Free Talk- It took a while but here is the next chapter. Here the real villain of the story is revealed and some big things happen, so I hope I did a good job making it interesting. I have my laptop back now. Unfortunately, I just started an exhausting new 9-5 job that will run through the end of March (I have no idea what will happen after that). But I really don't have a lot of time now. My free time has become a precious commodity. I hope nobody will be too sad if I put the story on something of a hiatus. I will still try to write a little on the weekends, but a new chapter probably won't come for quite some time. I promise I will finish it, though. We're getting very close to the climax now. And I hope I will write more Sousuke and Momo stories after this one is finished (especially to make up for my last one, which I don't think was very well executed). In any case, thank you all so much the support and warm reception of this story. I hope you like the new chapter. Please comment and tell me what you think. Oh, and I did a little retcon to fix a mistake. Momo found Renji passed out in the kitchen even though he passed out in the living room... but that's been corrected.
Bad Boy
By Miss Angel Maxwell
Chapter 10: Reuniting With Old Friends
When Sousuke's mind was returned to the tender age of five, he lost all of his vast knowledge of Shinigami arts and skills, and therefore had no idea that it was a very powerful kidou that Gin had used to knock him out.
He opened his bleary eyes, or at least he thought so. It was hard to tell when there was nothing to see but blackness. There was no way for him to tell where he was or how much time had gone by since he'd passed out. Momo might be back at her apartment already, wondering where he was.
It took a moment for the true terror of the darkness to grip Sousuke, but when it did it struck hard and would not let go. Whatever was beneath his bare feet was flat and cold, rock or tile perhaps. He could be anywhere, the edge of a cliff or a den full of hungry tigers. He could have been abandoned in a pitch-black cave to die all alone, never seeing anything else for the rest of his life.
"Hey!" he shouted out desperately. "Hello! Is anybody else in here? I… I don't know where I am! My name is Sousuke! Aizen Sousuke!"
"No need to yell now, Master Aizen," a voice hissed behind him. It was Gin. "You'll find out where we are soon enough. Right now, though, we must wait for someone."
Sousuke spun around and reached out, groping the air to try to locate the man, but all he felt was empty space. Even if it was still dark, he was relieved that he wasn't alone, and the news that they were waiting for someone gave him hope. "We're waiting for her in the dark? Where is this place? When will she get here? Wait… Master?"
"Shhhhhh!" was Gin's only response.
Maybe this is all just a part of the plan. Maybe this is the only way I'm allowed to see Masaki.An echo of heavy footsteps on the hard floor, which had started so faintly that the boy hadn't noticed it at first, were now growing louder, drawing closer. The nature of the sound indicated that this darkened space was actually very large and cavernous. The steps came to a stop right in front of Sousuke, or at least he assumed as much. Then there was a protracted, trembling silence.
A beam of light fell down on the frightened boy, and even though it was not very bright it made his eyes burn just because they were so acclimated to the dark. He couldn't even keep them open long enough to get a good look at who was in front of him or to look around for Gin. While he was still rubbing his eyes and trying to adjust to the light, a vicious roar split the quiet in half.
"What the Hell is this, Ichimaru? Some sort of sick joke! This isn't Master Aizen! It's just damn some kid!"
"Oh, but this child is Master Aizen," Gin's slippery voice responded. "Don't you recognize him?"
"I'm rapidly losing my patience with you, Fox Face!" the unidentified male voice growled back. "I don't have time for your games! What have you done with Aizen?"
Gin's voice remained calm and sinister as he replied. "I have done nothing to him. This was Soul Society's doing. This is the punishment they saw fit to impose upon him. But considering the alternative… it was either this or death… this does not seem so bad."
"Not so bad?" the mean man barked. "We can't rebuild an empire when our leader is a fucking baby!"
Master, Soul Society, punishment, leader. These words popped out from a conversation that little Sousuke did not really understand. What he did understand, however, was that this stranger had just referred to him with a wholly derogatory term, and despite his fear, he felt the need to correct the man. Whoever he was, he was standing outside the spotlight, so Sousuke could not see him, which made confronting him much easier in the mind of the young boy.
"I dunno what 'fucking' means, but I'm not a baby!" he snorted. The following pause, made him immediately regret the outburst. The brief silence was followed by a cruel, raspy laugh and Sousuke watched in horror as the dark silhouette of a man's face emerged into the column of light, the only clearly visible feature a glistening white grin. It was the villain from his nightmare.
"Captain Hook," the boy breathed.
"I guess you're old enough to talk then," the hideous smile spoke. "I didn't catch that last part, though. Would you repeat it?" Then he leaned in closer so that more of his face became visible. All of his features were sharp and severe. His eyes were ice blue, the lids rimmed in black. His hair was a wild mass of blue-green.
