I apologize for being so slow with updates. Currently, the only chapter that’s really been thought out completely is one of the last, where… nah, you’ll have to wait to see

Yes, I named Misa’s zanpakuto ‘Star’ I’M SO DANG ORIGINAL.

Gin’s bad grammar makes SpellCheck cry D:

-Nir

Death Note © Tsugumi Ohba

Bleach © Tite Kubo

Ch 13. White

Las Noches, 1:14 am

In a dark, secluded corner of Las Noches, the three traitors had gathered to discuss the two former Kiras who had joined their ranks. They were seated around a circular table. On the table was a scale model of the Seireitei; similar to something that might be used to plan a military assault. A single overhead light cast eerie shadows over the faces of the small room’s occupants.

“Y’all ever notice…” Gin drawled, examining a tiny model of the Shrine of Penitence as he held it in his long fingers. “That li’l girl who hangs out with Yagami… she kept followin’ us around for the firs’ few days, and now she’s nowhere ta be found…”

“I think we should be more concerned with the boy.” Said Tosen. The visor that hid his milky eyes gleamed in the solitary light. “Though he was only a child when he first received the Death Note, he was able to systematically evade capture for several years.”

“The boy is clever, certainly.” Aizen spoke up. “No matter what the situation he was able to twist it to his advantage. We have no reason to assume he will not try something similar now. He will have to be watched closely.”

“And you know this, how?” Gin asked, the innocent tone of his voice contradicted by the sly expression on his face.

“That Death God, Ryuk, is quite talkative.” Aizen explained. “It seemed almost proud to have been part of such a colossal upheaval of the humans’ society.”

“Excitable li’l things, humans…” Gin said. “If yer so worried ‘bout that Yagami kid, why not jus’ lock ‘im up somewhere?”

“That is a possibility…” Aizen said thoughtfully.

“But you’d rather break his spirit first.” Tosen said as Gin amused himself by stacking the division headquarters on top of each other.

“You make it sound so cruel…” Aizen replied, not sounding hurt in the least. “But yes. The boy’s success has gone to his head. He still believes his exploits carry weight here. I do value him as a possible advisor, but until he has proven his loyalty he cannot be trusted.”

“What about the girl?” Tosen asked.

“I believe she will be of use to us. I took a closer look at the rules written in that notebook, and it seems she has not told us all that she can do.”

“Ain’t no shortage of talented women ‘round here, that’s fer sure.”

--

Raito sighed in exasperation as he stared out the narrow window to the silvery sands of Hueco Mundo. Misa watched him with concern, resting her chin in her hands. The room they were in was small and circular. It stuck out from the walls of Las Noches like a gazebo, though its long windows were more like the gaps between bars of a prison cell. There was nothing in the room except a small love seat, which Misa was currently sitting in.

“Raito… you asked me to come up here, and you haven’t said a thing.” She whined. “What is it?”

Raito turned his head very slightly to look at the girl from the corner of his eye.

“I was thinking about something. Aizen doesn’t trust me. Did you know that?”

Misa tilted her head to one side, looking like a puzzled puppy. “I dunno…”

“He knows what I did in the human world, and that’s why he brought me here in the first place. But he doesn’t trust me… he doesn’t need to trust me, though, for what I have in mind.”

“You’re gonna get the Death Note from him, right?” Misa asked.

“You know how much trouble we would be in if someone heard that, right?” Raito snapped, still looking at Misa out of the corner of his vision. “Be quiet for now. I’ve already checked and there’s nobody within earshot. I had Ryuk examine this room before, and there are no listening devices of any kind in it.”

Misa nodded and looked down at the floor. Poor Raito… he must be very frustrated to have to restart his reign as Kira completely. She had yet to hear his plan, but she knew he had something in mind. He was like that.

Raito’s talents were in manipulation, scheming, thinking and planning. There was no doubt Aizen knew this already, and expected it from him. If he tried something along those lines he would likely be caught. He had to do something unexpected.

“Misa… do you know what your release does?” Raito asked, referring to the short, dagger-like sword that Misa wore at her waist. The girl looked down at her zanpakuto in its white leather sheath.

“You mean Estrella? Um… yeah…” She took it out and held it. The guard was shaped like a four-pointed star with elegantly curled ends. “It lets me shoot spikes. Aizen-sama had one of the other Arrancar show me how to use it after I got turned…”

Raito tapped the hilt of his own zanpakuto. “Shoots spikes? Hmm…” Ideas were forming already. “Can you show me?”

--

Outside Las Noches, 1:34 am

The small Hollow sentry started to scream as it fell to the white sand below, a two-foot spike protruding from its chest. A second spike through its beaked mouth silenced it. It dropped, bouncing once off the stark white walls, leaving a dark bloody smear that dissipated in a few seconds.

