The Challenge – Chap. 6

The large, high-ceilinged room was dim and quiet as Ulquiorra entered. At the far end of the room, his lord sat in a large white chair with its back to the door. As Ulquiorra approached, Aizen swiveled in the throne-like chair to face him. Ulquiorra went down on one knee.

"It was done as you ordered, sir."

Aizen smiled. "I saw," he said. "Good job, Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra rose, his face expressionless. "Thank you, sir."

"I'm curious. What did you think of her response?" Aizen asked softly.

Ulquiorra paused in thought, and then said, "She's a brave girl. She didn't flinch at my questions. She only hesitated for a moment."

Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Do you admire her courage, Ulquiorra?"

The Arrancar returned his gaze dispassionately. "I do not feel admiration or any other such emotion, Aizen-sama."

"Ah." Aizen's smile was serene. "That's good." He shifted in the chair. "Continue on as you are, then. And as for tonight…have her brought to my chambers for dinner at 1900 hours," he ordered.

Ulquiorra bowed. "Yes, sir." He slipped out through the heavy double doors.

Left behind in the large, echoing room, Aizen rested his elbow on the armrest, chin on his hand, and gazed off into the distance. There was movement in the shadows at the side of the room, and a thin shinigami with fine silver hair and slitted eyes stepped gracefully out from the darkness to regard his master with an enigmatic smile.

"What kinda twisted game are ya playin' with that girl?" he said in a half-amused, half-mocking tone.

Aizen regarded his subordinate with a neutral expression. "Gin. Were you spying again?"

"I'm jus' intrigued by what ya hope to gain from her." He sashayed toward Aizen's throne and stopped several feet away. "She's only a human, after all. Though, obviously beautiful." His grin became slightly mischievous.

"Yes," Aizen said with a soft sigh. "She is beautiful. And her power is… exceptional."

"Do ya want her body or her powers?"

"Why should I not have both?"

Gin scrutinized his lord's expression. "Yer plannin' to use her friends' invasion against her in some way, aren't ya."

"What makes you say that?"

"Yer enjoyin' this, aren't ya? Even though yer subordinates are bein' killed by these intruders."

"Is that how it appears?" Aizen asked placidly.

"That's the kind of face yer makin'," Gin drawled. "This fightin' - it's jus' another game to ya, ain't it? Yer enjoyin' that those kids're winnin', and comin' closer to yer inner sanctum."

Aizen rose from his chair and faced the balcony, gazing out over the darkness beyond. In his mind's eye, he saw Ichigo's scowling face in the video screen as he tore down yet another opponent. "'Enjoying,'" he mused. "Yes, perhaps I feel an emotion akin to that, Gin." He glanced sidelong at the other shinigami. "Is that so strange?"

Gin's grin turned dark. "Not at all. Knowin' you've got somethin' planned makes me kinda… excited… too."

XxXxXxX

Aizen had dinner served to Orihime in a smaller, more intimate dining room that he only used occasionally. It held a small polished oak dining table for two with intricately carved legs. Beside the table was a maroon brocade loveseat so that the diners could sit side by side, facing a wide plate glass window offering a view of the endless Hueco Mundo desert beyond. Heavy maroon drapes were drawn back from the window by ornate sashes. The only other furniture in the room was a wide couch covered with silken fringed throws and many cushions embroidered with designs in maroon and ivory. The couch faced an old-fashioned stone fireplace in which a crackling fire was already lit.

Aizen stood to greet Orihime as Ulquiorra brought her to the door. Her eyes flicked over the furniture in the room and then fastened on Aizen's face. She seemed unable to look away from his eyes. Aizen gave her a gentlemanly bow and took her hand and drew it to his lips, his eyes fixed on hers.

When they were alone, he seated her on the loveseat beside him and studied her covertly as he drew several of the covered silver serving dishes closer. He could feel her body trembling and her heart beating rapidly. When he "accidentally" brushed against her skin as he reached for a dish, the blush deepened on her cheeks and he heard her slight intake of breath. He hid a satisfied smile. It was as he had expected after his actions of the night before and this morning. She was powerfully physically attracted to him and, inexperienced as she was, she was convincing herself that he could not be as bad as she had previously believed. What he had seen on the video confirmed it. She had agreed to swear loyalty to him. At first, she had not been completely certain if she believed it, but speaking the words had helped cement her belief that it was true. By saying that she belonged to him, she was beginning to make his ownership reality.

The first part of his plan had fallen into place, the easy piece. He had seduced many women (and men) and was familiar with all the thoughts, emotions, and self-recriminations that were likely to surface. It was all rather repetitive, although undeniably pleasurable; however, he had long ago lost interest in that part of the process. It was merely a necessary step along the way to the more interesting challenges ahead. Tonight he would secure her physical and emotional loyalty to him, and then he would begin the next step: molding her mind and heart so she would be of use to him. He knew she was unusually compassionate and tender-hearted. He had decided that those were the first traits he would need to twist to his purposes, along with adjusting her sense of morality.

