Chess: black knight to white pawn
“…Heavy is the head that wears the crown?”
Sousoke Aizen smiled with benign patience at the sibilant voice, it’s whispery tones no more substantial than a dream.
“Mmm, perhaps. It has been a long day.” He answered that whispery voice, and took a sip of his tea.
“Poor, poor dear. Working yourself so very hard to bring about your plans, and look; no one to see the effort and artistry involved.” The voice whispered somewhere to his left. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out the ghostly shape. Today she was more solid, and appeared as the outline of a woman clad in floating veils, made all of wavering yellow-colored smoke. The apparition curled like a loving housecat around his legs, and then took on more of a form to lay her veiled head against his shoulder, her insubstantial arm curling around him in a partial hug.
“Are you concerned for my health, or my state of mind?” He asked, almost teasing, then turned as though she were not twined around him, and walked through her, back to the throne-like seat on the balcony that overlooked an acrid stretch of Hueco Mundo.
The golden wisps of smoke twirled and arranged itself into a series of arabesques, as it darted after him; the twinkling sound of a woman’s laughter darkened by a sinister note at the ends.
“Of course I worry for you, Sousuke. Your path is a narrow one.--” The soft voice answered as the golden smoke arranged itself into a spiral above where he sat, and then twined in slow waves around him, forming itself again into the heavily veiled woman seated coquettishly in his lap.
He knew these displays were meant to be playful representations, but he wondered sometimes why she insisted so on pretending to touch him, when he felt nothing from the contact save a subtle shift in temperature across his skin.
“--Dangerous to tread so fine a line between ambition and recklessness.” A light pout was evident in her voice, as the hazy figure formed an arm before his eyes, and then a surprisingly articulate hand. A hand which gently traced the lines of his coat over his chest.
He chuckled lightly and set his mug aside, then leaned back more into his chair.
“Ah. So you think it to be recklessness that governs the decision to lure the boy here.” He may not be able to physically feel his ghostly companion, but as with their first encounter all those many years ago, he felt her reiatsu acutely. That first meeting had been strange, and for a time he had worried for his sanity.
Only after exhaustive research had he found a rather antiquated reference similar to his situation buried in the archives of the Great Spirit Library. She had given him a name by which to address her, but he was not so foolish as to assume it was her actual name, and she had shown him many interesting things regarding kidou, his own capabilities, and of course; the hougyoku. She had lingered, so she claimed, because he did not fear her, nor did he attempt to push her away, but he was not so ignorant as to assume he understood her nature fully, and thus their dealings had always been carefully worded for his part.
Since the day he had left Soul Society, however, she had proved quite invaluable, and more than this; shown him the smallest glimpse of what her true nature was.
For some time, he had been expecting her to broach the topic of repayment for all her many and varied favors, and if he was reading her reactions correctly, it would soon be coming to a head.
“No. I think you have fallen into the trap that so many have in regard to the boy; You have said yourself he is a variable, and capable of great things. Possibly even power that may grow unchecked? I think, above all, you must be cautious, my dear. Use your playing pieces judiciously….” It was sound, if vague advice, but he was certainly not one to take her words at face value.
“And what do you suggest, then?” He asked with deceptive casualness.
“I suggest a simple trade. It would be far more efficient to remove such variables from your plans altogether, would it not?” She answered, golden tendrils of her smoky form rifling through his hair.
“In return for my assistance, all I ask is for fair payment; those toys you no longer have use for, hmm?”
Interesting. Comfortably ensconced in the chair, he feigned disinterest by closing his eyes, and carefully kept his voice level for his answer.
“Waste not, want not. Why would I let go of things I have put so much time and effort into?”
He felt her laugh more than he heard it, and the shifting insubstantial sensation of her touch turned, instead into many touches across his hair and face.
“ You should, because you are not a fool, Sousuke; you know that only through realizing your own aims do I grasp mine. Repayment to me will only benefit you in the long run, silly.”
He smiled and opened one eye to see her golden outline laying at her ease along thin air, one arm curled over his shoulder and toying with the collar of his coat.
“…You know me too well, it seems. I will admit to curiosity; which do you have in mind, and what is it you plan to do with them?”
She purred, and dissolved into a formless cloud of golden lights, which in turn made him cant his head to the side, and take note that the longer they spoke, the more substantial she seemed to become…
“Ohhh, don’t worry. The ones I have my eye on will likely run their course of usefulness quite soon. For now, let us just say that: you will know when the time comes, hmm?”
“And what is it you will do with them?”
“Take the broken pieces and put them back together, then gift you with the improvements?”
He narrowed his eyes lightly, though his smile did not dim one whit.
“Do you say that my work is flawed?”
She simply laughed again in her dissolving, lightshow way.
“I say that it is constrained to this plane. This is not a flaw, but rather to be expected at the present time.”
She disappeared from his field of vision briefly, but soon he could sense her settling partially over his shoulders again.
“You see, dear; it is one thing to stage a palace coup, and quite another to play the game of thrones amongst the gods”.
