Chapter 2: Beneath the Veil
Byakuya stood in the dressing area of Aizen Sosuke's bedroom, breathing slowly and repeating the facts of his life fervently, trying to make them feel more real as his attendant dressed him in a lovely red kimono, with sprays of purple flowers and an intricate hairpiece he wove into the mute consort's lovely raven colored hair. But while standing in such a place and being dressed by an attendant seemed familiar, he still felt a fogginess about what was happening.
Almost as though the lines around my reality have blurred, I feel lost. There are memories, but they just do not feel like they are mine. It makes no sense. Everyone here repeats just what Sosuke has told me. The healer he has me see every day encourages me to read and reread the diaries I wrote, and to sign with my attendant and Sosuke to begin to restore the connections with them. I have a limited vocabulary signing, so there is not much I can say. I listen more than sign and everyone tells the same story. Ichigo is an enemy, an abusive lover who nearly killed me when he found out that I was having Sosuke's child, not his. I suppose that is why my mind still has flashes of Ichigo smiling and kissing me, why when I think of my wedding day, I see a white kimono with pink sakura and Ichigo is somewhere nearby, talking to me in a happy, relaxed tone…not at all like a jealous lover. Maybe that was before he found out about the child. I do not know.
He inhaled softly and closed his eyes as Aizen's arms slid around him from behind. He flinched as he saw in his mind's eye, his husband's arm curling around his waist and one hand covering his mouth.
"I am sorry," Aizen breathed into his ear, "I should know better than to approach you from behind, after what Ichigo put you through. That was insensitive of me."
It is fine, Byakuya signed, I am fine.
"Good," Aizen said, nuzzling his cheek affectionately, "I don't enjoy seeing you in pain, Bya. I want to make you happy."
He turned Byakuya to face him and signaled for the attendant to leave them. Byakuya felt a little shiver inside at being left alone.
So often, it means he wants to have sex with me.
And immediately, his husband's hands slid beneath the folds of the expensive kimono. Byakuya touched one of Aizen's hands tentatively.
Miki only just dressed me, he objected, I was about to walk in the gardens.
Aizen's smile was somehow both charming and intimidating.
"We will walk together in the gardens after we enjoy some time together," he said, untying and beginning to remove the expensive kimono.
He is prince of these lands, Byakuya reminded himself, What Aizen-sama orders, I must obey.
But as much as his husband's ministrations brought his body pleasure, his mind continued to struggle to feel the connection between them. He gave in readily as Aizen's hands bared him and lowered him gently onto the bed. Byakuya's vision seemed to dim and his awareness shifted oddly. Aizen's face distorted and his brown hair began to lighten into a bright ginger. Byakuya stiffened and gasped reflexively, but the prince barely seemed to notice as he continued to prepare Byakuya's body for their imminent joining.
Byakuya felt Aizen's possessive eyes watching him closely, and he forced a smile and lifted his hips to intensify the pleasure his husband's touches were inflicting.
I want to please him. He has done so much for me. He has never done anything to hurt me. Why do I continue to feel so much turmoil in my feelings about him? Sosuke is kind. He is gentle. He never raises his voice.
He never has to.
Byakuya closed his eyes, breathing more quickly as he felt the heaviness of the air around them.
Everyone can feel how powerful Aizen-sama is.
Byakuya watched as the prince continued to plunder his slender, powerless body.
What does he see in a weak, useless thing like me?
What did Ichigo see in me?
Why would these men fight over me as they do?
Answers fluttered away like spinning leaves on a heavy wind, as Aizen's powerful movements brought them to the edges of bliss. It was a relief to succumb to the mindlessness of release, to let go of his lingering doubts and to be one in thought and body with his husband. He laid quietly in the prince's strong arms after, not wanting to fall asleep for fear of his haunting dreams returning.
I worry that I am losing my mind.
He waited until the prince slept deeply enough that he could carefully exit the bed without waking him. He left his lovely kimono laid over a chair and wrapped himself in a warm yukata and robe, then walked out into the palace gardens. The fresher air and sweet scents of the flowers seemed to bring life back into his body and he let his worried thoughts fall away. Being one with nature gave him a feeling of being at home.
And the one power I do have is making things grow. Aizen-sama encourages me in this. I have turned this simple garden into a heartbreakingly beautiful display, he says.
It felt good to be able to contribute something.
My lack of any powers sometimes makes me feel insignificant, but adding beauty to my prince's home to help him relax and ease his tension is a useful pursuit. At least I can do something.
