Here is Chapter Eleven! I'm glad to say I got this finished quicker than was planned so you can all get your fix =p
Again I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and who has stuck with this story for so long now. So thank you all for your lovely, albeit comical, reviews, I love to read them and whenever I feel a bit down or am struggling to find my mojo, knowing that there are people who really enjoy this story makes everything better, and really cheers me up.
But enough of me waffling on :) On with the show!
WARNING: No smut this chapter, but there is fluffiness which just might kill youuuuuu =p
Chapter Eleven: An Occasion To Be Marked:
After what could only have been a few hours sleep, Byakuya woke up. His arm and leg muscles were stiff and sore, his groin and buttocks were embarrassingly sticky and his backside felt like it had been well and truly bulldozed.
He wanted to sit up, and tried to do as much, but was restrained by the satin around his wrists and ankles.
Aizen… That bastard. Did he have a bondage fetish? It seemed that way… Or was it just his fox-faced subordinate's way of getting off? Either way, the pride of the Kuchiki family had been well and truly smeared. They would have to pay for that.
Byakuya had come to the conclusion that he was perhaps bisexual or maybe even gay now, about three months ago. He had been sparring with his fukutaichou, and as was to be expected he won. Of course. However, he had not guaranteed victory, Renji had kicked his legs out from under him and he'd gone flying, flying forwards… Onto his fukutaichou no less.
Oh yes… The great embarrassment he had felt when he had ended up pressed so close to his red headed subordinate, close enough to smell his unique scent, feeling the way his chest rose and fell in the aftermath of exercise and the way Renji's cheeks had flared as red as his hair and stared deep into his eyes.
It was nothing compared to what Byakuya had looked like. He was certain no one had ever seen him go quite as red, he'd of course scrambled away as soon as his brain would allow his body movement again, but that instant was frozen in his mind forever. And ever since then he had been sporting a rather shy crush of his fukutaichou, one which he believed was reciprocated.
A soft snore jolted Byakuya out of his thoughts and he looked around at the man sleeping beside him. Aizen Sousuke, Lord of Las Noches and of all the hollows. He had almost been killed by this man on the execution grounds when he had jumped in the way to save his sister. Yet he couldn't deny there was something provocatively mysterious about the brunette.
He sighed and shook his head, he was addled. Gin had injected him with something before tying him to the bed; it had made his whole body burn and tingle in the same breath. He had hated the feeling, but loved it at the same time. And then the application of Aizen's touch…
Byakuya groaned suddenly as his groin awoke again, glancing down slightly and then looking at the ceiling as he hardened.
'Bollocks.' He thought with a sigh.
With another shake of his head, Byakuya shuffled up the bed as far as the ankle ties would allow and started tugging at the wrist ties with his teeth. After several long minutes and a couple of pauses they were both undone. He then leaned down at untied his feet.
With shaking hands Byakuya pushed himself off the bed as carefully as he could, he went over to the chair where his clothes had been dumped and collected them up, giving his hardened member a firm and painful flick. He dressed speedily and looked back at the bed as he slid his kenseikan back into his hair.
He swallowed in hesitation and grabbed one of the silk binds from the bed. He crept around to Aizen's side and wound the cloth tight between his hands, he bit his lip and lunged suddenly, yanking the cloth around Aizen's neck and pulling.
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu." A low velvet voice called from behind Byakuya.
The Aizen on the bed disappeared to Byakuya's horror and he spun around, looking at the open bathroom door. He swallowed as he observed Aizen's dripping wet hair, naked torso shining with water droplets and a rather small towel around his waist.
"Where you really going to try to kill me with a piece of cloth?" Aizen asked in a mixture of amusement and curiosity.
Byakuya's cheeks scorched red and instead of answering he walked over and slapped him. He was certain that the slap hurt him more than Aizen; however the latter did look somewhat surprised by the bold move.
Aizen smirked again suddenly and grabbed his wrist, pulling him against him, "Not that it matters… You can't kill me." He breathed and trailed his lips down his neck slowly, resting on an already bruised reddened patch and started sucking and licking at the patch repeatedly.
