On A Dark Path, He Walks

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN THEM!

Warnings: Mansecks. Adult language. Adult situations. Creepiness frightening enough to give the author nightmares. -wuss-

Notes: Yay, chapter nine! What do I have to say besides that? Nothing! -throws streamers and random confetti- I've been sick and though other fics and one-shots have been updated before Dark Path, I'm working hard to get it out faster. You demanding readers and reviewers are to blame! Shame on you for liking my work so much. Have a heart! XD

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Renji could hardly believe his ears.

"You're what? There's no fuckin' way we're gonna let you stay!"

The blond snorted softly and rested his left hand on Wabisuke's hilt, simply keeping it there as if amused by the other's outburst.
"You don't have a choice, Abarai-kun. Aizen-sama wants Ichimaru-sama to stay, and I'm not going back without him." He turned his head away slightly. "You wouldn't understand the reason."

Wanting to be on his feet but hurting far too much to do so, Renji angrily punched one of the plush pillows and snarled, listening to it echo in the cavernous room.

"Are you fuckin' stupid, or what? He's not worth giving up your life for! I mean, look at the goddamn bruises on your chest! There's probably a shitload more that I can't see too, right?"

The once-timid shinigami turned back to glare at his friend, livid with him for being so rude about his lover but also still so conflicted about the entire plan. He still wanted to see Hinamori-kun. He still wanted to spend hot summer afternoons drinking sake with Renji in the Court's central garden. It pained him to think of how he had left behind all the treats he loved, the spiced tarts they bought in Rukongai and the delicate sakuramochi that the redhead handmade himself.
Though blinded by the insane itching and burning in his forearms, Renji still saw the glint of tears at the corners of the other's eyes and he instantly felt somewhat better, pleased that something he had apparently said had gotten through to the poor brainwashed youth.

He was about to get up but Kira moved too quickly for him, closing the distance between them and curling himself up on the redhead's lap, burying his face against the larger man's chest. He was immediately sobbing uncontrollably and Renji, slightly unsure of what to do, wrapped his arms around the shuddering form and held him tightly.
There was no denying the unhappiness in the blond's reiatsu as it wavered between powerful and weak enough to be nonexistent, the powerful bursts of it just strong enough that Renji could sense it.

"O...oi, what're ya doin'? I thought you were all happy and shit here?"

Warm breath blew over his neck as the blond breathed deeply, trying to calm himself, absolutely embarrassed for having broken down but feeling immensely better because of it, his body slowly returning to normal. He sniffled lightly, an action the other shinigami found endearing.

"I don't really want to stay, Abarai-kun. Ichimaru-taichou's still the way he always was but it's different now because of Aizen-taichou's presence. He's...wrong, somehow."

"Mmhmm. He's a cold bastard but now that you've been away from him for a while, you're finally noticin' it."

"N…no, that's not it."

Renji let the boy go when he struggled a bit, allowing him to remain seated beside him, one arm still wound around the boy's slim waist.
"The fuck it's not. Tell me the truth, Kira. You wanna come home."

Tears started again in the dark, moody looking eyes and immediately the redhead felt bad for forcing the issue.

"I do. I'm going to miss Soul Society too much." He fingered the hem of his white cloak, looking away somewhat embarrassedly.

"I'm going to miss you too much as well, Abarai-kun."

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With the sixth division fukutaichou’s sword held aloft, Aizen smirked at the others sharing the Soukyou grounds, watching as the power emanated and shifted from Byakuya’s body like a great heat wave, the pained expression on his face thrilling the fifth squad defector.
Only a few minutes more, Kuchiki-san. You’re doing wonderfully, if I may say so.”

Dark eyes flickered to the other and a look of hatred crossed them, along with a sharp gasp of inner pain as his body nearly reached its limit, desperately needing to release his bankai to recuperate. The amount of power he was draining from the eldest of the shinigami was waning and he feared the worst for the bearded captain commander.

Away from them, Gin chuckled to himself as he entertained the youngest among them, Hitsugaya’s eyes moving between the confronting third captain and the goings on in front of the giant zanpakutou’s stand.

