Jhaxe: Alright, I came up with this off the top of my head, so I hope it's alright. I know I need to update The Key To My Soul, but I'm having some writer's block on that one at the moment, so I hope this can make up for it.
Iyx: Meh, stop worrying, you'll think of something eventually.
Summary: They came to Hueco Mundo to rescue their nakama. That's exactly what they did. But as Ichigo and crew make their escape from Las Noches, the orange-haired teen finds himself split from his friends. Forced to leave him behind, will Ichigo be able to survive Aizen and escape Hueco Mundo? Or will he fall to the darkness within?
Warning: Violence, Language, SPOILERS for the Hueco Mundo Arc
:-: Chapter 1 - A Reversing Fractal :-:
The corridor seemed to keep getting longer as Ichigo raced onwards, followed closely by Inoue, Ishida, a hobbling Sado, and Renji with the unconscious Rukia in his arms. His limbs were screaming at him.
Mere minutes earlier, he'd been fighting the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow. His mask had already begun to crack, but he refused to surrender. He was still disheartened by Inoue's fear of him, but refused to lose the will to fight.
Then he'd heard Inoue's voice, cheering him on. Smiling, he'd pulled at the reiryoku he still had, melding it into one final shot, before awaiting Grimmjow's next assault. When it came, he was ready.
His final Gestuga Tenshou rebounded from ever building, destroying all in its path, including the clueless Grimmjow. Inoue was staring at him, but instead of the fear that had previously been in her eyes, he saw worry. He smiled back to her sheepishly.
Then they had taken off, telling Nell, the toddler arrancar, to go to the gate, while Inoue and him went to find their friends. They had located Ishida and Renji, who had escaped the devious Szayel Apollo Grantz, and continued their search.
Ichigo's memory had flashed back to Ulquiorra's words. He had said Rukia was dead, but he refused to accept that. Then he saw her. She was lying lifeless in the courtyard they had just entered.
"Rukia!" he screamed, running forward to her even though his legs felt like they were on fire. He was somewhat aware of Renji following him close behind. The bond the red-headed fukutaichou held for Rukia was a strong one, he reminded himself.
Reaching her, he gasped at the extent of her injuries. She had obviously been impaled through the stomach, and if left alone much longer, she would die. "Inoue! She needs help now!"
The pale-eyed girl looked up in worry. She realized that Kuchiki-san was indeed about to die, and that her nakama were relying on her. Rushing over, she called forth her Shun Shun Rika.
Rukia's wounds began to reverse themselves, and Ichigo and Renji both let out a sigh of relief in unison. Ishida stood nearby, but the worry was evident in his eyes. Rukia began to stir, but her eyes did not open.
In the adrenaline rush that overtook him, Ichigo realized they had to get out of Las Noches quickly or they would be confronted by more Espada.
"Renji, take Rukia. We have to leave now." The red-head nodded, picking up the dark-haired girl so they could continue.
Ishida seemed on edge as they began again. He seemed to sense something that the others had missed. "Sado…" he whispered. Ichigo craned his neck and gave the Quincy a questioning look.
In response, Ishida raised his hand slowly, allowing it to fall into a point, just as the others spotted the bloodied and nearly dead Sado face down in the dirt. "Chad!" Ichigo's voice echoed loudly. At first, there was nothing, but then, by some miracle, they heard their fallen comrade groan in pain.
They went through the same ritual as before, Inoue healing Sado as the others waited impatiently. He drearily woke up, his arms still tingling painfully, but he managed to stand.
"Chad." He turned to Ichigo, noting the obvious signs that his friend had been in an intense battle. "You okay?" Sado nodded in reply, and Ichigo turned on his heels. "Let's get out of here."
They all nodded, glad to have their perky nakama back with them as they headed towards the nearest gate of Las Noches.
However, as they had entered another series of hallways, it seemed as though they'd gotten lost, even though they'd determined exactly which way would lead them out. It was like the corridor they were in never ended, the whitewashed walls becoming increasingly harder to distinguish from one another.
