disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
a/n: first thing posted, so reviews of any kind would be welcome. also, this is mostly speculation.
Two men sat at a small, round table. Though they seemed complete opposites, their personalities were rather similar. The first man was rather tall, well muscled, and wore a goatee, while the other was comparatively short, lean, and clean-shaven. One was dark, the other fair. And both were infinently worried, but the real difference between them was in how they showed it.
The subject of their worry could be heard through the thin walls that surrounded them, concealing their presence from the outside, but allowing them to hear and sense everything. With each crash, bang, and scream, the dark-haired man flinched and scowled a little more, the expression odd on his usually beaming face, while his fair-haired companion merely fluttered his fan a little faster.
"Relax," said the fair man in an attempt to calm his companion.
"They'll be fine. You chose them for a reason. They are Squad Zero,
after all," he finished with a flutter of his fan.
"Like you're one to talk about relaxing," the other man replied with a snort, the fan's fluttering (an old nervous habit from long ago) not going unnoticed. "Besides. How can I not worry? They're fighting for me. And my son. Who's currently trapped in Hueco Mundo.
If they die, I sent them to their deaths. We should be out there, too. What kind of leader sends his soldiers to fight, but doesn't go himself?!"
His voice had steadily risen as he spoke the last, clearly showing his agitation.
"Just wait. We'll have our turn. Aizen might even be so shocked to realize the throne's not as empty as he thought, he just might keel over. And wouldn't that be funny?" he questioned, grinning. His companion gave a short bark of laughter.
"Yeah, I guess it would," he replied, smiling slightly. "Although I'd prefer the pleasure of beating the crap out of him myself, for making this whole mess to begin with." His blond companion nodded in agreement.
The two men sat in silence for several minutes, each straining to sense the fight going on outside. And then---
This was it--- the time for the king and the commander of his guard to fight.
"Finally," the dark haired man said. "Let's go. Ya ready, Kisuke?"
"Of course. I'm always ready, Isshin," he replied with a smile, as he tucked the fan away.