"Aigis, can you go deliver this to the Third Division?"
"Who do I deliver it to in the Third?"
"Ask for the lieutenant!"
Three months after she joined the Seventh, Aigis was still an unseated officer. According to Captain Kurosaki, she was first in line to be considered for a seated position once one opened up, but so far there were no free spots.
She was in no hurry, so she did not mind it.
Life at the division was somewhat hectic, but it was a strangely comforting pace – it felt closer to her days working at the Shadow Operatives. Documents came in every day for translation, mostly in English, but also in a variety of other languages. Her captain was shocked when she revealed that she was fluent in English, French and Chinese on top of Japanese, so now she was handling a quarter of all the translations requested. Plus, the fact that she barely needed training to start handling computers was a point in her favour for promotion. But every now and then, someone in the division would ask her to go to the other divisions instead as an errand girl.
Like today.
Seireitei was incredibly large, so a simple delivery task often took up half a workday, accounting for the extra time taken when new recruits invariably got lost. On the other hand, it meant that others would cover her translation work in the meantime. She nodded to her lieutenant in lieu of a greeting as she exited the barrack gates to the large street outside the division.
In the Gotei, where loud shouts were common – and almost expected – in battle, Rindo Atau was an anomaly in that he was mute. With his shaggy black hair and gloomy disposition, he was a stark contrast to their much louder and orange-haired captain. Apparently he was lieutenant of the Seventh even before Kurosaki took over, and he found no reason to replace a perfectly capable lieutenant. Rindo was a hard worker, his fingers rapidly tapping on keyboards as he kept up the paperwork required for the division. Supplies, taxes, requests – almost everything had gone through him in the division at some point. In fact, Rindo's word – typed or written – carried just as much weight as their captain's did, considering that Kurosaki was not around the barracks half the time, running off to deal with something or other in the Living World or Hueco Mundo.
And was that a surprise, to know that Seireitei has some sort of a working relationship with their supposedly sworn enemy. Aigis had not pieced together all the details yet, but from what she knew so far, Kurosaki was friends with many of the saner Hollows, which meant that he was the only person who could handle most negotiations with them. Sometimes she wondered how wide his circle of friends was, because he seemed to know someone everywhere.
Aigis skimmed the top document as she strolled through the streets. Delivering documents gave her the chance to familiarise herself with Seireitei's maze-like layout, slowly building an internal map for her future reference. The document itself was detailing a few scattered Hollow attacks in the outer districts and the Living World — mostly just the aftermath as they were too far out to have shinigami arrive on time.
She sighed.
Makoto's side project was still ongoing despite her meeting obstacle after obstacle, though that was to be expected considering how stubborn she could be. Aigis was just glad that her friend had not given up yet. At least it seemed that the crafters and villagers had come to an understanding of sorts, and the majority of issues now came from disgruntled nobles who barely had anything to do with the project itself, but were trying to gatekeep crucial resources that Makoto needed. From what Aigis knew, the last time they met each other two weeks ago, Makoto was attempting to bring lawyers into the project to streamline the process of negotiating with nobles.
She turned a corner, onto the street that the Third Division occupied. It still looked the same as always, with slightly dirty walls and worn floorboards. After explaining the purpose of her visit to the gatekeeper, she was allowed inside the barracks.
He massaged his temples as he worked on the report. It was technically leftover work from the day before, but then some of the officers asked him out for drinks, and they were paying, so it was rude to refuse. Third Division tended to get rowdy when it came to partying, especially Captain Abarai.
Now he was paying for it with a hangover. The bright sun outside his window didn't help matters, either.
He squinted at his small pile of papers. It wasn't too much, thankfully, but it would be best for him to finish all of that before the next batch of documents came along, or he would have to work overtime. Again.
A brisk knock on his office door hammered a fresh wave of pain into his head. "Who is it?" He called out, trying his best to at least sound presentable. Hopefully the underlying groan in his voice wasn't too noticeable.
"Delivery from the Seventh Division! May I come in?" A female voice called back, muffled by the door.
Well, speak of the devil. He resigned himself to extra work today.