Byakuya growled angrily but slowly weakened and fell against him, moaning out loudly and pressing against him. He panted heavily and whimpered, lifting his hands and raking them through Aizen's hair and moaning loudly. He gasped as he felt himself stirring again inside his hakama and closed his eyes as he ground against him.
Suddenly, the brunette pulled back and looked at the clock hanging on the wall, "Hmm… I do apologise my Dear Byakuya… But I have a meal to attend." He smirked, he handcuffed Byakuya's wrists back together and summoned Ulquiorra.
The fourth Espada arrived quickly and walked in after being called for, he glanced between the bed, his Lord and the noble. He remained silent and merely bowed to his lord.
"Ulquiorra… Please take Byakuya back to his cell. Then ensure everything is ready for the meal. I am sure I can trust you to make sure everything runs smoothly." He smiled.
"Yes, Aizen-sama. Of course you can." He said, bowing a little lower before he grabbed Byakuya and flash-stepped away without another thought or word.
Aizen cleared his throat as Byakuya and Ulquiorra left, ordering for someone to clean sheet his bed before he got dressed in a pair of white suit trousers, a black shirt which he buttoned to just below his collar bone. He pulled on a pair of black leather shoes and ran a hand through his hair, barely restraining a sigh as his classical strand fell back in front of his eyes.
He shook his head and squirted some deodorant and body spray. He shrugged his shirt into place; donning a crisp white suit jacket and walked out.
He strode down the corridor confidently and came to a stop outside of Ichigo's room, he knocked firmly on the door and waited a few moments before entering the room.
"Ichigo?" he called, "Are you wake?" he asked as he walked through the rooms, checking the lounge, kitchen and bedroom; he then heard the shower turn off and smiled slightly.
Ichigo walked out a moment later with a large fluffy towel gown, the substitute shinigami's long hair was dripping wet and stuck to his face and neck, his face and skin was lightly flushed from being having been stood under hot water for so long; his eyes widened in surprise as he saw Aizen stood in his bedroom.
"Ichigo… I did knock. The water must have drowned out my voice." He smiled, "I hope you don't mind but I went to the trouble of having our resident tailor make you some more clothes aside from the uniform." He unhooked a plastic covered outfit from the back of the bedroom door and held it out for him, "It was made in the image of your human clothes I believe…" He chuckle.
Ichigo blinked and took the wrapped clothes, "I… uh… Thank you…" he stammered, laying them on the bed and unzipping the plastic cover. He pulled out a black polo-shirt, a pale blue hoodie and a grey jacket; there were also a pair of dark blue jeans and black converse trainers, "Wow… This is really good…" he said, looking up at him, "Thank you." He smiled.
"You're more than welcome." He replied simply.
In a flash, Aizen had picked up a towel from the bathroom and reappeared in front of Ichigo; he directed the younger man to sit down and rested the towel on his head, firmly but softly towel drying his hair for him, massaging his scalp through the towel. Ichigo close his eyes and rested his head against Aizen's stomach, sighing contentedly as his hair was dried for him.
When Aizen pulled back, he threw the towel in the washing basket and looked back at Ichigo; he smiled slightly, "Alright, I'll wait for you in the other room while you dress."
"Hmm? Why where are we going?" he asked as he slowly stood up and pulled a pair of clean boxers from the drawers in the wardrobe.
"We have a meal to attend." He replied with a warm smile, "I'll be in the other room."
Ichigo watched as he left the bedroom and swallowed, scratching his head in confusion. He cleared his throat and dried himself off, pulling on his underwear and getting dressed quickly. He sat down on the bed as he tied the laces on his converses before he stood back up, running a hand through his hair. He glanced around to see if he'd forgotten anything and then headed out into the lounge, "I'm ready." He told Aizen, who was sat down with his back to him.
Aizen stood up quickly and looked around at him, "You look amazing." He complimented, making Ichigo blush.
"I… um… Thanks… Uh… You too…" he replied, for the first time really taking in the other's attire. He cleared his through and smiled, pulling his hands in his trouser pockets nervously.
