Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
- 55
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- 57
Bloodlines Revealed

Karin stared at the gate that blocked their path. Szayel had already tried to open it while she quickly pinned down everyone�s location with her sight. Ajuga had followed Zee and Hana and Diaemus had followed Ajuga, but both had meet resistance in the form of Zee�s entourage. They had to get to the three young fools quickly before anything else went wrong.

�Perhaps you would be so kind as to grant us access, Karin-sama?�

�What?� she looked at him in confusion. Szayel gave her an exasperated look in return.

�The gate is obviously coded to only allow entrance to those with Royal blood, or anyone who may happen to have a key such as the one Aizen used to gain initial entry. Considering I lack both, you�ll have to be the one to open it.�

Karin made a face, but pushed against the gate anyway. At first, it refused to budge, but after a moment and a sensation in her arms not unlike sticking her finger in an electrical outlet, it swung open. The way ahead was clear and she raced after the children. She could hear the fight up ahead and did her best to ignore the brown splashes of very old blood that stained the almost pristine Palace floors and walls.

�Help Hana and Diaemus,� she told him. �I�ll get to Ajuga.�

Szayel drew Fornicaras and obeyed, although he did grouch about it. Combat was not really his thing. Karin ducked past one General that had turned to engage them before ploughing her fist through a second, feeling a moment of satisfaction as its carapace exploded like a popped water balloon. She could �see� Ajuga ahead of her, fighting with Zee and Diaemus in the air, engaged in a vicious aerial battle. Blinking, she let go of her �sight� long enough to see the two combatants collide with the roof of the closest building. Broken roof tiles rained down on the marble street as they picked themselves up and shot back into the air in a flurry of wings, claws and Diaemus�s bared fangs.

Exasperation and worry slammed into her via her Claim from her mate and she whirled around to �see� Grimmjow�s reiatsu as he entered the dimension. That relieved her, as she did not want to face Zee alone. Her mate wasn�t the only one. A minute after Grimmjow entered and used Sonido to blow through the gates she�d left wide open, Renji stumbled out of the pillar, followed by Nemu and� was that Yoruichi? The three were coming in close behind her and Szayel, while Grimmjow made a beeline for his daughter and the General.

What in the world was one of the Escapees doing here, she wondered. The answer to that would have to wait until they had Ajuga firmly in hand. Karin took off again in pursuit of her daughter, intent on using her �sight� to track the girl before Zee could hurt her again.

What occurred was far, far worse. To her utter horror, Karin �saw� Zee latch on to Ajuga and lift her away from him, trying to elude the girl�s front and rear claws. Before she could do anything, before she could reach the two, the General swung Ajuga around and threw her daughter as hard as he could through the remains of a decorative, latticework wall, straight into the only piece of furniture in the room.

With that, all of Karin�s worst fears came to life.

Ajuga stalked down the corridors and alleyways, tracking the General. He hadn�t even bothered to hide his scent. It was almost as if he was mocking her with it, since the trail was leading straight down the middle of each hall. The arrogant bastard probably didn�t think he needed to worry about anyone tracking him or trying to stop him. Brownish stains on the wall broke up the almost pure white decor. A sniff confirmed the blood was old. Judging by some of the damage she could see, the battle that had taken place had been particularly gruesome.

�What is this place and why is the General here?� she pondered for a few seconds, before she resumed her trek deeper into the confusing array of buildings and courtyards. Finally, she found herself before a truly impressive structure. It reminded her of Aizen�s Palace, if someone stripped it bare of all of the lovely things inside and bleached the stone as white as snow. According to her nose, Zee had gone inside not all that long ago and she flexed her claws as she followed, giving herself over to the hunt.

�Gotcha cornered now, you overgrown grasshopper,� she thought with a nasty smirk. �Put a collar on me, will ya?�

She edged around a large, marble atrium with an empty pond in the middle and then hurried down yet another corridor, then another, some smaller and some wider than others. After a few minutes of this confusing �round and round� circling, Ajuga stopped at the intersection of two hallways, sniffing the air and then each of the three other directions. Zee�s scent lingered in all of them and she paused, trying to figure out which way the General had really gone and hissed in frustration, raking her dark hair out of her eyes.

�Did he double back on his tracks? Seems like it��

Without warning, the corner behind her exploded, causing her to jump just in time to block the grab Zee made for her. Cursing, she darted backwards, bringing her arms up to defend herself. They deflected the attack, but Zee was quick to make a grab for her instead.

