetual cold, the worry in her eyes and subtle action didn't miss his eyes. Junpei on the other hand was more discreet – or maybe not – since he silently went to Itachi's back and just stood there playing the role of a bodyguard, or something of that nature. 

"You caused quite a stir. Were they really so tough and you were so pressed that you had to result to your Bankai?" Mayuri asked with a sneer, having taken his device back and siphoning out all the data it collected. 

"Do you think you would have survived an encirclement of Arrancars without your Bankai?" Itachi calmly asked back, but Mayuri wisely kept his mouth shut, although bitterly. 

"And for clarification, they didn't press me enough to use my Bankai." He said as he walked out of the room with his Shinigami in tow. 

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