Title: Undisclosed Desires

Characters: Jyuushiro Ukitake, Stark, Kenpachi Zaraki, Shunsui Kyouraku, Nanao Ise, etc.

Pairings: Zaraki/Ukitake, Kyouraku/Ukitake, Ukitake/Stark, and some others in the background.

Rating: R for language, some violence and slash in later sections.

Author's Note, etc.: See Part One.

*

Kyouraku gave Zaraki a small nod before noticing that Jyuushirou wasn't with him. If he had been the type to get frustrated and show it, he would have looked keenly irritated. These multiple and unforeseen delays were wearing on his already worn nerves.

Shoving Ikkaku in the other Captain's direction, Zaraki briskly moved over to where Rose and Love were assisting Mastumoto in dealing with Ichimaru. The man sure got around.

"Well?" Kyouraku drawled as if he was already bored and completely unconcerned. "Is something on your mind that you'd like to share with me?"

"He needed to talk to that arrancar guy."

"Talking," he repeated before laughing gruffly. "I see."

"Yare, yare," the Third Seat said, holding up his hands. "Talking is what Captain Ukitake said. I know very little about anything that happened or is happening."

"Which is only surprising if you don't know him," another voice chimed in. Zaraki's Fifth Seat. "How about you know nothing somewhere else, ne?"

Ikkaku nodded.

Kyouraku waved them away and sighed heavily on his own.

Another one of those segmented holes appeared in the sky overhead. A garganta made up of blocked segments of darkness that looked like teeth ripping into fabric, which brought back some pleasant if somewhat distracting memories. They faded away as quickly as the empty void once two familiar forms stepped out. Kaname and Ukitake. No Stark or that girl who followed him around or turned into a cero gun depending on the situation.

After all of this ended, he really hoped they would be rid of Aizen and his two main helpers.

"That must have been some talk," he muttered before flash-stepping over to Unohana.

The loss of his hat was proving to be the very least of his worries.

"I'm taking them now," he informed her and snatched at the hilt of his friend's zanpakutou just as a gloved hand grabbed them.

Stark. Kyouraku looked up. His expression softened minutely when he saw that the Espada was in his release form already. Still, the hollow was taking really bad care of Jyuushirou. That wasn't exactly forgivable, but it wasn't unforgivable. It wasn't like Ukitake needed all that much looking after.

Unohana gave both of them a thoughtful look before returning to her patients. "If you are going to fight, kindly do not do so here," she called over her shoulder. Before returning to healing, she patted Hanatarou Yamada's shoulder. Everyone else in Fourth Division was always so jumpy.

Lieutenant Kotesu opened her mouth to say something before coloring and deciding against it. She ran to catch up to her Captain looking more like baby giraffe than anything else.

"I can give him these," Stark said at the same time that Kyouraku murmured: "You are not even close to being on the list of troublesome hollows I'd like to deal with right now. But you could be if you don't let go of those."

"I can give them to him."

"Yes, but you haven't."

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled both of them but what surprised Kyouraku was the panel opening up in the air in front of them much like the larger garganta. The screen showed static but the voice was undeniably Aizen's.

The former Captain's face eventually flickered on the screen, eying them curiously before speaking. "I'm being told this is a friend of yours, Primera."

At which point the static returned and the screen closed in on itself.

Looking up, Kyouraku could see Ukitake and Aizen… Well, it wasn't talking but it wasn't fighting. Not yet anyway. Kaname stepped in the way of Shinji and seemed to be holding his own well enough.

"I'll give this to him," Stark said again, tugging the zanpakutou away. "You won't be able to get as close as I can."

Kyouraku grabbed his arm instead of attempting to reclaim Ukitake's weapon. That done, he yanked sharply hauling him close and nearly off-balance. "You better or I'll give you both of mine. Do you understand?"

"You're strange."

Shrugging, Kyouraku released him. "This has been a very trying day."

He watched the Espada vanish. The screen quickly followed suit, folding in on itself, but not before he caught a glimpse of Aizen's face. And the bastard's smirking lips.

*

Ukitake did not feel hypnotized although he certainly felt ill. Not just because of being around Aizen although he couldn't say being around the former Captain was a pleasant experience. And listening to him gloat in a cultured, deceptively charming way made everything that was harder to bear.

In that respect, he had appreciated Kaname's stoic silence even if the former Captain was clearly still harboring delusions of grandeur and superiority. They had exchanged perhaps five syllables before and after his forced exit from Hueco Mundo, a somewhat embarrassing and slightly humiliating experience. Ukitake could not remember a time he'd been caught without Sougyo no Kotowari somewhere nearby. The only blessing came from being only too aware that he himself was not at fault. However, this blessing had many suspicions and concerns attached even if very few of them pertained to Stark.

"I hope you weren't too offended when I commented on your arrogance," Aizen remarked in a placid, silky tone as if he didn't have the blade of Kyouka Suigetsu inches away from Ukitake's throat. As if the Rikujoukourou placed on him by Kaname wasn't enough to keep him where he was.

