Title: Breaking the Unbreakable
Summary: In a state of emergency, the Gotei 13 decides to negotiate with Aizen in exchange for his assistance against the Vandenreich. Unfortunately for them, Aizen refuses to acknowledge anyone but the one who brought him down, and so Central 46 has no choice but to send Ichigo to complete this task. It sounds harmless enough, but will the substitute shinigami come out of this encounter unscathed by the ex-captain's influence? Ichiruki. Slight AU
Chapter 1: Visiting Only Darkness
Muken.
The underground prison of Seireitei was the last place any Shinigami wanted to be. Cold, dark, and constructed of powerful sekkiseki stones that can instantly drain the reishi out of anyone of little Reiryoku, it was a place designed to confine only the most dangerous of criminals. And to the misfortune of one Kurosaki Ichigo and his constant companion, Kuchiki Rukia, they were given the daunting task of visiting Aizen Sosuke, the penitentiary's most nefarious inhabitant.
"Tell me again...why are we doing this?" Ichigo asked irritably as he walked alongside the petite thirteenth division vice-captain with a perpetual scowl on his face.
Rukia only furrowed her brow in response.
"We're desperate, Ichigo. The Gotei 13 wants Aizen's help against the Vandenreich, but he won't answer to anyone who is not his equal." She sighed. "The only one he can possibly acknowledge as such is you. That's why we need you to mediate negotiations with him."
Ichigo's face scrunched up in distaste as he thought about their predicament..
Certainly Soul Society was in a state of emergency, but asking the traitorous ex-captain of the fifth division for his assistance? The idea was unheard of! The man was a sociopath hell-bent on becoming soul king! And yet - Ichigo frowned - it cannot be denied that his role in the Vandenreich/Soul Society war could very well turn the tides in their favor if he so chooses to be cooperative.
'Aizen...'
As much as Ichigo hated to admit it, he felt a little sorry for the convict. He too often felt a loneliness that came from possessing unmatched power, but Ichigo never dared to even entertain the notion of becoming a god. It was already enough that he was an amalgamation of Human, Shinigami, Quincy and Hollow. He didn't need 'immortal being' to be added to his resume. He was perfectly fine with being...well, whatever the heck he was.
"Kurosaki-san. Kuchiki-fukutaichou." The combined voices of the guards standing outside of the prison's entrance interrupted the young man's thoughts and brought his attention to the fact that they have finally arrived at their destination.
"At ease, men." Rukia replied kindly, assuaging their wariness with an assuring smile.
They dutifully saluted to the vice-captain and took a step aside, allowing her and her citrus-haired companion to walk by them into the dark atrium of the prison.
Once inside, the substitute shinigami could instantly feel a strong force tug at his reiatsu, draining it from his body. He shuddered at the writhing feeling.
"Rukia." He uttered through bared teeth, as he watched her Kuchiki pride force her to remain composed even though she was already turning pale from the sudden loss of spiritual energy. When she couldn't take it anymore, she fell to her knees and gripped tightly onto the folds of her hakama until her knuckles turned white.
"Rukia!" he uttered again with greater urgency, as he rushed to her side to help her up but she refused to take his assistance.
"I'm fine," she winced before she made an attempt to stand on her own. "This is supposed to happen when you first step into a building that is meant to drain you of reishi. We'll be okay in a moment."
"Isn't there some kind of kidou to protect us from the effects?"
"Ichigo, kidou is made of reiatsu. This place would merely nullify the spell."
"And make it completely useless here, huh? Amazing." He could not help but be momentarily struck by awe, but it soon disappeared when he noticed once again just how unnaturally pale his partner was turning.
"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, as his brows became knitted in concern for her. When she did not reply, he wordlessly took the initiative to sweep her off her feet and into his arms like a bride.
"I-ichigo!" she stammered out, feeling undignified by the fact that he had to resort to carrying her because of her weak stamina. She was a vice-captain for heaven's sake! If nothing else, she could walk on her own!
"Put me down, right now!" She demanded, but her words seemed to have fallen upon deaf ears, as Ichigo merely scowled back at her.
"You look like you're about to pass out at any moment. So you can kick and hit me all you want, but I'm not going to let you go," he shot back at her, glaring at how stubborn she could be. He adjusted his arms so that she could rest more comfortably against him, but this only agitated her further.
"Ichigo, I don't need to get cozy because you're not carrying me! I'm not a weakling!" She protested as she struggled to remove herself from his hold, but to no avail. Much to her annoyance, even with most of his reiatsu stripped from him, he was still much stronger than her. "Let me go!"
"I don't think so," he deadpanned, scowling. "And goddamn it...would it really be so bad for you to just let me help you for once?" He retorted hotly, leaving the petite shinigami completely speechless.
'Baka...'
"...Fine. Do what you want," she finally conceded, as she tried to fight the blush that had rose to her cheeks. For some reason, she was suddenly very much aware of their close proximity. Flustered by this observation, she quickly added, "But as soon as I regain my strength, I'm walking on my own, you hear?" She huffed, trying to salvage what's left of her dignity.
Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"As you wish, Ms. Vice-captain," he replied cheekily, giving her a boyish grin. And for that brief moment, Rukia could not be more thankful that the prison was only sparsely lit by a few dim lanterns. This boy was making her face feel hotter than a boiling tea kettle!
Fighting down the blush on her face, she quickly shifted her attention back to the task at hand.
"Well what are you standing around for? Let's get going," she ordered, kicking her dangling legs.
Ichigo sighed.
"Alright alright. Don't get your panties in a twist."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"...why do my undergarments have to come into conversation?"
"It's just an expression!" He defended, but she wouldn't buy it.
