On A Dark Path, He Walks

Disclaimer: I DON’T OWN THEM! Shiba Kaien owns my soul though. He’s a wonderful, magical little sprite who frightens my personal demons. He are teh smex.

Warnings: Adult language. Blood. Violence. Angst. Mind fuckery. The best things Bleach has to offer. Also, when I mention things like Ukitake being noble, I use it in the sense that he’s very formal and proper and his family were actual nobility but to a lesser degree than the Kuchiki or Shihouin clans.

Notes: Whoa, chapter five. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I started this fic, honestly. Aizen has taken over and is holding me ransom, but according to Soul Society law, once he left and traveled to Hueco Mundo, he became excised from their laws and can no longer be held responsible. In layman’s terms, I’m fucked.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“And they’ve brought Ukitake with them. I wonder if that was Genryuusai-dono’s doing. Ohhh, I can’t wait to play with my Jyuu-kun again…”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The shinigami mission party landed safely at the furthest outpost of Aizen’s ‘kingdom’, immediately looking for enemies and finding none. There was…nothing. At all. The entire world was black, the ground, the grass, the trees. The only thing they saw that even resembled anything remotely familiar were the gates to their left, large shoji silk screens that looked much like those used by the shinigami to travel between Soul Society and the living world.

Renji was the first to move towards them and hesitantly drew his sword, keeping it in its sealed state but taking a wary stance anyway as he reached out with one hand and touched the right hand panel, staring somewhat stupidly as nothing happened. He pushed the door over and peered through the crack, bright light spilling from inside, silhouetting him to his teammates.

“What is it, Abarai-kun?” The white haired captain queried. “Is there anything inside?”

The redhead turned back to shake his head but suddenly whipped his hand back from the door, narrowly missing a date with dismemberment as a sword drew down along the space between the doors, whistling from the speed of its descent. The two noblemen drew their own weapons and stood poised for a confrontation, Byakuya neatly standing tall while Ukitake leaned forward slightly, his eyebrows furrowed with sudden concern.

The enemy blade rested at the base of the doors, as still as if it had been left by itself before it turned sideways and slowly drew along the floor, pushing the sliding screen open even further, the whiteness beyond again silhouetting Renji as well as their attacker. The figure was tall, that much was obvious but the shape of the darkened form was odd, neither shinigami able to register exactly who or what it was.

It raised one arm and instantly the light from behind dimmed, revealing Grimmjow’s lithe form, his clothing immaculately white, his zanpakutou pointing towards Renji’s feet, causing the loudmouthed swordsman to jump back reflexively. The grinning arrancar stared at the three men before snorting out loud.

“I’m fuckin’ impressed. Just a second longer and I woulda had you, shinigami.”

Renji growled and lunged for the already irritating figure but stopped short as he tipped his head back from a second blade, his eyes lifting from the first one to stare skyward as the honed metal sliced through his hachimaki and just barely licked at the skin of his forehead. The white material sloughed to the ground and the vice captain lifted a hand to feel the wetness gathering around the small wound, growling more menacingly than before, this time taking refuge in front of his captain-class teammates, standing defensively, far enough from the doors to provide a safety zone for himself.

“Come out, you fuckin’ cheapskate! Fight me where I can see you!”

A loud chuckle came from the blue haired creature that still stood in the doorway, his tongue curling out from a thin pair of lips to give them a saucy lick, as if pleased with the situation. He reached his empty hand out and pushed the second door aside, a smaller, impossibly more frightening form residing behind it, his hands at his sides and large green eyes taking in the men before him.
The markings on his face reminded Renji of tattoos, not only because he also carried them, but also because they were such a stark contrast with the boy’s skin, his pallor a barely sun-kissed shade of white, nearly the same as the outfits both men wore. The pony tailed shinigami had also noticed the first man’s facial markings but thought less of them because they were coloured, the light blue at the corners of his eyes matching the man’s hair.

