Chapter 12: Lost Knights

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**Warning: There is a little spoiler related to Ywach's fate and bits of the aftermath of the war, stuff related to the soul king, that is revealed in the new Japanese language book, We Do Knot Always Love You.**

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(Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, also for your patience while the site fixed the problem with your reviews showing up. The problem's fixed now, so onward! My gratitude to Picklez80 (You are most welcome!), Winterheart2000 (More is here and even more is on the way!), Jess0409 (Oh my! :0 I guess I'll have to make sure there's plenty to enjoy. Glad you love the story!), Aizenfan6969 (I will keep things moving, no worries! The muse is strong with this one.), Wildwind13 (Ah yes, Aizen will reveal his interest in Tetsuya, but even he doesn't have the whole truth yet. That will be another adventure!), PrivateCaller (Here you go!), Yukino76 (Yeah, that's going to be a hard one for Tetsuya, but Aizen will make no bones about what he sees.), Enjali (Yeah, being immortal sounds great in theory, but it's got some weight. and for Tetsuya, it means being with Aizen forever...), Sariniste (Oh yes, Tetsuya is not pleased at all and will be more than happy to express that, but Aizen has some insights that will keep him from making too brash a move. Byakuya and Ichigo will continue to be in a bit of a haze. They have a ways to go healing-wise, but life doesn't want to wait for them to catch up!) and Tiffany91 (Ah, Tetsuya will come face to face with someone he knows in a future chapter, but under interesting circumstances!) Enjoy the new chapter! Love, Spunky)

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"What have you done to me?" Tetsuya demanded, his fingers shaking as he touched the hougyoku embedded in his chest, "Why? Why would you do this, Aizen Sousuke? Why? Why me?"

Aizen gazed back at the shocked noble, considering his words carefully.

"I did not do anything to you," he said finally, "except try to kill you while I was mistakenly thinking that you were Byakuya."

"Damn you!" Tetsuya cried, forgetting his nakedness and lunging at the elder man, "You're lying to me! Of course you did this! Who else would have done it? What I want to know is why?"

Aizen braced his hands on Tetsuya's upper arms, holding him barely away and glaring into his enraged eyes.

"Tell me," Aizen said in a calm, collected tone, "what do you know of the hougyoku, Tetsuya? What have you heard about its powers?"

"What does that matter? And why do you need to ask me anything? If you want something from me, won't you just take it, like you did from my cousin? I saw the condition that Byakuya-sama was in. You hurt him. You could have destroyed him!"

"I wouldn't have destroyed him," Aizen assured him, "The information he was providing me with is extremely important. I only decided to kill him when your group refused to surrender."

"The information he was providing? The information about me?" Tetsuya demanded angrily, "I told you, I am nobody! I don't know why you would go to so much trouble to bring me here and do this to me. I wouldn't even have been made clan leader if you hadn't abducted my cousin! Why are you so interested in me? I've never done anything to you. I don't even know you, beyond knowing what a monster you are. I wasn't involved in either of the wars, except in the capacity of protecting the family while Byakuya-sama was away. But you lured me here and…"

"I saw you in a vision, Tetsuya."

"In a vision? What vision?" Tetsuya exclaimed, "I don't know what you are talking about!"

"Oh, I think you do," Aizen said, glaring down into Tetsuya's eyes and backing him up to the examination table, "When I said the word, vision, I saw the instant reaction in your expression, Tetsuya. You have seen something also…something you don't understand, so you wish to put it aside and deny it. Tell me, what visions did you see?"

Tetsuya started to speak, only to be stopped by Aizen's warm fingertip touching his lips in a gesture of warning.

"Don't bother denying it. Even if you don't admit it, I know, Tetsuya. I had the visions too…the ones of the first soul king and his blue-eyed creation, Hajime."

Tetsuya drew in a hissing breath, making Aizen's eyes grow almost frighteningly aroused.

"You have also seen these visions," he persisted, curving a hand around Tetsuya's cheek as the noble blushed and tried to look away, "Tell me what you saw."

"I don't feel very comfortable being undressed and with you standing so close to me, demanding things," Tetsuya objected, his heart pounding as Aizen's face moved closer to his.

"Of course," Aizen answered smoothly, still holding a palm to Tetsuya's flushed cheek while reaching over with his other hand to take a clean, white yukata from a peg on the wall and hand it to the flustered young man.

Tetsuya pulled the garment around his slim body and tied it at the waist, then waited silently, avoiding Aizen's imposing gaze.