"I just…" Sousuke was surprised by how shaky his voice suddenly sounded and tried to recover his boldness. "I just thought you looked like Captain Hook looked in a dream I dreamed."
The man laughed. "I'm not some pirate from your dreams, boy. The name's Grimmjow Jaguarjack." He extended a white, bony hand down towards Sousuke.
"Aizen Sousuke," the boy answered, nervously taking the hand but letting go quickly after feeling how cold it was.
Grimmjow didn't say anything else to Sousuke, turning attention instead towards Gin and speaking to him as if the little boy weren't even there. "This certainly is not what I expected," he growled.
"Yes, well, you really can't blame me for this," Gin cheerfully hissed. "I did exactly what you asked me to the last time we spoke, just before I was captured. I delivered him to you, now you have to keep up your end of the bargain."
"What?" Grimmjow roared. "I asked you to bring back our Master."
"I did bring him back," Gin replied. "This is him. You never did specify an age."
"I didn't think I had to! I thought your shrewd little brain could realize that I was expecting a man capable and willing to lead our revolution."
The congeniality was slowly draining from Gin's voice now. "Ah, but you didn't specify. And even if you had, it wouldn't really matter. This is Aizen Sousuke, the only one in the world. And, because I took considerable risks on my own life to bring him here…"
"Alright!" snarled Grimmjow. "Have it your way! When the revolution comes, you won't be harmed."
"And…" Gin urged.
"And," Grimmjow said grudgingly. "That girl, Matsumoto, she won't harmed either."
"None of your goons are to lay a finger on her," Gin reinforced harshly.
"Alright," the blue-haired man growled. "Just get out of here before I change my mind. You must have some little hiding place to slink off to. That is… unless you've changed your mind and decided to join us…"
Gin scratched at the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Naw, I'd better get back to the courtroom and in my cell before those guards wake up. Ran really hates it when I disappear without warning, and I think I've tortured her enough."
"So you're giving up your gift of freedom?"
"It wouldn't be all that free," he continued. "Having to stay hidden, knowing that my punishment will be even worse if I'm spotted, and not being able to be with Ran. I'll take my chances with the court. Heh. After all, if they only punished him with this, I don't think there's much chance I'll get executed. Mmm, good luck with your project, though."
Sousuke heard the Grimmjow guy mutter something under his breath, but couldn't tell what it was. Then he saw Gin's face retreat back into the shadows and heard the sound of footsteps starting to walk away. It filled his chest with liquid terror. Even if Gin had tricked him, Sousuke trusted him more than the unstable man he was being left with.
These two obviously had him confused with someone else, their leader. Though how they could make such a mistake was mind-boggling to the young boy. Did they have the same name? But Gin had told him that Masaki was waiting for him. How could that be the case if they'd gotten the wrong guy? None of it made sense.
"Wait!" Sousuke hollered, bringing the footsteps to a halt. "Itchy-maru! If this Grimm guy has to keep his deal with you, you hafta keep your deal with me!"
The sound of footsteps resumed, but they had changed direction, this time they were growing louder, not fainter. Gin was coming back. "Hmmm…" he hummed as he pushed his face back into the column of light, illuminating his grinning features. "What was it that I promised you again? I seem to have forgotten."
"Masaki!" Sousuke stammered. "You said she was alone and waiting for me! You said you would take me to her!"
"Ah yes," Gin said slyly. "I recall now telling you that there was a young woman waiting for you, someone that you know quite well. Hmmm… but I don't recall ever saying the name Masaki. No, that wasn't the individual I was talking about."
All the blood exited the boy's face and seemed to pool in his feet. "What?" he breathed in disbelief. "If… if you weren't talking about Masaki… Who?"
"Mr. Jaguarjack here knows who I'm talking about," Gin responded. "I'm sure he'll make all the arrangements for the happy reunion. In the meantime, I really must get going. Bye-bye." Then, with a casual wave, he disappeared once again.
For a few seconds, Sousuke stood in place, trying to decide whether to run after the silver-haired Shinigami and wondering if his feet would even respond if he tried. Before he'd reached any conclusion, however, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, anchoring him to his spot.
"Looks like it's just you an' me, boy," Grimmjow growled in his ear. "I still haven't decided what the Hell I'm gonna do with you, but don't start thinkin' you're safe or secure. Now, let's find a place to stick you for now."
Without any warning, the lights all came on. Blinding white flooded in from every direction, assaulting the little boy's eyes relentlessly and swallowing whole the beam of light that he was standing in. After five or ten minutes, when he could finally open his eyes again, Sousuke turned all around, at last able to see where he was.
He had never seen anything like it. The light revealed that he was standing in the ruins of an enormous palace, a wreckage of white marble with a strange overgrowth of quartz glistening in the light that came from some unseen place. It had the feel of a place where something momentous had happened or a great civilization had thrived and met its downfall. "Whoa… What is this place?" he asked in awe.
