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Chapter 4: A Novel Experience
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He hated feeling powerless. Hated it. Here he was, surrounded by beings who could easily do him harm, and he could do next to nothing about it.
Yes, his test-subject had protected him as it was supposed to, and for that he was almost grateful, but this feeling of helplessness set his nerves jangling as he became hyper-aware of every possible threat in his vicinity. And that almost-encounter back in the dining hall had ensured that he would be unable to fully relax for at least the next nine hours.
He had hoped to be less on-edge for his meeting with the captain, but clearly that hope had been a futile one. At this rate it seemed he would never be in control of himself or his surroundings ever again. Perhaps it would be better to just call off this whole charade now and…!
No…no. That was the insanity talking. If he could just keep his cool a little longer things should improve, and before he knew it he would be headed back to the world of the living to work on experiments with Urahara-san! Yes, that was it. Think happy thoughts, and the madness would pass once again.
He looked up now and saw that his test subject was knocking on the door of what was clearly the captain's quarters. A voice within called for them to enter, and he took a deep breath, attempting to prepare himself for this meeting with the new principal authority figure in his life.
After a brief conversation with the man inside, his test subject nodded for him to enter.
He stepped across the threshold and felt more than heard the door close behind him. The spiritual pressure emanating from the other being in the room drew his attention immediately. So this was Kyoraku Shunsui, captain of the eighth division of the Court Guard Squads and the man who very nearly finished off Starrk in the final battle of the Winter War.
Speaking of, he appeared to be almost as laid-back in temperament as the Primera, and was also curiously similar in looks. As for his style of dress one had to admit it wasn't all that bad. Lacking in refinement, yes, but the overall color scheme was fairly good.
Appearances aside though, this man was obviously very powerful, both personally and in terms of the Soul Society hierarchy. Meaning he could make a person's life very uncomfortable if he so chose. Therefore he, Szayel, had better mind his P's and Q's and do whatever it took to reassure the Shinigami before him that this humble hollow scientist was in no way a threat to anyone. Best to make his expression as pleasant and meek as possible; his "Face for the Great Lord Aizen-sama" should do nicely. (And yes, he had practiced it in front of a mirror. How else was he to be sure he had perfected it?)
Also, he really must remember to inquire about obtaining some reishi meters and perhaps even a shinigami specimen, if it wasn't too much trouble.
The captain regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, then spoke.
"Sit down Szayel-san."
Szayel seated himself at the low table as indicated, opposite the Shinigami. There was what appeared to be a vase of some sort on the table, as well as two saucers. Wait, not a vase. A sake bottle. He remembered having seen a smaller version in Ichimaru's private quarters once, when he had been sent there with a message from Aizen-sama. Unlike that time, however, it looked as though this sake was meant to be shared, and sure enough Kyoraku-taicho poured some in each of the saucers and handed one to him while explaining that 'Szayel-san would be excused from pouring for him just this once'.
The liquid in the dish was clear, cold, and had a light aroma. A glance at the shinigami revealed him to be waiting expectantly for his guest to try this new beverage. It was rumored to have strange, mind-altering qualities which really didn't sound all that pleasant or helpful, and would likely get in the way of making proper scientific observations, but – the situation seemed to demand that he at least try a little for politeness' sake. Well, here went nothing…
It burned.
There was a fruity dimension to its flavor as well, but its principal effect was to make him acutely aware of the location and length of his esophagus. Could it possibly be poisoned? No, that was unlikely. The shinigami had drunk from the same bottle (and…was already refilling his own dish….oh my), and there were no orally-administered poisons that Szayel was aware of which affected hollows while leaving shinigami unharmed.
So, to sum up initial research results: substance not the worst thing ever consumed personally, but still undesirable as a frequent recreational beverage. Conclusion: should be possible to successfully navigate the present social situation, as long as only a minimal amount of this "sake" was consumed. And now the man across from him was beginning to speak again and it really would be best to pay attention since it was probably important.
"Szayel-san, I'm sure you have already been thoroughly briefed on the rules and conditions regarding your stay here, so I won't bore you with them. Instead, I'd like to get to know each other a bit, since you'll be an ally of Soul Society from now on. First of all, is your room comfortable enough?"
Szayel nodded. "Yes, sir. It is more than adequate."
