Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

In the Aftermath of Winter	By : Nakkinomiko Category: Bleach > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 5655 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters, and make no money from this fic

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
A/N: Oh, I agonized for a while over this chapter, but I think it is where it needs to be now. Dl, thanks for your review!! Silverblaise, I’ve not actually written the scene where Grimm and Hitsugaya meet, but I know what’s going to happen, and I can’t wait to have fun writing that one. As for your speculation on who’s going to end up with Ichigo…speculate some more when you finish this chapter. :-) Thanks to everyone for reading!
*****
Chapter 6: Dream?
Aizen meditates. He has found that when the Hogyoku is silent he is able to drop deep enough to enter his inner world. He is not sure why his inner world still exists, as his zanpakutou is shattered and is unlikely to ever re-manifest, but Aizen will not look a gift horse in the mouth. His inner world is surprisingly quiet and sunny, a welcome respite to the dark cell that will be his home for the next 19,996 years. He is blessedly alone here, for even if the Hogyoku is aware of his inner world’s existence, it has not yet figured out how to encroach on it. He has only managed this a handful of times since his incarceration, for the Hogyoku rarely sleeps.
On this particular day he as managed it again, and the sun is warm on his face, and Aizen settles in and prepares to enjoy the solitude for as long as he can.
*****
Ichigo stands at the edge of the park, not quite sure why he’s come here. He’d only intended on taking a quick walk to clear his head after finishing a research paper, but something was calling him here. He frowns and steps onto the trail that leads deeper into the park. At first the terrain is familiar, but then the trail takes a turn that he doesn’t remember, and he is walking through a section of woods that he has never before traveled through. He keeps walking, because he feels like he should keep going, that something is waiting for him. He walks for nearly another ten minutes before the trail leads him from the trees and into a hilly meadow.
Ichigo finally realizes he is dreaming when he comes upon Aizen reclining on a grassy hillside. Ichigo draws up short, not quite sure what to think as he takes in the sight. Aizen looks much like he did the first time Ichigo saw him in Hueco Mundo. His white and black uniform is pristine and his expression is calm and thoughtful. He is gazing upwards, his dark eyes tracking a cluster of fluffy clouds as they scud across the sky. Ichigo just stares at him for several moments, not sure what to do. He knows he is dreaming, but this is so different from the nightmares he had right after the war—the Aizen in those nightmares had terrified him and left him shaking. This Aizen is somehow different, and Ichigo does not feel threatened at all. Quite the contrary, this Aizen seems to be drawing him in, and Ichigo is taking a step forward before he even realizes what he is doing.
“Aizen?”
The ex-captain inhales sharply, and when he turns his head to look at Ichigo, his expression is startled. His eyes widen slightly and his head tilts to the side slightly.
“Kurosaki-kun?” Aizen sounds as surprised as he looks.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Ichigo says. He shifts nervously as the older man regards him with questioning eyes. This dream feels so real, so much so that Ichigo thinks he can sense Aizen’s reiatsu. Which is ridiculous, because Ichigo knows that without his powers he shouldn’t be able to sense anyone’s reiatsu, even in his dreams.
Aizen seems to recover, and he smiles softly. “Forgive me my moment of surprise. I was not expecting to see you here.”
Ichigo frowns slightly. “Me either. And not like this. Usually when I dream about you it isn’t this pleasant.”
Aizen’s mouth turns in a slight frown. “Dream?” He seems confused for a moment, but then something like comprehension dawns on his handsome features and he smiles again. “You think this is your dream.”
“Of course it’s my dream,” Ichigo says, and he frowns again. “What else would it be?”
For a moment it seems like Aizen might argue with him, but after a moment the older man merely smiles and gestures to the grass beside him. “Will you join me, Kurosaki?”
“I think I’ll just stay here,” Ichigo says. While he feels safe, he is still leery enough that he doesn’t feel comfortable being that close to Aizen.