The brunette chuckled and walked forwards, holding his hand out to him, "Shall we?" he offered.
Ichigo felt his cheeks scorch again and he slowly took the other's hand, unable to deny it felt nice as warm fingers closed around his own. He smiled and nodded eagerly, "Yes." He agreed.
Without hesitation Aizen led the orange haired male from his room, holding his hand protectively as they passed several low level Arrancar on their way. Before long, they arrived outside the canteen. Ichigo looked around at Aizen momentarily before jumping slightly in surprise as the doors were opened for them.
His jaw dropped at the transformation of the room. He had visited the canteen once or twice before, the last time when he had met Stark; he smiled inwardly at the memory.
However, previously there had been many hundreds of dozens of tables scattered all over the room; the food bar had been open with grisly looking chefs and waiters.
But now it was completely different, there were three long tables, the middle one housed the Espada, Gin, and Tousen and there were two extra seats and he assumed they were for himself and Aizen. The two other tables appeared to accommodate the Espada's fraccion or at least some of them, thankfully it appeared Szayel had only brought his higher brain functioning fraccion, who were neither ugly nor stupid, and they were in fact quite attractive.
Ichigo's eyes ran over the mass of people and felt a little anxious, although everyone was wearing casual clothes and the usual Las Noches uniform had been disposed of for the night… these people remained very intimidating and strong. Ichigo was not stupid, and kept this very much at the forefront of his mind.
He then looked around the room a little further; the usual blank white walls were strung with elegant dark red veils, the dining tables where laid with the same coloured cloths and to one side of the room was a cordoned off area with a large stereo and the floor was glowing all sorts of pastel shades.
Ichigo looked around at Aizen suddenly was they started walking again, he swallowed a little hesitantly as he was half dragged to the head of the table. He took the seat beside Aizen's and reluctantly beside Gin.
He kept his head down for the most part, but couldn't help but notice murderous glares from Grimmjow, Nnoitra and Ulquiorra; but, on a nicer front he also got a warm smile from Stark who was sat on at the side of the table beside Gin. At the very least he would have someone friendly to talk to.
Aizen nodded to a waiter whose head had stuck out of the kitchens, the brunette looked around at Ichigo and smiled slightly, "I hope you're hungry. There is a three course meal tonight." He told him quietly.
"Wow…" he breathed, "That sure is a lot of food… But yes… I'm starving…" he replied with an embarrassed chuckle as his stomach rumbled.
"Well this is a celebration for the Espada. It seems only fitting that they get treated. And of course, you are our guest." He smiled.
Ichigo was going to reply but just as he opened his mouth a dozen or more waiters emerged from the kitchens and began speedily setting down plates in front of people.
Ichigo looked down at his own plate, on which a bowl of what looked like tomato soup with a mint leaf floating on top. It smelled of very strong tomatoes and the mint was very faint but added to it excellently. Then again, he was so hungry a broth would have smelled appealing.
He glanced around at Aizen who had just requested some music be played; with a jolt Ichigo recognised the songs to be ones on his playlist on his IPod.
He frowned inwardly, things were beginning to get strange; he hadn't considered at first but now… There were the family photos hanging in his bedroom, the colour scheme in his apartment-like room which was made up of some of his favourite colours, then there was the style of clothing Aizen had had crafted for him, it closely resembled an outfit he had at home and now… His favourite flavour soup and his favourite music!
What the hell was going on? Was Aizen some kind of stalker?
"-igo… Ichigo? Kurosaki Ichigo?" Aizen was frowning, waving his hand in front of the substitute shinigami's face in mild concern, "Ichigo? Ichigo?"
"Oi Strawberry!" Grimmjow yelled suddenly.
Of course he responded to that, snapping out of his daydream and looking around in embarrassment, "W… What did I miss?" he asked.
"Nothing Ichigo…" Aizen replied, shooting the Espada a glare which told them to return to their starter course, "Are you alright? I was calling your name for several minutes."
"Huh? You were?" had he really been thinking it over for that long?