Byakuya felt a sudden tension rise in the air around him, and the prince suddenly appeared in the distance, his expression unusually dark and the power swelling around him oppressive. He could almost see the effort it took to rein that power in as he approached, and the expression on his face changed.
"What are you doing out here alone?" he asked, barely holding off the edge of anger that tried to invade his voice, "Bya, you know that our defenses aren't foolproof. It was foolish of you to take such chances with your safety."
"My apologies, Aizen-sama," he answered, bowing his head respectfully, "I do not know what came over me. I was not meaning to be reckless. I was lured out by the sweetness of the flowers and the warmth of the sun. My thoughts were heavy. I was distracted. I will not let it happen again."
"You have no idea the danger in letting down your guard," Aizen warned him, laying a warm hand on the little bump that was forming on Byakuya's abdomen, "There is more than just your own life at stake here."
"I am aware," Byakuya assured him, "and I am sorry."
"You are sorry?" the prince repeated, lifting Byakuya's chin so that their eyes met, "Then, I am sure that you won't mind doing something to ease the tension that your actions caused me?"
A blush roared over Byakuya's comely face as he realized what was being asked.
Not really asked, because I know it is a requirement.
He nodded dutifully and started to turn back into the bedroom. Aizen's touch on the back of his shoulder stopped him, and he looked at the prince in askance.
"Here," Aizen instructed him, "The gardens are more tranquil than inside."
The prince's dark, powerful eyes watched intently as Byakuya hesitated and a shiver went through his body before his head bowed again and he slowly lowered himself onto his knees. Aizen smiled contentedly, observing raptly as Byakuya treated his aroused nether region to a shockingly beautiful display of his affections.
No wonder Ichigo was so much in love with you. Once past your barriers, you are astonishingly sweet. I've only once encountered such loveliness.
Aizen's breaths deepened and his eyes drifted closed, his mind going back to the days before his fateful battle with Ichigo.
"They said that you wanted to see me, Aizen-sama?" the human girl asked, her large eyes fixing on him questioningly.
"I did," he affirmed, pouring himself a glass of red wine and sipping slowly as Orihime moved forward in slow steps.
She paused just short of his throne, her hands clasping in front of her as she waited for him to go on.
"Your friends have arrived in Hueco Mundo."
He felt the sharp incline in the girl's emotions and smiled at her.
"It's fine. I knew they would come, of course."
"Are you going to hurt them?"
He considered the question quietly for a moment.
"I am not going to engage them directly," he answered finally, "however, I can affect the outcome of their interactions here."
He nodded in the direction of a monitor in front of him that carefully followed the group of rescuers as they prepared to separate.
"I am master of the hogyoku," he explained, "Each time one of them is threatened, I can impose my desires upon the hogyoku to vastly improve the odds of their survival."
He savored a mouthful of the wine very slowly, watching Orihime's lovely face change as the first of her friends fell into the path of a dangerous enemy.
"But you want something from me in return?" the girl asked warily.
"You are perceptive," he complimented her, "I do want something from you, and each time you offer it to me, I will save one of your friends. I suppose you can hope that they don't cross the paths of too many of my allies. You can sit quietly and pray or you can take an action that will help them. The choice in yours, of course. What do you think, Orihime?"
Orihime's eyes widened as Sado appeared on the screen, reeling as a heavy blow made blood explode from what looked to be a devastating wound. Aizen felt the emotions in the girl rise to the point of near panic, then shift as a flicker of determination came into her eyes.
"You want to help him?" he asked.
"I do," she said calmly, "But I won't hurt anyone with my power to do so."
"I understand," Aizen answered, smiling slyly, "Come here, then. Offer me something that is worthy of me saving that man's life and I will shift the odds in his favor."
On the screen in front of them, Sado took another powerful hit and his legs began to shake beneath him. Orihime moved closer to the leader of the hollows, watching as he unveiled the hogyoku and caressed it lightly with his fingertip. His smile warmed as she knelt at his feet and bowed her head in submission. He slipped a hand under her chin, gazing down into her enchanting eyes as he bared his nether region.
"The more dangerous the enemy, the more will be required to save them," he informed her, watching closely as his scent drifted across the girl's senses and she swayed slightly in reaction.
"Why does Aizen-sama want this?" Orihime asked cautiously, "Why does he want this from me?"
"What other reason would there be?" he answered, "Loneliness. You are lonely too, aren't you? So, while your friends struggle to reach you, we can ease each other's loneliness and each of us gets something we desire, ne?"
Orihime hesitated for a moment longer, then laid a slender hand on his bared thigh and leaned forward.
"Yes, Aizen-sama."
