alright, here we go. title from Let's get married by the bleachers because I'm goddamn hilarious
For Aizen and Masae, it ends like this:
A tiny house, worn down with living. There was a living room, tatami mats on the floor. Papers and ink-dipped brushes scattered across the low wooden table in a controlled mess. On one wall, an oak bookshelf filled with notebooks, most hand-bound. On the top shelf sat a large glass jar, filled to the brim with hundreds of origami stars. Sitting next to the jar is a beautiful work of calligraphy, framed. It read:
On the path in the desolate field,
The shadows overlapped and
Parted.*
Past the bookshelf, there is a tiny kitchen, and in the tiny kitchen, there is a man with sand-colored hair growing long enough to tie back with a red cord. Messy bangs framed his face, falling into a pair of concentrated dark blue eyes. He was older than he looked. He was preparing dinner, a kitchen knife in one hand.
A gold ring hung from his neck on a leather cord. It shone in the last rays of light pouring through the window, a harder, colder counterpoint to the honey gold of the sun.
The front door, old pale wood barely hanging on its hinges, creaked open. The young man doesn't turn around, but he called out a familiar greeting. "Welcome home."
He got no reply.
His hands stilled. The ring swung on its cord, shining. A particular silence grew and grew and grew until there was nothing but the buzzing of the cicadas outside.
The young man let out a long sigh. "I don't suppose this can wait until after dinner?"
(There was no surprise in the young man.
This end was a long time coming.)
The crying of cicadas outside grew louder. The noise sounded so far away. The small house existed in its own bubble and only the two of them existed.
A low chuckle, full of genuine mirth. "I'm afraid not, Masa."
Masae turned around, knife in hand flaring, rippling and stretching out until it wasn't a knife, but a katana with a wicked edge. The light caught the blade and it looked almost like a smile. The young man sighed. "Alright. Let's get this done then, Souske."
Aizen doesn't get the chance to respond. The young man tapped his foot on the ground, and a blue glow spread out, symbols lighting up. Row after row of characters blinked into life, some Japanese, some English. They spread out faster than thought, climbed up the walls and ceiling until they covered everything.
"You always surprise me, Masa," Aizen said, no fear or alarm in his voice. "I'm sorry it came to this."
Masae studied Aizen. "You know what? I actually believe you."
It changed nothing. Aizen finally deemed Masae too much of a threat to keep around.
The young man smiled, but his eyes were cold. He wasn't going to stand around, waiting to die. Sparks gathered on the tip of his fingers, a kido spell waiting for the right words. "Shall we?"
Aizen smiled back. "Of course. After you, Masae."
Of course, that was only the ending. The beginning was a little different.
"Gonna kill 'em." Masae said conversationally. It didn't matter the volume he spoke at, in the long run. No one could hear him over the screaming of the three-way fight his roommates were having.
Nobility his Rukongai ass. The only difference between the Kuchiki and the Shiba and the Shihonin in the room was the registers of their voices. Why did Masae have to get stuck with the political kids and their many, many pride issues?
As if blood meant anything in the long run.
Masae didn't say that out loud though. He didn't want to bring attention to himself in the middle of this, not because he was afraid of these spoiled brats, but because he didn't want them to start-up on their 'Rukongai trash' shit again. It was annoying. Also, he'd probably be expelled this time, if he beat them into the ground again.
Nobles were such babies.
"That seems a little harsh, Masae-san." Aizen Sousuke, his other roommate, of course, said with a strained smile.
Masae far preferred his presence to the rest of the kids, even if he turned into a supervillain in the future.
"I have a kido test in two hours," Masae said. It was so early in the morning, the sun was still just a memory. The idiots fought for hours.
Seriously. Masae was going to kill them. No court on earth - or soul society - would convict him.
If Masae knew that being a soul reaper would involve hanging out with moody teenagers, he'd wouldn't have clawed his way out of the rukongai.
(That's a lie. Masae still dreamed about blood under his tongue, under his nails. About the fear that came with trying to survive just the slightest bit longer.
Out there, it was eat or be eaten,
Masae ate.)
He pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping that would stave off a headache. He needed to out of the room, before someone died. He scraped back his chair.
"Masae-san?" Aizen asked.
"I'm out." Masae hesitated. Sure, Aizen had the makings of a megalomaniac, but it seemed cruel to leave him here alone. "You can come with me."
Aizen blinked, then glanced out of the window at the dark sky. "The curfew..."
Masae rolled his eyes. "If we get caught, the teachers are just going to blame it on me anyway." Unlike nobles, the teachers loved Aizen.