�Enough playing nice. You will sit on the chair. You will say my name and the Realms will balance, you insolent child!� Zee shouted furiously, tossing her through the break in the wall he�d just made to land on marble floors covered in old, iron-dark, flaking blood. The thin, dried film crackled and fluttered like confetti in the air around her as Ajuga encountered it. The stuff got into her nose and all over her fur. On reflex, she sank her hind claws into the soft stone below her, allowing her to halt the skid before she slid into the opposite wall. She then angled her body back towards him, crouching like a tightly wound coil. He�d come after her into the immense room, through the breach in the wall, raining dust and grit after him.

�Fuck you dead, you maggot!� she snarled back, rising to her feet and throwing herself at him, claws and fangs bared with the intent to shred him into itty bitty ribbons.

They exchanged blows and her claws left several rake marks on his carapace, but didn�t go much deeper than that. She did land a beautiful kick squarely in his chest, making him stagger back a few steps, but he eluded the swipe she made to his legs. Zee finally got a hold of her once more, and with another snarl and a windup, he tossed her across the room. He threw her so hard that she smashed completely through a thin, ivory screen that some long-ago artist had carved into a decorative pattern. Her back connected with something painfully solid and she slumped down, arms and legs gone numb with the force of the impact. When her head cleared, she discovered her body partially draped across a very large, ornately carved chair, one leg tossed over one of the armrests and her right arm hooked over the other. Her painfully kinked tail and back had taken the brunt of her landing and Ajuga barely kept from hissing when she tried to move. Then she could see Zee kick the rest of the screen down, intending to finish whatever he�d started.

�Gotta move� c�mon you stupid body, we gotta move!� she thought and tried to pry herself off of the chair, only to curl back into it in alarm and cover her head as the ceiling in the middle of the room collapsed, bringing tiles, splintered timbers and chunks of marble down on whatever lay below. What was left of the screen disappeared beneath the rubble and dust.

The roof�s cave-in caused Zee to jump back to keep from being crushed. Ajuga gaped in shock as another General hit the pile of debris face-first, its thin, membranous wings in tatters. On top of him, his ebony wings beating furiously as he reached out and grasped a thick chunk of marble and then crushed the insect�s head was�

�Diaemus!� she gasped, unaware he had followed her through the portal. He and Hana must have shadowed her and had taken on the other Generals that she�d seen accompany Zee into this insane place. No wonder she�d only had Zee as opponent, rather than having to worry about more than one enemy coming after her. Diaemus, breathing hard, tried to shake some of the ichor from his hands as he sat up, a rare look of satisfaction at a bug well killed on his face, and turned to address her in a sarcastic tone.

�Yes Ajuga, as usual you��

Diaemus never finished. Freezing in mid-sentence, as if someone had grabbed his throat and squeezed, his green eyes went wide and rolled back and his mouth hung open as he cried out in shock.

Zee roared something in his own tongue, garbled words that blistered the very air with thwarted outrage.

Ajuga shrieked as well, from the rush of unexpected inundation of raw power that threatened to crush her as it poured into her from every direction. It hurt worse than anything she�d ever felt before, including her broken arm, as it burned its way through every cell in her body. She saw light envelop Diaemus through the narrow, tear-filled slits her eyes became before surrounded her too. Her childhood companion let out an agonized gasp as he went completely rigid, and then crumpled, passing out on top of the General he had just killed. The surge of energy ended almost as quickly as it began and Ajuga panted for breath, her fur standing on end.

She felt odd, as if she hung, suspended in a dark room, watching scene after scene, millions of them happening at the same time, from every angle, and the effect was terribly disorienting. Nausea hit her as her vision kept wavering from vision to vision. Ajuga tried to dispel it by latching on to just one thing, lest the multitude of shifting locations and perspectives force her to lose the meat she�d eaten earlier. Finally, she managed to get her eyes under control, to focus on only this room, in the here and now�

�Well, that was unexpected.�

A vaguely familiar, masculine voice spoke up breaking the stunned silence.