“Ah.” Aizen’s smile becomes wistful. “I suppose to ask for more would be unfair of me. I do deserve your suspicion, I suppose. If I were in your position, I most definitely would not trust me, either.”
“I’m glad you understand,” Ichigo says. “What are you doing here?”
“Dreaming, I think.” Aizen says. He has a far away look in his eyes and he gazes up at the sky again. “I must be, if you are here. After all I have done, it seems ridiculous that you would really be here, that I would be granted the one thing I want most want.”
“To be god?” Ichigo asks, not entirely joking.
Again Aizen’s smile is sad. He looks away from the sky and meets Ichigo’s gaze. “Not that, no.”
Ichigo arches a brow in disbelief. “Then what is it you want most?”
Aizen looks away, his gaze finding a small flower nestled in the grass next to him. “A chance to tell you and everyone else I harmed just how very sorry I am.”
Ichigo snaps his mouth shut, completely thrown by Aizen’s answer. Aizen looks up at him again, and a soft chuff of laughter escapes him.
“Not the answer you were expecting, ne?”
Ichigo, still unable to find his voice, just shakes his head. He again feels what he thinks is Aizen’s reiatsu around him. He frowns as he feels it brush across his face and the nape of his neck, the touch so light that Ichigo isn’t sure if it is really there, or if he’s just imagining it. It can’t be real, Ichigo thinks. I shouldn’t be able to sense his reiatsu. But the more he tells himself that, the more tangible it becomes. What the hell?
“Kurosaki, are you unwell?” Aizen asks.
“Huh?” Ichigo shakes his head and turns his attention back to Aizen. “No, I’m fine.”
“Are you certain there is nothing wrong?” Aizen asks. He seems genuinely concerned, and Ichigo shakes his head again.
“I’m fine,” he repeats. He stares at Aizen for several seconds before he huffs a sigh and moves closer. He feels stupid for being so wary of what is most certainly a dream, and decides to go with the flow and see whatever it is his psyche is trying to tell him. He unceremoniously lies on his back next to Aizen and props himself up on his elbows.
Aizen makes a surprised sound next to him. Ichigo turns his head slightly and meets Aizen’s dark gaze. The ex-captain looks astonished, an expression that Ichigo can’t remember the real Aizen ever wearing. Ichigo smirks.
“So, here I am,” he says. “I’m listening.”
Aizen just stares at him for a moment, and then laughs. “You can be so confusing, Kurosaki-kun.”
Ichigo shrugs.
Aizen shakes his head slightly and turns his gaze towards the sky again. For several moments they are silent, and in that time Ichigo notices how soft the grass is beneath him, how clean the air smells, and how warm the breeze that tickles his skin is. And again, he feels a whisper light touch of Aizen’s power. It should terrify him, but for some reason it does not. There is no darkness in that touch, none of the stifling weight Ichigo remembers from the war.
“I regret the moment I ever learned of the Hogyoku’s existence,” Aizen finally says. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but in that moment I was already damned. I was already bitter from years of having to hide my true powers, but it was not like I had much of a choice. When I realized the true nature of my zanpakutou, I was so afraid, because I knew the Central 46 would see me as a threat, and that they would eliminate me rather than wait and see if I would develop into a threat. They were already corrupt and drunk on their power, and I was terrified of them, Kurosaki.”
“I can’t imagine you being terrified of anything,” Ichigo says.
Aizen’s laugh is bitter. “Oh, but I was. I was desperate to stay off their radar, because make no mistake Ichigo, they would have executed me had they known back then nature of my powers.”
“After all I’ve learned about how they handled the mod souls, the Quincy, and the Bounts it doesn’t seem too far a stretch at all that if they thought they couldn’t control you that they would kill you.”
Aizen inhales a shaky breath. “Thank you for that.”
Ichigo nods. “I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to interrupt.”
Aizen’s smile is soft and he shakes his head. “It’s perfectly fine,” he says. “If you have question, please do ask. But where was I? Oh, yes . . . I was the lieutenant of Squad 5 when I learned of Urahara’s creation.”