“You need to stop this, Ichimaru! Kuchiki-taichou can’t handle any more and neither of you bastards belong here anymore! I won’t hesitate to bring the others here to stop you!”

The silver haired traitor stopped his polite chuckling and leveled a stare on the boy, red eyes gleaming with malice before he jumped out of the way and landed back beside his former captain, Shinsou held out delicately in one hand, poised for an attack.

“You’ll find an attack almost useless, Hitsugaya-kun.”

“Why’s that?” The ice wielding shinigami snarled. “You’re nothing I can’t handle.”

“If Sousuke releases Abarai-kun’s zanpakutou to dispel Kuchiki-taichou’s bankai, there’s gonna be a bit of a bang.”

Realization dawned in the boy’s sea green eyes again, the orbs wide as he breathed heavily, looking from Aizen’s outstretched hand to Byakuya’s struggling form, the size of the man’s wings seemingly smaller than they had been a mere minute before. Judging the moment to be right, the elder man called forth Renji’s shikai and turned in a half circle with it still held aloft, suddenly bringing it down heavily upon the Kuchiki heir’s sword, shattering the white form. The explosion was minimal but it was enough to cause each other shinigami to gasp out loud, Byakuya’s body falling gracelessly onto the hard packed soil.

From Aizen’s other side, Ukitake watched the unfolding event with apprehension apparent on his face, a hand on the hilt of his sword as if worried over the impending situation.

“How far are you going to go, Aizen? I didn’t join your side only to kill my former comrades!”

The once bespectacled traitor smirked dangerously as he lowered Zabimaru from its position, noticing the white haired captain’s hesitation.
“You were not officially selected by me for my cause, Ukitake. To me, you are a simple commodity that my lover wished for. Now that my plan is being carried out-“ His smile faded and his eyes lost their friendly sparkle. “-you are useless to me.”

Immediately, the thirteenth division captain jumped back, putting space between himself and the brown haired madman, watching his lover as the eternally smiling taichou growled in anger, each one of them ignoring Byakuya’s obviously lifeless form.

“You said I was allowed to keep him, Sousuke! You never said you were gonna scare him and make him all afraid of being with me!”

The familiarity with which Aizen lashed out and slapped the younger captain frightened both Ukitake and Hitsugaya, the younger of whom backed up even further, seemingly ready to retreat.

Ichimaru held the side of his face as he glared childishly, hurt by the blow, his red eyes wide but devoid of tears a normal person would have shown.

“S…Sousuke. What was that for?”

“You’re becoming an irritance, Gin. I suggest you mind me next time. I’m not a mere subordinate that you can play with.”

A tiny nod and a bow came from the short haired shinigami and he dropped his hand as he turned towards Ukitake, his smile again in place, the brilliant visage marred only by the angry red of his inflamed cheek.

“Sorry, Jyuu-kun. Looks like you’re not allowed to come home with me.”

The second the spirited third division leader looked away from the elder man, the alarms sounded through the entirety of Soul Society, windows in Seireitei lighting up as the inhabitants lit their candles and struggled to see what the commotion was about. Aizen turned to watch Hitsugaya as he disappeared, not to reappear again until he was off of the Soukyou grounds, headed back towards the Court’s headquarters.

His dark gaze moved from the broad expanse of dry ground to the heavily breathing captain lying in the dirt, Byakuya’s clothes streaked with blood where he had been struck by his own energy, his visible skin reddened from the heat his bankai had generated. There was little left of the heavy shinigami uniform cloth at his wrists, most of it burned off from the radiant heat of the powerful ability he had suffered throughout for so long.

Dispassionately, Aizen walked over to him and threw Zabimaru down in the dirt next to Senbonzakura, the cracked, warped blade lying uselessly to his right hand side.

“Gin! Take Kuchiki-san with you and return home. The initial job has been completed successfully. We will wait out the secondary plan in Hueco Mundo.”

The younger man nodded and moved quickly, almost as if the argument and physical altercation had not even happened. Ukitake watched with disgust as his once loving partner acted so obviously under the influence of the other man’s dominance.

