Chapter Text
Kensei is a good captain. Sure, he's a harsh taskmaster, but he doesn't get in fights all the time like Kenpachi, isn't occasionally irresponsible like Shihoin, and has too much concern for his liver to drink with Kyouraku and Rose.
So for the life of him, Kensei has no idea why last night is a blur of shadows, shouts, and swords.
He must've gone back on his vow to not drink with Kyouraku. That must be it, Kensei decides as he releases a mighty yawn. It's a strangely distorted, muffled sound, and the Ninth Division's captain finds out why when he goes to rub the sleep from his eyes and meets smooth, ice-cold bone.
Hollow. As quick as the thought occurs to him, Kensei dismisses it. He is a grown man, not some child to jump at every shadow. Impossible.
He tries to sit up and finds that it's an awkward movement, muscles straining in ways they shouldn't. Kensei's fingers, now shaking, discover two rectangular holes above each eye, his own eyes looking out of identical slits. Was it some kind of costume party? Weird party, but maybe not for Kyouraku. The stories of what his colleague and friend had gotten up to were legendary, particularly the one involving three pastel-dyed tanuki and a couple dozen defaced orchards of cherry blossom trees.
The confusion turns to a sort of dawning horror as exploring fingers discover rods of the same smooth bone sticking out from his shoulders, arms, and back. Not fused to his skin, or glued there, but embedded deep within. Like a Hollow. Nausea twists his stomach. This can't be happening, this isn't happening!
Kensei fumbles with the mask covering his face, finally hooking his fingers beneath its lower edges and tearing at it frantically, desperation numbing the pain as patches of skin tear off with the mask. As he rips the mask off, sending it skittering onto the floor in front of him, the rods of bone protruding from his body shatter. A high-pitched ringing in Kensei's ears blocks out all sound but the dripping of blood.
There's no doubt about it. The blood-splashed mask in front of him is a Hollow's mask with proportions that would never fit a Hollow's face, only a human one.
"We-ell, someone finally woke up. Gotcher mask off, too." He nearly screams, head jerking up to find Shinji standing right in front of him, lazy grin gone for once. "Mashiro sent me ta wake ya up, y'know. Thought I might haveta break that creepy little souvenir, too."
Kensei's stomach drops as if he's in one of those living-world moving rooms. Shinji's right there. He's right there and he's not freaked out or scared. And as Kensei's memories start to clear, it's obvious that he attacked his friends, Shinji and Love and Rose and Lisa and Hiyori and Hachigen and Mashiro was right there attacking them too but what happened?
Focus, Kensei. Deal with this one step at a time. Find out what happened first and stop with this idiotic freak-out. Captains don't act that way. You don't act that way.
It's then that the Ninth Division's captain realizes that the blond is extending a hand to him expectantly.
"C'mon, Kensei. Can't have ya bleedin' over Urahara's nice clean floor. Well," he glances around at their surroundings, "mostly clean, anyway."
He takes the offered hand, hauling himself up as his back protests. Up close to the Fifth Division's captain, Kensei notices dried blood encrusted on his face and hands. What?
Shinji catches Kensei's look with a roll of his eyes. "It's a long story, but let's say that ya weren't the only one to wake up with a mask."
At that moment, someone tackles the scowling man from behind, squealing, "Keenseeii! You got a funny mask too! Now you and Shinji and I can be a club and we can eat bean buns at our meetings!"
"Geroff, Mashiro!" He blurts reflexively, confirming it when he twists around to see a short mop of green hair and a woman's wide-eyed face beaming up at him.
Kensei's lieutenant pouts as she releases him. "Don't be such a meany, Kensei. Bean buns are delicious! I don't see why you never want any!" Kuna Mashiro exclaims, stopping suddenly and putting her index finger to her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if Urahara-taicho has any bean paste around here? Or is it just all these boring science thingies?"
"Boring? You wound me, Kuna-chan." The man in question says from the doorway, leaning on the frame as he shuts the door behind him. "I'm afraid I don't have any bean paste, though. These dreadfully long hours keep me without any time to go buy some." Urahara sighs theatrically. "Good to see you up, Mugurama-san." His expression turns serious. "We'll need to wake up the others soon if we're to have a proper cover story fabricated before someone comes looking for you."
