#bleach aizen

New chapter uploaded ━─┉┈◈❖◈┈┉─━ Teenage Aizen still carried loneliness like something alive beneath his skin. His expression was calm, but the distance in him had not yet fully sealed over. It was there, though not yet flawless. Beneath it, something quiet and aching still remained. ━─┉┈◈❖◈┈┉─━

I’ve been a bit quieter lately because of uni and because I really wanted to focus more on my writing. For this chapter, I’m trying to find the right balance: just a hint of vulnerability in his isolation without making him seem too soft. If I were to write Aizen a little more realistically, I don’t think his younger self would come across as some anxious, fragile teenager, but there still needs to be a difference — a small trace that there is something human beneath it all, something he only became better at suppressing until it settled into his subconscious and shaped itself into supremacy. I hope you’ll enjoy the chapter, even if you don’t usually read Bleach OC content —take it as a narrative analysis of mine <3

❤️🌹{ LADY AIZEN}🌹

No AI 🚫

an uraai fic centered around the events of the kisuke vs askin fight in TYBW, where urahara kisuke gets haunted by an old adversary.

link to read on AO3 is here !

tumblr version below

He wasn't the sort of man to believe in Fate. No, on the contrary, Kisuke Urahara thought that fate was something born of ignorance rather than logic. However, he could admit that his matchup against Askin Nakk Le Vaar seemed born of something akin to fate, something that was cruel and precise in how it hurt him and haunted him in equal measure. It was the whole look, the holistic view that made him notice the similarities: the cowlick, the strand of hair dangling in the front in the most annoying of ways, and the constant monologuing that made the recurring thought of Sosuke Aizen pop up in his head as he looked at his opponent.

For all their similarities, there were also a thousand little things that Kisuke's rational brain noticed that were different between the two: Askin's more relaxed demeanor, sarcasm, and even little mannerisms that he detected. While it was proof that it was entirely irrational to keep thinking of Sosuke Aizen, the more emotional part of his brain, which he had acquired more recently in the century of exile, had arguably grown softer, and he couldn't stop it. Perhaps it was his recent encounter with Aizen that had also left him rattled, when he had to create about a thousand other contingency plans in his head should Aizen try to escape and need to be restrained again.

It was hard to breathe inside the Gift Bereich.

"Kisuke Urahara. You're a knowledgeable man. You look like you've seen everything there is to see," Aizen, no, Askin had said.

"With a mind as brilliant as yours...." He shook his head to clear the memory.

"What will His Majesty create after destroying the three worlds? Don't you want to see what that is?"

"A winner doesn't ask how the world is, but how it should be!"

His brain functioned at approximately 95% of its usual rate.

"I am..."

Kisuke stood up almost automatically, gathering all his strength to direct a strike at Askin to catch him off guard, or to clear the thought of Sosuke's breakdown from his head. It was unclear as to which reason was the truer one.

Askin was easier to talk to.

It was his justification, and he was unsure to whom he was directing said justification because Sosuke Aizen was not here, but the lingering guilt over not divulging more information to Aizen, who had fully shown himself to Kisuke with his breakdown, had not left his mind yet.

"If you want something created that nobody's ever seen before, it should be by your own hand. That's how scientists are," He replied to Askin, as his sweat drops fell to the ground in an irregular pattern he took note of.

To Askin, it would have been obvious that Kisuke meant himself and Mayuri Kurotsuchi as the scientists in question because he had brought up Kurotsuchi moments prior. But in Kisuke's mind, and he had never told anyone before, this was something he partially respected Aizen for. To have the sort of vision where he was the one creating something new, a soul society that he led, unlike Askin, who was interested in following another scientist's vision.

Their views are not so similar after all, Kisuke thought, the only thing this Quincy shares in similarity with Aizen is his appearance. That's all.

