Chapter 25: Taimu-Matsurotouei
"Kyouka Suigetsu," thought Aizen, "I hope this means that you have a serous suggestion…and do remember, I don't have time for a pep talk…He is about to attack me."
"I have a suggestion…but it is risky…and difficult. Still, I sense your level of emotion and I believe you can do this…"
"Then tell me…"
"Hai…Our ban kai…Sekentouei, world reflection reverses things in space, so as to cause a material reversal…like what you said, turning the secret door in a house of fun. But a level higher, we can bend another aspect of dimension…Listen carefully, and use this wisely, because it only works once in a battle and has very strict rules. You give the command Taimu-Matsurotouei, time-fate reflection and you will be granted a reversal of time. The amount of time you are put back is not going to be long, and it isn't constant…the volatile nature of the technique affects this. You will be a spectator going back, in your body, but not in control. While there, you can reverse fate by being a voice of inspiration in your own head."
"I can tell myself what to do?"
"Or what your opponent will do…useful if the battle goes ill."
"Which it looks to do," Aizen thought bleakly.
He gazed silently at the Hollow King as it started slowly across the room toward him.
"Remember," said the spirit, "The wraith was privy to all you knew during your former life…and this was of a level you did not aspire to, because you didn't feel it necessary."
"Ah…I think I see its necessity now."
"You will have one chance. If it does not work, then we are going to die."
"But…no pressure, ne?" Aizen sighed inwardly.
He watched as the Hollow King closed in on him and he couldn't help but see Tetsuya's body his face rested on one hand, almost as though sleeping. The Hollow King smiled down at him, its cruel eyes glinting.
"So, Aizen Sousuke," it said, stopping just out of sword's reach, "What say you? Are you a realist? Or are you an idealist like your dead friend there…Will you admit I am stronger and yield to my power without crossing swords or must you join this one in death? For I could use you as my Hollow Lord…or if not you, his cousin and his friend who wait, locked inside the prism…"
Aizen stared, his mind spinning and something breaking away and coming to the surface. He stared at Tetsuya, his mind remembering the proud stance, the determination, the devotion to his loved ones…dark blue eyes that reminded him of the surface of a placid lake, but roiled beneath with passion for life…something stirred in his heart and he felt Kyouka Suigetsu rise up in his mind. She screamed that his sudden plan was too reckless, too dangerous, but he lowered his eyes in determination and released the words with all of his heart.
For Tetsuya…for the ones who wait in the prism…for the three worlds…and for my king…
"Ban kai, Taimu-Matsurotouei, Kyouka Suigetsu."
As the enchantment took hold, he heard the spirit's soft voice one last time.
Everything rests upon this…
He felt an odd, pulling sensation and heard the Hollow King catch his breath.
"What are you about?" he hissed, "It won't work…"
The voice faded away and he felt himself wrenched free of the tower, free of Hueco Mundo, the three worlds…and time itself…
Everything spun madly through the darkness and he was plunged down into a black abyss. He wondered briefly if something had gone wrong. The spell was barely within his reach, volatile and desperately employed. And why had he done it now and this way? Was it really the best use of his power at the appropriate time? He found he had no answer to that, but that hope hummed in staccato heartbeats beneath his chest and it lit him with resolve. It was going to work. He would make it work.
The spinning slowed and settled and he found himself holding his weapon in hand and sending it down into the diary.
He blinked to clear his eyes and looked around. He knelt in a small white chamber that seemed to have no entries or exits. The diary still lay impaled beneath his sword. The wraith knelt across from him, gazing back at him with an amused look. Aizen Sousuke knew the expression well. Hadn't he worn it often enough while toying with his subordinates? So this was a game to the wraith?
"Why have we come to this place?" he asked softly.
The wraith smiled…his own snakelike smile, the one that always seemed to obscure something crucial…
"It is a much quieter place, ne? You may peruse your diary at will now. We have unlocked it and now you need only give the release command for your zanpakutou and your life will be revealed."
The snakelike smile widened.
"You do remember the release command for your zanpakutou, don't you?"
Aizen Sousuke threw everything into sending the thought into his still confused mind. He felt himself shudder and catch his breath…but then he went on as though he hadn't caught the thought.
I have to get myself to listen!
