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tampered2006-09-21 02:53 am
10thdiv-haineko.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2006-09-21 02:53 am
Log;Complete
When; Evening, September 15th
Rating; G
Characters; Rangiku and Aizen
Summary; Aizen agrees to meet Rangiku for a talk
Log;
Aizen stood on the beach, looking out over the shore and pondering to himself why there even was one.
Why a beach if the ocean leads nowhere?
He soon turned away from it, watching the moon-light bathe the landscape. Even this strange place could be bizarrely beautiful at times.
Come on, Rangiku. Where are you? he wondered.
Suddenly his sense affixed on a singular presence approaching his location. Definitely a shinigami.
"Hello there," he said, smiling, "Great of you to make good on this."
She was a bit slower than usual, but her pace was much steadier than it had been a few days ago. It really wasn’t a shock to her that he was waiting, but she didn’t care. Instead, she stopped next to him, her eyes looking over the water and the dark outlines of the ships just visible in the dim moonlight.
Her bruises were already mostly gone, and the few bandages that were left were hidden by the casual clothes she’s been favoring over the customary robes shinigami sported.
“Yeah. Look, I just wanted to ask you a few things. If I feel you’re being honest with me… I’ll listen. I need some things answered.”
She paused and took a deep breath, still staring out over the ocean.
“I’d like to know your reasoning behind the arrancar and why you feel the need to destroy Seireitei.”
He thought over her question for a few moments, his expression neutral.
"Hm...Well, because things are better that way."
He strolled along the beach, leaning down casually to pick up a shell and skip it twenty times along the water.
"The arrancar will collect souls for me, that I may get the key. After that, of course, they are useless. In my world there will be no hollows. No Shinigami either. I will create an ordered, closely monitored system."
Aizen sat on a nearby rock, putting his hands into robes and letting out a breathe.
"Seireitei is a paper tiger. A decaying institution that abuses it's authority. Not such a bad thing, except that such unworthy people are the ones with the power. Count the ranks, Rangiku. How many people among you are shiftless, lazy, apathetic, or downright sadistic? Not even the Captains are all model people."
Her gaze followed him as she listened closely, weighing his words as if truly hearing them for the first time. Slowly, she moved closer, then sat down in the sand next to him, automatically looking up at the brilliant stars above them. She sat in silence for several minutes before she spoke, her voice soft.
“Seireitei’s been working for eons now. It’s never let us down… but… I’m beginning to see some flaws. Major ones. Still… we gave an oath to uphold the rules and you broke it. It doesn’t matter about the worth of those in power. What matters is… loyalty and honor. The strong have always picked up the slack of the lazy in the Thirteen Squads… you know that.”
She’s not quite sure if she’s trying to convince him, or herself.
“How do you propose to monitor it so closely?”
"Oh yes, honor and loyalty above all," he smirked at her, "Just like the earthly code of bushido."
"That loyalty was also their biggest flaw. They would slaughter anyone, guilty or innocent, as long as their master told them to. The samurai were fools. So are the shinigami, for following such a code. Do you believe that the Quincys cared about that rule?"
He stared out at the ocean for a moment, then back to her.
"Oh wait, I forgot. We decimated them. They were humans trying to protect humans from hollows. We destroyed them to maintain the "balance."
"But is that the real reason? We have no definitive proof of this balance that we can verify. Only what we were told. Perhaps there were other reasons..."
"I've been watching things for a LONG, long time, Rangiku. I've seen more than you have. When there is a cancer in the system, you cut it out at the core. A lot of innocent people will die along with that, of course, but according to Soul Society is that not okay for the greater good?"
Her fingers unconsciously drifted up to toy with the necklace she always had on. The repetitive motion was soothing when her mind was in turmoil. “Innocents should never be sacrificed if it can be helped, and I know that several of the shinigami aren’t bad. They shouldn’t be made to pay the price for a corrupt system.”
She thought back to her apparent abandonment by her captain, the standoffishness the other shinigami had been showing her since her death. “If… there was a way to accomplish what you were doing without sacrificing innocents, would you do it? Would you do what you could to save them?”
"Rangiku, if I could just walk up to the King, order him to abdicate the throne, and take over like that with no fuss, don't you think I would have done it?"
