[Log] Aizen, Ulquiorra
Title: Souls of Brevity
Characters: Aizen (kore_haiga), Ulquiorra (shinigamikender)
Rating: G
Timeline: September 8, 2005
Summary: Ulquiorra meets the man behind the madness and gets an offer he doesn't intend to refuse.
The school was quiet to the point of being eerily so, with that pregnant pause of empty classrooms during the summer. Ulquiorra paid no attention to it, enjoying the quiet that was only ruined by his soft footsteps. On his back hung his fencing bag, an exercise in being prepared. After all, there was little reason given to him for this meeting. Like all others that had ranked highly in the ranking matches, he had been asked to arrange a meeting with the club advisor of the Espada, one Sousuke Aizen, the same man whose office he had come to stand in front of.
Shifting his equipment bag, Ulquiorra lifted a pale hand to knock on the slightly open door.
“Come in,” Aizen stated simply, in his deep voice. Aizen knew who the soft footsteps would belong to, before the young man had a chance to knock at his door. He met them all personally, like this. Even if he didn’t know their names straightaway, Aizen wanted them to know the status quo (being, membership can be solid or tenuous, and his word would be the last, no arguments). It would be the recent member, who had placed so well in the ranking matches. Aizen could remember seeing the boy performing in the match. He had a great deal of potential, the same as any of the youths on the club’s team. He had a great deal of base skill.
He could work with this one, very nicely.
Ulquiorra pressed the door open the rest of the way, lifting blank green eyes to study Aizen's face. It was rude, but it gave Ulquiorra time to settle his mind on the other. It allowed him to judge what the other would be like and if he would be worth his time. It was the same treatment Ulquiorra gave any adult he met and Aizen was one of the few that he did not find lacking in this first brief study.
"My name is Ulquiorra Shifa. You asked to see me." It wasn't so much a question as an acknowledgement of the fact, a prompt for the other to get to the point and a way of pointing out that both of them had better things to do than spend their time on pleasantries.
Aizen waved the boy into his office completely, saying, “Shut the door behind yourself and have a seat,” offering Ulquiorra the milk and honey smile he perpetually wore on his face. He liked the look in Ulquiorra Shifa’s eyes now almost as much as he liked the look on them when the boy had a sword in his hand.
They were much the same. A poker face like that won matches. Aizen was already warming on him.
“You did well. I’m not being polite, I’m being honest.”
The door closed with a soft click, sliding into its place with little sound, just as his bag made no sound as he set it to the side and took a seat in one of the chairs Aizen had for his visitors. His back remained rigid even against the furniture's slight cushioning.
"I trained often. I had expected to do well," Ulquiorra mirrored the other's words almost unintentionally. Arrogance, though clear, wasn't the intent of his statements, though. They were firm with confidence in their validity.
Confidence was a virtue Aizen could respect. Even arrogance had its purpose, in small amounts. Aizen trailed his eyes over Ulquiorra’s face, lingering on the green eyes like a man challenging his pet dog, gentle but commanding smile still in place. “Relax,” he said, testing how Ulquiorra would react to his polite prodding. He wanted to see if the boy would break to his request, despite clearly not being nervous to begin with.
“I can see that you’ve trained. I saw some serious flaws, however. What do you think about that?”
Ulquiorra blinked, but did not move at the gentle prodding, his eyes meeting Aizen's with silent expectation. He was comfortable here, indeed more than he had anticipated being.
"I'd ask you what they were, sir," Ulquiorra pressed, expression changing little at the accusation of sorts, "I said I trained. I did not intend to say I did not have room for improvement."
Aizen raised his thick eyebrows at Ulquiorra, lips turning up at the corners, just slightly more. It was as close to approval as Ulquiorra was going to get yet, from Dr. Aizen. Standing slowly from the slick leather of his wheeled office chair, Aizen leaned easily over the short desk, holding an arm forward with palm open in the pantomime for a handshake.
“If I told you, I would just be turning you into a copy of myself. If you want to improve, I suggest you find out what you’re lacking on your own, young man. In the meantime, I offer my congratulations.”
Ulquiorra rose to match, confusion breaking his otherwise blank face as he slid a cold white hand into Aizen's much larger one. The others words were not so unexpected until the final few were spoken.
"Congratulations?" he repeated.
Aizen leaned forward, just a little more, expensive silk tie dragging across the surface of his desk as he enveloped Ulquiorra’s oddly cool, small hand in his own and gave one harsh shake, fingers lingering. Ulquiorra had supple wrists and quick arms, from the feel of it.
He would be naturally gifted, then. He would last longer than some of the others.
Aizen’s eyes smiled, beneath his square glasses. “Unless you’d like to refuse a position on the regular team, then.”
There was a flicker of what could be construed as a smile, only in the vaguest of definitions on Ulquiorra's face as he let his hand rest in the man's waiting until Aizen released it.
"I would not have entered the matches if I intended to refuse it," Ulquiorra responded, the light from Aizen's glasses reflecting in his mossy blank eyes, "I accept and thank you."
Aizen let go of the hand at length, sliding back into his chair with his hands holding him at the desk, keeping the wheels from sliding too far back. “I’m glad you wouldn’t want to waste my time, entering with no intention of staying and working hard on the team. I’ll return the favor and not waste yours. If I’ll see you at practice tomorrow, you’re dismissed.”
To the point. As much as Aizen appreciated long toasts with florid vocabularies, he appreciated something the opposite quite a bit more. He could see it in Ulquiorra. Brevity.