“The Hogyoku.”
“Yes, the Hogyoku. Neither Kisuke or I realized that it was already sentient at that time, and I most certainly did not realize its ability to twist a person’s thoughts and deeds to suit its own purpose. The moment I laid eyes on it I was set on a course I could not turn from. It wasn’t until much later that I realized how badly I had been played, and by then, it was much too late.”
Ichigo feels his stomach give an uncomfortable twist. “What are you saying?”
“I was screaming in my head the entire time I was slaughtering the Central 46,” Aizen whispers. The ex-captain’s complexion pales considerably as he speaks the words. “Hinamori, Hitsugaya, Gin.” Aizen chokes on the last name and pulls his knees to his chest and rests his forehead on his kneecaps.
“It was controlling you.” Ichigo whispers, his tone colored with the horror he is feeling.
“And there was a moment when I thought I might be able to free myself from it, but it was not to be.”
“It forced you to merge with it and then used you to kill everyone and everything you cared about,” Ichigo said. He swallowed against a sudden bought of nausea when Aizen gave a slight nod.
“I am so sorry for everything.” Aizen’s voice is barely audible. When he finally lifts his head Ichigo is blown away by the sincere remorse he sees in the man’s expression.
But it’s only a dream, he tells himself. And yet, he can still feel Aizen’s reiatsu.
“Do you believe me?” Aizen asks.
“Does it matter? This is only a dream,” Ichigo says.
“Ah, yes, a dream.” Aizen looks away and heaves a sigh. “I suppose then it doesn’t matter at all.”
Ichigo frowns. Aizen’s reiastu is becoming more tangible around him. It doesn’t feel like a dream anymore, Ichigo thinks. He can almost feel Aizen’s sorrow now, as if it is being transmitted through the tendrils of reiatsu he can feel wrapping around his arms and wrists. This doesn’t feel like a dream at all!
“Hey.” Ichigo sits up and reaches out and lays his hand on Aizen’s shoulder. Aizen starts slightly at the contact, and Ichigo gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I believe you, Sousuke.”
Aizen takes a shuddering breath, and when he blinks a pair of tears fall from his eyes. “Thank you, Ichigo. Thank you.”
Aizen opens his mouth to say more, but quite suddenly makes a pained noise. At the same moment Ichigo feels a change in the reiatsu surrounding him, feels it become darker and heavier. Ichigo leaps to his feet and puts distance between them, and the scowl on his face is fierce.
“What the hell?” Ichigo demands.
Aizen tries to speak again, and instead makes another pained sound. His hands begin to claw at his gi, and it only takes a moment for him to pull the cloth open and reveal the stone embedded in his sternum. Aizen claws at the stone ineffectually, and his eyes are terrified as he meets Ichigo’s gaze.
“You must wake up now, Ichigo,” Aizen finally manages. The air is becoming heavier, and Aizen’s expression is pained.
Ichigo realizes suddenly that the darkness he feels stirring in Aizen’s reiatsu is the Hogyoku. He feels panic rising in his chest and he takes a backward step. When Aizen speaks again he practically screams the words.
“For the sake of everything you hold dear, Ichigo, WAKE UP!”
*****
Aizen is wrenched from his inner world by agonizing pain in his chest. The Hogyoku is awake and it is angry. He doesn’t bother asking it why, or even trying to beg for mercy. He doesn’t want it looking too deeply into his head right now. Aizen tries to ignore the pain while he marvels over the miracle that has just occurred. Ichigo was there, in his inner world. At first Aizen had thought he was the one dreaming, but when the younger man started to absorb his reiatsu he knew it wasn’t a dream. He thought that Ichigo might have sensed his reiatsu, but Aizen doubted the boy realized what was actually happening. Aizen hardly believed it himself, but it had happened, and he found himself cautiously hopeful for the future.
Ichigo had been unconsciously using Aizen’s reiatsu to repair his own.
*****
TBC
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In the Aftermath of Winter