No One Stands On the Sky: An Aizen Quest (Bleach) (DEAD)

[VagueZ]

"Really?" You raise one eyebrow, expressing your uncertainty in no uncertain terms.

"I promise," Isshin says, failing to completely repress a grin. "If you want to learn my technique, it is important to see this play. It won't make sense otherwise."

"You aren't even close to convincing," you say with a sniff.

"But you'll come along anyway, right?"

You sigh. "Yes. I'll meet you outside the training hall thirty minutes before we need to get seated."

---

It took you longer to make yourself presentable than you expected. You have always taken pride in looking impeccable, but just bare perfection isn't enough for a special occasion. Luckily, thanks to the endless plans-within-plans you always keep rolling (in this case, you carefully planned to have nothing else to do that day so you'd start getting ready early, which was definitely intentional), you adjusted on the fly and were ready in good time.

You arrived at the meeting place exactly on time, stopping in your chosen spot twenty seconds prior to the clock ticking over to the scheduled time.

Shiba Isshin isn't there yet. You sigh internally. It just isn't fair, to choreograph something like that so perfectly without an audience to appreciate it.

He isn't very late, though. He shows up in a slightly rumpled outfit and yawning as he comes. He still looks like he's been forgetting to shave for approximately three days, but that's okay. You're coming to appreciate that look. It has a certain rough appeal, and might be just scratchy enough to--

You cut your thoughts off as he gives you a winning grin. "Well, you really dolled yourself up nice today, didn't you?"

"I was given to understand that the theatre merits a certain level of care with appearance."

"Yeah, that's what they say." He hooks a thumb over his shoulder. "Come on. We have good seats, but let's see if we can't keep the space around us clear just by glaring at people."

You laugh the expected amount and lay one palm on his elbow as he leads the way.

Isshin spares a brief, curious look at your hand, but does't comment. Or shake you off.

---

"Well, that was boring," Isshin says. You're only barely clear of the theatre. Someone might hear him. You continue to lead the way away from it.

"It was your suggestion," you point out gently.

He shrugs. With broad enough shoulders, that's a good motion. "It was expected that 'a Shiba' would be at it. Family business thing, you know. I don't know who was related to who that made that happen, but I was informed that it was expected I go. And I thought, well, if I have to do that, better not to go alone, right?"

"Indeed." You let that hang in the air a moment. "Well, the evening is still young. Shall we get some food?" The play had gone on for some hours, after all, and one of the effects of Isshin's glaring practice was that no one had tried to vend concessions at you two.

"Sure, sounds good." Isshinn names a couple of possibilities, and you pick one.

Before you even get there, you've drawn Isshin into a discussion about the play. It had a lot more nuances than he was willing to give it credit for, and you lead him through them, letting him make as many of the connections himself as he can. He's not dumb, by any means, he just enjoys playing the dumb thug. Playing a part you understand. Digging out hidden depths like this, that appeals. Really, the play wasn't anything amazing, but forbidden love is a story type you can certainly take pleasure from.

By the time you're out of the restaurant, Isshin is rambling about its good elements with barely a "go on" or "so true" from you.

This is later, though. You're already starting to feel a little tired, and the artificial lights around the city are starting to tamp down just to save on costs. It's the "time to go to bed" sign.

The two of you are back where you met. It's the most logical place for you to separate, too, given where your rooms are.

Here, you pause, letting the world go to sleep around you. "I had a nice night," you tell Isshin. "Thank you for inviting me."

Isshin shrugged. "I gotta confess, I led you on. You didn't really need to see the play to learn my technique."

You give him a small smile. "I knew from the start. The pretense was fun. You can show me more about that technique... later. I have to be well-rested to learn at my best."

He's about to say something else dumb, so you don't let him. You slip in closer, until you're within his burly arms, and give him a quick, good-night kiss. "Later," you say again, as you step back. He's blushing. You'd like to believe you're not flushing yourself, but you suspect you are. "Good night, Isshin." You let one trailing hand draw slowly away from his chest and turn to leave him there.

---

You don't see it, but Isshin stood there for a solid five minutes without moving. "Huh," he finally said to the night, in a tone of wonder and surprise, but not an unpleasantly surprised tone. "I guess I gave him the wrong impression." One hand lightly brushed at his lips. He frowned. "Did I?" he asked himself in a more questioning tone.

 

[stairmaster]

You don't say anything to the man. It's not like you have any thing that would allow you to make a good first impression. Who knows what that man has seen in his centuries of service. Besides you have someone else to show off to right now.

"Alright, I accept the challenge, Kenta-san." You calmly state, though you have to raise your voice to make sure he notices as he's hemming and hawing with the rest of the class. He gets out a single syllable of "Wh-" before you're out of hearing distance.

Despite the thin spiritual atmosphere of the real world, you find it far easier to flash step on account of your altitude. Without the hassle of the ground being under your feet, you are able to focus solely on rocketing through the sky and maximizing your horizontal velocity via venting reishi.. The ground draws closer and closer as you approach your destination: the gulf of a sprawling canyon. You touchdown hard in dried out river bed and go careening foward. You slam your hand down to brake yourself and come to a halt a few yards away.

Besides a burning pain in your left hand, this has to be one of the most pleasant sprints you've done yet. If only you could fly then you would never have to worry about dealing with footwork ever again.

A chittering noise interrupts your thoughts. You look up and see something black dart past and behind a boulder. Drawing your sword, you feel an odd wetness in your hand and glance down to see the hilt is coated in blood. Oh, oh well.

Kenta lands besides you panting. Apparently he elected for the more subtle approach of not shooting at the finish line in a straight line, though you doubt that would have changed things. "What the hell was that?" he huffs in disdain.

"Winning," You answer coolly. Though with the sun overhead that's liable to change shortly. Is it even hotter down here on the ground?... No, that can't be right.

"You sm- GAH" Kenta is interrupted as a white mass slams into him and sends him tumbling back. You look back in the direction of the attack. A black orb, supported by 8 spindly legs, charges at you. Adorning it is a simple mask with two holes for eyes and a half oval for what appears to be a smile. From it's mouth shoots another white glob and you leap out of the way up towards the sky. Glancing aside, you see Kenta bound to the ground by a white viscous putty, and he desperate wiggles to break free. The orb looks up and shoots another at you forcing you to halt your vertical momentum and flash step backwards.

"Bah, of course they'd give us this one today," Seinosuke jogs briskly up to you. The dummy begins sprinting backwards and leaps into a field of rocks. "Everyone I've talked to says this one's the absolute worst," He adds.

"When you said puppet-ed by kido, I thought it would just walk back and forth," You say. How do you even animate something like this to perform complex behaviors?

"Yeah, That's usually the case, but this one's special. Some savant in the second division- hold up" Seinosuke pushes you to the side gently and holds up his palm. "Bakudo Number Eight: Seki!" He shouts conjuring a blue orb from his hands. An instant later another white blob slams into it and bounces off as the orb explodes in a flash of light. A white splinter continues forward, however, and slams into Seinosuke's forehead clinging to his black hair. "Shit!" He yells.

"Hey, now you look like the first division guy!" Aki shouts from ground. She appears to be trying to extricate Kenta using her zanpakuto. Kenta was electing to scream and writhe in terror in response.

Seinosuke glares at her and mutters "Hopefully she'll get a makeover too." Personally, you don't hope that but keep silent. "You're doing a good job manuevering in the air, by the way. You should try taking the movement arts exam soon," Seinosuke adds.

