The Challenge – Chap. 10

A/N: Another dark chapter with lots of Aizen's POV as he muses on the past and future, and reacts to the idea of fatherhood. A number of key plot points are introduced.

Warnings: Other than the usual warnings about being inside Aizen's head, some implied Aizen/Gin.

(Originally posted 2/27/2011.)

XxXxXxX

Aizen reclined on his couch in the privacy of his quarters, watching the surveillance video. Gin undoubtedly thought himself quite clever. He had turned off the system to Orihime's room twice in the past twenty-four hours, routing the video feed to a prerecorded loop. What his lieutenant did not know was that Aizen had a backup surveillance system installed throughout Las Noches, with automatic feeds going directly to his private quarters, bypassing the main security system.

Aizen watched as Gin played Orihime, with a masterful touch as always. He felt a tinge of pride in his subordinate. The man had learned well how to persuade and manipulate, with exactly the right blend of affability and threats; his timing was perfect, inducing the girl's thoughts to follow the precise path Gin laid out for her. Aizen smiled. It was to be expected. After all, Gin had studied under a master.

He shifted on the couch, propped his chin on his hand as he watched Orihime's eyes grow wide, saw the horror and realization bloom in them. Gin's expression betrayed nothing. He chose the precise moment to open his eyes for maximum impact.

Aizen sighed. Yes, Gin was good. What a pity that it would all be over soon. He would miss the man; miss his subtle wit, his powerful sword, his fine hair and delicate features, his strong, slender body trembling as he writhed under Aizen's touch. In a hundred years, he had been everything Aizen wanted in a subordinate: powerful, beautiful, and deadly. Submissive but with just enough of a hint of rebellion to make him exciting.

He could see it approaching now, the rebellion coming into full bloom; Gin was steeling himself to attack him. He knew Gin had always planned to kill him, but had been waiting for the right moment. A moment Aizen had always deflected, delayed for decades now, whenever he saw Gin attempting to build up his resolve to betray the man he had served for so long, the man he both loved and hated.

But now, Aizen had a new subordinate to groom. One who deserved his full attention. It was time for Gin to fulfill his place in Aizen's plans for evolution to godhood. Perhaps during the upcoming battle, he mused. Just before he actually created the King's Key. For that particular plan to work to transform his essence into the rarefied form required to enter the spirit dimension, he had to be alone; he had to make sure none of his subordinates survived to that stage of the battle. It would require careful timing to goad Gin into trying to kill him at exactly the right moment.

So far, everyone in Soul Society and the human world believed his ruse about using the souls in Karakura Town to make the King's Key. His spies in both worlds were keeping him apprised of the frantic developments as Yamamoto and Urahara and all their minions scrambled to prepare the battle arena. It was quite amusing to watch all the energy and effort they were expending, merely in reaction to his apparent plans. How entertaining it would be when they realized their mistake, finally comprehended that they had once again been outmaneuvered by the man they thought beneath them.

And as for now… Orihime was his already. Although he had not planned for her to have his child, it fit perfectly with his schemes. Orihime had been resistant emotionally at first. Although she desired him, it had been against her own will. Now, however, with the child she carried, she had changed. Unwillingly, reluctantly, even with anger at her own feelings, she had fallen for him. He had seen it in her eyes. She was bound to him now, irrevocably bound to care for him and his child. It was in Orihime's very nature to care for others. He had merely to ensure that the only others she cared for in the future were himself and their child.

Like Gin and Momo, she adored him. Also like Gin, but unlike Momo, she understood him in a way that went beyond admiration. She knew all about his darkness, but she still loved him. Thus had he successfully turned her compassion to his service.

But her conscience had so far proven more stubborn than he anticipated. Nevertheless, he was well-versed at destroying consciences, had done so numerous times with subordinates he deemed sufficiently skillful and intelligent to be of use to him. All it took was the appropriate set of tasks, graduated in intensity.

