Chapter 11

'The explosions have stopped...'

'Yeah... and I can no longer feel any new reiatsu-outburst.'

'Do you think that means he's calmed down?'

Rukia's violet eyes were filled with worry.

'I seriously doubt it.' Uryu answered, looking at Chad searchingly. 'Can you feel him, Sado? I don't wish for him to continue raging, but up till now, at least we knew which way to go... Where could you have disappeared to so suddenly, Kurosaki?'

Chad squinted his eyes looking ahead.

'Let's go that way.' he said simply.

Rukia and Uryu exchanged puzzled looks.

'That way?' Rukia asked tentatively.

'Yeah. Inoue-san went that way, so that's ok.'

Both Rukia and Uryu jumped. They quickly looked in the direction appointed by Chad, and indeed saw some long brown hair swinging in the distance.

'Orihime! Hey! Wait up!' they cried in union.

But judging from the faint yellow light, and her speed, Orihime had her shield out again, and she seemingly had no intention of stopping, or slowing down to wait for them.

'I guess she must still feel him all right...' Rukia said with a disapproving frown.

…...

The corridors got darker and darker. The few unsuspecting guards he met were no challenge. The rough, unchanging stone walls surrounding him more so. This place was like a fucking underground labyrinth! Good thing his hollow senses guided him right even with only little light. After all, it was enough for a map that he knew the spiritual pressure he was searching for. He would have recognized it, had it been under even more kido-spells then right now. Finding the way out would be more troublesome, but he didn't worry about that at the moment.

At the very lowest level of the dungeon, he finally came to a door, that was guarded by four white robbed soldiers, and knew he has reached his goal. He contemplated whether or not to call out his mask again, just to make the work quicker. He decided against it in the end... Though pretty sure he would be able to keep himself focused this time, he couldn't afford any mistakes. Not being so close to his goal.

So, he only took Zangetsu in his hands, as he approached the already nervous looking guards. They must have sensed some disturbance, or received some news of trouble. The fight lasted a few minutes, because there was little room to move, and Ichigo still tried to go for only disarming and knocking out, instead of taking lives. Before coming to Soul Society, he had promised to himself he wouldn't hurt anyone, save the one behind this door...

It seemed the guards were best trained in kido, but the restrictive spells they shoot at him weren't able to bind, and the destructive spells did no great damage, apart from burning his robes here and there. Finally Ichigo managed to knock two out, injure one badly enough that he couldn't continue the fight, and break the blade of the fourth, who ran away with a scared face, though swearing he'd return with reinforcements.

Before opening the door – the keys he took from the injured guard – he gave a few seconds for calming himself down. He knew that the real "battle" would began now... He only proceeded when he was sure that his head was clear, and his resolution firm. The room behind the door was just as poorly lit as the corridors outside. He couldn't see much. The air inside was damp and stale. He went a step forward, and squinted his eyes instinctively: the light of the single lamp inside was shining right into his face now.

'So... you've finally made it here.' a voice said from the shadows. It didn't sound surprised, or angry at all. On the contrary, it sounded calm and satisfied. Ichigo stepped aside from the light's range. The seat to which the prisoner was tied was right at the far end of the room. His face was half hidden behind the bandages, but the one eye which shone out still conveyed power and confidence.

'Aizen.'

The tied up man's mouth formed a small, taunting smile. The two studied each other, orange eyes staring into slightly purple tinted blue.

'How interesting... your eyes are strange and wild, but the rest of you is more normal than I expected...' Aizen noted.

Ichigo remained silent, his mouth pressing together in a thin line.

'Well, aren't you going to attack? See? I'm unarmed, and tied up. Are you just going to stand there, Ichigo Kurosaki, or are you going to take what you've come here for?' Aizen began the taunting.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, and his grip tightened on Zangetsu.

'Oh, don't worry... I'm going to take it out of your body, while I'm tearing it up to pieces... slowly...'

'How pretentious of you!' Aizen laughed.

'Come on, Aizen... quit pretending, and face me properly!' Ichigo said, his voice low with the pressure of holding back his anger.

The laughing ceased, only a grin remained on the former soul reaper Captain's face.

'As you wish.' Aizen slowly stood up, the visible bindings just falling uselessly to the floor from around him. 'Should have known... a hollow, and still the same forwardness. Kurosaki, who'd never attack a tied up man. Or is it Shirosaki now?'

'Whichever...'

The two now stood face to face, tension and readiness visible in both their stances, but still neither of them moved.

'Still not attacking?' Aizen asked, amused.

'I need you to answer a question first.'

'A question?'

'Yes.' Ichigo's body was shaking now. His hollow instincts were dangerously close to the surface, telling him to just tear, rip, think his teeth into the enemy, claw out his guts and devour him, until only the bones remain... 'I need you to tell me... I need to understand! Why?'

The smile disappeared from Aizen's face, giving place to seriousness.

'You are here. I thought that meant you knew why.'

Ichigo shook his head.

'No I don't. I only recognized your pattern in everything, and knew that you were the one behind it all. It was all part of some dumbass plan! You had my substitute badge stolen form me, and sent a fairly strong hollow to take me. All this in order for me to some day turn out like this. Then you had me lured into the World of the Living, and had a hollow attack Orihime, so that I would see her again. Nobody else works like this. Pulling the strings, then waiting patiently for the result.'

