Only By Chance
For the first time in over one hundred years, Sosuke Aizen was utterly shocked.
He had just opened the door to his room, where a man in his twenties sat. he wore a loose white overcoat with a deep red lining, and thin glasses framing green piercing eyes.
He was leaning his head on his mechanical right hand, as those same eyes pieced Aizen's.
"Well," the man said, breaking the silence, "Long time no see, Sosuke."
Aizen's shock quickly turned to irritation, which he quickly suppressed to maintain a stoic front.
The man simply smirked.
"Don't tell me you don't remember-"
"I thought that you would already be dead." Aizen interrupted. "Or exiled at the very least, Nathaniel DreadBane."
Nathaniel went from a smirk to a Cheshire grin. "Dead? No, my friend," – he put a certain emphasis on 'friend' – "I assure you, I'm very much alive. But exile…" He chuckled. "You pretty much hit the nail on the head!"
"What do you want?"
Nathaniel's grin quickly faded, letting out a deep sigh. It was hard, even for him, to get down to business, even more so considering the circumstances. He opened his eyes again, facing his opponent.
"You know very well what I want."
"Could you please clarify?"
Nathaniel's mouth now formed a curt frown. He hated it when he was roundabout like this. Still, he had no other choice.
"I want to know what you're doing here. What you could possibly gain from leaving us. Why you've done what you've done."
Aizen closed his eyes in annoyance.
He turned away. "You could never understand my reasoning."
"You want the King's Key, don't you?"
Aizen's eyes snapped open. That particular piece of information he wasn't supposed to know.
Nathaniel inwardly grinned, but didn't let it show. He had him. Aizen's spiritual pressure had spiked for a split second; finally he was getting somewhere.
"You want to enter the King's Realm." He said, standing up to face him.
"Why…to kill him?"
Aizen remained unturned. "I said you wouldn't understand."
That was more than enough for Nathaniel. "You're not gonna kill him!"
Aizen whipped around and quickly lost his composure. "I WILL kill him!"
Nathaniel stepped forward, mere inches separating their faces. "Not if I kill you first."
He stared right into his eyes, flooding spiritual pressure through them. An attempt to intimidate his foe that worked most of the time.
But this wasn't most of the time. Aizen remained unfazed, most likely using the same technique to counter.
"I'm gonna ask you one," Nathaniel was as angry as hell, and was having trouble hiding it, "And once only. Give up."
"No." Aizen solemnly stated."
Nathaniel's nostrils flared, his teeth clenched. In one swift motion, he grabbed a flintlock pistol from his sash and shot Aizen in the foot. Aizen didn't wince; he just stood there, seemingly unaffected.
Nathaniel replaced his gun in his sash and began to walk out. He stopped at the door.
"Damn you."
He opened the door and left. After the door closed, Aizen dropped the façade and gave in, down on one knee. It hurt; he wouldn't admit it, but it hurt. He had gotten closer to injuring him that anyone; hell he had injured him.
Aizen quickly stood back up and made for the door. He wasn't quick enough to see Nathaniel making his escape through a black, oval shaped portal…