Chapter 2: Introductions

(Thanks so much to awesome reviewers Liv2luv, Safa56bmc, Kirenuchiha1, Sariniste, Kami-no-namida, OverPowered, Picklez80, KittyKins, and McFlash and the Supah Smokah!)

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Opposite though we are, light and dark, we have walked a similar path. Our hearts long for freedom and we hate the ties the bind us to our solitude. Your hand warms mine, your lips are seeking, your heart reaches out. My own heart freezes wondering if it will withstand the hard collision.

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"So you did come back," Aizen observed as Tetsuya entered his cell, "I was wondering if you would."

"Did you think that I would be frightened away?" asked the young noble, setting a food tray down on the table in front of him.

Aizen breathed in the aroma of the food, a contented smile touching his lips.

"This is just as I remembered it," he said appreciatively, taking a bite of the teriyaki and then sipping at the tea, "Thank you, Tetsuya."

"Is there a reason that you refer to me so personally?" Tetsuya asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Why?" asked the prisoner, "It bothers you? It shouldn't. Perhaps it seems too familiar, but then, you are going to be the person I see the most. That gives you a special status, doesn't it? A reason why we might be more familiar with each other."

"And you would you have me call you?"

Aizen smirked.

"Aizen-sama," he said, watching the instant anger that flashed in the young man's eyes, "No? Then perhaps Aizen taichou?"

"You have no right to that title anymore," Tetsuya said firmly, "You do not, in any way represent the fifth division or the Gotei 13. And in fact, you have been replaced."

"I have?" asked Aizen, his smile widening, "By whom?"

"By your former taichou, Hirako Shinji," Tetsuya answered.

"I see," said Aizen, "So...the misfits have allowed themselves to be drawn back into the fold. Truly, they deserve each other."

"You speak so flippantly of the ones you stepped on in your quest for dominance," remarked the noble, "as though truly their lives did not matter."

"But they did," Aizen said calmly, "Think of it this way, Tetsuya. All things have a purpose...all things. All things use and are used...well, all but one."

"Are you referring to the spirit king?"

Aizen let out an amused breath.

"Your 'king' is nothing but a lie, Tetsuya," the prisoner said in a low, angry tone, "A time honored tradition of falsities. Let me ask you this...If one is ruler over the worlds and has the power to make change, then why would that one turn a blind eye to the suffering of the ones here? The ones who cry out in vain for justice, for peace, for the end of their suffering? But why am I even trying to explain to one such as you...born noble, loved, cared for, well fed and provisioned for life...looked up to and respected for that he wears the Kuchiki name? Tell me I am wrong. But I say that if you understood the suffering of the ones you and your family step on, then you wouldn't buy into the lie that is the spirit king!"

Tetsuya looked steadily into his eyes for a long moment, then rose and walked to the door of the cell.

"Going so soon? Does the truth hurt?" Aizen asked in a soft, mildly sarcastic tone.

Tetsuya closed his eyes for a moment.

"I would remind you that you do not know me," Tetsuya said, an edge of pain in his voice, "Before you judge me, you might make certain that your perceptions of me are correct. If a man would be king, should he not make it his business to know the ones he would lead? Didn't you say that the spirit king had an obligation to act if he knew of our pain? How would he know unless he made it his business to understand us...all of us...even me? Even you, Aizen Sousuke?"

Aizen arched an eyebrow.

"I was mistaken, then?" he asked, "You are...?"

"I am what the noble clans once considered refuse. I was born inside the walls of a prison. My father was executed for reproducing with an inferior, peasant female. My mother died of illness while imprisoned with me, when I was a child. The only reason that I am a free man is because my cousin and clan leader stormed the prison when we were teens. He rescued me and he and I have been fighting ever since to see the end of such intolerance."

"But you must know that it is a useless struggle, ne?" said Aizen, his eyes sympathetic, "It is a waste of time, Tetsuya, when all that will happen is that you will convince some...not others. And new prejudices will come along to take the place of the ones before."

"But, as you said, all souls have a purpose, Aizen Sousuke, and mine is to do battle against intolerance. And for that cause, I will use all of my powers, all of my strength, never laying down my sword until the last spark of life is gone from my body. I may not end intolerance, but I will fight it, tooth and nail...always."

Aizen smirked.

"I can think of so many better uses for that very beautiful body of yours, Tetsuya. Would you like to add a torrid, steamy love affair to your list of things to do?"

"Not in this lifetime," the young man said, blushing at the suggestion, "I told you that I am not here to..."