You hear kenta scream, and Aki leaps up besides you two. You look down and see Kenta ensnared in even more of the mysterious white substance.

"I can cut him free, but it's gonna take a while. We ought to take care of that thing first," Aki suggests.

"Yeah seems like it," Seinosuke concurs. "Do you have any ideas on how we should proceed, my oh-so talented kouhai?" You don't know why but your cheeks feel a tinge warmer after hearing that.

Choose what tactics Aizen suggests:

[] Stick to the air to keep your room for evasion open.
[] Take to the ground to conserve stamina.
[] Move in close while your partners use kido.
[] Write-in (sub option write ins for the other choices are accepted as well)

 

[stairmaster]

Aizen Sosuke
Student at Shin'o Academy. Currently trying to make friends.

Primary Skills:
Reiryoku Control: Student (71/100) Favored
The Ability to pull from ones reserve of spiritual energy and affect the world with it. Some might say that this is less a primary skill and more the foundation of a Shinigami's combat ability. Aizen finds it comes naturally to them and for this reason has been placed in the accelerated class.

Zanjutsu Competent(0/200) Favored
The art of the blade. It is almost synonymous with Shinigami.

Hakuda Student (0/200)
The art of the fist. The oldest Shinigami combat art dating to the time before zanpakutos but no longer the most popular.

Hoho Student (0/200)
The art of movement. Aizen can leap several stories and run several times faster than Olympic athletes. He has also developed a rudimentary understanding of shunpo.

Kido Competent (0/400)
The second oldest of the shinigami combat arts. The ability for a shinigami to shape spiritual energy into a construct. The uses of which are too many to contain in the margins of this character sheet.

Shikai Competent (0/400)
[REDACTED] is a blade that [REDACTED] with the command [REDACTED]. It's ability consists of [REDACTED].

Techniques:
Seppa
A shiba earth magic technique to transmute matter into sand. Very potent in close combat and you suspect you may be able to expand on it in the future.

Spoiler: Possible Techniques

Iaijutsu (10/75)
The art of unsheathing the blade and attacking in a single motion. It's effectiveness as an opening strike and counter attack directly correlate with Aizen's skill in Zanjutsu.

List of Hado Spells (WIP)
List of Bakudo Spells (WIP)

 

[stairmaster]

You've been practicing your movement arts for last two months and you aren't going to stop now.

"Let's harry it from the air with kido until it's stunned and we can move in for the kill," You suggest. "I'll keep it's attention occupied."

You flash step forward directly over the puppet. White globes shoot into the sky trailing you. You land on the canyon wall and sprint along it. As the projectile stop coming at you, you skid to a halt and leap back at the puppet to regain it's focus. You squint as the sheen of the simulated hollow becomes a bright red briefly before two fireballs slam into it. Then you close your eyes as the spider vanishes in an explosion and turn away as dust pelts you.

You wipe your face of the particulate and look back. The puppet lays on the ground slumped over with its legs limp. Slowly the mask slides off and then... confetti shoots out from where it had been lobbing fluid.

That's it?

Seinosuke and Aki hi-five. Your shoulders slacken and you keep quiet as the instructor comes in to appraise your performance. Understandably he doesn't have much to say about your actions.

---

The rest of the training session was short. The instructor took small groups outside of the barrier to administer soul burial on the newly deceased. You note that the task itself is completely skill-less but negotiating with the wayward deceased is something that requires nuance. Unfortunately you weren't much in the mood for it.

Wiping your brow, you step out of the senkaimon back into Soul Society. You're still out of sorts after that anti-climatic combat exercise. Did you really need to be there at all? Aki and Seinosuke try to laud your skills but really-

You stop. All the students who exited before you are standing at attention. Slowly but surely they part, marching into two separate columns facing each other. You immediately fall suit but get a glance of a figure at the other end of the roof. There stands a man with dark green messy hair and piercing emerald eyes. What truly catches your eye is the white overcoat he wears atop his shinigami robes. Recognizing what that means you immediately break off your glance and stare straight ahead. You hear Aki,standing on your left, quietly giggle.

The air is completely still as the captain quietly says something to the fourth year instructor. His spiritual presence is like that of a serene brook and yet you easily feel like you might drown in it. Why is it then, that for all the fear you feel there is no corresponding awe?

"You're all dismissed," The instructor proclaims. "Aizen Sosuke, the captain would like to have a word with you." You clench your first. The class remains still for a moment before departing. Seinosuke smiles and gives you a re-assuring pat on the back before leaving and Aki smiles at you.

You stride up to the captain and stay composed despite the aura of certain doom prevailing over you. What the hell is this about?

"Aizen Sosuke, I am Captain Tsunayashiro Tokinada of the third division. I've heard some good things about you." He smiles warmly. Shit. He turns to the instructor. "I'd like to speak to him in private, if you don't mind." The instructor nods and departs for the stairwell. He makes sure to grab Aki, who is watching from afar, by the collar and drag her away too.

Then, it is just you and one of the strongest men in all of soul society alone on this roof, and you made a public mockery of his relative this month.

"So you've only been here for about 3 months and they're already sending you out to the real world? And you received a four on the reiryoku examination too?" He puts his hand on your shoulder and you cringe internally. He's building you up so he can knock you down! He continues: "There's a word for that confluence of skill and talent. Do you know what it is?"

"No sir," You respectfully bow.

"Genius, that's what. The instructors obviously won't use it because they don't want any of the students getting a god-complex." Then why are you telling me this? "I certainly hope that doesn't happen to you. If you remain on the path of an upstanding Shinigami there's a place for you in my division." He gives you a pat on the head and walks past you to the Senkaimon.

You're not falling for this. You know what's coming.

Tsunayashiro Tokinada halts. "By the way," He says. "I forgot to ask you about the incident last month regarding my nephew..." He turns back to you. Here it comes. "He hasn't been giving you any problems lately, has he?"

You're not falling for this trap. You smile and answer: "Besides getting overzealous in training, Tsunayashiro Kimiya has acted with a dignity and grace befitting of House Tsunayashiro."

Tokinada chuckles. "Keep talking like that and you'll get far in high society. Though I bet some friends of yours would be disappointed to see that." You raise an eyebrow. He laughs once again. "Don't worry about it." He turns back and the seinkaimon opens.

Without a word he steps in and leaves this realm.

That's it?

---

Okikiba Genshiro had never known a heat this dry in the 1500 years since he had been brought into this world. As he dashes across the verdant desert scape, he knows that he'll be dealing with sunburn for the next week. At this moment, more than anything else he envies Sasakibe Chojiro for his ability to grow a decent tan.

Though over the last millennium, Genshiro has learned not to linger on regrets or resentment. What if's have long since lost their allure.

The buzz of the diving hollow interrupts his thoughts. Flash-stepping to the side, he bellows "Hainawa!" and thrusts out his palm. Yellow rays of light spawn forth and jut around the bee-shaped monster and coalesce into the form of ropes wraping around it. With a grunt, Genshiro heaves and lifts the hollow into the air and over himself. The ground rumbles and cracks as he delivers a suplex.

"I think we've done enough running for today," By his count, Okikiba Genshiro has sprinted almost forty miles away from the academy students. He unsheathes his zanpakuto. The blade is straight and the handle a simple bronze covered in wick.