Ajuga turned her head to find a black cat sitting calmly not too far away, its tail moving back and forth across a bare spot in the middle of the wreckage. She drew a blank as she stared into its intelligent, yellow eyes before she recalled flushing a similar animal out of its hiding place in the shrubbery of Byakuya�s garden, back when she had still been a wide-eyed cub. She had almost forgotten the incident. Now that she was older, she knew enough to associate the creature with the description beneath a picture of an athletic dark-skinned woman with violet hair, the one that featured the words �armed� and �dangerous� in the wording. Ajuga still saw it on the occasional poster plastered to a wall or pinned to a post throughout the Seireitei. Shihoin Yoruichi, ringleader of those who dared thumb their noses at Kami�s rule, stared back at her with a �now what?� expression and twitched her whiskers.

�Ajuga, what have you done?�

A devastated whisper from the doorway made her tear her eyes away from the cat and to her mother, who stood transfixed, staring at Ajuga with a look of absolute horror on her face. Her father arrived a second later and launched himself straight at Zee. The General brought up both arms and blocked the attack, but the insect strained under the power of the Espada�s strike. Hana scampered in after the Espada, turned and brought her hands up just in time to throw a Kido barrier up, enough to ward off a blow from one of the Generals chasing her.

Then Hana�s opponent went flying from a kick placed on its hind end by a tabi-covered foot. The General ended up face-first in a pile of roof tiles and timbers. Hana recovered enough to send a Kido blast after it and more green guts slathered the wreckage as a result.

Renji, Nemu and Szayel arrived on her father�s heels, each of them separating to take on the rest of the Generals that had flooded into the room through a far entrance that Ajuga hadn�t noticed. Their drawn Zanpakuto, dripping green sludge, implied they had already dealt with several of Zee�s companions on the way here.

�What is done is done, Hollow!� Zee responded nastily. �Your daughter chose that pathetic half-breed as her Consort instead of me, as I told her to do.�

He clutched at one arm with the other, proof that Grimmjow had done more damage to the lead General than met the eye. When he spoke again, Ajuga could hear the resentment and seething anger in his voice. �The pretender will soon come for them. My forces will not hold him back much longer. I suggest you restore the balance between our Realms before the damage grows any greater, before it is too late to save either!�

�What?� her father demanded, pausing long enough to stare at her before turning a furious gaze towards the slowly recovering Diaemus. Zee took that opportunity to escape, her father hardly even noticing as his prey got away. The few Generals still in the room turned and fled with him. When Renji moved to pursue them, Nemu grabbed his free arm and shook her head.

Ajuga had hardly heard her father�s exclamation over her own.

�I did what?�

The look of horror that appeared on Diaemus� face as Zee�s words sank in matched hers. Yoruichi seemed amused, if Ajuga read her tail�s movements correctly. Her mother, on the other hand, looked about ready to have a coronary. The only one who looked more terrified than her mother was a ragged-looking Szayel, who kept looking over his shoulder.

�Well, I guess that cat is out of the bag,� Hana sighed, sounding oddly relieved.

Karin watched in despair as her carefully constructed world crumbled. It only intensified as Aizen�s angry, overpowering reiatsu flared to life in the vicinity of the gate. Szayel picked up on it too and what little color he had drained from his face as he turned to her. She, in turn, looked at Yoruichi. The cat had picked its way around the mess on the floor to sit atop a nearby pile of rubble and wood.

�Yoruichi, I am not going to ask how you got here. All I care about is whether you can get us out of here?� she asked the cat brokenly. The cat blinked at her and looked away.

�No,� Yoruichi confessed. �We�re a bit far from my normal �short-cuts.� But we have a little time��

�No we don�t!� Karin almost shouted. �Didn�t you hear him? Aizen is at the gate of the Royal Realm! We need to escape now!�

The others stared at her and then back towards the entrance. Aizen must have been cloaking his reiatsu, intending to take whomever he found here by surprise. By now, he would have understood that someone had stolen the Throne from him and she didn�t think he�d be too pleased about that.

�Szayel!� she turned his way. �Is there any way you can��

�Nemu darling, get the device ready, quickly!� he called to his mate, who pushed up her left sleeve and hiked up her already short skirt to expose the upper portion of her right thigh. Karin stared as she pressed a spot on both limbs and retrieved two small cubes from both �hiding places.� The scientist gave his Mistress a faint, sickly smile.

