Chapter 25: The White Consort

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I walked toward my fate with purpose. Of course I would miss what was left behind, but I walked away willingly. Set free, I approached the crossing point, the Garden of Life, the place where heaven begins. Your voice stopped me as I stepped onto the bridge, and with surprised eyes and an enraged heart, I began to fall…

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Aizen Sousuke slowed as he reached the beginning of the path to the palace and found it lined with Royal Guardsmen. They stood, silent and staring, their faces impassive as he walked by them. And he gathered from the feel of the reiatsu around him that many had their doubts about him acting as their king. Most would not have the initiative or power to be a threat, but he prepared himself for the possibility of unrest and resolved to head it off quickly. Whatever their feelings, the guardsmen stood ready, and they turned as he and the ones following him passed. They climbed the palace steps and stopped as he was met by Royal Guard taichou, Kuchiki Ginrei and Norite (mounted guard) taichou, Saito Ryota. Both men bowed and then met his eyes with deep seriousness.

"Welcome Prince Aizen," said Kuchiki Ginrei, "The Royal Guard and Norite stand ready to serve…"

He looked as though he would have said more, but his eye stopped as it took in the sight of his grandson's broken zanpakutou. His lips tightened and he swallowed and lowered his eyes, but he said nothing.

"Kuchiki Ginrei," Aizen said quietly, "I would speak with you alone in the King's Garden regarding Byakuya. I see that you are aware of his death. I have vowed to return him to life and seek your council in finding the way to do so."

"Why?" Ginrei asked softly, "Why would you do that?"

"What do you mean?" asked Aizen, "You do not wish for your grandson to return to you alive?"

The old noble let out a slow breath and raised his eyes to meet Aizen's.

"Byakuya chose to yield himself to destroy Diablo and to place you on the throne. His death was an honorable one and his soul is at peace. Why would you be so arrogant as to tamper with his free will?"

"I am to be made king," said Aizen, narrowing his eyes, "Byakuya's life is mine to save or to let go of. And if I ask for your help, I hope you do not plan to resist the request."

The noble's eyes darkened slightly, but he nodded briefly.

"If that is your wish," he said, his eyes just this side of glaring.

"It is," said Aizen, "Now, I will need an introduction to the castle."

"Of course, my lord, "said Ginrei, turning, "I will show you around the palace and then we will meet with the former king's advisors."

He bowed his head in greeting to the others who stood slightly behind Aizen, offering Yoruichi a small smile.

"Greetings, Ginrei dono," Yoruichi said, nodding, "It is good to see you again."

Ginrei's eyes strayed over the others.

"This is an unusual group you travel with. I assume these hollows are…comrades?"

Yoruichi nodded.

"They protected Byakuya-san while he was in Hueco Mundo and they assisted in his mission."

Ginrei nodded to Nel and Grimmjow.

"Then, you have my gratitude," he said softly.

He led the group into the palace and spent the next hour escorting them around, before sending servants to take Yoruichi and the others to their rooms, and leading Aizen to the King's Council meeting chambers.

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Byakuya woke next to find himself in a stunningly beautiful garden. Filled with light and flowers, it soothed his sudden uncertainty as he faced what happened next. He stood and looked around, but saw no one else in the garden with him. He then found himself on a quiet trail that led through a grove of sakura trees and along to a small footbridge. As he reached the footbridge, he heard voices on the other side. He looked across and saw the familiar faces of family and friends who had passed over before him. They smiled at him from the place across the bridge and called his name.

He couldn't help but smile at seeing them again and he was pleased that in death he was, as he had always hoped, able to join them. He felt a twinge of regret at leaving his other loved ones behind, but was comforted by the fact that they would meet again. With contentment in his heart, he stepped onto the bridge and began to make his crossing. As he reached the midpoint, he felt something rise up and block his path.

"What is this?" he whispered softly, "Why is the pathway blocked?"

He looked up and found himself staring into Aizen Sousuke's eyes.

"S-sousuke?" he breathed uncertainly.

"I still have a claim on your fate," said his lover, "You may not to cross until I allow it."

