Paper King

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Just a bit of explanation...you all know that I can't refuse a good challenge. And someone challenged me to write an Aizen pregnancy. I have to look back to remind myself who. Sorry! Anyway, this will be an Aizen/Ichigo romance where their roles will shift back and forth, but Aizen will bear the children. Lots of good parings in this, so give it a try! I think you will really enjoy it.

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(In the days after the quincy war, Byakuya discovers that Aizen Sousuke is the lost heir to a legendary noble clan, and that the law requires he must be released and allowed to grow his family. Central 46 agrees to his release, on the condition that he will agree to bear his own heirs. But as he chooses Ichigo to father his children and begins to dream of a new future, the sages of Central 46 have ordered his assassination. Yaoi, mpreg...Ichigo/Aizen, Kenpachi/Byakuya, Kurushimi/Tetsuya, Bazz-B/Renji, Rukia/Orihime)

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Chapter 1: The Rule of Law

In the heart of the newly constructed meeting chamber of Central 46, the sages of the grand council reclined in plush chairs behind the crest marked wooden shields that hid their faces from the ones standing before them. The usually quiet room was alive with soft voices, echoing slightly as they sounded and giving the place an eerie feel as the men and women of the council prepared for the hastily scheduled meeting.

"Have you heard any reason why we were summoned so suddenly, Sora?" an elderly, silver-haired woman asked the younger man next to her.

"No, Arisu-san," Sora answered, "I only heard, as you did, that Kuchiki Byakuya had been to see Grand Councilor Nori and Nori called the meeting because of something Byakuya revealed to him."

A gavel crashed down and the whispers ceased as the grand councilor stood and called the meeting to order.

"Lords and ladies," Kuchiki Nori announced in a deep, booming voice, "I thank you for joining me on such short notice, but an issue of extreme importance has arisen, and it is critical that we respond immediately. To explain what has happened, I will turn the meeting over to Kuchiki Byakuya, Kuchiki clan leader and the guardian of the Kuchiki family archive. Byakuya?"

In the circular floor area below the assembled council, Byakuya entered through the chamber's main doors and proceeded past the gallery of noble family members given clearances to attend the meeting. He walked in graceful, calm steps past his sister, who stood alongside Shiba Ichigo in the gallery, then past Ichigo's cousin by marriage, the new third division taicho and Shima clan leader, Shima Kurushimi, to the podium, where he paused for a moment, looking up at the wooden shields that protected the identities of the council sages except for the grand councilor. Nori gave him a graceful nod of welcome.

"I thank all of you for responding so quickly to my message," Byakuya began, his dark grey eyes troubled as he spoke, "While examining the histories within my family's archive, I made a discovery of extreme importance that, by our laws, must be acted upon immediately. This discovery involves the identification of a lone heir to the legendary house of Daishima."

"Daishima!" the sage of the Yukita clan repeated emphatically, as whispers broke out among the assembled councilors, "You have identified an heir of Daishima?"

"I have," Byakuya confirmed, "with one-hundred percent certainty. I have had this person tested by sending samples of his blood and reiatsu to Urahara Kisuke, then working with him to match the markers to the Daishima's bloodline directly. Having confirmed this man's connection to the Daishima family, I have had him summoned and am ready to present him to the council."

The grand councilor took a steadying breath and placed a hand on his chest for a moment.

"Then, by all means, let him enter."

Byakuya looked back at the guards standing by the entrance to the council chamber and nodded. The men opened the door and four attendants carried in a man, heavily bound to a large, white chair. Instantly, pandemonium broke out in the room, with raised voices decrying the arrival of the prisoner. The grand councilor's gavel banged down several times before the gathered councilors regained their composure and quieted.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Nori said sternly, "what is the meaning of this? How dare you bring this man up out of the prison without...!"

"Oh, I assure you," Byakuya stated calmly, "I acted completely within accordance of the law."

"What are you talking about, Byakuya?" the man in the chair asked, frowning, "Why did you bring me here?"

Byakuya ignored Aizen completely.

"Understand first," he went on, "I have no love for Aizen Sousuke, but I am committed to following the laws as they are written. The Daishima clan was a legendary clan with powers that would place them among the great clans. It was thought that the last Daishima heir died over three hundred years ago, yet the blood that runs in Aizen Sousuke's veins can tell no lies."