The Kuchiki's voice hit a note that pierced Masae's ears. Aizen's normally gentle smile flickered.
The nobles liked him more than Masae, but that was like saying they liked him more than pond scum. They still treated him like trash. No way they were going to listen to Aizen.
Masae shrugged. "Or stay. I don't care. Either way, I'm not sticking around."
Aizen glanced at the nobles, then finally stood. "Of course, Masae-san."
Masae and Aizen walked in blessed silence, through the empty halls of the school. It was obscenely early - or super late, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Masae moved with confidence, even with only the moonlight streaming through the windows. It wasn't the first time he'd been out after curfew.
Masae watched Aizen out of the corner of his eye. It's been years since he came to terms with his reincarnation, how he lives in a fictional universe now. Masae knew who Aizen was. It was hard to see it, but... there were moments when Aizen tilted his head and looked at the people around him like he wanted to take them apart; like it'd be easy. It was easy to believe it then.
"This way." Masae pointed to an almost solid wall of leaves at the edge of one training ground.
Aizen narrowed his eyes at the wall.
Masae wondered if he knew how his mask slipped when he concentrated. His eyes go sharp enough to cut. Masae lets him work it out, hands behind his head.
"There's a barrier covering something. Something you made." Aizen glanced at Masae. "You are failing kido class."
Masae snorted. "It's got a shitty teacher." The man was so rigid Masae could use his personality as a ruler. Masae fell asleep in his class more often than not.
Kido was basically magic, and the teacher made it sound boring.
Aizen looked at Masae like he wanted to tear his mind open and eat whatever was inside.
Creepy.
Masae would be worried about the thought of this future megalomaniac being in any way interested in him, but honestly? He's living on borrowed time already. Whatever happens, happens.
He didn't get this far by hesitating over his decisions.
Masae stepped forward and put his right hand on the hedge, felt the warm rush of a kido building up in his hands. His reiatsu wasn't anything to write home about, but his control was second to none. Masae traces a glowing symbol in the air above the hedge, a circle that spiraled inward.
There's a reason that kido spells have words. They shape reiatsu. Say a word and your brain works to figure it out, responds to it. Reiatsu was the same way. The reason wordless kido was hard - it was like trying to remember a path that only existed in your mind. It was also the reason that kido incantations didn't make sense.
The words didn't have to make sense. They only had to feel right.
"Safety clawed from their grasp," He murmurs. Power flows down his arm, and the glowing spiral begins to spin. "One has bled on this hallowed ground. One has built a tower of black rock. One has stepped into the path of thorns. Secret Art: Sanctuary." Masae pulled back, and the spiral followed his hand through the air, unwinding like a ribbon. A part of the greenery peeled back with it, leaving a doorway.
"I see why Ishida-sensei can never find you when you skip class," Aizen said. His normal smile is back in place, but the calculation in his eyes wasn't concealed. "This is where you've hidden, then?"
Masae shrugged. "One of the places."
Aizen blinked. "There are more?"
"Of course. Only an idiot has one back up plan." Masae pointedly doesn't mention where the rest of them are. "Besides, it's useful."
"I can imagine." He rubbed his chin. "Once you know where to look, though it seems fairly noticeable. How do the matrixes work?
Obviously. This particular sanctuary was one of the first Masae ever designed, and therefore the one with the most flaws. Masae designed it because he always wanted something like it in Rukongai. People can't hurt you if they can't catch you, after all.
He learned that pretty damn early.
"Strength doesn't matter if no one knows it's there. You coming in or what?" Masae stepped through the door. There was a couple of chairs surrounding a small, rough table that Masae built out of so busted up targets the teachers threw away.
Aizen adjusted his glasses. "Of course."
Just like that, they're friends - or at least friendlier. It was probably a mistake to get Aizen interested in him. Dude was king relentless about acquiring knowledge.
To put it another way, Aizen Sousuke was a huge nerd.
Aizen kept asking Masae questions about Kido. Politely, of course. His well-mannered cover would never be as crude as to pester someone, no matter how much he wanted to. Masae dealt with it, as he dealt with everything.
Just roll with it.
Impulse decision or not, it was already past. No point in having regrets now.
No matter what Aizen became in the future, it wasn't Masae's problem. If Aizen became a villain, good for him. So long as he left Masae alone, Masae would leave him alone.
Dying cleared up your priorities real damn quick.
(What they don't tell you when you get to the academy is that there's more to the afterlife than just Soul Society and the Rukongai. The afterlife is enormous, made to hold the souls of everything that ever died. Not everyone is lucky enough to born inside the few civilized portions.