"To be my whore, I heard you before," Aizen said, shaking his head, "But you are here to tend and comfort me, ne? To provide some relief from my solitude? I am locked away from everything and everyone. Things here are dark and cold...hard and unyielding. But then, you know how that feels, don't you, Tetsuya?"

The young noble's blue eyes looked deeply into his.

"Yes," he said simply.

"Then, you would, perhaps, sit down near me? Let me smell the scents from the outside that cling to you? The smells of sunshine and fresh air, soap, clean water, field grasses and sakura...and do you, perchance, ride a horse?"

"I have a black stallion," Tetsuya answered, turning back and sitting down in a chair in front of Aizen, "He has blue eyes like mine and his name is Arashi. He is stabled at Kuchiki Manor, though his stall is never closed and he is never tied up. He and I are soul mates in that way. We cannot bear to be bound...not ever, since I was a prisoner."

"I understand the feeling," Aizen said, smiling at him, "But you have been kind, accepting this assignment and coming here so that they might unbind me and let me live in a bit more comfort, though still incarcerated."

"I am a white soul. We are a rare type, who have proven useful in calming and balancing tormented souls."

"I see that," Aizen answered, blinking slowly, "I do feel calmer inside and, dare I say, something close to content when you are here. You are quite the source of brightness, Tetsuya. I can see why they chose you. You are very tempting...though a bit standoffish. But that is understandable. It must be frightening to be so near someone who you know would kill you in a heartbeat."

"I won't allow that."

"I know. But...would you allow me something else, Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya's eyes narrowed.

"What do you want?"

"May I touch your face? Those lovely lips of yours? That pretty, white throat? You can stop me if I step over the boundaries of what is comfortable. It is just that, having no physical contact is a weight on the heart. I would like to touch you gently, if that is all right with you."

Tetsuya swallowed hard, thinking back to the coordinator's words to him on the first day.

"What will I be expected to do while with Aizen Sousuke?" asked Tetsuya, "I understand that I am to see that he is nourished and otherwise cared for, but it seems that there must be more."

"Yes," said Hiro, smiling at Tetsuya, "You are expected to conduct yourself as a kind of...companion to Aizen Sousuke."

"Meaning?" asked Tetsuya.

"You will have plenty of unstructured time, and you may choose to interact in any way you agree upon together...within reason, of course. No helping him plan assassinations or attempts to escape. Of course, you are a White Soul, chosen because you are not the kind to take part in such things."

"You may touch me," said Tetsuya, "as long as you stay within the bounds of propriety and stop if I tell you to."

Aizen smirked.

"I have no choice but to agree to behave myself. You can stop me if I get carried away. But, I will do my best not to offend you. Still, you are very beautiful. I may be tempted to kiss you."

Tetsuya said nothing, but only sat quietly, allowing Aizen's fingers to lightly touch his cheek, to slide through his silken hair, where he captured a stray sakura blossom, then to brush along his pale throat, bringing a soft blush to the area.

Aizen sighed.

"It is funny, the things one misses when locked in a cage," he said solemnly.

"Smiles," Tetsuya said softly, his sapphire eyes going hazy with memory, "The sounds of laughter, wind in the branches, birds and cicadas, music. The scents and sounds of a brook in the morning, sweet field grasses and flowers on a lazy afternoon...the smell of good food cooking nearby and the softness of cotton...animal fur...the warm body that pillows one's head as he watches the sun set."

"Again, you prove your fitness for being my companion. Apparently, we have much in common."

"I did not know what I was missing back then," Tetsuya went on, "because I was born in the prison. But once I was free, the beautiful things all around me were overwhelming."

He paused as Aizen's hand caressed his.

"I think that your incarceration might be more difficult," he suggested.

"Why is that?"

"Because you have experienced these things and know what you are missing," concluded the noble.

"Or did you have it worse because you did not know what you were missing, but were teased, now and again by a draft through the cellblock? The words of someone who had been outside and told you stories? Your own imagination? That must have been extremely painful."

"Is it painful for you?" asked Tetsuya.

"It is not pleasant," admitted Aizen, "but it is not forever. I will be released and have an eternity to make things how I want them. This is tedious, boring...annoying, but it is only twenty-thousand years. And when you are immortal, that amount of time is nothing."

"But," Tetsuya said softly, "Even though you are immortal, no one around you is. You are alone in the passage of ages, Aizen Sousuke. Nothing remains, save you, in all of our worlds. Strangely, it seems like an even greater prison...stuck in the wheels of time, watching things come and go, and being alone in staying...afraid to get too close, to hold on too tightly, because you have only this time. While we, in the cycle of birth and rebirth, are renewed and given new chances to write our life stories. Your story never moves from where it is. The pages have become fused. They quietly repeat themselves as people and things come and go, and they touch you, and are changed, but you alone never change. You never grow. I feel sad when I think of that, Aizen Sousuke."