The hollow twitches and its eight arms, all extending from the center of its mass, lash out ferally. It buzzes in a deep unnatural pitch. As Genshiro raises the sword, the violence of its movements intensifies. Then he brings the blade down and the hollow is still. Genshiro sheathes the blade once more and wipes the sweat off his brow.

He sits on a nearby rock and waits. His task has just begun.

Stinger D is not an exceptionally strong hollow. It relies on a brute force that can easily be surmounted by a seated officer of the Gotei 13. There is no particular reason the third seat of the First Division should be out in the mojave right now collecting its bounty except for one thing: This is the fourth time it's been reported as slain. The first time the bounty was claimed was by the fifth seat of the 13th Division who promptly returned back to Seireitei to claim the reward. The second and third were two junior officers of the Ninth Division. They vanished after making the report.

Captain Hikifune has a hypothesis for what happened and Genshiro is here to test it. He doesn't have to wait long before a tear appears in the sky and splits the heavens. An unholy cacophony of buzzing fills the desert as a dozen more bees fly into the Human World.

Genshiro sighs. Deep down he wished that it was just some form of re-animation. Now he must test for the second hypothesis Hikifune has drafted: That there is a queen to this colony. A tightrope must be walked: the hollows must be killed but not too quickly or easily otherwise the swarm might break off before said leader commits herself. Which means no bankai (which would be perfect for this situation) and no shikai right off the bat.

Okikiba Genshiro draws his sword again and resigns himself to a long day.

Time to return to the fundamentals.

---

Dear Sosuke

I hope this letter finds you well. I am ecstatic to hear that your studies at the academy are going well. Training as an officer is sure to make you a worthy successor to the business.

Unfortunately due to recent incidents, I regret to inform you I will be out of town for an undetermined period of time. Forgive me, but I will most likely not be able to see you this new years. My thoughts and prayers will be with you nonetheless.

Best wishes
Aizen Eishun

You slump into your bed as you finish reading the letter. This is just not your day. You failed to make an impression on anyone this morning and now this. The comments of that captain nag at your mind too. What was he trying to warn you about?

"Aizen-san, Shiba-san is offering to take us out for soba. Sei is coming too." Kaname says as he walks into the room. What does that last part have to do with anything?

"No, I'm not feeling hungry this evening." You say. "I think I'm going to go to sleep early."

Kaname pauses and stares at you. He puts his hand on your shoulder. "Before you go to bed, perhaps you should consider meditating with your blade," He turns to leave. "I'll be back in an hour."

"Thank you, Kaname."


---

"Hello, Ou-sama I heard you had a hard day," Your sword says as she hands you another cup of tea.

"No, just uncomfortable," You sip it. "Of course you should know how unbearable the weather was since you were there too."

She giggles and leans in. "It's actually perfect weather for me. You certainly haven't been giving me enough time in the sun lately..." She pulls up her sleeve a little and despite the dim lighting you feel your heart race a little.

"I didn't know that it worked that way..." Do you have a weakness for purple haired women?

"Probably not," She laughs again and pours more tea. "I wouldn't have to worry about rusting out there at the very least." You know for a fact that it doesn't work that way. "I'm upset you didn't get to use me today and I think you are too." Her smile fades and her eyes narrow.

"I certainly can't say I got all the practice in I wanted today," Your voice is confident and yet you suddenly have trouble meeting her gaze.

"And that's why you kept to yourself for the rest of the day, right? and came here as soon as you had free-time?"

You shirk away.

She continues. "Did you not have visions of cleaving that machine in two? And even before that did you not dream of wielding my power before any of your peers could achieve the same?" She leans over the table and grabs you by the head to make sure you're looking at her. "If so why don't you claim it?"

"I... don't know how,"

Your zanpakuto lets go and leans back. "Just look around. I've seen how your eyes seem to lose focus when you try to gaze upon the surroundings here. You must get past that" She instructs.

"Why are you doing this? What happened to finding a reason?"

"When you despair, all light vanishes from this world. We travel down the same path remember?" She stands up and walks behind you. "Now tell me what you see."

Your eyes widen and the blur surrounding the gondola fades.

You see:
[](CANON) An endless ocean surrounding you. An enormous moon hangs in the sky casting a breath taking reflection in the water.
[](Elemental) An endless sky surrounds you. Your gondola stands atop a massive pillar wrapped in behemoth clouds.

You see it all and not only that you hear-

---

Aizen has learned the name of his zanpakuto and achieved shikai. Now all that's left is to prepare for the combat arts tourney in 3 months to fulfill your promise to Isshin and after you'll without a doubt be ready to graduate.

But first how do you end up spending your holiday?

[]Shiba Isshin hears your plight and offers to take you back to the shiba household for the week.
[]Tosen Kaname is headed back to his hometown in the rukongai. You decide to tag along.
[]The 8th division vice captain has offered the the top students of your class an opportunity to spend the week in the 8th division barracks learning a bit about being a shinigami (and providing free labor). You and Yadomaru Lisa decide to take this offer.

Second you begin training intensely for the tournament. You don't dare over specialize (Gain 600XP) but there is one area you pay special attention to and that is:

[]Zanjustsu (Automatically becomes Trained and favored)
-[] Kaname has been a good sparring partner. You will continue to seek his aid.
-[] You don't want to get to used to a specific opponent. You change things up by asking Yadomaru Lisa to practice with you.

[]Kido. Shiba Isshin may be the only other first year participating (as far as you know) but he's also the best in the class at kido. (Becomes favored. You're already at trained so no free rank here)

[]Hakuda (Automatically becomes trained and favored)
-[] The shiba clan has instructed Isshin well. You have no doubt he'd be willing to share a few pointers on grappling with you.
-[] You saw a glimpse of what Lisa could do at the bar a few months ago. You think she can teach you how to deliver similar beatings to your opponents.

Use a plan format to spend your XP

There is a three hour moratorium on voting.

 

[stairmaster]

Spoiler: Non Canon Omakes

Untitled Date With Shiba Isshin by VagueZ 100XP to Kido.

Art: None yet.

Spoiler: Miscellaneous Awards

Exterty's kido submissions 40xp: to Iaijutsu.

 

[stairmaster]

"Shatter, Kyoka-Suigetsu"

For a second you see nothing as your blade shines and shimmers with an intensity you've never seen. Then you feel power coursing through your sword. You grip the handle harder than you ever have. Though one thing bothers you.

"It didn't change?"

Kyoka Suigetsu laughs once more. She walks besides you and up to the endless sea. "When you unleash my power, it is the world that changes not me." She raises a blade, an exact replica of your own, and swings it over the waves. The night sky, the moon, and the stars all vanish to be replaced by a panoramic view of your room. Everything is as you remember it.

Then you look at the reflection in the water. The room is the same except the other bunk.... is you. You look at your sword spirit and then back at the reflection and she's standing in your place. "When you master this power you will be able to make a dragon seem like a horsefly and vice versa," She smiles at you and leans in. "Anyone who sees my release will be subject to total domination of their senses."

You stare at the sea that stretches to the end of your very being. The ability to appear anyway you want.... What does this say about you? You remember Isshin's words to you in the grove and it makes far more sense now. You've always seen going with the flow as a good thing but perhaps it's meant you've been drowning all along. At this moment, you wonder who Aizen Sosuke truly is.

