Chapter One: Swastika Break 2
Deep beneath Soul Society, the prisons formed a network of cells and tunnels where all the prisoners were kept. With the exceptions of those kept on the surface or about to be executed all of Soul Society's criminals resided in one place. The first through fifth floors were largely full and had many guards. The sixth and seventh levels were only ever half-full at most and had twenty, thirty guards on both, tops. The lowest level, the place that only the worst of Soul Society were sent, had very few prisoners and only one guard. The eighth prison level, the Muken.
Hashimoto Kasumi was the lone guard for the Muken. She lived down there, never coming out, was basically a prisoner herself. She rarely had visitors because, honestly, if you were down here with her no-one wanted to see you. So when a messenger Shinigami turned up one day, Kasumi first thought was to wonder who was the lucky son-of-a-bitch to have a visitor this time. She didn't expect the news he gave her, rarer than visitors down on her level were new cellmates.
Kasumi was leaning back in her chair in her study reading a book entitled 'Hollow Heart', a wonderful but strictly forbidden romance between a Shinigami and the Arrancar man she couldn't stand to kill. Kasumi was only halfway through but couldn't wait to see how it ended. She was a fan of unlikely love and hoped theirs worked out.
"Hashimoto-sama." The rough voice of the messenger brought Kasumi spiralling out of her read. She was just at a good part and not at all happy that she was being bothered right now.
"I've not been called Hashimoto-anything in years. It just sounds weird now," she yawned and put her feet up on her desk. "So, who's the lucky man this time? I bet it's Yūta. Did you know he's still got a steady girlfriend after all the shit he pulled? Hah! That guy's got charisma, let me tell you." The messenger fidgeted nervously and Kasumi grinned lazily at him, "Never mind my ramblings, my good man. So what is so important they sent someone without wings down to see me for?"
"Hai," the messenger looked thoroughly relieved that he could relay his message and get out of here soon. Most people couldn't stand it down here, they said the evil Reiatsu from the prisoners tainted the air and made it hard to breathe. Kasumi disagreed. She said it was just their natural stink.
"Aizen Sōsuke, former Fifth Division Taichō, has committed extremely heinous crimes against Soul Society, including the murder of the former Central 46-"
"About time someone gave those bastards what for," Kasumi muttered, crossing her arms.
"-attempting to destroy District 3600 in the Human World also known as-"
"Karakurachō, yeah, I know," Kasumi rolled her eyes. Of course she knew, she had so much time down here and the human world districts were one of the first subjects she studied.
"-Karakurachō, and forming an army of Arrancar to overthrow Soul Society, because of this he has been sentenced to the Muken for 20,000 years." Kasumi whistled. "He will be arriving early tomorrow. The Central 46 and Yamamoto-Sō-Taichō request that you keep a close on Aizen Sōsuke, as he is still a serious threat. The Reiō has asked that he extend that request to a command, issuing that in the event that Aizen Sōsuke ever attempts anything of the like of which he has already and you fail to stop him, you will be executed in his place. That is all."
"Well, gee, that's just not fair, now is it?" Kasumi sighed and put her hands behind her head. When the messenger made no move to leave Kasumi waved her hand impatiently at him and said, "Go on, scram." The messenger took off, unable to Shunpo because of her power but able to run like hell still.
Kasumi picked up her book again and flicked back to her spot. "Sounds like Sōsuke's going to be a handful. I'll just finish my chapter then I'll go set up his quarters." Kasumi sighed heavily. "I hope he's not nancy, being an Ex-Taichō and all. The guys'll see him broken down crying. He won't last a week."
She laughed lightly as an assuming thought creep into her mind. "Then again, maybe they'll end up the ones crying."
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
No light or sound or smell or taste or Reiatsu could get through the seal around Aizen Sōsuke. He was locked away tighter than a fortune of gold. He could still feel though, and he felt his transporters were not handling him very cautiously. They had 'dropped' him seven times so far and kicked him repeatedly as they moved him from his temporary cell to his home for the next 20,000 years. Though 20,000 years to an immortal like him seemed too trivial to be even counted as a sentence. He would not have 'learnt his lesson' by then for there was no lesson to learn and if they did not wish him trying to rule once again they should have made his stay in Muken indefinite. If he'd been in their position that's what he would've done.
