"So, what's this I hear about you pronging that half-breed? Pretty gutsy, Byakuya. I heard some of them have teeth down there."
"Shut up." Byakuya scowled at the offensive words, but Zaraki just grinned. Fortunately, Ichigo was out hunting for demons to eat. If the hybrid had been in range to hear, he would have been even less amused.
"I also hear he hasn't got any balls. What kind of a freak are you fucking, Kuchiki?" Zaraki said, just to get a rise out of him, and it worked. Byakuya stopped dead, a white hot fury rising inside him. Who had spread that around? Who had managed to observe Ichigo that closely? If that person had been in front of him, he would have killed him. He took a moment to be sure of his control before he spoke again.
"Zaraki taichou, Ichigo was born as tiny and helpless as any shinigami, to a group of demons who treat rape as a spectator sport. Please keep that in mind and try to refrain from such words in front of him." Byakuya said, his voice cold as ice. He knew hearing that would hurt Ichigo. The hybrid was very reticent about his birth condition, and went to some lengths to hide it. He hadn't even said anything to Byakuya about it, but the boy might know that Zakanata had dealt with that. And after having sex with him, it was quite obvious. Zaraki's grin faded a bit and he shrugged his wide shoulders.
"We all start out small and helpless, Kuchiki. Even I did, you know." Byakuya blinked as he suddenly tried to imagine a little baby Kenpachi. Unfortunately, his mind simply could not encompass that image. "But fine, I'll try not to piss off your demon lover. I wonder what it would be like to fight him?" He mused. "He any good?"
"He's probably as strong as a taichou." Byakuya answered. If Zaraki wanted to fight Ichigo, the hybrid would likely not mind a bit. He'd seen how Ichigo enjoyed a good fight, despite the risk of death. He had a strong fighting spirit, almost as strong as his desire to protect. "And he regenerates rapidly. If you want to spar with him, feel free, but I would recommend waiting until we're done here." The demons were all too willing to give them a hard fight and it wouldn't do them much good to have Kenpachi and Ichigo laid up from self-inflicted injuries.
"Yeah, yeah, demons, I get it. But I'll sure as hell be looking him up when we get back." Kenpachi said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And what the hell is taking so long? Freaking Yumichika braiding his hair?"
"All of your unit are still cleaning themselves." Byakuya said, noting that Zaraki hadn't really done a thorough job, although his clothes were at least clean. "Even Yachiru, so you'll just have to be patient."
"Yeah well – woah, what's that?" There was a bit of a stir happening. Yet, there didn't seem to be any violence. They both went to investigate and were shocked and surprised to see a cowering, blue skinned, red eyed demon in the middle of the camp. He was surrounded by shinigami with drawn zanpakuto and seemed quite terrified.
"Don't kill the messenger!" He was begging and Byakuya lifted an eyebrow. Messenger? "Mercy, oh dreadful ones! Please, I must give my message to Ichigo!" That resolved some of the questions and Byakuya stepped forward until he was standing in front of the demon, motioning the other shinigami back.
"You are here from Gilshratz?" He asked. The demon's eyes widened and he bobbed his head. "Ichigo is hunting. You can give me the message and I will give it to him." The demon seemed to turn a paler shade of blue and shook his head violently.
"I humbly apologize, dreadful one, but I cannot! My instructions were to give this message to Ichigo personally. Have mercy on your humble servant?" The demon pleaded and Byakuya sighed to himself. This was inconvenient. It was hard to say how long it would take Ichigo to get back and no one was going to be happy about having this creature in the camp.
"What is this?" Yamamoto stepped out from between the shinigami and the demon flattened himself in utter abasement as he sensed the Soutaichou's power. "Why is this thing here?" The old man scowled at the demon, making him whimper in terror. Byakuya took a deep breath before explaining.
"He's a messenger from a demon lord ally of Ichigo's. I witnessed their meeting through my zanpakuto, and he was going to scout the Stones of Eternity for Ichigo. Apparently, they are the seal on the banishment, and if someone is tampering with them it could explain the rifts." Byakuya looked down at the demon, who was looking up at him in astonishment. "I assume he has learned something, so he sent this messenger."