"Just leave it on the cabinet at the entrance, thanks." He tried to rub spots out of his eyes, then trained his eyes on the papers on his desk, away from the sun streaming into the office.
He heard the door creak open, a footstep into the room, the thump of papers on wood, but then the door closed suddenly and the footsteps hurried away.
Weird. The woman didn't strike him as the shy or busy kind judging from the clear but unhurried voice. He glanced at the closed door and the messy pile of papers, before he decided that he could sort that out when his headache subsided.
Five minutes later, his office door banged open abruptly. This time, he did look up.
"Wha—"
"Your protein shake." The woman slammed a bottle onto the desk in front of him, a disapproving frown on her face. To his dismay, he recognised the woman. Was very familiar to him too, a long time ago. "Have you not been taking care of yourself again, Akihiko?"
The brush he was holding dropped from his hand as he tried to work his mouth to form a coherent sentence, leaving a blotch that he barely noticed. The only thing that he could force out was…
"How did you get here, Aigis?" Sanada Akihiko asked.
"I walked."
"Of all people, you were the last person I expected to see here…" Akihiko groaned as he held his head in his hands. He was sporting a few extra bruises, thankfully hidden by his shihakusho.
"I was resigned to wait a long time until I found anyone else I knew too." Aigis replied lightly.
"'Anyone else'?" He echoed.
"I graduated with Niijima Makoto."
They were seated at a small restaurant near the Third Division. Aigis had basically bodily dragged Akihiko out - despite his protests - once it became clear that he was hungover, insisting that he get some proper food to relieve it as quickly as possible. The protein shake was just a stopgap measure to get some liquid in him, but he needed much more than just a nutritious drink. And when he initially refused, she just resorted to force.
He looked much better and younger than the last time Aigis saw him three hundred years ago, hooked up to machines working desperately to save his failing body. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with his grey hair cropped short and an undershave at the bottom half of his hair. It was strange seeing him without some sort of bandage on his face, but hopefully it meant that he was not getting into reckless fights as much.
"So that Makoto is here too." Akihiko replied, then winced as he sipped on his cup of tea. "Which division is she in?"
"Sixth."
After consideration, Makoto decided to join the Sixth Division. Her primary concerns were an easy way to access information about regulations, and a captain that at the very least, would not disrupt her whenever she needed to work on her project.
So far, Kuchiki Byakuya has not expressed any opinion on it.
"Captain Kuchiki's division huh," Akihiko mused. "Pretty fitting choice for her."
"I think so too." Aigis agreed. She thanked the chef as he served up their food at the bar table, then took a pair of chopsticks from the nearby container. "As far as I know, she has adapted well."
"But really," Akihiko began as he received his own bowl of food, "how did you end up here? I thought only dead humans end up in Soul Society."
The din of the restaurant and the street outside was loud thanks to the throng of shinigami milling about, but it afforded them a little privacy as they chatted, as long as they did not raise their voices. Akihiko left his lieutenant badge in his office, so the two looked like any other pair of shinigami acquaintances.
"My best guess so far is that my soul was considered human enough to arrive here, but I do not know the actual circumstances." Aigis replied. She stole a glance sideways. "Beef bowl again?"
He scowled, curling in protectively over his meal. "We meet for the first time in three hundred years and you're nagging at me already?" He grumbled as he took a bite out of his lunch. "I haven't had one in a week, let me enjoy this at least."
Somehow, Aigis found herself smiling. "You never change, do you, Akihiko?"
The sigh that escaped his lips was uncharacteristic of him. "Kinda hard to change when this place barely changes," he replied between bites. "The environment plays a factor, you know. It's not like the Living World where things happen at breakneck speeds. Here, it's just the same day in, day out."
Aigis turned to properly face Akihiko.
"I take back what I said," she stated. "You have changed."
Somewhere along the line, it seems that Akihiko lost that spark he initially had. Perhaps it was gone even before he died, but for the first time, she could not quite see that determination he once had.
He grunted out a humorless chuckle. "Maybe, maybe not." He took a sip of his tea, then winced again. "You, on the other hand, haven't changed much."
