Chapter 32: The World Of The Living I
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Chapter 32: The World Of The Living I
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His eyes gleamed. "Darkness… Where can I get more darkness?" His lips curled in thought. "It seems I soon have to go to the human world."
Akashi exhaled sharply, fingers tightening slightly as he welcomed a new sunrise, soon walking out into the embrace of Seireitei's streets.
He hated this feeling; the lack of control, the uncertainty of another's intentions.
Indeed, a night of sleep was nowhere near enough to settle his chaotic and paranoic mind.
The only thing that soothed his mind was power. Improvement. Strength was the only security in a world where people like Tokinada could pluck lives away like weeds in a garden.
Two weeks.
That was all the time he had left before his training period in the Fifth Division ended.
After that, he would have to lead his own team on rescue missions as the Tenth seat.
It wasn't that he wasn't prepared; far from it; but the knowledge gnawed at him. He had plans. He needed time.
If he asked Aizen for more, he had no doubt his captain would grant it. But should he?
No.
Aizen had no use for dead weight. Akashi understood that better than anyone.
If he stalled, if he showed hesitation, Aizen would not look favorably upon it.
He valued tools and interesting things, not burdens. And Akashi had no intention of proving himself useless or boring in the eyes of a man like that.
It was as if he had two paths before him, the boring part that may drive Aizen to make things more interesting, or the already interesting show
that Aizen can just watch.
Akashi doesn't want Aizen to mess things up too much.
After all, Aizen, Despite any loyalty coming from his subordinates, proved himself to be uncaring, believing that affection is the furthest from understanding.
Hell, he took things further, almost killing one of his loyal Arrancar subordinates, Tier Harribel; due to her failure to live up to his highest expectations.
He watched, allowing the majority of the remaining Arrancar to die despite being fully capable of saving them.
It's due to that information that Akashi would rather not introduce Aizen into the equation.
It's not as if Akashi truly wishes to work for someone like Aizen, but that he has no choice now, the plight of the weak. At least, working with Aizen is pretty safe right now.
Besides, his true goal lay elsewhere.
The human world.
He needed to go. There was something waiting for him there; perhaps more darkness to fuel Kurayami, perhaps the ingredient to the First Eldritch's evolution.
Regardless, it had to be done. But there must be preparations lest he stays a lamb for slaughter.
However, before that, he had other matters to attend to.
The scent of parchment and ink filled the air as Akashi made his way toward the Shinigami Women's Association headquarters.
He had another set of stories to publish, and waiting for him there would be Nanao Ise, the association's vice president.
It would be their second time meeting. The first was when she came to him to discuss the details of his first set of horror stories. Now, it was time for the second.
As he walked, his sharp gaze caught sight of a familiar figure.
Rukia Kuchiki.
She was walking by a short distance away, her posture rigid, her gaze lowered as if weighed down by invisible chains. Not in the brightest of moods.
Of course, he knew why.
Rukia had been his classmate for a brief time in the Shinigami Academy before the Kuchiki family took her in.
Their influence had propelled her through the ranks, bypassing the usual trials others had to endure.
But in her case, nobility came with its own burdens, that was obvious.
She was no longer just Rukia; she was Rukia Kuchiki, a name that carried expectations she had no choice but to bear.
From what he remembers in the story, she must now be experiencing alienation from her colleagues due to skipping the 13th division's entrance exam.
The favoritism shown to nobles is well-known, but that doesn't make it any less of an issue, an issue that ordinary Shinigami can only complain about under their breath, but do nothing about.
"Rukia," He called, stepping toward her.
Her head snapped up, surprise flashing in her violet eyes before recognition settled in.
"Akashi?" She blinked, then straightened herself, masking whatever thoughts had plagued her moments before. "It's been a while."
He tilted his head, studying her cold facade. "You look miserable."
Rukia scowled. "I do not."
"You do. It's written all over your face." Akashi was amused.
"Nonsense!" Rukia just wanted to continue arguing before realizing her mistake, remembering how easily he used to stir her emotions, "Hmph, I don't care for you." Thus, she chose to shut her mouth.
Akashi chuckled.
"Come on, I'm heading to the Shinigami Women's Association. Walk with me."
She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Fine."