Her smile subdues and she steps towards you and puts both hands on your shoulder. Leaning she says "Relax," causing you to tense up even more. "Did I not tell you what happens to this world when you are anguished?" She hugs you and while it is warm and soft... for a second you think your bones might break. "Besides, do you know what this means I can do for you?" She pulls back and stares you in the eye in anticipation. You look to the sky and the sea at your dormitory and see.... it's so vivid.

"I... don't need glasses anymore do I?" Possibilities flood your head. Perhaps this ability means true freedom to live your own path. With this power, no one could tell you what to do... Maybe you could even become Captain Commander... The thought lifts your spirits and the misfortune of the day leaves your mind.

Kyoka-Suigetsu grins. "Yes... But~ you can also undress all the girls in your class~!"

...

How would that even work? It's not like you know what's under there. Kyoka Suigetsu laughs again and answers as if she's read your mind "Don't worry I have my ways~."

"I think I'm going to leave now."

Your zanpakuto just laughs again releasing you from her hold. "We're just getting started, Ou-sama." She steps back and you feel cold metal against your neck. She steps back and raises the blade, the grip reversed with the dull edge on the bottom, and assumes a stance. "We'll start off slow and ramp it up as the night goes on..."

You draw your own blade and find it hard to maintain a steady grip. You are just simply too excited.

---

You exit your inner world lying in your bed. There is no part of you that does not at the very least ache. You feel wetness over your eye and slowly reach over for your face, though the muscles in your arm don't want to co-operate. Someone has placed a towel over your head. One of your eyes opens (The other does not) and the first thing you see is Watanabe Sei. Her hands emit a faint light blue glow as they hover over your chest.

She stammers "Aizen-Sama... Aizen-San!" and stops what ever she's doing to grab your hand and hold it. Your body hurts so much more now but you don't particularly mind.

"What are you doing in my room...?" You groan, and WHY are you on the bottom bunk? Tosen Kaname steps into the corner of your vision.

"When I came back you were still in a trance but your spiritual pressure was rampaging," He calmly says. "Despite your deep meditation, I could still hear you wincing and had to check your body for wounds." You let the implications, considering Kaname's sensory impairment, roll over you for a second. Still though, you doubt Isshin would have done that for you.

"So the towel...?"

"Yes, I put it on for your black eye. Frankly, if it had been just a bit worse I would have taken you to the infirmary," Kaname answers. Kyoka Suigetsu had promised not to aim for your face... but she couldn't help it when you dodged into a blow once or twice. "When the morning came I brought Sei in to administer kaido."

"Why didn't you...?" You pull away from Sei's grasp and she, after a moment, goes back to casting her healing arts.

"I didn't know if you wanted them to know you had achieved Shikai," He responds. Of course, there was no way that, even with such a lackluster transformation, this would get past his abilities of spiritual perception. "You have broken the record and that would get the attention of all of soul society."

You turn back to look at the ceiling. You'd already gotten an offer for the equivalent of a 20th seat position in the Onmitsukidō. Of course there was no way you'd be giving up your zanpakuto for that.

"What's wrong with that?" Sei asks. "Every captain and corps commander would know his name!"

"And so would every noble. Do you want to see him be the rope in a five way tug of war?" Kaname fires back.

"Yeah poor Aizen Sosuke, getting marriage offers from all the most beautiful women in all of Seireitei. You're just jealous!" It's a terrible read, but Kaname scowls anyways... but then he frowns and his shoulders slack.

"I would never attach myself to the nobility..." He answers to Sei, but you can feel that in part it is directed to you.

You don't really know what Kaname truly fears, but one thing is clear. Against your better judgement, you sit up and it seems like every muscle below your neck is protesting.

"Since when were you under the impression I was going to leave you all behind?" You throw your legs, against Sei's protests, over the side of the bunk and sit fully upright. "Besides it's not like anyone is going to want to recruit a Shinigami who still can't cast any kido." You chuckle to yourself and Sei giggles. Kaname still seems down. You're almost worried that you're going to have to hug him, but you can't remember the last time you did that so you really don't want to take that option. "Perhaps some breakfast would cheer you up, Tosen-san?"

"Alright... But I'm not carrying you to the cafeteria." Kaname responds.

"I didn't ask," You grin as you stand up and immediately regret it, but you can't afford to show weakness.

It's a long walk to the cafeteria.

---

You stand atop the reflective sea flanked by you... and you. Five of you face off against five of Kyoka Suigetsu. She and her doubles smirk then flash step towards you. You step forward and raise your blade catching her sword before it splits your skull. The doppelgangers match your moves.

Using your zanpakutos abilities is like flexing a muscle you never knew you had. Creating the mirages happens with only a thought but maintaining them requires focus.

Adrenaline courses through your veins, your focus wanes for just a moment, and one of your mirages on the left breaks apart as it clashes blades. Another falls as your opponents mirage drives her blade through his skull and shatters into. You pull your blade back and flash step two paces before leaping into the air.

"What a shame, all these images are breaking apart before you can even watch them bleed to death. Where's the verisimilitude?" Kyoka Suigestu chides you. In that exchange, her hair had shifted to the side and you now get a glimpse of her other eye. Her left pupil shines a solid yellow like the full moon in the sky.

Sustaining illusions is an exercise in force of personality. They take little to no spiritual energy but it feels like you are in a constant argument with your opponent to convince them of these images veracity.

Perhaps quality over quantity is what you should be aiming for right now. A third illusion fades, having been dismissed by you. You raise your right hand in the air and in your palm coalesces the radiating spiritual energy. "Ye Child! Victim of Passion and Love," You begin to chant, invoking the fifteenth hado: Moesashi. The five Kyoka Suigetsu does not wait to finish and leaps in the air at you. Things slow to a crawl as you clench your fist, crushing the malformed magic orb, and shout "Hado #9: Kuuken". This second spell goes off perfectly as the air ripples around you in all directions. The expanding sphere of over-pressure makes short work of your own duplicate, and Kyoka Suigetsu's.

Your first spell likewise expands but in a far less ideal manner. The orb cracks then pops and smoke and ash explodes out pelting you. Your palm and fingers burn and you tumble to the ground as the pain overcomes you. Through the smog you see a figure sprinting towards you.

"Ou-Sama?!" Kyoka Suigetsu grabs your hand and looks at it. Already the skin has begun to blister. Then she puts her palm to her face. "Oh, Ou-sama what happened to all those safety lessons they imposed on you?" she laments.

Safe fighting is an oxymoron you have decided. Pain is to be expected when you do battle. Of course how would Kyoka Suigetsu know that when you've never managed to land a single blow since you began these daily spars.

Then an idea comes to you. Instead of creating a second Aizen you merely change the image of yourself.

"It hurts so much...." the false Aizen cries out and reaches for Kyoka Suigetsu. "Oh, Ou-sama!" She obliges and draws him in for a hug burying his head in her chest.

In reality you raise your good hand and point, sticking your arm through the false Aizen, at her shoulder. "Byukurai," You utter and a bright beam of light goes through the both of them. Blood from your own illusion decorates your face before shattering with it.

Kyoka Suigetsu screams... and then shatters. Suddenly you feel something tightening around your neck. "Ou-sama, when did you become so duplicitous?" She pouts as she tightens the choke hold. "Though it was a good move, I think you may be ready to use me in battle now," She pats you on the head as you black out and return to the real world.

---

Sei groans as she examines your hand. "I thought you were done mutilating yourself like this..." You note that, as soon as you had unwrapped the bandage and presented the wound, the other students in the cafeteria started picking new seats further from you.