"Why would a demon lord help us, even if he is some kind of friend of your little piece of ass?" Zaraki said suspiciously and Byakuya held his temper in check with difficulty. Zaraki was really getting on his nerves.
"I would not have put it that way, but I would like the answer to that question also." Soutaichou rumbled and, to all their surprise, it was the demon that answered.
"My master is only a young demon lord. He has climbed well, but if the dark mother emerges tomorrow he will be dirt beneath her feet. The ascendants will send him forth against you to suffer and die in battle. He does not want the dark mother to return until he has ascended." There was a pause as they all absorbed that little snapshot of demon life. It suddenly occurred to Byakuya that Ichigo had known that. No wonder he'd been willing to trust Gilshratz to scout for him.
"Hey, what's going on over here?" A familiar voice called down and Byakuya felt a great relief as Ichigo spiralled in for a landing. "What – oh, you again. Why are you here? Have a death wish?"
"Ichigo!" The demon sounded frantically glad to see him, which made Ichigo blink in surprise. "I have a message from Gilshratz!" He glanced around, clearly wondering if he could talk in front of the shinigami. Ichigo resolved his dilemma with an impatient wave.
"I have no secrets here. Spill." He said and the demon gladly spilled.
"He sent many scouts and most did not come back, but one got close enough to see the stones and the ones around them! The stones are held by Sona Maria and all her hordes. Gilshratz bids you well but cannot help any further. I can leave dreadful one?" Ichigo rubbed his forehead for a moment, closing his eyes before looking at the messenger.
"You came here without stopping to feed. Let me feed you before you go." He said and stepped close to the demon, making Byakuya tense and grip the hilt of his sword. "Way of Mercy 36: My flesh to yours." Ichigo pulled off a bit of the armor on his arm and offered the naked flesh to the demon, who sank his teeth in eagerly. The hybrid stood still, stoically enduring the pain before forcing the other demon off. "Tell Gilshratz I appreciate his help and will not call upon him again until matters are finished, one way or the other."
"Yes Ichigo!" The demon abased himself again before scuttling away. Ichigo watched him go, expressionless, then looked at Yamamoto.
"Will there be a big meeting soon? Because that wasn't good news at all, but it's going to take a while to explain everything." After the incident with the seki stone collar, Byakuya had reminded the hybrid that he couldn't assume they knew anything where it came to demons. The records from before the banishment were fragmentary at best. Yamamoto frowned at him but nodded.
"We were holding a meeting in any case. I will expect you to give a full briefing on what you have learned." He said and Ichigo nodded. Things broke up then, and Byakuya went to Ichigo's side. The hybrid was looking at the ground with a slightly upset expression on his face.
"You look like someone killed your dog. This Sona Maria is powerful?" Zaraki's loud voice said behind Ichigo, making the hybrid jump and blink. He turned to look at the larger man, and his golden eyes had a glimmer of good humor.
"Oh, she's powerful. She's also called the Beast of Brutality, and when a demon calls another demon brutal, it really means something. You might like her." Ichigo's smile widened to a grin and Byakuya wondered why. "You should make a hybrid with her. It would be the most terrifying thing to ever walk the sands."
"Ichigo!" Byakuya said, appalled, but Zaraki laughed.
"You matchmaking, kid? Well, it's good to see you've got a sense of humor, unlike some people. Oh, finally!" Byakuya turned to look and saw the 11th was finally straggling through the rift, looking considerably cleaner if rather ragged around the edges. "Time to go kick some ass."
"Just make it to the meeting tonight." Byakuya reminded Kenpachi, who sneered and hefted his sword.
"Talk, talk, nothing but talk. But fine, I'll make it to your precious meeting." And he went off to meet his unit. Pretty soon the 11th Division was moving out to begin scouring the sands. Byakuya watched, then turned to Ichigo.
"I'm also going to do some sweeps. Would you like to come?" He asked and Ichigo immediately nodded.