"Even with a body like this?" Aigis gestured to herself. Strictly speaking, her body was composed of reishi, not flesh and blood, and was much tougher than a regular human body according to her classes, being able to recover from injuries that would otherwise kill a living human. But it felt just like flesh and blood to her, and she even bled normally, so it was still quite different from her old robotic body.
"I'm not talking about the outside," Akihiko replied flatly, though there was a spark of humor in his voice. "Though it's actually surprising to see you still have that headband."
She touched it self-consciously. "I bought it when I was studying at the Academy."
Her hair had grown longer over the two years she was there, but she decided to cut it back to its original length once she graduated. Even with the headband, it was far easier for Aigis to maintain short hair over longer hair, which could fly in her face.
"You wouldn't look right without it." Akihiko took another bite out of his beef bowl. "Are the Operatives still going?"
Aigis shrugged and went back to her soba. "The Kirijo Group could not support it by themselves after two hundred years," she recounted. "We became an official branch of Public Security. The plan, I believe, was that if I was decommissioned, Labrys would take over as director. I do not know if they actually did it though."
It was a robot they were talking about after all. A top of the line, autonomous robot, but a three hundred year old robot all the same. Even with advanced medicine available, the average human life could only be stretched to roughly one hundred and fifty years. A three hundred year lifespan was only a dream – and one ripe for fear from those in power. At best, they would try to subtly control her. At worst…Aigis did not want to think about it.
"I hope Labrys is okay…" The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them.
A gentle pat brought her out of her thoughts. "Labrys is a strong girl." Akihiko said, one hand on Aigis's back while the other was still shovelling food into his mouth. "And now she has the experience to match too. She'll be fine. Besides, you're in the Seventh Division, right? Play your cards right and you might be able to find a way to meet her again."
"Who would believe that a robot became a ghost?" Aigis asked back.
He answered with the flattest stare she had ever seen on his face. His mouth was still full of food. "A lifetime of supernatural threats and this is where you draw the line?"
"I consider Shadow-related incidents to be sufficiently analysed phenomena at this point."
"Exactly how sufficiently analysed?"
"Enough that the Operatives can predict incidents with some measure of accuracy."
"What about the science, or lack thereof, behind them?"
"There has been some research done with volunteers, thank you very much."
"What, so you managed to get some research going on the soul?"
"At best, that area has only been touched on the surface, in conjunction with Personae. Nobody was brave enough to do deep research on it since Isshiki-san, or at the very least, not that I knew of. Besides, the research was eventually stopped when we realised emotions and mental health were a key part of understanding Personae, and we were not amoral enough to induce stress to the volunteers."
Persona users were difficult to come by, after all, and the Operatives needed as many active, healthy members as possible. Most subsequent Shadow incidents after the Phantom Thieves debacle very rarely started from scientific curiosity, but rather from fanatical devotion, rumors and cults, which eventually triggered their theory into how mental health and emotions related to Persona awakenings and Shadow-related issues. Honestly, she preferred it this way – it was easier to hide incidents from the general public if they were less believable. Likewise, the results of the research the Kirijo Group went through after Mitsuru died were only stored by Aigis and Labrys as part of their memory banks – it was regularly updated to protect against hacking, and storing it anywhere else was deemed too unsafe.
It was cathartic, when they demonstrated exactly why the government could not be trusted with information on Shadows after a mass hacking incident into governmental databases leaked it to the wider public, triggering another large Shadow incident that the Operatives had to subsequently clean up. Aigis indulged in some fun when she tore into the leaders of Public Security at the time.
The government never insisted on copies of their data after that.
Akihiko hung his head in defeat. "I can't believe it's been three hundred years and I still can't win against you when you start nagging. Did you practice after I died?"
"I consider it my duty to make sure you are properly taking care of yourself when Mitsuru is not present." Aigis closed her eyes as she took a sip of tea from her own cup. "And of course, you were not the only reckless idiot in the Operatives." Far from it – Akihiko was actually one of the milder ones, compared to some later members she had to rein in.
