The Challenge – Chap. 21
A/N: To those of you who thought Aizen was OOC in the last chapter (and probably in this one) please remember that you are not seeing his POV, and that he is a marvelous actor. ;)
I would like to extend an invitation to any of you to join the Aizen x Orihime fanclub on Bleach Asylum: "The Gods of Bleach." We talk about this pairing and Bleach in general over there, and we always welcome new members who find this pairing intriguing.
(Originally posted 7/3/12.)
XxXxXxX
Aizen sat at the breakfast table, the opened missive from Yamamoto lying at his elbow. His chin rested on his knuckles as he gazed out over the view of Karakura Town, a contemplative expression on his face. Orihime had just left the table and gone to the bathroom. Ulquiorra emerged from the kitchen and began clearing the dishes, lifting them carefully from the elegant white linen tablecloth.
Aizen's eyes focused on his Espada and his lips curled slightly. "Ulquiorra," he said in an undertone, "you do know what to do when you show Orihime the protective devices, right?"
Green eyes met brown. "Yes, sir. I will allow her to believe they have been disengaged." The former Espada's face was expressionless.
A smile crossed Aizen's face and his eyes lidded with satisfaction.
"Of course I would not leave you unprotected that way, my lord."
Aizen leaned back in his chair, studying Ulquiorra with gratification. "Excellent. I'm pleased that I can count on you to have my best interests at heart." He paused and tilted his head. "I suppose I can also count on you to be careful in the words you speak to Orihime on the subject of my plans or other issues?" The question hung in the air as Aizen's eyes fixed on Ulquiorra.
"Of course, sir. Is there any particular impression you would like me to leave with her?"
Aizen waved a dismissive hand. "Your best judgment will suffice, as always."
Ulquiorra nodded and picked up another dish, balancing it on top of the ones he already held. As he turned to go, Aizen continued, "I have further orders for you, Ulquiorra. Contact Szayel and the others and inform them they are to execute plan 'Gamma Two.'"
"Gamma Two," repeated Ulquiorra. "At once, sir." He disappeared into the kitchen.
Aizen continued gazing out the window. After a moment, he picked up a brush and began rapidly inking a series of kanji on a sheet of parchment, the lines appearing in his elegant calligraphy as his hand moved effortlessly across the page.
By the time Orihime returned to the breakfast table, Aizen was handing Ulquiorra a crisp white envelope. "See that this is delivered to Yamamoto." In an aside to Orihime, he remarked, "We shall accept the envoy." His eyes rested on Orihime's wide grey ones. "You shall see your friend here tomorrow morning."
XxXxXxX
Rukia perched on the top of a streetlamp in downtown Karakura, ignoring the early morning rush hour traffic crawling below her. She looked up and down the height of the skyscraper that was Aizen's stronghold in the world of the living and frowned. Aizen had certainly established a secure and powerful base here in Karakura, one that had been unknown to Soul Society until he had been imprisoned and a number of his clandestine operations had come to light.
She supposed part of the reason soutaichou was sending her to negotiate with the former fifth division captain was her inability to be intimidated by wealth. For many years, she had been well-trained by a platoon of etiquette experts, tutors, and very proper maiden Kuchiki aunts on how to behave as the scion of a noble family ought to. It had taken decades, but eventually she knew she could pass as a proper Kuchiki—at least on the outside.
She well remembered how awestruck and tongue-tied she had been when first adopted into the Kuchiki family. Even though she had prided herself on her ability to survive anywhere and her refusal to let anyone intimidate her, it had been difficult for a Rukongai peasant, upon first encountering seemingly limitless wealth and power, to react with as much aplomb as she would have preferred. She remembered it all too well, those early months as a Kuchiki, attempting to thread her way through the subtle digs and freezing glances of all those relatives… and more often than not, failing.
She shook her head angrily. There was no time for reminiscences. She had a mission to complete, as well as her own agenda to accomplish.
It was expected that Aizen would use whatever psychological advantages he might have in order to intimidate and outmaneuver a negotiator from Soul Society. Her job was to stick to the program. Aizen's putative wealth meant nothing to the Kuchiki family, whose almost limitless wealth dwarfed all human accumulations. As such, she could be trusted to remain neutral in the face of any of Aizen's dominance games.
Soutaichou had been clear that she was not expected to outsmart that bastard Aizen. They would have sent Urahara if that had been necessary. No, she was merely there to convey Soul Society's terms in a way that would hopefully win Aizen's agreement.