“Ukitake.” The sickly male looked up at the mention of his name. “You may do as you wish. Return home with us and become part of Gin’s harem, or remain here and feign indifference for another thousand years. It makes no matter to me which you choose.”

Angered to the point of upset, Ukitake coughed suddenly, doubling over and discreetly spitting blood into the grass, the third division captain watching him with a sad look before turning back to Aizen and again switching over to his happier persona.

“Maa, maybe you should stay here, Jyuu-kun. The traveling must be too much for you.”

In Ichimaru’s arms now, Byakuya lay, easily scooped up by the slim shinigami and unconscious of the goings-on, the stolen swords tucked into Gin’s belt, where he had placed them before picking the elder man up. The sneaky captain grinned brightly at his former lover and stepped away from Aizen’s side, the same brilliant light that had surrounded them on the day they had defected appearing again, surrounding the pair, as well as their leader in a separate beam.

The telltale sounds of approaching bodies and the press of powerful reiatsu caused the traitors to move more quickly, ascending into the sky and disappearing into the enormous hole above the Soukyou, thankfully devoid of Hollows of any kind. The entirety of the eleventh division breached the top of the grounds and ran towards Ukitake, his eyes wide and body heaving as he came down from a rather nasty bout of coughing.
He was lucky enough to have been spared, but he was again left in the land he no longer loved. Two more divisions appeared suddenly, half of the fourth and the whole of the tenth, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto glaring dangerously at him, the feeling of absolute terror slowly sinking its way into his diseased bones.

Surely they would be lenient with him because of his past duties and loyalty to Soul Society. They couldn’t possibly treat him as a traitor, could they?

“Ukitake-taichou.”

“Hai, Hitsugaya-taichou?” He responded politely, afraid of the child prodigy now that he was angered and speaking too formally for a friendly meeting.

“You’re to come with us to the Court. Under the orders of shobantai-fukutaichou Sasakibe Chojiro, you’re being arrested for treason against Soul Society.”

The longhaired captain nodded and gave the boy a curious look, peering from one grim face to another, avoiding the gaze of the eleventh squad members entirely.

“I have a question.”

“Of course.”

“Why are the orders from Sasakibe-fukutaichou? Why did Genryuusai-dono not give them himself?”

Every shinigami on the outcropping cringed at the mention of the eldest shinigami, Matsumoto lowering her head respectfully and turning away to sob quietly into her hand.

“He was found dead in his quarters twenty minutes ago. He was a husk, Ukitake. There was no spirit energy left in him.”

The elder man gasped at the reason, turning his head and angrily cursing the former fifth squad captain, keeping himself silent as two of the larger low-seated members of the tenth division took him into custody, heavy cuffs placed around his wrists which immediately dampened his own reiatsu.

He couldn’t tell the younger swordsman what had happened, worried about what would happen to him if he were found to be a true traitor, not wanting to suffer the death reserved for such criminals. He lowered his head and nodded as the men walked him away from the battle scene, Hitsugaya frowning at the barren sight, seeing no sign of the other men and connecting the fizzle in the sky just as he had returned as a healing hole that led to Hueco Mundo.

Unable to keep up the fight against his illness because of his weakened reiatsu, Ukitake suddenly collapsed in the arms of his captors, falling heavily to his knees before they hefted him up and draped him over the shoulder of the right hand shinigami, the men picking up their pace to get him to the fourth squad’s headquarters, the corresponding squad following behind and sending a messenger ahead of them to ready the emergency room.

The strawberry blonde shinigami looked to her troubled captain and rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him without saying too much.

“You saw what you saw, taichou. He’s the last one we thought would ever betray us but if it’s the truth, there’s nothing we can do about it. Please, don’t worry yourself over it.”

“I’m not going to worry over it, Matsumoto. He’ll be judged to the full extent of the law and will face the consequences accordingly. Ukitake is a strong man. He won’t be broken by this.”

The woman peered at him, seeing the sadness behind his sea green eyes.

“Taichou?”

