Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ichigo's Bedroom
Ichigo couldn't breathe.
He stood still, as if time had frozen around him. The sound of his heart thumping in his chest drowned out everything else. Sitting there, on his bed, was his enemy, the man who'd caused so much chaos: Souske Aizen.
The man sat on the edge of his bed. Instead of the vestments he'd worn as a captain, the man was wearing a black robe that wrapped around him. "Why don't you come in?" the man said in his smooth, low voice. "This is, after all, your room."
His face as pale as snow, Ichigo entered the room and closed the door behind him, locking it. He knew that he was in a dangerous position but he didn't want his sisters to come in and be in even more danger.
Aizen continued to quietly observe Ichigo, a small smile on his face. "I hear you are going to be a father soon. I suppose congratulations are in order," he said, his tone like a teacher praising his student.
Anger started to boil Ichigo's blood. After all the man had put him and Halibel through, he didn't want any praise from him. "I don't know what you want..." he glared. "But get off my bed!"
Chuckling, Aizen strangely complied, standing up to face the young man. "As you wish…"
Slowly, Ichigo's hand crept towards his pocket, to the combat pass. If he could grab it…if he could get into his Soul Reaper form…maybe…just maybe…
But Aizen's smooth voice put an end to such thoughts. "I wouldn't try," Aizen said, his smile not dropping. "I am here to talk, Ichigo Kurosaki, and only talk. If I wanted to hurt you…" his eyes darted over to the direction of Urahara Shop, "I wouldn't even need to lift a finger. Tell me," he gestured to the black cloak he was wearing, "do you know what this is?"
"I'm guessing it's not your latest fashion statement?" Ichigo retorted.
Again, Aizen gave a light chuckle. "Far from it. This is a creation from your friend Kisuke Urahara. It cloaks ones spiritual pressure. All I'd need to do is remove it…" his eyes narrowed and his voice took a much darker tone, "and my spirit energy would be sensed by all those around me."
Ichigo stood still as Aizen let the threat sink in. It was true, he couldn't feel the man's presence despite Aizen standing five feet away from him. If Aizen took off the cloak then everyone would know that Aizen was in Ichigo's house…including the captains.
Yamamoto's words crept into his ear like a slithery earwig. "If for any reason we find even the slightest hint that you are colluding with Souske Aizen, you will die…"
If the captains discovered Aizen in Ichigo's room, there would be nothing Ichigo could say to dissuade them from believing him to be an enemy.
Aizen saw the fear in Ichigo's eyes and knew that Ichigo understood the perilous position he was in. "I trust that you will keep your combat pass in your pocket. And even if you did draw it…" his lips formed a thin smile. "I believe our last encounter in the Soul Society showed the difference in skill between me and you." As the frightened look on Ichigo's face grew, Aizen held up a hand to calm him down. "Relax. I told you. I am not here to fight, merely talk."
It was all Ichigo could do to contain his panic. He didn't know what to do. His enemy was right in front of him and he had no way of defending himself. And even if he did, all Aizen would need to do was reveal himself and the captains would do the rest of his work for him. He tried but failed to keep the fear out of his voice. "What do you want?"
Walking over to a chair by the desk, Aizen sat down and gestured for Ichigo to do the same. As Ichigo sat down on his bed, Aizen leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Ichigo, I want you to join me," he said bluntly.
Ichigo gaped at the man, struggling to understand what he'd just heard. "You…want me…to join you?" he repeated.
"That's right. You…Halibel and your newborn child."
Balling his hands into fists, Ichigo glared at the man. "What are you talking about? Why in the world would I join you?!" As the color returned to his face, he remembered what Halibel had told him, what Aizen was planning to do. She'd informed him of Aizen's grand scheme after he'd recovered from Barragan's beating. "You plan on destroying Karakura Town!"
"That's right," Aizen nodded. "I plan on destroying Karakura Town to forge the Oken," he said, talking about mass murder like he was talking about the weather. "And I want you to join me."
"Why on earth would I-"
"If you do," Aizen interrupting him. "I will spare your family and your friends. And more importantly, Halibel can give birth in peace."
Ichigo continued to glare. "How in the world can I trust anything you have to say? Because everyone in the Soul Society trusted you, and look where it got them!"
Aizen's smile widened by a hair, yet it made him look all the more menacing. "You can't. But think about this, Ichigo. The Soul Society views you as a rogue element. Their opinion of you is hardly better than me. To them, you're merely a military asset, one whose allegiance is within question." Sitting back in his chair, Aizen crossed his arms. "Let me pose to you a hypothetical, Ichigo. Suppose the captains defeat me. What then? You'll no longer be of any use to them. And more importantly, what do you will happen when Halibel gives birth and your progeny is more Hollow than Human?"
