less time, more stress hence short chapter full of Aizen
he does seem like a calm and collected person but he's not always like that _
(unbeta'd)
Aizen was sitting by the desk in the study, staring at the blank pages of his notebook. The hour was late and his tea had already gotten cold. Yesterday's events had angered him way too much and he still could feel the aftereffects of having his reiatsu almost boil over him. Keeping it under strict control for such a long time made it prone to exploding whenever he lost his composure and if something like this had happened the entire Las Noches would have become a mass tomb for all who dwelt in it. This was a very disturbing thought, indeed, especially because he needed these hollows to win him a war.
He tapped the tip of his pen against the empty sheet of paper. What was that he decided to write down again? Ah, yes… Orihime and her abilities.
Yesterday Inoue Orihime had been attacked by two members of the guard. I have decided to personally intervene in the assault. Her injuries were severe enough to put her life in danger. It is worth noting that in such state she was unable to use her power of rejection.
The memory of her battered body lying on the bathroom floor flashed through his mind and he had found himself unable to make it go away. He should have gutted the other guard too for daring to damage that girl without being given any specific orders to do so. She was vital to the last steps of his plan, besides, he actually had grown quite fond of her. It was a shame that she's so young, but humans do age rather quickly and it wouldn't take much time for her to reach an acceptable age. A curious, little soul she was and he had a certain liking for people like that and yet, the one whom she had saved had treated her in such a savage manner. Truly, an animal would know better.
Of course he was aware that these two Arrancars were overly attached to him and would try to scare their guest (to his amusement) but he had vastly overestimated the amount of malice they were capable of. Hopefully the rumor of their punishment already spread across the stronghold and no one will get any equally stupid ideas as they did. Such disobedience… death was a merciful solution in this case… he should have sent them both to get disciplined by Szayel's hand. A thousand years in his laboratory would teach them what does it mean to attack the hand that returned one of them to existence… he still could do it… there was still one left… .
He had been shaken out of his angry pondering by the sound of his pencil being snapped in half.
"No. I think not." Aizen said to himself and looked down at a broken fountain pen and a large blot of ink that was quickly spreading over the sheet of paper, and his hand which also got drenched in the red liquid.
Yes. He did use red ink. Red was the color of blood, fire and life. The color of love too. It was weird how it was often associated with evil these days. Modern people used to paint the devils in this color, and drape the villains in media with it, and and the eyes were shown to be flashing red when a character was supposed to have evil intentions. He found these interpretations unpleasant and had no wish to adapt this way of reading the message that this pigment seemed to be sending across.
Red is such a nice color.
The memory of little blood stains being scattered across the bathroom in the quarters that belonged to his kids came to his mind. What an obtrusive recollection. These images were haunting him since yesterday and they kept rising up his spiritual pressure.
Frustrated, he let go of the broken pen and dipped his finger in the jar of ink. After giving it a good swirl he brushed off the excess against the jar's rim and started swiping it across the page, making a sloppy doodle of the sun. This was so therapeutic. He should be doing it more often. Encouraged by the relaxing effects of his artistic adventure the Lord of Las Noches continued putting his finger into the ink and making messy, little pictures. There was a tower, a sea, the mountains and some trees, and then… nothing.
Nothing is pretty important too. It sometimes makes people want to put something in it's place, which is one of the key factors of being creative. But sometimes nothing is also needed to help a tired mind rest and declutter from dealing with all the things it created.
The thought of void brought another set of unpleasant memories. He arose from his chair and walked towards the window. Outside the wind was picking up speed which gave a foreshadowing of an upcoming sandstorm. The way the walls of white towers which were surrounding the main dome reflected the moonlight made the entire stronghold look ethereal and it made him proud for building and ruling this place. None could enter it without his knowledge and none could leave.
He looked down at his hand stained with red ink, and brought it up to his lips. Slowly, he pushed the red fingers into his mouth and sucked. The ink had a slight metallic taste to it but not the kind that blood would have. Aizen kept looking outside the window while trying to lick the ink off of the back of his hand. He attempted to calm his fluctuating reiatsu that began rising again and the thought of Orihime's own spiritual pressure came to his mind. It seemed to have healing properties on itself, no matter if it was being directed at the object that needed fixing or not. It had a very pleasant feeling to it and this was the reason why he managed to control his previous outburst so well.