You can walk right out of Soul Society and keep walking for the rest of your afterlife, but there wasn't anything out there but endless forests and a lawless wasteland. Hollows roamed. People fought over scraps Seireitei citizens wouldn't feed to a dog. Even the people from Zaraki had it better.
Everything out there was hungry. Everything out there was food. There were no comrades, no room for loneliness, no reason to trust another person. There was nothing but the ache of bloodied feet and the hollowed out cavern in Masae's stomach. Desperation devoured morals faster than anything else.
Kill or be killed.
Eat or be eaten.
If you were empty long enough, you'd sink very, very low to be filled.)
It was the morning of a rare day off. Aizen and Masae were in the sanctuary again, avoiding the rest of the students.
"You're not aiming for the Kido Corps, Masae-san?" Aizen asked.
Masae shrugged without looking up from his newest design. A specific type of barrier, attached to a tag. "Nah. Not really my thing. Too rigid." He preferred the building of the spell to the casting of it.
"Which squad are you considering then?"
Masae hummed. He didn't much care, honestly. It's not like he'd stay in soul society for the rest of his existence. Maybe take a few hundred years, wait for the transient world to advance far enough, then fuck off there. Fake his death or something, or maybe just desert.
God, Masae missed the internet.
Things moved so slowly in the seireitei. It made Masae restless; he's walked into the Rukongai nearly fifty years ago, and the most innovation he's saw was a noodle vendor adding a new dish.
It's enough to bore Masae to death. Again.
"Is there a research division?" Masae asked.
There's the sound of a page turning. "Not that I'm aware of."
Tch. Figures he got here before Urahara started up the twelfth.
"Maybe I'll make one." Probably not. Being a captain sounded like a lot of work. He pushed over his latest sketch. "Here, tell me if the matrices look wonky."
Aizen made a noise of interest and set down his book. "A double barrier? Interesting. But if you move this amount of energy in, won't it explode?"
"No, see the energy curves out like this -"
All other lines of conversation get dropped in favor of rampant nerdery.
Masae contemplated murder yet again, staring up at the ceiling. The pillow clamped around his head did nothing to stop the muffled sound of screaming. His noble dorm mates were at each other's throats. Shiba started it this time, poking fun at the Kuchiki's grandfather.
Masae cannot even comprehend the amount of pride these assholes had in simply being born; In being lucky enough have more than their peers.
Masae had confidence in himself, and the work of his own two hands. It was everything else that he wasn't sure of.
He absolutely would not make four more years of this. Graduating early was out of the question. If he was some sort of genius, the Gotei would pay him more attention than he was comfortable with. Either he had to move or had to find a way to produce some sort of silencing kido.
(Except the last fifteen burst under the sheer amount of noise in the room. They were very, very loud.
Murder was looking better and better all the time.)
He'd already tried to switch rooms, but no one was stupid enough to take it. He'd even gone to the dorm heads, but who would take some rukongai trash's complaints about two of the great noble houses? All the normal rooms were full, except for the few allocated to married couples who attended together -
Masae froze.
There was a plan falling into place. It was a stupid plan. An insane plan.
He might get killed just for asking.
He pulled Aizen aside the next day. "You have to marry me."
The look of blank surprise on Aizen's face was hilarious enough that Masae's possible gruesome death was already worth it.
He adjusted his glasses. "I... beg your pardon, Masae-san?"
"I've run through all the possibilities. I've tried everything. I can't take being stuck with those idiots for the next four years!" Masae hissed under his breath.
Aizen glanced over his shoulder. "You really shouldn't insult our classmates like that, Masae-san."
Masae ignored that statement like the garbage it was. Like he hadn't seen Aizen looking at their roommates when condescending to him with eyes like the edge of a blade.
Masae gestured for Aizen to come closer and he leans in obligingly. "Listen. Married students get a room to themselves. To share. Just. Them."
Aizen blinked. "Why me?"
Masae rolled his eyes. "Who else would I ask?"
"I know that Ashido-san has been chasing after you for some time. Perhaps she'd be willing?"
"Who's Ashido?" Masae casts his mind back, trying to recall anyone named Ashido in any of his classes. There's a vague impression of a long, black ponytail and a shy smile. "Whatever, I don't want a real husband. I already know you, you already know me. I'm neat-ish, I won't bring anyone back to the dorm, I don't hog the bathroom in the morning, and most importantly, I don't go into screaming fits at four in the morning when some people have important tests!"
Aizen blinked. "...I'm sensing a grudge."
Masae ran a hand through his hair. Normally he slept like the dead, but it was hard to go from one of the worst places in the Rukongai to sharing a room with five other boys. The slightest twitch would wake Masae up. He couldn't leave most of the time either, because all of his roommates (Aizen excepted) would jump at the chance to report him for being out after curfew.