"So did I," you answer. Really what kind of Zanpakuto starts fighting you after you've achieved Shikai? "How long do you think it'll take to heal?"

Sei sighs. "Why don't you just let me heal it?"

You pause trying to think of a dignified way to explain. "Because... it'd be gross." She groans and grabs your hand.

"You were just going to spend new years like this because of that?" She whispers a chant and the blisters begin to pop, and your skin begins to flake. Ugh.

"You're lucky you have someone like her to take care of you," Yadomaru Lisa says. It's easy to forget she's there sometimes. "I bet Isshin-san would be totally useless with this kind of thing."

"If anything, it's more likely I'd be the one taking care of him." You admit. How that man has not just fallen into mishap after mishap is a mystery that eludes you. That's probably why the only time you get to talk to Lisa is when she's with Sei, nowadays.

"Ah, so it's that kind of relationship then," Lisa smiles at you, and you are reminded of that girl from seinosuke's class. Sei gives Lisa a gentle elbow for reasons you don't fully understand though you do find it odd she used the word "relationship".

"No, not particularly. He's quite reliable when it comes down to it, I would say. Without his help I don't think I would have gotten a perfect score on the Kido examinations." You think back to Kaname's prediction and are glad you heeded his advice. Just passing that single graduation exam alone had already gotten you quite the attention from Seireitei in the form of offers for a position in the Kido and Detention Corps.

"Ah, so is Shiba Isshin someone you would call Senpai?" Lisa asks as her grin grows wider by the minute.

"Well, uh..." You suppose that Isshin is more of a rival? but he's also a good friend.

Before you can surmise an eloquent way of describing this, Sei grabs Lisa by the arm and asks "Can you not do this right now?"

"Do what?" You ask. Hold on, is Lisa trying to use you as an in with Isshin...? No, you can't see them having any chemistry. Is she trying to get to know you better? You should have asked her out earlier, Ou-sama!

"Sorry," Lisa apologizes. No, please keep going. "Changing the subject, do you have anything special planned for new years Aizen?"

"Unfortunately my father is away on business, so I'm going to stay here for the week and focus on training," You answer trying to stay smooth as possible. Incidentally you become very conscious of your still healing and still grotesque hand and pull it away.

"Oh, you know the academy shuts down for the week right?" Huh?! "Yeah, they ship off the students who don't have a place to go back to off to one of the thirteen divisions, so the Shinigami there can take leave."

"Oh," You reply. "Hopefully they won't send me off to the eleventh then." Maybe you should just go home then...

"Nah, That's not going to happen for anyone in the accelerated class. We get to pick our preferences." Oh well that changes things a lot. Hold on...

"Wait, are you not going home?" Sei asks. "What about your family?" Lisa shrugs in response and her smile fades. You get the sense you shouldn't trespass.

"What division are you hoping for?" You ask curious. You're not actually sure it'd make much of a difference in this case but you want to change the subject.

"The Eighth," Lisa responds. "I hear they hold the best celebrations with plenty of booze" she says the second part far quieter.

"I thought you were done drinking after that incident...?"

"Yeah, with people who get into trouble like Isshin." Bold words coming from a woman who drop kicked an eleventh squad member in a bar fight but you elect not to say that.

Instead you just shrug and hope you get sent to the Eighth.

---

In the end, you did get the eight (Onabara-sensei flat out asked you where you wanted to go) but the promises of revelry were not entirely fulfilled...

"Good job, Aizen-kun! I've never seen someone restock the storehouse so quickly before." Kyoraku Shunsui applauds you. The wavy haired captain with the pink flower-patterned coat had spent more of the day making sure you had hauled seemingly all the barrels of wine in all of soul society to the 8th division barracks. At least it was a good work out.

"Captain Kyoraku, forgive me for asking but why are you personally overseeing this menial task?" The man is worryingly informal for a person of his position but you decide it's best to err on the side of caution.

"Because my Vice Captain is on leave with his family," Shunsui cheerfully replies. "He's the only other man I could trust with this most important task of the day." These words are entirely sincere and that seems like a problem but not one that you have the tools to deal with.

"At least I'm going to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor on new years day, right?" you ask.

Shunsui shakes his head. "Oh goodness no, I cannot be serving academy servants alcohol at a public event like that. Yama-ji would have my head." The casualness to which he refers to a literal living legend also shocks you. Shunsui leans in and whispers to you in a conspiratorial tone "I've got a game of Chinchiro going with the eleventh division tonight. Way less people will be watching..."

"I'm just a student. I barely have any money on me! Why would you even tell me this?" You fire back in a hushed tone.

"Because I found out, and nagged him about it" Lisa chimes in. You almost jump out of your uniform. How did she do that.

"It's fine, I've got plenty of money to lend." Shunsui reaches into his robes. "I can spot you both 20,000 Kan." You struggle to keep your jaw from dropping. That's an unseated officer's yearly income!... which would be quite a windfall

What do you do?
[]You oblige. It's not your money you're gambling right? Plus if you win Lisa might think you're cooler.
[]You refuse. The last time you got drunk in the presence of the eleventh division it ended poorly and money wasn't involved that time.
[] Write-in.


Aizen has unlocked the power of his zanpakuto Kyoka Suigetsu and can now perform Complete Hypnosis. When an opponent sees his zanpakuto release, he is able to impose hallucinations over objects that fool their senses. Additionally he can create free floating mirages but currently finds it difficult to do anything other than duplicates of himself. As he trains the ability, the illusions he creates can become more elaborate and more defiant of reality.

 

[Tjakari]

An Open Question
​

---

​

---

However easily sleep usually came, tonight just wasn't doing it. Whether it was because he was just a bit more restless than usual, or he had something to get off his chest, Sosuke didn't know. He didn't know a lot of things, now that he thought about it.

Being inside his own head so much over the last few weeks was odd. Very odd, in the grand scheme of his life. Up to this point anyway.

Sosuke didn't fancy himself a dull man, he was actually rather mindful. Especially relative to his peers, but that didn't mean he was mindful about himself, the parts that mattered most anyway.

What he believed? It was always in flux.

Every new fact to be learned, every piece of information was context for further understanding. The more he took in the less valid his previous understanding became. That was the nature of learning he guessed. But that had odd consequences for his soul, for his thoughts.

Just how quickly he could slip into a new mode of thinking, of action, it was beginning to dawn on him. All it took was something new to steer him in another direction. He led himself by the nose with every bit of information that crossed his path. No part of his outlook was permanent, ingrained or written in stone.

He was like water.

---

He supposed that was why he enjoyed training so much. The time with Kyoka Suigetsu, with the illusions was the most exciting part of his day, of his life really. In that narrow space behind his eyes was the meeting place between himself and something beautiful. And that place had as much definition as a puff of smoke.

There were constants of course, but even those were just things that had yet to change. There was always time for the water to dry or the sky to empty. Even he wasn't a constant at this point.

His inner world was the truest expression of everything that he wasn't and could be at a moment's notice.

What is Sosuke Aizen?

He can't say an individual, not during Jinzen anyway. How many of himself were there after all these sessions? He had lost count. So many dead copies, broken copies, bad copies, perfect copies. Copies with sweet smiles, copies with hard eyes, copies in pain. So many pieces of himself were scattered about and not one of them was whole.

Was he honorable? Was he cruel? Was he dangerous? Was he weak?