"What about his illusions?" Sora demanded angrily, "He could be somehow affecting the results of the testing!"

"Councilor Sora, is it?" Aizen said with an air of calm sarcasm, "You know very well that because of this chair and the bindings on me, I can't affect things outside of a very small radius around my body. Even if I did use my power to obscure the content of my blood and reiatsu, once removed out of that radius, it would fool no one."

"Aizen Sousuke, you have not been given leave to speak!" Nori said reprovingly, "Byakuya, please continue."

"I object!" shouted another male councilor, "Aizen Sousuke is guilty of high treason and causing a war that killed hundreds! There is no way he should be given any chance of getting free!"

"I agree!" a female councilor shouted, setting off a thunderous and chaotic bout of loud arguments.

Nori gavel crashed down.

"Order! We will have order here!" he boomed.

"I understand your objections," Byakuya assured the councilors, "And I share your concerns, but the law is clear. The king has been consulted and he agrees that the Daishima line must be revived. He has foreseen this to be of utmost importance."

"Oh please, don't tell me someone will be forced to mate with that animal!" Arisu seethed, "You won't get a mate from my clan!"

"Nor mine!" shouted another.

"Nor mine!" agreed another.

Shouts rose up in agreement all over the room. Nori banged his gavel on the table in front of him, quieting them.

"Order! This bickering is pointless," Nori said, shaking his head, "Although I am inclined to agree with all of you, you know as well as I do that if the king has seen that Aizen is an heir of Daishima and he has said we must free Aizen, then there is nothing we can do. The king's order must be obeyed."

"Nori," said a thin male voice that belonged to a sly looking, slim, middle aged man behind the shield of the Suwa clan, "may I offer an opinion?"

Nori felt a touch of annoyance and a little flinch of disgust at the thought of what the rather vulgar Suwa sage was likely to suggest, but, unable to find anyone else with something to suggest, he nodded in acceptance.

"Go ahead, Hisoka."

The Suwa sage moved the wooden shield aside and looked directly at Aizen as he answered.

"Lords and Ladies," Hisoka's smooth voice intoned, "we have some difficult facts to deal with. That is clear. But, I would suggest that we look at some factors that could actually play out in our favor."

"And what would those be?" Nori prompted him, frowning and furrowing his brow.

"Well," said Hisoka, "although it is true that Aizen is a Daishima heir and the king has ordered his release, he didn't add any particular caveats to that release order. And that leaves us, his representatives, the task of working out the details. I would suggest that we remember a few things as we prepare for his inevitable release."

"Such as...?" Nori sighed.

"Well, we know that Aizen must be released, and that as a recognized noble lord, he can't be subjected to intrusive monitoring or surveillance. We can't put limits on his powers in any direct way."

"You are suggesting that there is an indirect way to control his powers?" Nori inquired, a flicker of hope in his aged eyes.

A murmur went through the gathered sages and through the gallery beneath them.

"Yes," Hisoka informed them, smirking as he met Aizen's curious eyes, "there is a way to control Aizen Sousuke's powers, at least for a time."

Whispers broke out across the room again and Nori banged his gavel warningly.

"Go on, Hisoka."

"The laws for rebuilding a clan from one discovered heir require the heir, if able to father children, to impregnate seven concubines."

"We know this," Nori agreed, "however, I think you've seen we will have trouble finding one clan that will offer even their lesser women for use by this traitor."

"Ah yes," Hisoka went on, his smile creeping more widely across his face, "But...there is a law for those who can bear children themselves!" he pointed out, "And, as we have learned, noble males who are descendants of the Breeder males...or are exposed to their blood and reiatsu in just the right way, can bear heirs. If he can bear heirs himself, then the law says he must bear the seven children himself. While he does that, you all know that, being a breeder male, his powers will be non-functional. And they will remain non-functional until several months after each birth. To my calculation, that gives us about seven years of not worrying about him causing us grief."

Mingled laughter and angry hisses rose up and Nori banged his gavel to quiet them.

"Hisoka, you know that Aizen Sousuke isn't a Breeder male."

"No," the Suwa sage agreed, "but we do have one here, don't we?"

He glanced down at Byakuya, whose eyes darkened as he glared back at the Suwa sage.

"You did bring him with you, didn't you? He never seems to be far away from you. Where is he?"

Hisoka looked around the room.

