Devil's Tower
By Spunky0ne
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(As the quincy king falls, Aizen overhears Central 46 plans to incarcerate him again and he escapes their clutches. Furious at their betrayal, he abducts Ichigo and weaves a web of illusions around him. Ichigo begins a new life as Aizen's consort, but his world is rocked when he begins to suspect that everything he knows is a lie…yaoi, mpreg…Aizen/Ichigo and Byakuya/Ichigo, Renji/Rukia, Aizen/Tetsuya.)
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Chapter 1: Illusions
Kuchiki Tetsuya stood quietly in the dressing area of the master suite in the main wing of Kuchiki Manor, shivering slightly and listening to the hard pounding of the rain as his attendant removed the pale blue scarf wrapped around his slender throat and shoulders, then the formal kimono he had worn to his meeting with the family elders. He slipped off the matching blue tekken and extracted the lovely, serpentine kenseiken from Tetsuya's wavy black hair, then dressed the clan leader in a warm sleeping yukata.
"You've been pretty quiet tonight, Tetsuya-sama," Koji commented as he finished and Tetsuya turned to face him, "Are you all right?"
"I suppose I am as well as can be expected," Tetsuya sighed wearily, "It has been a long day."
Koji studied his downcast expression and laid a bracing hand on his master's arm.
"The elders are making things difficult for you, I know," he said sympathetically.
Tetsuya hesitated, then nodded in agreement.
"Byakuya-sama kept the statement of his intentions in case of death without an heir private," he said softly, "He was slowly picking away at the family's prejudice against the mixed-bloods like me. If he had survived the quincy war, then he would have been able to present his plans proudly."
"Because there is no denying Tetsuya-sama's abilities and his dedication to our family's safety and well-being. Without your plans and your actions, most of us would not be here."
"That…is the reason they are accepting of me. That, and also the fact I was required to make a commitment to take a pureblood spouse, a cousin from within the family to ensure the continuation of strong powers."
Tetsuya left the dressing area and walked to the open garden doors, where he stood, gazing out at the rain.
"They also want my mate to be a woman, although they know I am a breeder male and could procreate with a male."
"They also know that Tetsuya-sama doesn't feel comfortable with the idea of being intimate with a female."
"Yes," Tetsuya agreed, his blue eyes blinking slowly, "It is their way of showing their continuing disdain for the breeder males."
"They should learn their own history," Koji said angrily, "After the first war, when most of the women and children were killed, it was the breeder males like you who kept our family from dying out completely."
Tetsuya shook his head and closed his eyes, listening to the steady pounding of the rain outside in the gardens.
"That is a part of our history they would erase if they could."
"It is also the truth," Koji persisted, "And you are now the guardian of that truth, Tetsuya-sama. Byakuya-sama made you so. He knew it was the right thing."
His voice softened and his expression grew somber.
"Byakuya-sama would be so proud of you."
The words caused a lump to form in Tetsuya's throat, but where, in the past, he would have shed tears, he silently steeled himself, breathing slowly and calming himself gradually.
"Thank you, Koji."
Koji smiled back at him sadly.
"Will there be anything else, sir?" he asked.
"No, thank you, Koji. That will be all for tonight," Tetsuya answewred distantly.
He barely registered his attendant's footsteps as Koji exited the room. He continued to gaze out at the falling rain, his mind wandering back to the day his cousin had disappeared.
It is so very strange…so troubling how we know that Byakuya-sama survived the conflict in the royal realm, as was witnessed by several of his comrades, and we know that he arrived back in Soul Society near the end of Ichigo's confrontation with the quincy king. It was in the aftermath, while things were still in disarray that we felt a sudden, sharp rise in his reiatsu, then an abortive drop…indicating his death.
But we never learned who or what caused it.
And we never located his body.
How did the greatest and most powerful leader in our clan's history disappear without a trace?
Tetsuya stood quietly inside the bedroom his cousin had once occupied, pondering the haunting question as the rain continued its steady fall and, above the thick, black clouds, the stars and shaded moon crept slowly across the night sky.
