Falling From Grace

Chapter Two:
Sides

Two sets of footsteps echoed through a never-ending hallway. "Keep your distance with Aizen-sama. I'd rather you get yourself killed on your own time, not while I'm around to take the punishment as well," Ulquiorra stated, breaking the silence.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed at the command. It was ridiculous for this obviously inferior man to be giving him orders as if he were higher up in some kind of nonexistent chain-of-command. His mind wandered while dismissing any kind of anger he might have felt for the shorter man. Although he had won the battle for control of the body, a war was still raging in his mind….

Hollow Ichigo looked down upon the crumpled heap of the orange-haired boy on the ground of the sideways city. "I warned you," he said to the boy that couldn't even hear him. "You're only unconscious, but knowing how you react, when you regain the ability to fight, you will try to win back your place as king of this domain." He turned his back on Ichigo and smiled. "For now though, you can remain the horse."

Ichigo removed himself from his thoughts as he noticed that he and Ulquiorra had made their way into a large room. At the far end of the room appeared to be a throne where one figure sat with his chin resting on his left hand. Flanking the throne were two other figures with their hands behind their backs. As they got closer, Ichigo noticed the figure on the throne to be familiar in some way.

In a weakened state, he recalled his human self being severely overpowered by this man. His hair was slicked back, leaving one strand to hang in his eyes and he held an air of superiority which could have been felt from miles away. Aizen a voice in the back of his head said with a growl. Ichigo quieted the voice easily and smirked. When he and Ulquiorra were within ten feet of the throne, they stopped and Ulquiorra slid Yammy off his back and knelt on one knee, his head down for a brief second. Before any words could come from Ulquiorra's mouth, Aizen grinned.

"When I told you to gather information on Kurosaki Ichigo, I never thought you would actually bring him to me," Aizen stated in amusement. "But what an interesting chain of events!" Aizen's grin never faltered as he stood from his throne, his eyes constantly set on Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes narrowed as Aizen walked a full circle around him, as if studying him like a unique specimen.

When Aizen returned to standing a little more than a foot in front of Ichigo, his eyes became a mocking glare and his grin changed to a smirk and then a frown. "So now I have to ask," he started in a quiet voice, "do you stand before me as a prisoner, or an ally?"

Ichigo growled and spit at the ground near Aizen's feet. "I stand here as neither your ally nor anyone's prisoner," he said just as quietly as the question he was asked. In his eyes there was a small display of playful eagerness in the chance to fight the man standing before him.

Aizen said nothing. He bared his teeth slightly while scowling at the insolent man before him. Before letting the situation get out of hand, he turned on his heal, letting his cloak brush Ichigo's legs, and walked back towards the throne. "Take this pest away from me for awhile," Aizen said with a wave of his hand. "And be sure to fix Yammy up," Aizen turned to face Ulquiorra with a smirk, "because once he's back on his feet, I think I'll introduce all of the Espada to our newest soldier," At the word 'soldier' Aizen was back to sitting on his throne, and casting a devilish glare in hollow Ichigo's direction.

Ulquiorra nodded, and grabbed Ichigo by the arm and began pulling him toward an exit.

Elsewhere…

Ururu walked back into the room carrying a tray with cups and a tea kettle. She set the tray down on the small table where Urahara sat across from Isshin and began pouring the two men tea. Urahara sipped his tea quietly, with a somber look on his face, while Isshin stared at the table with a look of horror, his head in his hands.

Urahara sighed. "It's not as if Ichigo is gone forever," he said while setting his teacup on the table. "He's just like all of the other Vizards… He just hasn't gained any control over the power of his hollow form, and he was in a weakened state, so the hollow took over."

From somewhere else in the room, Orihime walked over to the two men and placed a hand on Isshin's shoulder. "Kurosaki-kun is strong and I believe in him." Her statement caused Isshin to look up at the girl to see a wide, comforting smile across her face. He nodded, and weakly smiled back. When he moved his eyes back to staring at the grain of the wood in the table, Isshin failed to see Orihime's smile fall, and turn to an upset stare. She softly removed her hand and walked back to a back area of the small shop.

"Soul Society is sending a few vice-captains and such over to the real world," Urahara said with another sip of his tea. "I don't know if they know how real this fight is." He sighed. "It's as if they're not taking Aizen seriously if they feel that they can accomplish something with only a handful of troops."

Isshin also sighed. "I'm sorry, Kisuke, but I don't really care what Soul Society does anymore. I just don't want them to hurt my son."