Glancing around, Kensei is stunned to see that there are others lying around the dank little room. A dark-haired figure that looks like Lisa is sprawled on the floor with a diamond-shaped mask, fingers touching Hachigen's elbow as he lies there wearing what looks like a tusked demon-mask. Across the room, a long-beaked bird mask covers Rose's face and nearly distracts the Ninth Squad Captain from the much smaller Hiyori, whose usual scowl is obscured by a horned mask with diamonds above her eye. Love is halfway under a table, but enough of him is visible that Kensei can see an oni-like mask.
They all have Hollow masks. Every single one. What did Urahara do this time? It has to be Urahara; no one else could pull something like this off. Some part of Kensei wants to think that Urahara created person-sized masks for each one of them as a joke, because he can't process the idea that it might not be a joke, that the captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13 might have become the monsters they fight.
Kensei whirls, jaw clenched. "Urahara. What did you do to us? I thought you were a captain, you psycho! You've taken these experiments too far!"
Shinji puts his hand on Kensei's shoulder, shakes his head. "Then ya really are amnesiac? This ain't Urahara's doin', fer once. It's that rat bastard Aizen's. I knew he'd try something, knew it, why didn't I-?" The blond's features tighten as he shakes his head. For a brief moment Kensei imagines that he sees something primal flicker behind Shinji's eyes, but it's gone when he looks again.
Kensei's breath hitches in his throat. "Aizen? Your lieutenant? I remember- I think I remember that bastard Tosen slicing me up, but not Aizen." He frowns sharply, shaking his head. "We can't be Hollows. No holes, not mindless, not soul-eating, Shinigami form. Impossible."
A scrabbling sound comes from Hiyori's corner of the room, and with a crack and the splash of blood, she sits up and scowls. "Hollows? What're ya talkin' 'bout, Kensei? Don't tell me you're bein' a dickhead like Shinji."
Said 'dickhead' releases a sigh that someone could've mistaken for one of relief. "I don't pretend to be knowin' how the science is that turned us back, but the short version is that we spent last night as Hollows. Might've spent the rest of our lives that way if it weren't fer Urahara bustin' out some tech to save our asses, mostly."
"Mostly!" Hiyori demands, stiffening. Kensei can see her pupils dilate, nearly blotting out amber. Scared, a part of him recognizes. "Do it all the way, you lazy idiot!"
"I can't." Urahara says bluntly, standing up straight and entering the room fully. "You're never going to be fully Shinigami again. I'm sorry, Sarugaki-san. Now that you've shattered the border between Shinigami and Hollow, there's no way to go back. It was all I could do to keep you sane and in human form."
The blood drains from Hiyori's face. "But-you mean I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life?"
He nods. "It's really as they say at Shin'o. 'No soul, upon becoming a Hollow, can return to normal,'" he quotes. The rest of the quote, 'Only through being slain by a Zanpakuto may they be restored' hangs in the air. The scientist holds up a hand to forestall any more questions. "No more questions for now, please. I need to get these masks off before someone comes in for work."
Numbly they set to work, prying off their friends' masks. Lisa grabs Urahara's wrist and pins him to the ground when he gets within a few inches of her face, mumbling an apology when she realizes that he isn't Kyouraku and ripping her mask off with surprising force. Kensei handles Rose's mask, noting with just a little bit of bitterness that the resident drama queen- or king, he supposes- actually does smell of sake. Hiyori opts to simply slam the hilt of her sword into Love's face, cracking the mask enough for it to fall off.
"You're wrong," Lisa whispers hoarsely when she's awake enough to understand their words. "You don't know that we aren't back to normal."
Love is grey with shock, but he shakes his head. "Urahara-san wouldn't lie. Not to us. Would you?" The pleading glance he sends Urahara's way is all but begging him to say that he would. Kensei knows that he would—he's ex-Onmitsukidou, lying was his lifeblood not so long ago—but everything in the man's body, from hunched shoulders to the way he can't meet anyone's gaze, says that he is telling the truth now.