"Why would I take the hard road if I didn't have to? I had to do all of this because there was no other way, just like I needed to create the arrancar to have a force strong enough to stop those who would defend the status quo. Do you think it's a simple thing keeping them all under control?"
"I'm not a sadist. I'm just practical. And until I accomplish my goal, I don't care if you think I'm the devil himself.”
“Under control? You don’t keep them under control. The arrancar are monstrosities.” She knew she sounded a little bitter, but she really couldn’t help it. “The thing is… I don’t think you’re the devil everyone else does… the more I hear, the more I think… “
She hated admitting it.
“I don’t agree with your methods, but…” she began, standing up and turning away from him. “I’m beginning to think you’re right.”
He stared at her for a moment, just suppressing a complete look of confusion.
"...I see. Kaname Tousen is much the same. We have talked on this. He believes that my way is better in the long run, than that of Soul Society."
"And you are correct, partly. They can't be controlled by any REASONABLE method. They desire nothing but destruction, but they can be quelled by those who are capable of greater destruction. And despite Grimmjow quitting as one of the Espada, he still realizes that my power eclipses his own. Just like the rest of the Espada. They will never have the same ability as top level Shinigami at this rate."
"As for Gin, well...It's hard to get what Gin thinks, even after all the years I have known him."
She smiled when she heard his comments on Gin.
“He’s always been like that. Even as a child.” She’d spent many a day wondering just what went through his silver capped head, but her blind following of him had ended a long time ago, even if she still had fond feelings towards him. The smile faded after a few moments.
“I’d ask you try your best to keep them under control. I don’t want any other shinigami to be hurt by them, but that’s not exactly why I asked you to join me… I’m sure you’ve heard some of the things going on in the city. Are you planning on furthering your interests while you’re here?”
He stared at her, his expression unreadable. He was obviously wondering how to answer that.
"Grimmjow has 'turned in his resignation', so I have little control over him, and as for Luppi, I don't even keep tabs on him here. What I mainly want is to get home again. I have little control over their actions here."
He walked closer to her and continued.
"But I am always the curious type. If I see something here that could benefit me when I get back, I'm going to look into it. It would be foolish to turn down a gift if it's right in front of you. I would expect all of you to do the same. Can you honestly tell me that you would turn down a weapon that could defeat me if you had the chance?"
Her laugh was short and slightly bitter sounding. “If I thought I could win, Haineko would be eating your throat out right now. Now, if I found something that I knew WOULD kill you and your pets for good, I wouldn’t hesitate to obtain it. Or use it.” Her icy gaze snapped over to him, watching him warily.
After a long silent moment, she crossed her arms and turned to face him. Her thoughts were racing.
“There are plans in motion to go against the deities of this city. If we win the conflict, we’re thinking we can all go home.”
He smirked at her words.
"Exactly, so you can't blame me for trying to find more power, just like you would do."
Aizen considered her words carefully, placing his finger under his chin.
"Hm. That is interesting. I suppose I would not be adverse to fulfilling such a mutual goal. But the moment we DO get back, it's business as usual, agreed?"
Her smile answered his, just as wry as she could make it. “Would you be willing to join in the effort, then? If we win, we leave. If not, we can’t die here, so it’s not that big of a deal. All that’ll happen then is the early destruction of everything.”
She felt like she was making a deal with the devil, but it was something that needed to be done. “I’m working with one of the commanders of our little ‘rebellion’, and I know he’d be thrilled to have someone so powerful to help when the time comes.”
"I still doubt the ability of these gods to affect our worlds, given their untrustworthy nature, but I agree to work with you. If I find my arrancar causing trouble, I will do my best to intervene."
He put out his hand in front of him, palm open.
"Do we have a deal?" he smirked.
Her eyes stared at his hand for an instant before she clasped it in agreement. She felt her skin crawl, but she didn’t let on. “We do. Keep them under control and I’ll make sure you know everything that’s going on with the situation.”
Aizen could feel some of the tension in her grip, but said nothing. No reason to ruin the moment, after all.
"That's all I require. Good day to you, Matsumoto-san."
Rangiku bowed her head to him, years of habit kicking in before she frowned and straightened. “Later, Aizen.” She turned and made her way back across the sand, praying under her breath he wasn’t watching her walk away.
