Title: Illusions of grandeur

Rating: G

Pairing / Characters: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

Word Count: 407 words

Warnings: Spoilers for the Soul Society arc

Summary: Mayuri believes he is a god

A/N: Mayuri strikes me as being arrogant enough to actually believe his own lies. It's just typical.

I'm a creator.

I give life, and I can take it away. All it takes really, is a flick of my finger and people jump to obey my commands. Is there anyone else, either in the living world or beyond, with such awesome power?

My power is even reflected in my zanpakutou – a bodhisattva. What could be more perfect, or more fitting for someone who is akin to a god?

Mere shinigami… the term makes me laugh every time I hear it.

I am much, much more than a mere shinigami. Aside from the fact that I am a captain, I am the ultimate form – I can manipulate my own cells on a whim, and nothing, not even the loss of a limb can stop me. If necessary, I can re-grow my limbs, and all it takes it a simple injection.

Nemu is the highest form of my creations – a gikon that can think and feel, in a gigai that can bleed, and is totally dependant on the insertion of a soul in order for it to seem human. It's only a pity that Nemu is such a brainless, spineless idiot; I truly believe I taught her better than that. We are only created to defy our creators - Nemu has yet to learn this.

Some feel that I am too harsh on her, but in a world where only the strong survive, she is just a hothouse flower.

I revel in the power that I have. I loathe the thought of my predecessor being stronger and more capable than I am, and it is for this reason alone that I have pushed myself this far. Now, not even Urahara Kisuke can match the strengths I have. I am invincible, indestructible, as near to perfection as it is possible to be without being a true immortal.

The only thing that makes my blood boil is my fight with the Quincy, for even his powers were above my own, and he is still human. A mortal exceeding the power limit given to man… it doesn't seem possible, yet it was.

He will suffer, that child. I refuse to be made a fool of again, by someone who pushed me to my limits and beyond them. No one, not a single soul has ever done that, and although I am impressed by his strength, I will never be outmatched again.

I'm more than a creator.

I am a god.