“You’ve got a pretty big mouth, eh shinigami?” The taller one asked, his fingers twitching around the hilt of his zanpakutou, its guard as blue as the rest of the accents that adorned him. He lifted an arm and elbowed the other man playfully, almost familiarly.

“Naa, Ulquiorra. Betcha Aizen-sama’d like him. Since he’s got such a fuckin’ big mouth and all…”

The captains stood watching the scene with something akin to bewilderment, the reiatsu coming from the two men suggesting that they were indeed high class beings, but the taller one’s attitude suggested a young fighter like Renji. The smaller one bothered Byakuya, for reasons he didn’t quite understand. It was his eyes, he was sure of it.

“Now is not the time, Grimmjow. Bring them to Aizen-sama. He wishes to have a private audience with them.”

The one named Grimmjow nodded halfheartedly as the younger of the two turned and walked towards what appeared to be a long corridor extending deeply past the twin doors, turning on his heel as well and gesturing with an outstretched arm, indicating that the other men were to follow. The sixth division fukutaichou was suspicious and he snorted indignantly, turning back to his captain and only receiving a nod, inwardly sighing when he realized Byakuya wanted him to follow.

The two new arrivals had certainly worried both members of the sixth and it was Ukitake who moved first, coughing lightly and looking Grimmjow in the eye once stepping past the inside barrier and listening to the doors close behind him. The indoor space was nearly foggy with released reiatsu. The colours mingling and swirling about each other. Most were unrecognizable but here and there he caught sight of Aizen’s in blue and green. The place they currently stood must have been a building of some kind, considering the furnishings and walls surrounding them, giving meaning to Genryuusai’s idea of a grand palace within Hueco Mundo where its current leader would have resided.

There was no sign of Kaname Tousen’s reiatsu and it made Renji feel somewhat better, never having liked the blind captain anyway, the noble Kuchiki heir also relieved to sense a lack of the powerful swordsman’s energies. Though the redhead was less skilled in the ways of detecting the soul powers, he could still feel it when a particularly powerful one came around and he nearly choked when a cloud of seemingly unassuming grey slipped into the room from the end of the long hall, curling about their feet and chilling the men’s toes.

The smaller of the two enemies had finally stopped walking as they approached a set of large double doors, twice what the entranceway had been, obviously a meeting room of sorts. They didn’t assume for even a second that it was a throne room. Neither of the men had lived during an era when the royal heir to the throne of Japan had personally allowed commoners inside his chambers so being near such a room didn’t even register with them.

The blue haired arrancar came up beside his partner and eyed each shinigami in turn, receiving a stare from Byakuya, a dirty look from Renji and an oddly shining pair of grey eyes from Ukitake, his hand clutching Sôgyo no Kotowari’s hilt, but not moving as if to use it. The mingling reiatsu now oozed from each crack surrounding the doors, the blue, grey and green dancing amongst each other as if their mixing was the only thing allowing the smoke-like substance to even levitate. Both men left the intruding Gotei thirteen members by themselves as they moved behind them and walked back way they had come. The click of a sliding door being securely locked echoed quietly, along with a muffled gasp had each of them visibly on edge.

Sufficiently assured that they were alone again but worried about their safety nonetheless, the longhaired thirteenth squad captain cleared his throat slightly before coughing into his hand, a side effect of his nervousness and agitation over the entire situation.

“Byakuya, this reiatsu-“

“It’s Aizen and Ichimaru.”

“Aa, but I feel nothing of Kira-fukutaichou. I doubt he can mask his energy this well.”

The youngest of the trio looked from one man to the other before stepping in front of them a second time and looking the large doors over, keeping his distance so that if a second attack came like the first one ‘outside’, he would be better prepared for it. None came however and he relaxed again, tucking Zabimaru back into its sheath and sighing with frustration. He was absolutely worried for his friend’s life and nothing could shake the fear of never seeing him alive again.
Nothing seemed right. Their being left alone in an empty hall, the two…whatever they were meeting the group at the gates. It was all very suspicious. He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to stand more comfortably.