"You will have to pardon me," the traitor said appreciatively, "You have me dreadfully curious. I have a scientific mind and you are an oddity that has captured my attention in a way little else has."

"I am well acquainted with the behavior of wicked scientists and their inhumane actions," Tetsuya said darkly.

"Yes, I believe you are," the elder man acknowledged, "Don't worry. I have no intention of hurting you, Tetsuya. At very least, you know I won't kill you. You are now an immortal, as I am…made so by the hougyoku."

"I don't feel very reassured. And I didn't ask to be made immortal. I didn't ask for any of this. I was happy with the way things were."

"Were you?" Aizen asked pointedly, "Remember, I have seen your past, Tetsuya. I know all about how you spent your childhood locked up in a cold, filthy cell, what horrid things they did to you there, although I am sure there are things about your days there that you have not even told your precious cousin."

"Yes," Tetsuya admitted, unsure why he made the confession, "we all have secrets, don't we? He knew enough, and he helped me to grow beyond Itamigiri."

"Yes, he did," Aizen agreed, "And you have matured into a lovely, talented young man…the pride of the Kuchiki family, ne? Or…have they not fully embraced you, even as you have become the image of what a good noble boy should be?"

Tetsuya flinched slightly at the barb, but only glared back at him.

"You have learned to be like them, as Byakuya carefully taught you to be so that you would be grudgingly accepted, even allowed to lead them, but you know that many of them would happily see you locked back in a cell and forgotten, don't you, Tetsuya? For no better reason than the content of your blood and the ability of your body to carry children, they would do this to you!"

Tetsuya's heart skipped painfully at the words and he turned his head away as Aizen's lips moved to where they gently touched his earlobe.

"You are not one of them, though you have learned to play the part. You have been walking among them and trying to be like them all of your life, but yours is a feral soul, Tetsuya, isn't it?"

"What would you know about my soul?" Tetsuya asked, his voice catching, "Even with what you stole from my cousin's mind, you couldn't begin to understand me…and I can't say I know why you would waste the time. I told you, I am no one."

"I understand your soul more completely than your cousin or anyone else ever has," Aizen whispered, his heated breath making the skin along the side of Tetsuya's pale throat flush, "You were locked up because you were different, hated because you were different. You were tortured, raped and treated like an animal, Tetsuya, because you have always been different! You were never one of them. From the beginning, you were an exceptional soul. And that is why when I struck at you, thinking you were Byakuya, when I intended to kill, the hougyoku read our desires…and instead of allowing you to die, it raised you. It marked you and prepared you to stand as my equal. At that moment, your life as Kuchiki Tetsuya, ended."

"But it hasn't ended, I am standing here alive, though I know I should have been blown to pieces."

"Oh, you were, I assure you," Aizen said, smirking, "It is just that the hougyoku put the pieces back together and left you lying at my feet. I must say, I underestimated your resilience. You regenerated quickly, considering the power I used to destroy you. I can't help but appreciate how easily you shrugged off my killing power."

"Because the hougyoku made me immortal. It doesn't mean I am different," Tetsuya argued, "Who knows why that thing chose me. It doesn't make me different. It just destroys me in a different way."

"Yes," Aizen agreed, "you understand, don't you? You know that you can't go back to them now. As much as you could hide yourself among them as a false shinigami, you cannot keep that lie going as a full-fledged immortal. You would frighten them to death, Tetsuya."

Tetsuya stared back at him wordlessly.

"You know that if you left here and went back, it wouldn't be long before they realized that your reiatsu doesn't feel the same. As much as you might be able to conceal the orb at first, eventually, they would realize that something was wrong. And somehow, someone would discover just what. And as soon as they knew, they would vilify you. They would find a way to call you a criminal…because Central 46 doesn't like anomalies. They don't allow those who are different and more powerful than them to just exist among them. What Central 46 cannot control, they kill or they imprison. If you think that Itamigiri was a vision of hell, then why don't you imagine being locked up in Muken!"

Tetsuya stiffened and inhaled in surprise and horror as Aizen's glaring eyes caused quick flashes of the traitor's memory to play themselves out across his terrified mind.

"You were a criminal!" Tetsuya managed, his body shaking hard at just the thought.

"And you are a threat," Aizen breathed, closing his eyes and enjoying the younger man's closeness, "In all of the time that you spent with Byakuya, you must have learned how Central 46 responds to just the threat of chaos. You can't go back. You can, of course, try. I won't stop you…although, now that we share these orbs, there is no more distance. There is nowhere you can go where I cannot find you…no place you can be hidden from me. Maybe that frightens you right now, but you will learn to embrace it. You are never alone anymore, Tetsuya…and neither am I."