Rating; G
Characters; Rangiku and Aizen
Summary; Aizen agrees to meet Rangiku for a talk
Log;
Aizen stood on the beach, looking out over the shore and pondering to himself why there even was one.
Why a beach if the ocean leads nowhere?
He soon turned away from it, watching the moon-light bathe the landscape. Even this strange place could be bizarrely beautiful at times.
Come on, Rangiku. Where are you? he wondered.
Suddenly his sense affixed on a singular presence approaching his location. Definitely a shinigami.
"Hello there," he said, smiling, "Great of you to make good on this."
She was a bit slower than usual, but her pace was much steadier than it had been a few days ago. It really wasn’t a shock to her that he was waiting, but she didn’t care. Instead, she stopped next to him, her eyes looking over the water and the dark outlines of the ships just visible in the dim moonlight.
Her bruises were already mostly gone, and the few bandages that were left were hidden by the casual clothes she’s been favoring over the customary robes shinigami sported.
“Yeah. Look, I just wanted to ask you a few things. If I feel you’re being honest with me… I’ll listen. I need some things answered.”
She paused and took a deep breath, still staring out over the ocean.
“I’d like to know your reasoning behind the arrancar and why you feel the need to destroy Seireitei.”
He thought over her question for a few moments, his expression neutral.
"Hm...Well, because things are better that way."
He strolled along the beach, leaning down casually to pick up a shell and skip it twenty times along the water.
"The arrancar will collect souls for me, that I may get the key. After that, of course, they are useless. In my world there will be no hollows. No Shinigami either. I will create an ordered, closely monitored system."
Aizen sat on a nearby rock, putting his hands into robes and letting out a breathe.
"Seireitei is a paper tiger. A decaying institution that abuses it's authority. Not such a bad thing, except that such unworthy people are the ones with the power. Count the ranks, Rangiku. How many people among you are shiftless, lazy, apathetic, or downright sadistic? Not even the Captains are all model people."
Her gaze followed him as she listened closely, weighing his words as if truly hearing them for the first time. Slowly, she moved closer, then sat down in the sand next to him, automatically looking up at the brilliant stars above them. She sat in silence for several minutes before she spoke, her voice soft.
“Seireitei’s been working for eons now. It’s never let us down… but… I’m beginning to see some flaws. Major ones. Still… we gave an oath to uphold the rules and you broke it. It doesn’t matter about the worth of those in power. What matters is… loyalty and honor. The strong have always picked up the slack of the lazy in the Thirteen Squads… you know that.”
She’s not quite sure if she’s trying to convince him, or herself.
“How do you propose to monitor it so closely?”
"Oh yes, honor and loyalty above all," he smirked at her, "Just like the earthly code of bushido."
"That loyalty was also their biggest flaw. They would slaughter anyone, guilty or innocent, as long as their master told them to. The samurai were fools. So are the shinigami, for following such a code. Do you believe that the Quincys cared about that rule?"
He stared out at the ocean for a moment, then back to her.
"Oh wait, I forgot. We decimated them. They were humans trying to protect humans from hollows. We destroyed them to maintain the "balance."
"But is that the real reason? We have no definitive proof of this balance that we can verify. Only what we were told. Perhaps there were other reasons..."
"I've been watching things for a LONG, long time, Rangiku. I've seen more than you have. When there is a cancer in the system, you cut it out at the core. A lot of innocent people will die along with that, of course, but according to Soul Society is that not okay for the greater good?"
Her fingers unconsciously drifted up to toy with the necklace she always had on. The repetitive motion was soothing when her mind was in turmoil. “Innocents should never be sacrificed if it can be helped, and I know that several of the shinigami aren’t bad. They shouldn’t be made to pay the price for a corrupt system.”
She thought back to her apparent abandonment by her captain, the standoffishness the other shinigami had been showing her since her death. “If… there was a way to accomplish what you were doing without sacrificing innocents, would you do it? Would you do what you could to save them?”
"Rangiku, if I could just walk up to the King, order him to abdicate the throne, and take over like that with no fuss, don't you think I would have done it?"