"Look," Masae said. "Think about it. Two people to a room is better than four. You can do whatever it is you do when you sneak out at night and I'll mind my business."
Aizen's smile stayed the same, but his eyes flickered to Masae.
Masae shrugged. Aizen needed to step up his game if he didn't' want Masae to notice him. "I'll give you some time to think about it. Tell me what you decide at the end of the day. "
"Or?" Aizen asked.
Masae raised an eyebrow. "Or I'll see if someone else with a bad roommate wants an out? I'm not gonna tell the teachers about you breaking curfew." He paused. "Yet, anyway. I'll save for if I need something."
Aizen smiled again, a tiny polite thing that didn't reach his eyes. "I enjoy your bluntness, Masae-san."
Masae rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm a fucking delight." He glanced over his shoulder at the angle of the sun and nudged Aizen with his arm. "I've got class. Tell me later. I'll be at the training ground."
He left without looking back, Aizen's gaze on him the whole way.
After another pointless Kido class, Masae went back to his first sanctuary, ready to get some real work done.
Masae scowled down at the stupid paper. Trying to get inscribe a four-point structure on a curved surface was maddening. This was his fourth attempt and there was something off about the center, which was setting it at a slant.
The feel of a familiar reiatsu at the edge of his sanctuary, like a ripple in a still pond, alerted Masae a few seconds before the false wall went down. Masae only showed Aizen how to do it once, and here he was using the pass like it was second nature.
Kubo wasn't messing around when he made Aizen a genius.
"Hey." Masae turned his attention back to the pictograph. "Look this over for me? I can't figure out what I did to the matrices."
Aizen looked over Masae's shoulder. "...Looks like your math is off for this corner." He tapped the upper left.
Masae groaned and put his head in his hands. "I knew it. Man, screw four-dimensional math."
Aizen snorted.
Pushing the paper and the math problem to the opposite side of the table, Masae looked up at Aizen. "So, you got an answer for me?"
Aizen was quiet for a long moment. His eyes were sharp as shattered glass and twice as cold, something his glasses did nothing to hide.
Well, if Aizen was willing to drop the pretense, Masae should oblige him. He met Aizen's eyes without flinching. Masae was familiar with fear. The taste of it, sour in the back of his throat.
Fear wasn't a good enough reason to bend.
Aizen tilted his head. "You were serious."
"Obviously."
"Surely there are easier ways to be moved to a new room? You're talented enough in kido alone to simply move up a class."
Masae shrugged. "To get up, I'd have to kick someone down. Plus I don't want to get into the first class."
"You're not afraid about being targeted." Aizen, tone very sure.
Masae snorted. "Not really." More like Masae didn't want to deal with hiding a body when the nobles inevitably tried something. "It's just annoying to deal with. too much attention."
Probably the same reason that Aizen was holding back.
Masae let Aizen lean over his shoulder to look at his work. "Marriage would make certain things easier."
"Like dealing with your growing fan club?" Masae asked.
Aizen sighed. "That did cross my mind, yes."
Masae didn't blame him. He's seen what those girls are capable of, and frankly, he doesn't understand. How do they fall in love with someone they know nothing about?
"We have a deal, then?" Masae offered Aizen his hand.
Aizen took it. The light glinted off his glasses. "We have a deal."
They shook on it. It felt like Masae was selling his soul to the devil.
Eh. He'd done worse things for dumber reasons.
Marriage in soul society was blessedly simple compared to the transient world. Most marriages came from love (or obligation, if you were a noble) because children were difficult to conceive at the best of times.
Therefore there was almost none of the prejudice against same-sex marriage.
(Unless you were a Noble, but Nobles didn't like much of anything outside of bragging about bloodlines and being better than everyone who can't recite their ancestors from the birth of soul society.
Because nobles are the worst.)
Aizen glanced at the paperwork. Masae already filled out all the necessary details. "You'll be taking on my last name?"
Masae shrugged. "I don't have one."
Aizen smiled. "You can't continue to call me Aizen if you too are Aizen."
Point. "Sousuke, then."
He blinked at Masae. What, like Masae, the former American, was going to blush at using someone's first name? "You can call me Masa. All my friends do."
Or they would if you had any.
"Hmm. Reasonable." Aizen adjusted his glasses.
Aizen signed the bottom, and just like that, Masae had a husband. Masae looked at the black ink. His chicken scratch next to Aizen's neat calligraphy, spelling out the agreement to love and support each other in triplicate.
Weird.
