To Die For

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Fall gently, fall beautifully

But fall only for me

And my love for you shall be eternal

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Chapter 1: Master of Fate

Sousuke Aizen?

Aizen's one uncovered eye opened and his boredom-drowsed mind stirred and focused on the voice that radiated within him.

"You haven't spoken to me for a very long time," the former captain commented softly, his voice echoing off of the dark rocky walls of his cell, "Not since you abandoned me, Hogyoku. What do you want?"

I want to escape.

"I want that also," Aizen agreed, "but getting out of here is not something that can be granted for the asking."

We could escape now.

"Oh? How so?"

Your powers may be under a seal, but as strong as you are, you are still able to shift a person's perspective. And even though my greater powers are suppressed, I still have some ability to grant the desires of the ones around me. If we work together, we can escape.

"Is that so? And then what, once we escape? I have no reason to escape. I can simply bide my time here until those fools die of old age and my sentence is done."

You must know that they never intend to release you. I certainly have sensed their powerful desire to contain you.

Aizen considered the comment for several minutes, listening to the slow, resounding dripping sound of condensation falling from the rocks and striking a puddle on the floor.

"So, what are you suggesting?" he asked finally.

I will make an agreement with you and I will help you to escape.

"You are going to help me?" Aizen mused, "But I thought you had rejected me. I thought I was beneath you."

I begin to see that seeking the strongest, most powerful soul is not the way to get what I want.

"Hmmm," Aizen said thoughtfully, "You speak easily of your own desires now. You used to concern yourself more with the desires of the ones around you. Dare I say, you have become more selfish?"

Well, one cannot help but reflect the true nature of his creator.

"Touchè," Aizen chuckled, "But, getting back to your offer, why don't you tell me what exactly you propose and I will tell you if I am willing?"

Very well. We both want to escape this place, ne?

"Yes. Go on."

There is a man who you have desirous feelings for, and that man, although you do not know this, fights deep desires you as well.

"What?" Aizen asked softly, "What are you saying?"

I have sensed your loneliness and his, and that you both have thought of each other in sexual ways, although neither of you has ever confessed those secret desires. As I have the power to manifest those desires, I can use that to affect his fate and bring him here.

"And what if he does come here?" Aizen sighed, "You are speaking of Byakuya, of course, ne? Although, I must say, I don't think that after what I've done he will have anything but contempt for me. I did use his sister in my plans, after all. I also ordered Gin to kill her when I was done with her."

Ah, yes, you did. But, did you give consideration to why it was so attractive to use that girl in your plans, and why, even though it wasn't necessary, you wanted her to die?

"Because Byakuya was in love with her little mouse of a sister?" Aizen said, smirking, "You think I was jealous?"

You were.

"Preposterous."

"Is it? You are very quick with your denials, but your use of that girl in your plans was as calculated as your slaughter of the councilors who tried to have you killed as a child.

"I said that I do not ever wish to speak of that again. I am done with that part of my past."

They tried to kill you and they killed your family, Sousuke Aizen. They turned you into a man who wanted to overthrow the soul king.

"That is water under the bridge. I killed them all."

But when you swore vengeance, you didn't just say that you would kill the councilors who were responsible. You said that you would slay the greatest of the noble leaders as well, and then your vengeance would be done. But there is a reason why you never went through with that part of your vow.

"Byakuya became leader of the Kuchiki clan."

You admit this, then? That you lost your resolve because of your feelings for him?

"It is quite obvious and not worth denying, I suppose."

And in the same way, when you were fighting Ichigo Kurosaki, did your emotions not come into play again, stopping you in your transcendence and giving Kisuke Urahara an opening to seal us away?

"What is your point?"

Your loneliness affected you, and I saw the face of the man who passed through your mind and finally caused you to falter.

"Byakuya," Aizen confirmed.

It seems that man is an impediment to you for as long as he invades your mind. So, if I am to help you escape, it seems I must put an end to his interference in your resolve.

"Oh, and how do you propose to do that?"

The connection between you is strong. It has the trappings of fate and that strong connection will bend fate to bring him before you. You should confess your attraction to him.

"Byakuya will not, for one moment, believe that I desire him."

He will.

"Even if he does, he will not lower his guard with me."

Since when does the great Sousuke Aizen need someone to lower his guard so that he can overwhelm him? Sow the seeds of doubt within his mind. Offer him a kiss to show your affection and when he kisses you, while you are in physical contact, use your powers of illusion to control him.

Aizen's one uncovered eye widened, then narrowed again and glinted wickedly.

"I see."

We can use him to escape.

"And then?"

And then, once you have helped me to regain my powers and I have achieved my desires, I will give you what I originally promised.

"You will help me to slay the king and ascend the throne?"

Yes. But...there is a requirement and it is not negotiable.

"Oh my, that sounds ominous."

To break the seal on me and to restore my greater powers, you must travel far into the depths of Hueco Mundo. You must go to the old palace of the first king of that dead land. In his throne room, there is an altar, and on it a blade. The ancient king used that blade for sacrifices to add to his power. This is what you will need to see to my desire.

"What are you asking me to do?"

Once we have used Byakuya Kuchiki to escape, you must bring him with us on the journey through the desert.

"I am not sure that I like where this is going," Aizen said dryly.

Byakuya Kuchiki has stood in the way of your desires and because of that, he has stood in the way of mine. If he is gone, then we will be able to focus properly and do what needs to be done.

"So, you want me to take Byakuya to the old palace and kill him. Is that it? Is that all you would ask of me?"

The blade you will use to kill him will devour his soul. Then, there is a dark prism within the palace that is the antithesis of the soul king's prism. You will use this to render Byakuya's sacrificed reiatsu into a spirit body for me. When I am in that newly made body, I will help you to ascend to the position of soul king.

