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
- 78
- 79
- 80
Strange Bedfellows

�I found him!�

Ajuga made the announcement and a nasty face at the same time. �It wasn�t all that hard. I swear I can actually smell Zee�s foul stench.� She snorted, and curled her lip, acting as if she�d gotten a whiff of something noxious.

�Yes, I see him now,� Diaemus agreed as he honed in on her target, trying not to be distracted by the shelf of books along the far wall. She, her two childhood friends and their two new mentors, Hachi and Yoruichi had locked themselves in the relative quiet of the mansion�s library. The sunny room had comfortable chairs and a set of doors which locked from the inside, ensuring that Ajuga could �search� in peace for the one entity they needed without anyone disturbing them. Yoruichi made a pleased noise when she heard this.

�Excellent. All we need to do now is make contact. Is Zee still in our dimension, or has he returned to his own?�

�They are still in the Soul Society, way up North. It looks like they are salvaging what they can and retreating. I can see several Scarabs with their wings going and the other side is definitely not anywhere in Soul Society that I have ever seen,� Ajuga reported. Diaemus nodded, confirming what she�d just said and then turned his bright green eyes on the Escapee�s leader.

�What now?� he asked Yoruichi.

�Now, we make contact. Hachi, Hana�� Yoruichi grinned confidently at the heavy-set Vizard, whose bulk took up an entire loveseat and his star pupil sitting a few feet away. �Let�s get him �on the phone� and make sure we have a clear line!�

Hachi and Hana needed no further encouragement. The young woman closed her eyes, and started to chant the lines required for the Kido, her voice steady and self-assured. Meanwhile, Hachi murmured the second part of the incantation, their two voices coming together in a way that almost sounded like music, Hachi�s bassoon bass note a counterpoint to Hana�s much lighter flute-like recitation. The stopped at the same point and Hana inclined her head towards the noblewoman, indicating the spell went off successfully.

�Zee,� Ajuga spoke aloud. In her sight, the General froze, head snapping to look all around him. While this Kido spell was supposed to be a one-way form of communication, meant for the delivery of orders from a superior to a subordinate, her status as Kami meant she could hear any response he made if she so chose. They had worked out what they were going to say ahead of time so she decided not to waste precious minutes on unnecessary pleasantries.

�I require your presence,� she declared and then sat back to see what he would do.

To his credit, it didn�t take him long to figure out who she was.

�I have my own world to care for,� he responded, but his voice lacked the haughtiness she remembered. Instead, she could hear a lot of deep-seated pain and homesickness, two emotions with which she was becoming similarly familiar. She�d been gone from the Seireitei for a little over three weeks now. Ajuga had to wonder how long had it been since Zee had last seen his home Realm, or his friends and family. It might have been longer than she�d been alive.

�Look� about that� I made sure to stabilize it,� she tried to say, her tone getting softer and more apologetic. �It was one of the first I tried to fix. It�s still bad� but it isn�t going to fall in on itself anymore.�

She found it hard to stay angry at the creature, even if he had kidnapped her, beaten her bloody, broken her bones and turned her entire existence upside down. She had seen the Swarm�s home world while struggling to balance things, and she hadn�t lied to Zee. It had been on the verge of collapse, one of a number of Realms on the verge of catastrophe. The devastated landscape consisted of the remains of thick jungles, miles of wetlands created by river deltas and vast savannahs. It was a world that spoke deeply to Ajuga�s feral side. There had been no cities, as she knew them. Instead, she�d discovered an uncountable number of hives made from what looked like mud or massive, hollowed out trees.

Seeing it had only compounded her growing sense of guilt. Their world had been absolutely stunning before Aizen�s actions had almost destroyed it. No wonder the Swarm had thrown themselves so violently against them, or rather, against Aizen. Ajuga had spent a great deal of time in the last few days working on that particular Realm. She now understood the source of Zee�s desperation and determination to get someone who was qualified to �sit on the chair� and try to make things right.

