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Their first meeting, technically, is on Soukyoku hill. A clash of blades, well, kind of, and a wound that would have been fatal if anyone but Orihime had been tasked with healing him. He remembers Aizen's sword slicing through him, through his skin and muscle and just shallow enough not to hit his spine, and the shock that overwhelms him. He's just a captain, isn't he? And he's already beaten Zaraki and Byakuya; shouldn't Aizen not be any more of a threat than them? The grip on Tensa Zangetsu is all that keeps him from immediately falling and the second Aizen lets go he crashes to the ground, struggling to stay conscious. He can feel the blood pouring from him, soaking the ground around him, and Aizen walks past, leaving him there.
"For a human, you were truly interesting, ryoka boy."
It isn't the greatest of first meetings. He only knows Aizen's name because of Unohana's warning, and he can only assume that Aizen knows just as little about him. Of course Soul Society is quick to inundate him with everything he 'needs to know' about Aizen. He's evil, twisted, and he intends to destroy all of Karakura to create a magical key so he can get to the King's realm and become God. He's the enemy, isn't that all that's important? Maybe, but he still wonders about it. He can't remember Aizen ever saying anything about his plan, only that he intended to stand in Heaven. Where did they get all this information about what Aizen intends to do?
And, if Aizen is as ridiculously powerful as they claim, and all evidence suggests that he is, why are they still alive? With his zanpakuto, complete hypnosis or something similar, he could have killed every captain and vice-captain and no one would have been the wiser. The fact that he hadn't, that he'd openly declared his intentions, bothers Ichigo. And all the reasons Soul Society throws in his face – Hitsugaya, Hinamori, Renji, Rukia, Komamura, Byakuya – seem to wither when you really look at them. The only people Aizen had actually killed, when it came down to it, were the Central 46, a bunch of powerless bureaucrats who no one ever interacted with anyway.
If Aizen is this strong, this intelligent, this ridiculously overpowered, then why are they all still breathing? Why did Aizen retrieve the Hougyoku in a way that didn't harm Rukia? Why was Hinamori's wound so superficial when Unohana really looked at it? Why hadn't Aizen finished off Hitsugaya and Komamura when he had the chance? And why, above all else, are Renji and him still alive? Aizen had to have known about Orihime's powers and that nothing short of really killing them and making sure they'd stopped breathing would be enough to stop her healing them. He had to, but he'd only injured them enough to keep them on the ground. And Byakuya, that was the oddest one. He'd jumped in front of Ichimaru's blade, stopping them killing Rukia – though now he wonders if there was ever any actual intention to kill her – and taking the blow himself. Ichimaru had very gently withdrawn his sword, instead of ripping Shinsou out of the captain or even using it as leverage to throw him across the hill. Why?
None of it makes any sense.
Their second meeting is a good deal friendlier. Ichigo is returning from Urahara's shop in his human body, in a basic black t-shirt and jeans, and there Aizen is. He's sitting at a table outside of a western style café with a book in his hands, a cup of something steaming gently in front of him. He has an immediate moment of panic, reaching for the badge in the back pocket of his jeans, before he stills. Wait, what is the ex-captain doing here? He seems to be in a gigai, or so his human clothes – black dress pants and a long-sleeved blood red dress shirt with the top few buttons open to bare several inches of skin – and the lack of reiatsu around him implies, so it isn't like he poses a huge threat right at this moment. True, Aizen could still probably kill him within moments if he wanted to, but isn't that what he's been asking himself? Does Aizen really want him dead?
Brown eyes flick up, locking onto him. They're amused and questioning and as he watches, Aizen lifts an eyebrow as if to ask him what he's looking at. He flushes, lets his hand fall to his side from where it is still halfway into his back pocket, and Aizen's lips twist in a laugh that he can't hear from where he's standing. The book drops, lying flat against the table in front of the ex-captain, and Aizen raises a hand to the empty chair on the left side of his table in silent offering. His mind balks at the idea but his legs move without conscious thought, bringing him closer to the other man. As he approaches Aizen pulls the chair out, and when he gets there he sinks into it, rearranging so that he's facing the traitor and there's no way for the other man to get at his back. Aizen smirks like he knows exactly what Ichigo is doing and lowers his eyes back to his book in dismissal. The other man doesn't see him as a threat, but that doesn't surprise him. He isn't nearly powerful enough to hold a candle to the strength Aizen had demonstrated on Soukyoku hill. Where he'd, let them all live… Fuck.
"Why?"
