Well.

My insanity was apparently a touch too much for Kaname. The straight-laced man requested a change in squads after the first year which was a shame but oh well. I had to respect that someone as rigid in their beliefs as Kaname wouldn't adjust well to my antics.

Sōsuke and Sajin were rather well-adjusted to me after the first month.

Sōsuke had a perfect poker face and the patience of a god. There were times when I could nettle him, eliciting a tired glare when he thought I wasn't looking, but for the most part he went with the flow. Sajin was easily flustered, but such a sweetie he had issues voicing any kind of complaint. Ah, he was adorable.

A benefit of being a creature of pure reiatsu meant that reiatsu was as tangible to me as water was to a water-bender. I could feel the reiatsu in each of my students. Under my guidance, I coached Sōsuke and Sajin to correctly utilize their reiatsu in their zanpakutō. I helped tighten their bonds, and fed them bits of my purified reiatsu in our daily meals to permanently increase their reserves.

The results spoke for themselves.

Sōsuke was the first to achieve his shikai after only a year.

It was a rainy morning. I had prepared blueberry muffins, grilled ham, and some soft-baked oatmeal bars. I laid out the breakfast on the table per usual. As my non-human companions did not require food to eat, the three preferred not to join us for meals. Shiori was focused on scouting work regarding Yhwach's army—although I could not directly interact with that world, Shiori kept close tabs on it in hopes of finding a way to kidnap—I mean rescue—certain fellas that appeared.

Kura frequented hell. He was always fascinated to study the differences between demons in each new dimension ever since he er encountered the Dark Continent in one of my earlier lives. Snuggles, always a simp for Kura, usually followed him.

Was there a danger to them to travel to hell so much? Sure. But as long as they weren't messing with nasty ass mind flayers they could play with that risk all they want. As far as I was aware Bleach didn't have those tentacle monstrocities so I wasn't concerned.

Sajin, even after a year of being around me, was reluctant to take off his helmet. I encouraged him to at least not wear it while we ate. He wasn't terribly happy about it, but he did agree after three months.

Sajin took off his helmet as he sat the table, his ears flicking forward.

"Good morning," I greeted him.

"Morning, captain," Sajin said in return, ears flicking again when Sōsuke entered the room.

"And there's my favorite lieutenant," I chirped.

"I'm your only lieutenant," Sōsuke pointed out, lips curled up into a practiced smile. Totally fake, but what could I expect in only a year? About the only time I could know for certain Sōsuke was smiling for real was when I made his favorite foods.

Which was actually really hard to find out! Not because he lied about it, but the darling didn't even know himself. I asked him originally and he gave some basic answers like udon or green tea so I prepared udon and a green tea rolled cake and he didn't like either of them. He said he did, but he was lying. About food!

It wasn't a courtesy white lie—I knew my cooking was beyond reproach—Sōsuke was genuinely neutral toward it. The fact that he felt compelled to lie about it likely meant the dear had no idea what his true favorite food was.

It became a quest of finding what he actually liked. For the past year I prepared a variety of different foods made from different cultures. I even sent Snuggles out across dimensions to get some ingredients that couldn't be found in the Bleachverse because finding something Sōsuke Aizen actually liked was hard as heck.

To make it worse, I found out he liked mana! MANA. The Bleachverse didn't use mana, it didn't have magic. Why did he have to like something so damn hard to smuggle in? Not like the Soul King was down for me to set up a magic fountain or ask one of the ley dragons to open up a leyline to make the world generate magic. I had to literally smuggle in the ingredients which was hard.

Obviously the Soul King knew, but if I made it too obvious the prick would bounce the ingredients outta here. Asswipe.

Oh well. At least my cute puppers was easy to please. Sajin liked anything salty or meaty.

Sōsuke took a seat next to me, inhaling. "Ah, did you prepare orange blossom tea again?"

"Mm-hmm. I noticed you returned late last night and thought you might want something bright to perk up with," I said.

"Ah. Can't get anything past you, can I, my captain?"

"You will one day my dear," I encouraged him.

Sōsuke fake polite smile made me want to pinch his cheeks. I refrained, choosing instead to pour each of us a cup of tea so we could enjoy breakfast.

Sōsuke said, "I have achieved my shikai. I was able to use it last night."

Sajin was the first to react, the werewolf's entire face lit up in delight. "Many congratulations, Aizen!"

"I hope you'll be willing to show us later?" I asked, unable to keep the excited grin off my face. At last! Once I fell under Sōsuke's hypnosis the handsome man would be able to trick me to his heart's content. I wouldn't be able to easily predict his plans, and he could actually out troll me. Oh the delight! Oh the wonder! How long has it been since someone else has had the upper hand on me?