�But it might not remain that way if Aizen stays in power much longer. He is still stronger than my Consort and I. He won�t rest until he kills us and takes the Throne back. That�s just the kind of bastard he is.�

It was hard to tell what kind of expression the General had on his face.

�You are correct in your assessment of his lack of character. However, he would be foolish to kill you before securing an Heir of his own, now that he knows that it takes more than mere strength to occupy the Throne,� Zee countered wearily. �It was his illegitimate state that sent things off kilter. If he succeeds in gaining an Heir with Royal blood, he will have the rights he seeks to take what he wants. He will also be able to balance the Realms.�

For some reason, the resignation she heard coming out of what passed for a mouth ticked Ajuga off to no end. As much as she disliked the arrogant jerk of a bug, seeing that he was on the verge of giving up didn�t sit right with her.

�Yeah, he�s busy doing just that, forcing himself on my mother as we speak.� She snarled this at him, unable and unwilling to hide her anger. �However, Aizen�s a vengeful asshole. As soon as he makes himself a true Kami, the first thing he is going to do is destroy everyone who ever got in his way, and that includes you and everyone in your Realm.�

Zee visibly bristled, his wings fluttering in agitation, and he was not the only one. The insects with him shivered and hummed at the challenge. She�d forgotten about the Swarm�s hive-mind, but she supposed it was a better and faster method of communication than speech.

�We plan on killing Aizen, to eliminate the threat, but we need a diversion to keep his soldiers preoccupied while we do that, to separate him from his army.�

Then Ajuga took a deep breath and decided that it was now or never. Trying to speak with an air of authority that she felt she didn�t quite deserve, she issued her first, official proclamation as the Spirit Queen.

�Zee, I command you to meet with me here, in the Living Realm, to discuss how we are going to do this.�

The General�s demeanour went from �offended� to �downright pissed,� but in the end, he agreed to what he called a �summit� and asked where she wanted to meet with him. Yoruichi gave Ajuga the co-ordinates and a time frame of half an hour. Ajuga relayed both to him. Once she�d done that, Hana closed down the connection on her own with a short set of verses and a clap of her hands. Severing the communication link was evidently easier than forging it, but to Ajuga, the tongue twister required to do it sounded just as complicated.

�Well done Hana-chan! I predict that with just a little more practice, you�ll be able to handle this particular spell on your own.�

Hachi�s compliment made her friend blush. Hana grinned back at her instructor and the two began talking about the intricacies of the spell. Most of the terminology went right over Ajuga�s head and she didn�t bother attempting to follow the conversation. She had other things to worry about, such as her imminent rendezvous with the General.

�That went much better than I expected!�

Yoruichi reached over and patted Ajuga�s shoulder with one dusky hand, giving her an approving wink.

�Indeed,� Diaemus agreed and rose from the ottoman, the only seat in the Library that wouldn�t interfere with his wings, stretching after sitting for so long.

�So now what? I just order Zee to send the Swarm in and he�ll do what I tell him?� Ajuga asked, not quite believing that things could be that easy.

�Yes, he will. You are the Spirit Queen after all, and it is clear this �Zee� occupies a high place in the Swarm�s hierarchy. He�s easily Fukutaichou-class, if that gives you a frame of reference. He might even be Taichou-class. Come on. Let�s get going. It�s going to take twenty minutes to get to the agreed upon location and I want to get there early. It never hurts to scope out the terrain beforehand. There are fewer surprises that way.�

�What about Papa and the others?� Ajuga asked, not liking the idea of leaving the Quincy stronghold without her father. Yoruichi waved Ajuga�s concern away.

�Ichigo and Grimmjow are training. Let�s leave them to it. They will need every scrap of ability they have to defeat Aizen. Besides, your father isn�t exactly the most diplomatic person I�ve ever met and the smaller the negotiating party is, the less chance we�ll be noticed.�

�Papa isn�t that bad,� Ajuga insisted, following Yoruichi out of the library and into the hallway. Diaemus and Hana shared a looked between them, but didn�t protest the point Ajuga was trying to make. To Ajuga�s surprise, Diaemus took the opportunity to shore her position up when it came to her father.

