*Sorry peeps that it took me so long to update! The past six or so months have been a whirlwind in RL. Please forgive me about that. This chappie is a bit short, but the next two I already have back from my beta, so I will post one tomorrow, and the next one on Tuesday (RL willing). Thank you again for all of your support, and awesome reviews.*

Chapter 27: A Sparring Match of Two Mates

After Aizen and Stark had left, Kaname and the others had gone to the training room, like ordered. Kaname was in charge, though he didn't have to watch the fight. But, he was curious, like the rest of them. And it had been a very long time since Aizen had shown his moves.

Aizen said softly, "Fair enough." He then asked, "Do you mind if I fight with my bare hands?"

Night arched an eyebrow, knowing he wasn't joking. "Hell yes. I want it a sword match. Once one person is disarmed, then it can be hand to hand… not before."

Aizen nodded. "Very well. But I have to warn you… my Zanpakuto is not what it seems."

Stark sighed softly, feeling impressed. The woman didn't know it, but Aizen had just given her a major hint about his sword. He watched as the girl grinned. "I won't under estimate it. I only ask that you do the same with mine. It also is not what it seems."

"What the hell does that mean?" Grimm asked, still gently stroking Lisa's hair.

Lisa rolled her eyes, saying, "Watch, idiot, then you'll see."

He lightly tugged her hair in punishment, but she didn't seem to mind. So, he went back to stroking her hair.

"Agreed." Aizen said and pulled out his sword. "Stark, sound the bell."

Everyone watched as Aizen put himself in a 'sparring' stance, which meant he was teaching, not intending to kill. His anger must have almost gone completely. Stark wasn't a fool though, so he still kept his distance and tapped his Zanpakuto which resounded a huge 'ding'.

It was hard to follow their movements as both opponents danced and parried in a fierce battle of swordplay. Hit after hit showed how agile Aizen and how lithe his mate were. Aizen parried one attack after the other, twisting around to make a hit of his own. Night easily parried that by flipping her sword behind her. She crouched low and struck, intent on hitting his legs. He easily jumped and flipped, turning to combat another attack.

Stark watched the battle unfold, though one eye was warily surveying the area.

"Oooo… the king looks happy." Gin murmured as he nuzzled his mate's hair.

"You're right, he does." Grimmjow grinned. "Maybe that's what they needed. To get out and spar."

"If you want to keep your head in place, I suggest you not tell Night that Aizen-sama is only sparring." Ulquiorra admonished.

"That's his sparring stance?" Lisa asked, interested.

"Yes. He only does that when he wants to train Espada or one of us." Gin smiled.

"Great… Night's gonna be even more pissed." Max grumbled.

"Why? She should feel honored that Aizen-sama is taking the time out of his day to spar with her." Ulquiorra said, matter of factly.

Max nipped his ear. "Easy on the king glorifying. Night's gonna be pissed because when she battles with someone, she battles all out and she expects that person to show her the same respect by fighting her seriously."

Suddenly Night felt strong arms around her, even though she was seeing Aizen in front of her. Which one was the real mate? She abandoned all of her senses except for one: the sense of knowing. Immediately she knew that the person holding her was not her mate and she blinked through the haze and flipped, shattering the illusion into millions of fragments. She then attacked Aizen, in which he stopped her blade with one finger.

He then grabbed a hold of it with his forefinger. Night hissed softly as his blade came out of nowhere and nearly speared her in the stomach. She, in turn stopped his blade with a foot. He chuckled softly and yanked her sword to him, causing her to come with it naturally. She fell up against his chest and he let go of her sword. An arm went around her waist and he sniffed her scent.

He moved slightly, feeling that his mate was blocking some important information from her scent. Shivering, Night tried to pull out of his grasp, but Aizen was having none of that. His mate was not only hiding her emotions… she was also hiding something that pertained to himself. He asked again, "Why did you leave?"

Anxiety filled her rattled frustrated nerves and she bit her lip. "I was pissed."

"That was apparent. My question is why?" He nuzzled her hair and gently reached up to silently heal the wound at her throat that was still cracked and bleeding.

She sighed and lifted her foot off of his Zanpakuto, allowing him to put it away. Could she trust him with her feelings? He had been very tentative and gentleman like towards her, but… did he really want to help her sort out her feelings? Or was he just wanting something from her, as leverage?

Not really caring that Night still had her sword in her hand, he wrapped both arms around her waist. He moved his head down to lick the now healed wound at her neck. He licked the dried blood off of it and murmured, "How can I help you if you do not trust me?"

"I might ask you the same question." She nuzzled him back and sighed. Her head ached.

But, somehow she knew it wasn't from her own head. Aizen's head ached. Not really knowing what she was doing, she reached up and touched his hair, gently massaging the base of the back of his head. He sighed softly and relaxed slowly. She seemed to know just where to rub.

It was then that she knew. "Sosuke… why didn't you tell me?"

He didn't pretend to misunderstand. He answered softly, "I didn't want to worry you."

"Bullshit." She hissed and pulled away from him so she could look into his eyes. "Tell me the truth."

He regarded her with serious eyes for a moment before saying, "Fair enough." He then gently stroked the blade of her sword, which was glowing a pale blue. "But first… I want you to promise me never to leave the palace again without telling me about it first or unless your life is in danger, or I ask you to. Of course I don't doubt your skills, but there are far greater risks out here than one would realize." He murmured softly, "I also don't like it if I don't know where you are or where you are going…."