Aizen snickered.

'Quite an achievement from prison, don't you think?'

'Why? All this to have me come here, hoping I have the power to free you?'

'No. Of course not. Can't you see? I'm content with my current situation here. Luckily, during our last fight, you have provided me with much useful information to think about, and occupy my lonely hours with, so I'm not the least uncomfortable. A true scientist can work and plan anywhere. I must add, that I could break out of here real easy on my own, any time I want. It's just the ignorant Soul Reapers who think they hold power over me...'

'Then what do you want?'

'I need your help with something much greater. You see, I have a problem.'

'And it involves the hogyoku...'

A flash of appreciation came from Aizen's eyes.

'Yes. The hogyoku. Always known you were a kindred spirit, deep down, that's why you were the perfect choice to be the subject of my studies. But there was a little flaw in my plans, that I now need to mend. Flaws tend to occur, but they can be overcome with patience. I needed you to come here, to settle this once and for all. For this, I put you in a situation, where you would recognize that your only chance of regaining your former self was the hogyoku. Yes, the hogyoku, which would be able to grant your heart's desire, even if it meant overcoming boundaries normally unbreachable... I used Orihime Inoue as an incentive again – isn't that ironic? And she worked just as well as before! I knew you would react to her presence, that connection you have with her goes too deep for ignorance.'

'This, I already understood.' Ichigo answered, restraining his furry with difficulty. 'You're just as pompous and lecturing as always. But why would you need me to take the hogyoku?'

'Ah, that's the question now, isn't it? All right. I'll explain. The hogyoku is still inside my body, connected with me. After spending years like this I can safely say that I finally know more of it's true nature than anybody else... even Urahara Kisuke. But even though it's still inside me, the hogyoku doesn't recognize me as it's master any more. You truly have conquered me that day, but not with your powers. You had me waver for a second, while you remained firm. That one second settled it all.

But you also made a mistake. You could have ended it all that day. The hogyoku would have been yours, had you - in your soul – expressed the merest desire for it. It would have abandoned me instantly, had you only called for it. But you didn't. You didn't want it then. The hogyoku remained inside me, but it no longer can give me it's full power.

That's why I had to work so hard to call you here, and it was an essential point to have you come with a burning desire to get the hogyoku! I want you to call for it now! It will surely respond to you. Call it forth, so that it would come out of it's dormant state, and start searching for it's master again... only then can I attempt to win it's alliance back.'

…...

Orihime reached the gate of the underground prison. She dissolved her shield, and entered on foot, her resolution as firm as ever. Though she couldn't feel any trace of reiatsu indicating a battle, something told her she had better hurry... The silence in the spiritual pressure waves seemed more ominous than the previous chaos. Her instincts warned her that something was going on, and that if she didn't reach Ichigo soon, she might be too late.

She was inside the dark corridors now. She could hear footsteps hurrying, and confused shouts in the distance. She was slowly drawing near the sounds. She saw some light ahead, and quickly hid herself in the shadows of a doorway. Guards were running her way, with lit torches.

'What should I do? It's no good... they will surely see me, if they get close...'

The answer came to her a second later, and she called upon her powers once again, sending her fairies out ahead of herself. S'huno and Baigon did a great job, flying right in the guards face, saying 'Boo!', while Hinagiku pulled at one of their hairs, and Lily cheekily struck out her tongue... The four of them successfully managed to confuse, and make the guards turn back and chase after them, leaving the corridor free for Orihime to progress. Though that meant she was temporarily left with only her attacking power to use.

She very nearly used Tsubaki too, being much freaked out by a sudden touch on the shoulder from behind. But thankfully, when she turned, she only saw Sado-kun's familiar, comfortingly cool features and deep brown eyes stare at her. Uryu and Rukia-chan were right behind him.

'So this is the place... always wondered...' Uryu mused. 'But I thought it would be more heavily guarded!'

'I guess it was... originally!' Rukia pointed out, showing them a broken spear and a thorn cloth-piece that must have belonged to someone's uniform, with stains on it that could only be blood.

Chad put up a hand to silence them. New, hurried footsteps could be heard, this time coming from their back.

'They must have sent for reinforcements.' Chad noted.

'What do we do?' Rukia asked.

An uneasy light was shining in Orihime's eyes. But right on time, her fairies were returning to her. She smiled at them relieved, in greeting.

'What ever it is that Ichigo's trying to do...' she answered Rukia. 'I guess he must need some time. I want to go to him, but we must stop these troops first... I'm gonna fight!'

Uryu frowned. Orihime tried to catch his eye, but he turned to Chad first instead.

'Sado-kun... take her forward.' he said calmly. Then he faced Orihime. 'If it's time you want, I can give that to you.'

'What are you planning, quincy?' Rukia asked uneasily.

'I will make it so that no-one would be able to come through, either in or out for a while.'

'… a cave in?'

Uryu nodded.

'It's the best solution to avoid more needless fight...'

Rukia sighed.