Her presence lightened his mood and he could not stop himself from initiating some form of a physical contact. Perhaps it helped him with nullifying some of the tension that kept arising within him. Bringing her here was indeed a good decision. Surprisingly, despite their differences in status and strength she still wasn't afraid to ask him questions which others would not dare to bring up. Of course it was obvious to him that she was very aware of how great his advantage is over her but it didn't stop her from trying to somehow familiarize with him. He had found such behaviour quite entertaining which was the kind of quality he would look for in someone with whom he planned to work closely in the future.
While looking at the white dunes in the distance he imagined a field of grass instead. It was split by the river that would flow through these lands and hydrate the soil. The sun would shine high in the blue sky and the sounds of birdsong would fill the area.
It was such a nice, simple image and yet it made him clench his fist. A huge expanse like this, wasted. It shouldn't look how it does now, but these cowards will do nothing about it.
He took a deep breath and looked away from the window. Too many things were getting on his nerves lately and Aizen decided that the best way of getting rid of (or at least lessening) that unyielding grip of irritation was simply pushing away his consciousness for a time being. To put it simply, he just wanted to go to sleep which he did not do very often.
Kyoka Suigetsu seemed to agree with him because he could feel the blade getting heavier at his side and pulling the red sash that he was wearing around his waist, down to the ground. Encouraged by his guardian spirits Aizen turned around and slowly walked out of the study with his back straight and chin held high in a noble manner. The door to his alcove weren't far away and on his way he had crossed paths with Tosen who immediately stepped aside to let him pass.
The Lord stopped in his track and looked at his commander with half lidded eyes. He immediately guessed where the man was coming back from.
"How is she?"
Tosen sighed and nodded slightly in approval of what he was about to say.
"Physically everything seems to be fine but yesterday's incident had drained her emotionally. I don't think it will affect her performance however. The presence of the kids is keeping her mind away from dark thoughts and she's curious about her surroundings. Ulquiorra says she's been asking him about some insignificant matters. She had also been asking about you."
"Asking about me, you say?" Amused by the report Aizen questioned his subordinate with a little smile adorning his face. So she was thinking about him too… of course it was quite predictable given how much care he has been treating her with.
Good. He needs her to feel sympathy towards him. The more she'll be willing to comply the better. There is a huge task ahead of her. "Thank you Tosen, by the way, take command over Las Noches. I'm going to keep out of sight for a while."
The commander did not reply but bowed low in acknowledgement. The gesture was enough for the Lord to part ways with him. Without hesitation he straightened his back and walked away to fulfill his new task.
The man knows as Sosuke Aizen, on the other hand, had just entered a dark, windowless room with black walls made of marble. It was not excessively spacious but it also wasn't overly small. A dark, wooden bed stood in the right corner and a black wardrobe was placed in the left one, while a door to the bathroom were placed next to it.
He closed the door behind him and with a few words put a seal on them. The darkness did not bother him and without switching any lights on he strode towards the wardrobe while sliding the long, white coat off of his shoulders. There weren't many clothes in there: two pairs of spare pants, tunics and coats just like this one, also, shoes. Everything was boring and the same looking but he didn't feel the need to change anything. This was all temporary after all. Soon it will be gone.
Before taking the rest of his clothes off, Sosuke unclasped his sword from its place at his side and slid it out of it's sheath. He discarded the sheath and kept staring at the blade and turning it around as if he was seeing it for the first time in his life.
"How long will you keep refusing to look at me?" He asked with a frown but no answer came, the blade in his hand became flaccid instead and dangled above the ground like a piece of rope. "So this is how you're going to behave now. Very mature." The comment was rewarded by the weapon twisting itself into a spiral. "Maybe I should really seal you inside and Asauchi, we'll see how whimsy you will be then." The threat seemed to not bring any desired effects because the thing in his hand started vibrating. His words had humored it instead of getting it to obey his will.
