Chapter 11: Infiltration
(Thanks so much to Carol Zoldik (Okay, here you go!), RosarioBlack (All right, that's on the way!), Emmagem803 (Here's one of your faves! Yeah, I like to write characters really in love. Aizen is a challenge to write being wicked but really in love. Still, it's very entertaining!), Kyuumihaira (Aizen and friends to the rescue!), Aizenfan6969 (Yeah, being surrounded by demons is crazy freak and too scary!), Kamelcake (Okay, here you go!), Picklez80 (ROFL, you're so cute!), Periwinkle (You mean, it wasn't already scary? I had nightmares about demons...), Sariniste (Yeah, Aizen's 'DGAF' attitude and Kisuke's attempts to get him to cooperate make some funny moments. And when the fights begin, look out. Those two will be vicious), Cody Zik (Oh, the demons have plans. Luckily, Aizen his his own plans too!), SlytherinQueen020 (Gotcha covered! And more is coming too!), ShariBerry89 (Sousuke's on the way!), Winterheart2000 (Yup, and I will keep the chapters coming along!), Beaker (That's the plan!), TehWonderer (Sousuke will be there soon and will learn quickly that Ichigo is in major trouble!), MissLittleNeko (I will make a point to update this more. Thanks for the request!), Clio1111 (Yikes! The very idea of messing with Aizen's face would be instant death, I think!), Cerulean Twin (Thanks for reading!), and Enjali (Here's that update!) Enjoy the new chapter!)
Ichigo felt some sort of disturbance around him, but found himself unable to move and trapped in an odd state of semi-consciousness. As he spun in confusion and disorientation, the door to his suite opened and the king and queen entered the room and moved to his bedside.
"Are you sure we should do this?" Miyah asked the king, "It is risky, and you know it."
Tatsuo looked down at Ichigo's immobilized body and touched his forehead to send him into a deeper sleep. As he breathed in the flickers of transcendent reiatsu around the sleeping heir, a decidedly hungry expression overtook his handsome face.
"You know that we both sensed what may well be Aizen's reiatsu."
"It could have been a mistake," Miyah offered.
"But if it is not, we will need to speed things up to compensate. Even as well concealed as our allies are, we need the power we will gain by devouring the sentient soul of the heir he carries and using that to convince the king's prism of our legitimacy. If we do that, then there is nothing he can do. We will gain the full power of the souls within the prism and we will be invincible!"
"But if we damage the reiatsu he carries, it will never reach sentience, and there is no going back," Miyah warned him, "Speeding up the maturation will put strain on Ichigo's body and the baby's reiatsu. We could lose one or both, and then we are left unable to amend the situation unless we can overcome Aizen Sousuke and force them to mate again."
"And if we wait, he may arrive and come at us out of nowhere. With the element of surprise, he could be extremely dangerous," Tatsuo argued, "Best we mature the reiatsu more quickly and have our own surprise for him, if it turns out he did survive. We can use the maturation spell over four days to lessen the chance of complications."
"I suppose we have no choice," the queen sighed, leaning over Ichigo and setting a protective barrier in place.
Tatsuo waited as the barrier rose, then sat down at Ichigo's side and laid his hands on the sleeping man's abdomen. A dangerous looking flow of red power seeped slowly out of his hands and into Ichigo's bared belly, gradually wrapping itself around the lovely golden cluster inside him and pulsating hypnotically. King and queen looked on with perilously voracious eyes as their infused power slowly matured the soul and brought it closer to sentience.
As they worked, Ichigo broke into a sweat and shifted in his sleep, soft moans of discomfort escaping his lips. And although it normally would have awakened him, he was held forcibly, just beneath consciousness, and locked in tormenting dreams. He quivered under the king's hands, and finally, Miyah touched the monarch's arm warningly to stop him. With an effort, Tatsuo lessened the flow of power, gradually ending the infusion and leaving Ichigo sleeping more deeply.
"We will need to keep him from being too active during the four days, as this process places pressure on the spirit chamber that holds the child," Tatsuo commented.
The queen nodded and stood as the king removed the barrier around Ichigo.
"Miki," the queen intoned.
The door to the chamber opened and the attendant entered the room and bowed respectfully.
"You majesties?"
