The World beats dead for 31_days
Title: The World beats dead
Fandom: Bleach
Characters: Aizen, Hinamori
Words: 799
Rating: PG
Warnings: Soul Society Arc Spoilers
Disclaimer: Bleach is the brainchild of Kubo Tite and is distributed by Shueisha in Japan and Viz Media in the US. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.
Summary: Hinamori is captured during battle and must face her former captain again.
For 31_days. Prompt Nov 27, why should I leave you, / to wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?
Note: the title is taken for the second line of Amy Lowell's poem "The Taxi"
“Don’t send me away!”
The request seemed odd in light of her new situation. She looked up at him from the floor, her knees braced against the smooth cold surface of Las Noches. She held her head high, if only to loosen the grip of the red metal band that encircled her neck. Two arrancar held thick white cords that attached to the sides of the band. Though they appeared to be small, she had witnessed their display of power on the battlefield. She wouldn’t dare run away while in their grip. Before meeting with her former captain, she was taken to a room, stripped, and made to put on a white shift. Tobiume had been taken away from her at her moment of capture. She knew well that she was alone in a foreign world. She had no room to make requests.
“Why should you be allowed to stay?” asked Aizen.
She couldn’t answer. What could she say to him that would make sense? She was nothing but an afterthought to him now. She had been replaced. And yet the way he leaned forward in his throne led her to believe that he was actually interested in her answer. Despite the changes, there was a glint in his eyes that almost reminded her of her long lost captain. Was it all for show? “I have no where else to go.”
“Surely that’s not true,” he countered in a singsong cadence. “You’ve obviously recovered well. You must be useful to Soul Society. They wouldn’t have let you lead the 5th division into battle if it weren’t true.”
“Do you honestly think they had any other choice? No one wants to touch the 5th division anymore. Regardless of the results of any investigation, we are all considered your co-conspirators by those closest to the inner circle. The 5th is a dying division. And who can blame them? Who wants to join with a crew of scholars and their broken captain?”
“Captain?”
“I was the only one who would do it.”
“Were you allowed control without ever reaching…?”
“No. As you well know, I’ve had a long time to contemplate and discuss things with Tobiume. We have come to many agreements. I’ve reached bankai.”
“Really?” He shifted further forward. His face, despite the faint hint of a smile, appeared to be void. “We both know what you’re capable of. Do they?”
“Except for my friends, no one could be concerned with what I’m capable of. People still believe that I was your right hand. No one would trust me to go further with whatever powers I may have.”
“It’s such a shame to see them let you go to waste.” Aizen rose from his throne and stepped forward, moving with a sort of graceful force that left Hinamori trembling beneath his power. He motioned for the arrancar to step back and hesitantly they retreated to the farthest regions of the room. He reached out his hand. Hinamori could stare at it, confused. “Take hold if you want to stay, Hinamori. You’re mine. You have no better place to grow than at my side.”
She reached out to meet his hand but faltered. Could she give up her former life? She still had friends in Seireitei. No of them, however, could understand her. Though they tried their best, refrains of “you’ll get over it one day” and “you need to move forward” were not words of wisdom. She couldn’t confer with the 4th division psychiatrist because she knew that anything she admitted to would find its way back to someone in power. Seireitei was the home of the good and the brave, but it was a stifling atmosphere that had taken her innocence just as surely as the man before her had done. “I am yours,” she said, placing her hand in his. “Do with me as you will.”
He smiled and, for a moment, he once again looked like her old captain. He looked forward and said, “Take her back to her room.” As the arrancar guards approached, he looked down at Hinamori and said, “In a few moments Tobiume will be returned to you and you’ll receive a new set clothes. Get ready quickly. We have much to discuss.”
She nodded and allowed the guards to take her back. They locked her away in the cold white room and when she looked through the bars at the bottom of the door she could see them as they stood guard. This wasn’t what she had expected. At the same time, her life was about to change. And though it change, it seemed to her as if it might just be like a twisted version of their old times together. Though it wasn’t good, it was what she felt that she needed.
