Forced Connections (AizenxOC)

Chapter 8

There wasn't a lot Cassie could think about when it came to her relationship with Aizen; she enjoyed it, she felt happy to be around him, but there was always a fleeting thought in the back of her mind of the what if.

Usually, that wasn't anything serious. Just small things like: what if Aizen was just being nice. She already assumed this and wasn't too concerned about it, but now it turned into things such as this date she was going on. What was the actual reason he invited her out? It seemed random and unprompted; mixed with her general assumption that Aizen didn't truly care for her and Cassie was a wreck of confusion as the days went by.

Aizen had explained they would be leaving by the end of the week, that they should both work their hardest to have little to no paperwork left behind. So, they kept their distance in order to maintain focus. Cassie, however, finished her work much too soon. With only a few hours left, she was now occupied with the thoughts of the coming day.

Cassie was resting near an empty part of her division, staring out at the growing sunset.

"Cassie!" She turned, seeing Momo and Rangiku approaching her, "I'm glad I found you. Are you busy?"

"No, did you two need something?"

"Not me, but Momo here wanted to ask you something."

Cassie looked at Momo, seeing her flush and slightly nervous. "And why couldn't Momo just ask me herself?"

"That's the thing. What she wants to ask you is a little above her position. I told her I'd be alright though, so don't get mad at her. Let me ask you and you can give her your response after!" Rangiku proposed.

Cassie made a face, but she could easily tell Momo was actually nervous about the concern she had. "Alright, I don't mind."

Rangiku smiled and left Momo to join Cassie. They walked off and once they were far enough away from Momo, Rangiku spoke.

"Okay, I actually convinced Momo to talk to you because I knew something bad would happen if I didn't!"

"Can you get to the point?" Cassie asked in a slightly impatient tone.

"Okay, relax. Momo wanted to see if she could get the same training you got from Captain Aizen."

Cassie stared with a blank expression, "I'm failing to see how this concerns me. Did you hear yourself? You said the training Captain Aizen gave me, why would I be a factor in this decision?"

Rangiku sighed, "seriously? You're not the slightest bit bothered by this?"

"Oh, is that it? You seriously are hell bent on this idea that me and Aizen have some relationship past our status. Rangiku, I honestly don't care. Momo should get stronger if she can, and if she feels Aizen can assist her, I'm not going to stop her just because you feel we have a made up relationship."

She pouted, "you know, I'm not the only one who thinks there's something between you two."

"Well, can you please tell them we're not? I'm sure there's something else you all can entertain yourself with."

Rangiku huffed loudly before letting out a loud groan, "just think—a few years ago, you were a quiet little nervous wreck, and now you're this!"

Cassie smiled, "is that a compliment?"

"Take it however you want."

Cassie patted her shoulder and they went to join Momo again. She stood stiff at their return.

"C-cassie, n-never mind! I don't think-"

"Momo-chan," she stopped her, "it's okay. It might be a little tough to ask for this, but you have to realize you're doing this to get stronger. So go into it with confidence!"