�I must point out that Grimmjow-san has remained here instead of rushing back to the Seireitei, as I�m certain he desires. One does not simply abandon a fertile mate and yet, he�s shown a great deal of restraint in not engaging in a futile attempt at rescue. I consider this an astonishing feat, given the subject in question.�

Okay, he didn�t have to add the last part, but it was true. Ajuga understood her father�s feelings. The urge to go charging in after Aizen was almost too overwhelming to set aside. In fact, if not for Diaemus and Hana, more the first than the second surprisingly, she would have probably tried something stupid like that herself.

�Alright, I�ll give you that much,� Yoruichi held up her hands in surrender. �Let�s get this over and done with so we can get the rest of the plan rolling.�

�Do you want us to come too?� Hana asked, meaning her and Hachi. Yoruichi sighed and shook her head.

�No. It will be easier to deal with Zee if we don�t confront him with a crowd. Your time�s better spent refining that shield. We can�t risk it failing.�

Hana didn�t argue the point, and she and Hachi returned to the library, where they could hunker down and work out any final bugs with the shield�s required incantation. In the meantime, she, Diaemus and Yoruichi made for the front door.

Thankfully, the trip to Yoruichi�s preferred meeting place was uneventful. Ajuga found it odd to be able to travel and yet remain invisible to the humans they bypassed. They still had to suppress their individual reiatsu signatures. They were hunted criminals after all and their powers might still harm the Living World�s inhabitants if they didn�t keep them in check. Ajuga was just grateful that hiding her reiatsu was second nature to her. Yoruichi declared herself suitably impressed once she saw Ajuga demonstrate her ability to disappear at will, with so little effort, and bemoaned having to learn such a skill in her younger years �the hard way.� Diaemus, long accustomed to it, chose to ignore her in favour of taking in the sights the Living World offered. Ajuga didn�t really blame him. Everything here was so� different and fascinating. She wished she had a year to snoop around, but they had an appointment to keep.

They arrived at what looked like a shady section of a public park with ten minutes to spare, and waited in the shadows for twelve minutes before Zee arrived, two portal scarabs trailing behind them. Oddly enough, the humans were oblivious to the Swarm�s presence, in much the same way they ignored her, Diaemus and Yoruichi. In a way, that was understandable. Both parties came from the same sort of place, even if they were different �heavens� and thus were just as �ghostly� as she was.

�Your Majesty.�

The General formally bowed, the two Scarabs behind him doing so as well, their brilliant wings opening to display a rainbow of colours when the sunlight hit them. The sight briefly reminded her of Vindula, and she spared a thought for the little girl forced to live under Aizen�s scrutiny, though most of the pain she felt was for Szayel, deprived of his children and suffering for it. Then she tried to focus on the task at hand, which was to convince someone who had beaten her up twice to join her in an invasion.

�Zee,� Ajuga acknowledged. �Have you had a chance to check in with your home?� she asked, trying to mitigate any animosity she felt from being within arm�s reach.

�Yes. My Queen has confirmed your story regarding our Realm�s stabilization, and she has a contingency force working on restorations. It may take generations, but we will rebuild and repair the damage as best we can, provided nothing further occurs.�

Now that she�d heard him speak, she could see how fatigued he really was. She hadn�t imagined the exhaustion she�d seen in his posture when she�d made contact through Hana and Hachi�s Kido. Up until this point, she hadn�t made much of an effort to try to get to know him, or figure him out, save for what she felt she had to know to engineer an escape from her prison, but the arrogance and pride with which he held himself was absent. He looked worn out, beaten down and sleep-deprived, as if all he really wanted to do was go to wherever it was he called �home,� to perhaps curl up in a cocoon and sleep for a year.