�I�d just finished the prototype of the portable device we spoke of when Kami decided to haul me into the godforsaken wilderness. As the members of my Division have a tendency towards unhealthy curiosity and because I dislike coming home to find I need to scrape what remains of the less agile ones from the ceiling, I brought the pieces with us for safekeeping.�

�You mean you don�t know if it will work or not?�

�I am ninety-seven percent sure it will function properly on the first go. Contrast that with being only sixty-percent sure that Abarai would be able to assemble it on the third try. You see my quandary, right Karin-sama? If only I�d had time to come up with something simpler��

�Not funny, Szayel!� she heard Renji snark, before Nemu waved away his attempts to help her. Karin bit her lip and remained silent as Szayel�s mate extracted several thin rods from each of the cubes, connecting them together to form a large polygon anchored to a low tripod on the floor.

�What I am one-hundred percent certain of is that I did not have the time necessary to include a �self-destruct� program, or a way to shut it down and scramble the memory,� he warned, sounding upset and Karin felt her hopes sink that they�d all be able to make it out of the Throne room unscathed.

Another potentially violent drama played out a few feet away.

�Consort?� Grimmjow spluttered and glared at Diaemus. �What do you mean �Consort?��

�Umm,� Ajuga hesitated and then held up her hands. �Wait, what�s going on here? I sure as hell did not mate with Diaemus! That�s just� gross! When would we have even found the time in the first place? Zee�s just messing with you, Papa,� she told her father, trying to get through to him. Unfortunately, Grimmjow didn�t look as if was buying her explanation. Thankfully, the cat chose to speak up before the Espada could get his claws on her friend.

�Congratulations Ajuga-chan, on becoming the new Spirit King, or should I say, Queen. Choosing an official Consort is one of the stipulations that come with assuming the Throne� in addition to having the proper bloodlines, of course. You clearly choose Diaemus, when you sat down on the Throne and spoke his name� Yoruichi informed her, �and he accepted. I believe there was a �Yes, Ajuga,� if my ears haven�t betrayed me.�

Ajuga finally managed to push herself off of the marble chair, standing on wobbly legs. She wanted to shake her head and deny it, and tried to remember exactly what she�d said in addition to what Diaemus had said to land them in this position. She hadn�t done it deliberately, but the ache in her brain told her that, deliberate or not, she might be stuck with it.

Diaemus�s current pallor rivalled his father�s as he tried to get up. That murderous look was back in the Sixth�s eyes as he glared at the boy. Karin ignored the two as best she could as Nemu finished setting up the device. Consort or not, they had to escape. They had to run and keep on running if they wanted to live. If Aizen caught them, he would slaughter Ajuga and Diaemus and steal the Throne again�

��unless he has a reason to let them go, even if only for a while,� she thought miserably. There were several choices before her, all of them bad. Karin swallowed a sob as she picked the only one of the bunch that might allow the children and her family to escape the death marching furiously towards them.

She forced Szayel to her side via the Claim, putting her hand on his shoulder and leaning in. There was a hint of confusion, for she seldom used the Claim against him, and definitely never like this, but most of what she was getting from him was fear. There was no way that Aizen would believe Szayel hadn�t known about their bloodline once he came up on them. What awaited the Espada after that would make everything he�d suffered so far look like a garden party. Renji and Nemu would also be forfeit, as would his children.

�Do you have a strong sedative?�

She whispered this as softly as possible, hoping her mate was sufficiently distracted to keep him from noticing the numbness forming in her gut.

�Yes,� he answered, as if affronted that she would believe otherwise. He jerked his chin at his mate as she clicked the final piece in place before moving to Szayel�s side. Karin watched as Nemu opened up her forearm again and extracted a thin syringe, handing it discreetly to the scientist.

�Good. Use it on Grimmjow. He won�t leave otherwise. Take the others to my brother. Tell them what happened,� she told him. His eyes widened as he realized her intent. She clamped down on the Claim, forcing him to remain silent about his observation and to act. Grimmjow was just bearing down on Diaemus, the boy still in a state of shock and lying on the floor, when Szayel buzzed behind him and promptly stuck the needle directly into his neck.

�Szayel! What... the� fu...�

That was as far as her mate got before he collapsed. He also let go of his Resurrección state. Szayel immediately caught Grimmjow, uttering �oof� as he staggered under the Sixth�s greater weight. He motioned for Renji, who looked as if he�d been about to step in and grab Diaemus.

