Prince in a Glass House
By Spunky0ne
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Although Ywach's reiatsu has disappeared, no one knows his fate...only Shiba Ichigo, who is found unconscious and unable to be awakened. When the soul king chooses Byakuya and Ichigo to renew his life force through a secret rebirth, only Byakuya remembers, and the king has warned him to guard the secret carefully.
But, what will happen when Shiba Ichigo unexpectedly awakens?...yaoi, mpreg…Ichigo/Byakuya, Aizen/Tetsuya, Grimmjow/Renji.
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Chapter 1: Prince Placed in Glass
"I think he's coming around," a gruff male voice rumbled softly, setting off a powerful ache in Renji's head as the injured shinigami shifted and groaned.
"Please hold still, Renji-san," Tetsuya's familiar voice intoned, "I am not finished healing you."
"Do any of you sense anything?" Rukia panted, looking around at the tumbled debris surrounding what had once been the gateway to the soul king's palace, "The last thing I sensed was when Ywach's reiatsu exploded, then disappeared."
"I think that's pretty much the last thing all of us sensed," Grimmjow agreed, brushing the ragged strands of blue hair away from his sweating face with dirty, bruised fingers, "That shockwave knocked us all ass over teakettle. We're lucky to still be breathing."
"Well, since we are, we should try to enter the palace and find out what happened," Rukia suggested, "Tetsuya-san, you and Grimmjow are best able to fight if there is trouble. Let me manage Renji's healing and you two can go on."
"I find it troubling that there has been no movement, no change in the reiatsu up there since Ywach's power disappeared," Tetsuya mused, looking warily up at the remains of the palace that hovered silently in the air above them, "And I can't sense Byakuya-sama's reiatsu...nor Aizen's nor Ichigo-san's. But I agree. I will go with Grimmjow to search the palace."
"Be careful," Rukia warned them.
"Like being careful's gonna do us any damned good at this point," Grimmjow muttered, following as Tetsuya rose and headed towards a tall, black, battered looking winged stallion that waited a short distance away, "The only one of us who had a chance of stopping that son of a bitch was Ichigo. If he didn't do it, we may as well kiss our asses goodbye. You know what I mean?"
"Well, I think that if Ywach had triumphed, he would have done something by now, so he was probably defeated and may even be dead. The only way to know is to approach."
"Well, keep your pretty horse and your bankai close. I don't trust this situation at all," Grimmjow snarled softly.
"Neither do I," Tetsuya agreed, offering a hand to the Espada and helping him onto the winged horse's back.
The blue-eyed noble touched his heels to the stallion's side and the horse broke into a slightly limping run.
"You sure this guy's okay to fly?" Grimmjow asked, scowling, "He looks a little punch drunk."
Arashi snorted derisively.
"He is not badly damaged," Tetsuya reported, looking amused, "It looks worse than it is."
"Yeah, I hope so," the hollow replied skeptically, "I'd hate to have survived that living hell we did just to die in a stupid collision with the ground."
"Hang on," Tetsuya warned him, smirking slightly, "We won't crash, but he may throw you off if you offend him much more."
"Not like I can help it," Grimmjow complained, "I'm a fucking hollow. Hollows are offensive. What do you want?"
He made a sound of annoyance and tightened his arms around the shinigami's slender waist as the stallion jolted them soundly, while launching his equine body into the sky.
"Take it easy, will you?" Grimmjow complained.
Arashi banked sharply, then leveled out and turned towards the palace, angling his wings to use the mix of air currents and reiatsu to rise upward and move forward. His two riders watched warily as they approached the silent structure, noting uneasily the absence of any kind of movement and a single flicker of notable reiatsu.
"This doesn't look good," Grimmjow observed, frowning.
Tetsuya remained silent, his sapphire eyes scanning the outside of the palace carefully and his mind exchanging thoughts with the stallion's.
I don't see or sense anything. Do you?
No Master, the stallion replied, Everything is quiet. I see a place where we can land.