Two weeks ago, she�d have been thrilled to see him in this condition, but as of today and with her newfound knowledge�

�You know, if someone threatened my home like that, I�d have done what you did.� Ajuga could admit that much, unable to find the words to describe the strange mix of sympathy and guilt that plagued her. Once the words were out of her mouth, she realized they were true, after a fashion. The Swarm had threatened the Seireitei and she had gone all out against the bugs, along with everyone else forced to fight to keep Aizen�s lousy butt on the Throne. The only difference now was that she knew why they�d kept trying. For them, there had been no alternative. It was either �get to Aizen� or die.

�The forests, meadows, swamps� those will grow back,� Zee responded, perhaps as much for himself as for them. �But the state of my home is not why you have summoned me, Your Majesty. My Queen wishes to know more about your plan. She also wishes to know why we must sacrifice more of our children, when our Realm already faces a terrible imbalance of energy and souls as it is. We have little left to throw at your tyrant.�

�Before anything else, just what is your standing with the Swarm?� Yoruichi asked, holding up one hand to stop Ajuga from answering his question. �It is clear that you are obviously a man of rank. Where, exactly, do you fit into all this?�

�In the Swarm, as you have called us, I am known as Vorzt Aanvoerder Machtigzee. Our High Queen has granted me the land from the Roeren Zee to the Groen Zee to rule,� he replied. The name, the title and the geographic references meant little to Ajuga, but the winged youth at her side seemed suddenly interested.

�So, the name you gave us to use actually has meaning?�

Diaemus�s curious question brought out a slightly more spirited reply, one that sounded less despondent and more like what Ajuga remembered during her captivity.

�Of course. Vorzt is my birthright, Aavoerder is my rank within the hierarchy, Machtig is the name I earned during my trials.� He seemed rather pleased with himself as he explained his name�s significance, �and �the zee� is the area I rule, and thus, it is who and what I am.�

Yoruichi seemed to want a little more clarification, however and pressed him for it.

�What does Vorzt mean in our tongue?�

�This conversation had clearly gone off topic,� Zee replied, and now Ajuga could hear a hint of exasperation creep into his voice.

�True, but I want to know just how much influence you have over the Swarm, and what leverage you have with this Queen you mentioned,� Yoruichi explained. �We want to know if we�re talking to the right person for the job, someone with the authority to help us out here.�

�I suppose the closest �human� equivalent would be �prince.��

Ajuga�s ears twitched and her blue eyes got much bigger when he said this. Now she openly gaped at him.

�No wonder he wiped that clearing with our asses�� she thought before blurting out, �Wait a minute! Are you telling me you�re the Queen�s kid? You�re like, the Heir to the Swarm or some shit?�

Zee gave her a withering look and she immediately closed her mouth, wondering if she�d gone too far or mistakenly said something offensive.

�Heir? Of course not! I cannot bear the children of the future. Her Highness, my eldest sister, will inherit the Hive in due time. She trains tirelessly to take on our mother�s mantle one day. It is my duty, as a prince of Royal Blood, to defend our Realm from dangers to the Hive and perhaps, one day, to fertilize one of the other princesses from a lesser, different Hive, should I be honoured enough to be chosen by that hive�s Queen. The Queen who bore me is the ruling Queen, the High Queen of our world, much as this �Aizen,�� he spat, �currently rules yours.�

He folded his arms across his chest and gave all three of them a narrow-eyed glare.

�Have I satisfied your curiosity enough that we can speak of more important matters?� Zee inquired dryly, �or do you plan to waste time delving further into my background?�

�Hell yes, I plan to interrogate you some more, but that can wait,� Ajuga snarked back and Yoruichi pinched the bridge of her nose, which told the young hybrid that she might need to control her temper a bit better if they wanted this to succeed. She really was intrigued about what the Swarm�s home world and social life must be like, but she had a job to do and a proposal to make. �Yoruichi-san is the real strategist here, so I will leave the tactics up to you two,� Ajuga indicated the dark skinned woman, who promptly stepped to the forefront with a short bow. Yoruichi rubbed her hands together and got right down to business.