"Figures..let a man hold you, and he starts thinking about your underwear." She grumbled.
"..."
For a while, nothing but the steady hum of flickering embers from the lanterns' accompanied them as they made their descent towards Aizen's cell in the deeper levels of the prison. It was quiet, a little too quiet, and it made Ichigo feel uneasy. Something didn't seem right. It was bad enough that he was already a little unnerved by the spirit-negating stones that were still absorbing what little reiatsu they had left in their reserves, but that wasn't the main thing that was bothering him. There was simply something not right about Aizen's indirect request to see him. And if Ichigo's perception of Aizen was correct, everything Aizen did had a purpose, so what did he need him for?
Ichigo's expression hardened.
There had to be an ulterior motive.
He speculated, but had to cast his paranoia aside when he suddenly felt his skin crawl from having his reiatsu leave his body once again. 'Damn.' Ichigo thought, as he squinted to catch a better glimpse of Rukia's face in the dark. She was writhing so uncomfortably in his arms that he was wondering if they should just turn back and get her to the fourth division right away.
"Rukia, how are you holding up?" He murmured when he felt her whole body continue to weaken against him.
"I'll be fine." she quivered bravely, but Ichigo nevertheless held her even closer to himself to shelter her from the sekkiseki stones' effects. And although she knew that his fruitless efforts to protect her were actually all for naught, a silhouette of an appreciative smile made its way onto her lips, and she quietly mumbled a 'thanks' before she uttered out her own concern for him.
"Ichigo...something's bothering you. What is it?"
He paused.
"I'm not sure, but...don't you think something weird is going on here?" he asked somewhat hesitantly, forcing Rukia to consider her own state of unease.
"It has been a while since we've seen anyone else besides ourselves here," she agreed as she searched the darkness for anything that may be suspicious.
Then, as if to quell their suspicions and challenge their usually good instincts, a guard clad in a ghostly white uniform suddenly emerged out of nowhere from the corridor's boundless shadows.
"Shit!"
Ichigo cursed, as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart from simply bursting out of his chest from being surprised by the man's sudden appearance. He had to admit that the guard looked creepy as hell. Gaunt-faced and hunchbacked, he looked like a decaying corpse tightly wrapped in a veil of white cellophane. Needless to say, the mere sight of him was enough to fuel anyone's nightmares for a while.
"I'm sorry for startling you, Kuchiki-fukutaichou...Shinigami daiko." The guard grumbled, nodding at their presence. "I've been waiting for you."
Ichigo shivered involuntarily when the man's dark eyes landed on him.
"Aizen's cell is just another level down. To allow you to pass through all of the security measures placed around him, I will escort you for the rest of the way," he continued in a hollow manner.
Not knowing what else to say, Ichigo merely nodded in agreement, while Rukia politely thanked the man for his assistance. She then asked Ichigo to put her down, claiming that she was strong enough to walk on her own at this point. Although Ichigo was skeptical, he nevertheless complied and gently helped her to her feet.
"Well, please, lead the way, sir," she kindly insisted, gesturing that he walk ahead of them.
Without delay, the man took her up on her offer and with a swish of his robes he spun himself around and continued walking down the stairs until they reached a platform. With a hard tap from the end of his staff, the platform rumbled and a secret passageway revealed itself to them.
"So...Aizen's down this way?" Ichigo cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his hesitance as he looked down the almost-pitch-black narrow path.
He exchanged a nervous glance with Rukia. He didn't trust this guy any more than he could see him in this poorly lit prison. Now they were following him into an even darker corridor? If this didn't scream sketchiness, he didn't know what did. But this man was supposed to help them bypass all of the security, so what choice did they have?
Ichigo scowled then pulled Rukia behind him to put some distance between her and the strange prison guard as they followed him further down the hall. If this man was up to something, there was no way he would let him get the chance to harm her first.
After making their way down one winding corridor after another, they eventually found themselves in front of an arched door with a single black stone in its center.
As soon as her amethyst eyes landed on the obsidian jewel, Rukia gasped.
"Kukyo sekki." she whispered, her voice trembling.
Ichigo scratched the back of his head and shot her a quizzical look.
"What's that?"
"It's like sekkiseki but kukyo-seki drains the very essence of life from you." She stared warily at the door. "I've only read about them. I didn't know that they still existed."
"So...how do we get inside?" He turned to the guard for an answer.
The eerie man simply sneered at them, then wordlessly twisted his staff clockwise until a claw appeared at one end of it. With the claw, he clutched the stone in its grasp and tugged it out of its placeholder, triggering the door to slide open.
"Please enter." He hissed.
Ichigo casted a wary look before taking a step into the room. It seemed harmless enough, but as soon as both he and Rukia had finished crossing over the threshold, the door suddenly slammed shut behind them, leaving their guide outside.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" Ichigo exclaimed, pounding his fist against the door, as Rukia gave it her best effort to slide it back open but with no luck.
"I need to make sure no unwanted guests enter. I will open the door again when you are ready to leave," the guard stated with a raspy voice that was barely audible through the barrier.
Great. Their ability to escape this hole was now in the hands of this suspicious man. Ichigo frowned.
"Fine. We won't be long," the shinigami daiko replied reluctantly, then he sourly grumbled under his breath, "You better open it up when we say so."
"Ichigo." Rukia suddenly hissed as she tugged at his sleeve.
"What?" he asked irritably, but before he could wonder any further, he followed her gaze to where she was looking and his eyes immediately widened at the sight of a shadowed figure sitting in the middle of the cell.
"Aizen..."
A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for reading my new story! I appreciate it a lot. Hopefully it entertained you. I'll be back with the next chapter very soon! (It's actually done! So you don't need to wait for long!)