It seems that even though she showed a strong front, she's still lonely at heart, so in the end, she still couldn't help but chat with Akashi.
After all, very few talk to her as warmly as Akashi and without any apprehension or tension due to her nobility.
Hell, even her brother, Kuchiki Byakuya rarely talks to her and his apathetic deposition makes her believe he doesn't care for her, all of which contributes to her loneliness.
"How do you do it? How do you have so many friends?" After being convinced to share some of her troubles, Rukia couldn't help but ask with ample curiosity.
"Hm? What a strange question," Said Akashi, glancing at her strangely.
"W-what?" Rukia stuttered, somewhat insecure.
"I made friends by trying to make friends," She was truly very amusing, "It may certainly happen that you can make friends without that intention, but it's obviously less likely."
"You look more gloomy than hollows. Your face is colder than ice. You speak less than the average hollow... So how do you expect to make friends," Akashi casually said while observing her stunned face.
It took Rukia a while to regain her senses, her blank expression morphing into rage as she leaped toward him, "Nonsensical fool! I'll bite you!!"
"Hahahaha," Akashi let out a soft laugh as he flashed away. It's amusing moments like this that distract him from the dark voices in his head, the voices that seek to break whatever's left of his sanity.
Such moments give him some peace and keep his mind stable for otherwise, the side effects of Kurayami are too severe.
And Akashi doesn't want to lose himself in darkness. He doesn't want to become evil for the sake of evil.
Every evil he's ever done, he believes he's done it for survival or progress. It doesn't make it any less okay, but at least it soothes his broken mind.
However, after he came to this world, the thoughts he started to have... They were too problematic, purely evil thoughts with no purpose whatsoever.
The only thing keeping his mind in check was his carefully cultivated reason and his weak strength.
To act upon the problematic darkness in his mind is to seek death when many many people in this world can kill him in an instant.
It's that desire to survive that's keeping Kurayami's side effects in check. For how long that will last, he doesn't know, but he knows that he must find a solution before it's too late.
For now, the solution he found is positive emotions. They are, however, too little in comparison to the negativity his stories bring him.
That's one of the reasons why Akashi seeks friends so much. They not only help him get stronger, but they're also his source of amusement and positive emotions.
Rukia begrudgingly followed him into the Shinigami Women's Association, just going along with his flow.
The room was lively, filled with the chatter of some of the most formidable women in Seireitei.
At the center of it all, Yachiru Kusajishi perched atop a desk, swinging her legs as she gleefully devoured sweets.
Nearby, Rangiku Matsumoto leaned lazily against a table, a teasing smirk already forming on her lips the moment she spotted Akashi.
Nanao Ise stood with her usual composed demeanor, her sharp eyes scrutinizing a stack of papers; undoubtedly related to the association's business.
And then there was Suì-Fēng, the Second Division captain, who cast a sidelong glance at Akashi but said nothing, paying him no heed.
"Look who's back," Rangiku purred dramatically, her voice that of playful resentment, "The irresponsible man who vanished, forgetting to buy his lovely senior a drink!"
Akashi sized up the drama queen before casually explaining, "I kinda... was busy dying."
"Oh?" Rangiku's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Busy dying?"
"I was training with the eleventh division, and you know how they are, a bunch of brutes," Akashi shrugged, although his tone wasn't that of complaining.
'Then again, I kinda like the pain,' Akashi mused, having quite the strange thought. What can he do? The pain also helps distract him from the voices, calming down his chaotic mind.
"Aghh, training. Honestly, don't know why you try so hard. You wanna be a vice captain?" Rangiku let out a sigh of exasperation, "Don't bother. Just give up and laze around lest you face the same regrets I do. That bastard of a captain always throws his work to me! Aghh! I need a drink!"
"Lazy as always, Senior Rangiku," Akashi commented with a chuckle, but he couldn't really sympathize. Akashi doesn't know what too much hard work looks like.
'Come to think of it, Rangiku is quite special,' Akashi blinked as he took a second look at Rangiku.
Aizen took something from her when she was little, what Akashi presumes to be a part of the Soul King.
Yet even despite losing such a precious part of herself and her laziness, she still managed to reach such a level, 'Ah, If only I had her talent.'
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