�Alright, here�s what we have so far. We have a tentative plan to kill Aizen, but we�re too few in number. What we need is a big diversion, something that will keep his Arrancar troops and their enslaved pets busy so they can�t come to his aid if he summons them. We have allies in the Rukongai and some hefty explosives that they�ll plant in key spots all throughout the outer Districts, to lure the troops out to investigate, but we don�t have nearly enough to keep everyone busy. The localized destruction will only serve to keep some of the slaves out of the way while they try to figure out what caused the mayhem.�

�This, I presume, is where we come in,� Zee guessed, sounding less than enthusiastic.

�Exactly,� Yoruichi concurred. �Nothing holds a Hollow�s attention like a battle. The bigger the battle, the bigger the distraction and the more chaos your forces can create the better. We need the Swarm to keep Aizen�s forces busy while we take out the usurper behind the scenes. Once Aizen is dead, we can deal with the Arrancar soldiers on an individual basis, but we can�t kill Aizen and fend off his army at the same time.�

Zee remained silent for a moment, as if in thought, or maybe he was communing silently with the Hive. Finally, the General looked back at Ajuga, his cynicism on full display. If it had been any stronger, she might have labelled it �scorn�.

�You are asking us to sacrifice our children for this nebulous plan, the details of which I still haven�t heard?� he demanded, sounding unconvinced. Ajuga ground her molars together and answered as honestly as she could, trying to get him to understand.

�Yes! He�s got my mother, he has patrols out looking for us and the minute he does find us, he�s going to kill me and try to take the Throne again! Like I told you, Aizen�s a vindictive bastard! The first thing he�ll do, once Diaemus and I are dead, will be to take revenge on your kind for all those years of attacks! He�s a disgusting, perverted, sadistic prick! He won�t show any mercy and he won�t make your end quick or painless, if he doesn�t decide to exterminate you completely!�

The General didn�t seem swayed by Ajuga�s emotional entreaty. If anything, he seemed even more sceptical than before.

�Doing so would ultimately harm him. If he annihilated my people, the ripple effect would ensure that all of the other Realms would face imminent collapse. Insects would overrun the Living World as our Realm empties and that would start a chain reaction the likes of which even the Spirit King could not stop. While human arrogance is nothing new, I find it hard to believe this Aizen, as power-hungry as you say he is, would consign all of creation to nothingness by seeking retribution in such a way.�

Yoruichi made a derisive, scoffing sound in the back of her throat.

�You assume he�s sane. I assure you he�s not. He thinks of himself, not as a Shinigami or a human soul, but as a god that transcends all others, including any other species. I�m in a unique position to know,� she smirked, and Ajuga wondered whether or not she was referring to her ability to take on a cat�s form. The Shinigami had never explained exactly how she did it, and her uncle had mentioned in passing that it wasn�t something he wanted the purple haired woman demonstrating for the kids, particularly the transformation back into her two-legged state. �His megalomania knows no limit.�

Diaemus chose that moment to chime in, in an attempt to bolster Ajuga and Yoruichi�s appraisal of just how much trouble Aizen posed to the Swarm.

�General, sir, please believe us. We have plenty of first-hand evidence that suggests that no Realm will be safe if he ennobles himself and takes control of the Throne. He will come after your people, to make an example of you. What�s worse, that gem inside of him means there�s no hope of ever getting him �off� of the Throne once he�s on it. He�ll rule forever� if we don�t team up and stop him now, while he�s weakened.�

Zee remained silent for an uncomfortable few minutes and Ajuga saw him close his eyes once more. When he finally spoke, he eyed her and Diaemus with more scrutiny that she would have liked.

�Are you planning on joining this assault, Your Majesty?�

�Yes!� Ajuga stated, before either Diaemus or Yoruichi could say otherwise.

�I see. My Queen believes that what you say is true, that this Duivel is a real threat to our world and that the cost in lives will be worth it if doing so will ensure our Realm�s survival in the long run. She will agree, tentatively, to assist you in this venture, but only on one condition.�

�What is that?� Diaemus questioned suspiciously.