Irritated, he walked to the centre of the bedroom and dropped his blade, but rather than hitting the floor, it levitated above it.
"I will take a shower and go to sleep. In the meantime, you'll keep watch on me." He commanded and the sword untwisted itself. It wasn't very compliant lately. Apparently it took a liking to their prisoner and wanted to stay within close proximity to her. It seemed to him that Orihime's reiatsu was having effect even on his guardian spirit. Shinigami are calling them zanpakuto spirits… shinigami… a bunch of fools. They don't even know why they call themselves like that.
He shook his head and went back to taking off the rest of his clothes but before he managed to take the all off a loud "thud" came from the sword's direction. A whisper resounded through the room and he slowly turned his head back to Kyoka Suigetsu. It didn't like this name, thinking that it sounded too pretentious. It wasn't his fault that non-japanese sounding names were suspicious to shinigami for most of the time.
Upon further investigation he noticed that the blade had thrown off it's handle and started vibrating again. He stood in place, unmoving, as if he feared that any unexpected actions would startle it.
"What are you doing?" He whispered while staring at it. The fabric of his half folded tunic started to wrinkle under the pressure of his tightening grip.
It began to sing.
Immediately the air left his lungs, his hands fell to is sides and his lips twisted into a frown. This time the spirit decided to sound like a 10 years old child and Aizen was grateful to his past self for putting that seal on the entrance to this place. He didn't say anything and returned to his previous task. Arguing with it after having it quiet and unmoving for several hours would be futile.
Uncontained spirits were illegal in Soul Society. It was a secret rule that aside from governing body, only the members of Omnitsukido were aware of. Those who possess enough power for their spirits to materialize are either recruited to serve in the Gotei under false premises of receiving training, and taking a position as a member of one of the thirteen squads in order to become a part of a greater good. In reality Seireitei does this to control those who could obtain the power to overthrow those who sit at the top, and limits the growth of the spirit by sealing it inside an Asauchi. And if someone refuses the call they are immediately locked in the lower levels of the Maggot's Nest or killed.
Thankfully, he was very skilled at hiding his true power and intentions. Had he not found out about this rule very early in his life, he would probably be dead for a long time already…
After all his clothes were folded and put on their places in the wardrobe he went straight under the shower while his blade continued to sing. It was singing something weird and he didn't listen but if it continued with the song after he came out of the bathroom he would have to make an attempt to silence it.
With this kind of beast at his side it was a wonder how Gin had not yet noticed that he's not dealing with a zanpakuto. He briefly speculated about what would happen if he put Ichimaru alone with Kyoka Suigetsu in one room and then left.
He stood under the running water for a while, pondering on the possibilities of such encounter and at last he made a decision. When his "lieutenant" would finally admit his treason, this shall be the most entertaining way to get rid of him. Of course it all would also depend on the situation they'll find themselves in. But planning ahead is something Aizen likes to do, and he does it does quite well.
From his bedroom he recognised the name that the spirit started to sing "Orihime, Orihime, Orihime, hmmm" and some other pretty words to describe it. It sure had liked her alot, but on the other hand, it was very protective of his kids too. Perhaps it started to perceive her as a part of the family? Surely, that must have been the case. Maybe it was for the better, because he will have to disclose a certain secret to her soon and it is not the kind of information that should be handled lightly.
He turned off the water and in the same moment the singing had stopped. Satisfied with the silence that fell around the place, Aizen took a big, white towel and dried himself thoroughly. His thick hair were the only part of him that remained somewhat wet after he was done rubbing the cloth against every part of his body.
He put on a pair of sweatpants and a long tunic that he prepared before stepping into the shower. Now, when he was clean and quite drowsy he walked out of the bathroom only to see the center of the room empty. Within seconds he was wide awake and scanning the area in order to find the spirit. It didn't take him long because as soon as he looked up he had found the missing creature. The blade was right under the ceiling, parallel to the spot he left it in.
"Keep watch." The ordered and pointed his finger at the sword. "I really need to have some rest." He said while climbing up the bed. He has so many people to get rid of. So many shadows to avoid.
They don't know what's in the shadows…
Nobody knows but him.
In the end there will only be him versus them.
No one else.