"I'd be glad to. I'll help keep your men safe, and maybe settle a few debts along the way." The demon boy's eyes shone with bloodlust nearly as bright as Kenpachi's, and Byakuya sighed to himself. But he wasn't going to tell Ichigo to forgo his revenge.
He had a lot of things to get revenge for.
Ichigo looked at himself in the hand mirror, adjusting his clothing slightly.
He was going to be giving a briefing to all the taichou and officers. That was a bit nerve-wracking, mainly because he desperately wanted acceptance in this 'hive.' It wasn't like a demon hive, of course, but Ichigo wasn't certain what else to call it. And this was the first time he'd tried to join a hive in earnest. Most demon lords would not have wanted him, and the few who would, would have expected him to give sexual and blood favors. Ichigo grimaced at the thought. The lack of that kind of behaviour among the shinigami was quite refreshing.
Deciding he'd spent enough time on his appearance and wanting to be a bit early, Ichigo went to the big tent that was housing the meeting. Slipping inside, he found that most of the taichou were already there and plenty of the officers. Renji was quickly by his side and Ichigo smiled at the young man. He was fascinated by the black marks on his skin. Demons would often paint marks like that on their skins, just for fun and vanity, but the ones on Renji seemed to be permanent.
"Hey, you're sitting over here, between me and Byakuya." Ichigo nodded and took his seat. Byakuya wasn't there yet. "I didn't get a chance to say thanks for killing that demon for me and Rukia."
"Oh, it was nothing. I enjoyed it." Ichigo said truthfully. "Hikana and I have a bit of a history." That was really all he wanted to say about that, and Renji nodded. He'd heard what Ichigo had said to the demonness just before eating her heart. "Is Rukia's arm okay?" He'd been astonished to find out that it would be at least a week before the break healed, and that was considered quite fast for a bone injury.
"Yeah, she's gonna be – hsst!" Byakuya took his seat on Ichigo's right side and Yamamoto took his spot at the head of the table. Everyone quieted, even Zaraki, and the Soutaichou had them give some quick status reports. Ichigo didn't understand most of that, although his attention was caught by the casualty figures. If it had just been low level demons, the rates would have been good. But from what he now knew of shinigami, he didn't think they were good at all. Even the least powerful shinigami was not meant to be fodder the way weak demons were.
"Now, Kurosaki Ichigo received information from an informant this afternoon. He has agreed to give us a briefing on what we face." Ichigo took a deep breath and stood as all eyes turned to him. It was even more nerve-wracking than he had anticipated, but he struggled not to show how it was affecting him as he spoke.
"Okay. I'm not sure what you already know, so if any of this is kind of boring I apologize." Ichigo glanced around. No one appeared to be bored yet. "I'm going to start with how demon lords evolve. It will help explain the problem we're facing here. Demon lords are born cute and cuddly, just like shinigami." There were some very surprised looks around the table, but Ichigo forged on. "Demons have some maternal instincts, and a new demon lord is a continuation of the line, so they get good care. Eventually they get old enough to lose the cuteness, and that's when the parenting demon lord will split the hive. A group of lesser demons and greater demons will be sent with the baby demon lord to establish a new hive. The bigger the group the parent can give, the better the chances the demon lord will survive the next stage."
"We call the next stage the cannibal stage, because that's basically what they do." Ichigo told his audience, eyes dark with memories. "At this point, the young demon lords must devour each other, and quickly, to swell their hive with captured minions. Hmm… do you know how demons devour each other?" He asked.
"They eat each other? Or is it not that simple?" A taichou Ichigo didn't know, a man with long white hair, asked. Ichigo nodded.
"It's not quite that simple. Lesser demons don't have much personality, so they can be safely absorbed by other lesser and greater demons. Greater demons, on the other hand, have enough personality to generate a clash of wills if another greater demon tries to absorb them completely. Since that kind of battle can result in the victor losing their body to the one they are trying to absorb, most greater demons will never initiate it. They'll just strip what power they can from the heart and let the loser survive to resurrect. Although if a demon has their heart eaten enough times, they'll finally be absorbed." Ichigo took a deep breath. "Demon lords are different. They must absorb their victims completely, the first time, if they hope to advance. So they're very practiced in those kinds of mental battles."