"Will you come forward, Kuchiki Tetsuya?"

Shocked whispers erupted, but quieted again as Byakuya hesitated for a moment, then looked over his shoulder and nodded briefly. Seemingly out of the shadows emerged a lovely young man with pale skin, wavy raven black hair and gemlike sapphire eyes. He moved in slow steps to Byakuya's side, keeping his eyes carefully focused straight ahead, then stopped at the podium and looked up at Hisoka silently.

"Kuchiki Tetsuya, you are a natural born Breeder Male, are you not?"

"Yes, Suwa-sama," Tetsuya replied respectfully, "I am."

"And, pardon me for asking, but it is necessary...Are you in a relationship? Promised to someone?"

Tetsuya paused, looking uncomfortably at Byakuya, whose eyes reflected deep concern as he nodded for Tetsuya to continue.

"I..." he began.

"He is promised to me," a male voice interrupted as Ichigo's handsome, caramel skinned cousin stepped forward to join Tetsuya, touching his hand in warning as Tetsuya gave him a startled look and Byakuya flinched visibly, but gave no objection. Whispers rose amongst the sages, but quickly quieted as Nori began to raise his gavel.

A short distance away in the gallery, Ichigo poked Rukia with a fingertip, earning a glare in response.

"Tetsuya's not engaged to Kuri, is he?" he whispered, "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"No, stupid!" Rukia chided him, "Don't you get it? Kuri's just protecting Tetsuya from having to be with Aizen."

"And Byakuya's letting Kuri lie in front of everyone?" Ichigo mused.

"If you were Nii-sama, would you want your cousin to be forced to marry Aizen?" Rukia asked sarcastically.

"Well, him being married to Kuri is going to drive Byakuya crazy too. Kuri is pretty unconventional."

"Well, he's better than Aizen. And they can always quietly break up later, before there is any wedding," Rukia reasoned, "I think it was sweet of Kuri to protect my cousin."

"Right," Ichigo chuckled, looking at Kurushimi affectionately, "He's like that."

The two turned their attention back to Hisoka as Nori quieted the room and the Suwa sage continued.

"Ah, Shima Kurushimi," Hisoka said, "I see. Well, congratulations to the two of you, of course. I didn't even know you had met formally. Tetsuya is very fortunate, a half-blood being coupled with a clan leader and a taicho. It is unprecedented. Very odd it's been kept so quiet. It should have been the talk of the town."

Kuri's lips curled slightly as he answered.

"Tetsu-hana is a private person. As Byakurai's bodyguard, that is a good thing, ne?"

"Hmm," Hisoka mused disapprovingly, "That does change things. However, even if we can't marry the Breeder Male to Aizen, we can still use him."

"How do you mean?" Kurushimi said, frowning and stepping slightly in front of Tetsuya, who inhaled in surprise, looking up at Kuri's profile.

"Oh, it's nothing to fret about," Hisoka assured him, "We just need to take a vial each of his blood and reiatsu, and we can use it to alter Aizen Sousuke, so that he will become a Breeder Male."

"But creating new Breeder Males is against the law, isn't it?" Kuri asked, glancing at Tetsuya.

"The practice was banned a long time ago," Byakuya agreed, "But under the law, although it was banned, the ban can be lifted by a two-thirds vote of the council."

He glanced meaningfully at Aizen.

"And then, of course, if the council sees fit, the ban can be reinstated after Aizen is exposed to my cousin's blood and reiatsu."

"Thus," Hisoka said approvingly, looking down into Aizen's now malevolent eyes, "no innocent young noble ladies need to be sacrificed and Aizen will be without his powers while he has the seven children. Any questions?"

"I have one," Aizen said smoothly, "Who is going to have the courage to attempt to impregnate me? Because, as you know, my reiatsu isn't gone. It is just pressed in around me. Anything that tries to penetrate my body...anything...will most certainly be lost. I am afraid you will be unable to find a man willing to risk such a vital part of himself just to deprive me of my powers for a while."

"Would you rather spend the rest of eternity in your cell down in Muken?" Hisoka inquired archly, "That's what will happen if you are not going to cooperate."

"As I've said," Byakuya interjected frowning, "By our laws, and by the king's order, Aizen must be released. Why don't you poll the councilors? We can see if there are any who would offer males or females for bonding with Aizen."