He doesn't quite register that he's spoken out loud until Aizen shuts the book in front of him with a snap and turns those brown eyes up to him. "That's a very vague question Kurosaki-san. What would you like to ask me?" Amusement is still in the depths of his eyes, but for the most part Aizen is serious and giving him his full attention. It's daunting, having someone that powerful focusing solely on him. His reiatsu stirs in warning, wary of the being across him, of the power that could resurface at anytime. Aizen gives a very slight smile. "Relax, as long as you are at this table you are safe from me. Ask your questions."
He stares at Aizen for several more moments, feeling rather like a rabbit before a wolf, before he voices the question that has been plaguing him for weeks. "Why am I alive?" he asks softly, quiet desperation lacing his voice.
Aizen raises an eyebrow, like he's just asked something monumentally stupid. "I cannot tell you the meaning of your existence, Kurosaki-san. It is a-"
"No! That isn't what I… Fuck!" He drags a hand through his hair, staring at the tabletop so he doesn't have to meet Aizen's gaze. "Why haven't you killed me?" He looks up then, sees Aizen very carefully smooth his expression out, his eyes darkening. "You could have done it on Soukyoku hill, or had Gin do it when he drove me back out of the gate, or at any point between those events or afterwards… You could kill me now, if you wanted to, and there isn't shit I could do to stop you. So why don't you?" He gives a rough laugh, leans back in his chair. "For that matter, why didn't you finish off Hitsugaya, or Komamura, or Renji?" He watches Aizen carefully, follows the fingers that smooth a crease in the ex-captain's pants down and the way his eyes lift to stare out at the street.
"Circumstances worked against me. I didn't finish any of them, or you, off because there was always someone else challenging me that I needed to take care of. It is only a testament to Inoue-san's power and the sheer number of shinigami that any of you still breathe." Aizen reaches for the cup in front of him – he identifies it as tea now that he's closer – and takes a small sip. "If there had been more time, or Unohana-san had not found me in the chambers of the Central 46, you'd all be dead."
"Bullshit." He crosses his arms, watching the brown eyes flicker with surprise. "It would have taken less than a second to finish any of us off, that's a grand thirty seconds for all of us if you're really generous and we could all run, not that any of us could." Aizen looks back at him, and really looks this time, like he's picking him apart and trying to see how he works. "Besides, none of the shinigami can see you if you don't want them to. Hitsugaya, Renji, Komamura, Hinamori, none of them saw your attacks. If you'd been aiming to kill you wouldn't have consistently aimed for the chest, you would have cut all their throats and they wouldn't have noticed a thing until it was too late. And me…" He scoffs, hands tightening on his arms. "Yeah right, 'too shallow' my ass. We were less than a foot apart, the only way you could not cut me in half would be to pull back. So how about you stop fucking lying to me?"
He lowers his eyes to his own legs, scowling and trying not to get up and walk out because goddamnit, he still wants answers. Everyone insists on treating him like he couldn't understand the truth even if it were laid out in detail, like he's just some idiot kid who can be told 'because that's the way it is' and be expected to accept it. Urahara's done it, though Soul Society is the worst offender, and now Aizen is starting to do it too. Fuck, why do people think he's such an idiot? Why do they think that he'll just swallow whatever lies they throw at him?
"I, apologize, Kurosaki-san." He raises his head, eyes wide and unbelieving. Aizen is looking directly at him, though as he looks up the other man bows his head for a moment in what might be considered respect. "I have been treating you like I would the other shinigami and that was a misjudgment on my part. I should not have assumed you would be as easy to deceive as they were." Aizen chuckles, low and rich enough that he has to fight down a shiver he doesn't understand the cause of, and looks out at the street. "I've grown used to being around people I could manipulate as easily as breathing, it has rather dulled my ability to socialize in any other way." He can see how that could happen. Renji and Rukia haven't even questioned what information Soul Society has given them, they have a blind faith in the captains that he can't even begin to understand. Brown eyes turn back to him, and Aizen gives a very soft smile. "Please accept my sincere apologies, Kurosaki-san. I will endeavor to treat you as an equal, as you are worthy of."
The tension in his shoulders relaxes a little and he breathes a sigh of relief, eyes falling to the table. "Thank you. That's, not something I get much of." In fact, the only people he can think of that really treat him as an equal are Ishida and Zaraki, and that isn't saying much. Urahara treats him like a student, and somehow Renji, Rukia, and Orihime have begun to view him as some kind of a hero. It's not a title that he minds but it has tainted the way they speak to each other.
Aizen laughs and he looks up, catching the warm amusement in the rich brown eyes. "I understand that, Kurosaki-san. It is rather tiring not having someone you can really speak with, isn't it?" He nods in agreement and Aizen, he almost doesn't believe it, hesitates. "Would you believe me if I said that I had no desire to harm any of you?"