“Soul Society is in danger of being commandeered by Aizen. Now that Genryuusai-dono is dead-“ The young fukutaichou sucked in a shuddering breath again. “-there’s no one left to defy him. He’s the strongest out of all of us, Matsumoto. With a zanpakutou that carries such a devious ability, we’re all in danger.”

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In Ulquiorra’s room, the dark haired Espada sat naked against the headboard with each wrist in a tight shackle, his eternally sad face torn by a frightened frown, his captor standing nude at the end of the bed, one hand firmly stroking himself as he climbed up and crawled towards the small arrancar.

“You’re everyone’s whore around here, eh? Nice to know ya get worked from all angles even when I’m not around.”

The turquoise haired sixth Espada snickered as he slid both hands up the other’s slim legs, parting them and tugging down on them so Ulquiorra would slide down onto his back, his boyish frame stretched out because of the manacles, revealing each delicious hollow and curve that the elder creature longed to suckle at.

“I kinda hope that red-haired shinigami bastard stays after Aizen-sama returns. He’s kinda pretty. I wouldn’t mind givin’ his ass a good welcome.”

The smaller of the two shuddered and let out a shaky moan as his flaccid member was licked at, not noticing when Grimmjow had bent over to give it such loving attention, his teeth gritted to prevent a loud gasp but unable to hold it in once the larger man took the entirety of its length into his mouth and sucked hard.
It was hardly a lengthy session however, Ulquiorra’s chest heaving from the mind numbing pleasure, bright eyes barely open before they widened and stared, a thick, twitching organ presented directly before him, his body shifting to sit up again.

“Open up.”

He opened his mouth and was immediately slipped into, choking slightly on the length of it before closing his lips around as much as he could and working his tongue on the flushed head, already tasting the precome gathered in the tiny hole. If nothing else, Grimmjow was easy to arouse and even the suggestion of a sexual situation had him hard and wanton.

“Mmm that’s it. Good boy. It’s no wonder Aizen-sama keeps ya around…”

It was a lie, both men knowing that Ulquiorra was one of the army’s best recruits.

“Maybe bite me a bit. Ahh fuck yeah. That’s good.”

The young arrancar was used to being used so it didn’t faze him too much but he still secretly loathed how easy he was to seduce, too enamoured by the faint pleasure he got from servicing others to stop. He suckled heartily, nibbling at the head each time the larger man pulled out a little, gagging once when he was filled too much, drool running down his chin, desperately wanting to let the cock go so he could slurp it up and continue.

Not wanting to release inside the delightfully warm cavern, Grimmjow slid out and sat back on his heels, gesturing the for other to slide back down and spread his legs, a well used jar of salve used again and set back onto the side table, a slicked hand working feverishly at hot, throbbing flesh. He wasn’t one for foreplay usually and Ulquiorra knew that, hefting his legs up close to his chest to better present himself, his hidden entrance twitching as he anticipated the sudden pain the coupling would bring.

Grunting out loud, the larger Espada crouched down and with his damp hand to guide him in, pressed firmly up against the tight hole and popped inside, amidst a pained shout from the other and a hissed vocalization from himself, the grip unbearably tight, almost painful to him.

“Ahh fuck, you’re always so goddamn tight. Maybe I need to work ya better, ne?”

The boy whimpered and shook his head, in great pain but sacrificing his own enjoyment for the moment, knowing that shortly, it would be exquisite from his end as well. Tied up as he was, he couldn’t help himself as his cock rose from the dirty goings-on, a blush creeping up over the bridge of his nose and a gasp of pleasure torn from his throat as Grimmjow thrust the rest of the way inside, burying himself with a groan borne of the animalistic claiming.

From the throne room, Renji and Kira could hear the act as they sat together, uncertain of what to make of it but unwilling to go find out.

Of course, Ulquiorra had never been taught to be silent with his pleas, one of the first lessons he had learned was that Aizen loved his subordinates to be loud, even while being pleasured or while pleasuring themselves, an act the new leader insisted upon, especially when he was in a rather excitable mood and wasn’t feeling up to a formal coupling, forcing the young arrancar to perform for him and his silver haired lover on a nearly daily basis at one time.
Again, he was forced, this time to submit to the larger creation, his body reacting positively as he moaned openly now, enjoying the powerful thrusts of the short haired arrancar, his eyes closed and head tossed off to one side, ignoring the pain in his wrists and the asleep feeling in his hands.