It was almost too easy to fall into a natural, comfortable state of being whenever she was around someone she was close to. She made many friendships over her lifetime, but it was difficult to replace anyone from S.E.E.S..
That kind of friendly nagging was…comforting.
"I haven't seen her all this time," Akihiko murmured. "Wonder if she made her way to Soul Society."
"I can't see Mitsuru having trouble finding her way." Aigis chuckled. "She would definitely make a place for herself here."
To the outside world, Mitsuru and Akihiko's relationship was that of a power couple – a CEO of one of the largest conglomerates in Japan along with a police officer in a strong position with a proven track record of success. Several theories and conspiracy stories floated around on how they were like in their private lives, made more prominent by the fact that both decided to keep their original last names.
The truth was, it was a loving relationship. Not in the sense of romantic love (though Aigis sometimes still had trouble differentiating that from other types of love), but more akin to something between a seamless working relationship, deep friendship, and perhaps even familial love. After years of working together since they were in junior high, they trusted each other implicitly and knew exactly how each other would react to different situations. They would nag and argue at each other for hours on end, but at the end of the day, there was nobody else who would understand each other as well as they did.
Perhaps part of the reason why Mitsuru worked herself to death was the lack of a confidant. No matter how good or how close Aigis was to the CEO of the Kirijo group, she could not replace Akihiko. There were many things Aigis could do that Akihiko could not – making sure he was taking care of himself was one of them – but at the same time, she was deeply aware that Akihiko could do things that Aigis could never manage. She never resented Akihiko for it though, because she knew that was how bonds work – each person had their own value, and nobody could replace anyone.
"Well, it's good to see a familiar face here regardless." Akihiko said, taking another sip of tea from his cup. "Sometimes it's hard to talk about my experiences when I was still alive with the other officers at the Third, because I'd seem like a lunatic."
Aigis stared into her own cup, their food long finished at this point. "I wonder if there is a pattern for it," she mused. "A large percentage of the students in the Academy barely remember their life before they died, and even more of them know nothing about their former lives. But it is a fairly difficult topic to bring up considering how most shinigami act."
"Yeah, shinigami very rarely remember their lives when they were still alive," he agreed. "People like the Kurosaki House are an incredibly rare case since they never properly died and just…migrated to Soul Society, or at least, that's what my captain says."
"Must have had something to do with Captain Kurosaki being a former substitute shinigami, I guess." Aigis suggested.
Truth be told, for such a famous person, his private life and his past were masterfully hidden. All Aigis knew was that Kurosaki had a wife, son and a sister, and he was close friends with many of the captains even before they were captains. In terms of sheer power, he was considered one of the strongest Soul Society had to offer, comparable with even the captain-commander, which coupled with his lack of control (according to veteran officers, it was easy to tell whenever he got angry because the entire division compound would be lightly crushed under his reiatsu) resulted in a strange situation where his shikai was unable to be sealed. He was a reasonable boss and the one to introduce many twenty-first century and beyond comforts to Seireitei, which she was incredibly grateful of.
But that was about it. So far she had not been able to witness her captain fight at all, and he was barely around the barracks, leaving most of the day to day decisions to Lieutenant Rindo.
"We're different, Aigis." Akihiko said as he took a long sip of tea. "We died properly– wait, how in the world did you die in the first place? Did your body break down, or did some stupid maintenance fault get you?"
"A Shadow got me when I was careless." Maybe if it was still fresh in her mind, Aigis would have been frustrated at herself for dying from such a stupid mistake. However, it had been over ten years since she passed. She accepted the consequences. "It tore my chassis and crushed my Papillon Heart."
He set down his tea back on the bar table. "I'm sorry," he said after a pregnant pause.
"Don't be. I made my peace with it." Aigis reassured him. "All of this…it is like a second chance at life for me. To live like a human would, not just a robot."
By her estimate, she got incredibly close when she was alive as she slept regularly, had bouts of insomnia, needed mental health support, preferred to read over having data downloaded into her system, and so on. But still, it was just an extended simulation of human life. The length of her lifetime was the most important factor of why she sometimes felt out of place in society, how she found herself less and less able to properly relate to her human colleagues.