Sōsuke nodded as he sipped at the tea. "Yes, I would love to."

Feeling a surge of joy, I couldn't contain my happiness and pride so I lurched forward and kissed the top of Sōsuke's forehead. "I'm so proud of you."

Sōsuke patted my back. "I know."

We all ate breakfast quickly so we could witness Sōsuke's zanpakutō's shikai. In the backyard of the barracks, Sōsuke drew his zanpakutō. He said, "Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."

And—

Sajin gasped. "Amazing.

'Huh?'

I blinked.

I could clearly see Sōsuke's reiatsu in the air. From Sajin's murmur of surprise I could only infer he was doing something spectacular, but tragically I could not see it.

As an old soul I did not view the world through a nervous system. I had no organs of my own. I viewed the world through my reiatsu. I could see that his zanpakutō had transformed, but it only lingered in the air as a mist.

"Um," I said, staring hard at the mist.

'M-Maybe it's supposed to be a mist?'

"Truly amazing to be able to move water around like that," Sajin praised. "I am humbled by your rapid progress, Aizen."

"Thank you, Komamura," accepted Sōsuke.

'No...'

I bit my bottom lip to keep from crying out as I realized that no, I was not supposed to be seeing mist.

'Not fair! NOT FAIR!'

"Saji, would you mind heading inside? I'd like to talk privately with So-So."

"Yes, Captain." Sajin bowed politely to both of us before retreating.

I sighed when he left, glaring at the stupid mist for another few seconds before letting my frustration go. Getting upset didn't help me. It was possible that Sōsuke simply wasn't strong enough to utilize the full extent of his zanpakutō yet. Presently, it would appear that he could only use his illusions on creatures with nervous systems—as that was the only difference between Sajin and myself. He had one, I didn't. If he grew stronger that could change. Strength was something that could be remedied in time.

Even if meant I had to wait even longer before getting tricked. Ugh. Lame.

Sōsuke seemed surprised by my reaction. "Captain? Is something wrong?"

"You're using an illusion, and it's not working on me," I explained, resisting the urge to groan and bitch about it. "What did you show Saji? All I see is your reiatsu."

"You... do not see anything?" Sōsuke sought to clarify. The only hint of distress he displayed was the subtle furrowing of his brows, which honestly spoke volumes of displeasure from a resting poker-face like him. I sadly shook my head, smiling softly.

"Don't worry. You just need to adjust," I consoled him. "Your zanpakutō is geared to affect the physical nervous system, but there are some creatures who can interact with the world without such. Hollows, for example, or powerful reiatsu-users like myself."

Sōsuke closed his eyes, sighing softly. "I see."

I stepped up into the air. I placed a gentle hand over his cheek. He opened his eyes and I continued to smile warmly at him. "Don't worry, So-So. I'll help you overcome this obstacle. You've already done very well."

"Will you tell Sajin the truth?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No. It's smart to keep your ability hidden while you can. Besides, with such a technique available, you could actually surprise me!"

Sōsuke chuckled. "I doubt that, Captain."

I patted his cheek. "I believe in you, dear."

Sōsuke's lips twitched before a lovely smile stretched over his face. "Thank you, Captain."

(◕▾◕✿)

1785 a.d.

Kisuke poked his head through my office window, a sweet smile on his face. "Captain."

"Hello my lovely," I said, looking up from my paperwork. Sōsuke paused in his own work, curiously tilting his head. "What can I do for you? Don't tell me my darling Yorui is submitting her budget early!"

Kisuke laughed, withdrawing his head from the window. He came in through the door on my left. "Nope. You're looking at the new twelfth division captain. Or, well, I will be next week."

'Wait—Wait—Wait—'

I gasped in surprise, leaping up from my position to jump into Kisuke's arms for a tight hug. He spun me around, chuckling in amusement.

'Hold up here. 2015, minus 101 years means the Hollowfication incident is meant to happen around 1914ish, and Kisuke was meant to be a recent captain. It's—we're—a century early? Whoa. How did I do that?'

It was true I had been feeding everyone bits of my reiatsu to increase their overall power level to deal with Yhwach, but I hadn't anticipated such a sharp jump for Kisuke.

Good for him!

"I'm happy for you," I cooed, kissing his cheek and nuzzling him affectionately. He still held me up, but I pulled back to properly address him. Our height difference meant that if I wanted to speak to him eye to eye someone either had to hold me up or I needed to fly. "What kind of treat would you like? I'll make you anything."