"Of course you wouldn't remember Hueco Mundo," Grimmjow said, his tone incredibly irritated.
Sousuke looked up and took his first good look at the angry man whose hand still held him in place. A gasp of shock escaped his throat. The man's body, which had seemed menacing even in the dim glow of the spotlight, was a map of silvery pink scars. Or at least the skin that was showing was. This guy had been in some serious fights. The most gruesome shock of all, however, was when Sousuke realized that Grimmjow only had one arm.
"Do I frighten you?" Grimmjow asked.
Sousuke was actually too frightened to speak an answer, but he shook his head 'no' anyways.
"I see you're staring where my other arm should be," the man continued. "If you can believe it, I lost that arm twice."
The way he said it was strangely good humored, almost friendly, and Sousuke took it as a glimmer of hope that this man might be more sympathetic than he let on. Such hopes, however, were crushed into dust when Grimmjow violently grabbed one of the boy's little arms and twisted it painfully before dragging him mercilessly away.
"C'mon brat!" the man spat. "We can't have some fuckin' baby wandering around unsupervised. Yer going into lockup."
Sousuke's legs were too short to keep up with Grimmjow's pace and dragged behind him on the cold floor, through the long hallways and down corridors, until they reached a plain white door. Grimmjow pushed it open and shoved the him inside, but before he closed it again, Sousuke managed to squeak out the question that had been stuck in his head for while.
"What… what about the girl? The girl Itchy-maru said was waiting? If it's not Masaki…"
"Oh, right," Grimmjow snorted. Then he retrieved something from his side and held it out to the boy. "While I'm deciding what to do with you, kid, you and her can get reacquainted."
"A sword?" Sousuke asked, completely bewildered. "But I thought…"
Before he could finish, Grimmjow thrust the weapon into the boy's arms. "Her name's Kyouka Suigetsu." And without another word he slammed the door shut, sealing Sousuke up in darkness.
The weight of the sword pulled Sousuke's arms down to the floor and eventually he had to just set it down. He was alone again, in a small dark space, and the only sound he could hear was his captor's footsteps beyond the door as he walked away. High up on the far wall there was a small window with metal bars that was filtering in the dim glow of distant moon.
Ordinarily, Sousuke would have pounded his fists against that door and screamed at the top of his lungs for freedom. Ordinarily, he would have spit and cussed, refusing to give up without a fight. But now, he had lost all will to fight, all hope. Something about this place, something about that horrible man, just drained it from him. He had broken the rules for a chance to see his sister again, but it had all been a trap. Now his kidnappers didn't even really want him. As he sat on the pale square of light on the floor, knees hugged close to his chest, he couldn't stop himself from crying.
"Masaki," he sobbed. "Oh Sis, you'd think I'm such an idiot if you could see what happened… I just wanted to see you so badly… All I got was locked up, and some dumb sword I can't even lift… Where are you, Saki? I need to see you… need to tell you things… I hafta warn you about what the fortune man said. Oh, but I'll never see you again… I'm already starting to forget what you look like…"
He buried his face in his arms and let the tears soak through his sleeves and warm his skin. He had never cried like this before, never felt so completely scared and helpless and alone. The harder he tried to picture Masaki's sweet, pretty face, the fuzzier it became in his memory. His attempts were replaced by another beautiful girl, whose face popped into his head very clearly.
"Momo…"he whimpered. "I wanna go back. I wanna stay with you. I don't even care if I hafta take fifty baths a day, I wanna go home." He felt a funny lump in his throat. After just a few days, Momo's apartment had become home. No, that wasn't it. It was Momo herself that had become his home. "Momo…"
He was still crying, steeped in his misery, when a female voice whispered in his ear. "Don't cry, Sousuke."
The shock of it caused him to jump up from his spot. "Who said that? Who else is in here?"
He looked all around the dark cell, terrified, as the sound of his shaky breath filled the space around him. After a moment, something stirred in the blackest corner, and he focused his eyes on that spot. Out from the shadows, a young woman emerged, a woman so beautiful that Sousuke forgot to breath as he watched her step into the shaft of moonlight.
Shimmering hair, like water, spilled around her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes were pale sea green and her skin was as soft and white as lily petals. She wore translucent, flowing clothes, which were clean and perfect and gorgeous. If she was another prisoner, she couldn't possibly have been here very long. "Sousuke," she said through soft pink lips. "Don't you remember me?"
Dumbstruck, the boy just shook his head no. The woman came closer to him and touched his cheek with her delicate fingers. Sousuke could see her mouth was twitching, as if she were trying hard not to cry. "It's really you, Sousuke," she breathed.