It was a rational conclusion he had come to based on the evidence surrounding him from what Askin had shared about his own mentality, which Kisuke asked him with the intention of figuring this out — how similar he is to Aizen, and also to try and understand him, which was something he decided to try out after witnessing Kurosaki's approach to his opponents. He was a scientist after all. The method seemed interesting enough, and he was going to test it out.

It was hard to remain rational, he had realized, with blood gushing out of his eyes despite Benihime doing quite a spectacular job of healing him with the rustiness from not being used for quite a long while. He knew he was fighting Askin Nakk Le Vaar, a quincy, a being so separate from Aizen Sosuke he might as well have been from another realm (which he was, he thought dryly). Yet, in the haze of battle between life and death, it was hard for him to differentiate the two: he was being pushed to the edge physically while still going through his contingencies, the purple reiatsu of the Quincy visible through every edge of this Gift Bereich and looking oh-so painfully familiar. Kisuke could swear that when he looked at his adversary, Askin would flicker, and he would be met with Aizen clashing a sword for a split second, before refocusing his eyes on the Quincy. It was haunting to have his brain be so uncooperative. It had certainly never happened before.

Askin was gone now. Grimmjow had crushed his heart, and the man had fallen to the ground, revealing one last gift to him and his group that Kisuke had anticipated— the poisoning effects of the Gift Bereich had increased, causing them all to fall to the ground writhing, panting in pain as they waited for Nelliel to arrive. Nevertheless, even with all his injuries and the concerning number of plans he'd gone through like rapid fire, he took a bit of relief in the fact that he wouldn't have to be haunted by the sight of Aizen in his periphery like an old ghost again.

Kisuke Urahara passed out for an extended time.

"...That Quincy did a number on you. How intriguing it is for you to get your hands dirty in a fight, Urahara Kisuke. And this dirty, as well."

That voice. That damned familiar voice that he had last heard screaming at him.

He blinked, slowly pressing his arm against the floor to push himself up and look at the owner of it.

Sosuke Aizen stood there, with a hole in his chest, bleeding from his mouth, and an entire arm missing. He continued. "Though I suppose I'm in no better shape, aren't I?"

"Is this...a dream...of sorts?" Kisuke rasped, unable to put his guard up because he was poisoned, tired, and suffering from blood loss. "Have you come...to haunt my dreams... as well, Aizen-san?"

The man's only visible golden eye narrowed, but it didn't seem to be displeased. On the contrary, the little twitch in his mouth showed pleasure at Kisuke's inability to discern between reality and fiction. "Haunt you? I didn't quite know I was doing that, Urahara Kisuke. Do you dream of me that often?"

"I..." Kisuke tried to push himself up further, knowing that, whether he was real or not, Aizen would not do him the courtesy of crouching or coming to his level. "I am not… is this—"

"—I assure you, I am quite real."

While Kisuke was recollecting his breath, Aizen took the liberty of observing the environment, surveying the giant doll of a zanpakuto lying on the ground as well, her black hair spilling everywhere, and her arms stiff as a doll's. No doubt modified by Urahara himself because he was the sort of man to modify a zanpakuto for maximum efficiency. Never mind the sanctity of a relationship with one's soul. But she was nothing short of beautiful.

"And this... I suppose, is your bankai."

Bankai.

Urahara Kisuke had achieved Bankai, and he was none the wiser to its abilities, not until now, which meant that he had never pushed Urahara quite to the edge like this… Quincy did. He supposed it was a bit ironic that the corpse of Urahara's adversary had the same cowlick style as he had in the past. Even their names were phonetically similar. Askin. Aizen.

Quite a joke Fate had played. It was almost tacky, he mused.

"Yes," Kisuke finally replied, finding himself unable to put up his walls again for the moment, and decided instead to survey his surroundings to implement any contingencies while keeping an eye on Aizen, "this is Benihime."

Aizen's eyebrows inclined up for a split microsecond as he processed how honest Urahara was being. It was a strange feeling to have such a conversation with a man who danced around them so efficiently and elegantly.