With Tousen Kaname, his first task was murder in service of his own revenge: the man who had killed his own wife and thought he had gotten away with it. Aizen had arranged for Tousen to learn of the man's bragging, then to accomplish the murder with his own hands; he had seen to it that Tousen had time and space to savor the sweetness of the act undisturbed and unpunished.

After that came the murders of the two officials most responsible for allowing the man to go free.

At first, Tousen had balked. But after a few carefully scripted encounters with one official, Tousen had come to Aizen, enraged, demanding the opportunity to kill him. Aizen had played him, let Tousen believe he needed to be persuaded. It was in the name of justice, Tousen had insisted. Finally, with apparent reluctance, he had agreed to Tousen's request, helped arrange the scene and the resultant cover-up and disposal of the body.

For the second official, he had made sure that the man had time to beg for his life before Tousen killed him, to plead that he had a wife and young children, to cry brokenly as he cowered before Tousen standing over him like an avenging angel. Aizen had watched the scene on video. Tousen had hesitated only a moment before he plunged his zanpakutou into the kneeling man. Aizen had watched Tousen's face carefully. Although it remained mostly impassive, Aizen had seen the twitch of the man's lips. The sign of enjoyment. The sign that his conscience was fading, crippled, nearly gone.

The next killing was on Aizen's orders. Someone whose only crime was to stand in the way of Aizen's plans. And after that, there had been no hesitation. Ever since then, Aizen had seen it. Tousen enjoyed the bloodshed. He still rationalized it to himself as an act of justice, but he derived a dark, hidden pleasure from the vicious strokes of punishment he administered, whether on Aizen's orders or not.

It was a textbook case of so-called cognitive dissonance. Aizen read human texts on psychology avidly, fascinated by the glimpses into the darkness of the human mind. Because Tousen had agreed to serve Aizen, therefore everything Aizen ordered him to do must be in the service of righteousness. The blood Aizen ordered him to shed was the path of least bloodshed. And as such, it was to be revered as a virtuous knight would enjoy his work. At present, Tousen was more self-righteous than he had ever been— and at the same time utterly subservient to Aizen's every whim and completely unaware of the contradiction.

So would it be with Orihime. He had taken the first step the night before, inducing her to viscerally comprehend that her own pleasure was more important than others' deaths. Having Kurosaki Ichigo to hand to participate in that process was a delightful bonus. The next step… would be to actually have her cause those deaths.

So would her conscience die. As had Tousen's, and then Gin's.

Aizen knew the process worked, knew how it worked intimately. He had applied it first to himself many, many years ago, when he first realized that morals and ethics were only limitations on one's potential. He had chosen to systematically root out that within him which could weaken or limit him.

It had been doubly satisfying because those he had killed had been the ones who had tormented him as a child. Those days, when he was weak and vulnerable, were long gone. Killing, he mused, had a remarkable effect upon the soul.

It had led him to become strong and powerful enough that no one could touch him. It was quite satisfying to be on top of the world, to have no weaknesses, he thought as he watched Gin go through his machinations on the video. No matter how powerful and clever Gin was, he still bent the knee to another. He noted that even though Gin believed the surveillance was off, even as he encouraged Orihime to deceive him, he still called him "Aizen-sama."

Gin's subservience was imprinted too deeply in his bones for him ever to be a very successful traitor. Aizen had set that imprint in him over a hundred years.

He listened further, carefully observing Orihime's face. Could she truly believe that Aizen would think of the child only as a rival? He had to admit, Gin's arguments were devilishly clever. It was true that Aizen had never thought about an heir. He wanted absolute power for himself forever. It was all he had worked for, ever since he had realized how much stronger he was than everyone around him, that he was alone in his power. He had never intended to share with anybody. He needed subordinates to realize his goals, but he would never plan to hand power over to anyone, even his own flesh and blood.