"And how does this matter?" Kenpachi asked, obviously bored even though everyone else was interested. Ichigo smiled briefly.
"I'll get there. After the cannibal stage is the lower tier. That tier is pretty stable, so the demon lords in it have to start engaging in long term plots and strategies. They mostly plot against others in their tier, but sometimes they can shoot much, much higher. My ally Gilshratz is a perfect example of that. My mother's demon lord was an ascendant, but by managing to make contact with me and having his spies train me in focus, we were able to overthrow her together and propel him into the next tier." Ichigo shrugged. "And I got my freedom. It was a good exchange. Anyway, after the lowest tier is the middle tier, which is the same thing but with more power. After that is the ascendants. They are the demon lords who are truly powerful, have vast hordes of minions, and who want the dark mother to come back immediately." Ichigo hesitated before explaining further. "The demon lords in the lower and middle tiers don't want the dark mother to awaken until they are ascendant, so there's a natural conflict at work."
"You think we can exploit that?" Byakuya said and Ichigo glanced at him before shaking his head.
"I honestly don't know. The problem is that the only demon lord I'm friendly with is Gilshratz, and he can't help us. In demon terms, he took out an ascendant a very short time ago. If he takes out another, the ascendants will probably destroy him as unacceptably dangerous. He can't risk it." Ichigo knew they would get no help from that quarter, and he didn't really blame Gilshratz. "And also, Sona Maria is shooting really high. I hate to tell you this, but we're facing the very top of the ascendants. Sona has, to my knowledge, over a thousand lesser demons, scores of greater demons, and at least five demon lord children and vassals that must answer her call, if she makes it." There was a deathly silence around the table as they absorbed that. "She wouldn't bring all of them to the stones though. She always has to keep her hive defended. But even so, this is going to be very bad. And there is another problem." Ichigo hesitated, glancing at Yamamoto before continuing. "You aren't demons. How do you intend to kill Sona so she won't resurrect?" There was a stir around the table.
"Won't another demon lord take advantage of her weakness to finish her while she's resurrecting?" Renji asked and Byakuya nodded thoughtfully. That was what he would have expected. But Ichigo shook his head.
"If it were anyone else, I'd say yes, but she's the very top of the ascendants. It will be a terrific blow to her power and prestige, but the others are terrified of her. And any remaining demon lord vassals will protect her remains until she resurrects. Not because they want to, but because she has them bound very tightly to her will and power. I'd say it would take her at least five thousand years to recover from the blow to her power base, but eventually she would try again. If we want to stop this from happening in the future, we have to eliminate her completely. She won't have shared the knowledge of her new technique with anyone… she wants to be the one to awaken the dark mother and receive her favor… so if she dies, completely, this knowledge goes with her."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Yamamoto rumbled and Ichigo bit his lip.
"I wish I had a good answer. I was hoping you would have some ideas." He said honestly. "The only one I can come up with is to have a rival demon lord or… or me, devour her and challenge her to a battle of wills. The problem with that is that only another demon lord would stand a good chance of winning. I would probably lose, and even if I won, my shinigami side would be snuffed out. I would never be the same and honestly, I'd prefer to die than become a demon lord." He meant that with all of his heart. Now that he'd had a taste of what it meant to be a shinigami, he did not want to go back.
"I see. Is that everything?" Yamamoto asked and Ichigo hesitated a moment before nodding and returning to his seat. "Kuchiki taichou, is there any records of how a shinigami can destroy a demon lord permanently?"