The stallion banked more gently, then changed the angle of his wings, sending them towards one of the larger arched openings in the middle of the palace.
Keep your reiatsu thickened, Tetsuya warned him, Even if there are no fighters, we may encounter some remaining defense mechanisms or traps.
Yes, Master.
But nothing moved, neither as they approached, nor as the stallion swept in for a landing under the darkened arch and the two men on his back observed the shattered entry in front of them. Tetsuya slid down from the horse's back, offering a bracing hand to Grimmjow as he dismounted.
"Touei, Re-kuhime," the noble breathed, sending his zanpakuto into shikai and making their bodies lose their color and solidity to take on the less visible aspect of waterforms.
The three stepped forward cautiously, their minds stricken instantly at the scorch marks all around, the tumbled mounds of furnishings and debris that littered the hallway, and the haunting feeling of being alone amidst a host of newly made ghosts. Their feelings darkened even more as they began to spot scattered bodies, many of them also badly burnt.
"It must have been awful," Tetsuya breathed softly.
"And I thought we had it bad," Grimmjow added, noting the look of torment on the faces of a number of the corpses, "I really hope that bastard died painfully."
He gave Tetsuya a rare look of sympathy.
"You didn't see your cousin here, did you?" he asked quietly.
"No. And I still do not sense him. But the throne room is still several levels up from here."
He went silent for a moment as they came across a dark skinned man wearing the livery of the royal guard. Tetsuya flash stepped forward and knelt at the man's side, examining him hastily.
"Is he still alive?" Grimmjow inquired, peering down at the fallen guardsman.
"Yes," Tetsuya answered, a hard edge to his voice, "It seems that, as was his way, the quincy king struck him without intent to kill."
"Huh?"
Tetsuya scowled.
"The powerful ones, he tended to keep, so that he could turn them and use them against their own people. He meant for the royal guard to serve him when he became king."
Grimmjow released a disgusted breath.
"Hell ain't deep enough, you know?"
"I agree," said the normally peace-loving shinigami, making a sad smirk rise on the Espada's handsome face.
"So, does one of us stay here with him while the other goes on?"
"He is unconscious," Tetsuya surmised, "but he is not in danger of dying. We should stay together."
They left the guardsman and moved further into the dark environs, only to stop again as they entered the next level of the palace and found a second royal guardsman, also collapsed and left unconscious. A quick examination revealed that he too, required no immediate intervention, so the three moved on. The next level was filled with more scorched bodies and the female guard they found was nearly expired.
"Can you heal her?" Grimmjow asked, a cold shiver going through him at the heavy damage on the woman's slender body.
"I can stop her from dying," Tetsuya answered, sliding his weapon from its sheath, then sinking it into the guard's abdomen.
"Whoa!" Grimmjow objected, starting towards him, "That's...!"
"Touketsu Shima," Tetsuya commanded his blade.
Grimmjow went still and silent, watching as the woman's body slowly froze from the inside out.
"I didn't hurt her," the noble assured the surprised hollow, "Although Touketsu Shima can be used to shatter a body, it can also place one in suspension for later healing."
"J-just if I'm that close to dying, just let me die okay?" Grimmjow said uneasily, "That shit is just creepy!"
"Sorry," Tetsuya apologized, "I didn't know how else to save her."
"Whatever, we should go."
"Yes."
Tetsuya and Arashi started down the hallway, leaving Grimmjow a little behind and looking down at the guardswoman's frozen body.
"We're really fucked good if that guy's not dead," he whispered, shaking his head unhappily, then turning to rejoin his companions.
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"You're gonna be okay," Ichigo said calmly, his brown eyes meeting Byakuya's darker and more tormented ones bracingly, "Just stay here and I'll take care of him."
"I am sorry," the noble managed in a rough, pained whisper, "I held him off long enough for the king to enter the prism, but he just cut me down and took it. If he manages to..."