“They fuckin’ leave us here and assume that we’ll just stand and wait?!”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The muffled noise the three shinigami had heard came from none other than Ulquiorra, the young arrancar looking up from his place on Grimmjow’s floor, green eyes glaring daggers at the taller male. The two had never really gotten close to each other but because of Aizen’s orders to them when they were created, they were to pair with each other for practice, in case the former shinigami ever needed a change from his sexual life with Gin and decided to seek them out.

Ulquiorra already considered himself skilled in the seductive arts, having been with the brown haired taichou before, his efforts rewarded by being named a high-ranking officer within the Espada. Apparently, due to his tattooed mark and his smug look when around their leader, Grimmjow had also been with Aizen and had been praised for his work.

From his vantage point on the cool hardwood, the helmeted arrancar could see his comrade’s arousal through the light uniform hakama, and though he was tempted to take matters into his own hands as he did with their lord, with the blue haired Espada member, he was loathe to. It wasn’t as if he didn’t enjoy it. He simply liked to deny the elder creation what he desired.

Aware of Ulquiorra’s stare, Grimmjow reached a hand down and undid the ties to his pants, allowing them to fall free of his hips and he stepped out of them, lovingly fondling himself as he moved to kneel on the floor as well, their height difference still noticeable. He prided himself in being taller and more muscular than the younger arrancar but neither bit of information mattered much to him as he let go of himself and shoved the other down onto his back.

There was no ignoring their urges once the larger creature was aroused and Ulquiorra found it exceedingly hard to avoid him when it happened. He always seemed to be indirectly responsible for it as well. Whether it was a certain look he gave the elder arrancar, or possibly something he had recently done that garnered Grimmjow’s attention.

As it was, the smaller of the two relented this time as well, untying his own hakama and slipping them down slim hips and thighs, kicking them aside and parting his legs in expectation, waiting less than a second before the gruffer creation slid between them and entered with a sharp grunt.

Ulquiorra grimaced and inhaled deeply, enjoying the stab of pain that went along with the deliciousness of being filled so quickly, secretly savouring the puffs of hot air in his ear as Grimmjow stayed kneeling but was leaning right over, the hairs at the back of his head tickling the smaller Espada’s cheek. Arrancar had always seemed easy to arouse and were quick to release, a problem Aizen had wished to deal with and wasn’t entirely happy about but because of the amount he had created, he could be satisfied by more than one in a night if need be.

Leaning his head to the side, the blue haired swordsman bit down viciously at the other’s neck, growling into the clammy flesh as he spent himself, his entire form shaking as he emptied in tiny spurts, still giving enough to fill the tight space sufficiently. He chuckled as he pulled out of the abused pucker and sat back on his rear end with a huff of exertion, watching with barely concealed delight as the younger Espada worked himself to release.
It was lovely to see, Ulquiorra’s head tipped back as he held himself up on one outstretched arm, seemingly reaching behind himself as his forward hand moved fiercely, stroking the pale flesh and moaning softly before he finally came, dribbling over the head of his cock and coating his tightly clenched fingers.

He allowed himself to lie back on the cool floor and breathed heavily, ignorant of the mess he was creating from the sweatiness of his back and the pooling seed underneath his ass.

Grimmjow only smirked and stood to redress, looking down upon the smaller arrancar with slight malice. He wondered idly if Aizen-sama enjoyed fucking Ulquiorra as much as he did. Though the things Aizen did to the green eyed creature were much different than the plain fare Grimmjow enjoyed with him. There were just some places a cock wasn’t meant to go. Spirit chain holes were one of them.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The doors simultaneously opened along the center split the second Renji had finished his angered query, immediately whirling around to see who would emerge from the depths of the choking reiatsu, its colour changing again as whisps of yellow started their slow swirl throughout. Now this energy they each recognized, but there was no source for it, the blond vice captain still nowhere to be seen.

“Yare, yare, Abarai-fu-ku-tai-chou.” The silver haired former captain drawled, appearing in the opening, pronouncing each syllable as if it were a taunt. “You’re much too loud. You could be heard even from the gates.”