Tetsuya's face paled and took on a tortured expression.

"I understand how this must feel," Aizen went on, "I understand because there was a time when I, too, did not realize that I was not a normal shinigami. I was exceptional, and because of this, my family was murdered by Central 46. They tried to kill me as well, but my powers allowed me to escape them."

"What are you talking about?" Tetsuya asked, looking confused, "I was Byakuya-sama's bodyguard and I was given everything on you that the taichous of the Gotei 13 received. Your history doesn't mention anything about your family being murdered. It doesn't mention your family at all!"

"It only says identity, status and location unknown. Isn't that right, Tetsuya?" Aizen said sternly, "You know it isn't because they didn't exist, but because they were erased! And that is what Central 46 is going to want to do to you. My question to you, Tetsuya, is are you going to let them?"

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Ichigo felt soft, cool fingers tracing the lines of his face and breathed in the calming, familiar sakura scent of his lover.

I want to open my eyes, but I'm afraid it won't be real. Everything around me since the war was a lie. I was happy being surrounded by those lies, because I didn't know they weren't real. I let that bastard, Aizen, take Byakuya's place in my mind, in my body…in my heart. How could that happen? How could I let it happen?

He felt tears escaping his still-closed eyes, then the touch of Byakuya's fingers as they brushed the offending moisture away.

"Don't cry, anata," Byakuya whispered in his ear, "We are safe now. We are home. The people you love are all here. Will you open your eyes?"

"I don't know if I can," Ichigo whispered in a shaky voice, "I don't want you to go away again."

"I am not going anywhere. I promise you."

"That's not what I mean," Ichigo answered, sniffing softly as fresh tears threatened, "I don't want to forget you again. I remember thinking that Aizen was my lover. It was like he took your place in my head. I didn't know what was happening at the time, but I do know now. I remember him kissing me, touching me, making love to me. And I let him do that while you were his prisoner and he was hurting you!"

"It wasn't your fault," Byakuya assured him, kissing him gently, "None of it was your fault. He trapped you in his illusions. He took advantage of your condition that made you more vulnerable to him. There was nothing you could have done. He could have done the same to me or to anyone else."

"But he hurt you, Byakuya! Are you all right now?"

"I am fine. Open your eyes and look for yourself."

Biting anxiously at his lips, Ichigo forced his eyes open. A moment later, a hard sob escaped him as he took in his lover's paler, thinner body, the weary look about him and the softer, more shattered look behind his usually stern grey eyes.

"Oh my god, Byakuya!" he managed, grabbing and hugging Byakuya tightly, "What did he do to you? What did he do? He hurt you! He really, really hurt you!"

"I did a great deal of damage to myself," Byakuya insisted, "I was trying to escape…to find you and get you away from him. I nearly did, several times. Sousuke…Aizen was not pleased with that. He was just expressing that to me. But he did not kill me. I was injured, yes, but I am healing just as you will."

"It's my fault," Ichigo sobbed harder, "You came looking for me, didn't you?"

"Ichigo, what are you saying?"

"After Ywach died, you came down from the royal realm. You rushed down here, looking for me! I know you did!"

"Would you not have come back for me?" Byakuya asked, shaking his head, "Ichigo, we had just learned that we were going to have a child."

"But he wouldn't have hurt you if you hadn't come! He wanted to take just me. He didn't need you."

"You are saying that I should have let him take you and our baby, Ichigo?" Byakuya asked in a wounded tone, "I could not ever do that and live with myself. It is difficult enough to stomach having failed to protect you, then to fail again at saving you. You…you in your condition. You had to free me. And it was Tetsuya who saved us both. It was Tetsuya, Rukia, Renji and your friends from the living world. In the end, I did nothing but hand over huge amounts of information that Aizen will probably find a way to use against us."

Byakuya gave a shuddering sigh and rested his face against Ichigo's damp cheek.

"I think that the only good that came from Tetsuya's sacrifice is that it will protect him from whatever plan Aizen was hatching that involved him."

"Aizen was making plans to capture Tetsuya?" Ichigo asked, shivering and snuggling closer to Byakuya.

"I am not completely sure. He probed my mind for every detail I knew about my cousin. I think that his sudden interest in Tetsuya was what took his concentration off of you. You were upset that he was seeming distant with you."

"Please don't talk about that," Ichigo pleaded softly, "It makes me sick to think I was sad about him neglecting me. That I actually missed having him…"

"Shh," Byakuya soothed him, nuzzling his cheek and kissing him tenderly, "I know it torments you that he took advantage of you."