"Are you alright?" Aizen repeated, his concern growing by the minute.
"Oh! Yes I'm sorry! I'm fine… I was daydreaming is all… I'm sorry." He smiled, scratching his neck nervously.
Aizen chuckled, relieved he hadn't suddenly fallen ill, "It's quite alright. I imagine this is still all quite overwhelming for you. However, I asked you whether your soup was alright?"
He hastily picked up his spoon and took a mouthful of the dark orange liquid into his mouth and swallowed, he nodded vigorously, "It's delicious! It… tastes just how my Mum used to make it…" he said, nostalgia hitting him in the chest like a cannon.
Seemingly content with his response, Aizen returned to his own starter, a tray of assorted sushi.
After about fifteen minutes, everyone had finished their starter course which was then taken away and replaced by the main course. Ichigo was again overwhelmed to find one of his favourite meals. He had this time tucked in without hesitation, engaging in conversation with Stark as he ate.
He was completely oblivious to Aizen's jealous gaze.
The brunette watched how easily HIS pet managed to hold conversation with the number one Espada, and how he in fact managed to keep him so engrossed that he stayed awake throughout. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous of it in fact, and although he continuously told himself he had no feelings whatsoever for HIS pet… He couldn't help but wish he could communicate in a similar fashion with him. It almost infuriated him that he could no more hold a conversation with Ichigo, than he could stop having sex with random members of his Espada.
He frowned inwardly and decided without a doubt, he would find a way to make the younger man accept him. He was sure he was merely nervous around him, or shy… But should it be something more serious like hate or just sheer disinterest…
Aizen cleared his throat gently, finishing his main course quickly and taking a sip of sake, he continued watching as Ichigo moulded into conversation with Stark, Gin and even Tousen. He had somehow managed to interest all three men in the same topic of conversation… Even Aizen couldn't do that considering how different Gin and Tousen were.
This was now annoying him as well as making his little green man show up, HE wanted Ichigo to talk to HIM like he was the others. He WANTED HIS Ichigo to find it easy to be around him.
HE SERIOUSLY WANTED TO STOP FEELING THINGS FOR THE STUPID FREAKING HUMAN!
'Take a breath… It's no use getting angry… You'll only accidently on purpose kill everyone in the room with your angry fluctuating reiatsu Sousuke. And that would ruin the evening.' He scolded himself mentally and took another sip of sake.
He smiled slightly as Ichigo finally at back, seeming exhausted from the twenty minute conversation.
Twenty minutes! Twenty minutes! Why couldn't HE hold a conversation with the orange haired male for twenty minutes without having to silence him and fuck him into the mattress?
'CALM DOWN SOUSUKE!' he told himself firmly and smiled at Ichigo.
Said man swallowed under Aizen's gaze, smiling back after a moment, "The… Food is really nice." He said in an effort to start conversation as he sipped his drink.
"Yes… Yes it is isn't it?" Aizen replied, inwardly wanting to kill himself for the lame excuse of a topic, "We don't have a very good track record as far as our chefs go I'm afraid… Grimmjow keeps killing them because they are so appalling."
Ichigo laughed hard at this, "I can imagine that! Well I hope this chef stays… He seems alright for the job so far." He chuckled.
"Yes I certainly hope so too." He nodded and smiled.
Aizen faltered as Ichigo returned to his food… Five minutes. Five minutes conversation was all he was capable of… Ridiculous.
"Ichigo." He said, watching the younger man pause mid-chew, "… Do you like it here?"
The smaller male wavered at the question, "Sometimes."
"Only sometimes?" he frowned.
"When I feel like it's not a prison and that… I'm welcome here then it's alright. But when… I don't feel welcome and trapped… I don't like it so much." He explained.
"Oh… I see." He frowned again slightly, "How can I make it seem more welcoming?"
"Um… Well I don't know really…" he shrugged, "… It's just how I feel sometimes." He chuckled.
Aizen watched him return to his food again with a new concern. He now wanted his prisoner, his pet… To feel happy and comfortable here. Was there something wrong with him? Wasn't it a captive who was meant to start wanting things of their captor? Not the other way around!