"Why would I take the hard road if I didn't have to? I had to do all of this because there was no other way, just like I needed to create the arrancar to have a force strong enough to stop those who would defend the status quo. Do you think it's a simple thing keeping them all under control?"
"I'm not a sadist. I'm just practical. And until I accomplish my goal, I don't care if you think I'm the devil himself.”
“Under control? You don’t keep them under control. The arrancar are monstrosities.” She knew she sounded a little bitter, but she really couldn’t help it. “The thing is… I don’t think you’re the devil everyone else does… the more I hear, the more I think… “
She hated admitting it.
“I don’t agree with your methods, but…” she began, standing up and turning away from him. “I’m beginning to think you’re right.”
He stared at her for a moment, just suppressing a complete look of confusion.
"...I see. Kaname Tousen is much the same. We have talked on this. He believes that my way is better in the long run, than that of Soul Society."
"And you are correct, partly. They can't be controlled by any REASONABLE method. They desire nothing but destruction, but they can be quelled by those who are capable of greater destruction. And despite Grimmjow quitting as one of the Espada, he still realizes that my power eclipses his own. Just like the rest of the Espada. They will never have the same ability as top level Shinigami at this rate."
"As for Gin, well...It's hard to get what Gin thinks, even after all the years I have known him."
She smiled when she heard his comments on Gin.
“He’s always been like that. Even as a child.” She’d spent many a day wondering just what went through his silver capped head, but her blind following of him had ended a long time ago, even if she still had fond feelings towards him. The smile faded after a few moments.
“I’d ask you try your best to keep them under control. I don’t want any other shinigami to be hurt by them, but that’s not exactly why I asked you to join me… I’m sure you’ve heard some of the things going on in the city. Are you planning on furthering your interests while you’re here?”
He stared at her, his expression unreadable. He was obviously wondering how to answer that.
"Grimmjow has 'turned in his resignation', so I have little control over him, and as for Luppi, I don't even keep tabs on him here. What I mainly want is to get home again. I have little control over their actions here."
He walked closer to her and continued.
"But I am always the curious type. If I see something here that could benefit me when I get back, I'm going to look into it. It would be foolish to turn down a gift if it's right in front of you. I would expect all of you to do the same. Can you honestly tell me that you would turn down a weapon that could defeat me if you had the chance?"
Her laugh was short and slightly bitter sounding. “If I thought I could win, Haineko would be eating your throat out right now. Now, if I found something that I knew WOULD kill you and your pets for good, I wouldn’t hesitate to obtain it. Or use it.” Her icy gaze snapped over to him, watching him warily.
After a long silent moment, she crossed her arms and turned to face him. Her thoughts were racing.
“There are plans in motion to go against the deities of this city. If we win the conflict, we’re thinking we can all go home.”
He smirked at her words.
"Exactly, so you can't blame me for trying to find more power, just like you would do."
Aizen considered her words carefully, placing his finger under his chin.
"Hm. That is interesting. I suppose I would not be adverse to fulfilling such a mutual goal. But the moment we DO get back, it's business as usual, agreed?"
Her smile answered his, just as wry as she could make it. “Would you be willing to join in the effort, then? If we win, we leave. If not, we can’t die here, so it’s not that big of a deal. All that’ll happen then is the early destruction of everything.”
She felt like she was making a deal with the devil, but it was something that needed to be done. “I’m working with one of the commanders of our little ‘rebellion’, and I know he’d be thrilled to have someone so powerful to help when the time comes.”
"I still doubt the ability of these gods to affect our worlds, given their untrustworthy nature, but I agree to work with you. If I find my arrancar causing trouble, I will do my best to intervene."
He put out his hand in front of him, palm open.
"Do we have a deal?" he smirked.
Her eyes stared at his hand for an instant before she clasped it in agreement. She felt her skin crawl, but she didn’t let on. “We do. Keep them under control and I’ll make sure you know everything that’s going on with the situation.”
Aizen could feel some of the tension in her grip, but said nothing. No reason to ruin the moment, after all.
"That's all I require. Good day to you, Matsumoto-san."
Rangiku bowed her head to him, years of habit kicking in before she frowned and straightened. “Later, Aizen.” She turned and made her way back across the sand, praying under her breath he wasn’t watching her walk away.