Chapter 6 - Synapse
Character Storyline - Kisuke Urahara (K-A)
I feel so cold...where am I?
"Oh, so you're finally awake?"
Aizen sat up slowly, the pain that once plagued his leg replaced with a subtle numb sensation from the cold. He remembered the voice he'd heard and looked up, the sudden movement making his head ache again as he quickly placed a hand against his forehead. His expression conveying frustration and pain through lightly gritted teeth and deepened breaths. Across from him sat a man with grey eyes and pale blond hair, he seemed to smile back as their eyes met. "I see...not in a talkative mood are you?" The man questioned airily as he added more sticks to the flame before him, its vicious edges slowly rising with a crackling roar.
A bright light made Aizen cringe as he realised it was morning, how long had he been unconscious? The surroundings were lost and distorted in waves of disorientation and lethargy as his head pounded relentlessly, making a haunting sickness rise within that left his mouth bitter and dry. He remained silent as the fog began clearing from his mind. His eyes lowered, glancing over his aching leg to see thin stitches weaving along it, firmly holding the wound closed. Did he do this? "Who are you?" He inquired as he watched the sun slowly rising over the mountain, its light creeping across the snow tipped trees and bathing the area in a warm orange glow.
"Me? Well I did ask you first but...My name's Urahara Kisuke, and you are?"
"Aizen Sosuke..." He replied absently as his eyes made contact with the blond's again, attempting to read his intentions. His mind suddenly flicked into a state of unease as he glanced around. "Is something wrong?" Kisuke questioned as he watched the brunet search around the area. "Did you find a supply bag with me? I had one when I passed out, it's rather important."
"Oh, yes, it's over there." The blond replied as he pointed towards the dark bag that was sitting in a patch devoid of snow. "I guess this is where we split up, right?" The blonde inquired while standing up and yawning as he stretched. "That is...unless you need some help, you seem pretty hurt."
"You know I never asked you to help me the first time..."
"Really? So you'd rather I left you to bleed to death in the freezing snow?" The blonde replied mockingly as he gathered his supplies and put out the fire before holding out a hand to the brunet. Aizen glanced away, not wanting to accept the help. "Even though the town is filled with mutants and the whole place is really dangerous...we'll have to go there sometime, so why not now?"
"Do you have a weapon? It doesn't seem like a good plan to go unarmed." Aizen questioned as he brushed light snow from his jacket and pulled himself to his feet, the burning agony returning to the wound as he struggled to maintain his balance.
"Well, I do have a handgun but that's about it..."
"Have you ever used one before?"
"Uh, well...no, not really...But I'm not about to trust a stranger with it either. Especially not one I found drenched in blood."
"You have a reasonable argument with that point." Aizen smirked as he pulled his supply bag over his shoulder.
"I don't know what you've done up until now...Honestly, I don't trust you, but I could use the help right now, and I'm sure you could too."
Aizen paused and thought about the options, the gap in their trust was already abysmal but neither had much choice, they both had to follow the same path for now and going alone was suicide. He gave a slight nod before pulling his jacket in close and following the blonde, the sky littered with thick smoke, the dark clouds almost suffocating it. That set their destination, the city.
The chaos had subsided since the first day of the outbreak, now the whole scene was desolate, not a single sign of life anywhere. "We have to be careful, those...mutations respond to noise, heat and especially the scent of blood." The blonde whispered as they hid behind a broken-down car, Aizen glanced down at his injury, hoping now of all times that the stitching didn't come loose as it was only just sealed enough not to bleed.
They noticed that none of the doors were locked, mostly because people would have been panicking. They quietly came up to the first house, a car had lost control and impacted the front wall, bricks and fractured debris were scattered around it. At a closer observation the driver wasn't in the seat but the front windscreen had a large hole smashed through it, the edges of the shattered glass laced with dried blood.
