I went back to my room and changed into my training clothes then went to the training room. A month since Aizen and I started going out hm? Aizen made sure to remind me this morning with chocolate chip pancakes and yet another passionate kiss in front of everyone. He was so annoying sometimes. I was finally going back to training today too. They said I wasn't up to snuff yet psh whatever.
" Welcome back Kaori senpai," the students said then bowed when I entered.
" Ya, ya whatever I bet you were happy I was gone. Nobody works your asses harder than I do," I said moving to the front. The arrancar laughed and I smiled lightly.
" We did all the same exercises while you were gone senpai" one of the students said. I turned and they all nodded happily. I chuckled and leaned against the wall.
" How many times do I have to tell you it's not senpai," I said. They laughed, knowing that I wasn't truly angry. I gave them all new instructions and they all happily took them on. I sat back and watched the arrancar practice and kept my light smile. I actually felt happy, for the longest period of time since The Day. I pulled out my zanpakuto and gave a small tug. My eyes widened at the sliver of silver I saw. I got into my meditation position and called out to Yoru no Kage. Nothing. I looked back down and blade was tucked away back inside. I sighed and leaned back against the wall.
I imagined that right? I must have because this has never happened before. What the hell is going on? I looked at the clock, lunchtime. " Ok guys head on out" I said clapping my hands. The others walked out but I stayed behind, not hungry. I pulled out my other blade, closed my eyes, and began my dance. I've nearly forgotten his face, Yoru no Kage.
Where am I? I did as the captain told me and now I am in a large field. I turned and saw a cherry blossom tree on a hill. It was the only thing other than grass and hills so I decided to go towards it. When I got to the top of the hill there was a man sitting on a blanket, drinking tea, who was not there before.
" Um… hello," I said. The man opened his eyes and looked at me. He was older man, grandpa age, but still in good shape.
" You should bow to your elders" he said simply, closed his eyes, and took another sip of tea. I angrily twitched but did as he said.
" Sorry, I don't even know where I am," I said calmly. The man motioned for me to sit down, which I did.
" My name is Yoru no Kage (the night shadow) and I am your zanpakuto," the man said pouring me a cup of tea.
" So I did it? I found you?" I asked smiling happily.
" Yes, we have harmonized as one. I see you as worthy of wielding me," he said seriously. I jumped up and down happily, so excited for the day that had finally arrived. I looked back and my zanpakuto was glaring at me. " How can one person be so happy?"
I looked down on him smiling, " What reason do I have to not be happy?" I asked then laughed again.
I woke from my trance to the sound of my sword hitting another. I opened my eyes and there was Aizen, looking down on me worriedly. " Are you all right? I didn't see you at lunch so I came here. I said your name but you just kept on swinging your blade like I wasn't even here," he said concerned.
I sighed and put my blade down, " Sorry I was thinking back to the old days," I said calmly.
" Are you tired of me already? Wanting to go back to the single life?" he asked jokingly. I chuckled and tried to walk past him but he caught me. " Do you understand what's happening now? Now that we're going out I feel I have a responsibility to take care of you. So when you try to laugh off something that's bothering you I'm going to see it. Now tell me what's bothering you so I can help carry your burdens" he said sternly.
I blushed and pulled away but stayed still. " When did you get so serious hmm?" I said looking away.
" I've always been serious, serious about you that is, but you've only just now noticed it seems," he said. " Now stop avoiding the question."
I sighed and looked at him closely. "My zanpakuto came out of the sheath. It was only a fraction of a centimeter but I'm almost certain it did," I said.
" Why do you think it is?" he asked. I wanted to say it was because I felt happy but that would sound stupid.
" I don't know," I said simply. Aizen came up to me from behind and hugged me around the waist.
" Why do you sound so worried about it? Isn't that a good thing?" he asked. I leaned back against his chest and sighed.
" It's because I don't know why. It frustrates me," I said annoyed. Why did it happen? I no longer deserved to wield him. I realized the position we were in and blushed. " I'm not a teddy bear, let go of me," I said trying to sound angry.
" I'm pretty comfortable right now actually my little teddy bear," Aizen said with a devious smirk.