This more delicate operation was what he considered his specialty. Understanding the fundamentals of a person's character and determining what it would take to turn them into a perfectly shaped tool for his use required a different technique with each individual. For Tousen Kaname, it was taking his burning desire for justice and subtly guiding it into a rage for revenge against the Sereitei, and then slowly persuading him that only Aizen could satisfy that revenge, through a combination of logic, the restrained raising of emotions, and the judicious installation of fear and admiration. In the end Tousen had become blindly loyal (Aizen savored the irony), overlooking any injustice that Aizen himself committed, fanatically convinced that obedience to Aizen was the only path to accomplish Tousen's own goals.

This was Aizen's artistry. He sculpted souls. It was esthetically pleasing to him that Tousen's core personality remained untouched; it had merely been redirected to serve Aizen's will.

With Ichimaru Gin, he'd employed a different method. Securing Tousen's loyalty had been a necessity due to his immunity to Kyouka Suigetsu, although he was not the raw material Aizen would have selected for use in his inner circle had he had a choice. On the other hand, Aizen had been fascinated by the deadly, brilliant child prodigy for some time. He was aware that Gin had spied on him earlier and had uncovered part of his secrets. Yet the youth had made no move to overtly betray him to the authorities, even after he had become a shinigami himself. Instead, he had deliberately sought to draw Aizen's attention to him. Aizen had been intrigued by the boy's schemes, and had covertly set up situations to allow Gin room to maneuver. Then he had recruited him, allowing Gin to think he had succeeded with his trap. He admired the youth's quicksilver brilliance and was charmed by his physical beauty, and above all, was captivated by the potential for disloyalty in one so close to him.

It was a supreme challenge to Aizen's artistry: to turn Gin into a useful tool and loyal subordinate who would serve his every wish for a hundred years while constantly believing that he was ready to turn on his superior. To do this Aizen had worked with Gin's core motivating emotion: his love for Rangiku. He allowed Rangiku to live, while persistently playing on Gin's jealousy and attraction to her, setting up situations that drew them closer to each other and then tore them apart. As an embellishment, he seduced Gin as well, taking pleasure in the young man's graceful body, and then using his bittersweet guilt over that relationship to further twist Gin to his will. In the end, Gin both loved and hated him, and Aizen played on his conflicting emotions to keep him always on the edge, a hair's breadth from the act of assassination.

In many ways, Gin was Aizen's most intricate accomplishment. It had been more than an amusing diversion during the long decades as he waited for his plot against Soul Society to come to fruition. It was extremely valuable to Aizen as well to have a powerful, amoral subordinate who might attempt to kill him at any moment; it kept him strong and focused, an absolute requirement for one who intended to strive unremittingly to reach higher levels of power.

Now, as he looked at the beautiful young girl beside him, he wondered if he might again produce such a work of art. He studied the intricacies of her soul beneath the exquisite physical surface, appreciating its structure as a sculptor might weigh a piece of wood or block of stone, considering what devastating new form he might elicit from the raw material before him.

He had reflected on Orihime's core compassion, and decided with regret that it was a trait he could not use directly. Still, he regretted having to destroy any primary motivations in his subordinates; surely there must be a way to merely distort it, bend it so that it served him? He had been pondering throughout the day, and had finally settled upon a somewhat experimental technique that would sear her compassion, leaving it partially intact, but sealed to his purposes. The series of events he planned possessed the additional advantage of providing him with entertainment beyond that of the ordinary act of lovemaking.

Now it was simply a matter of ordering his actions and those of the people around him to accomplish his will. He had already begun to set up Loly and Menoly to that end; the arrival of Orihime's friends would provide another lever to move her heart and mind in the direction of Aizen's choosing.

He smiled an open, welcoming smile at the young girl, with no hint of his darker thoughts visible on his face, and gestured to the table.

"Here," he said softly. "I'd like you to try these." Orihime looked down at the table. An array of perfectly ripe, red strawberries glistened in its silver dish. Beside it were laid out a bowl of sour cream and a ramekin of dark brown sugar.

"This deceptively simple dish originated in the West, but it is so delightful that I've had it prepared for me many times," he said. "You dip the strawberry in the sour cream, then in the brown sugar." He demonstrated, and then held the sweet fruit directly to Orihime's lips. Hesitantly, she parted them, and he slipped the concoction into her mouth with a seductive smile on his own lips.

She took a bite and swallowed. Her eyes lit up with surprised delight. "It's delicious."

"Yes, isn't it," he murmured, bending his head closer to hers. "I love the way the brown sugar melts into the pure white sour cream, forming a heavenly sauce that blends perfectly with the tart, pungent taste of the strawberry." He took one himself and ate it slowly, licking his lips, his eyes never deviating from Orihime's face. She swallowed nervously.

"Um, isn't this dessert? Shouldn't we be, uh, eating the main meal first?"

He drew their heads together so their foreheads touched and his loose strand of hair brushed her nose. "I've always believed in eating dessert first." He gently slipped one hand behind her head and brought his mouth to hers. The sweetness of the strawberries was on both of their lips and tongues as they kissed. Orihime's heart beat faster and her head whirled. She felt a vague guilt from eating a fruit she had always associated with Ichigo. But then her arms, almost against her will, reached up and slipped around Aizen's warm body as she allowed him to deepen the kiss.