The first priority was to find food, clean water and medical supplies. Surveying the abandoned rooms they found a scarlet and coal coloured sling bag and a larger backpack, using them to pack the supplies they found while remaining as quiet as possible. A loud crack of splintering wood tore through the silence as the door shattered inward and sent them both to the floor in attempt to find cover. The distant pattern of gunfire echoed in from the top end of the street, suppression squads were leading the infected away.
"I know you're here somewhere you blond bastard!" Nnoitra yelled through the house as he kicked over chairs and tables, throwing objects around the place for his own amusement while searching for Kisuke. They quickly fled to the kitchen, hiding behind the bench as they heard the tall man cursing and thrashing the contents of the living room against the walls. The sounds of glass shattering and wooden tables and chairs breaking into pieces viciously drowned out all other noise in the house. He slowly stalked towards the kitchen "Where are you?" He called in a low, threatening tone that echoed throughout the quiet room. "I hate playing hide and seek, come out now and I'll make your death quick!"
"What did you do to end up in this position?" Aizen murmured to the blonde who was hiding in the corner nervously, flinching as the brunet tapped him on the shoulder. "Well? Why didn't you mention this earlier?" He continued, unsatisfied with the lack of an answer. "What makes you think that I knew I had this murderous psychopath after me?" Kisuke answered quietly, attempting to cover up even the slightest waver in his voice.
"You still haven't answered my first question..."
"Can't we talk about this after we get out of here alive?"
They were interrupted by more cursing and destruction, hearing glass smash against the cold, dark tiles. "Let's get moving then." Aizen whispered while pointing towards the other room, he'd found earlier that the house had an escape route. They watched the furious man stop suddenly before his glare flashed at the blond, Kisuke's heart skipped a beat as he quickly pulled back behind the bench. Chills rolled slowly across his arms and body, forcing shivers down his spine as he breathed in deeply. He turned expecting to see the brunet but he'd disappeared only instilling more fear. Now he was alone.
He pressed further back against the wall under the bench, his breath hitching as he heard slow footsteps inch closer. He watched long, thin legs pause in place before him, the slightest hint of raven black hair hanging down in front of the bench as Nnoitra leant down to check. Kisuke quickly covered his mouth trying to conceal the slight sound of his breathing as he lied back in the darkness. No sound or movement, only complete silence.
The anxiety reflected behind his eyes as the man drew lower, his line of sight near reaching the blond before he jolted back up as the harsh sound of shattering glass tore through the house. "Fuck, the front window! That bastard!" He yelled as he charged towards the source. Kisuke exhaled deeply as the sickening feeling faded through shaking breaths. He was gasping in air desperately, to ease the deprivation that burned in his chest. That was far too close, his heartbeat still thundered in his ears. "Wait, that was a-..." He glanced carefully around the corner, his eyes meeting with the brunet across in the next room, his hand wrapped in thick, worn fabric that was now lightly dampened by rusty liquid. "Distraction." He finished, still in shock as he stared blankly at Aizen. "Are you going to move?" The brunet glared at him, his voice laced with venomous impatience as he grasped his hand in pain.
The blond ran over to him before being shown the exit by a trembling hand. "Are you sure you're alright? what did you-" He was cut off by the sound of furious yelling outside. "Now isn't the time, we need to go." The brunet motioned again towards the back door while the blond kept a concerned glance. "Ok." He agreed finally, picking up the supplies as they ran for the door, quickly breaking the rusted metallic lock and attracting the unwanted attention of Nnoitra.
The tall man un-holstered his weapon, beginning to fire rounds at them as they deftly ducked behind a fence and avoided his wrath, running behind the next building before breaking in and closing the door. "Urahara, I need you to distract him. I have a plan."
"How can I?..." He questioned before his mind flashed to the weapon in the supplies. "I don't care how you do it. Just hurry." The brunet replied before disappearing into the darkness of the house, heading for the garage. Kisuke hid by the back window watching Nnoitra draw closer, he kicked in the door of the shed outside with a sickening crunch before he fired into the darkness, not caring what was inside. After a while of checking the yard he began traveling towards the house.
