"The path is being closed! Ichigo. The path to a world with no fear. The present world... Soul Society... Hueco Mundo... They were meant to become one. Life and death, twisted and fused together. They were destined to all be one and the same but now that will likely never happen. You have yourself to thank for that, Ichigo. Sadly, because of all your efforts here, life and death will never lose their current forms, and all those who breathe will continue to pass each and everyday by, living in fear of death for all eternity."
"... Yhwach. You desired a world where fear would no longer be a burden. But in a world without fear of death, people will never attain the hope that is to be found from casting their fears aside and persevering through them. While it is true that people can continue to press forward through the simple act of living, that is in no way comparable to marching forward in the face of death, while doing their damnedest to keep it at bay. That is why... That is why people have given that very march a unique and special name... Courage..."
Kurosaki Kazui looked around in a curiousness befitting of a child of his age.
A snap of twig drew his attention to a very large tree and the person hiding behind it.
He titled his head. "Who's there?"
There was a pause before a boy that looked around his age came forward shyly in a hesitant manner. His feature was very mild. He got a scholarly brown hair which was complemented by his soft brown eyes. He brought a very thick book in his hands.
"... Hello."
"Hi!" Kazui said kindly.
He blinked slowly before he voiced his question. "Who are you?"
"Me? I am Kurosaki Kazui! What's your name?" Kazui replied with a bright grin.
"Aizen Sousuke. How did you get here?" The boy asked softly.
"Hmm. I don't know. I was playing hide and seek with Ichika. She was closing on my hiding spot and I don't want her to find me just yet. The game would be so boring if she found me so easily! The next thing I know is that I am here!" He gestured to the tranquil forest surrounding them.
"Where is this anyway?" He asked curiously.
"My secret place." Aizen said quietly.
Kazui gasped. "Did I intrude? Sorry!"
He took a glance at Kazui's sheepish expression before he sighed. "I don't mind."
He sat down and started reading his book, completely ignoring Kazui.
Kazui also sat down. After five minutes of nothing to do, the child of Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime got bored and took a quick walk around the forest. When he returned, the other boy still stayed in the exact same spot, still reading his book. Kazui slumped to the ground again in boredom before an idea hit him and he quickly stood up again.
The boy grinned warmly. "Let's play!"
Aizen looked surprised for a bit before he closed his book and put it aside.
He cocked his head to a side. "What do you want to play?"
Kazui put a finger on his mouth, thinking silently. After a few seconds, he brighten and took a few steps forward.
"Tag! You are it!" He said while placing his hand flatly on Aizen's chest. In the next second, he bolted from there, running into the forest like a wind, leaving Aizen speechless for a moment.
The game last for two hours. It took Aizen an hour before he managed to tag Kazui and it took the same amount of time for Kazui to tag him back. Kazui was laughing happily by the end of it and Aizen managed a tiny, genuine smile for the first time in many years.
"I will catch you faster this time." Aizen said determinedly, preparing to chase him again.
Instead of running again, Kazui glanced upward at the darkening sky and pursed his lips.
"I have to go back now." He said sadly.
"Must you? We are having so much fun." Aizen admitted with a touch of loneliness, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice.
"Yeah, sorry. Let's continue the game some other time."
"You will play with me again? Promise?" Aizen asked with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.
"I pro-" Before Kazui could finish his sentence, he was already back in his hiding spot.
"Kazui! There you are!" He was scooped into his father's arms in the next second.
"Dad!" He exclaimed with a big smile, so similar to his mother.
"We were so worried! Where were you?! Ichika said you just suddenly disappear during your game of hide and seek!"
"I made a new friend!"
"Dear, did you find him?" His mother was looking a little out of breath. Her voice was trembling with worry and panic.
"Orihime, calm down. Kazui is fine. He is safe." Ichigo said gently.
"He escaped from Muken and Kazui was missing. I-" She burst into tears and simply hug her husband and their child.
The sweet moment was interrupted by a polite cough.
"Good evening." The man greeted politely.
Faster than you could say Bankai, Ichigo and Orihime stood protectively in front of their child, shielding him from the traitor.
"What the fuck do you want, Aizen?! How the hell did you manage to escape from Muken?!" Ichigo asked with a snarl while urgently signalling his wife to take their child away from there.
"Such crude language." Aizen sighed.
"I am afraid that I still have an unfinished business..." The former lord of Hueco Mundo began smoothly, "with Kurosaki Kazui."
"Stay away from him!" Orihime shouted immediately.
Before his parents could do anything, Kazui leaped forward with a big smile. The boy craned his neck. "Wow! You are so much bigger and taller now!"
Aizen smiled in amusement. He knelt down to the boy's level and gently put his hand on the boy's chest.
"Tag. You are it."
We think a flower on a cliff is beautiful.
Because we stop our feet at the cliff's edge.
Unable to step out into the sky.
Like that fearless flower.