Twin Spheres – Chap. 1

by Sariniste

A/N: This story is based on the two-Hougyoku idea that many people have been discussing on Bleach Asylum recently, but that I believe was first floated by NakeBenihime. Thanks to her for permission!

What if Aizen had two Hougyokus? What did he do with the other one, and how did Orihime fit into his plans? Aizen/Orihime. Starts after chapter 249 of the manga.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

In the strange, cold world she lived in now, two hostile female Hollows came to bring her to yet another place through the bewildering maze of high, white corridors. She was led to a set of tall, white double doors, beyond which was a large room with a single high-backed chair in the far distance. The light was dim and there was a long balcony buried in shadows on the other side of the throne-like chair.

"Thank you for coming here on such short notice, Orihime." From behind the chair came the voice she recognized, polite, soft, and deep but with a dangerous edge. The elegant brown-haired shinigami rose to greet her with a pleasant expression. "There's something I'd like to show you." Aizen stood before her once more, and once again she gasped as she felt weakness throughout her body as his powerful reiatsu washed over her.

"Loly. Menoly. Leave us."

The two Arrancar sputtered in shock. "B.. But sir! We can't leave you alone with someone like this!" Loly cried. Aizen narrowed his eyes in anger at their impudence, and the two terrified girls bent a knee in abject fear and almost sonidoed out of the room. Orihime stared at them in worry as they scuttled away.

"Now then," Aizen said softly, dismissing them. "Could you look at this for a moment, Orihime?" He moved his long-fingered hand in an elegant, complex gesture, and she sensed an intricate reiatsu manipulation, almost like a key in a lock. There was a whirring sound, and an odd device, like a cylindrical column, rose from a hidden recess in the floor and extended itself. At the top of the column was a small chamber. And inside the chamber… she caught her breath. She was suddenly overwhelmed with waves of a powerful, intense reiatsu, of a different quality from any spiritual energy she had felt before. It felt – alien. Inhuman. Potent and malignant, it hung in the air like a heavy, suffocating blanket. What could this be? Was it the device she had heard of – the Hougyoku? The ultimate object of Aizen's machinations that had led to so many deaths and turmoil in the Soul Society and the human world? But for what possible reason would he be showing it to her now?

Aizen was studying her carefully. "Ah. It seems you understand. This is the Hougyoku," he said in his gentle voice. He moved closer to her, and she felt his reiatsu envelop her and merge with the alien reiatsu around her. His almost felt welcoming after the cold, metallic feel of the Hougyoku's energy. He was continuing to speak to her, but she could no longer hear his words. She realized suddenly that the Hougyoku, with its cold power, was the source and heart of all that went on in this cold, white palace. Here, in this room, was the icy heart of the fortress.

"Please think of my showing this to you as a symbol of my trust," Aizen was saying. "Your power is the 'rejection of events,' the complete erasure of all occurrences. It is an incredible power, Orihime." He drew closer to her, fixing her with his intense gaze. She stared up into his dark brown eyes and could not look away. In the liquid centers of his pupils she saw an immense, ancient power, vast and implacable, and she quailed before it. This man, clothed in his quiet words, was not just a man but a creature of immeasurable power, and she felt like a child standing immobile on the shores of a dark ocean, mesmerized by the depth of his gaze and the vibration of his voice. "You will use that power for me, won't you, Orihime?" that voice asked softly, compellingly.

"I – I…" she faltered weakly. Her body would not obey her. It was worse than she had felt in the throne room earlier, where at least she had been able to respond. She tried again. "Yes, I will, Aizen-sama."

The brown-haired man smiled at her, a sweet and welcoming smile, as though everything would be all right with her and the world if she only followed his commands. "I'm very glad," he murmured. He took her hand in his larger one; it was warm and dry. With the other hand he scooped up the Hougyoku from its container. Orihime gasped as the center of reiatsu shifted in the room, almost unbalancing her.

He held the orb loosely in his right hand, and she thought she sensed tendrils of dark reiatsu emerging from the jewel and entwining with his long fingertips. Its power was almost overwhelming; she could barely move; it was amazing that he was even able to think or speak with it in contact with his body. She moved her free hand up to shade her eyes from its intensity. Aizen's grip tightened on her other hand.

"Look at me, Orihime," he commanded gently. She dropped her hand from her face and looked up into his eyes. Now it seemed that she could see a reflection of the orb in his pupils, and she gasped. Aizen continued, "I want you to relax, Orihime. Stop resisting me." She realized she had been trying to pull her hand out of his grasp, and she forced herself to relax. It would do no good to be defiant now. She did not want to anger this man.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, and consciously relaxed her body. "That's good," Aizen said in an encouraging tone. "Now keep looking at me." Her body trembled, but her eyes stayed glued to his, and he nodded in satisfaction.

He took her hand, still captive in his, and in a single movement brought it suddenly to meet his other hand. She felt the warmth of his hand holding hers, then a flash of intense energy that blazed into the palm of her hand and seemed to travel up her arm. The shock was too much and she felt herself passing out.