"He won't. I won't let that happen," Ichigo promised, taking Byakuya's bloodied hand in his and meeting the noble's eyes sternly, "I'm going to destroy him. You have my word."
"You don't have to waste your words on promises to me," Byakuya chided him, wincing as flickers of pain stabbed at him from all directions, "Even if I draw my last breath before the end, I already know. I trust you, Ichigo."
A tortured look flashed across Ichigo's battered face, but he swiftly forced it down and managed a shaky smile.
"That's right. From the minute I saved Rukia, you've always believed in me."
"And never once have you failed us. Don't worry about me. I will wait here for you. Go on. Please, protect our loved ones."
Byakuya felt the echoing voices in his weary mind fade and hard throbs and stings of pain began to return. For a time, he couldn't move, not even to open his eyes. He could feel the weight of some kind of debris holding him down, but understood that he couldn't have moved even if not for that.
My low reiatsu from the fighting left me too weak to even bear the weight of the thick reiatsu, here in the palace. I will need some time for my spirit centers to recover from the shock and begin carrying power through my body again.
It seemed unbearable to lie so helpless, listening to the deep silence around him and wondering what had happened within the throne room.
Ichigo must have triumphed. He wouldn't have let Ywach win. But he is likely injured, or he would have come back for me. And if he is injured, I must reach him and help him. He would never fail me, so I must not fail him either.
He steeled himself and forced an eye open, catching his breath painfully as he struggled to focus. Blinking several times, he managed to make out the tumble of wood and stone debris that pinned his lower body and right side. Then, he lifted his shaky left arm and began removing small pieces. Gradually, as he worked, his strength returned in stages, allowing him to slowly wriggle free of the mess. He tried to sit up, but couldn't, so instead struggled onto hands and knees and angled his quivering body towards the broken doors that led into the throne room.
Thin lines of mingled blood and sweat leaked down his face and arms, and he panted heavily as he dragged himself forward. Each move he made up the three marble steps preceding the entry made his insides clench as crippling pain worked steadily to try to bring him down short of his goal. But although he slowed even more, he continued to close the distance between himself and his missing friend. The blurry sight of what looked to be a shock of ginger hair sent a jolt of renewed energy through the noble's strained body and he forced down a snarl of agony and made himself move faster. A few moments later, all awareness of his own body left as he recognized what could only be Ichigo collapsed form.
"Ichigo!" he gasped, scrambling forward and dragging the unconscious shinigami substitute into his arms, "Ichigo, wake up!"
He patted the young man's filthy face gently and rubbed his wrists vigorously, swallowing hard and feeling his heart quicken painfully as he received no response.
He is still breathing!
He is still alive!
Ichigo!
As several minutes passed and Ichigo remained still, Byakuya's eyes left him for a moment to scan the destroyed throne room. The king and queen's thrones had both been blown off their raised platform and laid in pieces on the scorched and broken marble floor. But strangely, though he expected there might be more bodies, he could see none anywhere. There was no sign of the quincy king either.
What happened in here? Byakuya wondered darkly, I wonder if he...
The noble's hands carefully searched Ichigo's tattered clothing, and he made a soft sound of approval as his fingertips found the hard, faceted surface of the king's prism. He removed it carefully and gazed down at it, squinting to be sure that it hadn't suffered any damage.
It looks untouched, despite the devastating powers that clashed around it. I know the king was able to join with it, but I hope Ywach was unable to do anything troubling to the ones within.
He stiffened for a moment as the ancient artifact flickered briefly and he heard the late king's voice speak into his mind.
I was able to join with my predecessors. Thank you, Byakuya, for defending me while I passed over. It grieves me, but I must now pass on to you and to this man the sacred task of bringing about my new incarnation. As my last defenders, you have proven yourselves strong enough to contain and grow my new body within you.
"I cannot even walk right now," Byakuya confessed, a guilty expression on his lovely face, "I am not worthy of such a task."
There are none but the two of you to whom I will entrust my fate and the fate of the three worlds.
