Monsters We Became { Bleach Aizen Sousuke Fanfiction }

05 - Literary Smoke

Tucked in the farthest corner of Bosque Santuario was a lattice-fronted building with a roof partially embedded into the cliff face the building was carved into. Its door was covered in faded red pigment, cracked and peeling away from the stone. Weight caused the door to slide open slowly, with a creaking groan.

It opened to a single small room illuminated by a shielded orb that summoned shadows in every corner. Bookshelves lined the walls, crammed with books, scrolls, and various nicknacks of dubious worth.

Nallundra leaned upon the scratched up table against the left wall, pulling the many petals off of a yellow flower one-by-one. As the petals fell to the ground, they faded into an ephemeral sand before disappearing in a flicker of light. The table shuddered beneath her weight, its surface made of an unidentifiable grain of wood, worn from its part in an untold number of writings. Beside her, farther from the door, loomed a large, amorphous Hollow covered in a patchwork of blackened feathers.

"You... are late."

Its voice was raspy and crackling, unpleasant to the ears like a guttural hiss. Each word trailed off at the end, leaving the escaping sound to pass through the air for much longer than it should. Cloudy white eyes with darkened sclera leered out from the near-complete cover of a beaked white mask that covered most of the Hollow's head.

"Kaisett is right, you two were gone way too long. Ugh. It doesn't matter, just... Bylosse, Lady Koukou was looking for you at Paito. You should probably get going."

With no hesitation the Arrancar was through the doors. Gone with a booming hiss.

"Kaisett, this is Aizen, the Shinigami I was telling you about. Aizen, meet Kaisett. With that, I am heading out." Nallundra pushed herself to her feet and took a step towards the door, only to be stopped by that same sharp, hissing voice.

"I am no babysitter." The insult did not escape Aizen's notice; it was met with the essence of a scowl.

"Fine. I guess." Nallundra returned to the table and dropped back down to where she was leaning before. The flower died in her hands.

"Why–" The massive Hollow wheezed, "Are you so upset?"

"Why? He gets to enjoy himself tending to my plants and I–" She paused, looking to the floor, narrowing her eyes, "I have to sit in this dusty room." She turned to the Shinigami standing at the door. "That's alright, though! I've got the exciting task of training you first thing tomorrow morning. I hope you're ready." Nallundra followed her statement with a wink and vaguely unnerving grin.

Aizen smiled in response. Not the same warm smile given to Mizuki earlier, but a more anticipatory one. "I look forward to it."

"Geeze. Do you have no sense of self-preservation?"

"Enough. If you're just here to ramble about nothing, you can both leave."

"Sorry, Kaisett. Like I mentioned earlier, he is interested in books and writing. Considering there is not a whole lot to do outside of training, Bylosse suggested we introduce him to you. If–"

"I understand. Shinigami– anything on these shelves is yours to read. You are also invited to write at the table the airhead is leaning against."

"Airhead? Are you still calling me that? I am your elder, you could show me some respect."

With a brisk sigh, Nallundra lifted herself from the table again, and moved to the back corner of the room. Aizen scanned through the bookshelves.

"What do you recommend?"

"The scroll... atop the bookshelf to your left," Kaisett said and returned to the writings on the table.

Of the three bookshelves, only the central bookcase had a scroll resting upon its top. The scroll itself was unblemished and unadorned, carefully rolled and placed atop a scroll display. When unraveled, it was clear that the scroll was not the original copy. Its surface was too clean, too crisp, and unweathered. Aizen took a seat beside the feathered Hollow as he unraveled the scroll. Immaculately written text embellished the paper, written with a steady, purposeful hand.