"What do you mean?" the noble said, frowning, "It is my fate to choose. I chose to die…to save you. I am at peace with that decision. You need not concern yourself with me anymore."

Aizen's frown deepened.

"Do you mean to say that you do not love me? You do not wish to return to me?" he asked in a disapproving voice, "You want to leave me?"

Byakuya let out an annoyed breath.

"Of course not," he said, his voice growing strident, "but I judged it better to lose my life to defend yours. Sometimes, that is just how it is. You have to accept another person's right to make choices of his free will. To step in and simply assert your will over mine is…is…something only an arrogant fool like you would do! You aren't just a shinigami seeking to be king anymore. You are king and you must allow your subjects to make their choices and live…or die as fate decrees. It is the way of things."

Aizen placed his hands on the noble's shoulders and glared down into his eyes, freezing him in place. Byakuya's eyes went wide with shock as Aizen's words reached him.

"It is not my way!"

Byakuya felt the ground disappear beneath his feet, and as he was left too breathless to cry out, he began to fall.

"It is just like you to do something like this…you cocky bastard! You have no idea what you are doing, do you?" Byakuya thought as he fell.

"Hush now," said Aizen's voice in his whirling mind, "I am going to bring you back…"

"You don't even know how! I could end up a brainless vegetable or worse, a hollow! Stop this!"

"Your king just told you to be quiet and cooperate. I swore a vow to bring you back, and I will find a way."

"Arrogant fool!"

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"The council recognizes Crown Prince Aizen Sousuke," said Head Councilor Nori, "Prince Sousuke, his majesty, the late King Yoshiaki, may he rest in peace, left instructions that when you reached the spirit dimension, you were to be greeted and immediately crowned. We will see to your coronation tomorrow in the King's Garden."

He paused and studied Aizen for a moment before going on.

"I think you will understand that many among the ones here do not share the king's confidence in you. His majesty hoped that you would work closely with this council to oversee the…"

"You can stop right there, Councilor," Aizen said calmly, "I can tell you now that no such thing will happen. I will, of course, seek advice on how best to gain the trust of my people, but this group is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Wh-what do you mean, my lord?" asked Nori.

"This is what I mean," said the prince, moving closer to the head councilor, "You do not approve of me. However, you were completely devoted to my father and you are willing to assist me in learning to act successfully as king. You may stay."

He moved to the next councilor.

"You, Councilor Arata, cannot stand the sight of me. You are here under protest, because you worried about losing the king's favor. Your larger concern is not about me…or your former lord's desires. You seek power. You shall find none here. Go."

He moved on, leaving Arata staring.

"Councilor Fumio," he went on, "You served my father well, but you did not agree with him when it came to me. You never opposed him openly, but you would oppose me. You may leave, or I will kill you."

He turned to the next councilor.

"Councilor Akira, you may have your differences about some things with the former king, but he had your unfailing loyalty, and you have resolved to do your best to advise me well. You may stay. And Kuchiki Ginrei and Saito Ryota, you may also stay. The rest of you are excused."

"Excused?" hissed Arata, standing and placing his hands on the table, "You cannot simply excuse us! We were placed in these positions by the king! The rightful king, who you could not hold a candle to, you piece of hollow world trash! You have made a roomful of powerful enemies who will…"

A roar sounded in the room and raw, white power struck Arata, throwing him back against the wall and then burning his body away to nothing. Aizen watched him disappear, then turned back to the white-faced council members.

"Let me make something clear to all of you. I see through you. When I received the imprints of my father and Kuchiki Hajime from the King's Prism, I also gained crucial information. My father did his best to leave things well for me, and he left it to me to use the knowledge of the advisors as I see fit. This council meeting was a test…to make certain I could sniff out my enemies, and to make sure that those of you who might be dangerous would be weeded out. Now, I have asked some of you to leave. I suggest you do so swiftly."

The ousted councilors rose quickly and left, their discontented voices rising up again as they moved out of the room. Aizen watched them leave, then turned to the men who were left behind.

