Chapter 3: The Artist
"You find all of your ugly meanings
in all of the things I find beautiful.
Do you see the fall is coming?
Come, I'm falling into you."
-Hush Sound "The Artist"
"Oh, I'm sorry about that."
Nina didn't have to look up to recognize that soft, calm voice. She had bumped into Captain Aizen in her lack of attentiveness and was now the one sitting on her rear on the ground. She slowly glanced up at him, embarrassed.
"I should be the one apologizing, Captain Aizen. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," she told him.
He held a hand down to her and with it a reassuring smile. "Not at all, Seito-san." He let her take it and pulled her to her feet before stooping down to pick up her book. Aizen paused a moment to look at the title. "Hnn...Great Expectations...an admirable choice." He returned the book to her. "You will enjoy this book very much. I couldn't put it down the first time I read it."
Nina accepted her volume from him. "Thank you." She adjusted her messenger bag.
"So where were you headed off to? Dinner perhaps?"
She nodded. "Yes...well, after I put away my things."
He nodded toward the bag over her shoulder. "Would I be intruding if I asked what you're carrying?"
She shook her head. "They are just my art supplies. I take my sketchbook and supplies with me wherever I go."
He seemed satisfied with her answer, and he offered yet another gentle smile. "I see. You did mention you were an artist."
"It would be, Captain." She paused. She could feel see the curiosity radiating from his dark brown eyes. "Did you want to see my sketchbook?"
He waved a hand in front of him. "Only if you want to show me, Seito-san."
"Well...um...I'll let you see the ones I did today..." she trailed, reaching into her bag. She pulled out her sketchbook and handed it to him.
Aizen flipped through the pages examining each picture, and he was actually impressed with her remarkable talent. Each picture was painstakingly drawn in detail in either graphite or charcoal, and some were even colored expertly with copic markers, colored pencil, or pastels. He stopped on one that was a portrait of the Fifth Seat over in the Eleventh Division.
"Seito-san, these are remarkable," he told her. "I see Ayasegawa-san let you do a portrait of him."
Nina moved closer to her captain to examine the work in progress. "Uhhh...not exactly. I drew that from memory. I only met him this morning."
He took a closer look at the drawing and then looked at Nina. "Really? But it's so...thorough. How did you recall his features in such remarkable detail?"
"I have a photographic memory."
"Is that so?" he asked, fascinated. "Not many people possess such a trait. It is a very unique and admirable ability, indeed." He handed the sketchbook back to her. "So tell me, if I were to leave, you could do a portrait of me and recall every aspect of my face?"
"Yes, I'm sure I could."
He smiled. "Fascinating." He watched her put away her sketchbook. "You said yesterday you also dabble in other mediums." He led her along to a bench under a tree and sat down, inviting her to sit with him.
She complied, not wanting to be rude. "Yes, I do art in almost all mediums, actually. Though I do mostly drawings, I also paint in both oil and watercolor."
"I see. So what style are your paintings?"
"Mmm...abstract, sceneries... I can do figures and models, though I actually don't find those as fun. I'd rather let my imagination just run with my paintbrush on a blank canvas."
He smiled at her. "Ah, yes, sometimes that's the best way to do it. Often when I practice my calligraphy I just go with whatever design comes into my mind."
"I remember you taught that class at the Academy. I actually wanted to take it, but every time I tried, it was so full and I wasn't comfortable being around that many people."
He blinked and glanced down at her. "You did? I suppose it is a popular class. I'm truly sorry you did not get to take it." He offered a reassuring smile. "Perhaps sometime on my free time I will teach you."
"I couldn't ask you to do that, Captain. You are busy enough as it is."
"Is that the image I project to others, Seito-san? That I am too busy to teach someone who wishes to learn something new?"
Nina flushed. "Er...no. I mean...I did not mean to make that impression, Captain. I just know how difficult your job can be. I just imagine that your spare time is very precious to you. I did not mean to offend."
Aizen put a reassuring hand on Nina's shoulder. "You did not offend me, Seito-san. I suppose I simply worry too much that I don't pay enough attention to my subordinates or that I might come off as though I don't care about them." He smiled gently. "While it is true that free time is difficult to come by, I would not mind spending a few hours of it with someone who wishes to learn something new."
Nina silently exhaled. Her remark had come out completely wrong. "Then I would be very honored to learn."
"I'll set aside some time this Saturday morning, if that is convenient for you."
"Will I need to bring anything?"
He shook his head, the smile never leaving his face. "No. I will have everything you need. All you need to bring is yourself. You can meet me in the common area and we'll go from there." He placed his hands on his knees. "Do you have any favorite artists?"
She looked thoughtful. "Well, I honestly don't know. I like the works of many, but I think if I had to choose, I'd go with Gorges Seurat."
"Ah, Seurat...isn't he famous for...for...?" He chuckled. "I apologize. The name of the technique escapes me at the moment."
"Pointillism."
"That's it." He glanced at her. "Have you ever tried to replicate the technique?"
Nina shrugged. "I have a few times, but I can't seem to get the hang of it. I like the look of it, but I find performing the technique mundane at best."
"You like to let your brush lead, don't you?"
She shook her head. "I do."
He stood up and chuckled. "Perhaps sometime, if you're willing, you can share your paintings with me. I can only imagine the expression held within them."
Nina nodded. "Perhaps, Captain."
He stood from the bench. "It's getting late, and it will be past dinner in the mess if I don't leave you alone. I will look forward to Saturday, Seito-san."
Nina watched him leave and thought to herself. "I'm seeing him on Saturday for a calligraphy session. I would have never expected that a week ago. How did that even happen?" Nina watched his retreating figure. "How often does he do private sessions for people? Or is he doing one just for me? And those eyes..."
She shook her head and stood, heading in the direction of the mess hall. She really should not think things like that or she could find herself in a world of trouble. Thinking someone was attractive, even if it was a captain, was no crime, but it could escalate into some complicated problems if those attractions were acted on. Nina figured she did not have anything to worry about. It was a calligraphy lesson and nothing more, and he was just her captain.
Nina ventured into the mess hall to investigate what was for dinner and decided that the rest of the day would be spent reading and meditating with Kiyohime. Her life here in Seireitei was so different from growing up in Rukongai. For once, she could count on a good, hot meal and she didn't smell like fish.
Later that night, Nina sat on her bed with her sketchpad propped on her knees. She was scratching at the blank page with her pencil to make out the basic features of Captain Aizen's face. Once she had drawn in the major details, Nina held it up to be sure that it was proportionate, especially his square framed glasses. Satisfied with her work so far, Nina returned to sketching, this time filling in his hair, though it proved somewhat a challenge because of the unusual and very slightly unruly way that it laid. But she kept sketching, nonetheless.
I really hope he'll like this, Nina thought as she continued to draw.
It was well into the night before she had finally finished her portrait of Captain Aizen – it lay safely enclosed in her sketchbook until she would take it to his office and drop it off. Then she had a second thought; that would just be weird. She better not. She sighed. But she worked so hard on it! She had to give it to him, but she was unsure whether that would be appropriate.
Nina flopped over in her futon and pulled the blankets over her head in a huff. No. That was the final answer. Maybe he could look at her sketchbook again sometime and pull off some not-so-unusual reason for drawing it and hope he actually believed her.
Author's Note: Georges Seurat was a French painter who invented the style known as pointillism. He was the pioneer of Neo-impressionism. Seurat lived from 1859-1891. One of his most famous works is A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, painted in from 1884-86.