He watched the little drama to its end, then continued to view the screen as Gin left and Orihime stared blankly at the wall. Observing her carefully, he nodded with satisfaction. Although in agony about the choice before her, it was clear what she would do. Gin had misjudged her as well as him. Orihime was too compassionate to take life. At least, in her current state of mind. That could change under Aizen's hands, with time. But right now, there was no way Orihime would ever use her powers to take what she undoubtedly would consider a horrific action.

Even if it meant her friends' deaths. Gin was playing right into his hands again. Orihime preserving her unborn child's life at the cost of her friends' demise? Although originally unplanned, it would be the perfect action for Orihime to be manipulated into at this moment as part of his plan to damage her conscience. She would feel responsible for their deaths, while at the same time realizing that she had put her own child's life above theirs. Another nail in the coffin of her morality.

How delightful. It amused Aizen that so often, events arranged themselves even better than if he had planned them. It was almost as if the universe wanted him to become its god.

This child, for instance. It was the perfect tool for bending Orihime to his will. He would never have thought of it himself, especially when he considered that he had never impregnated anyone before, shinigami, human, or hollow. And he had had a myriad of sexual experiences with all three races. Shinigami propagation was an esoteric branch of lore, of which little was known outside the noble families. Indeed, they were the only ones who regularly married and produced offspring. Commoners had children too, of course, though usually without the blessings of wedlock; however, births were still relatively rare in Soul Society.

There was the additional fillip of this child being a human-shinigami hybrid. As Gin had mentioned, they were powerful beings. The blending of human and shinigami reiatsu could produce extraordinary power. Kurosaki Isshin, as a scion of one of the old noble families, exiled to the world of the living by one of the Central 46's arbitrary decrees, knew this. He also knew the secret lore of the noble families pertaining to the production of offspring. Additionally, there was the secret of Kurosaki Masaki that even Ichigo himself did not know.

Aizen had been interested in Kurosaki Ichigo ever since his birth, and another fact that the brash substitute shinigami did not know was that Aizen had manipulated his parents' first encounter, kept them alive just for this purpose, even witnessed Ichigo's birth through a hidden video camera. He still remembered the dramatic events of that night. A smile came to his lips as he thought of his plans for the youth in the upcoming battle. He had deliberately planned the boy's life so that the half-human would develop his strength at just the right pace, in order that in the end, he could be an agent of Aizen's own evolution. It had been an intriguing challenge, given that Ichigo was being raised by an enemy and ostensibly out of his reach.

How much more could he accomplish if he could mold a soul from birth? He paused, abruptly taken aback by the grandeur of the idea. To shape a powerful soul from its very beginning, to be responsible for all elements of its formation, its education, its growth.

What would it mean to have such a soul under his control? He had chosen better than he knew when he selected Orihime to serve at his side. With her compassion and warmth, she would make an excellent mother. She would give his child love, the love Aizen himself had never received as a child. He would not make the mistakes that were made during his own childhood. He would make sure the child was bonded to him, that it would love and obey him.

His eyes narrowed. A soul with his powers— and with Orihime's. He found himself curious as to what would be the result of the genetic cross between his and Orihime's powers. Orihime's abilities were quite unusual, but of course her strength was nothing beside his. But what if the child— his child— ended up possessing his strength but Orihime's ability to reject events? How far could such a being go in making or unmaking the world? And what would it take to keep such a being under his control?

Slowly, his lips curled in a dark smile. Indeed, this was the ultimate experiment, more intriguing, more risky, and more potentially rewarding, than any of the countless other human experiments he had conducted.

XxXxXxX

The door to the balcony throne room opened, and Gin slipped in quietly, his immutable smile firmly on his face.

"Yare, yare, Aizen-sama," he drawled as he approached his lord, relaxing in his chair with his chin in his hand. "Ya look like ya gotta lot ta think about."

Aizen lifted his eyes to Gin's, his face expressionless. "Gin. What brings you here?"

"I jus' wanted ta congratulate ya on the good news."