"That sounds reasonable," Nori agreed, "Who will offer daughters of their clan to act as concubines to bear the Daishima heirs?"

The room went silent and the councilors all signaled a refusal.

"Are there any of you who would offer a son to father the Daishima heirs?" Nori asked.

The room remained silent and again, the sages signaled refusal.

"You see," Aizen said calmly, "Your twisted little plan is useless. But you still have an obligation to free me. You will get nowhere with this."

"What about a compromise?" asked Sora, "I mean, if no one offers a daughter, there's nothing we can do. But if no one wants to risk a son, a man made into a Breeder Male can still cause Aizen to be impregnated by implantation of semen and reiatsu. For that matter, we could just use Kuchiki Tetsuya's semen and reiatsu, couldn't we? No one would have to be risked at all!"

Tetsuya sucked in a surprised breath, paling as he moved closer to Kuri and the Shima leader placed a protective arm around him.

"You will not force anything like that on my fiancé!" he shouted, "You are not touching him of by kami, you will have to deal with me! It is bad enough that he already has to give blood and reiatsu. Making him the father would require him to have bonding sessions to stabilize the forces within Aizen's body as the children's reiatsu matures. I will not tolerate him being forced to endure that!"

Byakuya flinched again and Rukia covered her mouth in surprise at Kuri's outburst.

"He's really pouring it on thick," she mused, "It's really sweet."

"Except that they're not actually engaged," Ichigo snickered.

Arguments broke out all over the room and Nori banged his gavel repeatedly until order was restored. He started to speak, but went silent again as Aizen's voice sounded.

"There is someone I would allow to impregnate me," he offered, making the gathered sages stare in surprise and making Ichigo's curious eyes turn in his direction, "Does that shock you? It shouldn't. You know that Muken is not a pleasant place, and I would like very much to escape it. However, escape is useless if I am only escaping so that I can be murdered by someone seeking revenge. As you know, when I assisted Kurosaki Ichigo in slaying the quincy king, I sacrificed the hogyoku to make it possible to do that. I am no longer immortal, and so, I will tell you that if the person I choose is willing, I will allow myself to be impregnated under a few very reasonable conditions."

Aizen's head turned slightly, to better meet Ichigo's more darkly curious eyes.

"And those are?" Nori asked warily.

"First," Aizen explained, "I want protection. The Daishima heirs need to be protected and if I am powerless, I will be unable to offer them that. Luckily for you, the person I have chosen to allow for this can also offer me adequate protection, and I think he will, given his nature."

"Very well," said Nori, it seems that protection is covered. What else?"

"Secondly," Aizen continued, "I require as an heir to the Daishima family, that all funds and properties in guardianship for the family be returned to me."

Next to Aizen, Byakuya nodded in acceptance.

"The deeds to their properties, as well as family heirlooms and items of historical interest are stored in the Kuchiki archive. I will have them transferred to you as soon as you are released and choose which property you wish to occupy."

"But getting back to the matter of reviving your clan, who is it that you will allow to...do this?" asked Nori, "After all, if the one you would allow refuses, we are still stuck."

"My choice is a logical one," Aizen said quietly, meeting Ichigo's strangely expectant eyes directly, "There is only one person who deserves to touch me, and that is the one who defeated me...Kurosaki Ichigo."

The room erupted into pandemonium, requiring several minutes to be brought back into order. Nori's gavel crashed into the table in front of him and his voice boomed across the room. As the chaos went on around them, Ichigo moved forward, passing by Byakuya and coming to stand in front of the bound prisoner. He looked into Aizen's brown eyes with surprising calm. The sages, noting Ichigo's unusual reaction, quieted again and watched raptly.

Aizen smiled at Ichigo.

"It's been a while," he commented, "How have you been, Ichigo?"

"You can visit later," Nori said shortly, "Shiba Ichigo, what do you say to Aizen Sousuke's proposal? If we alter him to be able to bear children, will you agree to father the Daishima heirs? I think that the council will agree that you don't have to marry him. Will you just father the heirs?"

Ichigo stood silently for several minutes, gazing into Aizen's calm eyes, his thoughts unreadable although his expression remained carefully composed. Finally, he turned to face the Central 46 sages.

"Yes," he stated, matter-of-factly, "I will father the Daishima heirs...and I will protect them...and Aizen Sousuke."