"But Ichigo is unresponsive. Will he wake?" Byakuya asked urgently.
I do not know. But the power of the prism will come over him and bring about the necessary mating. You must do this now, before my absence is discovered, and you must not confide in anyone that the rebirth is happening now. They will be waiting for two to be identified and brought to the palace. To ensure the safety of the new king, you must keep all of this to yourself and the very few you trust most. If an enemy learns you are bearing the king's new incarnation, he will undoubtedly try to kill you.
"I understand. But...can you tell me what happened to Ywach? Ichigo defeated him, did he not?"
He did. Unfortunately, Ywach simply disappeared and I could not sense any direction. I and my brethren believe him to have expired, but we cannot be completely sure. Still, the rebirth must take precedence. Place the prism in Ichigo's hands and I will guide him.
Byakuya shivered at the thought of what was about to happen, but obeyed readily. He opened the shinigami substitute's curled fingers, then slipped the glittering artifact between them. He swallowed hard and placed his hands on the prism, willing the spirits within to act.
For several long moments, the room was quiet and the prism only continued to flicker softly. Then, the flickers gave way to a stronger, white glow that gradually turned golden and began to penetrate the injured men's beaten bodies. Byakuya felt his mind grow unnaturally dim and calm. And even as panic flooded his heart, his body refused to react, only responding to the dictates of the former kings. A shudder passed through him as Ichigo's brown eyes opened suddenly, but flooded with golden light and blank from his lack of consciousness, they held no sign of warmth or recognition. The noble tried to brace himself for what was coming, but found his body moving without connection to his will. He couldn't even close his eyes as Ichigo's possessed hands deprived him swiftly of his torn uniform, then pushed him firmly down onto his back and began to prepare him for their joining.
This is necessary, he reminded himself, trying to ignore the horrified feeling that flooded his body as the mentally absent Shiba heir parted the Kuchiki heir's thighs and without any sign of emotion, began to enter him. Byakuya's awareness mercifully faded slightly as the other man began to move, and he resigned himself to looking up at his friend and simply accepting what he must.
If this was really him, he would never be so cold. Ichigo's eyes are always warm and alive, not icy and emotionless like this. His hands are comforting when they touch me. They don't make me feel like cringing. If Ichigo loved me and we were making a child, it would be completely different. This is only a trust placed with us by the king. I just have to avoid thinking in unhealthy ways about what is happening.
But if it was difficult to accept the other man being inside him, it grew almost unbearable as the possessed man's hands clenched him more tightly and his movements became less restrained. Byakuya would have stiffened, but still lacked any means to do so as Ichigo moved roughly on top of him, then suddenly stiffened and began his release.
Intense, stinging heat flooded the Kuchiki heir's immobilized body and he loosed a groan of discomfort as the prism's control over them began to fade. He laid still after, as flashes of pain returned and his mind froze for a moment as it struck him in full what had happened. He looked back at Ichigo, feeling a shaft of loneliness that the Shiba heir was still unconscious. But the feeling didn't last long as he pulled free and set the remains of their wrecked clothing in place, then felt intense weariness sweep over him and he collapsed in a useless heap at Ichigo's side. The room went silent and dark, and the prism that had glowed so brightly, faded and sank into Byakuya's body, there to be concealed for the duration of the gestation.
I am very grateful to the two of you, the king's voice whispered into Byakuya's drifting mind, And I am sorry to have caused you pain. I assure you if it was safe, I would have done this differently. The situation was desperate. It is still desperate. When you wake, remember that the greatest threat to you will be in confiding.
Be careful who you trust!
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"Who is that?" Grimmjow panted uncomfortably, crawling through the pile of debris and peering at the male body that Tetsuya had found entrapped in the wreckage of a partially collapsed hallway, "We already found the rest of the royal guards."