To the surprise of everyone, Rose is handling his condition the best, besides Shinji, and Kensei figures that Shinji had his chance to freak out already. Even so, Rose's legs are shaking and his knees are locked so tight that it wouldn't be a surprise if he passed out. Fear, that part of him from before mutters. Fear of what-is, what-could-be, wants what-isn't. "Perhaps we should seek the help of Unohana-senpai," he suggests gently. "You say that it's an infection of sorts? She is experienced in these matters."
"And she's thick as thieves with Yama-jii." Shinji cuts off that avenue of conversation quickly. "She'll smile and promise to keep it a secret, then turn around and tell the old man." He casts a glance around the room. "He locks up nobles just for thinkin' different and throws away the key. Ya think he'll just nod and say, 'Let's see what can be done about this problem' and go about settin' up nice fair trials? No way in hell. To him we'll be nothin' more than Hollows that walk an' talk like people. 'Sides, we ain't got no proof that it was Aizen."
"But you did say that you saw him, did you not?" Hachi asks, breaking his considering silence. "As did Kido Chief Tsukabishi and Captain Urahara? Surely the testimony of the Grand Kido Chief, an unaffected captain, and the captain overseeing the criminal in question would be taken into account?" Trust Hachi to say the simplest things in the most words. Kensei rolls his eyes, then suppresses a grimace as the action hurts. Hell, his whole head hurts like one of those giant gatekeepers took to whaling on it.
"But I'm-" Shinji makes a sweeping gesture across his face, the gesture clearly meant to mimic a mask. "An' Tessai helped Urahara slip out when he knew he weren't supposed to, plus he did forbidden Kido to get here an' he ain't somebody Yama-jii knows and trusts much anyway. Urahara left the Court when he was forbidden to and used tech that probably ain't on the approved list to do it, the kind that he coulda done who knows what else with. Then there's the matter of him usin' that magic marble to change us back when he coulda been the one usin' it the other way and killin' all those people in the first place." Shinji shakes his head, heavy with blond hair. "That's if ya don't get inta Aizen havin' an illusion Zanpakuto, and the possibility of him gettin' Tousen to pin the murders of Kensei's unit on Kensei-"
"I would never!" Kensei bursts out, fists clenched tight at his sides. "Those were my men, good men who-" He stops, realizing that he can't remember enough of last night to honestly deny the accusation.
"No, but a Hollow would. And Tousen would be the only witness," Shinji explains. Although his tone is patient, Shinji looks as if he can barely force himself to stand still. "The point is that we ain't got nothin' on Aizen and he's got everythin' on us."
"So we kill 'im," Hiyori says acidly. "Kill 'im an' kill Tousen an' kill Ichimaru deader than dead." It's the simplest solution, one that Kensei finds himself leaning towards as well. He trusted Tousen, all his unit did, and what Tousen has done is unforgivable (here his thoughts stutter through a series of curses because there are no words in any language for what Tousen has done, but they all center on 'traitor' and he is content to end that thought with a stream of ragebetrayalpaindie.)
Lisa, ever logical, is quick to point out the flaw in that reasoning. "And get locked up for being murderers instead of- of monsters?" She shakes her head so hard that Kensei thinks her glasses will fall off, and sure enough she pushes them back up her nose a second later. "Besides, you heard Shinji. Tousen has a damn strong Bankai, Ichimaru's gotta be packing if Aizen wants him on his side, and Aizen's got illusions without any apparent weaknesses. Go after them and we could find out that we've been slaughtering our families the whole time."
"What, so we should just not try?" Hiyori demands, scowling. "Just- just let him get away with backstabbing us and turning us into Hollows?! I don't think so!"
"There's a perfectly civilized way to go about this, Sarugaki-san," Rose says, blinking mildly at her. "We just need to find evidence and a way to clear ourselves from any Hollow influence. Then the law can do with him as they please, which I expect will be most unpleasant." The slight smile on his face twitches, as if in anticipation. Kensei always knew there was a reason he couldn't bring himself to call Rose a pansy-ass wannabe Fourthie like he refers to the rest of the Third.