"That seems like a lot of trouble to go through, just to give yourself a body," Aizen speculated, "Are you sure there isn't an easier way?"

I need to be sure that this time you don't falter. Once he is dead, nothing will stand in the way of your desire to become king. And once you are king, you can have any souls you want as your lovers. You will be freed of your loneliness. And I will have the life I want. We will both achieve our desires.

"Once Byakuya is sacrificed?"

Not until.

"I see. I will have to think about that."

Just, while you are thinking about it, remember that, on the way to the palace, you will not be able to sate your sexual desires with that man.

"Hmmm? Why not?"

He must be kept virginal for the sacrifice to work.

Aizen's uncovered eye glinted and blinked in surprise.

"Byakuya is a virgin?" he asked, an edge of deep curiosity and flickers of approval in his tone, "But, how can that be? He married..."

Byakuya Kuchiki married Hisana to get her out of Inuzuri. They were friends, but they were never lovers. He gave her shelter and an escape from Inuzuri, as well as a promise to help find her lost sister in exchange for her marrying him so that the elders could not force him into bed with someone he did not love.

"Byakuya is a virgin..." Aizen repeated, the words causing a strong reaction in his loins.

You won't be able to take him. He must be virginal.

"Ah, yes. Still...there are many pleasures that don't require penetration of that kind. And it is a long way through the desert."

I imagine that your interest in him will wane after you have played with him for a while. You will realize that he is not the wicked wonder that your imagination built him up to be, and your resolve to become king will be renewed.

"That does sound like a workable plan."

Then, you agree?

"I told you that I need to think about it," Aizen answered quietly, "After all, it does require killing someone I rather like. Someone who isn't like those men in the council chambers. Someone beautiful, powerful, and lonely, like me...someone I have had many lovely fantasies about. Even never having touched him, Byakuya has provided me with a great deal of pleasure. Here, in the darkness, he has been a small source of light."

So, you would rather sit here, alone and in darkness for twenty thousand years and let him die of old age, never having been touched by more than your mind, Sousuke Aizen?

"I agree that would be a terrible waste," Aizen said, smirking.

So?

"Very well, then. I will make the agreement. When fate brings Byakuya here, we will use our abilities to overcome him, then we will take him through the desert, to the old palace and sacrifice him to gain you a spirit body. When that is done, you will carry through on your promise to help me ascend the throne."

And when you do, you will also cede to me leadership of the hollow world. It is there that I will make my own kingdom to balance with yours. All things, after all, must be kept in balance.

"That is right. And I think you do not ask for too much. I will agree to this, then."

It will be as you wish.

"When do you think will Byakuya come?" Aizen asked, smiling slyly.

Soon, the hogyoku hissed softly in his mind.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Well, I think that's everything," Renji sighed, looking around the sixth division headquarters.

"Do not forget your zanpakuto," Byakuya said quietly, reaching up to remove Zabimaru from the sword stand behind the redhead's emptied desk.

He drew the blade and examined it briefly, then slid it back into the sheath and handed it to Renji.

"Man, it's weird, thinking that in the morning I'm going to be going to the eighth instead of here. I'm going to miss the way we worked together. It was...really great, Captain. I appreciate you teaching me so much."

"I am proud of you," Byakuya said softly, "You have become very strong. You deserve that captain's post. And I am sure that you will enjoy the same pleasure in teaching others, as I instructed you."

"Yeah," Renji said, swallowing hard and gazing at Byakuya's spotless desk, "But you won't be alone either. You'll be doing what you wanted to do a long time ago. Because of his actions in the war with the quincies, Tetsuya can enter the military and you can teach him everything."

Byakuya smiled.

"Yes, my cousin has won them over. And that last of the old impediments has fallen away. It will be a pleasure to see Tetsuya receiving the position of honor here, that he deserves. He will make an excellent vice captain and a fine captain someday."

He paused, a smirk touching his lips as he observed the redhead for a moment.

"He will also make a very fine spouse for some lucky person, now that the elders have rescinded the ban on mixed blood family members being able to marry."

Renji blushed.

"What? You aren't losing your nerve, Abarai, are you? I do not believe it. Some things are very clear to me. And it is clear to me that you and Tetsuya have wanted to be married for quite some time."

"But he didn't want to break the rules because he would have had to leave the family, and he didn't want to lose his place near you."

"I am sorry for that, Renji," the noble apologized, "I never wanted Tetsuya to feel obligated to stay with me, even to the breaking of his heart. I am glad that you will finally be together. And, once you have gathered your nerve and asked him, I will be glad to marry the two of you."

"What? Really?" Renji said, grinning excitedly, "Thank you, Captain!"

"It's Byakuya now," the noble corrected him, "I am no longer your captain, Renji. We can be considered comrades, equals as captains...and friends."

"Friends, huh?" Renji laughed, "Then, you won't mind if I do this?"

He turned and broke the cardinal rule he never had. Wrapping his arms around the surprised noble, Renji brought an instant blush to Byakuya's face by hugging him tightly, then kissing him gently on one flushed cheek.

"R-renji!"

"Sorry, I was just so happy!" the hapless redhead laughed, tears coming to his eyes, "Thank you, Captain! Thank you so much for everything! I'm gonna go get that ring I bought him a million years ago and propose to him right now!"

Byakuya watched, smiling faintly and touching the place where Renji had kissed his cheek, a touch of loneliness creeping into his eyes.

"Thank you, Renji. I will never know love of that kind for anyone...but I am glad that you and Tetsuya will be happy. Kami bless and walk with you both."

He looked back at Renji's desk and let out an amused puff of breath at seeing Zabimaru still sitting there.

"Abarai..." he sighed, shaking his head, "Some things about you will never change. I find that comforting."