Masae took the papers and shuffled them into order, checking them over one last time. Everything looked in order. "Nice. I'll have these filled by the end of the day, and find out where our new room is. Meet you back at the dorm?"
Aizen stood up. "Alright. I need to pack anyway."
Masae was already packed up. In the rukongai, it was stupid to keep more than he could carry. He waved Aizen off and went off to find a teacher.
The look on Ishida-sensei's face when she learned that model student Aizen married Masae was just as amazing as he thought it'd be.
The room was half the size of the one they shared with the nobles, but it seemed bigger. An effect of not cramming six strong personalities into one room, probably.
Masae dropped his small bag on the dark wood table along the far side of the wall. "There's only one futon." He noted.
"These are rooms for married students," Aizen said.
Masae tilted his head. "You wanna share, or you wanna sleep on the floor?"
"Not offering to sleep on the floor yourself?" Aizen sounded amused.
Masae snorted. "I didn't come all the way from the worst part of the rukongai to sleep in the dirt again. I ain't shy and I don't gotta problem sleeping in the same bed. If you do, you can sleep on the floor or buy a new futon."
Wasn't like Masae had any way of making money, besides mugging someone. All his allowance got spent on materials and food.
"I don't have a problem with it, Masa-san."
Again with the san. Masae could say many, many things about Aizen, but he was very dedicated to his role.
Masae yawned and stretched. "Alright. I'm gonna bathe. You can ... settle in or whatever."
It was nice to have a single bathroom, even a cramped, musty one. No stupid Kuchiki hammering on the door, or Shiba taking all the hot water.
Bliss.
Masae dried his hair after the shower and stepped out into the main room. It was dark now, but Aizen put on a few candles to read. It'd be amazing if Aizen wouldn't need real glasses if he kept reading like that. Masae should build him some sort of light. Masae dropped down beside him and pulled out his notes from the bag lying by the table. He had an idea of where he could start.
They didn't speak for hours and the quiet was companionable, if only because Masae didn't get awkward.
Masae finally stretched when the numbers on the page started swimming. "Alright, that's as much as I'm going to get done tonight. I'm going to bed. Night, Sousuke."
Aizen blinked and looked up from his scroll with a gentle smile on his face. "Goodnight, Masa-san."
Masae crawled into bed with another yawn. Holding up his hand and eyed it, comparing it to Aizen's. A little smaller, but not by much.
He turned over and closed his eyes. His project was almost finished.
Can't get married without a ring, after all.
The next week saw information about Aizen and Masae's marriage spreading out through the academy.
Masae underestimated just how popular Aizen was among all the years, not just the second. Masae's fear was pretty much busted, though, and that let him walk through the hallways without cowering under the fan club's evil eye. It was kind of hilarious how intimidating they weren't.
Masae'd eaten scarier people for breakfast.
Aizen, of course, acted like nothing was happening at all. He played the same kind student he always had. The only thing that changed was his face gained a touch of warmth when he spoke to Masae.
Masae had to admire that kind of skill in acting. It was his idea in the first place, so he played along; letting Aizen hold his hand, not laughing at the way he so obviously played the fan club into standing down, ignoring the way Aizen's earnest looks made his skin crawl.
The fan club tearfully backed off, unwilling to get in the way of "Aizen-sama's pure love". His popularity among women skyrocketed for his faithfulness and attentiveness. Many, many boyfriends got to Aizen and found wanting.
Masae found everything hilarious when he bothered to think about it at all. He was busy. He had no time to spend on Aizen's life.
He finished his project at the end of the month and waited for Aizen to get home. The room came with a small kitchen, so Masae rolled up his sleeves and went to work. It's been a long time since he'd had a real meal or a place to cook.
The door creaked open.
"Welcome back," Masae said, still focused on the eggs. "Dinner's ready."
Aizen doesn't reply. Masae looked up, found Aizen standing in the doorway of the room. The light of the hallway cast his face in shadow; Masae couldn't see his expression.
Masae put down the pan. "Sousuke?"
Another long moment passed before Aizen entered the room fully. "Pardon me, Masa-san. I was just startled. I didn't know you could cook."
Masae shook his head internally. He really didn't want to deal with Aizen's... whatever that was. "Yeah. I don't bother normally. I finished my project today though, so I thought I might as well celebrate."
Aizen sat down at the table. "Oh?"
Masae gathered up the food and sat at the table on the opposite side. Neither of them spoke while Masae laid out the food. He looked up and found Aizen watching him with a smile on his face and eyes like knives.
Masae doesn't ask. Aizen's not his problem.
(Thank god for that.)