"I feel sick when I think about it," Ichigo said, quivering and placing a hand on his swollen belly, "I just wish I didn't have to remember it. I wanna go back and scream at him to stop. I want to fight back like you did when he tied you up and hurt you. At least you fought him. I just…"

"No," Byakuya said firmly, "You did not give in to him. He used his illusions to overcome your will. What he could not have taken honorably, he stole from you. Do not ever blame yourself for that."

Ichigo swallowed hard and laced his fingers together with Byakuya's.

"Unohana-san said before that if you knew a person really well, Aizen's power could be seen through. I should have seen through it."

"You did see through it," Byakuya said firmly, "When he made me over into Hajime, using his bankai, we both were able to break through. We just needed each other to do that. He did not let me near you for most of the time we were his prisoners."

"Yeah," Ichigo admitted uneasily, "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am," Byakuya said, smirking very slightly, "So, I do not want you blaming yourself anymore."

"I'll try not to…if you don't blame yourself for what happened with you."

"That is wholly different," Byakuya said more softly.

"Oh yeah? How?" Ichigo asked, a measure of calm returning to his voice.

"I knew what he was doing to you. I knew that you needed me. But, try as I might, I failed, again and again to reach you. All of my strength was not enough and none of my plans worked. I am a military officer with nearly fifty years of experience leading one of the 13 divisions. Yet, nothing I learned in all of those years about strategy, escape or resistance made any difference. Aizen imprisoned me and took you away from me."

"He took you away from me too," Ichigo interjected softly, "Byakuya, he raped my body and he raped your mind. But…the minute we were together, we found a way."

"You mean, you found a way."

"No," Ichigo said, shaking his head firmly, "I wouldn't have had any opening if you and I hadn't finally broken his power over us together. We overcame his power. We finally got out of there and back to the people we love. Tetsuya sacrificed his life to make sure that we got away. None of us should be feeling bad about our role. We all did everything we could."

Byakuya nodded wordlessly, starting to curl up against Ichigo's side, but stiffened as a tapping sounded on the door to their guest room, then the door opened to admit Rukia and a worried looked noble elder.

"Nori!" Byakuya exclaimed, freeing himself from Ichigo and starting to sit up.

"No," the old man said, holding up a hand, "Lie down, my boy. Don't try to get up. I know you have been through something terrible. I am…glad you have returned…although the price has been high."

Byakuya glanced at Rukia.

"No one else knows?" he asked.

"No," Rukia assured him, "I did exactly as you said. I made sure that Nori was the only one to see me, and I brought him here without anyone knowing."

"Good," Byakuya said in a relieved tone, "I am not ready to return to the Seireitei yet, but I know that we have to do something about the fact that Tetsuya's death was sensed. Nori, has the council taken action on this?"

"We have enacted general council control until the situation is more clear," Nori reported, "We did sense Tetsuya's death, but no one has sensed your return as of yet."

"This needs to be handled carefully," Byakuya said thoughtfully, "I am not in a proper state for an appearance before the council, but something must be said before disagreements break out between the subfamilies."

"I can handle all of that," Nori assured him, "But first things first. Are you all right, my boy? Urahara-san assures me that he has been able to heal you, but he did say that…"

"He probably told you that the limiters I was subjected to and the continuous use of heavy kido to restrain me has caused damage to my spirit centers. It is healing and I will make a full recovery, but…"

"But it wouldn't be good to show any weakness," Nori acknowledged.

"Weakness?" Ichigo said disbelievingly, "Byakuya's not weak! Anybody else who…"

"Easy…easy, young man," Nori said bracingly, "I was not insulting Byakuya's strength. I know that what you're saying is true."

"He only means that I must appear strong, even if I do not feel that way. It is for the good of the clan. If I show weakness, it will invite speculation that I am not up to leading."

"I don't believe this!" Ichigo snapped, "They should be damned glad that Byakuya came back alive!"

"They will be, my boy," Nori said quickly, "That is why I am here. And if you will just be a little bit patient with an old man, I will help you both. Now…"

Nori paused and smiled as he looked down at Ichigo's swollen abdomen.

"I will need to verify the paternity of the child."

Byakuya nodded and placed a warm palm on Ichigo's belly. He focused briefly as Nori's hand came to rest over his, then he nodded approvingly.

"With a child on the way and marriage to a powerful partner like Kurosaki Ichigo…"

"Whoa! Wait! What's this about marriage?" Ichigo demanded, "Who says we're getting married?"