"No, but there are numerous records of shinigami binding demon lords. Perhaps some kind of containment…" Ichigo let the rest of the meeting wash over him, and didn't bother to point out the problems. Binding Sona Maria would require bonds almost as powerful as those on the dark mother, and he doubted the shinigami could do that again. Demon lore had it that six powerful shinigami had given their lives to forge the banishment, a purely voluntary sacrifice. Glancing around the room, he wondered what taichou's would be volunteering for that task. Looking at Byakuya, so calm and intent, Ichigo felt his breath catch in his throat. He could imagine Byakuya willingly sacrificing himself to stop Sona Maria, and the thought made something inside him writhe in agony. But then he stopped as a strange thought occurred to him. He turned it around in his mind, examining it from all angles.
Sacrifice… willing sacrifice…
Could that work?
Ichigo almost missed the end of the meeting, his mind still completely absorbed in evaluating his idea. But he blinked and looked up as Byakuya gripped his arm, frowning at him faintly.
"Is something wrong, Ichigo?" Golden eyes met grey, and Ichigo forced a smile he didn't feel. He could sense Byakuya's concern sharpening.
"Just thinking about how to stop Sona Maria forever." He said honestly. "It's kind of a puzzle. Demon lore says… demon lore says the great mother's binding required six taichou level shinigami to give their lives to the stones." From the shock in Byakuya's eyes, he hadn't known that. "Any binding that's going to last a long time will probably need blood." He couldn't keep the distress out of his voice and Byakuya regarded him for a moment before squeezing his shoulder.
"We will find a way." Was all he said and Ichigo nodded before standing. But his idea would not go away.
What if…?
When he and Byakuya made love that night, Ichigo couldn't keep his feelings out of their coupling. When he took the shinigami into his body, a tear slid down his cheek, falling onto his lover's chest and glittering like a captive star. Even as the pleasure soared to mind numbing heights, thoughts of death and endings intruded, giving his actions an air of desperation. He knew he was hurting Byakuya a little, his hard fingers raising trails of red on that soft, sakura scented skin, but he couldn't stop. And Byakuya wasn't asking him to stop, his grey eyes wide and caught up in the same animal instinct as his hybrid lover.
"This is the reason I shouldn't." He whispered in Byakuya's ear, ignoring the man's puzzled sound. "But it's also the reason I should."
"Should what?" Byakuya panted but Ichigo couldn't bring himself to answer, silencing him with a passionate kiss as they mated, their bodies moving in a dance as old as time. Ichigo reached his peak first, throwing back his head as the pleasure overwhelmed him. A few more hard thrusts, and Byakuya joined him, filling him with his hot seed. Ichigo cherished the feeling, the sensation of his lover's release inside his body. This was life. This was what he'd always wanted.
Is it what I have to give up? The thought made him feel sick, as he gazed into Byakuya's beautiful eyes, his flushed face, the long black hair spread over the pillows. How can I give this up?
"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Byakuya asked softly, gripping the hybrid's shoulder as they parted. "You're not the same tonight." The concern in those beautiful eyes was another hurt in his heart, but Ichigo ignored the pain, embracing his lover and kissing him gently on the cheek.
"Just thinking about how likely we are to survive this." He said softly, which was the truth but also a lie. Understanding filled grey eyes, and Byakuya gave him a warm, loving kiss.
"I won't die, Ichigo. I will make it through this." The shinigami assured him and Ichigo's breath caught in his throat. The thought of Byakuya sacrificing himself came back, and he caught his hand, pressing it over his heart.
"And what if I die?" He asked quietly and saw pain flash in Byakuya's eyes. Another reason I shouldn't. "I'm not as powerful as Sona. She could eat my heart, and I'm too shinigami to come back." He didn't resurrect. It was part of the reason he was so tough, so capable of regeneration. Byakuya gripped his arms so tightly that if not for his hard skin, Ichigo knew he would have been in pain.
"You won't die. Stop this, Ichigo. We will fight together and shatter our enemies." The intensity of Byakuya's voice gripped him, but Ichigo could only think it was a denial of reality. But there was no point in saying that. He couldn't share his thought with Byakuya. It would hurt the beautiful shinigami too much. Instead he nodded and gave the noble a final, warm kiss before pretending to sleep. He waited until Byakuya's breathing had become even and regular before opening his eyes and regarding the noble beside him. Byakuya was deeply asleep. Ichigo carefully slid out of the blankets, taking care not to awaken his lover, and put on his shinigami clothes before leaving the tent.