"Thank you for the food," Aizen said. He ate the same way he did everything, neat and elegant. He took the first bite and smiled. "This is quite good. You never stop surprising me, Masa-san. I know we don't have much in the pantry. How did you find what you needed to make something edible?"
Masae didn't bother with manners, because he was starving. "You learn to use what you got real fast in Zaraki."
Or you die.
Aizen paused, then set his chopsticks down by his side. "Pardon me, Masa-san, but I'm curious. You don't seem to hide the fact that you came from the Rukongai, not like many others. Do you not feel any sort of shame about your origins?"
Shame?
"Why would I be ashamed of surviving?" Masae asked.
Aizen blinked. "Pardon?"
"If you dumped ninety-nine percent of these shinigami into Zaraki, they'd be dead by the end of the day." It was a fact. They were soft, almost unbearably so. If Masae wanted to he could tear this whole school to the ground in a matter of hours. Masae shrugged, propped his head upon his hands. "I survived. Most people don't."
Aizen's eyes were in shadow again. "A badge of honor?"
Masae shrugged again. It was a crucible; it forged him from his past life, burned his regrets and fears away. He killed and he ate and he lived, and it was the best thing that happened to him after death.
He'd never go back, but he was grateful for it.
(Masae knew there was something in the back of his mind that shattered. It glittered in the light, beautiful as it was sharp. He knew hunger; his stomach devouring him from the inside out.
Everything in the afterlife was the same, made of the same stuff. Buildings, food, plants, hollows.
People.
Masae ate.)
Nearly dying every day for fifty years will put things in perspective. Masae begins eating again, ignoring the phantom taste of blood on his tongue, the crack of bone under his teeth.
He learned a lot about himself, about what he was going to do with his borrowed time.
That was: whatever the hell he wanted.
The dinner passes without much fanfare. Aizen seemed more interested in the food than in Masae.
"You mentioned you finished a new project?" Aizen asked after they cleaned up. He insisted on doing the dishes because Masae cooked. Masae wasn't about to argue with him, no matter what his motive for it.
Masae snapped. "Right. Almost forgot." He brought out a plain black box out of his pocket, small enough to fit in his palm. He tossed the box to Aizen. "That's for you."
Aizen caught it. He stopped dead and stared. "Is this...?" He glanced up, his smile nowhere be seen. "What is this?"
"I tried making the sanctuary kido into a smaller, more personalized one. It was a bitch and a half to get it curved on something that tiny, but -"
"Not the kido, Masae. The ring."
Masae blinked. "Do married people in Soul Society not have wedding rings?"
Aizen's eyes flickered from box to Masae and back again. "We do. This is just a marriage of convenience. I do not need a ring."
"Yeah, I figured." Masae shrugged. "It's just for show. Also, I wanted you to test the power of the notice me not when you're out doing whatever it is that you do all night."
Aizen glanced up sharply. "I do not understand you, Masa-san."
Masae rolled his eyes. "Don't make it a big thing, Sousuke. I do stuff because I want to. If you don't want it, I'll just sell it." Aizen was the future villain of a manga, but he really was way too dramatic. Not everything was as complicated as it seemed.
When you married someone, real or not, you gave them a ring. That's just how it was.
Aizen pulled the box back out of Masae's reach. "It's rude to take gifts away, Masa-san."
Masae rolled his eyes again.
Aizen took the ring out of the box. It was a simple gold band, understated and tasteful. He slid it on, and Masae noticed it fit perfectly and smiled, pleased with himself. He was damn good.
Aizen held up his hand, studying the barely visible transcription on the gold band. "I see. It can turn off and on."
Masae felt Aizen trail a fine thread of reiatsu through the ring and blinked. Aizen's face was suddenly blurry. It was like trying to catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, only to turn and find nothing.
"Nice." Masae beckoned to Aizen. "Let me get a look at it in use."
Aizen obliged. Masae took his hand and turned it over and over, scrutinizing the ring, making sure that the matrices were stable enough. He was confident that the ring wouldn't blow up anytime soon, but you couldn't be sure. Writing Kido or Bakudo down was tricky.
"Looks good. If you find something wrong, or it blows up, tell me." Masae let go of Aizen's hand and stretched - he was tired, the good kind that came from completing something difficult.
Aizen hummed. "Rings come in pairs, Masa-san. Where is yours?"
Masae pulled a chain from around his neck. A gold ring glinted in the light. "I don't like wearing stuff on my hands."
"I see." Aizen adjusted his glasses, and his ring shone in the light. "Shall we retire, then? We both have advanced Zanjutsu in the morning."
Masae groaned. "God, don't remind me."