"Okay, scum, we're here. Welcome, to your new home." And with that the Onmitsukidō who had been transporting him dropped him on the ground.
"Hey," Aizen heard a tough female voice say. "No roughing up my customers, boys. That's my job."
"Our deepest apologies, Hashimoto-sama!" The Onmitsukidō cried as one. Aizen guessed that he'd been moved by at least fifty Onmitsukidō and possibly a few Taichō's. If they were there they hadn't made themselves known and he doubted they'd want to. After all, he had tried to kill them.
"I kid, I kid," the Hashimoto woman said cheerily. "Anyways, you're just about done here so why don't you all head home and have tea with the family and I undo these binds."
"We couldn't possibly-" One Onmitsukidō began.
"-Leave without saying goodbye," Hashimoto finished for them. "Of course not. Parting is such sweet sorrow after all. Come on then, we haven't got all day."
"Sa- Sayōnara, Aizen!" the Onmitsukidō said. They then left in a pattering of feet. Aizen smiled beneath his wrappings, he rather liked Hashimoto. She would help keep him amused over the coming years.
"Phew~!" Hashimoto said, her voice much louder and clearer now. She was probably standing mere inches away from him. "Now those guys are gone I can let you in on a little secret." She paused, obviously for dramatic effect. "Those seals stopped working the second you entered Muken! You could've tried to escape if you wanted to, but oh well, that train has sailed."
Aizen sat up. She was indeed right. Now he wondered why he hadn't realised it earlier, he could hear and move and could see a black-filtered world through the bandages. He quickly pulled the annoying bindings off of his face and as much off of his upper body as he could before his hands were caught by smaller ones. Aizen looked up and saw the oddest woman he'd ever laid eyes on, and he'd lived in Hueco Mundo for all that time!
She had ankle-length crimson hair that was tied by a white ribbon at the bottom and bright silver eyes. Her skin was the palest he'd ever seen - second only to Ulquiorra Cifer - and she was almost unhealthily thin. She was of average height and wore a green, leaf-patterned, ankle-length Yakuta and sandals. Her truly-heart-shaped face broke into a wide smile as she looked down at Aizen.
"Like I said, my man, that train has flown. No need to rush anything down here. Take your cotton-picking time." She began to slowly pull the black bandages off of him and he had to admit she did a better job. Having been confined for so long gave him an odd sense of freedom as his legs came loose. He stood, with a little help from Hashimoto, and soon enough he was free of his bindings.
Aizen stretched comfortably, enjoying this moment before he was locked away in a tiny cell for the foreseeable future.
"Feels good to get out and stretch right?" Hashimoto said, like she'd read his mind.
"It does indeed," Aizen agreed calmly. "I suppose I have to be locked away now?"
"Nup," Hashimoto said cheerfully. She spun on her heel and began to walk down the long corridor. Aizen looked back and saw no closed doors or other obstacles barring his way to freedom. He could make a run for it…
"I wouldn't do that if I were you~!" Hashimoto sung from down the corridor. "You don't want to learn things the hard way down here. Trust me~!"
Aizen took a cautionary step towards the exit. Nothing happened. He took another. And another. Still nothing. He began to walk, then stride, then run. Soon he was sprinting down the corridor to the stairs that would take him up to freedom. He was almost there… If he could just make it…!
"Bad boy," Hashimoto said, sounding rather pleased. She'd appeared, out of nowhere, in the doorway. "Didn't I say that plane has sailed?"
Aizen stopped, a little out of breath. "Actually," he said, frowning slightly, "first you said 'that train has sailed', then 'that train has flown' and only now have you said 'that plane has sailed'. All of which are incorrect, need I remind you."
