Orihime Inoue.
A truly peculiar being.
Aizen had captured her in part because of her uniqueness. First and foremost it was for the sake of dividing Kurosaki's party and the Gotei 13, spreading both their forces thin, making it all the easier to land the decisive blow that would herald his victory. And yet, while he wouldn't let it on, there were things about her that struck his curiosity, besides the mere pragmatic concerns.
"Rejection of phenomena." "A power that intrudes into the territory of god." So he himself had said. How a girl like her had obtained such power was beyond even he. The Hogyoku must have had a hand in it of course, but that still didn't explain it, why out of all the people Rukia Kuchiki had been in proximity to, it was that girl, who was not only among the scant few to develop proper powers of her own, but also to attain power that was so superb.
Was there something valuable? Hidden within that girl's heart?
Aizen thought he might laugh, just considering that. What could be so special about her? That girl who's will was so weak, she could not bear even to hurt her enemies, her resolve failing her time after time. As if a girl like that could have something special hidden within her.
Luck. That was all it really amounted to. Luck of the most blind sort. Not at all like his power. Not like the power that he had struggled for so long to cultivate, the power he had destroyed so many just to take another step towards. Compared to him, what did that girl have that was worth anything at all? Could she tell him that?
A thought came to mind. A vision of those other boys, Uryu Ishida, Yasutora Sado, Ichigo Kurosaki.
…yes, that is what she'd say, wasn't it? The same idealistic prattle that substitute shinigami went on about in order to make him feel secure in his own inadequacy.
"At least I have my friends," she'd say. "People who I care about. People who care about me. Bonds that help make life worth living. Can you say the same, Aizen?"
Could he say the same?
"As if I would want to," Aizen thought. "They cling to friendship because they believe it betters each other's lives. But what is the purpose of friendship, when you can take all that you want with your own hands? To rely on someone else means that your own power was inadequate. For I, who stand at the pinnacle, what need would I have for friendship?"
Kurosaki's group would arrive very soon, and that would set things in motion towards their final conclusion.
"Very soon, everything I could ever want, will be within my hands. Limited human perceptions of meaning, why should I care about such things? Why should I care…"
The future passes like a whirlwind. The attack on Karakura, the final battle with Kurosaki, and the ultimate defeat.
"If I…"
Has it been decades now? Centuries? Millenia? He looked around the room of his cell. He wasn't sure if anything even existed outside of it anymore. How much longer would he have to endure this pain?
"…Am alone."