Aizen's brown eyes slid closed and he focused on that memory, letting it warm him inside as Byakuya's careful attentions slowly undid him.
I wonder if that girl ever thinks back, and if she does…
…does she miss me?
XXXXXXXXXX
Ichigo stood alongside Rukia and Renji in the temporary office of the newly appointed grand councilor of Central 46. Kuchiki Nori's wise eyes met theirs apologetically as he explained to them the council's latest decision.
"I agree with you, Ichigo, that the investigation should have been more thorough. And I will continue to campaign for more attention on the matter, but you must understand, we have all been through a devastating loss. Thousands of lives ended in those blasts and we are still mourning and burying the dead. All of this will not bring back the lives that were lost."
"But they at least deserve justice!" Ichigo objected, "Byakuya was your leader. You know that he wouldn't have died in this kind of way if there wasn't some funny business involved somewhere. Nori, you know that this wasn't just some damned accident! I know you do!"
"I admit I suspect it, but I don't know it, and that is the problem, my boy. I am a powerful man, even more powerful because of how many bright, talented noble leaders and officials we have lost. But even I cannot seem to find anything suggesting this was anything but a huge tragic accident. If someone did rig this blast, as we all suspect, then whoever it was, accomplished it flawlessly. There is only one man who has accomplished anything near that level of deception, and we had better hope that he was not involved."
"Well, he certainly had reason to want to do something like that," Renji mused, "Central 46 and the noble families did screw him over pretty bad after the quincy war."
"Even Byakuya, who was no friend to Aizen, admitted to me that the council should have provisionally freed him."
"They were too afraid to let him go," Nori sighed, "Even without the hogyoku, he is plenty of trouble. And there was nothing stopping him from making another."
"He didn't want to make another," Ichigo said in a low, angry voice, "At least, when he joined forces with me to defeat Ywach, he said all he wanted was to be out of that place and to live quietly somewhere, maybe in the living world. The council couldn't just give him that quiet life. They had to double cross him and now, he could be involved in something that has devastated both Central 46 and the noble families."
"Knowing what we do about the noble families and Aizen, I'd say this definitely seems like an act of revenge," Rukia agreed.
"But how do you prove it?" Nori asked pointedly, "I understand what you are saying, and I do not disagree with you, but if you are going to convince the new council that Aizen is involved in this, you need to have more than a motive. Remember that the explosions also leveled the Central 46 prison, including Muken. It turned that place into an impassable tomb, and there is no way to confirm the status of any of the ones who were imprisoned within. There is no evidence that Aizen escaped that tomb. There have been no sightings and no traces of his reiatsu signature anywhere. If you want to convince the others that he is alive and that he was behind the explosions, then you need to find something concrete, something that they can see and understand…something that resonates with them. I am afraid that bombarding them with theories is not going to get you very far with them. I am sorry, but that is the truth of things. I, myself, hope very much that you will not give up and that you will find something helpful. And Shiba Ichigo, I very much hope that pursuing justice for Byakuya will give you some kind of peace."
"It won't bring him back," Ichigo acknowledged, "but it will help me, and probably everyone else, sleep at night, knowing whoever did this is behind bars."
"I am sure that with your determination, you will find your answers, Shiba Ichigo. But for now, I must leave you. Rukia-chan and I must return to the Kuchiki council hall for Tetsuya's official appointment to leadership of the clan."
"How is Tetsuya handling things?" Ichigo asked, "He was pretty badly shaken up."
"He is doing very well, considering," Nori answered.
"Tetsuya knows that Nii-sama would have wanted him to take care of the family as his first priority. He's suffering a lot when he's not focused on that, but we've all been doing our best to help him settle into leadership. I think Tetsuya will be all right."
"That's good," Ichigo sighed, "He and Byakuya were really close."
"Would the two of you like to join us for the ceremony?" Nori invited them, "Both of you were close to Byakuya, and both of you are Tetsuya's friends as well. I think he would appreciate you being there."
"I'll do it. I'll go," Renji said, nodding.
"Me too," Ichigo added, "I know Tetsuya will be a good leader, although I was surprised at how quickly the elders approved his appointment."
"Well, Tetsuya won a lot of them over by saving so many lives in the quincy war. He has shown a true commitment to the protection of our people, and right now, we very much need that kind of devotion in our leader. It was not a difficult choice for most."
"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, "Tetsuya is a great protector. I know it shook his confidence when Byakuya died, but…if Aizen is involved, I don't know that there's anyone who could have stopped him."