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Deep within a concealed pocket dimension and well hidden from Soul Society's rulers and defenders, Aizen Sousuke laid, naked and pleasantly sated, holding Kurosaki Ichigo's equally naked and senseless form in possessive arms. He slid one hand slowly down his captive's slender, white torso, spreading his fingers out over the growing bump on Ichigo's lower abdomen. Ichigo's lips smiled and his golden brown eyes opened. He looked down at Aizen's hand where it caressed his belly and he sighed contentedly, sinking more deeply into his captor's embrace and gripped tightly in the illusions constructed carefully around him.
"You were lovely, my dear," Aizen purred in Ichigo's ear, making the soft lobe blush, "You are so beautiful, carrying Soul Society's next king after me."
"Our baby is going to be amazing," Ichigo answered in a soft, dreamy voice, "He will be everything we ever dreamed of."
"Yes," Aizen agreed, his lips curling with amusement, "How else would he be, coming from the two strongest souls in all of our history?
"I wish that my dad and sisters were still alive," Ichigo sighed sadly, "They would be over the moon…so excited about the baby."
"They would," Aizen replied, his lips pressing against the soft flesh of the back of his captive's neck, making Ichigo let out another slow, contented breath, "But you know it isn't good looking back and daydreaming too much. We have had our losses, and they were devastating, but we are here in the royal palace now, and we are the new defenders of our worlds. I promise you, Ichigo, I will use all of my strength to ensure that no one ever causes the kind of damage to our worlds that the quincy king did."
"That's such a relief," Ichigo whispered, beginning to doze off again.
Aizen watched through contemplative eyes as Ichigo slept, curled in his arms. An hour passed, then two and as the end of the third hour approached, he sensed the beginning of a decline in Ichigo's reiatsu and slowly extricated himself from the younger man's clasping arms. He slid out of the bed and stood for a moment, looking down at Ichigo's happy, relaxed expression. He left his captive sleeping and exited the bedroom, walking down the hallway to one of several other rooms within the vast, hidden mansion. Cool fingers touched the small panel next to the door frame and the door clicked and swung open. Aizen stepped into the darkened room and approached the heavily restrained figure that laid in the bed within the room.
The prisoner's grey eyes opened at the sound of the door opening and he turned his head to fix them on Aizen as the traitor's footsteps sounded while he crossed the room. He paused and gazed down at the restrained shinigami, hating the man and everything he stood for.
"Byakuya."
The man on the bed gave no response to the invocation of his name, only yielding the same question he asked every time Aizen came to him.
"Is Ichigo all right?"
Aizen gave him a cold, warning stare.
"He is well."
"And our baby?"
Aizen's hand shot forward and wrapped tightly around Byakuya's slender, kido bound wrist, making the noble flinch and clench his teeth silently in reaction.
"The baby is fine," he answered shortly, "He has almost reached sentience."
He smiled at the little shiver his words sent through Byakuya's body.
You know what's coming, don't you, Byakuya? Aizen mused inwardly, As soon as sentience is reached, you will no longer be needed for the infusions and you will die.
"I see," Byakuya breathed softly, his breast heaving slightly at the news.
"The time approaches when I have to decide exactly what to do with you," Aizen said thoughtfully.
"You have already made it clear that you will take pleasure in killing me," Byakuya said with impressive calm in his voice, "Before you do that, I would ask for one thing."
"You are in no position to demand anything."
"That is why I used the word ask."
"Hmmm," Aizen mused, "What do you want, Byakuya? I have already told you that you will never lay eyes on the boy."
"I understand that," Byakuya answered, catching his breath in a little pained hiss as Aizen released his wrist suddenly, "I will not ask to see Ichigo or our son."
Aizen's frown deepened.
"Then, what do you want?" he asked shortly, "You are marked for death. It is unlikely that whatever you request will change anything. But go ahead and ask. I am interested in what this is about."
Byakuya nodded and took a steadying breath.