�It won�t last long,� came Szayel�s strained confession. �He�ll bounce back in four, maybe five minutes at most. Anything stronger and he wouldn�t wake up at all.�

�What�s going on?� Ajuga demanded, rushing to her father�s side. �Why the hell would you do that Szay?�

�Because Aizen�s coming to kill you, Ajuga,� Karin told her daughter. �You somehow assumed the Throne and took the power of the Spirit Ruler away from him. Aizen won�t rest until you are dead� if he doesn�t rape a child out of you first before he kills you. What do you think he�s been doing to Unohana-Taichou all these years?�

A look of horror crossed Ajuga�s face as her mother�s brutal honesty hit her. Karin didn�t want to be so harsh but this was no time to coddle her daughter. They had a very real predator stalking them now and Ajuga would need time to learn how to harness her new abilities, whatever they might be.

If she could give her child that time, then so be it.

�You mean��

�Yes,� she replied, her voice growing harder. �Your grandfather, my father, was one of the Spirit King�s sons. So before Aizen gets here to kill you and take his Throne back, you are all leaving.�

�Wait, what about Vindula-chan and Abisara-kun?� Renji protested as Szayel handed off Grimmjow�s dead weight to him. �I thought we were going back to the Seireitei to get them! We can�t leave them behind! Aizen will go after them to get to us!�

Karin hesitated, but in reality, they had no way of retrieving the twins and they were almost out of time. Aizen would arrive in less than a minute. If the usurper caught them, it would be over. If they left now, there still might be a chance to get to them later. Unfortunately, the redhead didn�t seem to want to listen to reason, because he took two steps in her direction, his face a mask of fury and his fists clenched.

�I am not leaving them!� Renji snarled at her, tossing her mate over his shoulder. She ground her teeth and narrowed her eyes angrily, hating what she knew she had to do next. If the fool wouldn�t willingly listen to her, she�d have to force him.

�You will go with the others to the Living Realm and help get my mate and my daughter to Ichigo. This is a direct order from me and you will not disobey me in this!� she practically shouted. Renji�s eyes went wide as his body stopped moving, Nel�s Claim gripping him so tightly that he almost stopped breathing.

Szayel�s mate pulled a sliver-thin rectangle of metal from the side of the closest rod on the device and placed one finger on its surface. The inside of the rectangle lit up, forming a screen.

�Coordinates, Szayel-sama?�

The stricken Espada appeared to draw a blank before he gave Yoruichi a helpless look. The cat padded up to the Nemu and rattled off some numbers that sounded like latitude and longitude coordinates. Nemu tapped the screen a few times and the device flared to life. The air within the boundaries of the rods before them subsequently ripped apart, revealing a gapping, black maw opening up into parts unknown. Karin had never seen a Garganta before, but recognized it from the descriptions she�d heard over the years from others.

�Go, keep them safe. Find a way to kill Aizen. It should be easier now that he has lost the Throne,� she ordered Szayel, resting a hand on his shoulder as she did so. �You have about six months to figure it all out, but I have faith you can do it.�

She poured every bit of power she had as quickly as she could into recasting Szayel�s Claim. It would have to last or he would start regressing quickly if it faded and Karin couldn�t allow that to happen. Grimmjow groaned, already starting to stir in Renji�s grip. She had no doubt about what Aizen was going to do to her, and her throat went dry in terror before she swallowed to wet it again. Grimmjow would be furious with her, but at least he would be alive.

�Tell him I am sorry, that I love him, and try to stop him from doing anything rash that will just get him killed.�

�No promises on that last one,� Szayel answered weakly. Karin gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before she dropped her hand to her side.

�I will try and keep Vindula-chan and Abisara-kun safe. I can promise you that much at least.�

Szayel grabbed hold of Nemu�s hand, drawing her away from the controls.

�I don�t want to leave Mama,� Ajuga cried, rushing to her and clutching at her arm. Hana had pulled a shaken Diaemus up from the rubble and towed him towards the Garganta, then looked over her shoulder at the other girl.

�Go!� Karin pleaded, her terror now plain. �Szayel and Yoruichi will explain everything to you on the other side. Please, please Ajuga� please don�t make me watch Aizen kill you!�

�We�re leaving!� Szayel barked and pointed with one finger towards the cat. �Follow her!�

Yoruichi promptly hopped through the Garganta. Hana, wiser than her friend, trotted the few short steps necessary and grabbed Ajuga by the wrist, hauling her through the portal. Her face was set in a grim mask and she didn�t look back. Diaemus stumbled after them, the boy clearly still in shock over everything he had learned. If she got out of this, Karin vowed to ask Nanao�s daughter how she knew so damn much. Nemu was the next one to hurry through, followed by Szayel and Renji as the two of them fled through the portal together. Renji�s entire posture radiated his barely-contained rage and his eyes held nothing but contempt for her as he gave her one last ugly look. Karin did not blame him, but letting him stay behind would be to sentence him to a swift death if he were lucky.

