Release

Pairing: Aizen x Ichigo

Warning: None Rating: T

The silence, the lack of feeling, even from his own body, the darkness. Time crawled by…or perhaps it blazed by, there was really no way of telling. Even his sense of proportion would fluctuate, the dark space around him wrapping him tightly like a cocoon or expanding into a universe of space, hollow and empty with himself as the ant sized centerpiece.

He really wondered if he would go insane, or maybe he already had. Of course, the shinigami that had thrown him in this place considered him crazy to begin with.

Ichigo Kurosaki was in front of him. Aizen almost didn't bother to raise his head, but even though he met the boy's eyes, he didn't bother try to speak. The problem with losing sanity while you have the ability to create illusions around you meant that creating entire realities out of nothingness could happen without you even trying. At first, Aizen had tried to entertain himself with them, but as he began to lose control and focus, it only pointed out how truly hopeless his situation currently was. Currently, of course, because it wasn't like he had given up hope. If nothing else, he'd wait it out. For all he knew, it had already been a couple thousand years.

"No one else wants to do this, but it's what needs to happen," Ichigo said.

Aizen said nothing.

"We need your help," Ichigo continued.

Aizen blinked. "You look different. I wonder why."

"I'm older. Also…I've been through a couple of changes…"

"Hmmm," Aizen said non-committedly. "It would certainly be better if you were naked."

"Gah, what?" Ichigo sputtered.

"I mean, why not?" Aizen questioned. "It would certainly be more entertaining." Aizen paused. "Why aren't you naked again?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Ichigo asked. "What the hell has happened to you?"

Ichigo was closer now. Aizen was bound in a way that he couldn't sense spiritual pressure, but he could smell Ichigo now.

"Is it possible…that you are actually here?" Aizen wondered.

"Of course I…damn it, Aizen, are you insane already? It hasn't even been two years."

"I sincerely hope that isn't true. It has already been a lifetime at least, surely," Aizen said.

"I'm here," Ichigo got closer to Aizen and cautiously put out a hand to his shoulder.

Warm. On my shoulder. Of course, it's not like I can't fake that too, Aizen considered. "Fine, it doesn't matter to me whether you actually exist or not. What was it you wanted?"

"Damn it, stop being weird. The whole Soul Society is going to fall and…"

"Don't care. Try something else," Aizen said coolly.

"Hueco Mundo has also been taken over by…"

"It was a lackluster place anyways," Aizen replied.

"The balance of the living and the dead…"

"Do you have anything interesting to say, or did you come to bore me?"

Ichigo's eye twitched. He grabbed Aizen's prison uniform by the collar. "Look here, asshole, I'm going to free you, and in return you're going to help me."

"You?" Aizen asked.

"Look, the whole world…"

"Ok," Aizen agreed. "I'll help you. Just you though."

"You…will?" Ichigo paused for only a moment. "Good, because I'm not supposed to be here and I'm pretty sure they're going to try and kill me in a couple of minutes."

He took a device from his pocket and began hooking up black wires to the various straps that bound Aizen.

"What are you doing?" Aizen questioned.

Ichigo hit a button and the straps released.

Aizen immediately felt the rush of spiritual pressure build up in his body again. He looked at his now free hands, flexing them with a frown on his face. Finally, he looked up at Ichigo.

"Do you believe me now?" Ichigo asked him.

"I…"

There was silence for a moment.

"Why would you help me anyways?" Ichigo brought up. "I mean, it's my fault…" He trailed off.

"Urahara's fault, you mean," Aizen said. "I've always liked you."

"Oh yeah, so that's why you kept trying to kill me. And what was with the whole, 'I'm going to eat you' thing?"

Ichigo gasped as Aizen dissolved in front of him. He quickly grabbed at his zanpakuto, only to have his hand restrained.

"Impetuous, as always," Aizen chided him. "What a foolish thing to do, to let me free…assuming…"

"You still don't believe this is real?" Ichigo struggled against Aizen's grasp.

"What were you thinking in the last moments of our fight?" Aizen asked, still behind Ichigo.

"I…felt like you and I were a lot more similar than I would like to believe. I…felt like I understood you, at least partially," Ichigo answered.

"Is that a real answer?"

"You really have cracked, haven't you?" Ichigo relaxed his grip.

"Not enough to let you go," Aizen said.

"Well then, if there is a possibility of this being real, why not help me."

"For a price."

"I've already paid the price. I've freed you. I've condemned myself by doing that," Ichigo replied.

"Or…we could take over a couple of worlds for the hell of it," Aizen told him.

Ichigo didn't have anything to say to that.

"Regardless of whether or not this is real, I will help you, and I won't let anyone hurt you. But freeing me wasn't the price I'm asking for," Aizen continued.

"Please tell me this doesn't have to do with your weird obsession about me being naked."

"Mm, maybe. I guess you'll have to chance it," Aizen said with a low laugh.

He finally released Ichigo.

Ichigo whirled around, putting some distance between the two of them, but not drawing his weapon.

"What if I give you a choice?" Aizen suggested. "Being eaten by me, or something more…"

Alarms were going off. They had been for some time, but Ichigo had tuned them out, knowing that at this point there was no way of stopping them. But now, he could feel people approaching.

"Let's have this discussion another time," Aizen said with a small smile.

"No killing people," Ichigo warned.

"I thought that's why you released me."

"No killing certain people," Ichigo clarified.

"Make sure to point out the right ones then. It means your soul, so you might as well get what you want."

"My…what? Look, Aizen..."

"Let's go," Aizen said, his back towards Ichigo. "And call me Sosuke."