Aizen raised his eyebrows. "Indeed, Gin." His brown eyes passed neutrally over his lieutenant's face. The man was smiling, appearing casual as always, but there was intent buried deep in his reiatsu. He had come here with some plan. Amused, Aizen wondered how his subordinate planned to use the knowledge of his offspring against him.

Gin was jealous, he knew. Despite the fact that Gin told himself that he hated Aizen and was just waiting for the right moment to kill him, and that he only loved Matsumoto… in reality Gin loved Aizen. He could not help himself. Aizen could see his adoration and his desire in his eyes, in his movements, in his utter submission to Aizen's will.

All he needed to do was beckon, and Gin would come to his bed. Willingly and eagerly. Although he would hate himself for betraying Matsumoto. He would despise himself. He would swear vengeance to himself once again. And he would hide everything behind his smile and his slitted eyes. As he had for a hundred years, pretending to be an emotionless snake… until he was gasping with pleasure under Aizen's hands and body.

Aizen smiled. Gin's helpless fury and self-hatred still aroused him after all these years.

There was nothing Gin could do to stop his plans for Orihime from going forward. It did not matter what he said to the girl. Aizen already had her exactly where he wanted her— confused, frightened… but still attracted to him. It pleased him to keep his subordinates off-balance with conflicting emotions. Their insecurity made them so much easier to move in whatever direction he chose.

With Momo it had been unrequited love, admiration set against her own lust; with Gin, jealousy, love and hate. With Tousen, justice and injustice, revenge and satisfaction. And now with Orihime, physical attraction and emotional despair. Toying with people's emotions could be so entertaining. And now here was Gin, come to his hand. He would be yet another source of amusement for Aizen today. He waited for his subordinate to make the next move in their ongoing series of chess games.

"I hear yer gonna be a daddy." Gin's grin was wide.

"So it seems," said Aizen neutrally.

"What d'ya think about that? The great Aizen-sama is going to have an heir."

"Yes, it is an interesting concept, is it not?" Aizen raised an eyebrow, face placid as always. Gin was scrutinizing him, trying to read his face.

"What are ya going to do with that girl?"

"I'll keep the mother of my child under my protection, of course."

"Ulquiorra just tol' me this morning that she's refusing to eat. Now that surely ain't good for her health, is it?" Gin cocked his head to one side, his expression casual and uncaring.

Aizen lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Ulquiorra should be able to handle that. It is his job to make sure she stays safe and healthy."

"Wellll," Gin drawled, "I thought ya might wanna take a more personal interest in her, now that she's got somethin' of yours."

Aizen smiled. "Don't worry, Gin. I have everything under control." He shifted in the chair. "Do I sense jealousy in your tone?"

Gin stiffened almost imperceptibly, and then relaxed, forcing himself to remain calm in front of his sometime lover, occasional adversary, and enduring master. "What d'ya mean?"

Aizen flashed him a knowing smile. "She can do something you can never do: give me a child."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Why, Aizen-sama," he drawled, "I never thought that was somethin' ya wanted."

His ever-present smile did not waver, but Aizen could sense triumph and hatred deeply buried in his reiatsu, could almost hear his thoughts. He wants the child. I can use that against him. What an arrogant, overconfident bastard. He's used me all these years, but now— now I will strike against him.

Soon, he will die.

Aizen stood up from his throne, slowly walked over to where Gin was standing, a calm smile on his face. He lifted a long-fingered hand to Gin's face, stroked his cheek gently. The man did not flinch. Aizen wrapped one hand around the back of Gin's head, caressed the fine, soft hair, smiling, his eyes focused on his subordinate's expression. Then he drew Gin's lips to his and kissed him slowly and thoroughly.

XxXxXxX

Loly sauntered nonchalantly around the last corner before the video room. Once there, she hissed in delight.

"Menoly!" she whispered. "Look!"

The control room, usually guarded, was deserted. Many of the guards had gone to deal with the surprisingly effective incursion of the humans and shinigami who had come to rescue the girl. Loly grinned viciously. This gave her her chance.