Shinji's shit-eating grin finally returns, but it's different, flat and hard and tight. "Yeah. That's how it's going to be, alright?" He directs his pointed look at Hiyori and Kensei particularly, but it isn't necessary in the latter case. In the space of a second, Kensei finds his opinion—that Aizen's lot should be brutalized and their corpses left to rot in Inuzuri right this instant—shifting towards Shinji's position. In his head he still wants to go apeshit on Tousen, but something in his heart agrees for no reason that Kensei can tell, as if obligated. No! They deserve to die! He argues with himself, but the misgivings remain.
Somehow they manage to work out something resembling a cover story, in which a Vasto Lorde-class natural Arrancar with reiatsu-masking abilities and venom—Hiyori complains that that's too much to remember, but Urahara insists that it has to be plausibly challenging—and its pack ambushed the eight of them. Urahara and Tessai, of course, are set up as the brave rescuers who finished the Hollows off and repaired their wounded colleagues. Kensei makes a note to himself to make a show of gratitude.
"As long as nobody looks too close, I should think your secret will be very much safe," Urahara says cheerily. "Now, let's get tidied-"
He is interrupted by a thump on the door, followed by a bellowed, "Hey, Kisuke! There's a meeting, come on!"
It's Shihouin Yoruichi, of course, who's standing there when Urahara cautiously opens the door, golden eyes bright and smile brighter. The Onmitsukido commander's eyes widen slightly when she sees the eight captains and vice captains with various levels of clothing damage and blood stains trying to compose themselves.
Kensei privately reminds himself to thank Urahara some time when the enigmatic man rubs the nape of his neck and the goofy smile returns to his face. If there's anyone who can pull off the pretense of harmlessness, it's him.
And if there's anyone who can utterly shatter a pretense of harmlessness, it's Yoruichi. She hops into the room, light as a cat, flashing a quick wave at everyone present. Damn, Kensei thinks as he looks at the noblewoman standing there in the morning light. The Shihouin naishinnou* is utterly out of reach for a Rukon-born miller's son like Kensei, but her bold beauty is evident to anyone with eyes. In any event his tastes lean more towards delicate women—really, anyone who is unlikely to go from warm and friendly to cold and calculating on a dime. He is privately thankful to work with such reliable people-
With such a reliable person. All the people who really were reliable are dead, except for Mashiro—and if you ask Urahara, she isn't exactly Mashiro anymore. Kensei keeps forgetting that he doesn't have Eishima to run kata with, or Toudou to bitch with after a grueling mission... there's no more 'with.' He'll have to find people to replace them—some seventh seat over in the Eleventh caused a ruckus just last week, maybe he'll do.
"You had a sleepover, huh? You should've invited me, Kisuke. You know how much fun I am at sleepovers." Yoruichi teases at last, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Urahara ducks his head mock-bashfully, having the grace to blush slightly. "Oh, I know. It just slipped my mind, that's all."
"I'm sure." Yoruichi replies, serious suddenly. "What happened? Kyouraku's frantic, and Yamamoto's furious that some of his captains and lieutenants have gone missing. I had to organize search parties, Kisuke! All Soul Society's in an uproar!"
Urahara's head jerks up, the picture of confusion and worry. Flawlessly, he rattles off the cover story, occasionally peppering it with hand gestures and subtle signals for someone to add a comment in here and there.
When he's finished, the Second Division's captain sighs, rubbing her temples and shaking her head exasperatedly.
"Kisuke, Kisuke, Kisuke. I'd hoped your division would've trained you out of that habit by now." Yoruichi pretends to examine her nails, which are filed to points and lacquered with something dark and probably poisonous. "Lying on such a pretty day, too... don't you have any shame?"
Cue nine captains and lieutenants, as well as one Kido Chief, gaping at Yoruichi.
Rose recovers first, composing himself as always. "Oh? What gave it away, Shihoin-dono?" He asks.