"Hmm," Kisuke considered his options. "How about you surprise me?"

"Ah. I can do that," I said with an easy smile.

Sōsuke cleared his throat. "Captain, what about the deadline for the festival budget?"

"That can wait. Kisuke just became a captain," I said as Kisuke adjusted me in his arms so I address Sōsuke properly. "It's cause for a celebration."

Sōsuke's gaze flickered between Kisuke and myself before he did that charming fake smile of his. "Yes, Captain."

"Aww, don't be jealous my darling. You'll be a captain one day," I cooed. "And I'll make you anything you want."

"Mm-hmm. Captain, we still need to finish the budget."

"But—"

"Captain," Sōsuke repeated.

"But—"

"Captain," Sōsuke repeated once more, a touch firmer.

"Oooo," went Kisuke. "Someone's got you leashed."

"Shut up, he does not. So-So, tell him you do not have me leashed.

"I do not have Captain leashed," Sōsuke loyally said.

"See?"

"But we need to finish the paperwork first, captain. Let's get back to work."

I sighed. "Yeah, okay."

"Wow," whistled Kisuke. "I am impressed."

I pinched his nose. "I'll break it."

"Aizen, tell her to not break my nose please," teased Kisuke.

I broke his nose.

(◕▾◕✿)

Lilynette was sprawled over my lap as she played a GameBoy. Starrk had taken Ulquiorra out hunting for more Hollows to help him grow stronger. My own reiatsu had rapidly improved each of their powers, but a Hollow still needed to consume other Hollows to evolve.

The Espada were canonically stated to be hybrids of Shinigami and Hollows. There was some truth to that, but it wasn't as simple as that. Souls were souls, and they did not have a special species. In the state of death, a soul can take on different forms but it did not detract from the fact that it was still a soul.

Shinigami and Hollows were very similar, the only difference being the ratios of their vitality and reiatsu. Shinigami were closer to the living, whereas Hollows were closer to the dead. Because the souls were originally human as they regained more vitality, the closer to "human" they would become.

That was why Shinigami could pass as humans and Hollows could not. They had more vitality, and they were humans in life so their souls remembered that form.

In preparation for the final Big Bad of the series I had been steadily supplying the main cast with my own purified reiatsu. I was careful not to disrupt their natural ratios—if I gave too much at once to a Shinigami, it could trigger a Hollowfication—choosing instead to use my reiatsu to expand their natural reserves in power. A bit like working a muscle, my reiatsu tore down their own power to make way for something stronger.

I could evolve my Hollow friends in to the Espada. I could take vitality and channel it into them and begin that evolution before Sōsuke even met them.

I hadn't made such a drastic move yet because I wasn't sure how it would impact the story.

Now, though?

Now I could see more of the pieces at play and I decided yes.

Yes I was going to do exactly that.

Which was why Grimmjow was currently binge eating an amalgamation of flesh that had been pumped full of vitality I had ruthlessly stolen from my latest massacre. He was lacking in enough devoured Hollows to evolve, but I could at least begin feeding him enough vitality.

How would Sōsuke Aizen react to meeting three already evolved Espadas?

'Could he evolve them further?'

I wanted to know. How much of a change, of a threat could he become if given different pieces?

'Ooo, could he even kill The Dickwad itself?'

That'd be great! I'd love to see what he'd do to the world as the new Soul King. That'd be fascinating.

Grimmjow let out a burp, the kitty lashing his tail. "That shit tasted great."

"You're welcome," I said.

Grimmjow tilted his head, licking his chops. "Got more?"

"Nope, you need to eat another hundred Hollows before I can give you another batch of vitality," I said.

"Easy. Elder brother said he'd take me hunting tomorrow."

'Starrk is big brother now?' I thought, fighting the urge to go awww and nuzzle him. Lilynette was in my lap, after all. It'd be rude to kick her out just to cuddle Grimmjow. I settled for hugging Lilynette and cuddling her instead, which made her let out a snort.

"Mess up my chain combo and I'll ban Ranger from the next D&D."

"But I love having my animal army."

"Fuck your animal army."

"Well you aren't letting me have my harem—"

"Fuck your harem even more so."

"I'm trying."

Lilynette pinched my cheeks hard enough to make me wince.

"Ow, ow, ow."

(◕▾◕✿)

1800 a.d.

"Quincies?" I repeated the term back to Jūshirō.

"Yes," Jūshirō sighed, rubbing his forehead. "They're becoming excessive in the human world. We have had frequent encounters that have lead to violence."