At times he'd made a pretense to all the above and plus some.

That was the nature of his zanpakuto, he guessed; to be everything at once or only a few things at a time.

What could be seen was only a function of how much practice he put in or attention he paid. The illusions were all up to him, up to his moods, up to his actions. And She was along for the ride. Will be along.

No wonder she cares how I feel so much, she's stuck with me no matter what I do.

He was a blank slate, he realized. More than less at any rate.

He was young now, but what does this boy lying on his cot know about the man he will be in a hundred years' time, two hundred, or even just fifty? Shinigami can live for ages if they're smart and powerful. Maybe even forever if they're crafty enough, who knows what's possible?

It was a frighteningly open question, it was a beautiful question. About himself, about Her, all of it.

Just what will they become together, if she keeps pushing him, if he keeps following where she leads? What happens if he leads?


What mask will fit best?

What mask will satisfy himself?

What mask will satisfy her?

She liked it when he was ruthless and crafty, he thought.

Or maybe she just liked that he played it smart.

Maybe she was just happy that he was learning.

Maybe he was happy that she was happy at all.

He certainly wanted to keep her that way.

Sigh.

---

"Kaname-san?" Sosuke asked in the dark of their room, he suddenly felt the urge to speak. "Are you awake?"

"Only until your reiatsu calms down." Kaname said, after a beat.

"I apologize... I'm usually more well put together by lights-out." It's the truth after all.

"What troubles you then?" He asked softly, "So we can both get some sleep."

A number of things and nothing at once.

"I'm curious. Could you…tell me about your relationship with your sword. If it's not too personal." Sosuke asked, edging toward his real question:

Is it odd to feel the way I do, about the woman that is also my sword?

"There is not much to tell, truth be told. We are bound by a common history, our souls are joined. This may change in the future, but for now we are pleasant with each other."

"When you speak to your zanpakuto…" How do I say this? "What is their tone?"

"I have the feeling that you're avoiding your real question, Sosuke-san."He replied, not quite exasperated, but getting there.

"You may as well say 'get on it with it…'"Sosuke muttered to himself.

"If it gets you to make your point, I may have to."

"I think my sword and I have a mutual affection. I don't think this is normal."

Kaname was chuckling to himself, very softly of course. It was very much unlike him. Far be it from him to even crack a smile.

"I suppose it's normal for boys our age to feel this way about our swords…"

Damn you Kaname, "I'm serious."

"I'm just making my fun Sosuke-san, Isshin-sama has that effect on people." He said, still trying to hold back from making another joke. "Though I should ask, since this is a serious question, what exactly do you picture my zanpakuto to look like?"

"I could hardly guess. I hoped it to look like a person at least."

"A person? How interesting…"

"A woman to be specific, a very beautiful one. She's the one who's been giving me all these beatings."

"Well that explains a few things. Namely why you can't seem to speak clearly. " Kaname mused. "Though this means we can still be friends, if yours was also an insect I might need another roommate."

"I shouldn't have to say that this stays between the both of us."

"Understood."

"So what is your zanpakuto, exactly?"

"A cricket, or something close. They sing sometimes, mostly sad songs..." He said, catching his training of thought "Though they do have many legs and a beautiful voice, they're very much not my type nor should they be anyone else's, Sosuke-san."

"No wonder you think this is so funny. All you have to do is make small talk with a bug the rest of your life."

"The 'bug' resents that statement... Though I wonder what your lady thinks of mine so far."

"She hasn't spoken much tonight, actually. Now that I think about it."

"Does she not speak much? Lisa-san would be very disappointed in your taste if that's the case."

"If I knew you were so quippy at night, I'd have kept my thoughts to myself."

"I'd try to help it, but it's in the air. Nighttime always puts me in odd moods." He pondered thoughfully. "I've been told that when the sun goes away that you all have a hard time seeing as well."
"It makes me feel at peace. As if the world was fair for just a few hours a day."

This is more what I expected from him. More philosophizing, less jokes.

"Hmm, I suppose that's true. I can't see much of anything right now. It's distracting how few distractions there are here."

"Are my quips not distracting enough? I hoped I could joke you to sleep."

"No such luck Kaname, no such luck..."

This conversation could go on for hours and they'd still get nowhere. Maybe it was better to have it at another time. Maybe with someone else.

Maybe you should talk to me?

That would make sense wouldn't it?

.
.
.
. ​

---

Author's Note: Assume for the first section, that Kyoka Suigetsu is responding to those questions, but Sosuke's too caught up to hear her.

Kaname does actually help him toward the end, even if neither of them knows it. Having no one on the outside to talk to about this, conversely, leads Sosuke to look inward.
And now they'll have a heart to heart off screen, because I don't know what @stairmaster wants to do with this relationship, if anything.

Nope, and I don't have any ideas to suggest besides the same old "Kaname learns Aizen sort of has a crush on his sword spirit." Maybe have people comment on Aizen's Competent Rank in Zanjutsu and Kido?

Click to shrink...

Definitely a Kyoraku question, but that's for another time, another Omake. Shame that we're not further on into the quest, though there could be a part two for this, over a cup of sake instead.

EDIT:

To any of the people who're reading this close to the posting time. I've probably edited more than a few things. Everything's the same, more or less. But I polished up that dialogue to something respectable.

 

[stairmaster]

You stare impassively at the money. In your chest, your heart thumps wildly.

"Hold on though, you said lend?" You look up from the bag of coins to the captain. "What happens if we end up losing even a portion of it?..."

Kyoraku Shunsui chuckles. "Well, then you'd get to witness firsthand my overflowing generosity." He puts the coin sack in your hands. "Plus, if you have more money I can put in more when I'm the bank." He winks.

"So it's not about bribing us to join your division when we graduate?"

"Of course not, I know you're not one of those hopeless losers whose going to just throw themselves at the Onmitsukidō or Twelfth Division when their beautiful captains make an appearance at the academy, right?" Shunsui smirks. You resent the implication that just because you're a young man-

Lisa chimes in. "Hold on, how beautiful?"

Shunsui turns to Lisa, confused. "Eh? well I supposed Captain Hikifune is your traditional buxom type while Captain Shihouin is more athletic but still- What are you doing?"

Yadomaru Lisa is deep in thought now with her hand under her chin. "If I win big tonight, could you introduce me to them?"

Shunsui sighs deeply. He turns back to you and smiles. "So Aizen-kun, my cousin-in-law says you've aced the kido exam, and you've also figured out shunpo?"

"Michiko-sama?" You ask referring to your kido instructor. Shunsui nods. "Yes, I've gotten a perfect score on the final kido examination but I think there's still room for me to improve." After all, Isshin is still a great deal better at it than you are currently.

Shunsui looks thoughtful for a moment and then-

"Yeah, but he's still really lagging behind when it comes to martial arts," Lisa interjects. Hey!? What the hell?

"Oh?" Shunsui asks, grin widening. "Do tell."

"I do not know where this is coming from," You begin to retort. "Considering Yadomaru-san has never actually sparred with me."

"We've all seen your spars with Tosen and he's clearly using a soft touch."

That can't be right. You're always struggling to keep up with him. Then again he's a lot fiercer with other opponents...

"Why don't you two settle this in our practice hall?" Shunsui asks.

Both Lisa and you raise an eyebrow. "You mean we should duke it out?" she asks.

