A/N: Miss me~?
Going around updating everything. Should have a Fate update for you all tomorrow, an old favorite...
My leg isn't getting better; they'll be taking more X-rays soon. Might be the nerve...which would explain the nuclear explosions shooting down my leg.
As ever, we're sticking with the tried and true "Embers" Rule for this story. If folks don't like it, it won't be continued. So speak up! Make yourself heard! Your voice matters! That's no joke! I have precious little time to write these days, so feedback plays a huge part in this. Daily updates ensure that I'm constantly busy working on one project or another. I cannot afford to stop and write something that folks don't like; if only because I feel that would be a disservice to those of who who have stuck with me for so long.
Now for your questions, comments and concerns!
Q: Naruto's giving me some Kaneki vibes with the denial he's in...
A: Kaneki? As in Tokyo Ghoul? Ahhh, I remember that. Good show. Shame the anime ruined for me, but hey, at least the manga was good.
Naruto's not meant to give off hopeless vibes here; he's simply exasperated and not all trust of Aizen.
Q: Don't skip the Aizen fight!
A: No worries, mate. I won't. Rest assured.
Q: Update schedule?
A: Not much point in giving that, though I've got some right bangers ready for ya.
Q: So is Aizen dead from that punch or...?
A: No. He's in his element here, and he's bloody terrifying.
Surprisingly, I enjoy writing him. The last time I did was ages ago, but it feels good to scratch that itch. You have to be REALLY careful when dealing with him; let your guard down for a second and he's like to turn the tables on you, or worse, reason with you. Bastard's got a silver tongue to match Naruto and enough power to make Nel shake.
Unfortunately for him, our boy's no pushover.
Q: You still watching the Boys?
A: Just finished season one, and its got my fingers twitching. Seriously, I disliked Homelander before, but now I'm starting actively HATE the Deep and A Train. Far as I'm concerned, Translucent got what he deserved. Black Noir, Starlight, and Maeve seems alright...and yes, I'm staying far awaaaaaay from the comics.
Ah, but we're for Bleach!
Alright then, I've kept you waiting long enough.
As ever! I own no references quotes, themes or memes.
Kudoes to you if you get the quote. I wasn't being subtle at all~!
Had Death Battle's Hollow Dreams playing while I wrote this. Gave me some good vibes.
"A man who insists he isn't dead. How amusing...
...and control? Really? Control replies you had power over him from the beginning.
Can one leash a storm? Can one command the sun to rise and set at your whim? No? Didn't think so.
~?
Mind Games
He'd forgotten pain.
It was something of an embarrassing truth for Aizen Sosuke; he'd grown so powerful over so many centuries, that he could no longer recall what it felt like to take a punch. Perhaps he had once during his youth. Perhaps he'd felt pain before in his younger days. But he simply couldn't remember.
Until now.
Until today; when a brightly clad arrancar decked him right in the schnoz. Now it blazed through his face like wildfire, agony so intense that he actually blacked out for a moment. When he came to he found himself flat on his back, staring up at the dead sky of Hueco Muendo.
'My,' his dazed mind supplied, 'The moon's quite lovely tonight.'
Was that a falling star? No, they didn't have those here, and they certainly didn't glow gold...
.
..
...oh, dear.
He twisted his body to the side; just as well he did; not a moments later he heard a sandal-clad foot crash down where his face used to be. Sand sprayed forth from the impact, obscuring his foe. No matter. He could still sense him and he'd not be caught unawares again-
Said foe slammed through the smokescreen and snapped a kick into his ribs -fracturing three!- to send him skidding across the sand.
From there, instinct took over.
He righted himself, warding Kyouka Suigetsu before his face...
A hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Where are you looking?"
Gold flashed. Clenched knuckles barreled into his face. His glasses shattered. Blood flew through the air.
He spun, Shikai at the ready, only to find his opponent hadn't opened his eyes. Had he guessed at his Shikai? How frightening. No. Mustn't panic. Be calm. Serene like a placid mirror, reflecting only the outer world back at it itself, and none of his inner turmoil.
When the blond came at him again, his blade flicked out...and into the sand.
"Whyever are you attacking me for?"
The jolly arrancar still had his fist thrust forward at him, knuckles weeping blood. His blood. Eve now he didn't lower it. Baleful blue eyes met his across the dunes. Rooted him where he stood.
"You're not the first guy to try an' hit me with a genjutsu." his was a low, gravelly warning. "I won't be fooled."
Genjutsu? What was that? A thin line of blood ran down his nose. Lovely. Not broken, then. With his physical state assured and a reprieve gained, his brilliant mind began to ponder the matter before him. It had been quite some time since he'd been caught unawares. How...intriguing.