She watched them go, fighting back tears. All of her efforts to protect her family�s secrets, all of the subterfuge and their carefully laid plans� all of it had been wasted. Grimmjow finally stirred from his perch on Renji�s shoulder. He managed to lift his head enough so that his blurred, blue eyes met hers before he disappeared.

�I love you,� she whispered.

Filling both of her hands with reiatsu, she immediately destroyed the device with three carefully placed Kido blasts. The Garganta fizzled out and closed as it disintegrated. She shielded her eyes as the input screen and the thin rods shattered into pieces almost too tiny to see, rendering it useless and her family untraceable. The wind, blowing through the hole that Diaemus and the General had created during their fight, scattered them throughout the debris.

Silence descended on the chamber, broken only by the sound of her breathing. She wiped the tears on her face away with the heel of her hand, pushing her spectacles out of the way for a second to do so.

�They�re gone,� she said aloud, in as calm a voice as she could manage, �and you won�t find them.�

�Indeed,� Aizen said, appearing in the gap in the wall Ajuga and Zee had created, with his arms folded across his chest, before he climbed through it. �I seem to have just missed them. What a pity.�

He looked about, taking in the corpses of the Generals, the puddles of fresh ichor mixing with the old, dried blood on the floor and the woman standing in the middle of it all. The ex-Shinigami clucked his tongue, the disapproving �tch� noise echoing off of the walls.

�I should have expected Royal Blood flowed through your veins. Your father was a member of the Shiba clan after all, one of the Five Great Noble Houses before having their power revoked for transgressions against the Seireitei. I should have thought to check your bloodline.�

�No. That�s where you�re wrong.� She shook her head, unable to believe she was deliberately baiting Aizen like this, but she knew of no other way to stall him. �My father was the youngest son of the late King. The name �Shiba Isshin� was just a cover to hide his heritage. The Spirit King you murdered to gain the Throne was my grandfather.�

Karin finally turned to face him, just in time to see him school his features, wiping away the look of surprise. She was probably one of the few who had ever seen that particular expression on his face. The great and powerful Aizen, she knew, didn�t like bombshells, but that was just too damn bad, she told herself.

�There is no point in wasting energy trying to kill Ajuga until you have what you need. You know as well as I do that the Realms were becoming increasingly unstable with you on the Throne.�

�True,� he agreed and marched towards her, intent on grabbing her. Before he could, she continued speaking in a tone that carried a coldly worded warning.

�Szayel didn�t betray you here. Grimmjow never held his Claim. I do. I Claimed him the day my brother attacked him and he regressed. It is something I learned I could do by touch. I actually practiced it on Tesra, with Nnoitra�s permission.�

She didn�t know if Aizen would believe her, but she had to try, even if all she accomplished was to put enough doubt about Szayel�s actions in his head, to spare Abisara and Vindula if she could. There was one other reason to give up such information, and she watched in satisfaction as he hesitated, meaning that he understood the threat her ability posed. The fact Tesra and Nnoitra were both here, and could confirm it, helped.

�Any Claim you cast on me won�t last,� he pointed out.

�No, it would not,� she agreed, before her tone grew even harsher. �However, the question you should be asking is not how long my Claim would last, but how fast I can force you to kill yourself.�

Aizen raised one eyebrow at her declaration, but he did take a polite step back and offered her a thin smile, an acknowledgement of a well-played move. It would appear that her gamble had worked. She�d bought herself some much-needed time while intriguing the cutthroat tactician she knew lurked beneath his smooth exterior.

�Hmm� and so here you stand, attempting to keep me occupied while the others run like the mice they are. I must confess� in all my years, I have seldom come across such an amusing opponent. Once more I find myself lamenting that I paid more attention to your brother when you are, by far,� he chuckled in good humour, raising his hands and giving her small round of applause, �the more interesting Kurosaki sibling.�

She didn�t return the smile, staring stonily at him as he sighed and clasped his hands behind his back.

�Very well, Karin-chan. I will spare your family until you produce an Heir for me. Given your lineage and the fact that your daughter kindly allowed me to shed a not-insignificant amount of power, I�m certain that won�t take terribly long.� He smirked and sauntered up to her, leaning down so that his mouth was close to her ear. �And when I have what I want, I think I�ll keep you around. I�m sure you�ll be quite� entertaining,� he whispered.