Soutaichou had been quite specific in his instructions for her regarding the rather simple strategy tree she had to memorize. She was not expected to improvise. He had also been very clear that Inoue Orihime was definitely to be considered a traitor and was not to be trusted; it was assumed that she was unquestionably on Aizen's side, and whether she had been coerced into that position or had willingly taken it up, Rukia was not to allow her feelings of friendship to get in the way of her mission.
Rukia had nodded and acknowledged soutaichou's orders professionally. She was enough of a Kuchiki to appreciate the value of appearances.
But internally, it was a different story. Rukia was convinced that her friend was not a traitor. She knew all too well how someone like Aizen could manipulate someone with a pure heart such as Orihime, and she was quite certain that Orihime would never willingly ally herself with a criminal such as Aizen. Of course, soutaichou would never believe that… so, she had had to take matters into her own hands.
She and Ichigo had come up with a secret plan to rescue Orihime, and to do it in such a way as not to endanger soutaichou's goals.
She hoped.
She looked around her at the busy downtown streets of Karakura Town. As usual, she was in shinigami form in her lieutenant's uniform; none of the humans around her could see her.
The clock across the way began to strike the hour. It was time.
Rapidly, she levitated up into the sky, up, up, past ten, twenty, thirty stories to Aizen's penthouse suite. A quick kidou spell and she was perched on the windowsill, checking rapidly for security systems and guarding spells. All was as agreed, and the window opened before her.
Inside, facing the window, sitting on a brocaded white couch, sat Aizen, looking relaxed and superior. Beside him, her grey eyes wide, her expression unreadable, sat Orihime. They were both wearing the white robes of their Las Noches uniforms. Rukia's eyes were drawn to their clasped hands, Aizen's long fingers holding Orihime's loosely but with clear possessiveness. Rukia's lips twitched with annoyance. Aizen had set up a tableau for her, and the message was clear.
Aizen was flouting his independence from Soul Society, and placing Orihime clearly as his ally (or subordinate) rather than his prisoner. Aizen's reiatsu was tightly furled, giving nothing away; whether he still retained transcendent powers or was back to 'merely' twice the captain level of reiatsu, Rukia did not know. She shifted her eyes to her auburn-haired friend but did not allow warmth to show on her face; her friendship with Orihime was something else Aizen could use against her. Rukia could sense Orihime's fairies hovering around her, waiting. So Aizen had allowed her her powers, at least for this encounter.
Rukia's eyes lifted to see a slender, black-haired Espada standing in the background, his powerful reiatsu partially raised. She recognized him from her briefings as Ulquiorra Cifer, the Fourth Espada. One of Aizen's most loyal followers.
Were there any others around? She had known she would be going into danger. Aizen was far more powerful than she was and could likely kill her simply by raising his spiritual pressure. Soutaichou had briefed her that Aizen's powers had been sealed, not destroyed, and that he was likely to have broken the seal by now. Orihime's presence might or might not be a deterrent. If there were others of Aizen's army waiting, that would only make any potential conflict even more one-sided.
She swallowed and raised her chin. She was not afraid.
XxXxXxX
Orihime sensed her friend's arrival before Rukia made one of her trademark window appearances, and then the shinigami was standing in front of her, her face blank and hard. Orihime cringed inwardly as she saw the girl's violet eyes go immediately to the hand Aizen held clasped so casually in his own. Aizen had explained to her beforehand how Orihime was to cooperate with body language as well as with her words, and, even though part of her was ashamed at her weakness, she had acquiesced to all of his arrangements.
Inside, she sighed. Her secret hope had been that Rukia would understand what was going on and would not treat her as a traitor. But she could see in Rukia's eyes that her friend had not forgiven her, and her heart plummeted.
She was truly alone.
Aizen had risen, courteously, to greet Rukia, drawing Orihime along with him.
"Greetings, Kuchiki-fukutaichou," he said with immaculate politeness. "Thank you for coming."
"Good day, Aizen-san, Inoue-san," she returned formally as she bowed at precisely the correct angle.
Orihime flushed bright red and bobbed her head, feeling awkward. "Kuchiki-dono," she murmured.
"Would you like to join us for some tea?" Aizen inquired, gesturing to the antique silver tea set laid out on an intricately embossed silver tray on the teak coffee table.
Rukia hesitated, and then her training took over. "Uh, yes; thank you very much." Rukia settled herself in the armchair Aizen indicated. She locked eyes with the traitor captain, her mouth a hard line. Under her scrutiny, Aizen's lips quirked into a subtle smile, as though amused by her sternness.