"I might. Soul Society's version of things doesn't make any sense so I guess that just leaves whatever story you feed me." It's true enough. If Aizen's story makes more sense than Soul Society's garbled version he'll probably believe it, at least more than he believes Soul Society.
Aizen looks back at him, a smirk on his lips, and sighs in something very close to resignation. "Ah yes… What exactly is my dastardly plot? I assume it's sufficiently lacking in morals and paints me as some kind of evil overlord?"
He can't help it, his mouth curves in a small grin. "Yeah, that about sums it up." Aizen sighs and shakes his head, taking another sip of his tea. "According to Soul Society you intend to destroy Karakura town to create the King's Key, enter the King's realm and become God."
Aizen's eyes very barely widen in surprise before he gives a low chuckle. "How inefficient and small minded of them. I don't need to create the King's Key, there are several already in existence and I know where two of them are, it's only a matter of getting my hands on them. Besides, I can't simply 'become God', it doesn't work like that…" Aizen must see the curiosity on his face because he smirks and raises an eyebrow. "Would you like to know how it works, Kurosaki-san?"
"How to become God? That seems kind of like forbidden knowledge type stuff."
"Relax, it's very difficult to even set yourself up in a position to have the chance to gain the powers of the King and even then it's temporary. If you attempt to hold onto the powers of the King, as the current King has, it will twist and warp you. A normal shinigami is not built to hold that kind of power. Only members of the royal line are capable of becoming King for a lifetime, but that family died out many centuries ago." Aizen sets the cup of tea down, his eyes follow it. "To gain even that temporary power you must pass several tests, the content of which even I do not know, and then be accepted by the guardians of the King's realm. I don't know exactly what that entails either, the whole thing is buried deep enough that it took me many decades to find just that information."
"So you're pretty much going into this blind?" He's curious, admittedly. Aizen doesn't seem the type to do anything without a plan first, so the idea that he'd try this without knowing exactly what he would be facing is, odd.
Aizen sighs, his eyes still turned down towards the table. "Essentially, that's right. I would much prefer to know everything about the King's realm before I enter it, but I have accepted that a good portion of this must be entered into without foreknowledge." The other man's lips twist in distaste, brow just barely furrowing. "It is not… ideal, but I will succeed regardless."
There, that was more like the arrogant know-it-all he'd glimpsed on Soukyoku Hill. "So, if being King is so difficult and only temporary anyway, why do you want to try? It can't just be a power thing, it's not like you get to keep that and I don't think you'd risk trying to hold onto it. So, why?"
Aizen gives a small chuckle and shakes his head. "I don't think you'll believe my reasons, Kurosaki-san. But, if you'd like to hear them, I am willing to tell you at least some."
He scoffs and watches Aizen reach for the cup and drain the last of the tea from it. "Try me."
"Alright, as you wish." Aizen lowers his eyes to rest on the book, his right hand lifting to brush across its cover. "Over a century ago I came across knowledge, which I will keep to myself for now, that informed me that the world was, not as I thought it to be. It made me question the rules and traditions of Soul Society, how they train shinigami, how Rukongai is managed, or not managed to be more precise, and above all else the existence of Hueco Mundo and hollows. The more I questioned the more I found inconsistencies, faults, and I grew more and more unsettled." A faint smile plays over Aizen's lips and his eyes shut for a moment. "To tell you everything I discovered would take many days Kurosaki-san, so I'll be brief. Soul Society is rotten to its core, and a good portion of my reason for this revolt is that I believe it must be torn down and rebuilt. I also have, more personal reasons, but they are private and no more than fuel for my determination. The years have dulled my desire for revenge, I no longer want it."
It wasn't exceedingly difficult to believe. Hadn't he wondered why Soul Society was so insistent on Aizen being evil? This actually answered a lot of things. He shrugs and Aizen's eyes lift to his. "That's not that hard to believe. Besides-" His phone screams at him and he startles, automatically reaching for it. A single button press deactivates the alarm and his eyes widen. "Shit, my Dad's gonna fucking kill me!" He stands, shoving his phone back in his pocket, and almost turns to leave before remembering Aizen.
The other man smiles indulgently, amusement in his eyes. "It was nice to officially meet you without being at each other's throats, Kurosaki-san."
He snorts, bowing his head for a second. "I think you mean without you at my throat. I don't think I could get close enough." Aizen raises an eyebrow, smile slipping into a smirk, and he has to suppress a shudder as the ex-captain very slowly drags his gaze up and down his body.
"You might be surprised."
What the hell…? He stares for several moments, temporarily lost for words, before he swallows and steps back. "It was nice to meet you, Aizen." He leaves, running for home so he's only slightly past curfew, and that look haunts him the whole way home.