Nori exchanged glances with Byakuya.

"A child born out of wedlock will not be approved as a Kuchiki heir," Byakuya explained, "You do not have to marry me, of course, but if we do not marry, then…"

"I get it. You still have no heir."

"But I will still have a son," Byakuya assured him, "We are only talking about choices here, Ichigo. You do not have to marry me if it is not in your heart."

"So, what happens to our kid if we don't get married?" Ichigo asked.

Byakuya sighed.

"I will be allowed to acknowledge him, but I cannot raise him at Kuchiki Manor," the noble explained, "The boy would stay with your family. Perhaps you might find that more…desirable, given your general disapproval of the ways of the clans."

Unless I decide to reveal my connection to the Shiba family.

Ichigo shook his head dismissively.

"Look, I love you, Byakuya. And loving you means that I'm not going to pretend that you're not a Kuchiki or a leader. You are who you are, and that's who I fell in love with. I will marry you. I just…you know, it's so soon after Aizen…"

Byakuya nodded in understanding.

"Given that we have a confirmed heir on the way, the consummation rule is not applicable. We do not even have to have a ceremony. Nori brought paperwork for us to sign now so that our child's rights are upheld, and we can have a ceremony later, when we are ready."

"Okay," Ichigo answered, his voice shaking, "It's fine. Whatever we need to do."

"You are sure that you want this?" Byakuya asked, squeezing his hand, "It is not easy being a member of a noble clan. You have told me often enough how little you approve of them."

"Yeah, well…"

Nori shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat softly.

"Byakuya, Ichigo," he said solemnly, "There is something that you both need to know, and it may affect what you feel about this."

"What is it?" asked Byakuya, frowning, "What has happened?"

Nori sighed anxiously.

"It's about the official account of the end of the war…the one that Central 46 has forwarded to Kyouraku soutaichou and to the heads of the noble families. I…don't imagine that Tetsuya was able to pass this on to you, so it falls to me to explain."

"I don't get it," Ichigo said, looking confused, "They killed the king and Renji, Aizen and I killed Ywach."

Nori shook his head.

"No?" Ichigo said, looking at Byakuya, "But that's the truth. You mean, they're lying to everyone about what happened?"

"Please try to understand," Nori said unhappily, "None of us likes this, but imagine if the commoners learned that the king was dead and that our worlds almost ended."

"You just tell them you seated a new king and…"

"I'm afraid that is not the way it happened," Nori explained, "You see, it was decided that since Ywach is a fallen enemy who caused great damage, and because, even dead, he emits huge amounts of spiritual pressure, that squad zero would make his corpse act as the new soul king and nothing would be said about the old king dying."

"What?" Ichigo gasped, paling, "They're just…lying to everyone?"

"Central 46 fears panic if it gets out that our forces failed and the soul king died," Nori went on, "My boy, I happen to agree that it is awful, but Central 46 didn't want panic to break out. They feel that…the populace just needs to be reassured. You killed Ywach. You are a hero to everyone."

"This also means that Central 46 will be forced to drop any inquiry into your role in the soul king's death, Ichigo," Byakuya informed him.

"You know about that?" Ichigo asked, "How…?"

"Squad Zero sensed it and they swore all of us going back to secrecy," Rukia explained, "They did it to protect you in case Central 46 might want to have an investigation. They know you were forced to do it…that you wanted to protect the king."

"I see," Ichigo said in a troubled tone.

"I know it is little comfort," Byakuya said quietly, "but events will be recorded truthfully in my clan leader diary. Only clan leaders who follow me will have access to that information."

"Okay," Ichigo said uneasily, "I guess I don't really have anything to do with all of that. If you think it's best, Byakuya, I won't say anything different. I just…I wanna go on with things. I wanna just…forget about the war. All I want is to focus on you and our baby."

Byakuya nodded.

"I feel the same."

"Then," Nori said, producing the papers from within his clothing, "if you will sign the papers, I will return to the council and get things started settling them. I will tell them that you are with the bearer of your child and that you will be here several days. Hopefully, your reiatsu will be at a more normal level by then."

Nori waited as Byakuya signed the papers, then handed them to Ichigo.

"I feel bad," he chuckled half-heartedly, "I didn't get you a wedding gift."

"You are all the gifts I need," Byakuya said, wrapping his arms around Ichigo and holding him tightly, "I love you. I am…grateful that we can have a life together with our son now. I only wish that it had not come at the cost of losing Tetsuya."

"Yeah," Ichigo said sadly, "me too."