" I swear if you try to give me one of those cutesy wootsie, girlfriend nicknames I'm going to punch you," I said angrily. He turned me around and looked deep into my eyes, lips centimeters away.
" I told you, your tactics don't work on me," he said right before closing the distance. I kissed him roughly, trying to gain dominance over him. He eventually pulled me to the ground, me straddling him in a kissing battle almost. He moved his lips to my neck, searching for something with every kiss.
" What are you-eek," I shrieked as he nibbled on the spot between my neck and shoulder. I felt him smile against my skin as he began to give that area more attention. I clutched his shirt with one hand and his hair with the other, desperately trying to hold in the noise that wanted to come out. In a swift movement he flipped me over onto my back, I was losing again. But I didn't care because all I could focus on was the sensation of his lips on my neck's sweet spot. I opened my eyes briefly and looked at the clock on the wall. " Shit, shit, shit!" I shouted and threw Aizen off of me.
" What? What's wrong?" he asked questioningly. I stood up just as the arrancar trainees came back in the room. They looked down at Aizen quizzically. " Looks like you won Kaori," Aizen said casually, smiling as he got up. " We'll have to continue our fight later it seems," he said looking at me evilly before he left. I sighed and wiped the sweat off of my face.
" Kaori senpai we know you and Aizen weren't fighting," one of the arrancar said simply. I turned towards them and they were all trying to mask their smiles and hide their giggles.
" Really hmm?" I asked with an evil glint in my eye. The students stopped laughing and gulped. " Let's spend the rest of the day sparring. Each of you will take turns: against me!" I said laughing evilly at the end. They all looked at each other and pushed the nearest arrancar forward. I didn't spar too often with the trainees, because they couldn't handle the onslaught of physical and verbal abuse. Not only did I beat the crap out of them, but I also made fun of them and critiqued their techniques. Rumor was I killed someone with just my verbal onslaught. By the end of the day I left the room happily with a pile of exhausted arrancar passed out on the ground.
I went back to my room, took a shower, and changed into my usual uniform. I hadn't seen Akemi or Ren all day today. I walked into the bar and was surprised by the crowd. " Welcome back Kaori" everyone shouted. Ah party, yes, I didn't think she'd take me seriously. I saw Akemi running towards me and I thankfully dodged her hug for once. I sighed in relief until I was tackled from behind instead and onto the ground.
" Do you like the party Kaori-san?" Akemi asked. I gave a weak thumbs up, my face in pain from being slammed into the ground. She giggled and got off of me before running off somewhere.
" You almost dodged her. Maybe next time," Grimmjow said helping me up.
" I don't think so. She's got heat seeking missiles on me or something," I said rubbing my face. I didn't see Aizen; he usually didn't come to these kinds of things anyways. I calmly sat at my usual booth and smiled at the normalcy. Well normal for us that is. Grimmjow was yelling at Ulquiorra who was unfazed, Nnoitra was eyeing the girls, Szayel was eyeing everyone trying to pick out his next experiment, a new normal it seems.
" Is this seat taken?" I heard Starrk say. I looked at him surprised and nodded no, no smart-ass reply coming to mind. I stared at him but he just looked onto the crowd.
" I don't understand," I said simply. We haven't talked since that day really and it made me sad. He sighed and looked at me.
" Are you happy?" he asked. I looked out onto the crowd and then thought of Aizen.
" Yes" I said smiling, " Yes I am," I said confidently.
" Then I'm happy," Starrk said smiling lightly at me. " Careful that smile might stick," he said jokingly.
" That wouldn't be too bad I suppose," I said returning to my usual, lighter smile. Starrk nodded and we both looked on, amused by the others. As the night began to die down, the usual espada moved to a table in the middle and we all began some casual conversation.
" Mind if I step in?" Aizen asked sitting next to me.
I looked up at him surprised. " No it's fine we were talking about… what were we talking about?" I asked.
" We need stuff to do around here! It's boring as fuck!" Grimmjow said.
" Well what do you want?" Aizen asked amused.
We all thought it over and then Grimmjow's face lit up. " A pool!" he said. Everyone blinked.
" A brief moment of genius from Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said emotionlessly. Everyone laughed and Grimmjow growled.
" I think a pool sounds nice. I don't see a problem with that," Aizen said. Everyone began talking happily about getting a pool.