�You two must wait out the battle, either here or at the Hive.�

�What!� Ajuga yelped and Diaemus winced at both her volume and pitch.

�That�s a very good idea. Personally, I�d prefer they retreat to your Hive as well.�

Yoruichi hijacked the conversation and steered it out of Ajuga�s control, despite her growing outrage at the idea of the others leaving her behind. �Aizen would never think to look for the two of you there. Szayel was never able to pinpoint the exact location of the Swarm�s home world, nor could he find a way to get there. You�ll be well-protected.�

�WHAT!� Ajuga yelled again, her shout louder this time and aimed at Yoruichi.

�Aizen still has Karin,� Diaemus pointed out and the dark-skinned noblewoman�s lips thinned.

�Yes, but Karin only remains alive because she has hope that we�ll come for her, with a proper plan in place, before Aizen can impregnate her, or, Kami forbid, she gives birth. If we fail I expect she�ll do her best to kill herself, to keep him from succeeding,� Yoruichi countered, her angry tone a match for Ajuga, �especially if it means keeping you two safe.�

�How would we possibly be safe if that happens?�

Yoruichi gave her a nasty-sounding laugh and an entirely-too-pragmatic explanation. �With no Heir, there is no reason for Aizen to kill you, and many more to keep you alive, though maybe when you�re underneath him, you�ll wish for death.�

�This is absurd!� Ajuga flattened her ears against her head in agitation and clenched both fists until her arms shook. �I am going to fight! That is my mother we�re talking about here!�

�Your mother is busy using her body to keep Aizen�s focus on her and not you, Ajuga Jaegerjaquez. If we fail, you will join her until he can plant his seed in you, your mother or Unohana. Once he has what he wants, Aizen will immediately kill you and legitimately take the Throne. That will be your future Ajuga. You�ll spend the rest of your short life on your hands and knees, violently raped on a daily basis by that psychopath. Why don�t you just ask Szayel what that�s like, if you�re curious? I�m certain he�ll have plenty of insight.�

Yoruichi delivered the remorseless dressing-down with uncharacteristic coldness, tossing in some sarcasm as a finishing touch. �I�m positive Aizen will just love having both of you trapped in his bed� maybe he�ll even chain you to it and make your mother watch while he violates you.�

Diaemus quickly interrupted the noble. �Ajuga,� he said, making her look at him before her mind could finish fully processing the sordid imagery the noble�s verbal assault conjured up. �Yoruichi-san has a very valid point. We are far too valuable and vulnerable in our current half-trained state, to participate in this battle. Aizen labelled us traitors, and everyone will go after us if he detects our presence. It�s too big a risk.�

�There is no way I am sitting out,� Ajuga stubbornly insisted, wanting to lash out at all three of them for ganging up on her in this manner.

�Then my forces shall not participate�� Zee told her and drew himself up to his full height, forcing Ajuga to look up at him. ��and I will actively prevent you from going, especially if you persist in acting like a petulant spawn deprived of a sweet-comb.�

Yoruichi quickly stepped between the two and placed her fingertips on the portion of Ajuga�s mask fragment, the one covering her shoulder. Diaemus put his hand on the other.

�Zee is right and the others will agree with him, including your father. No one doubts your bravery Ajuga, but if this plan doesn�t work, we need you and Diaemus to be as far away as possible.�

Ajuga wasn�t certain which part of Zee�s offer she objected to the most: the part where she had to remain behind like a sheltered cub or the portion where she had to trust the others in their strange little group of exiles to do the job of killing Aizen for her. Her father had taught her to rely on her own talents and her personal strength, forcing her to get better with every lesson. Even when she�d worked together with Diaemus and Hana, she�d always been one to pull her weight in order to achieve their goals. Doing nothing, letting someone else fight for her seemed so fundamentally wrong�

�Says the girl that can�t find her own mother, even with the Spirit King�s powers,� said a dark, scathing whisper in the back of her mind.