But all of this seemed to be for show. If properly armed, they might have had a decent enough battle, but Aizen seemed to be perfectly incapable of perceiving anyone as a threat to his plans at the moment. Perhaps rightly so. Aizen's reiatsu seemed different now. Stronger. And the Captain's wasn't completely up to the challenge.

"Sousuke-san, your opinion matters as about much to me as…"

"As?"

"I honestly am having trouble thinking of anything that matters as little as your opinion."

"This fight has been rather drawn out, hasn't it? Don't worry. I will end it soon."

Rounds of cero flashed between them and Kaname and Shinji still fighting to their left. The Vaizard's killing intent didn't waver nor did the blasts divert the former Captain's focus in anyway. And then they were obscured by smoke and occasionally he could hear Shinji loudly rattling off an attack.

Although Ukitake hadn't heard anyone say much of anything what with Aizen talking directly into his ear, he was fairly certain this was the Primera's cero metralleta. Once the smoke cleared, he saw he wasn't wrong although… the wolf pack was new. Later on he would need to find out just how much had he slept through.

"Ah, Stark. You're as slow to arrive as usual. But you come bearing gifts."

"This is not for you."

Aizen made a soft tsk-ing sound before sighing. "Your ingratitude is both expected and foolish."

"Hi hi, Captain Ukitake. Naa, nice outfit. Interestin' to see ya slumming just like the rest of us," Gin commented once he appeared in front of Aizen. He seemed remarkably unfazed by the pistol grazing his left temple. He shooed the gun away with several long fingers and shook his head. "Naa. Watch where ya point that, Stark."

Stark grunted.

"Move, Gin," was Aizen's advice.

Ichimaru complied almost immediately but not before muttering: "Damned kids. Oh look. It's another familiar face." He flash-stepped off to annoy someone else.

Aizen's eyes flickered in his second's retreating form before resting again on Stark and Ukitake once more.

"Now it seems we're all here," the shinigami who fancied himself to be both a god and a king looked very much like one as murmured contentedly before moving his zanpakutou. He lightly stroked Ukitake's chin with one finger before eying Stark to gauge his reaction.

Stark's stance was a bit more rigid, but he looked as battle-ready as he had only minutes ago. Whether he liked fighting or not, he was willing to do so. More than at the moment. He had probably pulled out all the stops and brought out all the tricks he had that corresponded directly to his resurrección.

This seemed readily apparent enough, but most of Ukitake's thoughts felt very muddled. He sensed that it had something with Aizen but not his abilities, which seemed slightly distressing, and he was trying to piece together why that was.

To some degree, he wouldn't have been able to tell but he didn't feel as if he'd lost touch with any aspect of reality. He hadn't even been made to study Aizen's zanpakutou. He just felt exhausted. Drained. Maybe this wasn't exactly Rikujoukourou but something similar of a higher number? He still couldn't believe Aizen's reiatsu could actively cripple his own, but no matter what other reasons Ukitake tried to come to, that seemed to be the only one that made sense in spite of being a completely illogical conclusion to reach.

"Why would that matter, Aizen-san?" Stark wanted to know. "That's not your goal any more than he is."

Clearly even a high-ranking Espada did nothing to trouble him. Aizen stood there looking pretty happy with the current situation. The wolves surrounding them registered by their impact and presence seemed to about as significant to him as the arrival of some fruit flies.

"Now that might be subject for debate. Ukitake, for all his illnesses, is quite a threat. I can't imagine why you yourself are focusing so completely on him, but then… Wolves and coyotes have that tendency, don't they? Similar in nature to a dog with a bone, I should think."

"Leave it alone," Stark testily objected.

"If you like," Aizen kindly offered, looking nonplused by Stark's tone. "But if you think I was unaware of your actions, Primera, you will have to think again. I had a feeling our mutual friend would end up needing some help in arriving here in a timely manner once you took him out of harm's way."

He waved a hand when Stark's frown intensified. But like Kyouraku the Espada didn't seem to be one for getting too bent out of shape even when provoked. "All for noble reasons, I'm sure. But imagine my astonishment when he failed to arrive here at all for hours on end."

"How can this concern you? Why would you even want me here?"

Aizen shook his head. "Distaste for one's maker is rather cliché. I had such high hopes for you, Stark."

"You want to cut some kind of deal for him," Stark muttered, completely ignoring Aizen's observations. "So do it. Make me an offer and then let me sleep on it."

"Be quiet and think. Look at your new playmates. Your allies, if one can call them that. Vaizards, the few Espada managed to be of any use to me and survive by shirking both role and purpose… The Thirteen Captains and all of their foot soldiers… Everyone is here."

"This is boring," Lilinette complained, and Stark seemed inclined to agree. But Ukitake gave this some thought, and glanced over at Shinji. Yes, a lot of them were there. A lot of people he never expected to see, and yet… Foggy as his mind was, he could easily come up with four names of former shinigami and the name of one Quincy whose spiritual pressure was absent from the Soul Society replica of Karakura Town.

"No," Ukitake wearily managed even as he struggled unsuccessfully to break out of the Kidou.

"Hm?"