He watched as the wraith disappeared, taking a deep breath and sending thoughts into his mind as he struggled with the tasks. He was unsure whether and how much time he was saving. Everything seemed to move at a snail's pace. But he thought he was completing them more quickly this time. He became certain of it when Kyouka Suigetsu smiled at him and complimented him on the speed of his decisions…she hadn't done that before…but it was maddening, wondering…was it working…would it be enough time to change their fate?
He felt a tingling in his body and an odd wrenching as he began to meld with his other self. He wondered if something had gone wrong, if he had made an awful mistake and now the price would be paid by everyone he cared about…
"Let go now!" instructed Kyouka Suigetsu, "Your time is up and now you will move to the new fate as you have changed it. Be prepared. I do not know where we will end up or how this will play out."
He felt himself falling and held his breath as everything spun madly again and he caught up with his new fate. As he approached the moment of the beginning of his changed fate, he felt as though something took hold of him and sucked the breath out of him. There was one more harsh wrenching and the hiss of his breath as he landed…back in his body, planted in his new fate. He blinked and opened his eyes, his heart pounding as he turned toward the sound of the wraith's voice.
Was he too late?
Tetsuya's eyes closed in horror and then his head turned and they opened to look at Aizen Sousuke. Aizen's eyes met his in warning, then he turned away and froze in place as the wraith followed the path of Tetsuya's eyes and stroked his hair gently.
"It looks as though your Aizen Sousuke has not been swift enough in his deliberations. As I told you, he will not come in time to rescue you."
"He will come…" whispered Tetsuya, straining against the kido ropes that held him, "He will! And you will die!"
"No," said the wraith, narrowing his eyes, "Your Aizen Sousuke will die. The Spirit King is going to die…but you needn't worry, Tetsuya, you will live. And once you are reborn as my first Hollow Lord, the ones you love who still rest within the prism can join you in the ranks of the Hollow Lords if you wish it…or you may free them. I will indulge you if you would like that. As my lover and my first Hollow Lord, you will have many privileges."
Please don't let him…Aizen Sousuke, don't wait too long!
"Now…the reiatsu is somewhat unstable because of the fact I gathered it all at once, so there will be some pain. I will be gentle in taking you, however, because I am aware you are untouched…"
Tetsuya gasped as the claws slid down his body.
No…this can't be happening! This can't be…
"Relax," the wraith said, his clawed hand parting the noble's thighs, "We will move slowly…"
Tetsuya's eyes went wide as Aizen turned and came to his feet.
"You will not 'move' at all, wraith!" he hissed, "I know myself…and I know you. You would have had me believe you were born with me…that we walked together from beginning to end, but that's not true. I was sent to Soul Society to bring balance to the three worlds…and now I will honor that duty. It is as you said before, I did not kill the old king. He was killed because he took the life of a light-being…my life. And the evil should have ended there with him, but somehow you were pulled into the prism and you infected the Interim King and later Byakuya. Now you seek to use this innocent to build your evil kingdom, but you will have to get through me first. Just do not expect it to be easy. The king, himself prepared me to face you!"
The wraith pulled away from Tetsuya, who remained bound on the floor, with his body bared. The wraith eyed him for a moment, then leaned over him and kissed him on the mouth, watching Aizen's eyes flare with fury.
"What's wrong?" he said, running a claw down the nobles chest, over his abdomen and downward, "Are you jealous? Tell me, Aizen Sousuke, do you want to be his first? Give me a worthy fight…and when you lose, I will let you take him before me. Consider it a last gift…before you die!"
Aizen disappeared in a flash step and the wraith was suddenly hit with kido and forced back from the bound noble. Tetsuya gasped as the kido ropes shattered and Aizen pulled him to his feet. Watching the wraith warily, Aizen picked up the other's clothes and handed them to him.
"Go into the corner over there and I will raise a shield for you. Stay within the shield no matter what happens, do you understand, Tetsuya?"
The noble nodded silently and backed away, reaching down to recover his damaged zanpakutou as he went. Aizen backed across the room with him and when they reached the corner, raised a heavy kido shield around him. Tetsuya set his clothes back in place, then knelt with Re-kuhime across his thighs as Aizen gazed down at him for a moment and allowed himself a smile. Tetsuya's dark blue eyes met his with gratitude. His smile widened.