The worst part of this agreement, Ajuga knew, was that both Yoruichi and Zee had the right of it, as did Diaemus, when it came to an honest accounting of her handle on those new abilities of hers. She and her Consort were still learning how to control them, and her sight often jumped on her at unexpected times. She couldn�t afford to have that happen in the middle of a battle and while she could hide her reiatsu completely, Diaemus could not. He�d be a sitting duck, or bat, if Aizen honed in on him.

�Or maybe Aizen will just kill him and force you to make him your next Consort, like Zee was going to do� only Aizen�s motives won�t be so nice,� the voice went on to say. Reluctantly, she looked around her, at her two companions and at the General whose help she really needed in order to get her mother away from the monster who had her.

Shoulders slumping, Ajuga averted her eyes and stared down at the grass beneath her hind claws. �Fine,� she conceded, a truculent scowl fixed on her face. �Diaemus and I will remain behind.�

�My Queen looks forward to your visit,� Zee held out his hand, and a bright green butterfly fluttered to land on it. The little insect�s wings pumped up and down, finally settling in an upright position. Its appearance startled Ajuga to the point where she temporarily forgot how furious she was. �Please allow �Gezant Weide� to stay by your side. This messenger will allow you to let us know when you are ready to begin the assault.�

The little creature left Zee�s possession, sailing over to perch on the top of Ajuga�s head.

�It looks suspiciously like the Hell Butterflies we use,� Yoruichi noted, tapping one finger thoughtfully against her lower lip as she eyed it.

�Perhaps the two are related?� Diaemus suggested, to which the Shinigami made a speculative �hmmm� noise.

�Until then.�

Zee bowed once more before spreading his wings and taking off, along with his Scarab entourage. They watched him go and then began the trek back to the Ishida Estate. Ajuga hadn�t expected everyone to sideline her as a stipulation to secure the Swarm�s help and she muttered unhappily, as the three of them slunk along the back routes to the mansion and its protected grounds.

�Huh, so, he was a prince! I have to admit, I wasn�t expecting him to be quite that high on the social ladder.� Yoruichi admitted this with a low whistle and raised one eyebrow appreciatively.

�No, and I can�t believe I have to stay behind.�

�We, Ajuga, not just you.�

Ajuga turned back to see Diaemus looking crossly at her.

�We are staying behind. I�m not fighting either.�

�But��

Her Consort huffed and his frown deepened as he said one word to her with his usual, scholarly haughtiness.

�Chess.�

�Huh?�

�Have you ever played chess, Ajuga?�

She had to think for a minute and nodded.

��take-ji has a chess set in his study. He and Starrk-ji mostly play shoji, but they sometimes play chess too. Hana knows how to play, but I thought it was boring. Too much sitting around and staring at the board. What does that have to do with�?�

�There are all sorts of different pieces in chess and each piece has different moves it can make in the course of a match. The �king� piece can move in any direction, but can only go one space at a time, unless you�re �castling� and swapping a rook for your king behind a line of pawns, which is a defensive move.�

�Just get to the point, Diaemus,� she sighed and he obliged her.

�The quickest way to lose at chess is to fail to protect your king. Leave an opening and it�s all over. Right now, you and I are in the king�s position. It doesn�t matter what any of the other pieces do, if Aizen can get to one or both of us. The Swarm is willing to �castle� us, to hide us so that our forces are free to take down the other side�s king. I know how much you want to rip into Aizen, but that�s just what he wants. The last place we should be is with your father and your uncle, on the day that the rest of our pieces make their moves.�

Sometimes Ajuga wished that she was capable of being as detached about things as Diaemus, able to reach into the great invisible bag of logical responses he seemed to carry around with him and drag out one to support whatever position he took. In this case, that involved hiding, while others took on all of the danger.

�Look on the bright side,� Yoruichi interrupted. She sounded much happier than before they�d met with the General, almost gleeful, as if Zee had handed her a very large bag of gold with her name written it.

