[♔ 07.] [video]
Some are curious as to the drive behind my powers. Following the last post that connected to the network, I'm sure I can explain my motivation for walking into the heart of the Darkness in a way that can be understood, if not appreciated. It means I'll become slightly nostalgic, I suppose, but that can't be helped.
I learned that to fear death is to become it, that in order to overcome dying one must first accept it has already happened. There is a saying, When one steps out of the carriage one is among the dead, when one leaves the house the enemy is waiting. To visualise this, imagining arrows and swords killing you is advised at least once a day, but that is only an example of knowing, intrinsically, that you are never alive until you are fighting to protect your life. This is a way of warriors I studied in Soul Society to hone my prowess at zanjutsu, the way of the sword. Bushidou.
There is no point in only being careful or watching to safeguard oneself; be safeguarded by knowing you are not, and you will walk unscathed from danger. This is a practice I have lived by, one that has drawn my Espada to me over the years. I am fearless, they say, because I understand everything is a threat.
[ Sipping a glass of wine (not tea, for once) Sousuke sits down in his favourite red armchair, a page of a student's essay on the Origins of Calligraphy balanced on a folded knee. ]
Hm. In Fifth Company where I served as captain, it was widely known my division owned a tranquil air. We specialised in battle readiness, yet we were nothing like Zaraki-san's Eleventh, which constantly presented warlike ideals at every given opportunity. Someone told me that my becoming a professor at Hawthorne was a step down for someone such as I who owned such prowess in battle, but it's not so. I enjoyed spending free time serving as a special instructor at the academy, teaching in monthly sessions.
[ He smiles at the memory, clearly having enjoyed his hobby even under the duress of working for an establishment he loathed. ]
The course was elective but constantly filled to capacity, we even had students taking it out in the hallway. The youth there always insisted that should I, as a captain, relinquish my title for any reason, they would hope for my swift return.
I think they kept their word when I left. They were good people, I'm certain each one made fine shinigami.
[ Idly, he twirls a spare brush, smoothing the end with the pad of his thumb. ]
Before my departure, I practiced calligraphy each night before turning in to discipline my mind and remind myself of the ideals of a warrior, so to those in the city who do not think my position as a professor is fitting, for reasons they themselves can vie for right now if they wish, I'd like for this to serve as a notice. I am a man of the proverbial pen and sword, making no secret of one or the other, or how much they mean to me.
[ OOC: Thoughtful Aizen is thoughtful. Also, mun got a bootleg book that included some of his history. \o/ ]