Ichigo remained silent, not knowing what to say.
"I am offering you a way out. All you need to do is agree to join me. I'll forgive Halibel for her insubordination and she can give birth in the safety of Las Noches."
"Safety?" Ichigo got off the bed and glared at the man. "Your Espadas want to kill Halibel! Barragan will kill her if she ever went back!"
"Barragan will not go against me. He knows the price for insubordination," Aizen simply said. Standing up, he looked Ichigo in the eye. "Well, Ichigo? I've made my offer. What do you say?"
The first thing that Ichigo wanted to say was "hell no!" but he kept silent. He knew that he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He remembered his crushing defeat at the hands of both Aizen and Barragan. He couldn't deny it: he was scared. He didn't know if he was strong enough to protect Halibel and their child, from both the captains and Aizen.
Aizen saw the hesitance in Ichigo's eyes and his smile widened. He knew he had Ichigo and it wouldn't take much to tip him over the edge. But he would be patient. "Very well, take your time. One way or another, you will come to my side," he told the boy. He raised a hand and summoned a Garganta. "Think about my offer. When you come around, I'll know," he told the boy before walking through the void. Before the portal closed, Aizen turned around and looked back at Ichigo. "Oh, and congratulations on becoming a father…"
Ichigo watched the villain disappear in front of him before his legs gave out, too exhausted and terrified to continue standing. He took deep breaths as he tried to calm down but it was a failed gesture. He didn't know how long he remained there, slumped on the floor. An minute? An hour? All he knew was that by the time the door opened up and Halibel entered, Ichigo was still where Aizen had left him.
Alarmed by Ichigo's position, Halibel rushed to his side. "Ichigo! What happened? You look terrible!"
His lover's words snapped Ichigo out of his terror. He looked up and hugged Halibel, pressing his face into her pregnant belly. "I don't…I don't know what to do…" he confessed, shaking as Halibel wrapped her arms around him. Once again he didn't feel like a powerful Soul Reaper. He felt like the fifteen year old boy who was in way over his head with no way out.
"Just breathe," the teacher told her student. "Collect your thoughts. You're safe, Ichigo."
Closing his eyes, Ichigo listened to the sound with Halibel, the second heartbeat inside of her, shining like a precious ember. The sound it his child's heart beating inside Halibel comforted Ichigo and calmed him down. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to protect you and our child…"
"What happened?"
Halibel continued to hold him while he repeated today's events, his close shave with the captains and Aizen's offer. "I see…" Halibel let go of Ichigo and helped him onto his feet, walking him over to the bed. "That is…most distressing…"
Sighing, Ichigo looked over at Halibel. "Halibel, I don't know what to do. The captains don't trust me. And I can't trust Aizen. For all I know, even if I did accept Aizen's offer, the other Espada will kill all three of us."
"True. We all swore allegiance to Lord Aizen but loyalty isn't what drives us. Even if he forgives me, the other Espadas won't. Yammy, Grimmjow or especially Barragan will try to kill us. On the other hand…" she patted her pregnant belly, "even if the captains succeed and kill Lord Aizen, they may decide that we're too much of risk. And they're right…" she looked down at their child. "I don't know what our child will become. Will it be more Soul Reaper? Or Hollow?"
Ichigo was silent for a long minute before he took hold of Halibel's hand. "Halibel…is it okay to admit when you're afraid?"
Halibel squeezed. "There is something that I tell my Fraccións: fear is necessary to grow. If you fear the captains and Espadas, then our course is clear." She squeezed his hand tighter. "We will become stronger than them. All of them."
The woman's strong words soothed Ichigo's soul and he smiled. Halibel almost had a way to make the hardest questions have the simplest answers. "Halibel, do you think you can teach me how to control my Hollow?"
"I told you I would. And I will." She stood up and held out her hand. "We have no time to lose. I will teach you now."
"Now?" Ichigo blinked as he stood up. "But…won't it be too much for you and the baby?" he warned.
"We do not have time to wait. The captains may decide to take action against you at any moments. As for your concern for me…" her eyes hardened. "I am strong. And so is our child. Whatever happens we will handle it. And no matter what happens, you and I will face it together."
Nodding, Ichigo followed Halibel out of the bedroom. "Where are we going? The training ground?"
"Not there. Too exposed," Halibel told him as they went down the stairs. "We will go to your shopkeeper friend."
"By the way, what happened to your friends?"
"I asked your friend to help out. She agreed to let them stay in her apartment so long as they're on their best behavior."
"She? You mean Orihime?"
"Quite."
"Oh dear…" Ichigo could only imagine what Orihime was going through with three violent new roommates. "That's not going to end well…"
To be continued