With a quick glance to either side of the corridor, she slipped into the surveillance center, followed by a more nervous Menoly. She rapidly scanned the video feeds until she found the one from Orihime's room. A cruel smirk appeared on her face.

"She's there – our little princess is all alone and unguarded." With a glint in her eye, she reached around the back of the screen and tugged the wires loose. The image dissolved into static. "There. Now there'll be no record of anything we do in that room."

She turned to Menoly, her eyes alight with unholy rage. "Let's go! This is our chance to get our revenge on the little bitch."

Menoly grinned back, and the two girls slipped out of the room in the direction of Orihime's chambers.

XxXxXxX

Orihime sat quietly in her room, thinking furiously and with agony. She thought about the new life growing within her. She could not sense it yet, but she knew it was there.

She was too young to have a child. She was only eighteen. Having a child would change her whole life. Having Aizen Sousuke's child… could change much more than that. Part of her was proud to have his child. He excited her, despite who he was. She was drawn to him, although she knew all too well that he had no principles whatsoever. It was completely irrational.

And yet… she pitied him. He had not lied when he said he was alone in Las Noches. He did not have any friends, anyone who truly cared for him.

Orihime had compassion for everyone. It was part of her nature, something she could not change. She had compassion for Aizen despite all of his evil deeds. She was perhaps the only person who could have compassion for such a man. She bowed her head. And there was something more. Despite all he had done, how he had treated her… she realized that she cared for him.

Even, perhaps, loved him.

She could never tell him, because he would only use it against her. And, she thought in despair, it would never be reciprocated.

Yet, she wanted to have his child. Even though she could never trust him, could never count on him. Even though she might have to protect the child from its own father.

She had realized it the night before, when the man she thought was Ichigo burst in on them. She had been ashamed, sorry… but when she said that she had chosen Aizen, it had been the truth. She still loved Ichigo, but it was faded, like an old memory, like an old friendship.

It had been an intense crush, but it was over.

Yet, he was still her close friend and she didn't want him to die. She thought again about what Gin had said. She didn't trust him, but everything he said had been logical. She shuddered. Was it really a choice between her child and her friends?

But if Gin intended her to be forced into using her powers to destroy her child, he was wrong. She could never take a life. She could never unmake a life. There was no way she was going to reject the child.

That meant that she had to figure out a way to preserve her friends' lives. She had to convince them to leave without her. And how could she do that?

The only one who could help her now… was Aizen. And he would do nothing without something in return. But what did she have to give him? What did she know about him? What did he want?

Power.

She would offer to use her abilities to help him. To rebuild the Hougyoku, if that was what he wanted. Her abilities could be of benefit to him, and they would be stronger if she was resolute rather than merely obeying under duress.

She would stay in Las Noches and offer to help him if he would release her friends. And then… she didn't want to think about what would happen next. Her life was truly over. She would remain in this cold and heartless place, the servant of a cold and heartless man. She would bear his child, would care for the child. She would love the child. She would do what she could to love the father, to teach him of love for a child. But she had no illusions about Aizen. Her life would be over as soon as he deemed her no longer useful.

So she would have to be useful. She would have to grow her powers. She would have to become stronger. She clenched her fists within the sleeves of her robe.

There was a rattle and a click at her door, and Orihime turned in surprise, starting to ask Ulquiorra why he had returned so quickly.

But it was not Ulquiorra. Instead, as the door slowly opened, she heard a voice full of malice saying, "Looky looky! Our little princess is all alone."

As she stood to face the door fully, the faces of the two Arrancar who had dressed her and taken her several times to Aizen's quarters became visible around the door jamb. But this time, instead of fear, their reiatsu was suffused with hatred and triumph. As she saw their faces more clearly, the malevolent glee in them shocked her. Were these indeed the same subservient Arrancar she had seen only the day before, bowing to her humbly?

"Orihime-chan," sang out Loly, grinning, "We're gonna have some fun!"