Aizen felt no anger. Why would he? This was a momentary slip. A lapse. Little more. His plans were not in jeopardy. Not yet. As such, he felt he could be forgiven for taking a moment to bask in this rare surprise. Why had the hollow struck him? Had he given himself away? If so, how?
Did he possess the ability to read minds? Unlikely. He'd only reacted with anger when he drawn his blade... intending to hypnotize...
A thought dawned. Pity. He would've liked to take him alive for study, but...
Across the way the blond tensed. "Don't even think about it."
Aizen raised his head. An epiphany struck. Was that it, then? Could he sense some manner of negative intent perhaps? If so, that might be a problem. Frankly he would have preferred the mind readings. Thoughts could be concealed, but to mask one's true intent? Difficult, even for one such as him.
Did they have to be enemies? He'd converted some of his most intractable adversaries into allies.
What other options did he have? He could weave an illusion around Neliel; spur the woman to attack while he was distracted, but at what cost? Doing so now would burn any bridge he hoped to build. A cornered rat always fought the hardest, and if he pushed this young man he'd have no choice but to slay him...
.
..
...the truth, then. If this one took issue, he could always slay him.
On a whim, he sheathed his sword. All or nothing. He had once chance to convince the being before him.
"My apologies." he adopted a small, chagrined smile, and bowed his head. "Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot."
"Ya think?!"
...Uzumaki Naruto." he spoke slowly, ponderously even, choosing each word with infinite care. "Do you not feel that this world is lacking?"
The blond looked away -looked to Neliel!- and scratched at the back of his head. "Dunno. Haven't been here that long."
"But it is." his voice heartened as he hearkened to the conversation. "Both here, the Soul Society, and the living world beyond; all are in desperate need of repair. You are new to this realm; yet you've seen how quickly your kind are to turn upon one another. Would you live in such a world?"
His gaze shifted to the shattered shard's of Nnoitra's weapon in the sand. Those bright blue orbs flicked back to Nel.
...I keep telling ya, I ain't dead.
He was, technically. And under the Soul King's stagnant rule, the current system was falling apart. Slowly, inexorably, but it was crumbling all the same.
"Wait, there's a world outside this one?" Those words rang with truth. Was he truly so ignorant?
"Indeed, several. All are unbalanced, left unchecked." Aizen nodded slowly, not trusting himself to speak anything but the truth-not when he didn't know the depth of the boy's sensory ability. "What I am working toward is a grand goal," he held out a hand toward him. "Allow me to be frank. I wish to kill the God of these worlds, that is to say, slay the Soul King himself. To that effect I need an army.
...alright." he didn't expect the blond to nod. "I can understand that much. I've met a God before. They're jerks."
Aizen's jaw clicked open before he managed to comport himself. "I...beg your pardon?"
Behind the blond, Neliel whimpered. "You...what?"
On paper it sounded too fantastic to believe, yet his words rang with truth all the same.
It also troubled him. The idea of multiple gods was not something he'd accounted for. There should only be one...
"Yuuup." as they looked on aghast, Narto clasped both hands behind his head. "Kaguya was one crazy bitch, but she was definitely a goddess. I'll tell you about her sometime?" the blond tilted his head, "What comes next. Once you kill this god of yours."
Here it was, the moment of truth. Nothing but complete and utter honesty would do.
"I intend to take his place, to bring order and peace through the world." he said frankly. "That is all."
"You're not going to use a moon or trap people in an illusion are ya?"
Confusion twisted its way through him.."..why would I do that?"
"No reason. Just aksing.
In the world he intended to make, there would be no need for such parlor tricks. Everyone would live in harmony once he founded his dynasty. True, there might be growing pains in the beginning perhaps, but one could not make an omelette as they say, without breaking a few eggs.
But he was looking at him now, and he must attend.
"I intend to eviscerate anyone who seeks to control me." he spread his arms wide, showing himself harmless. "Nothing more, nothing less." Hmm. It felt...good to be honest after all these centuries. Maybe he should try more often. "To reach his realm of the Spirit King, however, I require a special key, which in turn requires a great many souls to be forged...
Those blue eyes fastened on him. "Yeah, no. Find another way. I ain't letting you kill innocnts.
Of course he'd have qualms about that. "Then what do you propose?"
"Can't be that hard to find a way there." the young man paced away, shaking his head. "Give me enough time and power and I could probably tear my way in." he paused, glancing over his shoulder over him. "I'd like to see this god myself, ya know. A world where you eat people to survive...that doesn't sit well with me."