And then Soul Society happened, and she found herself as one of those few who still remembered her life, when others could only remember their lives after their arrival. But it was much easier to hide, and with friends who could relate, she did not feel as much of a need to hide herself anymore.
Aigis would always be slightly different from her peers. And that was okay for her.
"Maybe if we can ask someone to research it," she began, "we can find a pattern. But I am not familiar with anyone who would be willing to undertake this."
She did not say the first name that came to mind. It would not be appropriate to ask that woman, not at this point at least. Perhaps if the opportunity arose for her to build a relationship and better understand her, Aigis would feel more comfortable asking.
"I guess I can go around and ask some of my contacts." Akihiko said as he drained his cup. "No guarantees though." He heaved himself off the chair.
"Back to work already, Akihiko?" Aigis asked.
"Thanks to you." Despite the words he just said, there was a satisfied smile on his face. "Now I have to work on leftover reports from yesterday and the stack you just gave me."
"You are just reaping your own reward, as they say," she chuckled. She drained her cup as well – she had talked with him long enough that Rindo would probably question her efficiency.
Akihiko groaned as he called for the bill. " You really can't stop nagging at me, huh? Let me pay for this, at least," he said as he left a small pile of coins on the counter and walked out of the restaurant. "Consider it my welcome to the Gotei. But well…I'm glad you're here now, Aigis."
"I am glad to see you again too, Akihiko."
"You're awfully late, Aigis." For once, Kurosaki was at the division. He scrutinised Aigis at the gate as he folded his arms, deepened by his permanent scowl. "I was told that you'd gone out to deliver some reports around noon, but this is much later than when you'd normally come back."
"My apologies, Captain." She bowed lightly, then straightened. "I ran into an old friend and lost track of time."
She did. The compound was washed by a golden glow by the time she made it back to the Seventh, which meant that the workday was almost over.
Unexpectedly, his face relaxed a touch. "Oh, an old friend, huh." He turned around and headed into the office building, one hand waving lazily. "I'll overlook it just this once, so you go and clean up for today. If you're gonna do it again, let me know in advance okay?"
Aigis blinked. She was expecting a stern lecture of sorts, not to go completely unpunished. "Are…are you sure about this, Captain?"
He stopped and turned back. "Looks like it was good for you, so I can't really say anything against it." There was a trace of a smile around his face. "Besides, you do so much work around here it'd be unfair to be overly strict. No emergencies happened, so no foul."
Just like that, he strode back into the building, leaving a still shocked Aigis behind.
"So I was told you were bodily dragged out of the division by an unseated officer." Abarai folded his arms, daring Akihiko to refute.
"Well…yes," he confirmed.
"And you left behind all your work."
"Er, yeah."
"For half a day?!" Abarai roared.
Akihiko raised both hands as he tried to placate his captain and desperately looked for a plausible excuse. "She's a friend I haven't seen in a long time! And I can't argue back against her or she'd just beat me up!"
"What do you mean you can't win against an unseated officer?! You're a lieutenant for god's sake!"
That night, the lights to the lieutenant's office did not turn off until well past midnight.
A/N: This chapter came to me fairly easily - maybe because I think the Academy arc was starting to overstay its welcome in my mind and I had very little motivation to finish it, but now I have new stuff and old people to introduce! Akihiko was fun to write, but I tried to stay true to his P3 personality rather than his P4A personality (he is, canonically, pretty book smart even if he's a bit dumb common sense wise). Don't worry, there will be more familiar characters introduced later!
I'd say there's about...4-5 more chapters to go before I finish this extremely extended introduction to the 'verse. After that, it's time to get into the first major story arc. Yes, I finished the outline for it. No, I don't know how long THAT will run. But hopefully it will be an exciting arc for you all to enjoy!
Next chapter is mostly finished as well - I just need to edit it, but it will be published late next month, as usual.
Anyway, thank you all for supporting this story! Review, bookmark, whatever, just don't let the art bots win! (Extremely ironic whenever they send me something because my day job is an illustrator)