'All right. Then I'll stay with you. You'll gonna be in trouble alone. Maybe I can play the "Kuchiki-princess" card... ' Then she too turned to Orihime. 'Go... and don't look back.'

The two women smiled briefly at each other, but Orihime's whispered "thank you" was lost in the sounds made by the dangerously approaching guards. Chad seized her elbow, and began steering her forward hurriedly. Uryu waited for them to clear the corridor before conjuring his bow, and putting a carefully measured arrow to the string, aiming at the ceiling...

Orihime and Chad only heard the explosion, and felt the sudden rush of wind, that brought bits of debris and dust with it. They didn't stop, only looked at each other briefly in the dim light. They didn't run into any more guards on the lower levels, so they could proceed freely. After some time Orihime realized, that her heart was beating too painfully for normal, and she had to stop a little, supporting herself against the rough stone wall.

'Inoue-san...'

'I'm all right!' she assured her companion quickly, while catching her breath.

Chad nodded, and he too leaned against the wall, waiting for her patiently to recover her strength.

'We must be close now...' he noted after a minute's silence. 'I can feel it.'

Orihime looked at Chad's concentrating face. Her heart-rate was almost normal again, but what troubbled her was, that no matter how she tried to concentrate, she couldn't feel any movement from the baby inside her. She guessed this was only to be expected: the poor little thing must be terrified right now, and tried to imagine what sensations were able to reach him or her from the commotion of the outside world, and from her own body that was being over-pushed with physical and emotional stress.

Was it really all right for her to be here right now? Was it really the only solution? Was it a responsible thing to do? Whom should she try to protect more? Her love or their baby? After all, there was a limit to what she could do, being as she currently was... and she was feeling that limit quite keenly right now! Feeling it in the way her body seemed feverishly hot, her head was slightly spinning, and her muscles were reluctant to move.

'Can you go on now?' Sado-kun suddenly asked, interrupting her troubled thoughts.

'Yes.' she answered, but then changed her mind, and called her friend back. 'Sado-kun... I... I'm so nervous. I don't know what I can do... I'm all thorn! One minute I just feel like all I have to do is reach him, be beside him again to make everything right... then I realize it's probably not going to be that easy. I'm afraid. Being beside him is all I can do... But... will it be enough?'

Chad looked at her closely.

'Urahara-san said that Ichigo might need some fresh reminder of his human side. If Urahara-san was right about this, which I'm sure he was, then being beside him is the ONLY thing that helps. That's why we're here.'

Orihime nodded, with a grateful smile. She found fresh strength in the gentle giant's reassurance.

'That's right... only a little more...' she thought.

…...

Ichigo tried to keep his anger and frustration in check best he could, while contemplating the best course of action. He had really come here with the firm desire of taking the hogyoku. And that was exactly what Aizen wanted from him. So, what would happen now, if he really reached out for the cursed thing?

Aizen did nothing, only stood opposite him, waiting, with a mildly amused expression. Oh yes, he was enjoying this, Ichigo could see that, and it only added fuel to the fire of his rage. Maybe his human side had once understood the others motives, and even felt some compassion towards him, but the passionate hollow side could never forgive! Not his past crimes, and even less so the current ones. Finally winning the hogyoku from him completely, against his will would be the best imaginable punishment for him. So Ichigo felt confident: he would not lose this! There was no way he could lose with such determination! His every wish – the wishes of both his human and hollow side – were leading him in this direction, setting his every willpower upon achieving this goal. There was just no way to conquer such firmness. How Aizen planned to out-win him this time was beside him. The scientist must have misjudged something...

As he was standing there, thinking, Ichigo suddenly became aware of some noises, and motion from behind him. He half turned instinctively to see what it was. Aizen moved forward in the same moment, surprising him with doing nothing more than grabbing his wrist firmly.

Orihime stepped into the room at that moment, closely followed by Chad. She saw Aizen move, and take hold of Ichigo with his left hand, but she also saw his sneaking right, holding something, moving towards the middle of Ichigo's chest... Orihime's eyes widened in recognition.

'Caya Negation!' she whispered, throwing herself forward. Her searching fingers found Ichigo's other wrist just in time, and closed around it securely. She hardly heard Sado-kun's frightened and confused cries right behind her, as she was suddenly experiencing a squeezing sensation from all directions, and was being pulled into darkness...

...

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger again! I really hope I managed to create the right tension here. As I already told you before, I was uncertain about this story's precise outcome at the beginning. Actually, I had more than one ending figured out. How would you feel, if I would write more versions, so you could chose what suites you the best? Is this idea weird? (This is more or less the point from where the alternate endings would vary. There is at least one more version, apart from which I'm currently working on, which interests me greatly.)

I do hope that whatever ending I might chose to write, it won't end with all of you wishing to strangle me... Though I did receive a threat of "hunting me down" because of the slowness of updates! :-)

Please review, and tell me what you think of this chapter!

(side note: Should any Harry Potter fans be here... Yeah, I'm aware that the hogyoku is not the Elder wand. It's just that this setup so fits here. I'm a shameless idea-stealer! J. K. Rowling is the mastermind, her humble fan is just stealing...)