Yoruichi gives him a sidelong glance. "I've known this idiot for years. He can't hide all his tells from me, and he can't do anything about other people's carelessness. There're eight Hollow masks sitting on the floor, sized for human faces, and I bet if I tested the blood on them, it would match perfectly to the blood on your faces. Those're the obvious clues, anyway. Start talking, Kisuke."
All at once, the carefree mask drops again. "The short version is that Aizen Sousuke used an inferior version of one of my inventions and his own remarkable power to turn them into Hollows, and I managed to reverse it...partially. He's got Ichimaru Gin, Tosen Kaname, and an unknown man as accomplices, and we don't have any evidence against him except the victims and aren't likely to find any because his Zanpakuto creates perfect illusions, according to Hirako-san."
"I told you to call me Shinji, moron," the captain of the Fifth mutters indignantly.
Elegant brows snap together in a frown that doesn't suit Yoruichi's beautiful face at all. "Wrong. Aizen can't create perfect illusions, not if he doesn't know the basics behind what he has to imitate. And Ichimaru is tricky, but he can't be in two places at one time, which means no alibi, unlike Aizen and Tousen." Her smile makes Kensei want to reach for Tachikaze, sharp-edged and making no attempt to hide her intention of bringing pain to Aizen. "If that bookworm brat thinks he knows more about being untraceable than someone whose career is founded on stealth, he's got another think coming."
Ice water pools in Kensei's stomach at the word 'career.' My career. If anyone finds out about this... they'll say there can't be a demon captain. And then- Fuujin and Bishamonten**, they'll send the Onmitsukidou for my family. Shinji and Urahara are right—no one can know about this.
Yoruichi's smile brightens again, 'Onmitsukidou empress' persona vanishing. "Well, I'll get on that, but in the meantime, Yamamoto-jii-san's about to hit the roof if you all don't turn up for his emergency meeting. Go take a shower, 'cause no offense, but I'm the only person in this room who doesn't smell like they spent the night in Hueco Mundo. Urahara, go get them some shihakushou. And Ōtoribashi, you'd better hop to if you want to get all that dirt out of your—oh wait, it's moving, those are bugs."
Rose flees at top speed, dragging Urahara along with him. Shrugging, Kensei follows with Mashiro in tow. The Captain-Commander in a bad mood was nothing to sneeze at, and Kensei really doesn't want to make whatever punishment he got worse.
Kensei discovers a deep, passionate hatred for the painfully bright sun when he finally left the Twelfth Division, water droplets still clinging to his skin and plastering his hair to his head. Showering had become his new least favorite activity, not-quite-healed wounds from those rods in his back burning at every touch. Urahara, despite his advanced technology, still preferred communal baths. Showers were in case of spilled experiments and were colder than his Hollow mask.
The Hollow mask, he reminds himself. It isn't his, and that is the last time he will let himself so much as think of it. He is not a Hollow, the only thing that attacked anyone was a Vasto Lorde-class natural Arrancar, and all Urahara did was heal his wounds.
When he makes it to the joint captain-lieutenant meeting hall, Kensei is assaulted by the wash of relief from his colleagues, Shunsui especially. A moment later, the relief is drowned out by Yamamoto's spirit pressure, foreboding like a storm on the horizon. Kensei cringes, frantically offering up prayers to Fuujin, Bishamonten, the village god of his youth, Kannon***—any kami that might be listening, really. Can they tell what Tousen did?
Apparently not, as Yamamoto simply demands that the eight explain themselves and give a full report instead of demanding that Yoruichi arrest them. Kannon must be smiling on him today, as miraculously the story gets told without any obvious contradictions. Kensei makes a mental note to pay a visit to her shrine when he has the time.
The rest of the day is a mess of paperwork, reports, and questioning. Kannon's favor remains, and Kensei is able to fill out the report for Mashiro, since the Gotei 13 is tired of finding paperwork filled out in crayon and stained with suspiciously sweet-smelling sticky marks. Urahara doesn't even have to ask to fill out a report for Hiyori, who maintains a legendary dislike for paperwork and was banned from it after one too many papers were found defaced.
So far, the bases are covered. It's only a matter of figuring out exactly how long they can keep on the masks hiding their masks...