Hashimoto blinked then laughed happily and clapped Aizen on the shoulder. "Of all the folk to come through here you're the first to have said anything like that to me. I like you, Sōsuke. I'm glad I get to keep you for the next 20,000 years." She walked past him and set off at a slow pace down the corridor. "By the way," she called over her shoulder, "I find your efforts commendable and would love to hear the reason behind the action sometime."
Aizen started. Of all things to expect, he had not expected his jailer to iapprove/i of his actions. This was… interesting to say the least. Aizen began to walk after Hashimoto, a smile lighting his face.
He caught up to her swiftly then settled in to the same pace as her. She looked over at him and said brightly, "I'm Hashimoto Kasumi. Call me Kasumi 'cause anyone who calls me Hashimoto gets beat up and I'm just not in the mood for cleaning blood of my Yakuta, you know?"
Aizen laughed softly. "All right, Kasumi-san. You probably already know this but I am Aizen Sōsuke."
Kasumi nodded and put her hands behind her head. "I think everyone up there knows who you are," she gave him a funny look out of the corner of her eye, "but down here things are different. No-one knows you. Well, unless you were someone they might've heard of three-hundred years ago?" Aizen shook his head no. "Didn't think so," Kasumi continued. "So basic one-oh-one for this place is; I'm the boss, what I say goes. Also, try not to pick a fight with Ren or call Yūta anything that insults his manhood."
"Why?" Aizen asked, genuinely curious. He hadn't thought he'd be allowed time around anyone else, let alone other prisoners.
"Well, Ren will beat the living snot out of anyone and Yūta has a serious girlfriend that most of the guys don't believe is real. Lately it's really been getting on his nerves. He's going to propose, you see, when Emi - she's his girlfriend - comes down for a visit next. Yūta only has three years left of his 2,000 year sentence left and he is finding it hard to wait until he's out to propose. I think he's a little worried that Emi's only into him because he's a bad boy. Or iwas/i a bad boy. He's come around, seen the light, and all that Disney stuff."
"What did he do?" Aizen was amazed that there was so much going on down here. He'd always had the impression that Muken was empty. No Taichō was given information about any level above six and while they all knew seven was pretty full, they had no idea what went on in Muken.
"He went on a killing spree one day. Wiped out most of the Onmitsukidō and a few Fuku-Taichō's. I think he also cut up Yama-jī something bad." Kasumi looked lost in happy thoughts, her smile lazy and body relaxed.
"You act very calm about all this," Aizen observed.
"'Course I do, Sōsuke. If I'm not equipped to do this job then, so help me, no-one is." She nodded seriously and Aizen once again laughed lightly. Truly he found this girl amusing.
"He was only given 2,000 years for that? That's not fair," Aizen joked.
"Tell me about it," Kasumi groaned. "He only got off so easily because it was covered up as a severe Hollow attack to save face. I won't say whose family he used to belong to but his story is that they wanted to marry him off to some random chick they'd arranged even though he was clearly in love with Emi. Things got desperate, stuff got fugged. Long story short; they tries to kill Emi, Yūta defended her but took out half of Soul Society by accident at the same time. Being in here really toughened him up though and I think he's ready for a new life." Kasumi sighed in a motherly fashion. "Oh, they grow up so fast~!"
Aizen laughed again then stopped himself and looked away from Kasumi thinking, iWhat /iarei you doing? Calm yourself before…/i He shook his head and breathed deeply.
"Oi, Sōsuke, you all right? You don't have claustrophobia do you? 'Cause Haru does and it was such a bother making his room look like the outside world. Oh, not that I mind doing it again. It's just the paperwork to get the paint… Ugh!" Kasumi shuddered at the thought.
Aizen sighed. "I know exactly what you mean."
"Why? 'Cause you used to be a Taichō? Believe me, their paperwork is not anywhere near as bad as the stuff I have to fill out down here. I swear, eats up all my free time." Kasumi sighed when Aizen wouldn't look at her and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked over at her, his expression guarded. "Look. I'm sorry I talk so much. It's a bad habit I developed after my first thousand years here. It just gets so lonely, you know?"