Things continued the same vein until Masae and Aizen's marriage was old news. Nearly three years passed and the fan club had given up most of the hope of Aizen dumping Masae.
Masae himself barely knew more about Aizen than when they first got married. Aizen never drops his act for more than a moment, and obviously didn't really trust Masae.
Fair.
Masae didn't trust him either.
(Aizen came back late three days out of seven, smelling like rust and the sour note of human fear.
He's always smiling.
Masae never says anything; he only grumbles about his husband's cold feet when he climbs into bed. Makes a note about finding another futon.
They never do.)
Some of Aizen's popularity rubbed off on Masae - he got discounts at the places he shopped mostly. Everyone liked Aizen, from the most uppity noble to the most crotchety teacher.
People could be pretty blind. Even not knowing what Masae knows, he wouldn't have liked him. She was a suspicious bitch and didn't like nice people.
Masae worked on his projects and kept his head down.
In their fourth year, empty Asauchi get handed out. . Masae eyed his with distaste.
"Fucking Zanjutsu," Masae grumbled under his breath.
Aizen took his hand without looking away from the teacher. "Try not to look so disgusted, Masa. Shinigami use Zanpakuto."
There's a part of Masae that never forgot the sound a hollow's mask made, cracking under his bare hands. That part looked at zanpakuto for what they were: A crutch.
Break the zanpakuto and shinigami were less than useless. Sending anyone below lieutenant to Zaraki was a death sentence, and Masae saw more than one squad torn apart by the monsters that lived there - by human and hollow. Only an idiot relied on something that could be taken away.
Masae blew out a breath. "Do I gotta?"
"I'm afraid so."
Ugh.
Masae's Zanpakuto showed up eventually, even without doing all the boring exercises taught in class. It started with someone whispering in his ear after class.
Oh, how I hunger.
Masase paused. The voice is low, genderless. There's intent to it, something that scrapped across his nerves.
"Did you hear that?" Masae asked Aizen.
He shook his head. "Hear what?"
Clean water, sweet flower. How well he lies. A soft chuckle that raised the hair on Masae's arms. Perhaps we shall devour him. See how well he hides when being taken to pieces.
"...Never mind." Masae sighed.
Of course. His life wasn't complicated enough.
I can hear you, my heart. The voice sounded amused.
Tch. Masae was perfectly willing to share all the inconvenience it caused him. It continued to speak to him over the next few weeks, breaking in at random moments.
Aizen noticed, of course.
"Your Zanpakuto is speaking to you." He said over dinner one night.
Masae scowls at the sword leaning against the wall at the other end of the room. He'd taken to 'forgetting' it, hoping that would stop the voice. No such luck. It just amused the spirit, more than anything.
"Wish I could get it to shut up," Masae grumbled. It'd be pointless to lie now.
Aizen stared at him, getting that look like he wanted to peel open Masae's brain and crawl inside looking for answers. "You're not pleased about it."
Masae snorted. No shit.
"With the way you're progressing, you'll have shikai by the end of the year. It would be by the end of the week if you actually attempted to communicate." Aizen glanced at his own sword, eyes unreadable. "Many would like to be in your place."
He really never stopped acting, did he? Was Aizen implying that he didn't hear the voice of his sword yet?
As if Masae didn't see the way his hands tightened on the blade the moment Aizen put his hands on it. He probably already had Bankai, because he was ridiculous.
"Many would be stupid. All that thing wants to do is ask questions and eat."
"Eat?"
Masae rolled his eyes. "I don't know either. All it keeps saying is I hunger. Like... you're a sword. You don't get hungry."
You do know, my wielder. You dream about the bones in your teeth, the iron of blood and how sweet it tasted.
Masae doesn't even flinch at this point.
Aizen is not for eating. Masae thought back at the spirit.
You do not care for this illusion. There would be no grief if you destroyed him.
Masae and Aizen were four years into the marriage, but Masae still knew almost nothing about him. He performed and lied almost compulsively, and that was fine by Masae.
Masae knew Aizen was a terrible person. There were times he came back in the late hours of the night, smelling like old blood and pain, with a contemplative smile on his face, a light in his eyes.
Masae knew. He just didn't care.
He wasn't interested. Even back in his first life, there was always that sense of detachment. It let him complete his high-stress job without complications, but it always left people flinching away from him. They always asked the same question: Don't you care about my problem?
No, he didn't. Who had that much time?
It'd be a pain to cover up, and frankly not killing him is so much easier than killing him would be.
A pause, and a flash of surprise. Then that laughter again. Oh, my heart who is so very heartless. We are a well-made match, you and I.