"But I think it is also true," Nori said quietly, "that if anyone can prove Aizen's involvement and bring him to justice, it will be you."
"I'll do my best. You have my word on that," Ichigo promised.
"I know you will, my boy," Nori said solemnly, "but we must go now if we are to arrive in time for the ceremony."
The four left the grand councilor's office and walked slowly through the Seireitei streets, past numerous sites where the damage from the explosions was still painfully evident. Ichigo sighed and moved closer to Rukia and Renji as they continued on their way.
"Hey, I meant to ask about Kisuke. He was hurt pretty badly in the explosion and fire at Kuchiki Manor. Is there any word on when he might recover enough to go home?"
"Well," Rukia said in a troubled tone, "he has regained consciousness, but his healing is coming along slowly. Tetsuya has a really powerful healing ability and Orihime's even tried to help him…but as we've seen with a lot of the people who were injured that day, there is a disruptive element to the power that struck them…something no one has been able to isolate and identify. It interferes with Orihime's power and even though Tetsuya has had a bit more success, it's going slowly. I think he'll be all right eventually, but it's taking a toll."
"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, his brow furrowing worriedly, "it is."
XXXXXXXXXX
Byakuya woke to find himself alone in Aizen's bed, naked and his body sticky with the prince's seed. His head ached as he rolled over and looked at the time, sighing at how slowly it seemed to pass for him. He slipped out of bed and wrapped a yukata around himself, seeking the warmth of a long shower, then drying off slowly before exiting the bathroom and heading for the gardens again.
He was just entering the garden, when a twinge of pain passed through his abdomen and a powerful feeling of nausea and dizziness assaulted him.
I have been having these spells for a few days now. I do not know why. It is different than the morning sickness. It is like a terrible aching that nothing soothes.
"Bya, are you all right?" Aizen asked, appearing suddenly in front of him.
I do not know, he signed quickly, I feel…
Byakuya sagged against Aizen's shoulder, panting softly and closing his eyes. He felt Aizen take him off his feet and carry him a short distance, to the infirmary. The healer leaned over him and Byakuya could barely make sense of the man's echoing voice.
"It is happening again," the healer informed the prince, "I told you before what he needs is the father's reiatsu. If he does not have that, then eventually, the baby will demand too much of his own reiatsu and will cause both their deaths. If you want Bya and the baby to survive, you must…"
"I am aware," Aizen's voice said, echoing almost painfully in Byakuya's throbbing head, "Well then, I suppose I must give him what he needs."
Byakuya strained to hear more, but found the blackness closing in again until everything went dark and quiet all around him.
He dreamed that he left his body and walked out of the palace, passing through the courtyard without drawing the attention of the guards. He walked out until the palace ended and a sea of sand appeared in front of him. A tear opened in the sky in front of him, and he passed through, coming down into what he knew to be his former lover's home in the Seireitei. He passed the Shiba estate guards without challenge and proceeded to Ichigo's room, where he found his former lover asleep, his handsome face still drenched in tears. He touched Ichigo's face and watched as the man's golden-brown eyes opened and focused wearily on him.
"Oh god! Please be real. If you're just a dream, I don't want to wake up!"
Ichigo's hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him down into a long, desperate kiss.
"Byakuya…" he mumbled, continuing to kiss him, "Byakuya, say something!"
His lips moved, but no sound escaped him. Fresh tears ran down Ichigo's tormented face.
"Okay," he half sobbed, "It's okay. If all you can do is be in my dreams, I want to be with you! Just stay with me, Byakuya. Please don't go away again! Just let me hold you."
He met Byakuya lips for hard, passionate kisses, opening their clothing and commencing a hurried preparation. Byakuya gasped soundlessly, unsure why he wasn't afraid at all of the man who had attacked him, and why he was moving so easily with Ichigo, and enjoying his kisses and caresses in a way he couldn't enjoy his husband's. He felt the sensations of illness and pain fade away as they writhed heatedly together until their intense passions overwhelmed them. When Ichigo's seed and reiatsu had filled him inside, he caressed his former lover's face and kissed him more gently until he fell asleep again, then he swiftly escaped and hurried back home.
Aizen was waiting in their bedroom, with his sword drawn and raised, tip down, in front of him.
"Shatter," he breathed softly, and everything around Byakuya faded into an odd, silent greyness.
Far away, in the Seireitei, Ichigo sat up in his bed, his trembling fingers still feeling as though they'd been stroking his lost lover's soft, pale flesh and the scent of sakura torturing his senses.
"Byakuya…" he sobbed brokenly, letting his face drop into his open hands, "Byakuya!"