Once again Aizen could not meet his jailer's eyes. Before it was because he was baring to much of himself to a complete stranger. A minor slip-up on his part, one he was sure would not happen again. Kasumi's character was just unfamiliar to him, given time - of which he had plenty - he would grow used to her and learn how to manipulate her like he could anyone else.
The reason he couldn't meet her eyes this time was because he knew exactly what she meant. He was lonely. He had been, for such a long time, he couldn't even remember when it started. His power was too great and no-one could stand on his level. No-one could ever know him…
They walked in silence for a while and Aizen noted that all the rooms closest to the exit were empty. The first occupied room was shown by the sign on the door that read 'Kasumi-sama's quarters Do NOT bother between 23:00 and 06:00'.
"That's my room," Kasumi waved a casual hand at the door when she saw Aizen looking at it. "'Cause you're new, feel free to bother me after hours. One year privilege only. Use it well." She advised, sounding spooky. Aizen smiled politely, refusing to acknowledge the warmth inside him. It had occurred to him as he walked that maybe, just imaybe/i, Kasumi would be able to stand on his level. She was the guardian of the worst men in Soul Society, that automatically implied strength, plus the strange Reiatsu he'd been sensing from her for a while now was intriguing so he couldn't help but wonder…
They reached the next room with a sign on the door. 'Aizen Sōsuke's quarters' it read clearly. This stopped Aizen in his tracks. His room was the closest to Kasumi's and the exit. What was Soul Society thinking? iThose idiots…/i He thought angrily.
"Here's your room, Sōsuke," Kasumi clicked her fingers and materialized a key out of thin air. She unlocked his door and it swung inwards to reveal well-decorated quarters that in no way resembled a jail cell.
"What is this place?" Aizen asked curiously as they entered. The walls were white as was the furniture and there were a couple of windows that appeared to look out onto a pine forest. There were three lounges set in a triangle with a large rectangular coffee table in the middle. A dining room was set up next to what appeared to be a small kitchen. To the right was a large sliding wall that was currently open revealing a bedroom and bathroom adjacent to each other with yet another sliding wall in between. When Aizen had been a Taichō he'd visited the higher levels and he could honestly say they were nowhere near as accommodating as this one room.
"What do you mean? I like to make my customers comfortable. It's what any decent inn-owner would do." Kasumi shrugged then walked over to the kitchen. "Here's the kitchen. It's not really that well equipped at the moment but that's because I wasn't sure if you'd want to dine in your room or in the mess hall with the others." She walked into the dining room. "You don't have to use this table to eat, you can use it to write or read or whatever at." She walked into the living room. "I wasn't sure if you'd have company so I tried to make things homey but standard so if you don't like it, just tell me, and I can have it changed within the day." She walked past the sliding wall into the bedroom. She opened one of the multiple cupboard doors that was set into the wall and tugged out the corner of a futon. "This is the thick futon, in that cupboard," she pointed to another door to the left, "is the thin one. There's a couple of in-between ones somewhere around here. You can use the rest of these for storage. No corpses though, please; they really stink up the place." Aizen raised a questioning eyebrow. "Yeah, it happened once. Wasn't pretty getting the rotten thing out of here. Ugh. Dead flesh dropping off it at every bump, and I still haven't found the left pinkie toe. Poof, you know? Disappeared somewhere down the corridor from here, so if you see it, let me know, 'kay? Thanks." She left the bedroom and walked around the other sliding wall into the bathroom. "This sliding wall's got super-mobility so," she pulled it lightly at it curved around to cover the bathroom, "one little pull and you're set." She pushed it back then gestured to the rather large bathroom. "This is your standard bathroom. You've got your Japanese-style to the right and your English one to the left. That's two sorts of bathtubs, two sorts of showers, but only one sort of toilet, sorry. It's just that the English ones are so much easier to dispose of waste with, you know?" She left the bathroom and walked across the room back to Aizen who was still standing at the door, rather in awe of his prison.