"Arigato, Aizen Sousuke. You saved my life yet again. I do not want to consider what would have happened had you not arrived when you did."
"Neither do I, Tetsuya," Aizen replied quietly, "I am sorry to have kept you waiting at all. Rest now and preserve your strength. You will need it for the journey home."
Tetsuya nodded briefly, then watched as Aizen stepped out into the center of the room and took a fighting with the wraith moving to take one opposite him.
Thank you for providing protection for him," sneered the wraith, "I wouldn't want any harm to come to the one who will bear the Hollow King!"
Aizen held his zanpakutou ready and gazed into the wraith's depthless, black eyes.
"There will be no hollow king…and when you die, the king's reiatsu will return to the prism, as will the Interim King," said Aizen, raising his spiritual pressure until it raged around him.
The wraith raised its spiritual pressure until the room shook with the power. The two combatants faced each other, waiting.
"Feel free to attack at will, Aizen Sousuke," hissed the wraith, "I do not fear one I have already once defeated. I forced the king to kill you, made you both die. I was the one who wanted there to be a King's Ritual, because I knew that was the only way to obtain a body…and a life of my own."
"You have no life of your own, foul one," Aizen said, flash stepping forward and slashing at him, "You only steal it from others…but you are not a life form…only a mist of corruption. But you will be blown away!"
Their swords crashed together, sending waves of power out around them. Inside the protection of the shield, Kuchiki Tetsuya knelt, breaking out in a sweat as heat and power from the battle leaked through the protective shield.
Kami, they're both so powerful! No wonder I was overwhelmed by that thing! And he only toyed with me while I fought my hardest!
"Be at ease, Master," said the soft, lovely voice of Re-kuhime, "You and I fought well enough to hold on until he came. We were never intended to take on that evil. It wasn't ours to fight."
But it may become ours, Re-kuhime. If the wraith gets the upper hand, having been rescued by him, it is my duty to return the favor.
"Just don't be so reckless that you forget your duty to the king. You have to protect yourself so that you can return the prism to the palace and release the king, your cousin and Abarai Renji," the spirit warned him.
I will be careful, he promised, but I will repay my debt to Aizen Sousuke if there is any way I can.
"Spoken like the truly honorable shinigami I know."
Tetsuya smiled warmly, noting the blade had begun to restore itself.
How are you doing for power? he asked her.
"I won't be at full strength for a day or two, but if you run into trouble, I will see what I can give you. We'll get through."
Hai, we'll get through…
His eyes locked on the battle happening outside the shield, Kuchiki Tetsuya waited…
XXXXXXXXXX
"You cannot defeat me, Aizen Sousuke," the wraith sneered, slashing at him, "Remember, I lived and breathed as a part of you. I have equal power and I can use your own attacks!"
The wraith suddenly disappeared into a sea of wraiths.
"Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu," Aizen countered, crushing the images and blocking a strike as the wraith closed in on him.
He knows and can use all of my attacks…and he has my same level of power…
"But remember that we have something he does not," the spirit in his sword said calmly.
True…but having it and using it effectively are two different things. If I use it at the wrong time, I will not be successful in killing him. I will only wound him…and after I am drawn into the prism, Kuchiki Tetsuya will meet with the same fate he did before I went back to change it.
"We will not let that happen. But we need to drive your sword into him before using it."
Aizen slashed, blocked, flash stepped and blocked again. He thought carefully and a memory from the diary…the wraith's comments about how hard Tetsuya fought….and the attack that actually knocked him off his feet. He smiled.
"Bakudo #61, Rikujokoro!"
The wraith raised his spirit energy as the six rods prison of light closed around him. The rods trembled, but held as Aizen lunged forward. Just as his weapon reached the wraith, it shattered the prison of light and flash stepped away. The two exchanged a flurry of blows.
In the corner, Tetsuya watched the battle carefully, noting the strategies Aizen was using. He caught his breath and leaned forward.
"What is it, Master?" asked the spirit in his blade.
Don't you see…they're evenly matched. He's trying to restrain it…perhaps to launch some kind of attack the beast must be holding still for…Re-kuhime, I think the time has come for us to repay that debt!"