" You know what that means don'tcha?" Nnoitra said smiling evilly. " Girls in bikinis!" he shouted happily. I face palmed myself angrily while the others drooled at the thought.
While I had my face covered Aizen leaned over and whispered, " I'd sure like to see you in a bikini."
I shrieked, not realizing how close he was, and fell out of my chair. The others laughed and I covered my blushing face. Truthfully I didn't want Aizen to see me like that. I was covered in scars and burns from past missions but mostly from The Day. If he saw my body up close…
" Kaori?" I looked up and Aizen was leaning over me concerned.
" Sorry I zoned out," I said with a fake smile getting up. " I'm heading to bed. Good night," I said to the others, waving them off. They all said their good byes and I walked away. When I got to my room I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror for a moment. I slid my kimono off, but left my bra and underwear on, and winced at my rough body. Because I had been helping train the arrancar, I had a few bruises and light scratches. It was the scars that bothered me. Long, jagged marks running all over my body. They were disgusting. I gently ran my fingers over a few, the memories of each one coming back. I turned around and looked at my back.
After I had awakened my zanpakuto, a large tattoo appeared on my upper back. It was a simple tattoo, flowers and leaves. I had no idea where it came from, but Yoru no Kage said it was a mark of protection. I smiled at the memory. I looked down the rest of my back and sighed. Who would want this bruised, battered body? I had seen the other girls Aizen had been with and my body was like a run down car compared to theirs. They were bubbly, pretty girls, unlike myself. I didn't deserve Aizen like I didn't deserve my zanpakuto. I sighed again and turned to go to bed when I stopped dead in my tracks. Aizen was in the doorway staring agape at me. " Damn it don't you know how to knock!" I shouted picking up my kimono from off of the ground.
" I'm sorry I…" he began but he was obviously speechless. I pulled it back on and we both stood there silently for a few moments.
" It's gross isn't it?" I asked looking down.
"What is?" he asked confused.
" I am. My body. It's a mess. I'm not sculpted like those other girls you've been with. I've been dropped one too many times," I said then laughed darkly at the end.
I didn't even notice he had moved towards me until he had grabbed my arms. I looked up, shocked, but Aizen looked down on me angrily. " Why do you hate yourself so much? You're beautiful don't you see that?" He looked down at me then gently pulled the kimono apart, revealing my chest and stomach. He ran his hand over a few of the scars on my stomach. I blushed but he didn't seem to notice; he was so focused on those white ridges. " Did those men do this to you?" he asked darkly.
" Most of them…" I said quietly. Suddenly he pulled me towards him in a tight hug.
He then pulled away and picked me up to my surprise. I was laid down on my own bed and I tried to cover myself up but Aizen grabbed my hands. " You think you're ugly and weak don't you? All because of your scars and your zanpakuto. But the way I see it they make you even more beautiful and strong. The fact that you live your life every day after what has happened to you proves how incredible you are. I know you can't see that but I know the others can and I can. You asked if I thought you were gross right? Well here's my answer," he said and the next thing I knew his lips were on mine. His moth moved down to ym stomach and he began tenderly kissing the varios scars on my stomach. I gasped at the sensation and threw my head back.
His hands began roaming my body, not touching anywhere inappropriate but still wandering. He made sure to caress all of my scars as he massaged my rough body. It was supposed to be a sexual act but all I felt was care and love in his hands. As he moved up he finally met my lips and I wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug just so happy. He wanted me, flaws in all. Why? What had I done to earn such happiness? Aizen pulled away and put his forehead against my own, both of us panting slightly. I moved against his chest and hugged him. I felt the walls I had put up coming down and the weights fall off of my shoulders. " I don't understand. Why do you make me feel this way? How do you do it?" I asked quietly.
" Do what?" he asked smilingly lightly.
" You make me feel… happy," I said smiling. He tilted my head up so I was looking at him again.
" Do you mean that?" he asked excitedly.
" I do. I think your tactics are working," I said leaning up and kissing him again.
for an idea of what Yoru no Kage looks like: Old man, obviously, with long white hair, short, white beard, and glasses. He's in shape for an older man though he has a bit of muscle on him.