Pudding was cherry pie and ice cream or custard. Ichigo went for custard and Aizen for ice cream.
Ichigo was starting to feel very full and very sleepy… And for some reason slightly aroused too. He couldn't quite fathom whether it was because of Stark's smoky eyes continuously boring into him, or whether it was down to Aizen's repetitive tries at protectively holding him, whether it was a pat on the knee, or a brush of a finger over his jaw, or even the occasional kiss on the forehead.
He decided after consideration it was probably down to Aizen. Which was a bit of a shame, Ichigo still felt guilty that he'd left Stark right after having sex with him. And damn it had been so good too. He still found the Espada extremely attractive.
He cut off his train of thought. If he carried it on he'd be having dreams about an Aizen and Stark threesome. He wasn't sure he'd live it down. Especially if Aizen had installed cameras in his room.
Suddenly, Aizen pulled Ichigo to his feet gently and pulled him away from the table. He watched as the fraccion removed two of the tables from the room, leaving the last one which was pushed up against the far wall and layered with a finger buffet. The fraccion did not return.
The door was shut and the lights turned down, leaving only the pastel lights on that corner off area to light the room. Ichigo realised very suddenly, the cordoned off area was a dance floor. No one was on it yet. They seemed to be waiting for something. Or someone. Wait…
The music changed and became a little slower, but louder and before he knew it, Aizen had linked their fingers and led him to the dance floor. The cordon was removed and Aizen led him onto the pretty glowing floor.
Ichigo looked up with wide eyes as Aizen put his arms around his waist, automatically lifting his own onto his shoulders.
"Shall we dance?" Aizen whispered in a low, slightly husky voice in his ear.
Ichigo let Aizen lead him, having no clue how to dance he merely mirrored as best he could. It was slow, sensual and seemed to be more than a quick boogie on the dance floor in front of the Espada.
Ichigo swallowed and met Aizen's gaze, seeing for the first time, something other than cold heartless lust… He saw unfamiliar warmth in those eyes.
"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Aizen asked softly, rubbing soothing circles into Ichigo's lower back as they continued to slowly roam around the glowing floor.
"Yeah… It was really nice." He replied with a smile, "The company wasn't bad either." He added cheekily.
Aizen replied with a low rumble of laughter from his chest, "I'm glad." He murmured, and… For once he meant it. He really meant it. And it frightened him.
It seemed to feel right, so slowly, Aizen leaned down and pressed his lips to Ichigo's still swaying in time with the music and kissing him for what felt like an eternity, their tongues joining them in a rhythmic and, dare it be admitted, romantic dance.
Neither of them even realised the music had changed again and the Espada had joined them on the dance floor.
Despite his desires, Szayel had been convince into dancing with Grimmjow, and he hated to admit he loved the way the bubblegum blue haired male ground against him from behind, swaying their hips together and secretly touching when no one was looking. Yeah he was a man-slut get over it.
Ulquiorra remained stood stoically on the edge of the dance floor before he was grabbed by an overzealous and slightly drunk Ichimaru Gin.
The others paired off quickly and settled into their own styles of dancing. All except for Stark, who remained seating at the finger buffet, watching Ichigo and Aizen with slightly sad, puppy dog eyes. He felt a wave of sadness. He had known Ichigo could never be his… He was Aizen's property. But he couldn't help himself… Ichigo had given him hope, something he had long lived without. Stark knew he would be playing a dangerous game if he tried to steal Ichigo from Aizen, but he was beginning to understand that all Aizen did was take and ruin. He couldn't let the same thing happen to Ichigo. He had an ace up his sleeve. He'd watched Ulquiorra remove Byakuya from Aizen's room only few hours before. He'd heard what had happened between the pair hours before that.
Aizen was a cheat and a liar, and if it meant getting Ichigo Stark would show it to everyone! Even if he was killed for it! He couldn't allow his Lord to break Ichigo! He couldn't!