Tetsuya leaned over the half-turned body, frowning as he located signs of remaining life and began to free the man and turn him over. Behind him, Grimmjow raised a small cero powered light, angling it to illuminate the trapped man's dust covered face as Tetsuya unearthed him. A jolt made his insides clutch as he recognized immediately the wickedly handsome, smirking face, the dangerous brown eyes and slender form of Aizen Sousuke.
"Whoa! Tetsuya, get away from him!" the hollow shouted, raising his hands and stepping back in preparation to fire a cero, "It's Aizen!"
"I'm not a threat to you," the former taichou informed them, "I was working with the invading forces from the Seireitei. You need only ask Kyoraku Shunsui."
"He's out cold," Grimmjow snarled, "So're most of the ones in charge, so don't think we're going to take your word for it!"
"Grimmjow is right," Tetsuya said solemnly, "You will need to accept being restrained until your status is determined."
Aizen gave him a look that brought an instant blush to Tetsuya's pale face.
"I don't mind at all if you tie me up," he said seductively, "Go ahead, Kuchiki Tetsuya."
"I wasn't aware you knew me," Tetsuya commented quietly, "We were never introduced."
"No," Aizen agreed, "but I was aware of you, even though you were nearly invisible. You were always near Byakuya, which placed you on my radar early on."
"What happened here?" Grimmjow demanded as Tetsuya invoked a kido spell and bound Aizen's hands in front of him, "Not that we can believe half of what you say, but..."
"I completed the task Kyoraku sotaicho assigned to me," Aizen said simply, "I am afraid that the nature of that task is confidential."
Tetsuya's hands froze and trembled slightly as he realized suddenly that the former taicho's top had fallen partway open and his chest had been revealed.
"The hogyoku!" he exclaimed, "It's gone! What happened to it?"
Aizen only looked back at them silently.
"Whatever," the hollow snapped irascibly, "We don't have time for this shit. Where are Kuchiki Byakuya and Ichigo?"
"They left with the king while I protected the doorway," Aizen explained, "I killed the last of the quincies before Ywach collapsed the hallway and attacked me, leaving me trapped while he continued on."
"Too bad he didn't kill you," Grimmjow hissed angrily.
"He wanted to save the strong ones to serve him," Aizen responded, confirming their worst suspicions, "I assume he didn't kill the royal guards?"
"No," Tetsuya reported, "They were badly injured and unconscious, but they will live. Still, we need to locate my cousin, Shiba Ichigo and the king."
"They will be in the throne room," Aizen said with certainty, "And the fact that Ywach has not made a move suggests that Ichigo was able to triumph over him. I do not know what state they will all be in. They may have destroyed each other."
"The king?" Tetsuya said breathlessly.
"They had a plan. I can say no more," Aizen insisted, falling silent again and refusing to explain further.
"We don't dare to leave him," Tetsuya said, stepping away from the bound shinigami, "If he escapes, we'll never find him again."
"I'll watch him," Grimmjow offered, "The entry to the throne room is just ahead. Go on and find them."
Tetsuya shook his head firmly.
"Arashi will stand guard here. You and I may proceed."
A slow smile crept over Aizen's face as the tall black stallion emerged from his waterform and stood over him, glowering down at him warningly.
"It's been a while," the former taicho said warmly, "How are you Arashi?"
The stallion snorted and stamped a delicate foot, making the bound shinigami laugh softly.
"Don't worry. I have no reason to resist. You will see when we return that I have been promised a full pardon for parting with the hogyoku and defending the king."
"Yeah, we'll see about that," Grimmjow grumbled, joining Tetsuya as the noble moved forward and began digging his way through the mess in front of them, "Damn, it's going to take forever to get through this mess. Get outta the way, okay?"
"What are you...?" Tetsuya began, then he sucked in a surprised breath and flash stepped out of harm's way as the hollow blasted the way clear in front of them, "You could have killed us, you fool!"
"After what we've been through, you're worried about getting crushed under some cement?" Grimmjow teased him, "Give me something real to be scared of..."
"Be careful what you ask for," Aizen warned him, watching calmly as the two made their way into the throne room's entry.