Fear clenched at her heart as he said this, even though this was the best possible outcome that she could hope for. If she could fend off Aizen long enough, her family and friends would be safe. She had no illusions that threatening him with a Claim would keep him away forever. He would find a way around it, or call her bluff. After all, she had confessed that she held Szayel�s Claim, and she didn�t dare risk letting that weaken.

�Come, Karin-chan. The sooner we get back to my Palace, the sooner we can enjoy this new game of cat-and- mouse you seem so eager to play. I look forward to manipulating you into my bed and partaking of your body� I�d like to see exactly what Grimmjow has raved about all these years.�

Karin couldn�t help the shiver that raced up her spine, but she would be damned if she would show him any sort of weakness. Instead, she forced herself to walk past him, her back straight and eyes ahead. Aizen drew his Zanpakuto as they walked through the gates, closing them behind them and re-securing the Realm once more. They arrived on the battlefield, the ground thick with the bodies of the dead. The Scarabs scattered as they came through and the portal vanished. Aizen slaughtered the lot of them with his blade in the time it took Karin to blink. The giant �porcu-peed� lay twitching in death, half of its long body encased in ice and the other half missing the majority of its lethal spikes. The battle was over, and the others walked up to Aizen, returning to their normal states. The few injuries Karin could see were minor and Orihime was already tending to them. Tesra was clearly exhausted and all of them were coated in the gore and filth created by the destruction of so many insects. Yumichika appeared on the verge of a meltdown as he took in his reflection in one of the sheets of ice that Toshiro had created.

Aizen gave the blade a hard, sharp downward movement, cleaning it and then sheathed his Zanpakuto. No one looked at her, or more accurately, she suspected that the rest could not see her, that Aizen had cloaked her with his Zanpakuto�s powers. Obviously, he intended to keep this arrangement from his followers.

�I regret to inform you all that Grimmjow, his daughter Ajuga, and Szayel entered the Royal Realm through the Swarm�s portal and attempted to usurp my power. As such, I declare them traitors. If you encounter them, you are to kill them immediately. Their pets are free for the taking.� He didn�t elaborate any further than that.

There was a moment of shocked silence, followed by various reactions, with Nnoitra giving off a laugh and wide grin. Ulquiorra went still. Orihime, busy healing a shallow gash on Harribel�s arm, gasped in shock. Starrk stiffened. Toshiro and Harribel managed to maintain their cool exteriors, but Karin thought she saw the Third shift uncomfortably and Toshiro placed a hand on the small of her back.

�Harribel agreed to help us with overthrowing Aizen� what will she do now? Will she tell Aizen what she learned?� Karin wondered. Did it even matter anymore? Their original plan was dead and with her mate and Szayel gone, Harribel was the only conspirator remaining.

�Where�s Diaemus-kun?� Orihime asked, her voice wavering with the amount of fright in it.

�Your son went after them before I could stop him,� Aizen answered. �You have such a loyal boy, Ulquiorra. I hope that he will be able to return to us in time. He is clever and resourceful, so I�m certain he will find a way back, as he did to tell us of the Hive�s location.�

Aizen�s compliments hid what she knew to be true: that he was uncertain of Diaemus�s involvement. Technically, he spoke the truth. Diaemus had gone with them before Aizen arrived in the Throne room. Karin wished that she could comfort Orihime, but even if Orihime were able to see and talk to her, she had little good news for her friend. If Zee were right, then Aizen would simply expand the �wanted� list to include their son� but only if Aizen learned that he was now her daughter�s Consort. For the boy�s sake, she hoped Zee had been wrong. Grimmjow would be angry enough about the drugging. She didn�t want to think about what her mate would do to Diaemus if he truly believed Ulquiorra�s son had touched their daughter.

Starrk looked like he was about to speak, most likely to ask about Hana since Aizen hadn�t mentioned her at all, but Aizen ignored the First and made an expansive gesture.

�Come. The Swarm has been defeated, their outpost in this Realm destroyed and their Generals executed. You�ve done well, my warriors! Let us return home and celebrate with a proper banquet. In fact, as a reward for your efforts this day, I will take my Army home now, rather than force you to endure such a long and tedious journey home. Gather around, my Espada. Kūkanten'i!�

Karin saw more than felt Aizen�s power rise tremendously. Her stomach lurched with the sudden sensation of moving faster than any life form ought to. When it ended, she found herself standing in one of Aizen�s many gardens at the Palace. She knew the display of power had more to do with silently reminding them of how strong he was than any desire to get his minions home quickly.