The much sought after berry head finally parted his kiss from Aizen with flushed cheeks, he smiled slightly and brushing his cheek with the back of his hand. Aizen looked down at his pet and returned the smile, to hell with his feelings. He'd probably just drunk too much sake. A pet was a pet. Right?
The meal/party continued for a good few hours; it must have been around midnight by the time Ichigo began to get tired. He'd spent nearly three hours flat with Aizen alone, the brunette didn't seem to want to leave him alone, and he wasn't sure whether it was because he didn't trust him or because he didn't trust his Espada.
However, when Ichigo finally let out a weak yawn, his head rested on Aizen's shoulder as they watched the Espada continuing to enjoy the dance floor, Aizen looked around at him and smiled, "Hmm… I think it's time we got you to bed."
Ichigo looked up and smiled sleepily, "Yeah… I am quite tired." He agreed and slowly got to his feet, rubbing his eyes gently.
Aizen chuckled and nodded, taking his hand again and heading out with him silently, once they were a good distance away and spoke, "I believe I can leave them to continue the party by themselves. It's not often they have such an opportunity."
"You'd really trust them to do that?" he asked in slight confusion.
"Hmm… Not completely but Gin and Tousen are still there to keep an eye on things." He chuckled, "I don't really mind so long as they are all back on duty tomorrow."
"That's generous considering how much sake they're going to have consumed." Ichigo joked.
Aizen looked at him in amusement, "Perhaps, but the Espada have higher thresholds to alcohol, drugs and such like. I am more concerned about who will be ending up in whose bed tonight."
"I would have thought you could just tell automatically." Ichigo frowned, "They seem to pair off quite quickly in there."
"Yes but when you have hollows like Szayel around it does become a little more difficult to guess. I have heard, from Gin no less, that Szayel once convinced Grimmjow and Nnoitra to have a threesome with him… Gin only knows because he has a nasty habit of walking in on things of interest which occur in Las Noches." He sighed but chuckled, "As you can undoubtedly guess, getting Grimmjow and Nnoitra in the same room let alone the same bed is a task and a half."
Ichigo laughed and felt his cheeks flush slightly, "Yeah… I can imagine…" he sniggered.
They came to a stop outside of Ichigo's room, the younger man turned around and looked up at Aizen slowly, "Thank you… I really enjoyed this evening. It was very nice."
"You're welcome." He smiled, lifting their hands slightly and linking their fingers, making Ichigo blush slightly.
The latter let out a small gasp as he was pulled towards Aizen abruptly and smiled as he leaned up to meet his lips, cupping the back of his neck with his free hand. He smiled against his lips and shyly flicking his tongue out over Aizen's bottom lip and into his mouth.
When Ichigo pulled back, his cheeks were pinked gently and swallowed and licked his lips, "Um… Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Aizen smiled, "Of course, if you wish to."
"I would."
"Alright, why don't you come over for dinner?"
Ichigo nodded and smiled, "Sounds nice. I like the idea."
"Great, I shall see you then." He murmured.
They shared a final soft, sweet kiss before Aizen flash-stepped away. Ichigo swallowed, rubbing his forehead before retreating into his room.
He stretched and heading into the lounge, looking out of the balcony doors before spinning around as his door opened.
"Ichigo… Please forgive my intrusion." Stark rumbled as he closed the door behind him, quickly walking over to the young orange haired male, "I had to see you on your own."
"S… Stark… What's wrong?" he asked as he turned properly to face the Espada, "Are you okay? You look worried."
"Ichigo… We need to talk." He murmured, clasping his face in his hands, "I need to tell you something… Something about Aizen."
A/N: So here is the end of this chapter! I'm so cruel that I've left you all on a cliff hanger (insert evil laugh here) will Stark tell Ichigo what he's seen, or will he keep it to himself? What does everyone think?
We shall have to see in the next chapter (insert evil smirk) and I look forwards to hearing from you (hopefully) and your continued support and love for this story.
Until next time, please, please, please review, and if you want to, give me your ideas of what should happen next :0 I have a few ideas but I'm curious to see if anyone else is thinking the same things as evil, evil me (insert another evil laugh)
Bye-bye for now friends!