"Oh, no I'm just thinking you'll have plenty of time to talk it out while you're sweeping the place," Shunsui pats you both on the back and walks off. "I'm going to go take a nap."

Are all the captains like this?

---

"So..." You and Lisa eye the 8th division's sole athletic facility. It's much smaller than the zanjutsu dojo back at the academy but more importantly: It doesn't look that dusty. "You think anyone will be able to tell if we actually swept it or not?" Not like anyone is going to be using it this time of year.

"Nope," She walks over to the stand and tosses you a wooden blade. You catch it and hold it over your shoulder.

"You really want to do this?" You ask.

Lisa shrugs and takes a stance. "I assumed you'd want to avenge your pride or something."

"I'm not the prideful sort," You reply and Lisa scoffs at that. "Okay, perhaps a little. Certainly though why would I stake it on a lie that could be revealed in a matter of seconds?"

Lisa smirks. "So you admit your swordsmanship is inferior to mine and Tosen's?"

You lower the blade and take your stance. "...I would certainly not use that word."

Your hand burns as you grip the handle, and your field of vision narrows filtering out the parts of the world that do not contain Yadomaru Lisa. Reishi pours from your wrists as you raise your reiatsu and Lisa matches you. Accounting for the difference in skill, you raise it higher and she reciprocates once more. At this point, you would step in to attack but today, without an instructor present to halt the spar, you are free to up the ante. You fan the flames of spiritual energy and feel a bead of sweat roll down your head. Have you ever put out this much before?

To your shock, Lisa matches you yet again and you begin to see faint waves in the air like the distant haze of a hot summer day. Though far less consistent, your aura is like the sun's ray beating down whiles hers is like a rough tide ebbing and flowing, it is no less powerful.

Then... Lisa relaxes her reisatu. Her stance slackens. "Hold on, this is stupid. We're just gonna break the blades if we go at it like this."

Oh... yeah that probably would happen. You relax. "So just our physical strength then?"

Lisa grunts in the affirmative as she rolls up her sleeves and dear Soul King are her arms toned. What else is under that Shihakusho...?

No! Focus! "Yadomaru-san, how long have you been practicing martial arts?"

"On and off again since I was a kid."

"On and off?"

"Yeah, my mom really wished I had just stuck to archery or the naginata."

"Is that why you're not at home right now?"

"Is that rhetorical?" She asks as she steps in. You thrust your blade but she parries it and lunges for your heart with her own. You step back and raise your own blade to bring it down. Lisa steps in, raises her blade to meet yours, and then... kicks you in the gut.

You reel backwards, more shocked than hurt, and fall over. "Did I strike a nerve?" You ask.

"A little," Lisa admit as she kneels down to give you a helping hand. You can't help but not how warm both your hands are after so little exertion. You feel a twinge of warmth in your cheeks as well as you get up. "Mainly though, I just wanted to cut loose. Things are a lot more restricted at the academy, you know? Since their first priority is training you to fight hollows." She continues. "Do you want me to tone it down?"

You shake your head.

You welcome the change in pace. Lisa is far more eager to punish you for your mistakes than Kaname. It's almost like facing Kyoka Suigestu except with more shoulder checking and opportunistic kicks to the thighs. At least the wooden blade is less painful than the dull edge of your zanpakuto.

---

It's a fruitful but tiring session. Like with Kyoka Suigestu, you begin to develop a certain... clarity when it comes to fighting in response to negative reinforcement. Perhaps you'll make an effort to spar with Lisa more often. After a quick trip to the shower (Seireitei's abundance of indoor plumbing still astonishes you), you are put on duty watching the front gate of the barracks. Visitors are sparse and don't offer that much in the way of conversation.

Then evening comes, and you are relieved of your post.

---

"Glad to see you made it," Kyoraku Shunsui gestures for you to sit to the left of him.

You shrug. "My schedule is somewhat open right now."

"He means he thought you were going to take the money and run." Third Seat Kuze, a man with an overflowing mullet, retorts from the captain's right.

Shunsui protests: "You don't really think I'm a pushover, do you?"

"When it comes to kids, and pretty girls? Hell yeah!" The bald tenth seat Eizo shouts.

Shunsui strokes his chin. "You know Eizo-kun, I've been thinking.... perhaps your talents would be better served in the Fourth Division's supply company." Eizo goes pale while Kuze and the unseated officers laugh. "But perhaps not." Shunsui smirks. Eizo relaxes but still eyes the Captain warily. Suddenly you feel goosebumps over your exposed skin. "Ah, our friends from the eleventh are here."

The ground doesn't shake, but it feels like it should as the captain of the Eleventh Division Kiganjo Kenpachi enters the room. You were expecting a man not a gorilla. Your entire body feels four times heavier just standing in his aura. He wears a feral grin as he leans under the door in order to fit through the frame. It feels like he takes up half the room with his mass. "You boys ready to empty your wallets?"

Behind him trail a mix of faces both familiar and unfamiliar. You recognize two of the shinigami from the bar fight: the man with the goatee and the red head but also you see.... Tsunayashiro Kimiya?

Your eyes meet and he sits down across from you. "Aizen-san, It's been so long since we last met," He smiles and you try to recall when that was. The image of him kneeling on the ground a month ago flashes in your head.

Oh right.

Suddenly his smile takes on a whole different meaning. Then you notice he's not wearing the academy uniform; he's clad in the same black robes as everyone else in the room.

What the hell? What the fuck?

"Tsunayashiro-sama..."

"Call me Kimiya. Did you know you can just challenge seated officers for to duels for their position in the Eleventh?" You nervously shake your head. "I'm pretty lucky that I decided not to go back home this week, huh?"

Shunsui cuts away from his own conversation and turns to you two. "You're Aizen-kun's classmate?" He turns back to Kenpachi and adds: "And you let him fight one of your officers?!"

Kenpachi chuckles. "Yeah, when the pipsqueak challenged my twentieth seat I asked him if he had a death wish and the son of a bitch answered '"Yes"'". Kimiya is still smiles warmly. You're not afraid of Kimiya, but of something else you can't quite put a finger on.

"Why the hell would you let him do that?" Shunsui cries out.

Kenpachi frowns. "Stop busting my balls, can't you tell the kids fine?"

"It's the principle of the matter!"

"If you want to get all Kant about it-" Who? "-then what happened was in pefect accordance with the principle of that rule"

"So..." Kimiya gestures for your attention while the two captains argue. "You want to know how I did it?"

Not like there's many options. Kido isn't allowed in the eleventh and Kimiya's swordmanship wouldn't give him great odds against a seated officer which leaves only one major possibility...

Damn. That son of a bitch!

But, also damn. "You achieved shikai in only a month?"

"Yep, ever since that day I was filled with... motivation to catch up to you," He explained. Your eyes drift down to the collar of his robe as you finally notice the scar jutting out from underneath it. You wince internally. Kimiya leans in closer. "So... you want to see how we compare now?"

At that point, you realize what was worrying you: That this was all your fault. Where the hell is Lisa? She probably wouldn't know what to do either but you really didn't want to handle this alone. I think she took the money and ran. Perhaps you should take him up on his offer. You'd finally get a chance to use Kyoka Suigetsu in the material world but... after the drastic reaction Kimiya had to your display of power the last time you're not sure that's a good idea. That's his problem, though.

