That evening, after watching the play, we lazed about in our hotel room. I sucked languidly on the base of his neck, enjoying the taste of chocolate still lingering on his skin. He had been ecstatic at the first taste of the dark richness, and I had enjoyed seeing him devour the various fruits dipped in chocolate.
"Mmm...delicious." He licked the chocolate off his fingers, "it's... strangely familiar though."
"Really?" I kissed the dab off his cheek. "You've got it all over you."
"It tastes like you." He nodded definitively and then dipped another biscuit into the melted chocolate.
I was surprised.
He went on to detail his plans. A little worried, I brushed his hair from his eyes. "Are you sure about this, Gin?"
"I can't drag it out for too long, Aizen-sama, I'll lose my nerve." He tried to lick a remnant off his nose.
I laughed at his cross-eyed intensity, then turned somber. "I'm concerned about the effectiveness."
"I know you want me to be more ruthless, but I can't. Not now."
I exhaled and shifted so we were face to face. "You've already exceeded my expectations, Gin. I'd thought I'd have to kill you; I thought you'd turn on me over this promise."
"You were pushing me, to see how far I'd go for you," he said. "I understand. But what changed your mind?"
I turned away, reaching for a glass of scotch. He pressed up behind me, asking, "Is it love?"
"No," I stated clearly. "I don't love, Gin. Not even you can plant that human taint into me."
He was quiescent. Then he sat up. "But I am useful?"
"Very," I reassured him, turning over to look up into his face. "That's why you're still here, beside me."
He played with my hair, a strange smile lighting his features. "Thank you. For not loving me." He breathed steadily as he tracked his fingers over my face. "I can't handle love anymore."
"Love hurts."
"Very." He ran his fingers over my face, into my hair, stroking and separating each lock. He then smiled and asked, "If Tousen Kaname is your left hand, can I be your right?"
"You are my right." I slowly pulled him down over me. "You are my right, and your destiny by my side will be glorious."
"And I will fight for you, hunt for you, kill for you," he murmured, emphasizing each phrase with a hard roll of his hips and a fierce kiss, "I will die for you."
I pressed my lips into his brow. "And we will set the world on fire."
"All the pretty flames," he hissed.
"All the pretty flames," I echoed.
Our mouths crashed together, pressing, searching, dominating, submitting. Suddenly, as if on cue, we pulled apart and began laughing. Real belly-rocking laughter, the sort that seemed it will never end.
He rolled over onto his back onto my shoulder. "That was far too dramatic, Aizen-sama."
"That's how evil masterminds are supposed to talk, no?" I teased as I sat up. "I still have a meeting with Tousen later. Then there's all the transfer requests to process, so I'll be staying late at the office. What about you?"
"Appointment with Ran at her new room, then to a good restaurant. Thank gods I'm on leave." He shrugged out of his gigai. "Wait up for me?"
"I will," I promised, and we shared a sweet kiss before he extended his blade and opened the door to Seireitei.
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"Good afternoon, Aizen-taichou," he said as he entered the office.
"There's a step stool on your right, be careful." I warned as I approved a transfer of a field operative. I felt tired, as if my brain had yet to catch up. This whole travel across the world thing needed some tweaking. "Thanks for coming by so late."
"It's not a problem. I hardly sleep anyway." He paused as he found his way to the seat with minimum fuss. "Did you enjoy your birthday?"
"I did," I said. "Watched a play. Really liked the main female character. Ambitious, power-hungry, smart. If only I could have a dozen Becky Sharps, we'd be in the clear."
He furrowed his brow. I sighed; even now he couldn't tell when I was being facetious. I got down to business. "I need three separate passes."
"We can't open the gates."
"I'm not planning to do it by ourselves." I folded the envelope in my hands. "We'll get a hollow to do it."
He considered the matter over. "Three?" he asked finally.
"Yes. I'm bringing Gin along."
H turned his face away. "Do you think it's wise to rely so much on a young shinigami like him? He appears to be focused on matters outside of your plans, Aizen-taichou."
"Tousen, I value you as an ally. And I appreciate your speaking up. But there are things you bring up, and there are things you let lie. Whatever Gin and I share, you let it be."
"But Aizen-taichou-"
"Leave it. If you trust me, then trust my judgment," I said with an air of finality. "So finagle me three passes to the human world, and make sure the two of us are not saddled by limiters, alright?"
"Should I set it as fake identities then?"
I pondered. Then I nodded. "Yes. Three unimportant shinigami into the human world for some ridiculous reason. The cause has to be so stupid that it's plausible."
He rose from his chair. "It'll be ready by the end of the week."
"Good." I showed him the door. "By the way, prepare three coats as well. I hear it's a really dusty place."
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The next morning all of the new shinigami turned up for the captain's briefing.
Five of them, all scrubbed and eager. Matsumoto was seated second from the right, laughing with some other kid when I swept into the room. My lieutenant Akagi bowed respectfully.
"At ease, all." I motioned for them to sit. "Welcome to the fifth division. You may not want to be here, of course, but one thing you'll always know: who to blame for putting you here." I smiled sincerely. "That's because the Fifth handles all personnel movement. From Gotei division transfers, to placement of new recruits, to delegation of shinigami in the human world – here is where everything begins. Division captains, of course, have the liberty of requesting or refusing assignments for their shinigami, but in general we function as the main forwarding center. Questions?"
"Are you attached?" asked a new boy with spiked yellow hair.
I grinned, a little embarrassedly. "Yes. Kai Mizuki, currently fourth seat in the Fourth Division. Very busy woman though, so I'm trying to finagle her out of there."
A few scattered chuckles. They then asked more pertinent questions, until the second bell sounded.
"Oops, time to get back to work," I said as I stood up. They hastily got to their feet. I turned around and saw Gin, who nodded awkwardly. My gaze narrowed, then I understood.
"Eighth seat Ichimaru here will show you all around the place. If you have more questions, don't be afraid to ask me." I busied myself with leaving the room, but as I bumped into him in the doorway we locked gazes.
For a heartbeat neither of us moved.
He flushed and looked away. I cleared my throat and went down the hall to my office.
I risked a sideways glance as I entered my office. He was leading the delegation of new shinigami to the training grounds, but I saw Matsumoto staring after me in slight puzzlement.
Sliding the door closed, I leaned my forehead against the cool wall, before I broke out into silent laughter.
That was priceless.