Aizen stilled the rush of anticipation that shot through him.
Was this truly happening? Well, far be it from him to throw away a potential pawn...
.
..
...no, no, no. This man was more than a pawn, more than Gin and Tousen could ever be.
Smiling, he offered Naruto his hand.
"Partners, then?"
(.0.0.0.)
...he makes a compelling argument."
So did Obito." Naruto thumbed his chin, considering. "Can we trust him?"
"We can trust him to do what he believes to be in his best interests. Close enough. And we need allies
Not at all by his liking...but it would have to do. Aizen had been honest after their brawl if nothing else. So long as he didn't try to ensare him with his sword again, he could tolerate him. For now. Bloody silver tongue. He was the only one who should've had that...
"What about you?" he flicked a curious glance Nel's way. "What's your say in this?"
The espada's face bled a bright cherry red. "Its nothing you need concern yourself with."
"But I am concerned." he pivoted, grabbing her by the shoulder. "That Nnoitra was out to get you. Is that really how it is out here? Kill or be killed?"
She averted her eyes and gripped one arm close to her bosom. "It is our way."
...then maybe things need to change."
"I agree."
He blinked. "Nel-say-what-now?"
"I said I agree." she stepped to him and laid a hand on his. "But the change you seek to implement will not be easy. Still, that was...sweet of you. What you did for me." She dithered for a moment, bright eyes flicking this way and that like some skittish foal. "I won't forget this."
Then she moved.
Warm, soft, the faintest brush of lips against the corner of his mouth. Kurama whistled. Aizen made a faint amused sound.
Naruto touched a hand to his cheek. "Eh?"
...there." Neliel kept her head down, refusing to look at him, not willing to le him see just how red her face was. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She vanished in a crackle of sound.
"You've already won her over." Aizen chuckled softly. "It seems I've underestimated you yet again." pivoting, he offered him his hand once more. "What say you? Partners?"
Naruto considered the palm as one might a venemous snake. Some might call this a mistake. Maybe it was. Still, better the devil you knew than the one you didn't. Aizen's goal sounded good on paper, it was the means he intended to use that worried him. And his words worried him. If there really was a god in this world, and if they'd truly let everything go to hell like this...
"If you do something I don't like," he jabbed a finger his way with intent, "I'll have to kick your ass."
The shinigami offered a genial smile in return. "I'd expect nothing less. Shall we begin?"
Naruto stepped in and grasped his palm. "Fine. Where do we start?"
Together, two monsters shook hands.
Thus was an accord struck.
A/N: Aaaand scene.
To be clear, Naruto's tentatively aligned with Aizen for the time being.. If he does something he doesn't like...well. You saw how the first half of the chapter went.
As ever, the Embers rule remains.
If folks don't like this story...well, that'll make me sad, and I'll not continue it. So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke! I really don't have much time to write these days and feedback is the wind beneath my wings. Silence is a lead weight that just drags me down.
As ever, reviews/feedback keep me writing them. Without them, I lose all hope, creativity and imagination.
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly!
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
(POTENTIAL PREVIEWS. Be sure and vote for what you want to see~!)
Neliel thumbed her chin. "You must have a release form. All arrancar do. Some have two."
She really wasn't going to let this go, was she? "What's yours, then?"
Her smile startled him. "Would you like to see?"
"Everybody has a heart. Even hollows. Even you."
Ulquiorra scowled. "Nonsense."
"Look, buddy, pal. I'm just a simple guy. Ain't here to fight. Lemme enjoy me meal in peace."
"You think that after everything else, something like this hurts? No." He shook his head slowly, blond bangs swaying from side to side. "No, no, no. This doesn't even tickle." As he looked on flesh wound its way back from his arm, regrowing the limb in an instant. When was the last time you took a good hard punch to the face? I can tell just by looking at ya; you don't know the meaning of pain. But that's alright. I'm gonna show ya.
"Not another step!"
"See this?" he made a point of raising his foot. "This is me stepping."
A kido slapped him in the face.
"Yes, excellent!" He wasn't prepared for the laughter; a deep, raucous laugh swelling through the air. "I haven't had this much fun in ages!" he raised his head, lone eye blazing a bright shade of gold. "What did you say your name was, hollow?"
...Naruto." turning his head aside, he spat out a tooth and a bit of blood alongside it. He couldn't quite keep the smile from his face, either. "And don't call me a hollow!"
"That's a good name!" raising his ragged blade, the warrior reached for his eyepatch. "I'll be sure to remember it!"
"You just won't go down, will ya?"
STAY TUNED! R&R! =D