"It has been a while since we met as other than enemies, my dear Rukia," he murmured as he poured tea into a delicate cup and handed it to her.
Rukia's eyes narrowed. Diplomacy be damned. "Cut the crap, Aizen! The last time we met," she spat through tight lips, "you ordered me killed! I'm only alive because Nii-sama was willing to sacrifice his life for me."
Aizen leaned back, his face placid despite her outburst. "And indeed," he pointed out, "that action I forced him into led to a significant amelioration in the relationship between the two of you." He took a sip of his tea and met her eyes calmly.
Rukia's chest heaved. Damn him! Less than thirty seconds into the negotiation and he already had her on the defensive. Calm. She had to be calm. She gritted her teeth. "Don't you dare say that you planned all that, you bastard," she hissed.
Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Really… for a negotiator to call her opposite number a bastard before even beginning the discussion?" He shook his head slowly. "Not what I would have expected of a Kuchiki."
Rukia clenched her teeth. Orihime was looking between the two of them in distress as Rukia fought to get her anger under control. Deep breaths. That was it. Deep breaths. She remembered all too well that she had been told that Aizen's specialty was provocation. And yet, she had fallen right into his trap.
"Aizen-san," Orihime interrupted, her voice thin and anxious, "it is understandable that Rukia would be upset that you tried to kill her."
The brown-haired shinigami half-turned to face her on the couch. "My dear Orihime," he responded, squeezing her hand. "You are of course right; it did appear that way." He looked back at Rukia. "Please understand that I never wished for you to die, and accept my apologies for making it appear that I was threatening your life." His voice was gentle and devoid of any mockery. A brilliant actor as always.
Rukia glared at him but bit her lip. Orihime's interruption to the conversation had given her a chance to get herself back under control. "Very well," she said stiffly. "Apology accepted. Now we should get back to the matter at hand." Her voice sounded harsh even in her ears, but Aizen acknowledged her apology with a gracious nod, and she had to stop herself from drawing her zanpakutou then and there at his false graciousness. The lying bastard. He had somehow managed to get the negotiations started off with her clearly at a disadvantage.
She gritted her teeth again. Well, that didn't matter. She needed to communicate soutaichou's offer to Aizen and get out of there with his answer. She took another deep breath. "Aizen." She'd be damned if she gave him the least bit of respect after all this. "I'm here with an offer from soutaichou that could be very much to your advantage."
"Indeed," murmured Aizen, still relaxed and amused at her discomfiture. "No doubt an advantage will also devolve to soutaichou as well?"
Rukia sat very straight. "Captain-Commander Yamamoto is offering you amnesty, Aizen—you and all your allies." She glanced at Orihime, still sitting wide-eyed and frozen at the brown-haired shinigami's side. She felt a sudden surge of anger. Why was Orihime sitting so docilely at the side of this madman? She should be fighting back with all her strength! Then she swallowed her rage. She didn't know what Aizen had done to the girl.
The man placed his cup very gently back on the delicate saucer. His deep brown eyes met Rukia's. "And what price will soutaichou extract for this forgiveness?" His voice was soft and neutral, but surely he was burning inside with curiosity.
Rukia narrowed her eyes and decided to draw out the moment. Let the bastard wait for his answer. At the moment, she felt it might even be better for Soul Society to go down in flames than to sit here one moment more with this traitor and criminal. Her hand twitched at the hilt of Sode no Shirayuki.
Aizen merely waited, showing no sign of impatience, his eyes on hers, polite and inquiring. Beside him, Orihime stirred restlessly.
Finally Rukia said, "Soutaichou proposes an alliance against the Vandenreich. They have attacked your stronghold as well. We have intelligence about the Vandenreich incursion into Hueco Mundo that you might find useful."
Aizen's eyes lit with interest. "Ah, so that is it." He smiled slyly. "My spies have told me that Seireitei is in flames and that hundreds of shinigami have died under the Sternritter attack." He ignored Orihime's shocked intake of breath.
Rukia shot a sidelong glance at the auburn-haired girl, who looked devastated. So Aizen had been keeping her in the dark as to recent events in Soul Society.
"Yes, if you agree to defend Soul Society, you would receive full amnesty," she said.
Aizen said in a pleasant, neutral tone, "Is it not too late to defend Soul Society? Based on my information, as of this morning, Seireitei is in ruins."