�What bright side?� Ajuga grumbled as the little messenger flitted from one spot on her body to another as they moved. It ended up back on the top of her head, much to the amusement of her two companions.

�Don�t try to deny it. You�re interested in the Swarm. I�ll bet that going to their Realm and speaking to their Queen would be an excellent way of getting to know them. Think of it as a diplomatic visit, a way to smooth over everything that�s happened in the last nine years.�

�She has a valid point,� Diaemus added. �I confess that I want to know more about them as well. We�ve fought them all this time, but we know little about them, other than how they fight. It might be a good place to start and we�d have a better idea about how to really repair their Realm, rather than just patching things up as we go.�

The noble ahead of them slowed down as they approached an open area, halting to make certain there were no prying eyes before they crossed it. She turned back to look at them with a sly smile when they reached the safety of a shady walkway.

�I like the way you think, Cifer-san. What better way to get to know the neighbours than to take a tour of their house?�

Well, Yoruichi was right about that. If she went to the Queen�s Hive, she�d have the opportunity to see the damage Aizen had done to the Swarm�s home world firsthand. The insects hadn�t hesitated in sending millions to their deaths in an attempt to remove him, a tactic that in the end had yielded little. She knew there was a lesson for her there, though she didn�t like it. Ajuga still wanted to fight, to put Aizen down, to see Yammy destroyed so he could never hurt Byakuya again. However, if coming with them jeopardized the others� efforts, it was better that she and Diaemus take the Swarm up on their offer of hospitality.

They arrived back at the Estate without incident, and Yoruichi snuck off so she could inform the others that they had a tentative agreement with the Swarm. Hana would be happy to hear that, she thought, and tried to figure out what to do now that the agreement had rendered any training Ajuga might have done to prepare for the battle a waste of time. Diaemus squeezed her hand and she guessed he wanted to see whether there were any books in the library he hadn�t read yet.

What they really needed were accurate translations of Urahara Kisuke�s notes and a way around Kyoka Suigetsu. All the planning in the world would be for naught if they couldn�t rid Aizen of his immortality and his Zanpakuto and unfortunately, that wasn�t something with which she could help.

That left Ajuga with little to do but brood, which she decided to do in the shade of the supply shed. How had Zee unflatteringly described her? Oh, yes� a �grub denied a sweet-comb.� Maybe she was being childish, but the alternative was letting the helplessness she�d felt since the meeting�s conclusion settle into her heart for a long, unhappy stay. She wrapped her arms around her bent legs and rested her forehead against her drawn up knees.

What good was the Throne, she pondered sullenly, if it meant losing the ability to fight at all, or having to let others fight for her? Wasn�t a sovereign supposed to be the strongest, with enough power to attain and keep that power? The ultimate Alpha.

Ajuga hunkered down, and tried to come up with an answer that didn�t make her feel as utterly useless in the upcoming battle as the chess piece Diaemus described.

And now things are getting together, and next chapter, more things get together as a vital piece of the puzzle in how to kill Aizen is uncovered.

Last chapter was written by the talented BlackFox. I didn�t get much of a chance to write much before posting because I am still not feeling good and still waiting for a response from my Dr., who I just learned had been out of town all of last week so I will excuse him a little bit for the delay. As ever, I love each and every review and it�s nice to see some old names pop up and new names enter the scene. I give you a salute for digging through this monster of a fict.

So yes, Ajuga and Diaemus will not be participating in the final battle. One, this takes out the OCs so I can focus more on the cannon characters, and 2, there is no way Aizen would not target them the instant he detected their presence. While Ajuga could hide from him, Diaemus could not.

This weeks question: so, as interesting as the �Zombie� Arrancar we have seen are, who keeps hoping to see a few other familiar faces? And who? I, for one, would like to see Yylfordt or Szayel, if only so the first can have some future, uncorrupted screen time unhashed by pointless, annoying, filler born characters interfering with his fight. Still pisses my off to this day those stupid puppets were involved in any manner.
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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