He looked past the two to where Ichigo laid, sleeping in the bed. Alarm rose in his eyes at the sheen of sweat on his skin and the discomfited expression he wore.
"Is he all right?" the attendant asked quickly.
The king and queen exchanged glances.
"Ichigo has a fever and seems a bit unwell," the queen said in a kind voice, "You have done a good job taking care if him since his arrival and we just want you to continue doing that. Let him rest and when he wakes, encourage him to take it easy for the next few days."
"But what is wrong with him? He seemed fine before!" Miki objected.
"His body is under stress from carrying the royal heir," Tatsuo explained, "It makes him more susceptible to illness, so you will have to continue to take very good care of him. Make sure he eats well and gets plenty of rest and fluids."
"I think he would like it if you went and made some tea for when he wakes," suggested the queen.
"Yes, your majesty," the attendant said, turning and flash stepping away.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Okay," Kisuke sighed, looking at the palace blueprint in front of him, "let's go over this one last time to make sure we all know what we're doing."
The others nodded briefly in assent.
"Byakuya, you'll be staying here, either in your family archive or within the king's archive, to look for information useful to us in handling the demons, and in case things go haywire and we have to make a fast escape. Yoruichi will stay out of sight and reconnoiter for us. Check in with me frequently and let me know if you learn anything useful."
"Right," the cat woman affirmed.
"Rukia, your only mission here is to protect Orihime," Kisuke said sternly, "If our suspicions are correct, then any number of people here have been infected with demon reiatsu or are possessed by the demons. Orihime's reject power might be able to save some of them, but at the same time, if she gets infected, then we are going to be in a world of trouble."
"You mean, we won't be able to expel the demon reiatsu?" Tetsuya asked.
"We can," Kisuke explained, "It's just that the process takes a while and while we're sitting there purging the demon reiatsu, the person might be transforming more quickly. Our chances are the best using Orihime, so don't let anything happen to her."
"I won't," Rukia promised.
"Use Tetsuya's waterforms to stay out of sight and be ready to move on our order."
"We'll be ready," Orihime said firmly.
"Renji and Tetsuya, you guys are going to be with Sousuke and me. We're going to move around the palace. Sousuke will find Ichigo, while the three of us work on getting a picture of just how many demons we're dealing with. Are there just a few, strategically positioned, or have they taken over the guards as well? We won't know the situation until we get in there, so be damned careful."
"We will," Tetsuya and Renji promised.
The group paused and Tetsuya invoked his shikai, making their bodies fade into almost invisible, watery replicas.
"My waterforms are very hard to see," Tetsuya explained to them, "Just avoid direct light as much as possible. If the form is hit forcefully enough to be damaged, it will shatter and return you here, but be cautious, because if you are hit twice in quick succession before the form can send you back, you will be injured. If you are captured, you can will the waterform to break so that you can escape to this point."
"That's a pretty handy feature," Kisuke said appreciatively.
"It has saved my life a number of times," Tetsuya agreed, "One final thing, if there is an emergency and you need to do so, you can bring others here with you by willing the waterform to carry you. But you must be in physical contact to bring the person with you."
"Everybody remember that we really, really don't want anyone to know we've broken in, so keep the use of your powers to a minimum to avoid detection," Kisuke advised them.
"You do know that the ones responsible for bringing Ichigo will be expecting this," Aizen said quietly as he and Kisuke watched the others disperse to attend to their duties.
"Yeah, I figure," the shopkeeper agreed, "But if they're unsure about whether or not you survived the attack on you in the living world, then we want to take any advantage we can get."
"Of course," Aizen replied, leading as the group moved to the archive door that would take them into the King's Library.
Kisuke stopped them at the door and took a steadying breath.
"Okay, we don't know what will be on the other side of that door. I was able to sense that no one is currently in the archive, so they won't see the door opening. Once we're in, don't forget that we need to stick to the shadows. Don't lose your partners and don't get caught."
"Yeah, that would be bad," Renji said under his breath.
"Oh, I don't know," Tetsuya whispered, smirking, "You would make an attractive demon, Renji."
"Very funny," the redhead whispered back.
"Well," said Kisuke, "I guess we're at the moment of truth. If you are who you say you are, Sousuke, then that door should open for you and we should be able to accompany you into the palace."