"Ah, but you are wrong," Aizen corrected him, "Perhaps nothing stays, but I see so much more than one small life can offer...I can achieve all possibilities...all of them, Tetsuya."

"But what must it feel like to do that, and to have no one to share it with...a fleeting heart, here of there, that understands, but then dies. You hold things you love in your grasp, but you cannot keep them from dying."

"I would like to hold you in my grasp, Tetsuya," Aizen whispered, wrapping his arms very gently around him, so as not to set him on the defensive, "I think I would like to kiss you. You say such sad and beautiful things to me. You tempt me to look at things differently..."

Tetsuya held perfectly still, allowing Aizen's arms to encircle him, and the man's lips to come closer. His heart pounded fitully and he felt almost weightless as Aizen's lips touched his.

But you would kill me without hesitation, if not for this special way of interacting we have...

Tetsuya's heart froze in his chest as the lights suddenly went out and the forces that protected him disappeared. Terror flooded his young body as he stared into Aizen's dark eyes and waited for the end. Outside the cell, voices rose and the guards raced to unlock the door, to get Tetsuya out. Inside, Aizen gazed down into Tetsuya's frightened eyes and tightened his arms around the noble.

"Let go!" Tetsuya gasped, closing his eyes against what was happening, and trying to pull free.

Time seemed to slow to a painful crawl as the guards struggled with the door, and Aizen held Tetsuya's petrified body against him and plunged deeply into his mouth. He burned the noble's lips with a scathing kiss, then kissed his earlobe.

"I won't hurt you."

"Is that what you told Momo?" Tetsuya asked, still trying to pull away, "You are a monster! You smile out of one side of your mouth and you would stab me in the back with the hand that I cannot see! Let me go, Aizen Sousuke! Let me go!"

He was left breathless as Aizen's hands released him and he broke away. The cell door flew open, and the guards brought Aizen down onto the cell floor, and bound him again. Takayama Hiro appeared and dragged Tetsuya out of the cell, sitting him down at a nearby guard station and quickly checking him for injuries.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a concerned tone, "That was not supposed to happen. I had a failsafe in place, but it seems that it did not work as prescribed. I am sorry, Tetsuya-san. That must have been terrifying for you."

"I...I am all right," Tetsuya assured him in a shaken voice, "He didn't hurt me."

The prison coordinator nodded.

"You are very lucky. He is unpredictable."

Hiro sighed resignedly.

"I imagine that you will not be eager to continue the program, now. And it would be wrong for me to ask you to stay after this. You are freed of obligation, and you have our deepest apologies for the fright you suffered. Go home to your family, Tetsuya-san. Do not worry. We will deal with Aizen Sousuke."

Tetsuya didn't answer right away. He looked back into the cell, where Aizen laid on his side, bound in heavy leather straps and looking out at Tetsuya with curious eyes. Neither saw how closely Hiro watched them. After several tense minutes, Tetsuya's eyes broke away from Aizen's and found the prison coordinator's again.

"I will go home and think about it," he said softly, "I will let you know what I decide."

He looked back into the cell and met Aizen's calm brown eyes then watched the cell door close between them.

"I am surprised you are even considering after what just happened," Hiro said, giving him a supportive smile, "He is a dangerous man. Just, know that we will make sure that this does not happen again, Tetsuya-san. Heads will roll over this, and I will personally verify the safety of each encounter from now on, if you agree to return. But do not answer now. Go home, Tetsuya-san. Go home and think on it."

Tetsuya took a last look at the closed cell door, then left the cellblock. Hiro watched quietly as he left, then walked back into his office and sat down at his desk. He put on the small microphone next to his computer and opened his personal journal.

"The first hurdle was cleared," he said into the microphone, "The power went out at fourteen-hundred hours and the prisoner chose not to harm the white soul. Signs of attachment were present in their visual contact after the incident, as well as in the fact that the white soul did not immediately leave the program. It was a risk, of course, but a calculated one. These two are bonding well. The prisoner initiated a passionate kiss. Provided that the white soul returns, I foresee completion of the objective and termination of the prisoner in a matter of weeks...a few months, perhaps, before they give in to their desires and consummate the match. Once that is done, the hougyoku will no longer make that man immortal. And I do not think he will live long beyond that. Not within these walls..."