Ulterior
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Bleach.
Episode 2
【Previously】
Sosuke Aizen sat firmly on his armchair as he rested his chin on one of his palms. He was deep in contemplation as always. Twelve long years had passed since he actually had a family. Twelve years ago, he made a decision that changed his life and the lives of his family forever. It was a selfish decision, but he had to do it. After many years of stabilising his career, he finally could sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labour. He had established an underground empire. Power and authority was in his hand. No one dared to question him or speak of him with any hint of disrespect in the underground business. However, his secured way of life only meant giving him more time to reflect upon the past that he had crushed and left behind. Twelve years ago, he sacrificed everything to be where he was at present. If only he could have the best of both worlds…
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Flashback (Aizen's Point of View)
Twelve years ago, I went by the name Inoue Akio. It was my birth name. I had a family and two children. To the entire world, I was just an ordinary man; an ordinary father of two. That was exactly what I wanted the world to know me as. However, I am a man with ambitions. I thirst for power and authority. I was not satisfied with just a family, which to me was not much of an achievement. A family was simply what I needed to portray a false identity and impression of myself. My business lies with the underworld. I relish the risk of going against societal norms and what the government deemed as "right". Politics and business were mere weapons. I saw no reason to subject myself to the demands of dictators. I did not see myself falling prey to rules dictated by incompetent and foolish men in the ranks of some form of authority. I wanted to hold power in my hands, under my control and teasing my mind. That was why twelve years ago, I had decided that I was ready to build an underground empire that I've always wanted. No one can stop me. I would do whatever it takes… including abandoning my family.
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"Rule #1! Do not speak while I'm speaking! I don't like students stealing my airtime!" Mizuno-sensei spoke with a stern expression on her face. "Rule #2! Always be punc…" she was in the middle of revealing rule number two when the classroom door flunked wide open. A fuming Kuchiki Rukia stomped in while dragging the shirt collar of another student. Rukia spoke immediately upon entering the classroom, "Gomenasai, sensei! Blame this fool for getting lost so easily!" Rukia pointed to the student she dragged in. His name was Abarai Renji.
"Uh-hum! As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, Rule #2 is to always be PUNCTUAL!" Mizuno-sensei emphasised the last word in her sentence. "Don't let this repeat! Abarai-kun and Kuchiki-san, please take your seats." Renji muttered inaudibly about their unnecessarily attention-grabbing entrance as he took the seat next to Ichigo. Rukia was not at all affected by the numerous gazes at her direction. She confidently took the seat next to Tatsuki which was in front of Renji.
"Inoue-san! Please explain to the latecomers what Rule #1 is…" Orihime's eyes widened when she heard what her teacher instructed her. "H-Hai, Mizuno-sensei… Rule #1 is not to speak while Mizuno-sensei is speaking." Orihime said, her face tinted with a hint of flush. She turned to look at Rukia and gave her an apologetic look. Rukia simply mouthed, "It's okay" and smiled at her. The introductory lesson went on. Mizuno-sensei continued to introduce more rules and threatened that whoever disobeyed her would feel the wrath of her gigantic ruler.
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Flashback (Aizen's Point of View)
I devised a plan. I was ready to give up on my family. They would not bare the hurt of knowing about my confidential business. I was resolute. They must not know of my dealings. I knew that my wife would not support my ambitions and my children were too young to comprehend. If I were to walk out on them, they would try to find me. They would become a hindrance. But if I were dead with a convincing cause of death, they would not pursue and would just accept my death as it is. In addition, it was important for "Inoue Akio" to be assumed dead in the eyes of official records. Only then can I build my empire and the authorities would have no records or any leads of who the mastermind is. I would not be suspected, let alone convicted. It wouldn't be possible because I would be "dead"…
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"Finally! Lunch!" Tatsuki rejoiced. "Where should we have our lunch, Orihime?" she asked. Orihime thought for a while then beamed brightly. "Tatsuki-chan! It's our first day of highschool and I think we should gather up people in our class whom we know and we can all have lunch together under that shady tree! That would be great!" Tatsuki was about to nod in agreement when Rukia intercepted the exchange to introduce herself. "Hajimemashite! I'm Kuchiki Rukia! You can call me Rukia. Dozo yoroshiku!" Rukia stated in an overly enthusiastic tone.
Orihime jumped up from her seat and smiled delightedly. "Rukia-san! I'm so glad that we are in the same class! Would you like to join us for lunch? Your friend over there can come along if he wants to." Orihime said. Tatsuki gave a confused look to Orihime. "Oh! Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime remembered, "Rukia-san and I were in the same orientation group! We already met." She turned to Rukia and said, "Rukia-san, this is Tatsuki-chan. She's my bestest, best friend!" Tatsuki and Rukia both smiled at each other, both were glad to make a new friend through Orihime.
"Well, let's invite more of our classmates to have lunch with us before our break ends!" Tatsuki suggested and Rukia went to get Renji to join them. But of course, there wasn't much of a choice where Rukia's concerned. Tatsuki and Orihime walked towards Ichigo, who was chatting with Sado. Ichigo and Sado met each other even before school started. No one knew on what circumstances they met, but a wild guess would be one of those street fights Ichigo always got unwillingly caught in. Sado's physique was huge, but he wouldn't hurt a fly unless there was a valid reason to do so, such as for defence. Sado must have stood up for Ichigo. In any case, Tatsuki poked Ichigo's shoulder and asked, "Wanna join us for lunch outside, orange head?" She glanced at Sado and said, "You wanna come along too?"
Somehow, there was no response. Ichigo and Sado were probably wondering why they were invited. It was then that Orihime burst out, "That's settled then! We'll see you under that shady tree for lunch! I can't wait to eat what Arisawa-san had prepared for us, Tatsuki-chan! Let's go!" Taking silence as consent, Orihime waved at Sado and Ichigo and dragged Tatsuki away. "Uh… what was that all about?" Ichigo managed a response. "They were just being friendly. I suppose there's no reason to turn down their invitation. I'm going." Sado said and started to walk out of the classroom. "Oi, Sado! Chotto matte!" Ichigo grabbed his bento, which his younger sister prepared for him, before catching up with Sado.
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Orihime, Tatsuki, Rukia, Renji, Ichigo and Sado were having lunch together. "Tatsuki-chan! Arisawa-san really did a great job preparing this bento for us! Although…" Orihime drifted into one of her thought bubbles, "it would be nicer if she added some honey and light sauce to the rice and a tad bit of lemon juice and wasabi, right?" Everyone's face faltered and twisted in disgust. Though Tatsuki was well aware of Orihime's unique culinary tastes, she could not mask her contempt. Just then, Renji burst out laughing. "That's repulsive, Orihime-san! Who would eat that?" He continued laughing scornfully. Orihime's expression saddened from the disapproval of her friends. Just then Rukia's face twitched and asked slyly, "Eat what, Renji-kun?" It sounded as though Renji was about to be served with a recipe for disaster but he was oblivious. "Eat whatever Orihime-san suggested of course!" he answered. "Well, eat this then!" Rukia punched him in the stomach and Renji contorted in pain.
The rest felt it was rather comical and chuckled a little. In the background, Orihime was advising Rukia that it was fine with her as everyone has different tastes. "Hah! Baka! You deserved it." Ichigo blurted. That earned a death glare from Renji. "Ya want a fight, Kurosaki!" Renji threatened and Ichigo was already rolling up his sleeves.
Just as Renji and Ichigo were about to give each other a piece of themselves, despite Tatsuki's "stop being so childish!" and Orihime's "please don't fight!", the shadow of two figures loomed over the group… "Did someone mention a fight?"
【To be continued…】