The former eleventh squad member bared his teeth as he grimaced angrily, Zabimaru drawn and already halfway to being raised threateningly, one foot behind himself as he readied an attack on the grinning betrayer.

“Ichimaru!!”

“Maa, there you go again. Really, Kuchiki-taichou. You let him act this way? I would’ve thought that a man of your status could tame wild beasts.”

Byakuya’s eyes flashed with anger at the deceptive captain, Senbonzakura already in his hand. He moved quickly, even without the benefit of shunpo. To his right, Ukitake stood still, neither moving for his own sword nor backing away from the threat. Ichimaru caught his eyes and he gasped softly, averting his gaze and taking a more defensive stance, one hand lifted to block a sudden attack if one were to come.

There seemed to be no danger from the former third division captain, his eyes ever-smiling and his mouth a taut line as he grinned an impossibly large smile, his slim form taking up little space in the doorway, giving a detailed view of the inner sanctum.

The rescue team had little time to peer over its contents however, as Ichimaru stepped back inside and left the doors open, allowing them access as he hurried to the very back of the grand space, nearly the entirety of the back wall taken up by a large chair, almost a throne, rising up from the floor itself in a sharp angled tangle of architectural design.

The snake-like shinigami fell onto his behind once reaching the right hand side of it, crossing his legs and comfortably settling himself into what seemed like his usual spot, pillows everywhere, neither of the three men watching him as they peered upwards to the highest point of the structure. Atop the high altar sat Aizen, the smirk upon his face so broad that he almost seemed to smile.

“Welcome, my fellow shinigami. Am I wrong in assuming that you’ve come for the boy?”

All three men visibly cringed from the loudness and tone of Aizen’s voice, something they had never heard before, all having become used to his soft-spoken, polite conversational skills. At the mention of Kira however, Renji glared dangerously and took a tentative step forward, his hands at his sides and looking all the world like an indignant child who had just been yelled at. Aizen chuckled softly, a deep resounding noise that carried right up into the room’s vaulted ceiling.

“He’s alive, Abarai-kun, if that’s what you’re worried about. I would not have had him brought back here if I had wanted him dead. A simple murder in Soul Society would have been enough. It being so easy to get away with and all…”

Ichimaru piped up after finishing with the immaculate cleaning of his nails, his hands now resting on either of his knees as he sat up straight and presented himself better to the intruding shinigami.

“Maa, Sousuke. You’d never hurt my darling little Izuru, would you?”

The brown haired former captain had little time to answer as the angered sixth division fukutaichou again threw himself into imminent danger, his sword drawn and held above his head as he lunged at the lowest of his enemies, pushing himself up into the air and coming down upon the snake-faced captain with a sharp cry and a flare of reiatsu. It was the way Ichimaru had referred to Kira that had finally caused the redhead to snap, knowing that regardless of the elder man’s politeness and loving attitude, he was a demon in disguise and secretly treated his fukutaichou as a living toy.

His attention was dragged to the left as a flash of yellow light blinded his peripheral vision, his attack unable to be aborted as he came down upon a blade that wasn’t a wakizashi, giving proof to his suddenly confused mind that the silver haired former captain hadn’t lifted his zanpakutou in defense.
Renji jumped back once the zing of struck metal raced up his arm and again took a fighting stance, staring in disbelief at the slim form that stood between himself and the object he wanted to destroy.

Byakuya and Ukitake could only watch as Renji stared down the tiny blond, Kira standing poised in front of Ichimaru, a scowl on his face and Wabisuke held out in front of himself. The look on his face was as menacing as it ever got, still, betraying his dangerous abilities with his delicately boned cheeks and small hands. The red haired fukutaichou had never truly taken him seriously unless the other vice captain was absolutely livid or in danger of being killed.
Now however, dressed as he was, in the Espada uniform, Renji wasn’t sure whose side the third squad member was on. He lowered Zabimaru and stood in a more friendly position, not sheathing the sword but trying to seem less threatening to the obviously confused boy.