:-: In the Corridor Control Room :-:
Ichimaru Gin snickered as he watched the monitor. They were just realizing that someone was tampering with the hallways. He heard the door open from behind, but already knew who it was.
"Say…Sousuke…this is pretty fun, ya' know?" He swiveled his chair around. "I love messing wit' peoples' heads." Gin's beaming grin became even wider.
"Heh…that sounds like you, Gin." Aizen replied lazily, as his dark eyes fell to the screen. The one that caught his gaze, however, was not the girl, Inoue Orihime, but the bright-haired teenager, the shinigami representative, Kurosaki Ichigo.
He'd sensed the change in the boy's reiatsu the moment it happened. It had felt so similar to that of the Espada, half hollow, half shinigami, and he couldn't help but wonder what power that boy had indulged in. "Gin…can you split them up?"
Ichimaru turned questioningly towards his leader. "I 'spose I can, why?" Aizen grinned, an obvious sign of a new plan.
"I would like you to split the corridor to the entrance connection right when they get to it. I want it so that the boy, Kurosaki, is separated from the rest. Make sure the others get sent the way out, while Kurosaki gets a round trip back here." He finished.
It clicked in Gin's head what Aizen was planning. After years of being his right hand, he could figure out the man's plans long before anyone else. "Hai." Was the silver-haired man's reply, as he set about rearranging the settings on the computer terminal.
:-: Back in the Corridors of Los Noches :-:
The hallway they were on never seemed to end. By this time, they had all realized that someone was tampering with the corridors, making it that way. They would hear sounds ahead of them, and realized that it was most likely the sound of the walls changing positions.
Ichigo had fallen ahead of the group. He wanted to make sure they weren't being lead into a trap.
Suddenly and without warning, the wall behind him shot out diagonally, sealing him off from the rest of the group.
"Ichigo!" He heard Renji's yell from the other side, followed by Ishida's astonished voice.
"The exit?" The Quincy adjusted his glasses, more so to make sure he wasn't seeing illusions. It was really there…the light at the end of the tunnel.
Realizing his nakama had a chance to escape, Ichigo made a rash decision. "Go! I'll catch up!" he yelled through the wall. He realized the entire structure was embedded with spirit particles. They were harder to break than regular stone, and Ichigo realized it was most likely some kind of powerful kidou, like the illusion of the blue sky in the dome.
"What?!" Renji sounded exasperated, but he managed to cut the short-tempered fukutaichou off. "I said go! Now! I'll catch up! Get Inoue and Rukia out of here! All of you go now, goddammit!"
The seriousness of his tone seemed to set them off. Renji looked at the unconscious Rukia in his arms, wondering what she would do if faced with this choice. Ishida spoke first. "We need to go. Kurosaki can take care of himself. If we don't listen to him and get captured, this whole expedition will have been for nothing."
Sado nodded ruefully, and Inoue stared tearfully at the wall that separated her from the man she loved. "Kurosaki-kun…" She suddenly felt pulled around forcefully, realizing Ishida had taken her and was leading her along towards the exit. Through blurry vision, she turned her head back to look at the wall again, wondering what horrible fate might be in store for the man who'd come here to save her.
They arrived outside of the palace. The dark desert stand was still, undisturbed by nonexistent winds. Sado spoke up. "So…how do we…?"
A violent sound erupted before them as a bright light eventually morphed into a portal. Shihouin Yoruichi stepped through it, looking up at them incredulously. "What do you know…?"
It was then she noticed the absence of the young orange-haired shinigami. "Where's Ichigo?" They grimaced, and a fear gripped the ex-noble's heart. Had he been killed? Sacrificed himself so they could escape?
The Quincy answered. "While we were running, the wall changed, separating us from Kurosaki. He told us to go without him and we had no choice but to listen. We didn't have any time to waste. He said he'd catch up and…" Ishida never got finish as a wave of reiatsu hit them.
"Those who violate the way of justice deserve punishment." Horrified, the group turned their gaze upwards to the wall above them. The ex-ninth division captain stared back at them, Suzumushi drawn and battle-ready.