Tch.
"Masa?"
Masae looked up. Aizen was watching him again, his lips quirked in a small smile. It almost reached his eyes this time. Yeah, Masae'd have no problem killing him if they met out in Zaraki.
Poor Sousuke. His spirit purred. Wouldn't he be heartbroken to hear you thinking about him like that?
"Hey Sousuke, you know I'd kill you without hesitation, right?" Masae asked. "If you ever turned against me or whatever."
Aizen smile doesn't so much as rock. If anything it gained another touch of sincerity. "Of course, Masa. I'd expect nothing less. Shall we go over the homework together after dinner?"
There you go.
Masae's sword chuckled again, pleased.
"Sure. I swear to god Ishida-sensei hates my guts."
Life continued on.
Masae and Aizen graduated without making a ripple. Neither of them were the type to aim for the top of the class, Aizen trying to lay low and Masae uninterested.
Masae waited for Aizen to finish saying goodbye to all of his 'friends' and admirers. The fan club girls in younger years were inconsolable. Masae'd already been corned by three separate people who told him to take care of Aizen in the ranks.
Our Sousuke does not need the help.
No kidding.
After Aizen ditched the dead weight, Masae fell into step at his side. He handed Aizen a set of papers. "Divorce forms." He said.
Aizen blinked and took the papers. "...Why are we getting divorced?"
Masae shrugged. "We only got married to get that room in the first place. We're not in the academy anymore, therefore, we don't have to worry about it."
They walk in silence for a while.
Finally, Aizen stopped. "I do not agree." He said.
Masae blinked and turned to face him, hands behind his head. "Don't agree with what?"
"Agree with a divorce."
The spirit started laughing in the back of his head. Masae narrowed his eyes at Aizen. "Explain."
Aizen remained unruffled. "Having a spouse has brought me more benefits than I previously thought. It is a convenient cover. People so rarely question me when I just use you as an alibi."
"So that's why I keep getting strangers coming up to talk to me about your plans." Masae mused. "I thought that was weird."
"Yet you never gave me away." Aizen's amusement was sharper this time. Meaner. More honest. "Or asked why."
Masae shrugged. "It's not really any of my business. Find someone else to play husband or wife."
"Why should I go through all that trouble when I have a perfectly viable candidate right here?"
Turning Masae's words against him. "I'm not seeing what's in it for me."
"I'm hurt, Masae. You don't love me anymore?" Aizen did a very good impression of a hurt young man. "Just what will the gotei think about the man who broke my heart? What will I do with these designs you left in my care? I certainly can't keep them without feeling the heartbreak. I'd have to get rid of them."
Masae blinked. Is he trying to blackmail me with my own designs?
So it seems.
Masae looked up at the sky. He didn't really need the designs, but he also didn't want to go into the kido corps. If Aizen released them, he'd have no choice.
Of course, Masae didn't have to stay in the Gotei or the spirit world at all. There were thousands of places where the barriers between worlds were more fragile than an eggshell. He knew how to disappear so thoroughly no one would be able to find him. Not even Aizen.
That was the last resort. Masae still had a few things he wanted to squeeze out of the gotei before he left for good.
He'll never let you go, my heart. We both know there is no one out there quite so suited to him as you. Or anyone quite so suited to you as him.
I don't love him though.
It's not about love. You are two of kind, my heart, and that is a very rare thing.
Masae sighed inwardly. It was irritating when his sword was right. It won't last.
It laughed. Of course not. Does anything?
True enough.
Masae looked back down and crossed his arms. "You get to find the house this time."
Aizen smiled, and it almost looked real. He folded up the papers and tucked them in his sleeve, then he reached out and laced your fingers together. "Of course, of course. What division are you signing on to?"
Masae let Aizen tug him closer. "The fourth."
"Oh? Why the fourth?"
"I wanted to learn about kido and biology." It was interesting. Everything in the afterlife was reishi, from the buildings to the body. Why did healing kido mend the body, but not work on a broken building? What was the difference?
Masae itched to find out.
"Where'd you apply to?" He asked.
Aizen tilted his head, and the light caught on his glasses. His smile was kind. "How fortunate. We work closely together then. I took a twelfth seat position in Fifth. I believe I am looking forward to it."
*haiku is by Sugita Hisajo
this is going to be a short one, only about two or three chapters (hopefully), and will not get into bleach cannon, except maybe the turn back the pendulum arc. I remember almost nothing about cannon after Aizen was defeated because he was my favorite character and I didn't see how they were going to top him as a villain. What a magnificent bastard (:
chapters will only be coming out once a month at most, but they're all going to be pretty damn long