Bleach: Children of Traitors

Prologue: Requiem

In a storm of dreams and nightmares there are rarely circumstances as strange or twisted as the birth of a monster. When everything culminates in something unexpected, when one’s goal is to achieve power beyond that of a true deity, it requires creating something that is beyond reason but how to achieve it? Do you gather demons? Angels? Horror beyond reason? Do you strike at God himself? What if you didn’t choose one or another. Taking them all, mixing them together.

It was not simple, pseudo-gods were not unknown but difficult to capture without alerting those who held the current power in the world. Capturing a powerful shell, a hollow, was simpler but they were creatures of violence, and understood only violence. Shinigami? Simple enough, trust was a poison. Taking a piece of the monsters within the Dangai was a process that cut through everything until reason was left cut away.

It wasn't enough... he'd tried to forge his ultimate weapon with the likes of those before. To achieve greatness was going to require sacrifice. From his Zanpaktō and from his own soul he performed an extraction of essence that would define this new weapon.

That was the thing that was resting now, sleeping upon the sands of Hueco Mundo. It was something that should not be, but even in its state, it was incomplete. It would take the effort of the one who created it, to breathe life into the sleeping thing.

For his part, Aizen felt truly drained by the effort, so much so that for a moment he actually felt vulnerable for just a moment. He placed a barrier around it and stepped away. Tapping the newly formed containment. “It needs to incubate... I can’t make use of a half-baked cake.” Aizen spoke as he pushed his glasses up, turning away from his latest creation.

Tōsen frowned.... he made up his mind to commit to whatever plan Aizen would hatch, but something about this creation...

“It feels wrong...” Tōsen didn't make a habit of arguing with his acknowledged Lord, but this time it felt like a true abomination was being formed.

Aizen smiled, he was quite proud of his work, incomplete as it was. “We’ll have to wait and see.” He answered with confidence.

Incubation was unnecessary... the fact was, this experiment cost him more than what he'd anticipated and he needed to recover. He couldn't afford to awaken his creation while he himself was in a vulnerable position... not while that one was around.

“Are you alright, Lieutenant Aizen?” Came a young voice. The boy was always watching. It may have escaped Tōsen’s notice, but the young Ichimaru saw the moment when his superior caught himself from staggering. His hands may have been hidden in his sleeves, but he kept it rested on his blade, lying in wait.

It would have been a moment where an opportunist may have taken advantage if he'd shown weakness for even an instant. Perhaps that's why he kept that boy next to him, just as he'd once stayed under the watch of a suspecting captain, keeping close a snake in the grass kept him on his toes, kept him from becoming the thing he hated most... stagnant.

The young Third Seat's narrow gaze traveled from the encased creation to it's creator. “Ya think this one will last longer than the others?” He asked curiously.

Aizen knew better than to trust that feigned intrigue, but he continued to humor the youth by playing along. “I can only hope... the last ones shattered far too easily.” He replied. He pretended not to notice how closely his youngest subordinate was watching him.

The youth was cautious, choosing not to act with so many uncertain variables, and it was that caution that benefited Aizen most at a time when his own efforts exposed him to risk that he hadn't fully measured.

A month would go by before the trio returned. Aizen having recovered utilizes his hogyoku to fine tune his creation before awakening it. They watched as the monster pushed itself up from the ground, the pressure was overwhelming, only Aizen was unaffected, but even the like of Tōsen and Gin were left stumbling as their project stood for the first time. It was something new, something unique, and something…overwhelmingly powerful. Far more than its parts the creature that stood opened its eyes for the first time and in that instant all three Shinigami disappeared, moving from where they had stood just fast enough to dodge a blast of energy that was more destructive than any Cero the three had seen previously, and it was simply from the creature’s gaze.

“It has already adjusted to the ways of the hollow!” Tōsen shouted, before snapping his head forwards. The creature had already closed the distance. Tōsen quickly drew his sword, but the humanoid hollow grabbed his arm before he could, his speed was accelerating past their current limits. With a thunderous crash, Tōsen was tossed back into the sands, a moment later. However, the creature was gone. Gin’s usually unflinching grin had shifted to a frown. It had dashed away, but how? What had it done to do so? How had it done so... so- quickly?

The creature landed back on the sands, the impact was like a meteor crashing to earth, the creature came to a stop, this time it was looking around, then it reached out snapping into motion before snatching the air and clenching his hand. Aizen was momentarily surprised, this creature had blindly seen through his illusion. Just a moment before Aizen removed its offending limb; there was some sort of recognition in the creature’s gaze.

“Father?”

It was strange to hear such a term from a creature like this, but it released him a moment later. The incurred injury mended itself like it had never occurred. Fragments of reality began to dance and weave; shrouding the figure in clothing that mimicked that of the three he'd previously attacked. The creation looked upon the three Shinigami, with curious eyes. No longer did violence roil through the moonlit world, but under that endless night, something had been born, it was the first time the Song was embodied since the creation, the echoes turning to a tune for the first time since the last moments, and it was the first time a monster had a heart. The birth of the Requiem.