"What happens if it's bullshit?" Renji inquired, "Nothing's going to jump out and blast us, right?"
"I don't think so," Kisuke chuckled, "but you never know."
Renji tugged on Tetsuya's arm, bringing him back a step as Aizen extended a hand and touched the door. The group watched closely for a breathless moment, then exhaled in relief as the door opened and they stepped into the vast expanse of the King's Library.
"Wow..." Renji mused, staring as Tetsuya examined the huge trove of texts and artifacts with widened blue eyes, "This is really amazing!"
"The Kuchiki family archive is just a small extension of his majesty's archive," Byakuya explained, "While our family catalogs the history of Soul Society, the holdings of this place span the entirety of our worlds."
"This is where we're going to find what we need in the way of information about the demons that I suspect have infiltrated the palace," Kisuke explained.
"I will get to work finding the necessary references for our efforts," Byakuya said, moving away from the group.
"I'll make sure nothing sneaks up on him," Yoruichi offered, "If he finds anything you need to know, I'll relay it to you. Rukia and Orihime will stay with me until you need them."
Aizen led the rest of the group towards the archive doors that opened into the corridors of the palace, pausing as he reached them.
"Remember to stick to the shadows, everyone," Kisuke reminded them, "These waterforms are great, but they're not foolproof."
The group moved silently into the corridor outside the archive, clinging to the edges of the walkway and avoiding the areas closest to the lighting.
"I am sure there will be guard posts," Tetsuya said softly, moving forward, "I should be able to sense them ahead of time. The blueprints didn't show it, but I have read that the royal palace has a network of inner corridors. If we can seclude ourselves in one of the rooms, we may be able to find an access point."
Tetsuya led them down the corridor, his senses extended and his sapphire eyes scanning the area. They passed several locked doors, then reached an intersection. Tetsuya moved out ahead of the group and examined their options, then led them along the passage to the left, where the group was able to find an unlocked door that led into a lavishly decorated sitting room. They closed the door behind them and the four searched the walls carefully, but found no entry point into the internal passageway.
"Well, that's a pain," Renji sighed, "Are you sure there is a passageway?"
Tetsuya nodded and tapped very softly on the wall.
"You see?" he whispered, "We just have to find a place to get into it."
"Easier said that done," Renji commented dryly.
"Maybe not," Kisuke said, gazing at the wall with a determined expression.
"What do you have in mind?" Aizen asked.
"Hmmm," the shopkeeper mused, "Tetsuya, if we make a small opening, do you think that you can use your power to get us in there?"
"I believe so," the noble answered, "A more advanced application of my waterform allows me to compress the water to a thin stream. I can get through and set normal forms to bring all of you through as well."
"Sounds like a plan," Kisuke agreed, positioning himself at the wall and taking out a small, sharp implement he used to drill a little hole in the lower section of the wall.
The others watched as Tetsuya's waterform shimmered and slowly stretched, thinning so that he could slip through the opening and seep into the internal corridor. Once inside, he let the waterform revert to the natural shape of his slender body, and he swiftly set three more forms.
On the other side of the wall, Kisuke made a soft sound of warning as footsteps sounded in the hallway, then someone began to open the door. The three waterform-cloaked men, started to duck behind furniture in the corners of the room, then inhaled in surprise as their bodies shimmered and they became momentarily disoriented by the shift to the waterforms Tetsuya had set within the hidden passage.
"Whew!" Renji huffed, "That was too damned close."
"Thanks for the assist, Tetsuya," Kisuke said appreciatively.
The shopkeeper moved back to the wall and bent to peek through the hole he had made. He watched as a male attendant laid out a tea service on the low table in front of the sofa, then exited the room. A moment later, two men entered the room.
The first, Kisuke recognized instantly as the king, while the second was unfamiliar, but seemed to be a house guard.
"Sousuke, does that guy with the king look familiar to you?" Kisuke asked.
Aizen peered through the hole for a moment, then gave the shopkeeper a silent nod. He is a queen's guardsman. He is the one who attacked me and took Ichigo. I caught his name as I walked in on them. He is Hisoka Hiromasa."
The other three stiffened in reaction.
"Then, he's a demon?" Tetsuya whispered?"