Aizen quickly slid open the garage door revealing a mass of yard tools; shovels, a broken lawnmower, rakes and a variety of other rusty, twisted weapons. He tried to peer through the darkness, finding exactly what he was looking for. He shuddered as his hands brushed past dust and spider webs, retrieving the one thing he wanted. A petrol can, full of gasoline.
He hoisted it in his arms, ignoring the shooting pain in his left hand before running back, quickly dousing most of the room in the clear liquid, scaring the blond as he brushed past. Kisuke shot a worried glance back as he smelt the strong fumes of the flammable liquid. "What are you doing?" He inquired as he turned back to the threat that was looming closer with each second that passed. Aizen carefully eased the front door open, pouring the last of the gasoline over the dark wood and dropping the can before pulling out the box of matches. "You!" Nnoitra yelled in rage as he spotted Kisuke and ran for the door, just as the blond fired a single warning shot that just barely missed, making the psychotic man dive for the ground. "Shit!" He rasped as he clambered back to his feet making another rampant charge for the door.
Aizen pulled Kisuke back and towards the front door "Now would be a good time to leave." He said calmly despite pointing out the dangerous orange glow in the corner of the room, flames were beginning to lap at the destroyed furniture. The back door flew open, but it was too late. The brunet just smiled darkly as he threw a match at the now blockaded front door, a makeshift bar of twisted metal blocking it as the pungent liquid dripped down the dark wooden frame. The second the match hit it the door burst into flames sending Nnoitra back with a cry as they caught onto his arms and circled behind him, following the liquid trap weaved by the brunet. "Fuck!" He cried, both his exits were blocked by all-consuming flames while smoke engulfed the room, making his lungs burn painfully.
Kisuke watched in horror as Aizen dragged him away, his eyes blank and unreadable as he watched the smoke billow out from the upstairs level before a chilling scream of rage rang through the street, the noise an ear-splitting cry of fury drenched in pain. "You're a psychopath...you know this, right?" He said in a defeated tone, receiving no reply. He slowed to a stop once they were far from the street and back in the forest.
"Go on ahead, I'm going to find some more water for the night." Aizen said as he re-adjusted the supply bag over his shoulder, his hand still covered in blood.
"Then I'll go with you-"
"No, it's too dangerous for both of us to go, you take the supplies up there." He said as he gestured towards the cavernous area near the base of the mountain.
"Fine, but just make sure nothing follows you back..." The blond replied half-heartedly as he took the extra supplies from the brunet and began slowly traveling towards the destination.
Arriving at the base of the mountainous region he placed the heavy supplies down and rubbed his aching shoulder, turning to see the sun setting in the distance and bringing the imminent chill of night with it. He noticed a soft, iridescent glow from one of the supply bags. What is that? He tentatively reached for it and revealed a small silver chest with a sombre purple glow, reminiscent of the horrors that he'd seen at the base, each moment returning to his mind with devastating clarity.
He opened it, finding exactly what he'd feared, three vials of the virus, the same one that began this whole mess.
"I knew I couldn't trust you." The dark voice hissed from behind him as he swiftly turned to see the brunet. A loaded weapon facing the exact centre of his forehead, making him freeze in place, his fingers quickly growing numb as if embedded in deep snow. Kisuke quickly felt his pockets in a wave of panic, searching for the gun he had earlier...it was gone.
"No! Wait!" The blond pleaded. A dangerous flicker arose in the reticent brown depths before him, a smirk passing the brunet's lips as he took the safety off. A sickening crack tore through the cavernous forest before unsettling silence fell once again.
AN: As usual, thank you so much those who have followed and favourited so far and if there's any mistakes please don't be afraid to say something so I can fix it ASAP. See you next chapter!