"Tell me why," he requested, his voice shaking slightly, "I know why you would abduct Ichigo, and even why you would steal our child and him away from me. You think of Ichigo as something you created. You see him as your possession and you view his love for me as a betrayal. But if all you wanted was to take him from me, you could do that without doing as you have done. Although you are a treacherous man, I am well aware that you only kill with a purpose. You tried to kill those who had somehow wronged you. And you tried to kill Momo because you felt it a kindness after making her completely dependent on you. But killing me makes little sense, especially if you want additional children with Ichigo. You know that…"
Byakuya gasped in pain and shock as the back of Aizen's hand struck him across the face. He swallowed hard, his heart pounding at the furious expression his former comrade wore.
"Sousuke," he whispered, earning a scathing look from the other man, "why are you doing this? I understand you hate the noble families with a passion, but you seem to despise me even more…more than is explained by pure jealousy. There is more you haven't said. I know there is. And before the baby reaches sentience and you carry out your threat to kill me in the most painful and humiliating way you can imagine, I want to know why me? Is this a symbolic act or do you have a more personal grudge against me?"
Aizen's lips contorted into a cruel smile.
"You don't think it is enough that you stole the bond I should have had with my creation?" he asked icily.
"There was no stealing involved!" Byakuya insisted, "I told you that the soul bond is not something that either Ichigo or I could control!"
"LIES!" Aizen snapped, his reiatsu rising dangerously and pressing in around the bound noble until he gasped and panted in distress.
Aizen glared down at Byakuya, watching him writhe under the heavy weight of unrestrained, transcendent reiatsu. He held his tight grip over the noble, persisting until Byakuya's dark eyes began to glaze over and he started to lose consciousness. He reined in his power and let the noble recover slightly, then he sat down at Byakuya's side and leaned forward to whisper into his ear.
"Ichigo is mine," he hissed angrily, "and you are one of the reasons why I created him."
"Me?" Byakuya panted, "I was but a child when you began your plans to betray us all and steal the crown. I…!"
"No, you weren't the one…but you represent the family of one of the men whose actions put me on this path. Do you think that I wanted any of this, any more than you do?"
Byakuya's widened eyes stared into Aizen's and he sensed the answer to his question was about to be revealed.
"You want to know what you have done to earn this fate, Byakuya? To earn a painful and prolonged death at my hands?"
"As a last request, yes," Byakuya answered, forcing calm into his voice, "I want to know what earned such vehemence."
Aizen went silent for a time, watching the unsteady rise and fall of the noble's breathing as it slowly eased and fell into a more relaxed pattern again.
"You want to know where the hatred came from?" Aizen asked finally, "I was sure that you already knew. After all, you are now the one who records the history of Soul Society. Don't you think it's important that you know what you're writing about?"
"A person can only record things as he knows them," Byakuya replied, "If my understanding of the events I've recorded is wrong, then help me right things."
"I attempted to right things when I exacted my revenge on Central 46, but I imagine that revenge wasn't the word you used for that action, was it?"
"It was cold-blooded murder," Byakuya recalled, "The council was dispatched slowly, one-by-one, in a shockingly cruel display."
Aizen gave Byakuya a chilling smile.
"And you wonder if it was something they did or if I was just that evil?" he mused, "Come now, Byakuya. You know that events don't happen in a vacuum. I had reasons for what I did. I can share those reasons with you, but if I do, I don't think you will believe them. Still, there is a way for you to know that what I show you is the truth and not just something I conjured."
Byakuya took a hissing breath as Aizen extended and hand and called Kyouka Suigetsu into it.
"You don't need to fear this weapon," Aizen said, calming slightly as he sensed he had gained the proper control over the situation, "I will not use it to hurt you. I will touch it to your hand as I share a vision of the past with you, and while you are touching my weapon, you will not be fooled by any illusion. But…are you sure that you want to see, Byakuya? I assure you, you will not be able to look at me, at anything in the same way after. So, you must decide what you want. Do you want the truth as it happened, or would you prefer the lies that will comfort you as you die?"
"The Kuchiki family is committed to the truth of our history. If what I have recorded is wrong, then I would see the truth, whatever it is."
Aizen nodded.
"You do have courage," he complimented the noble, "Very well, then. Feast your eyes…"
Byakuya's heart began to race again as Aizen's lips moved and gave his weapon its release command.