Yoruichi realized that in their current situation, they couldn't take the ex-captain on and survive. If they wanted to live, they'd have to leave Ichigo. If they chose to stay and fight…and died, Ichigo would never forgive himself. Ichigo would want his nakama to be safe.
Clenching her fists, Yoruichi dashed forward pushing Sado through the gateway back to the underground training room of the Urahara Shoten. The others turned their attention back to the woman, just as she grabbed both Orihime and Ishida, flinging them back through, lastly clinging onto Renji and pulling both him and Rukia back through the portal with her, just as Tousen landed on the sands where they had been standing.
The portal closed behind them.
:-: In the Los Noches Corridors :-:
Ichigo continued to run forward, looking for an alternative way out. He could only hope that they'd made it out of the palace safely. An approaching light caught his attention.
Ichigo nearly gasped as he stumbled into a large room. Looking around, he made a startling realization.
He was in Aizen's throne room.
"Welcome, Kurosaki Ichigo."
Ichigo spun around at the voice, eyes widening as they came upon the figure of Aizen Sousuke, grinning with his smile of false kindness. The teenager took a step back, ready to draw Zangetsu, knowing very well that if he fought Aizen now, especially in this condition, he would die. But he would resign to that fate as long as his nakama had escaped unharmed.
"Your nakama seemed to have left you here alone." How did he…it was almost that Aizen could read his thoughts. Or perhaps…maybe…it's just written all over my face. Wait…here as in Los Noches…or here as in…
"I mean they've left Hueco Mundo." Dammit, there he goes again!
Ichigo suddenly felt himself trembling, not out of fear, but out of fatigue. His body was running out of stamina, his reiryoku expended. Standing in place as his adrenaline wore off, for the first time, Ichigo realized just how tired he was.
This was bad.
"A pity they abandoned you..." Aizen knew how to push Ichigo's buttons, but the young shinigami managed to control his anger. "I wonder what they're doing right now…rejoicing perhaps? Having a wondrous party in the honor of your demise?"
Ichigo gritted his teeth just to keep silent. "I wonder what Inoue-san is doing. Fraternizing with the prideful Quincy?" Okay, that was low even for Aizen!
Ichigo was getting annoyed. Why couldn't the man just kill him and get it over with? "Oi…are you gonna kill me or what? Because standing here listening to talk is starting to piss me off."
Unfazed, Aizen began to chuckle. Ichigo didn't think that was a good sign. "Kill you? Now, why would I purposely separate you from your comrades just so I can kill you and let them go, when I could simple have killed you all at once? I let them escape and drew you to this place." Eyes widening slightly, Ichigo's thoughts were becoming jumbled.
Why would he…?
"You see, Kurosaki Ichigo…you…are my newest interest." Aizen grinned, his kind smile wiped from his face, just a sharp pain erupted in Ichigo's neck, and he began a quick descent onto the floor, his vision darkening.
In his confusion, he hadn't noticed the former third division captin, Ichimaru, sneaking up behind him. Just before he fell into complete unconsciousness, he heard their words.
"Take him…room 4…make sure…zanpakuto…" Aizen's voice?
"That is…should…guard…?" Ichimaru's voice?
"What…plans…him…justice…"(Couldn't resist XD) Was that…the other man…? Tousen?
He passed out.
Jhaxe: I hope that wasn't as bad as I think it was...Anyway, I'd appreciate some feedback. I have some pretty interesting scenarios planned out for this fic if anyone thinks I should continue.
Iyx: It's fine, don't doubt yourself...anyway...it's Chapter Preview Time!
:-:
Now that Ichigo is Aizen's new prisoner, will he be able to escape from Las Noches? Will his nakama come to save him? Or will he fall to Aizen's manipulation?
Find out in Chapter 2 of Shiro No Tsuki No Kinou - Unrevised Politics
"You see, Ichigo, there is a basic fact of all life...Every organization, no matter how pure in appearance, is a harbinger of corruption. The same principle applies to every being in existence..."