XxXxXxX

She was being held, and she sighed in contentment as she shifted in her sleep. It was warm and comforting… as she remembered Sora holding her so long ago, when she was very young. "Sora…" she whispered, only to be greeted by a soft chuckle. Her eyes flew open.

She was being held in Aizen's arms, her body lying across his lap, legs over the arm of his chair. She gasped, blushing in shock and embarrassment. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Aizen-sama, I don't know what happened," she stammered, trying to get up out of his lap.

He smiled at her gently, the curl of brown hair dangling in front of his face. He seemed kindly and warm now, the ancient creature behind his eyes gone. He was just a man, with arms as comforting and strong as Sora's. "Now, please don't get up right away, Orihime. Just rest here for a moment."

She gasped, "But I shouldn't be sitting here – it's not proper –"

"Nonsense," he said in a low voice. "If you get up, you will faint again." He tightened his grasp on her arms so she could not move, and she subsided weakly.

"Did I – faint?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry. When I introduced you to the Hougyoku, its energy overwhelmed you for a moment, and you passed out."

She glanced at the still-open column standing a few feet away. The deep blue orb was still glittering in its chamber, emanating that deadly cold energy. But somehow, in Aizen's arms, she felt protected from its malignant glare. "How long – was I out?"

"Oh, no longer than a minute or two. I've examined you with my reiatsu and you appear to be fine. I think the power of the orb was just a little too strong for you today." He smiled at her again, and she returned it hesitantly. He stroked her hair gently away from her face, long fingers toying idly with her hairpins and brushing her cheeks in passing, feather-light. His touch awakened confused feelings in her, and she closed her eyes for a moment and relaxed into his chest, letting her body gradually recover.

As she felt the whirling energy around her stabilize, Aizen shifted beneath her and gently lifted her up and set her on her feet again. "There. Are you feeling better now?" he asked solicitously.

"Yes, Aizen-sama," she nodded.

"That's good. I'll have them take you back to your room now," he said. "But first –" he moved to the chamber holding the Hougyoku, and again made a complicated pass with his hand and reiatsu. She watched as the device closed itself up, and then with a whir and a click retracted itself back into the smooth black stone of the floor. She couldn't even tell where it had been. Suddenly the room felt empty and quiet, and Orihime felt exhausted, cold, and hungry.

Ulquiorra entered the room upon some unseen signal, and led her away. She glanced back briefly at Aizen as she left, but he was looking out over the shadowed balcony, apparently lost in thought, his guest forgotten.

The black-haired Arrancar left her in a cold, white room with a small high window looking out over the desert. When the door clicked shut behind him with a metallic clang, she finally gave in to despair. She looked around her. She was a captive, cold and hungry, alone in an alien, hostile world. She would have to survive by her wits again, as she remembered doing as a tiny child, and again after Sora had died. She clenched her fists. She would survive, as she had always done.

The important thing was the lives of her friends. She hoped she had done the right thing to save the people she cared for. As she sat there, her thoughts turned again to that odd encounter with the Hougyoku in Aizen's chamber. Surely, he hadn't shown it to her because he trusted her. He must have been deliberately trying to confuse her. But at least she knew where the source of his power was hidden. And now she realized that, even if Ichigo and her friends tried to save her, that there was something, finally, that she could do to help them with their war. And it was truly something only she could do. With her powers of rejection, she could return the Hougyoku to a state before it ever existed, and end this war before it even began.

With her renewed resolution, she curled up on the couch and went to sleep.

XxXxXxX

Aizen relaxed a while longer in the high-backed chair after the girl had left, gazing out over the desert, chin propped on his knuckles. It had all gone quite well, he mused. He hadn't even needed to use Kyouka Suigetsu. The girl had lost consciousness at the appropriate time and had been unaware of what had happened when he had taken the additional Hougyoku from its shielded chamber. No one, least of all her, knew that there were two Hougyokus, the one Kisuke had made and his own creation, nor what had happened when he first introduced the two to each other, or the events that had transpired afterwards between the two. He had made sure that no witnesses survived that long-ago event.

He allowed a small smirk to cross his normally well controlled face, since no one could see. When the second Hougyoku had touched her palm, the energy backlash had caused her to become unconscious. The orb had accepted her body eagerly, and it had been easy for Aizen to use a simple spell to insert it deep within her soul. It was bound to her now, and her unique powers were bound to Aizen's will. Once again he had managed to make a single action serve multiple purposes. He lidded his eyes with pleasure, satisfied with his own skill. He knew she would try to use her powers to destroy what she believed was the Hougyoku. But with the other orb buried within her own soul, her power would not work as she expected. And if she ever attempted Souten Kisshun on the Hougyoku, wherever it was, it would put in place another of Aizen's backup plans in his attempt on the spirit realm. Aizen's smile broadened. The girl would serve his purposes exactly as he planned.

A/N: I don't know how likely this two-Hougyoku theory is, but it seems like fun to explore. Should I continue this story? Please review and let me know!