Misa lowered her arm and nodded to Raito, who was standing on the ledge of a window 100 yards away and 20 yards up. The shifting marble sand she stood on had made it difficult to shoot accurately, but she had done a good job, she thought. A path, made from her spines, rambled along the wall to another set of windows that she knew led into Aizen’s quarters.

They had both been careful, making sure to check that there was nobody around to witness what Raito was about to do. It was almost eerily convenient that an Espada meeting had been called not 20 minutes before, so all the most powerful denizens of Las Noches were at the other end of the fortress. This might be their only opportunity in a while, so they had to take it.

Misa watched, tense as Raito stepped out onto the fragile-looking row of spines embedded in the white stone. If he fell, she would try to make another platform for him to land on, but there was always the fear that she would hit him instead of the wall. The wind stirred the white sand around her feet. A gust blew into her face. She rubbed her eye, being careful not to stab herself with the spiny gauntlets that surrounded her wrists and forearms.

Balanced precariously on the row of spines, Raito hugged the wall. The bony spikes shifted as he stepped on them, but none had fallen yet. Another small flying Hollow landed on the fortress’s roof above his head. It looked at him curiously before it was impaled through its forehead and fell backwards, another victim of the zanpakuto Estrella’s release.

The breeze was stronger near the walls, where it slid along the building’s sleek shape and built itself into a stiff wind that threatened to push Raito over. The wall started to curve as he inched along. He felt terribly exposed with his back to the vast desert, even though his uniform was the same bland white color as everything else. Beneath his feet, the spines crackled as he stepped on them, shifting in the crumbling stone. It felt as if any minute one would break and he would fall to his death in the silvery sands.

If he died in this world, what would that mean? That was one thing he hadn’t thought about. L had killed him and eaten his soul, transforming what was left of him into a Hollow, and that Hollow had been turned into an Arrancar. He hadn’t actually gone to eternal rest or eternal damnation, if those things existed at all. The entire concept of death was much more complicated than he had originally thought.

It was a welcome relief when the bridge of spines ended and Raito was able to step inside the window to Aizen’s room. It looked exactly like Raito’s own room, though it was a little larger. There was a neatly-made bed against the wall, along with an end table and a lamp. On the other wall were two doors that suggested a closet of some sort. Everything was white, except for the small black notebook that sat so boldly on the end table.

Raito couldn’t help but grin in triumph as he picked up the notebook. The few remaining gaps in his memories filled themselves in as he held it. He finally had his means of power back. He could be Kira again. This entire ordeal of him being killed and indentured was just a minor delay in his original plan.

“Your empire is mine, Aizen…” He smirked, flipping through the pages. These deaths were from a few months ago… a few weeks… and then they abruptly ended. Raito frowned and flipped back. Where were the criminals that had died during the week before his death? There were none at all… Raito brushed past the blank pages, thinking Misa might have skipped a few, but the handwriting on these was different from Misa’s neat characters. These must be the dates that-

“Found everything you were looking for?”

Raito turned abruptly. Aizen stood behind him, his zanpakuto in his hands. He did not look angry. On the contrary he looked pleasantly surprised, even amused.

“Aizen…” Raito gripped the Death Note tightly, but didn’t react otherwise. Inwardly, thought he hated to admit it, he was close to terrified. This one man kept an entire army of incredibly powerful beings under control. The punishment for treason of this level… how bad would it be? What about Misa? Had she been seen too? If she had escaped, maybe he would still have a chance…

“Thought you would go another direction to get your power back, didn’t you?” Aizen slipped Kyouka Suigetsu back into the sheathe at his waist. “I admire that sort of cunning and determination. However, there is no place for traitors in my army. Detain him.” The last two words were spoken to a pair of Arrancar who were standing outside the doorway; ugly creatures that looked more like dinosaurs that had been squeezed into uniforms. One tore the Death Note from Raito’s hands, while the other seized his arms to prevent him from reaching his zanpakuto.

“Amane Misa has already been taken to a holding cell to await judgment for her betrayal. You will be joining her soon.” Stepping aside, Aizen allowed the creature holding Raito to escort him out the door. The boy did not struggle, only gave Aizen the strangest look. It was a look of deep hatred and confusion.

Aizen took the Note as the other guard handed it over and skimmed the pages, though he knew the boy hadn’t gotten the chance to write anything. The Shinigami had watched the entire event under the cloak of Kyouka Suigetsu’s illusionary powers. It was impossible to believe Raito would not have tried to get the notebook back. Aizen was even a little disappointed that it had been so easy to catch him in the act, though he had to give him credit. The boy’s attempt had been creative.

Aizen snapped the notebook shut and slipped it inside his robes before following the other guard down the hall to the holding cells deep beneath the fortress, where Raito and Misa would learn what sort of punishment their actions had earned them.