Characters: Aizen (kore_haiga), Ulquiorra (shinigamikender)
Rating: G
Timeline: September 8, 2005
Summary: Ulquiorra meets the man behind the madness and gets an offer he doesn't intend to refuse.
The school was quiet to the point of being eerily so, with that pregnant pause of empty classrooms during the summer. Ulquiorra paid no attention to it, enjoying the quiet that was only ruined by his soft footsteps. On his back hung his fencing bag, an exercise in being prepared. After all, there was little reason given to him for this meeting. Like all others that had ranked highly in the ranking matches, he had been asked to arrange a meeting with the club advisor of the Espada, one Sousuke Aizen, the same man whose office he had come to stand in front of.
Shifting his equipment bag, Ulquiorra lifted a pale hand to knock on the slightly open door.
“Come in,” Aizen stated simply, in his deep voice. Aizen knew who the soft footsteps would belong to, before the young man had a chance to knock at his door. He met them all personally, like this. Even if he didn’t know their names straightaway, Aizen wanted them to know the status quo (being, membership can be solid or tenuous, and his word would be the last, no arguments). It would be the recent member, who had placed so well in the ranking matches. Aizen could remember seeing the boy performing in the match. He had a great deal of potential, the same as any of the youths on the club’s team. He had a great deal of base skill.
He could work with this one, very nicely.
Ulquiorra pressed the door open the rest of the way, lifting blank green eyes to study Aizen's face. It was rude, but it gave Ulquiorra time to settle his mind on the other. It allowed him to judge what the other would be like and if he would be worth his time. It was the same treatment Ulquiorra gave any adult he met and Aizen was one of the few that he did not find lacking in this first brief study.
"My name is Ulquiorra Shifa. You asked to see me." It wasn't so much a question as an acknowledgement of the fact, a prompt for the other to get to the point and a way of pointing out that both of them had better things to do than spend their time on pleasantries.
Aizen waved the boy into his office completely, saying, “Shut the door behind yourself and have a seat,” offering Ulquiorra the milk and honey smile he perpetually wore on his face. He liked the look in Ulquiorra Shifa’s eyes now almost as much as he liked the look on them when the boy had a sword in his hand.
They were much the same. A poker face like that won matches. Aizen was already warming on him.
“You did well. I’m not being polite, I’m being honest.”
The door closed with a soft click, sliding into its place with little sound, just as his bag made no sound as he set it to the side and took a seat in one of the chairs Aizen had for his visitors. His back remained rigid even against the furniture's slight cushioning.
"I trained often. I had expected to do well," Ulquiorra mirrored the other's words almost unintentionally. Arrogance, though clear, wasn't the intent of his statements, though. They were firm with confidence in their validity.
Confidence was a virtue Aizen could respect. Even arrogance had its purpose, in small amounts. Aizen trailed his eyes over Ulquiorra’s face, lingering on the green eyes like a man challenging his pet dog, gentle but commanding smile still in place. “Relax,” he said, testing how Ulquiorra would react to his polite prodding. He wanted to see if the boy would break to his request, despite clearly not being nervous to begin with.
“I can see that you’ve trained. I saw some serious flaws, however. What do you think about that?”
Ulquiorra blinked, but did not move at the gentle prodding, his eyes meeting Aizen's with silent expectation. He was comfortable here, indeed more than he had anticipated being.
"I'd ask you what they were, sir," Ulquiorra pressed, expression changing little at the accusation of sorts, "I said I trained. I did not intend to say I did not have room for improvement."
Aizen raised his thick eyebrows at Ulquiorra, lips turning up at the corners, just slightly more. It was as close to approval as Ulquiorra was going to get yet, from Dr. Aizen. Standing slowly from the slick leather of his wheeled office chair, Aizen leaned easily over the short desk, holding an arm forward with palm open in the pantomime for a handshake.
“If I told you, I would just be turning you into a copy of myself. If you want to improve, I suggest you find out what you’re lacking on your own, young man. In the meantime, I offer my congratulations.”
Ulquiorra rose to match, confusion breaking his otherwise blank face as he slid a cold white hand into Aizen's much larger one. The others words were not so unexpected until the final few were spoken.
"Congratulations?" he repeated.
Aizen leaned forward, just a little more, expensive silk tie dragging across the surface of his desk as he enveloped Ulquiorra’s oddly cool, small hand in his own and gave one harsh shake, fingers lingering. Ulquiorra had supple wrists and quick arms, from the feel of it.
He would be naturally gifted, then. He would last longer than some of the others.
Aizen’s eyes smiled, beneath his square glasses. “Unless you’d like to refuse a position on the regular team, then.”
There was a flicker of what could be construed as a smile, only in the vaguest of definitions on Ulquiorra's face as he let his hand rest in the man's waiting until Aizen released it.
"I would not have entered the matches if I intended to refuse it," Ulquiorra responded, the light from Aizen's glasses reflecting in his mossy blank eyes, "I accept and thank you."
Aizen let go of the hand at length, sliding back into his chair with his hands holding him at the desk, keeping the wheels from sliding too far back. “I’m glad you wouldn’t want to waste my time, entering with no intention of staying and working hard on the team. I’ll return the favor and not waste yours. If I’ll see you at practice tomorrow, you’re dismissed.”
To the point. As much as Aizen appreciated long toasts with florid vocabularies, he appreciated something the opposite quite a bit more. He could see it in Ulquiorra. Brevity.