You're too damn tired and sore for all of this tonight. You just want to drink some wine and place some bets. You:
[]Take him up on his offer. Tommorow, when your bruises have healed.
-You and Kimiya will don protective equipment and proceed to spar with your zanpakutos. Lisa will be your coach/second.
[]Turn him down politely.
[]Make an excuse and leave. Go see what Lisa's up to.
-You take the money and run.

 

[stairmaster]

Interlude: Tsunayashiro Tokinada

Stepping into Guangzhou was like touring the Rukongai. None of the buildings stood more than five stories tall, the walls were thin and made of brick, and only the busiest roads seemed to be paved. On the other hand, the ocean and rivers teeming with ships were a sight one could never behold in Soul Society. The ships in the sea were behemoths compared to the riverboats that fed Seireitei and the inner districts. The last time Tsunayashiro Tokinada had visited the real world, he marveled at the ships of war that stood 3 stories tall with sailing masts even taller than that.

This time, he would have to ask about the ship bellowing smoke from its iron funnels.

---

Kun Quan lived in a small house for a man of his position. The main residence was about the same size as the Tsunayashiro Estate's Servants quarter. If Tokinada had it in him to care, he'd feel pity for the servants working here. Instead, he pondered if they got claustrophobic.

The servant bowed as he excused himself, and Kun Quan met Tokinada at the door.

"It is so good to see you, honorable Tsunayashiro. It has been far too long." Kun Quan bowed. The elder was still sporting his ponytail but it was now a thin grey thing, and his hairline had suffered as well. Meanwhile Tokinada had stayed the same young handsome man, and hell, now he was a bachelor again.

Bet it feels good to see me like this, huh? Tokinada thought as he returned the bowed smiling warmly. "There is no need for such formalities. After all we've known each other for so long and I am dying to have some more of that living world tea." Tokinada would gladly sacrifice his family to know the reason tea tasted so much better here than in Seireitei. Well, maybe just Kimiya. He didn't need the head position, yet.

"Very well. Might I ask who your companion is?"

"Oh, he's a humble servant of the Tsunayshiro family filling in for my second seat." Otoribashi Rojuro was barely at his side these days. The minute a captain spot opened up he'd most likely be gone for good. So Tokinada had brought this mountain of a man, a former Executive Corp lieutenant, as a body guard. Just in case the news from Seireitei made the venerable elder want to punch his head off. A human shield would give him valuable seconds to draw his sword. Please don't ask me what that man's name is. All Tokinada could recall was it had a Ryu in there somewhere. "And before you ask, that's a gift for your household." Tokinada added gesturing to the white cloth bundle sashed around "Ryu"'s shoulder.

"Oh?" Quan scratched his mustache with an amused look. "A magic item from Seireitei?"

"Even better: a work of craftsmanship from Europe," Tokinada grinned.

"Eh?"

"You'll see. Speaking of which, you told me in your correspondence that you adopted a boy?" As part of his diplomatic duties as a member of house Tsunayashiro, Tokinada had been writing to the man for half a century now.

"Yes, Ka-kui was the son of my sworn brother. I took him in after his demise..."

Tokinada smiled, not out of politeness but because he knew the old man was thinking about how it was a shinigami who had cut his brother down. Unfortunately, there'd be some more bad news regarding that today but it was important to know when to savor lifes fleeting pleasures.

Silence broke out and Tokinada cleared his throat to break it. "So... has he learned to project a bow yet?"

"It is not uncommon for some Quincy to be late bloomers. Why do you ask?" Quan frowned.

"Just reminds me of some legends about that old king of yours..."

"Probably as true as the legend of your commander being a dragon who burned the old world away with his fire," Quan shrugged.

"If you had been around during the war, you might believe that last part."

"Oh what did you think of my ancestors?" Quan queried. He wore a mischievous grin like he was laying a trap.

Don't try and guilt trip me, you old cantankerous piece of shit. Tokinda frowned and replied: "Alas, I was but a young man then, so I did not participate in any of the major battles." Images of the flooded Tsunayashiro estate, his sister's waterlogged corpse, and plunging his sword into Sternritter D "The Deluge" flashed in his mind.

Quan paused again and his smile became normal once more. "Perhaps that's for the best, let's get that tea then."

---

"Alright, It's been long enough. I must know what that gift is." Quan insisted.

Tokinada finished off the last sip of tea. "Well to be honest, It is for Ka-Kui."

"Oh?"

Ryu gently laided the bundle down and unwrapped it. Within was a rifled musket, a small bundled sack, and an assortment of glass capsules. Quan stared blankly for a beat.

"Are those Ginto?" Quan asked.

Tokinada nodded. "The rifle's been custom fit to fire them. Spells haven't been imposed on them yet."

"This is... Thank you, I'm sure he'll appreciate it" Quan stammered. "How did you even get this?"

Tokinada smiled "With money, of course." Quan raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Quincies are not the only living beings I talk to, you know. Should we give it to Ka-kui now?"

"Uh... Perhaps later, after we deal with the official business." Quan answered. Tokinada half suspected the man was going to bury it after he left. Well tough luck kid.

"Ah, Very good then. Anyways, I have some bad news: The Noble Assembly has heard your proposition for arming Quincy with Asuachi and decided to dismiss it entirely."

Quan leaned forward and sighed deeply as he massaged his brow. "...And what was their reasoning for this?"

"The official argument was that it stood in violation of a law forbidding the transfer of power from a shinigami to a living human but...." Left unsaid was the fact that law had been passed in the aftermath of the Quincy invasion. "Like I said, the Kuchiki Ginrei still remembers the war and seeing his extended family wiped out" Tokinada added. Did you seriously think they were going to trust your people with the potential to bankai?

Quan remained silent. "...What else did you come to tell me?"

Tokinada fought back the urge to smile. He gestured for Ryu to leave. This was going to be the good part. "A Shinigami was murdered in Changsha last month. By a Quincy."

Silence.

"That man was a member of the Feng family. A noble family subordinate to the Shihouin clan. Central 46 has already issued the death penalty for the killer." Of course you already knew this. Since that was the man who killed your brother.

Silence again.

Using hollow bait to dispose of the body was certainly novel. Too bad patrol corps officers always traveled in pairs...

"Officially, I'm not supposed to be telling you this. They haven't decided on the specific ultimatum yet"

Still silence.

"Without a suspect, they're probably going to label your clan or maybe the whole East Asian Alliance guilty, but If you give up a Sternritter they'll probably be be satisfied."

Quan didn't look up. "Do they just expect us to roll over and die? If we didn't train in our art, the hollows would come for us nonetheless..." His shoulders slackened. "And they keep insisting on expanding the regions we can't combat them...." The frivolity had left his voice completely.

Come on and man up. Do what your grandfather should have done a century ago. Three generations of the Kun family had tried to reconcile with Seireitei in light of the fraying spiritual balance. They had made dozens of propositions and compromises all shot down by the Kuchiki's... and Tsunayashiro. Tokinada didn't care to mention that last fact though.

Tokinada shrugged. "It is what it is. What do you plan on doing now?"

Quan paused. After what seemed like an eternity he finally looked up and spoke again, this time however his tone was grave: "Can you deliver a message to soul society for me?"

Tokinada nodded lightly. "Of course."

"Tell them that the Shinigami are no longer welcome within the borders of Qing."


Tokinada left the meeting with a grin.

 

[stairmaster]

Yeah because of a combination of life stuff and overall dissatisfaction with what I've done so far, I'm putting this quest in the morgue.