"I am Sousuke," he managed to say. "I'm Aizen Sousuke… but everyone here seems to have me mixed up with someone else. I'm just…"
Before he could finish his sentence, the woman had fallen to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him against her chest. "It's really you! I've finally found you!" She pulled out of the tight hug to look at him, and Sousuke could see that she had tears in her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. "Look at you," she said. "My dear Sousuke. You're so tiny. You're so… cute!"
"Hey!" he protested. "Only Momo's allowed to call me cute. And I'm not that tiny! Who are you, anyways? Why does everyone around here act like they know me but then are surprised when they see me?"
"I do know you, Sousuke," the lady said thoughtfully. "I know you better than anyone else in the world. After all, the only reason I exist is for you. My name is Kyouka Suigetsu."
"Kyo… But that's the name of that sword," Sousuke realized out loud.
Kyouka Suigetsu nodded gracefully. "That's right, I am your zanpakutou."
"What?" the boy exclaimed. "I'm not a Shinigami. Why would I have a Shinigami sword?"
The woman closed her eyes. "This must be your punishment."
"Punishment?" Sousuke stammered. "Itchy-maru and Grimmjaw were talking about punishment earlier… So I'm being locked up here as punishment? What did I do wrong to get locked up for?"
"No, no," the woman said in a calm, even tone. "It is difficult for me to explain this, Sousuke. The reason why everyone seems surprised to see you is because the last time they did, you were a grown man. You are really an adult."
Sousuke folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes back at the woman who was clearly very confused. "I'm not a grown-up," he explained. "I just had my birthday a few months ago. I was in East Rukongai… it was around the last time I saw my sister, and we went to a fortuneteller and…"
"And things changed overnight one night, didn't they?" Kyouka Suigetsu asked. "You woke up and you were somewhere new?"
"Yeah," Sousuke answered, a small wistful smile on his lips. "That's because someone decided to take care of me."
"No, that's because every memory you made after that night was erased. Your mind and your body were both reset." The way she spoke, the seriousness of her voice, made the woman's words impossible to ignore. "Sousuke, that day you remember, when you went to the fortuneteller with your sister, that was over two-hundred years ago."
The words struck Sousuke like a bolt of lightning. This strange woman who'd appeared out of nowhere was making the most outragous claim, and yet he believed every word of it. Something about this Kyouka Suigetsu, her face or her voice or the aura surrounding her, made Sousuke certain that she could not lie to him. Her story gave frightening new meaning to everything that had happened the last few days, including his kidnapping. It also raised more new questions than he could count.
"Two… two-hundred years?" he breathed. "And I became a Shinigami? Wait… Masaki! She's all grown up now! What happened to her? Did I warn her in time? Is she…?"
Kyouka Suigetsu bowed her head solemnly. Sousuke could tell that it wasn't good news before she even spoke. "Like you, your sister became a Shinigami. She got married and relocated to the human the human world with her husband. Now, it breaks my heart to have to tell you… She's gone, Sousuke. Masaki is dead."
In the brief time it took for the zanpakutou to make the grim announcement all the blood in Sousuke's body had turned into ice water. His heart felt like it was made of glass and would shatter at any moment. "She can't be dead!" he shouted. "No! No! No! No! No! I'd never let Masaki die! Didn't I warn her? Didn't I try to save her?"
With precise gentleness, the beautiful woman put both of her hands on Sousuke's shoulders to try and calm him. Her ocean-colored eyes looked right into him. "You did," she told him earnestly. "You did the best you could to try to save her. You knew that her first-born child would cause her death so you enlisted a Hollow to take the boy as far away from her as possible."
"I tried to kidnap 'Saki's kid, my own nephew? How could I do that? Why didn't I just warn her?"
"After she left you on the streets," she continued. "After you got swept up in that horrible orphanage, you weren't speaking to her. So you did the only thing you could think of."
The news that he had been in an orphanage and refused to speak to his beloved sister was just two more details to the massive revelation that Sousuke had to somehow wrap his mind around. And there was so much more that was still left to be explained. "But… Masaki died anyways," he said. "So my plan didn't work."
"You hired a Hollow named Grand Fisher to do the job for you," Kyouka Suigetsu said. "But when he went to abduct the child, your sister intervened. She was trying to protect her son. Grand Fisher killed her."
The little boy's brown eyes grew wide as saucers with terror as the weight of this woman's story sunk in. He had fulfilled the fortuneteller's prediction himself. He had caused Masaki's death. A feeling of revulsion so strong he felt like he might vomit swept through Sousuke's body. This must be why he had been punished, but being a child again seemed too kind. He deserved to be dead. How could Momo stand to have him in her home? Did she know what he'd done? As disgusted with himself as he was, though, there was also a tiny seed of curiosity inside him that was slowly growing. If Masaki's fortune had come true, had his come true as well? Had he been a king? Or was that still yet to come?
"Miss Kyouka Suigetsu," he said softly. "You know so much about my life and who I was… all the stuff I can't remember. I want you to tell me everything."
To be continued…