Sousoke Aizen smiled with benign patience at the sibilant voice, it’s whispery tones no more substantial than a dream.
“Mmm, perhaps. It has been a long day.” He answered that whispery voice, and took a sip of his tea.
“Poor, poor dear. Working yourself so very hard to bring about your plans, and look; no one to see the effort and artistry involved.” The voice whispered somewhere to his left. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out the ghostly shape. Today she was more solid, and appeared as the outline of a woman clad in floating veils, made all of wavering yellow-colored smoke. The apparition curled like a loving housecat around his legs, and then took on more of a form to lay her veiled head against his shoulder, her insubstantial arm curling around him in a partial hug.
“Are you concerned for my health, or my state of mind?” He asked, almost teasing, then turned as though she were not twined around him, and walked through her, back to the throne-like seat on the balcony that overlooked an acrid stretch of Hueco Mundo.
The golden wisps of smoke twirled and arranged itself into a series of arabesques, as it darted after him; the twinkling sound of a woman’s laughter darkened by a sinister note at the ends.
“Of course I worry for you, Sousuke. Your path is a narrow one.--” The soft voice answered as the golden smoke arranged itself into a spiral above where he sat, and then twined in slow waves around him, forming itself again into the heavily veiled woman seated coquettishly in his lap.
He knew these displays were meant to be playful representations, but he wondered sometimes why she insisted so on pretending to touch him, when he felt nothing from the contact save a subtle shift in temperature across his skin.
“--Dangerous to tread so fine a line between ambition and recklessness.” A light pout was evident in her voice, as the hazy figure formed an arm before his eyes, and then a surprisingly articulate hand. A hand which gently traced the lines of his coat over his chest.
He chuckled lightly and set his mug aside, then leaned back more into his chair.
“Ah. So you think it to be recklessness that governs the decision to lure the boy here.” He may not be able to physically feel his ghostly companion, but as with their first encounter all those many years ago, he felt her reiatsu acutely. That first meeting had been strange, and for a time he had worried for his sanity.
Only after exhaustive research had he found a rather antiquated reference similar to his situation buried in the archives of the Great Spirit Library. She had given him a name by which to address her, but he was not so foolish as to assume it was her actual name, and she had shown him many interesting things regarding kidou, his own capabilities, and of course; the hougyoku. She had lingered, so she claimed, because he did not fear her, nor did he attempt to push her away, but he was not so ignorant as to assume he understood her nature fully, and thus their dealings had always been carefully worded for his part.
Since the day he had left Soul Society, however, she had proved quite invaluable, and more than this; shown him the smallest glimpse of what her true nature was.
For some time, he had been expecting her to broach the topic of repayment for all her many and varied favors, and if he was reading her reactions correctly, it would soon be coming to a head.
“No. I think you have fallen into the trap that so many have in regard to the boy; You have said yourself he is a variable, and capable of great things. Possibly even power that may grow unchecked? I think, above all, you must be cautious, my dear. Use your playing pieces judiciously….” It was sound, if vague advice, but he was certainly not one to take her words at face value.
“And what do you suggest, then?” He asked with deceptive casualness.
“I suggest a simple trade. It would be far more efficient to remove such variables from your plans altogether, would it not?” She answered, golden tendrils of her smoky form rifling through his hair.
“In return for my assistance, all I ask is for fair payment; those toys you no longer have use for, hmm?”
Interesting. Comfortably ensconced in the chair, he feigned disinterest by closing his eyes, and carefully kept his voice level for his answer.
“Waste not, want not. Why would I let go of things I have put so much time and effort into?”
He felt her laugh more than he heard it, and the shifting insubstantial sensation of her touch turned, instead into many touches across his hair and face.
“ You should, because you are not a fool, Sousuke; you know that only through realizing your own aims do I grasp mine. Repayment to me will only benefit you in the long run, silly.”
He smiled and opened one eye to see her golden outline laying at her ease along thin air, one arm curled over his shoulder and toying with the collar of his coat.
“…You know me too well, it seems. I will admit to curiosity; which do you have in mind, and what is it you plan to do with them?”
She purred, and dissolved into a formless cloud of golden lights, which in turn made him cant his head to the side, and take note that the longer they spoke, the more substantial she seemed to become…
“Ohhh, don’t worry. The ones I have my eye on will likely run their course of usefulness quite soon. For now, let us just say that: you will know when the time comes, hmm?”
“And what is it you will do with them?”
“Take the broken pieces and put them back together, then gift you with the improvements?”
He narrowed his eyes lightly, though his smile did not dim one whit.
“Do you say that my work is flawed?”
She simply laughed again in her dissolving, lightshow way.
“I say that it is constrained to this plane. This is not a flaw, but rather to be expected at the present time.”
She disappeared from his field of vision briefly, but soon he could sense her settling partially over his shoulders again.
“You see, dear; it is one thing to stage a palace coup, and quite another to play the game of thrones amongst the gods”.