She sighed, withdrawing her blade from his hand and soothing it with her own hands. It was crying. Her sword was practically bawling because of their skirmish with Aizen's Zanpakuto. Kiss of Death was usually a battle hungry sword, but not this time around. Probably because she was feeling her owner's emotions. Plus… she didn't like fighting NOT to kill.

"I'll only say yes if you promise me to tell me the truth always… never tell me a lie. I don't respect people who fear telling me the truth." She said softly, still stroking her sword's blade. It finally calmed down and shimmered to black and red.

Aizen nodded, "Very well. I give you my oath as king and as a man."

"I also give you my oath to do as you've asked of me." She sighed softly as she felt incredibly warm arms engulf her from the behind. He laid his head on her shoulder and examined her sword. "It is calm now."

"Yes, she is." Night said with a small smile. "She doesn't like battling opponents she knows she is not allowed to kill."

"Was that why she flared blue for a moment?" Aizen asked, gently reaching out to touch the blade.

It shimmered a bit green, but then returned to black and red. "Yes. Kiss of Death is built for one purpose: to kill. Anything else is too frustrating for her. She also didn't like fighting your Zanpakuto."

"Why?" He glanced at the hilt of his own sword.

"Because it is a master of illusions. She can't stand games. She's also mad at me because I chose to battle an opponent that shouldn't be battled."

He nodded, understanding. "Mates cannot battle each other."

"They can, but only if they are forced to. Sparring is ok, but battling seriously is dangerous. I forced the issue on my sword, and I had to apologize to her before she could forgive me." She rolled her eyes, "I've never seen her so unhappy with me. A bawling sword is something I will never want to get used to."

Stark piped up, "Bawling? She was crying?"

"Yes." Night nodded, not surprised that he was still there. "For being a highly dangerous sword, she can be very unpredictable and emotional."

Like her owner. Aizen thought, feeling a bit amused. The anger he had felt had long since disappeared to be replaced by adrenaline and amusement. But now, the head ache that had formed during the battle was gone, due to Night's gentle rubbings. Still, it felt odd not wanting to punish someone for their disobedience. Was Night taming him?

"Would you like to spar more with me? That is, if your sword approves." Aizen asked silkily, gently nibbling Night's earlobe.

Night blinked. Of course he'd only been sparring with me. She thought, feeling a bit down. Would she ever get to see Aizen's full potential? She noticed that her sword was shimmering between red and gold, signaling that Kiss of Death was wondering that also. This was why her sword had chosen her…. Their moods mostly suited one another and they could work completely as a team.

Taking in her silence as a bit of sulkiness, Aizen added, "If you don't, you could always go hunt. I only suggest that Stark and I accompany you. After that I'll tell you what my illness is."

He struck a chord within her and he knew it. That must have been another thing that had upset her… not being able to hunt. She was a huntress after all, and even if she now had no need to feed on reitsu from other beings other than himself, she needed the feel and thrill of the hunt. He was slowly realizing that in order to keep her with him, he'd have to amend some of his own strict rules. For one, he couldn't keep her caged up in the palace like he'd originally thought.

He had been so naïve and it pained him to admit it. Despite being one of the most feared individuals in several circles, Aizen knew that he had faults. He would never express them to those underneath him, of course, but sometimes one had to deal with one's own actions. He sighed softly and told her, "I will even allow your friends to practice their skills with any of the Espada or Generals that they chose. I only ask that you spar with me… and me alone."

Night finally made a decision and could tell that her sword agreed with her. It's long saber like blade shook and trembled with finality, glowing a dark purple like crimson that signaled it's impatience to battle. "Very well. Kiss of Death agrees with me on this. But now… she wants to kill."

So, the hunt was on. Aizen let go of her and watched as she changed shape. The large cat like dragon was a bit different than before. She had armor that covered her arms and chest. Huge jagged spikes rose out of her neck in three long lines, and her fangs were long and spilled out of her mouth. Her eyes flared red, the color of her sword, and Aizen had the urge to gape at her magnificence.

Stark did that for him, gaping like a madman. "She didn't look like that the last time…."

"We could have told him that one." Max grinned, showing a bit of fang himself.

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow looked at him questionably. Gin chuckled. "She fused with her sword… much like you guys do with your Zanpakutos." Lisa, Ryu, and Max blinked.

Jade questioned her mate, "So… arrancars fuse with their swords too? What about you guys?"

"Very rarely nowadays, though we do practice it on occasion, right Kaname?" Gin asked with a grin.

Kaname shrugged, "Sometimes."

"What do you guys call it?" Lisa asked.

"There are several forms of our Zanpakuto, but the one that completely merges with our own reiatsu is called Bankai." Gin answered, running a gentle hand through his mate's hair. "Arrancars call it resureccion."

Aizen watched as the animal that was his mate looked at him questionably. So, even though her sword has fused with her, she still has retained her mind. Interesting. He went up to her and rubbed her behind the ears. "Go ahead. We'll catch up. If you want, we'll stay out of your way. Unless, you want us to join you?"

The large cat dragon hissed slowly and shrugged. She then sniffed the air, letting her body take over the hunt. There… a mile away…. Kiss of Death suggested and Night agreed. Soon, she left her mate to walk a few feet in the direction she was going to take. Growling low in her throat, Night disappeared.

"That was a bit subtle, don't you think?" Stark asked his boss.

"It was completely unnecessary, but not unwanted." And with that, both flash stepped after her.

*Hugs everyone, thanks again!*