"Good, good. I'm glad to hear it. And I assume Nanao-chan's given you the full tour? I apologize there aren't more pretty girls in the squad, though of course there's really no such thing as 'enough' pretty girls, am I right?"
"I..….suppose not, sir?" Pretty girls? What did that have to do with anything? Did it matter? He hadn't really noticed any of the females other than his test subject. Wait, the powerful shinigami was speaking again.
"So, tell me about yourself. I understand you are a scientist?"
"Yes, Kyoraku-sama. I have been a scientist for as long as I can remember, and…I…specialize in researching reishi manipulation." At the "and" the captain had refilled both the saucers. Curious, he hadn't noticed drinking all of it. Well, the capacity of these containers wasn't that much to begin with, but still…
"Ah. Reishi manipulation is it? I suppose that's how you were able to pull those tricks with Abarai-kun and Ishida-kun in Hueco Mundo. I should warn you though, Abarai-kun is still a little upset over that whole incident. He seems to think you don't fight "fair".
"Meaning no disrespect sir, but I don't believe there is any such thing as "fair" in a fight. There are merely winners and loosers, and the end result is the same no matter how one got there."
The shinigaimi laughed. "You think so? My Katen Kyokotsu is much the same. Every fight is a game to her - and she gets to make the rules. It's very troublesome."
Ah yes, he remembered Starrk mumbling something about that while he getting patched together. This shinigami really was very dangerous. Perhaps a little flattery was in order.
"Yes, Kyoraku-sama. The fact that you can control such a sword shows how –"
"There's really no need for that."
"Pardon?"
"You don't need to put on a face like that. I'm not going to kill you just because you don't look like a submissive, worshipful servant."
*cough!* "I – I, ah, I mean - I wasn't – I….really?"
Whoops. He hadn't meant to swallow all of his sake at once. He was just…taken by surprise…a little bit. Nerves seemed a bit calmer now, though. Interesting.
"And no need for the '-sama' either. Kyoraku-san's fine."
"Y-yes, Kyoraku-sam-…san!"
"Much better! So what did you truly think of Aizen? Because somehow I doubt you were as loyal as you most likely pretended to be."
"Aizen-sama? He…well, I…"
Strange. It was getting somewhat hard to formulate and arrange coherent thoughts. Could it be the drink? And this shinigami was scary. How could he tell that – oh, more drink? No! Focus! Answer the scary shinigami's question!
"…He was scary with that smile and because he could kill me, but he said I could do all the experiments I wanted wherever I wanted if I joined him - so that seemed like an acceptable deal because I stayed alive and got to do research, but he was highly annoying with his superior attitude and hair curl and tea-parties when I was trying to get important work done. That is what I thought."
" Hmm. I thought you might. It seems to me you're a reasonable person Szayel-san, so, being reasonable I'm sure you'll understand when I tell you that if you hurt Nanao-chan in any way at all, you and I will be meeting in the practice grounds out back to play a little game."
A game?! That was it. This shinigami was officially Very Scary. Very Scary and Completely Unsettling. Yes. Okay, take another swallow of this nerve-steadying substance, then explain complete harmlessness of all intentions and activities. (Later, Szayel was told that at this point he became Completely Unsettled and rather lost his head, metaphorically speaking.)
"Meters, Kyoraku-sama-san! I need them to shinigami the extra unneeded observation of the won't hurt the harmless reishi Nanao-san!"
"…Szayel-san? Are you all right? I couldn't quite understand that last bit…"
No! The dangerous shinigami still didn't understand!
"An extra Nanao! I need one so I can measure the harmless specimen-san that won't hurt or observe anything to do!"
This explanation really wasn't coming out the way it was supposed to. All the information he wanted to convey was there, but the order seemed…wrong…somehow… Perhaps another drink would help?
Ah. The floor on his left side. It was coming up to meet him. How…friendly…of it…
*thud*
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And now you have it. The chapter where our dear espada scientist has his first encounter with alcohol as a beverage. It ended up being an entire chapter on its own, partly because I wanted to update for you all sooner rather than later.
As one can tell from the chapter, I feel that Szayel (despite all the scientific work he has done on himself) would likely be the definition of "lightweight" when it comes to drinking. And Kyoraku-taicho is a clever, clever man.
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please continue let me know your thoughts on it.
Coming Next: our heroes pay a visit to the Fourth squad! (dun, dun, dun!)