"Shatter…"
Byakuya's body tensed as he was thrust suddenly into a vision so sharp and defined that he felt as though it was happening right in front of him.
"It was years ago, as you said, when you were just a child," Aizen's voice said into the noble's mind, "I was a teen, living in the upper Rukongai with my father, mother and sister."
Byakuya blinked and stared as he found himself in the yard outside a small home, watching as a teen girl and boy climbed up into a large tree, where they had built a fort. They spread out their school books, laughing and talking about the day's events as they began to work on their homework together.
"You wrecked the grading curve again," his sister chuckled, "Another perfect score in Science."
"I did not," the boy insisted, "Riku-san doesn't count my scores in the curve. He knows…"
"I was kidding, stupid!" the girl laughed.
She started to say more, but stiffened as voices sounded in the area in front of the house and the two heard their mother's fear filled voice.
"The children aren't here right now. Th-they sometimes stay in town after school."
"What do you want with them?" their father's voice asked, "Why are you…?"
"Search the house," a stern male voice ordered.
"What?" their father objected, "What are you doing? Our children haven't done anything wrong! You can't do this! Stop!"
There was the sound of some kind of impact and the children heard their mother scream.
"MOM!" the girl howled.
"Shika, stop!" the boy called, grabbing at her as she flew down from the treehouse and dashed to the front of the home, where she found her mother kneeling at their collapsed father's side and crying.
Their mother looked up as the girl approached with the boy a step behind.
"No!" she screamed, "Shika, Sousuke, RUN!"
Byakuya's jaw clenched as he watched the horrific display that followed.
"You saw their faces," Aizen's voice continued, "And you know now that the rumor you heard about the targeted assassinations is true. The noble families have jealously guarded what they feel to be their power. When a power emerged within a Rukongai family that was judged to be too dangerous to their dominion, they stamped it out…entire families went missing without a trace, or as mine was, were simply erased from the records after being eliminated. You call yourself a truthful person, Byakuya, but what you recorded was a lie. And now, you will pay for every word with the drawing of your blood."
Byakuya shivered as the vision around him faded, leaving him looking up into Aizen Sousuke's cold, hateful eyes.
"Do you see now?" Aizen asked, "Do you understand? Each and every life I took was directly connected to the murder of my innocent family. Each step I took, each betrayal, would never have happened if we had just been left alone. I only wanted to be a scientist, but they ruined everything."
Aizen moved his face closer to Byakuya's, locking their eyes firmly.
"I wanted to be a scientist, but they made me into a vengeful god. While I do not yet sit on the throne, I will…not because I wanted to, but because there is no justice when there is no real king."
"You call this justice?" Byakuya asked quietly, "You justify your acts, but Sousuke, you have hurt innocent people too. And you have killed the ones who ordered your family terminated."
"Humanely euthanized, was the term they used," Aizen corrected him, "And don't worry, Byakuya, I will show you exactly as much mercy as they showed my family and me!"
"Sousuke?" said a soft male voice from the doorway.
Aizen inhaled sharply, turning to face Ichigo.
"I woke up and you were gone."
"Ichigo!" Byakuya gasped.
Aizen hissed a quick command and eerie golden light flowed out of his sword and ensnared his two captives.
"Ichigo, help me!" Byakuya called out desperately.
Ichigo shivered and blinked as a chill breeze passed by him.
"It's cold," he said, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Ichigo, please hear me!" Byakuya cried desperately, "Ichigo!"
Aizen ignored him completely and rose. He walked to Ichigo and slipped an arm around him, then bent to kiss him on the cheek.
"I am sorry. I had some work to do," he apologized, "Come now. You look hungry. I will have our servant bring us something to eat."
"Yeah," Ichigo said, calming, "I am hungry."
Byakuya called out a final time as the two men passed through the door and Aizen closed it behind him. With the heavy click of the lock, Byakuya fell silent again…surrounded in cold and darkness, his heart conflicted.
Is what he showed me true?
It would explain his behavior, but…if it is true.
Then, the noble houses are responsible for creating the monster who tried to destroy them!