"Now then," he said quietly, "I cannot promise that I will do everything you say, but I do understand the need to mend fences and to build pathways. Kuchiki Ginrei, I should like you to be my personal advisor."

"B-but, I am already Royal Guard taichou," objected the noble, "I couldn't possibly…"

"Of course you can…and you will. I have to admit, you are one of the few men that I wager will not stab me in the back. Sadly, you are in the minority right now. But I think that you and I can change that. People respect you. And you are Byakuya's grandfather. If I have your support, it will go a long way. So…you will be my personal advisor."

Ginrei cleared his throat softly and ignored the stares of the other councilors.

"Of course, my lord," he answered quietly.

"Very well, then," Aizen went on, "This council is dismissed until after the coronation. Kuchiki Ginrei, I will need you in the King's Garden to consult about restoring my soul bonded."

"Y-yes, Prince Aizen," Ginrei said, his eyes flaring softly.

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"Are you sure that you know what you are doing?" asked Ginrei, "As much as I want my grandson to return, I must caution you on your heedlessness in this! Byakuya as you know him, may not be retrievable. You may summon some part of him back using the form you plan to construct and taking the reiatsu from Senbonzakura, but the small amount of reiatsu is not likely to be enough. Please consider what you are doing. I do not wish to resist his majesty's will, however…"

"I understand," said Aizen, "My ways are different than what you know. So you resist out of a sense of duty. But you know in your heart that you want Byakuya to return. I can sense it, so do not deny it."

"I do not deny the temptation, but you need to consider the consequences, my lord. You may make things worse. He could become lodged between worlds. He could be too damaged to be cognizant. He might not remember us. So many perils are associated with this…"

"Yes, I am aware," Aizen said, stepping out of the throne room and into the garden, "But I made a vow to seek his return. And I am going to do that."

Ginrei shook his head and sighed.

"I have done my best to give my lord wise advice, but I will not accept fault if his majesty's pig-headedness leads him to ruin!" he said, turning on his heel and striding out of the garden.

"Like grandfather, like grandson," Aizen mused, smirking.

He spent the next several hours gathering materials. He walked through the grove of sakura trees, studying each carefully. This one, he judged to be a bit too tall, that one too bent and another not proud enough. But finally, he caught sight of one at the edge of the grove with a sturdy, slender trunk, unblemished bark, a proud demeanor and graceful looking, uplifted limbs. Quietly, he began to shape it with touches of his bare hands and intense will. The sakura tree trembled several times as he worked, and a few times, he had to step back to view from different angles, but when he finished, he found himself pleased with the lovely frame crafted in the shape of his lover's bones.

He gathered thousands of sakura petals and carried them and the frame to the edge of the healing pool. He placed his hands in the water and began to remove handfuls of wet earth, which he spread over the sakura frame, then fused the two together with his reiatsu, working the thick mud until it hardened and firmed into cartilage, veins and other body tissues. He infused these with water from the pool, which thickened and darkened into blood. He laid soft petals over the body then, and left to visit the herds of spirit steeds to gather silken hairs from their manes. He added the hair and carefully worked with it until it fell just the way he remembered, then trimmed the strands to the proper lengths. He spent several hours on reaching the right shadings of color for the pale skin, and even longer finding just the right textures for the fingernails and toenails, the sensuous lips and long eyelashes. Evening had come by the time he finished the body, and he laid it down carefully in the healing pool, then climbed in and knelt next to it. He let the crafted body sink beneath the surface and ran his hands over it repeatedly, infusing it with his reiatsu and fashioning the noble's carefully placed spirit centers. Gradually, the body gained cohesiveness and began to look more real. Aizen poured in more power and watched until the body lay, looking just as Byakuya had, much like an angel, floating beneath the surface of the water and looking up into the sky through sightless gray eyes. Aizen sighed wearily and gazed down at the body, smiling contentedly.