“Naa, Kira. What’re you doin’?! We’re here to take you back, dumbass. Why’re you tryin’ to protect that bastard?!”

The blond shivered noticeably as he lifted his head from his gaze upon Renji’s shoes, afraid of meeting his eyes but absolutely angry with the pony tailed fukutaichou for trying to attack his captain.

“Step back, Abarai-kun.”

The redhead blinked and gave a sour look before advancing a few steps, his hands out in a friendly gesture.
“The hell I will, Kira. He fuckin’ brainwashed you and you’re still fuckin’ believin’ him!”

Renji was more angry with the blond than Kira could possibly be with him, years of convincing the boy that Ichimaru wasn’t trying to drive him crazy finally wasting away as the boy himself proved to the sixth squad lieutenant that Gin’s plan had worked.

“I said step back, Abarai-kun. You know what Wabisuke can do and I doubt Kuchiki-taichou or Ukitake-taichou want to deal with it either.”

Irritated and ready to kill Ichimaru for what he had done to his friend, Renji changed his method of attack and turned away from the blond for a brief second before launching himself up towards Aizen instead, crying out loudly as he brought Zabimaru up again, going for the same attack as the one used on Ichimaru, deciding that if he could at least attack one of them, the other would join in and give him a more fair fight.

He hadn’t planned on a counter attack and was struck with a sharp cloud of energy, landing in a smoking heap on the floor of the throne room, Kira staring over at him with raised eyebrows as Aizen stood and tucked his hand back into his sleeve. It was nearly the same action he had taken with one of the Hollows that had threatened the boys and Hinamori Momo, back when they were training and got caught unawares.

It hurt. Renji cried out from the burning sensation that lashed over his exposed flesh curling up slightly before drawing himself up onto his knees and lifting his head to stare down his attacker. He could hear Byakuya stepping towards him and he held a hand out in anger, not wanting his lover’s help. It was a fight he could master. It was. He kept repeating it to himself, even ignoring the sudden gasp of shock from the regal Kuchiki heir.

It was Kira, who had retreated to Ichimaru’s side and stood familiarly with one of the captain’s arms around his waist, that caused Renji to see what was happening behind him, his head turning slowly as if he knew already and feared the worst. His body ached outwardly because of the burns and the stretching of muscles that hadn’t wanted to be stretched, and a low groan of defeat pressed its way past his lips.

Byakuya stood poised for a fight but was held from behind, Senbonzakura’s tip touching the ground as that arm was restrained by a hand around his wrist, the other was twisted painfully around his back and from his vantage point, Renji could see the cord binding his lover’s bent arm. It bore a Shihouin family crest. Realization dawned on the redhead and he roared angrily, unable to believe their misfortune.

“U…Ukitake-taichou…why?”

The white haired captain smiled slightly and gave Byakuya’s right wrist a vicious snap, not breaking it but causing him to drop his zanpakutou, the blade clattering to the floor as his arm was dragged back and fastened to the other. A swift kick to the backs of his knees and the dark haired captain was on the floor as well, unable to use anything remotely reiatsu based due to the constriction of the sealed cord. Feeling wicked, Jyuushiro thumped his heel on the back of Byakuya’s head and knocked him out, dragging a howl of protest from the pony tailed shinigami.

“Byakuya!! Goddamn you, you bastards…”

“It’s very simple, Abarai-kun. Temptation can be a dangerous thing. In the past, Gin and I were lovers. Before that, he and Sousuke were together. It was a hard front to hold up for so long but there never was any true animosity between us. I was loyal to him then and I am loyal to him now.”

Ichimaru smiled and held more tightly to his fukutaichou, suddenly a little worried that the boy would take the other captain’s words at face value.

“I don’t understand, taichou...”

“What’s to understand, Abarai-kun?” Aizen called from above, slowly growing impatient with the vice captain’s ignorance.

“Ukitake-taichou is on our side. It seems your list of trustworthy comrades dwindles with each passing day.”