"Yeah. Creepy how normal he looks, huh? Now you guys can see the trouble we're going to have. You see, there are different levels of possession. One occurs when a demon forces himself into a soul and takes over. Another is when a soul is infected with demon reiatsu and gradually becomes corrupted. In the first case, it takes force to get the demon to release the soul, and a lot of times, they destroy the soul on the way out."
"So, you have to...what, hold them down and have someone force the demon out?"
"Yeah," Kisuke confirmed, "But for the infection type, it takes a power like Orihime's to free the person. If the demons have infiltrated, we're likely to run into both types here."
"And how do we know one type from the other?" Renji asked.
Kisuke sighed.
"It's tough. Sometimes, they might tell you. Otherwise, it's trial and error, as far as treatment."
"But if you simply kill them, then there is no need to ask questions," Aizen asserted.
Kisuke gave him a dark look.
"Hey, I know that you don't really give a damn about other people, but you know, we really don't want to draw attention to ourselves. It's better to avoid the demons if we can and incapacitate and heal the others quietly."
"I don't think that excising a demon will be a quiet procedure," Aizen commented.
"So, we knock them out and fix them later. We didn't come here to kill everyone, all right?"
Aizen nodded.
"We came for Ichigo. And anyone who tries to prevent me from doing that will pay with his or her life."
"Damn, I don't like you," Kisuke muttered, "Just, try not to get the rest of us killed, all right? We are the ones helping you to rescue Ichigo."
"Yes," Aizen said, smirking, "I will remember that."
Kisuke rolled his eyes and shook his head in annoyance.
"All right, here's where we need to separate," he went on. Tetsuya and Renji, why don't you go that way and Sousuke will take the north passage there. I'll take the east passage. Look into the rooms. Try to map things out a little. And if you see Ichigo, do not attempt contact until you inform us so we can make plans to get him out. Remember, the point is to do this quietly and not get ourselves killed."
"Got it," Renji said, following Tetsuya into their assigned passage, "Reconnoiter, map, don't get caught and killed."
"That's it," Kisuke said, turning into his own passage.
He sighed worriedly and glanced in the direction Aizen had gone.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
XXXXXXXXXX
Ichigo groaned in his sleep, his stomach lurching warningly as he came awake.
"Ugh..."
He slid a hand down to rub his riled stomach and stiffened as he encountered a pronounced bump below his navel.
"Whoa!" he gasped, "What the hell?"
The door opened and Miki entered the room, carrying a tea tray. He watched sympathetically as the ginger-haired man made a sound of discomfort and abandoned the bed to run into the bathroom. He set the tea tray down and walked to the bathroom, where he waited until the sounds of illness stopped, then stepped inside to get a glass of water for the young man within.
"Are you all right, sir?" the youth asked.
Ichigo accepted the water gratefully.
"Thanks...but no, I'm not so good," he complained, "Is my stomach supposed to be doing this? I mean, the baby was just recently conceived. I thought it would be a while before there was a bump like that."
Miki studied the bump on his abdomen and gave him a confused look.
"It is pretty big for just being conceived. I don't know why that is. I will get the royal healer, if you'd like, sir."
"It's all right," Miyah said, appearing in the bathroom doorway, "You don't need to worry. We were planning to tell you when you woke up."
"Tell me what?" Ichigo asked, "What's going on?"
"Your child is developing at an accelerated rate," the queen explained, "The healer had to speed the process because your body isn't handling the gestation well. You were unconscious, so we couldn't ask you what you wanted. We acted as we felt was best for you and the child."
"S-so, how much faster is this going?" Ichigo asked shakily, "How soon will I have the baby?"
The queen smiled gently and took Ichigo's hands in hers.
"You will give birth in about a week," she informed him.
Ichigo paled.
"A week?" he repeated dizzily.
"Ichigo, are you all right?" the queen asked in a concerned tone.
She and Miki gasped in dismay as Ichigo swayed and started to collapse. Miki dashed forward and captured him before he could fall.
"I've got you!" he said breathlessly.
He looked back at the queen in askance.
"Put him back in bed and do not leave his side for a moment," the queen ordered him, "He will be all right, but he needs to be watched carefully."
"I understand," the attendant said, lifting the unconscious man, "I will take good care of him, your majesty!"
"Yes," the queen answered, turning away and smiling, "I know you will."