The last steps he took were the most crucial. First, he picked up the broken Senbonzakura and sheathed it in the body's midsection, then, watching the noble's face carefully, he focused on the blade and forced out the small, remaining portion of Byakuya's reiatsu that remained within the blade. As the blade crumbled and disappeared, he used his own reiatsu to provide stability to the incomplete reiatsu and left the body in the pool while he returned to his room and slept. When he came into the garden again, he checked the reiatsu and found it to be weak, but functional. And as there was nothing more he could think to do, he knelt in the water and lifted the prepared body into his arms. He smiled at the fact that the weight felt right, the textures and shadings seemed perfect and the body even gave off that same lovely sakura scent. He kissed the noble's cold lips, then opened Byakuya's mouth and breathed life force into him. He pulled away again as the body in his arms shuddered and twitched softly. The eyes blinked several times and slowly cleared. The heart beneath Aizen's hand began to beat and the shinigami's chest rose and fell steadily.

"Byakuya," Aizen said quietly, "Byakuya, wake up."

The wide, gray eyes focused on his and remained locked there as Aizen's arm wrapped around him and lifted him gently so that he was sitting up in the healing pool. Byakuya let his eyes stray away from Aizen's, and ran them slowly around the garden, studying everything closely. He looked down at, and gently touched his body, then his eyes returned to Aizen's and held them silently.

"Byakuya, do you know who I am?" Aizen asked, placing a gentle hand on his face.

Byakuya blinked and gazed at him silently.

"Byakuya, can you speak?"

The noble shivered under his hands and shook his head.

"But you understand?"

The noble nodded.

"Do you know who I am?" Aizen asked again.

Byakuya nodded.

"Do you remember what happened to you in the temple?"

The noble shook his head.

"Do you remember anything from before waking here with me?"

Byakuya thought for several minutes, then shook his head.

Aizen let out a frustrated breath, then gave the noble a fleeting smile.

"It will be all right, Byakuya. I am sure things will come back to you," he assured the noble.

But he heard again, the regimen of Ginrei's voiced doubts and wondered if he had been wrong.

But even if I was wrong, I do owe him. So, I will not abandon him now that he needs me.

He took Byakuya's hand and led him out of the water, then gently dried him off and wrapped a yukata around him, tying it at the waist, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him several times. Though the noble seemed almost too yielding and he longed to feel resistant hands pushing at him, he shoved the thoughts out of his mind and smiled at Byakuya.

"Come, we need to rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I am being crowned king…and you and I are going to be married. Byakuya, do you have any objections to marrying me?"

The noble gazed at him thoughtfully and shook his head.

"I know that you have a long way to go yet in your recovery, but…when we soul bonded, you did say that after our mission together, you would belong to me. I am eager to begin our future together as soon as possible."

Byakuya said nothing, but only met his gaze quietly and followed without complaint as Aizen led him into the palace. The prince guided the noble to his bedroom, carefully concealing them from all eyes. They walked inside the bedroom and Aizen closed the door behind them. He motioned towards the bed and Byakuya slipped in beneath the covers. Aizen climbed in next to him and pulled him close. He studied the noble's calm face and kissed him several times, noting again the unusually docile nature of Byakuya's new incarnation. He let his fingers trace the lines of Byakuya's face and smiled at him.

"You seem very comfortable with me kissing you," he noted, "But I must ask you…do you desire me or are you just being passive?"

A tentative hand rose and touched his face, and soft pale lips sought his for several more slow, deep kisses. Despite his concerns about the noble's loss of memory and change in personality, he consoled himself with the genuine emotion in Byakuya's eyes and touches. He met the dark gray eyes affectionately.

"Tomorrow, you will meet some family and friends. I will speak to them beforehand so that you will not be startled by their reactions. Perhaps seeing them again will help you remember something."

He sighed softly.

"I must ask you one more question. Byakuya, after our wedding tomorrow, I will want to take you sexually. Do you have any objection to this?"

He found the flush that rose on the noble's cheeks alluring, but couldn't help feeling somewhat sad at the uncertain look in his soul bonded's eyes and the hesitance, even as he indicated his willingness.

I will be patient with him. After all, he did tell me he loved me before. That can't have been lost entirely. Tomorrow then…when we make love. He will remember something. I know he will…

But the uncertainty remained, even as he drifted off to sleep.