He needed to think, and there was a decision to make. Slipping through the camp like a ghost, Ichigo walked through the rift back to Soul Society. Pausing, he looked up into the sky and marvelled at the stars. The demon sands had very different stars, and the night skies were often full of luminous clouds of gas as well as the northern lights. This was a much quieter beauty.
It was a bit eerie, walking through the camp at night. Shinigami were daytime creatures, and the only ones stirring were the sentries keeping the camp safe. That, and some of the wounded who were too badly hurt or restless to sleep. Ichigo bypassed them all, walking into the forest. He wanted to see the trees.
"So strange." He whispered to himself, trailing fingers over rough bark. In the night, the forest was all shades of grey and black, but he found it was just as beautiful and interesting as the daytime. Stopping to look up at a tree, he blinked as his toe hit something. Kneeling down, he picked it up and examined the strange object, turning it in his hands. "What is it?"
It is a pinecone. Come a soft and comforting voice, touching the shinigami half of his soul. Ichigo closed his eyes, just savoring the fact that he could hear Zangetsu and feel him. He'd never been able to feel Zakanata the way he could feel his own zanpakuto. Then he looked back at the thing in his hands. It was rough and stiff, with odd little flaring parts.
"What is a pinecone for?" He softly asked the zanpakuto.
It is how pine trees make more pine trees. Ichigo smiled at the answer, and tried to imagine how the pine cone accomplished that feat. He couldn't figure it out, but perhaps Byakuya could tell him. The pinecone fell from suddenly nerveless fingers and Ichigo sniffed, running a hand over his face.
"Zangetsu, what should I do?" He asked his zanpakuto and there was a long silence.
I cannot make this decision for you, Ichigo. He answered and Ichigo nodded. That was true. This was his decision, and he needed to make it. Standing up, he looked around the forest one last time. Would this be the last time he would see it?
"This is a reason I shouldn't." He whispered. There were so many reasons he shouldn't. Feeling like his soul was hurting, Ichigo walked back into the camp. He would have gone straight through the rift, but a sound caught his attention and stopped his feet. It was heart breakingly beautiful, and like nothing he had ever heard before.
It is called a flute. Zangetsu said as Ichigo followed the sound. A young female shinigami was sitting on a crate. She was heavily bandaged, with an eyepatch over one eye, but she was holding the flute to her lips and creating that haunting melody. Ichigo listened, spellbound, until the music ended. Then he stepped closer. She lowered the flute from her lips, looking at him with her undamaged eye.
"Can I sit with you a while?" He asked quietly. "Your music is beautiful." Demons had music, but it was nothing like this. They favored jarring, discordant sounds that always made Ichigo feel a little ill. She smiled slightly, moving over on the crate to make room.
"Sure." She said softly and Ichigo sat down beside her. "Would you like to hear something else?"
"Please." Ichigo listened again as she played, the soft, sweet notes piercing his heart with their beauty. He wasn't aware of his tears until the music stopped and she spoke.
"Why are you crying?" She asked and Ichigo tried to think. Why was he crying?
"Because we might all die." He said, meeting her gaze squarely. "You almost died. Does it bother you?" He was sure she had come close, with all the bandages she wore. Her breath caught for a moment, and then she shook her head.
"No. I would have died protecting the ones I love." She blew a soft note, then smiled. "And if we all die, we'll die for that. Protecting everyone." Ichigo stared at her, feeling something shift inside himself, something vitally important.
Protecting. Protecting the ones we love… protecting everyone. This is the reason I should.
No.
This is the reason I must.
Ichigo felt Zangetsu's sadness and pride as he came to a decision and he smiled, gently patting the girl on a bandaged shoulder.
"Thank you. That helps." He said before standing up and walking back towards the rift. The young shinigami watched him go, silent and wondering. For now, Ichigo would go back to Byakuya and sleep.
Tomorrow would be soon enough.