Fandom: Bleach
Characters: Aizen, Hinamori
Words: 799
Rating: PG
Warnings: Soul Society Arc Spoilers
Disclaimer: Bleach is the brainchild of Kubo Tite and is distributed by Shueisha in Japan and Viz Media in the US. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.
Summary: Hinamori is captured during battle and must face her former captain again.
For 31_days. Prompt Nov 27, why should I leave you, / to wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?
Note: the title is taken for the second line of Amy Lowell's poem "The Taxi"
“Don’t send me away!”
The request seemed odd in light of her new situation. She looked up at him from the floor, her knees braced against the smooth cold surface of Las Noches. She held her head high, if only to loosen the grip of the red metal band that encircled her neck. Two arrancar held thick white cords that attached to the sides of the band. Though they appeared to be small, she had witnessed their display of power on the battlefield. She wouldn’t dare run away while in their grip. Before meeting with her former captain, she was taken to a room, stripped, and made to put on a white shift. Tobiume had been taken away from her at her moment of capture. She knew well that she was alone in a foreign world. She had no room to make requests.
“Why should you be allowed to stay?” asked Aizen.
She couldn’t answer. What could she say to him that would make sense? She was nothing but an afterthought to him now. She had been replaced. And yet the way he leaned forward in his throne led her to believe that he was actually interested in her answer. Despite the changes, there was a glint in his eyes that almost reminded her of her long lost captain. Was it all for show? “I have no where else to go.”
“Surely that’s not true,” he countered in a singsong cadence. “You’ve obviously recovered well. You must be useful to Soul Society. They wouldn’t have let you lead the 5th division into battle if it weren’t true.”
“Do you honestly think they had any other choice? No one wants to touch the 5th division anymore. Regardless of the results of any investigation, we are all considered your co-conspirators by those closest to the inner circle. The 5th is a dying division. And who can blame them? Who wants to join with a crew of scholars and their broken captain?”
“Captain?”
“I was the only one who would do it.”
“Were you allowed control without ever reaching…?”
“No. As you well know, I’ve had a long time to contemplate and discuss things with Tobiume. We have come to many agreements. I’ve reached bankai.”
“Really?” He shifted further forward. His face, despite the faint hint of a smile, appeared to be void. “We both know what you’re capable of. Do they?”
“Except for my friends, no one could be concerned with what I’m capable of. People still believe that I was your right hand. No one would trust me to go further with whatever powers I may have.”
“It’s such a shame to see them let you go to waste.” Aizen rose from his throne and stepped forward, moving with a sort of graceful force that left Hinamori trembling beneath his power. He motioned for the arrancar to step back and hesitantly they retreated to the farthest regions of the room. He reached out his hand. Hinamori could stare at it, confused. “Take hold if you want to stay, Hinamori. You’re mine. You have no better place to grow than at my side.”
She reached out to meet his hand but faltered. Could she give up her former life? She still had friends in Seireitei. No of them, however, could understand her. Though they tried their best, refrains of “you’ll get over it one day” and “you need to move forward” were not words of wisdom. She couldn’t confer with the 4th division psychiatrist because she knew that anything she admitted to would find its way back to someone in power. Seireitei was the home of the good and the brave, but it was a stifling atmosphere that had taken her innocence just as surely as the man before her had done. “I am yours,” she said, placing her hand in his. “Do with me as you will.”
He smiled and, for a moment, he once again looked like her old captain. He looked forward and said, “Take her back to her room.” As the arrancar guards approached, he looked down at Hinamori and said, “In a few moments Tobiume will be returned to you and you’ll receive a new set clothes. Get ready quickly. We have much to discuss.”
She nodded and allowed the guards to take her back. They locked her away in the cold white room and when she looked through the bars at the bottom of the door she could see them as they stood guard. This wasn’t what she had expected. At the same time, her life was about to change. And though it change, it seemed to her as if it might just be like a twisted version of their old times together. Though it wasn’t good, it was what she felt that she needed.