"Not everyone is here." And suddenly his hoarse tone was being broadcasted throughout fake Karakura Town. Broadcasting via garganta... Was that really something Aizen knew how to do?

"You knew that," the Captain added and Aizen closed his eyes in appreciation before nodding. "That's important to you."

"Hm." Aizen's smile gave little away and yet it gave nearly everything away. "What else?" As if this was all a lecture or some sort of Zen koan Ukitake had been assigned to decipher.

"You said you wanted a vacant throne. This one isn't vacant."

"No, it's not."

"And your reiatsu is wrong. Or would be wrong. If you were Aizen. But you're not him."

Aizen who wasn't Aizen at all laughed and patted his cheek. "Very good."

"…I should have known," Stark commented with a sigh before eying the other man thoughtfully. "I really hate fighting."

Nearly everyone else who could stand seemed to be moving in their direction in a hurry. The wolves scattered, disappearing in small bursts as Shinji dealt Kaname another blow followed by a blinding red cero and then ducked past him.

"Who is he then?" the Vaizard demanded even as he examined the Kidou binding.

Ukitake shook his head. "I don't know."

Stark looked down as his guns before looking up again. "No one important."

"And yet far more important than you."

In the distance and in the quiet that seemed to last even as everyone began piecing things together, Ukitake could hear something that sounded very much like Mayuri cursing loudly and demanding a garganta. Someone else must have been cursing him right back.

"It might be that I owe you one after all, Stark," the shinigami or Espada or hollow murmured. "Or, at any rate, your libido. You were never fit for your ranking. If time permitted I would show you why."

"Confused," the stranger murmured.

Stark fired off a warning shot.

"Jealous then? No, perhaps not."

He stumbled a bit when the hilt of Ichimaru's sword slammed into his back. "Ya couldn't wait five more minutes? Ya couldn't let 'em think ya was holding back?"

"Silence."

Ichimaru snorted before moving away. "Sou. Method actin'. Well I'm leavin'. Ya do what ya please."

Kaname was already making his own garganta, and both of them disappeared even as Not-Aizen spoke again.

"Bind, Murciélago."

Black rain fell around them, dissolving his illusionary form and making short of work of the rods of light holding Ukitake in place.

"Fuck," Shinji murmured. He grabbed at the shinigami's hand and hauled him away as the torrent of raw, brutal spiritual energy poured onto them and the shinigami able to move quick enough were still flocking to the area. Their hands were all resting on their weapons, but it seemed that none of them could think of a single thing to do until the pressure slowly began to decrease.

The reiatsu rain continued to fall, droplets of spiritual pressure spiked with killing intent. Ukitake wrestled out of the Vaizard's grip, and headed back towards it.

"Hey! You can't seriously want to go back over there."

"Stark's still standing over there," Ukitake said, pulling away.

"Now's not the time to care about—"

"And he has my zanpakutou."

"So he does," Shinji noticed, grimacing with his large mouth as he finally let go. "Well, good luck."

"Thank you," Ukitake murmured, hoping they'd have more time to catch up later. For the time being, he focused on flash-stepping over to Stark. He arrived at the arrancar's side just as the rain stopped.

Around that time, bat-like wings unfurled revealing another arrancar. This one was horned with long fingernails and a triangular face. It was armed with a spiky javelin. A weapon he quickly used on Stark, driving it straight through the hole in his sternum even as the Espada shoved Ukitake away from him.

Ukitake grabbed his zanpakutou and winced when he turned around to see the javelin was still through the hollow hole, pining Stark there in the air.

"What… Fuck, what was that for?" Stark demanded in a raspy tone.

The Espada said nothing. Like a grim executioner, he summoned up another energy spear. This one pierced through Stark's hand and his number tattoo forcing him to drop one of his guns. Lilinette began howling and then screaming at him.

No one moved. Whether it was because they didn't know what to do or because they didn't see the point in interfering with a fight between two Espada hardly mattered. It felt wrong despite the fact that it made perfect sense.

Ukitake wanted to say something… No, anything comforting or reassuring or protective in even a small way for Stark and Lilinette's sake, but understanding the urgency of the situation, he prepared his shikai instead. Under his breath, he chanted the words.

"A reminder," the creature stated flatly. This other Espada's face remaining blank in spite of the marking on his face that seemed to imitate tears. "That is all. Cero Oscuras."

"Sougyo no Kotowari." Ukitake felt his hands trembling violently as the energy traveled through his left sword down into the five dangling charms. The shaking was even worse as he shot that energy back at the Espada with his right blade.

The energy zoomed at the arrancar who held out one hand and caught the cero with his reiatsu. It fell through his fingers like so much black oily water. "You were worth waiting for," it said.

"Who are you?"

"Cuarto Espada. Ulquiorra Cifer."

"You… You did this to your own kind?"

"Aizen is still very much around, Captain Ukitake. My orders are my orders."

"Why?"

"I believe you know why," Ulquiorra murmured, spreading its—his-- wings wide and tilting his head as black, empty segments of space appeared behind him. He stepped in, expression remaining bored and neutral even as the sky began to close again.

"If there was more time… The things I would show you," was the last thing he said.

And for awhile it was over.

*