"Who's attacking first?" I asked, sparing a glance at Sōsuke who entered the room with another pot of tea. I smiled at him and patted the spot beside me, an invitation for him to listen to our conversation. He was going to eavesdrop regardless. My sweet little schemer. As soon as he go his shikai, he went around spying on all sorts of different people. He hadn't progressed it enough to fully enrapture me, but I knew he would get there in time. He was dedicated to training.

"It's unclear," Jūshirō admitted, smiling in thanks at Sōsuke when he poured Jūshirō a second cup of tea. "Regardless, it's escalating to a point I'm uncertain we can avoid a war."

'War, huh...'

Contemplating in silence, I stared down at the tea. Very vaguely I felt like I remembered something about another altercation between the Shinigami and Quincies, but I couldn't be certain. Was it predestined, or something I caused? On one hand it would be a hassle if we lost a main hero due to careless slaughter of his ancestors, but on the other hand that'd certainly make for an interesting story. Who would compensate for his absence, or would others simply die because he was not there to save them?

Ignoring the issue wouldn't help. If it was escalating to the point that even Jūshirō was considering war...

In a quiet voice I mused, "I guess it's time to clean up."

"Captain Rirī?" Sōsuke gently inquired.

"I bet the 12th division would like some spare Quincy parts," I went on, thinking about Kisuke and his love of science and research. "Hm. So-So, what do you say leading the team to the human world and helping Jūshirō's team clean up?"

"I will follow your orders, captain," said Sōsuke softly, his warm chocolate eyes gentle. His fake kindness had improved so remarkably well even I had trouble telling when he was being fake or not. As I lived and breathed bullshit I had an innate ability to sense it, but Sōsuke Aizen was also someone who also lived and breathed bullshit which made him a formidable bullshit foe.

I reached forward and flicked his nose. "Too obedient. Okay, go get the team. I'll tell Gen-Gen that the 5th division will handle it."

Jūshirō sighed heavily at that. "Do you feel that is unavoidable?"

"Fodder is fodder," I said unsparingly. "If they're consistently interfering with our work, then they're no better than weed growing in the garden."

Jūshirō did not respond right away, his face somber. "I understand, Teacher. Will you need back up?"

"No," I answered. "I'll be joining them."

Both men tensed subtly at that. It was exceedingly rare for me to join in the battlefield. My Evil™ zanpakuto was a danger to enemies and allies alike if released. Even without it, my skills in hadō were above anyone. I was a pure being of reiatsu, so my powers were devastating. Shinigami were physically limited by their bodies in what they could harness and perform.

I did not have that limitation.

I could use the reiatsu inside and around me with ease, so I was never low on energy. Not even mentioning the fact that I had lifetimes of experience on the battlefield so my soldier instincts were damn good.

Being a creature of raw reiatsu did leave me vulnerable to certain things, and I was not able to use anything pertaining to vitality, but c'est la vie.

Evilness™ aside I could use my shikai and that alone should be enough to deal with the threat. Besides, it was time my team got to see it in action.

With a yawn, I stretched my arms up to the ceiling. "I hope they'll be worth the paperwork, at least."

There was a surprising amount of paperwork involved when one had to kill a non-Hollow being. Officially, at least. Obviously if I snuck in a murder I wouldn't write a report about it.

"The 12th division would handle the paperwork if you donated the bodies to them," Sōsuke pointed out.

"Have I told you today that I love you?"

"No."

"I love you."

"I know."

(◕▾◕✿)

This story's captains

1st - Cpt Genryusai, lt Chojirio Sasakibe

2nd - Cpt Yoruichi, lt Kisuke

3rd - Cpt Rojuro Otoribashi, lt Chikane

4th - Cpt Retsu, lt Seinosuke

5th - Cpt Rirī, lt Sōsuke Aizen, Shiori 3rd (in human form), Sajin Komamura 4th, Kura 5th (in human form), Snuggles 6th (will never take human form)

6th - Cpt Genrei, lt Sojun.

7th - Cpt Love, lt Jinemon.

8th - Cpt Shunsui, lt Lisa

9th - Cpt Shinji, lt Fodder

10th - Cpt Kensei, lt Mashiro

12th - Cpt Kirio, lt Hiyori

13th - Cpt Jūshirō, lt Kaien

Grand Kido Chief Tessai, lt Hachigen.

(◕▾◕✿)

Happy Holidays and see y'all next year. :)

Answer: Payday

Question: What would you name your zanpakutō?

Reviews are love!