“Fuck, you’re too hot, Ulquiorra. Ya don’t even give me enough time to enjoy ya before I bust one off.” The rude swordsman grunted. “Awww yeah, here it comes…”

He arched his back and cried out sharply as he came, pumping white hot into the smaller form, his hands gripping tightly enough to bruise the slim hips, the boy’s bed shaking violently as Grimmjow shuddered his completion.
Not one for staying to cuddle, he crawled away and went to clean himself off before redressing and uncuffing the small, sleepy form, noticing his quickly the other’s erection had faded once he himself had finished. It mattered little to him, whether or not the other Espada member got off and with a smirk, he slapped the rolling over boy’s ass and headed for the door, a rush of cool air entering as he slid the screen aside.

In the hall, the highest ranking members of the army stood poised at the throne room doors, in chronological order, suggesting the arrival of their leader, Grimmjow immediately calling to Ulquiorra to get ready as well.

Minutes later, the hall was again filled with the telltale reiatsu mist of both Gin and Aizen, each arrancar watching the two men as they approached and passed by, dangerous sets of eyes taking in the limp shinigami form carried in Ichimaru’s arms. Not one said anything, as were their orders, only to speak when spoken to and to not bother Aizen-sama’s ears with their useless rhetoric.

The inner sanctum doors opened immediately as the former fifth captain stepped up to them, dark eyes taking in the sight of Renji on the floor with Kira kneeling beside him, the redhead obviously still hurt but the blond was not, his own dark eyes staring like a frightened animal in a spotlight.

“Ichimaru-sama! Aizen-sama!” he couldn’t help but noticed that Ukitake hadn’t returned with them but he held his tongue in fear of Aizen.

“Aa, Izuru. Calm for a minute.”

The boy immediately fell silent at his captain’s command, climbing to his feet and leaving the broken fukutaichou as he had fallen asleep under the gentle touch of the blond’s hand, no doubt soon to wake due to the commotion the men’s return was causing.

“Kira-kun. Go to your quarters. Leave Abarai-kun where he is.”

Hesitant but obedient, the boy nodded and followed the larger man’s request, sparing a glance at the waking redhead, feeling bad for him and still worried for his safety. Gin meanwhile, had placed the other shinigami down beside the man’s lover and stepped back to Aizen’s side, smiling creepily.

“The rest of you!” The brunet called out to the hall. “Gather the new recruits and surround the palace. There is a war on its way and I would like my home to be as fortified as possible. Ulquiorra! Grimmjow!”

The two asked for arrancar approached the taller man and bowed respectfully, Grimmjow lifting his head first and smirking at the former captains, earning a grin from Gin and a sour frown from Sousuke.

“I want the two of you to guard Abarai and Kuchiki-san. This room is the safest because it has only the one entrance and exit. Do not let them leave and do not, under any circumstances, leave them alone together. Is that understood?”

They nodded and got up, bowing again before they staked out their positions on either side of the grand doors, settling in for a long haul and knowing that they could wait forever if need be, never having to truly eat or sleep to survive.

To his young lover, Aizen now turned, smiling somewhat crookedly as he took the man’s chin in one large hand and held it tightly as he kissed him hard, earning a shocked moan from the silver haired taichou and a quick movement of limbs as he slipped his arms around the taller man’s neck. He pulled away, only to snarl at the younger shinigami and move him in the direction of the doors, barking orders at him as if he were one of his own troops and not his bed warmer.

“I suggest you take another look at your fukutaichou, Gin. He was again in Abarai-kun’s presence. They are far too close to each other for comfort.”

His final words before Ichimaru stalked off to correct the blond echoed in the large room and the hall, no doubt heard by Kira, who lay on his bed curled up on his side, a cold chuckle following the harsh order.

“If you cannot correct him and prove to me that he is indeed loyal, he will be disposed of, Gin. I will not allow him to be sent back to Soul Society because he knows too much. That means his death.”