Rukia glared at him. "Seireitei is not merely its buildings. As long as soutaichou is alive and the Gotei 13 exists, Soul Society is alive. The captains have fallen back to a more easily defensible location, their military headquarters. We continue to operate from that location."
Aizen's eyes narrowed. "Very well. I am fully aware of the situation. Nevertheless, given the desperation of the Gotei 13 at this point, what am I to be offered for my assistance?"
Rukia repeated, "You and your allies would receive full amnesty."
"Is that it? Amnesty from a government that barely exists?" He gave her a cold smile. "It seems like poor recompense for my efforts."
"Soul Society has survived attacks like this before. It has stood for a thousand years and will stand for another thousand. We are not desperate," Rukia began, but Aizen's face had turned stony and he interrupted.
"Desperate enough that Yama-jii is willing to come crawling to a traitor." The last word dripped scorn, although the man's expression remained impassive. Rukia tried to gather her words. She could not appeal to this man's patriotism, nor ask him for help with preserving the balance of souls and thus the world. All that he would listen to would be his own self-interest.
"All allegations of treason would be expunged from your record—"
His voice was cold. "After sentencing me to prison for twenty thousand years under inhumane conditions, Yama-jii now expects me to come running back to the fold when he snaps his fingers? Do you know that I was kept in Muken under sensory deprivation for a year and a half?"
Rukia's blood ran cold. She had not known of the exact conditions of his sentence, but she was aware of this treatment that was given to those criminals deemed most dangerous to Soul Society and the balance of the worlds. She swallowed. She had seen the results of the treatment on other prisoners.
"I—" she began.
Aizen's eyes glinted, hard as diamonds. Rukia felt impaled upon their glare. "And all he has to offer me is amnesty?" His low, once-melodic voice was harsh and bitter. "I think not, Rukia Kuchiki."
Abruptly, he stood up. "If that is all you have to say, Kuchiki-fukutaichou, then my hospitality is at an end." He gathered Orihime's hand into his. "Come, Orihime. We'll let Soul Society's—emissary return unhindered."
Rukia gaped. That was it? He was flat-out refusing their offer? She cursed herself. It had gone too fast. She had really botched everything. That wasn't how the negotiation was supposed to go! Plus, it gave her no time to communicate with Orihime and try to rescue her…
"Wait!" she called to his retreating back. "I can offer more…" she said.
Aizen spun to face her, his eyes still furious. "Do not waste my time any further, Kuchiki-fukutaichou," he said coldly. "There is only one thing that soutaichou could offer me that would make me possibly even consider your pathetic attempt at a deal." His eyes narrowed. "He knows what it is. Is it on the table? Tell me his very best offer quickly, or get out now. I will not waste my time with petty back-and-forth."
Rukia bit her lip. She remembered what had been told her at the very end of the briefing.
"If Aizen will not agree to join us after you have offered him everything else… there is one last bargaining point we have." The Captain-Commander's face, body, and even his moustache seemed to sag. "But you must try everything else first!"
"I—" she faltered, panicked. It was too soon to make their final offer. "I don't know. I'll have to ask…" Her voice trailed off as Aizen's eyes bored into hers.
He knew she was lying.
Glaring at her, he turned away once more. "Go!" he called over his shoulder. "Go and do not disturb us anymore. In thirty seconds I will consider our truce ended."
Anguished, Rukia grasped the hilt of her sword. What should she do? "Wait!" she called again. When he turned, a storm cloud darkening his face, she said with a hint of belligerence in her voice, "Just let me say goodbye to my friend."
Orihime stepped forward, looking anxious. Aizen gave her one dark glance and then nodded curtly. "Very well," he said, turning away. "But make it quick."
Rukia locked eyes with Orihime, and then ran forward to hug her friend. "Orihime," she whispered as she drew back and clasped the redhead's hands in hers. She saw the girl's eyes widen as she slipped the tiny folded piece of paper into her palm, but she did not give away her surprise. Instead she flung her arms around Rukia and drew the petite shinigami to her bosom. They hugged for a moment as Aizen watched.
Then slowly, Rukia drew away, trying to convey everything she wanted to say to Orihime in her eyes. She saw that the girl's eyes were bright with tears, and she gave the teenager a reassuring smile, even as her own mind was whirling. What could she do now?
"Ten seconds," Aizen said without expression.
With a bound of shunpo, Rukia stood on the windowsill once more. She hesitated. Should she just leave and report the failure of her negotiation to soutaichou? Or should she keep trying to bargain, try to get Aizen talking again?
And… would Orihime be able to read the note and act on its contents?