Monsters We Became { Bleach Aizen Sousuke Fanfiction }

09 - Reflecting Elysium

The only light came from a single lantern at the center of a carved stone table set in front of the stairs. The table was surrounded by a series of colorful zabuton upon the closest one Soujimaru sat. He immediately jumped to his feet as Koukou entered.

"Is everything okay, Lady Koukou? We finished the device modifications last night and you weren't here." He said with a short bow.

"Yes, everything is fine. I just lost track of time." Koukou said, "Please, show me what progress you have made."

The right side of the room was cluttered with a variety of unidentifiable machinations made of cast iron, stone, and wood. Kaisett approached the only one of the machines that appeared complete and ran her scaled claws across its side until she found the switch along the lower side of the machine. Flipping the switch resulted in the device emitting a soft green glow from the transparent section of its square frame as though it were burning an alien fuel. "It should..." The bird-like Hollow began, "...be able to simplify the creation of the spirit orbs."

"Kaisett set it up so that reishi can be collected from the atmosphere. It should be even more efficient," Nallundra said. Koukou approached the two and placed her hand over an opening on the left side of the machine; an intermixing of sky blue and golden glow surrounded her fingers and palm as she did. A brush of force pushed the vibrant mixture of energy into the machination causing the green glow to swirl as it increased in intensity. At the other end of the device a red misshapen orb formed, spiraling with an unstable energy before falling into the woven basket below the end opposite of her hand.

Soujimaru promptly retrieved the evaporating object and wrapped it in a golden thread from the curled fur around his neck. The orb stabilized. No longer swirling, it became solid matter within his hands. He held it up and the Hollows all admired its beauty in silence – before he tossed it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

—

Aizen stepped into the trade district closest to Keep Paito. Early morning was the least active time for the shops, he had come to learn from the many guided journeys through the marketplace. Only a few Hollows ambled around the few storefronts at this early hour–one of which was open. It was hard to imagine what currency Hollows would exchange for goods. Even more difficult was imagining what goods they would sell. A perfect opportunity to satisfy curiosity.

Most buildings were carved from the same darker gray stone that made up the far cliff of either side of Bosque Santuario. The buildings themselves were akin to the standard architecture of the Feudal Era, albeit imperfect renditions: simplified, blocky, and inornate. Many of the roofs were less peaked than would be expected and in some cases were flat; after all, rain is no concern. Varying heights and interconnected walls made the buildings look like staggered stairs meant for giants.

Under the overhangs, several buildings had stitched-together tables covered in scraps of colorful cloth that served as makeshift storefronts. Through the scant windows light filtered through, and as Aizen walked down the cobbled path more flittered to life– along with watchful stares of the occupants.

He stopped at the only open shop. The low growl of two Hollows speaking quieted at the arrival of their foreign visitor. The customer took a bag from the four clawed hands of the shopkeep and replaced it with two coins before making a hasty exit in the direction opposite of the Shinigami. Two coins made a pleasant tink between the merchant's pitch black fingers before he placed them within the confines of a pouch hung from his obi. Yellow irises surrounded by black sclera turned to greet the Shinigami.

"Hello, can I "--He swallowed a lump in his throat–"help you?" Uncertainty hung from the shopkeep's voice as he brought a hand to his skull-like mask and scratched behind the side with one sharpened talon.