�Go home, bathe, take pleasure in your pets and rest. Tonight, we will hold a feast to celebrate our victory over the Swarm and the return of balance to the Realms,� Aizen bade them.

�Fuck yeah!� Nnoitra exclaimed, waltzing off with a bone-tired Tesra dragging his feet in the Fifth�s wake.

�Oh, a bath,� Yumichika murmured gratefully, though he did steal a worried glance at Ggio, whose eyes remained glued to the ground. Byakuya certainly didn�t look thrilled to be back in the Seireitei, nor did he look eager to return to the Kuchiki Estate and Karin didn�t blame him. He had been gone for some time and she suspected that Yammy didn�t take well to abstinence. Toshiro and Harribel left quietly, but the two exchanged a look and Harribel peered at Starrk from beneath her golden lashes. She probably wanted to know where her fraccion was as well, but chose not to bring it up until she had more information. Szayel hadn�t been wrong when he�d told her about the woman�s innate sense of caution.

Starrk hesitated, but eventually let go of his Resurrección, losing the furred outfit and the pistols and regaining an eye and a subordinate. Lilinette appeared next to him and the male half of the First ushered the girl away, despite the fact she looked ready to get into a shouting match with their leader over Hana�s absence. Starrk was going to have to be the one to tell Jushiro and Nanao that her daughter was missing in action and the twins that both of their parents and their guardian were now wanted criminals and wouldn�t be back for them.

He and Lilinette were also the only ones standing in the way of the Numeros trying to Claim the children. She prayed that Starrk, for all his laziness, would try to find out what had really happened and that he would keep Abisara and Vindula safe.

�Starrk is smart. He�ll figure things out,� she tried to tell herself.

Eventually, the only one left was Gin. He was the picture of subservience as he bowed low enough for his long hair to brush the grass.

�Gin,�

�Hai, Kami-sama?�

�Have the empty room next to mine prepared. We have an honoured guest with us. Do treat her as you would my wife,� Aizen informed his slave.

Karin knew he�d dropped the illusion that kept her invisible, because Gin�s eyes shifted to her. The surprise she saw flash in his eyes was brief, smothered quickly behind his usual mask.

�It would seem that the late Soul King�s granddaughter has been under my nose this entire time,� Aizen explained and then gave Karin an indulgent smile. �See to it that she is cleaned, fed and dressed appropriately. Oh, and tell no one of her presence here. Should I find out that you�ve let it slip that she�s currently under my roof, I will have your tongue removed in the most painful way I can devise.�

�Hai, Kami-sama.� Gin bowed again, his normally pale face going even whiter as he did so. Aizen didn�t bother looking at Karin when he next spoke to her.

�You are to remain within your rooms and the garden attached to them. I will send my wife in to gather a sample of your blood to confirm your lineage later this evening. I trust you will behave yourself and not give Gin any problems, Karin-chan?�

�Provided you leave my friends and family alone, I will not try to escape,� she answered, her voice equally as cool as his. They were, temporarily, at a stalemate, though she knew he had more cards than she did. In fact, he wasted no time in playing the first.

�Good. Do be a dear and follow Gin to your new home. He will tend to your needs for the time being. I should warn you, that since I can�t risk damaging your body, his will take any beating I feel you deserve.�

Karin swallowed, and cast a sideways look at the thin, abused man before confirming that she understood. She didn�t really know Gin that well and had only met him a few times, but the thought of anyone being tortured in her place sickened her.

Aizen waved them away before he left, probably to order his staff to prepare for the victory feast.

�This way please, Karin-sama.�

Gin motioned with his hand towards garden gate, the one that lead to the Palace itself. That was the extent of their conversation, however. There was nothing to do but follow him. After all, she could do little about her current situation, other than what she already had done, and if nothing else, she�d be able to take a hot bath for the first time in nearly a week.

What might come afterwards, she knew, was anyone�s guess.

This is one chapter that has been in my mind since the initial conception of the story, and is one reason why I had the time skips to get Ajuga older. Loves to those that took the time to review. Thank you all so much for them.

This Weeks Question: So, who all saw that Ajuga was a going to be the one to take the throne?

Next Chapter: Left Behind. Ichigo will finally make an appearance.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2