"What do you think?" Kasumi asked, looking hopeful.
"It's wonderful," Aizen breathed. "I thought I'd be stuck-"
"'In some tiny hole for the foreseeable future'," Kasumi finished. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Why do you all think you'd be treated badly? If you ended up down here you've obviously got an epic back-story and one epic story in my books equals one awesome living quarters for the duration of your sentence."
Aizen walked into his room slowly, running his fingers across the back of one of the lounges. "Is there anything else?" He asked.
"Well, group dinner's at seven sharp every night and the big hot-spring bath is yours as long as you put your name in the book." Kasumi stopped and tried to think if there was anything she'd missed. "That's about it, I'd say. I'll let you know if anything comes up so I'll just leave you to get settled in." She was at the door when she started, stopped, and laughed. "Oopsies, almost forgot something." She flashed over to Aizen as he watched, his eyes unable to fully track her movement. Either he was getting rusty or she was faster than even his eyes could properly perceive.
"Hold out your sword arm," she instructed, her voice suddenly stern. Aizen did as he was told, wondering if he'd finally be treated like a prisoner in some way. "This is going to sting a little," she told him gently, her voice still hard, "so try not to move or else the pain will just get worse."
Aizen nodded, curious as to what was next. Kasumi flexed the fingers on her right hand and a katana appeared out of thin air. She caught it lightly, grabbed Aizen's wrist tightly with her free hand, and drew the blade across his skin. It was like someone had set off fireworks inside of him. Pain unlike he'd ever felt tore through Aizen's entire body and it took all his willpower not to move or cry out. iThis is impossible/i, he thought through the haze of pain. iI'm a god, how is she hurting me so?/i
He'd closed his eyes and when the pain finally subsided enough that he didn't want to scream any longer, he opened them. He first saw Kasumi face. Her lips were set in a firm line as were her eyebrows but her eyes were boring into him, it was like she was looking into his heart. He looked away, unable to stand the pressure her gaze put on him. His eyes fell down to his right hand that Kasumi had captured in her left. She gave it a gentle squeeze as he watched and he pulled his gaze up his arm to the halfway point on the smooth side of his lower right arm. Her sword had pulled across his skin there and his blood had formed a tattoo on his flesh. It was a swastika with curved edges going to the left.
"What… is this?" Aizen asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"It's just a little something that all my customers wear so they don't get lost." Her way of talking was back to normal but now Aizen could sense a beast lying beneath her sweet tones. "Well, that's it for now, Sōsuke. See you later, 'kay?" She smiled and left, pausing at the door to wave and closing it behind her. He waited to her the lock click over but no noise came but the light sound of Kasumi's feet walking away down the corridor.
Aizen sat down on a lounge and ran a finger across the symbol etched into his skin. "This is interesting," he commented to himself. iShe is definitely an interesting woman,/i Aizen decided.
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
Ulquiorra: Good day, trash. Katsuki-sama has asked me to introduce her first attempt at an Aizen love story.
Aizen: Why are you here, Ulquiorra? I thought you had died.
Ulquiorra: I did. Katsuki-sama brought me back.
Aizen: *sigh* Why am I in jail?
Ulquiorra: This story takes place after your defeat at the hands of Kurosaki Ichigo and Urahara Kisuke.
Aizen: *sweatdrops* I lost?
Ulquiorra: Sorry, Aizen-sama, but you did lose spectacuarly.
Aizen: *sigh* I suppose I should let you get on with this.
Ulquiorra: Thank you, Aizen-sama. Any original material used in this story is property of Katsuki-sama. Aizen, Muken, myself and the entire BLEACH world is, of course, Tite Kubo-sama's alone. Katsuki-sama wishes to extend her gratitude to any who read this and asks that if anyone has any characters or ideas for this story they would be greatly appreciated as it is currently "drifting along".
Aizen: I suppose I'll see you mortals next time. Goodbye.
Ulquiorra: I'll leave next week's section to you, Aizen-sama. Farewell.
Aizen: Hey! Ulquiorra! Wai-