A fresh start or a new test subject? (Shitoke/Aramis) JT

[Deleted]

Shitoke slowly but surely woke up several hours after his unceremonious collapse onto the floor. He couldn’t see much as the room was darker than the hallways by a long shot. A couple lights were turned on but dimmed so the room held an orange glow to it. His eyes had an easy time adjusting to it but it didn’t take long for his fear to set in again. Was he in a safe spot? Where were the Kasumi’Oji? Was he dead? He glanced over himself quickly and realized that aside from some scratches and a deep exhaustion that he actually didn’t have anything out of place. Any wounds he’d sustained were gone surprisingly, without scarring even. He hummed to himself, impressed at the surprising recovery. That however was when he realized he couldn’t move from where he was at. His feet felt like they had lead bricks attached at his ankles and any movement that wasn’t sliding just simply wasn’t possible. Thankfully he was in a chair with a thick wool blanket around him so it wasn’t like he was uncomfortable because of this but it didn’t help his fears.



This was when Anthony made himself known. “Good morning, I hope you’re not too out of it from last night. I can certainly say I wasn’t expecting company, let alone injured and passed out company at that but here we are. Let me know how those wounds are by the way. Erika had some extra experimental salve so I decided to give you some to see if they’d fix the lacerations you’d sustained.” Anthony would move himself, albeit slowly from his desk in his room over to the chair in the center where Shitoke was. Anthony wasn’t exactly impressive as his legs looked thin from lack of use. Meanwhile Anthony’s upper body looked fairly normal though he had a bit of a tired expression on his face with slight wrinkles around the eyes. He smiled a bit to himself however though less friendly and more “I was correct about this”. It didn’t help settle Shitoke much whose eyes were growing a bit wider but at least the other couldn’t hear his heartbeat increasing. So silver lining.



“Nothing to say? Last I checked you had a tongue so you shouldn’t be mute. Then again mental trauma could be holding you back so who knows. What I can say though is that for now, you’re fine. And to answer your question you are being held in Squad 12’s barracks. Mine specifically. Be glad you came to the barracks as opposed to another building. A single door could have met your demise given some of the things we experiment with or on. All that said, who are you? If you don’t want to tell me that’s fine but my captain is on his way over. One way or another you’ll talk to someone.” Shitoke gulped for a moment though it was more a reflex as his throat was dry. He had to admit while Anthony wasn’t threatening him he wasn’t exactly comforting either. But at the mention of experiments Shitoke’s heart rate skyrocketed. He was in a research facility and he was bound up again. This time with no chance of escape since his feet literally wouldn’t be moving.



He started to pant a bit as his paranoia kept rising in time with his fear. He had to find a way out. There had to be something he could do. He did still have his arms after all. Maybe there was a way. He could after all create a bakoto but given he didn’t see anything at his feet there was really only one way he could start running and that was if he cut off his own feet. Which frankly wasn’t really an option. Still he could bluff maybe? What do I know to bluff? Sho? No, every shinigami and their mother would know that spell. There’s nothing to absorb here so I can’t use my soul to help. The bakoto could either expedite whatever happens next or it could save me. Hmmm. . . .there’s got to be something I can do. That’s when Shitoke unknowingly started to alter his reiatsu. Unbeknownst to him the curse he’d taken on from the Kasumi”Oji head had actually been a curse revolving around reiatsu that was corrupted and eating away at the victim. And with his energy taking on the same corruption he could potentially eat away at the binding if given enough time.



Anthony on the other hand wouldn’t notice immediately but could tell due to his reiatsu surging a bit that something was going on. Whether it was due to his very apparent fear or due to his guest trying to do something would be found out soon enough. His eyes narrowed and simply watched trying to unravel the mystery. He already knew that there were several things “wrong” about him given the nature of his soul and the energy he didn’t give off. So with this new phenomena he could potentially learn more. However he decided he’d roll back a few feet just to be certain he was safe while he let Shitoke do his thing. I hope for his sake he doesn’t immediately try to escape if he manages to break the binding. I can’t imagine Aramis will forgive him if he tries to go anywhere that isn’t his office or off the premises. Not to mention it will be me who's going to be on the receiving end if he doesn’t even get to meet with this individual himself. Because who knows where else he went before he passed out on my floor.

[Aramis Tezuka]

The door to the laboratory hissed open, and the familiar pale-skinned, bespectacled visage of Captain Aramis Tezuka was visible in the doorway. Heavy bags were under his eyes, but then that was textbook for the Captain (and many denizens of Squad 12). The Captain yawned as he entered the room. "Anthony." He intoned, looking first at Anthony, then to Shitoke. "You asked for me. Do not recognize this one. He's unsettled. Detect desperation. Who is he?" He asked. "Presume that this individual is the reason you summoned me." Aramis's cold eyes scanned Shitoke-- analyzing him, picking up as many details as he could. Gaunt, and starved looking. Reiatsu seems consistent with that of Shinigami, but minor aberrations in reiatsu signature. Possibly due to Anthony's work, if test subject. If accurate will need to discipline Anthony. Test subjects are no use if starved, save in specific circumstances.

Aramis looked Shitoke over. "Please explain yourselves." He added, brusquely. Aramis was a busy man at pretty much all hours of the day. It came with the territory of running a mad science division. He basically had to be eight places at once. Ken'ichi had helped alleviate that strain on him, meaning he only had to be around four places at once now, but it was imperative that he keep close tabs on all of his officers, lest someone blow up the Barracks. Even with his best efforts, there were always minor threats and concerns to the development of the division. He could rarely spend much time with any individual officer, or examining any individual lab report or results. He'd learned to be very good at scanning documents quickly, and he further assisted himself in this this by learning his squad member's quirks, so he could detect when they were attempting to deceive or hide things from him. He had gotten fairly good at it, but well. Nobody was perfect. Nobody could score an A+ every single time.

[Deleted]

The door slid open and that simply made Shitoke shudder in fear. He’d seen sliding doors but they held a different sound. Even the holding cells on the manor held a sound that was “normal” and had to be manually moved. That door had moved on its own and it sounded mechanical, which confused Shitoke immensely. And in this case sounded more intimidating than it probably meant to. To make matters worse the man who was on the other side of the door looked none too happy. He assumed it was because of him but just the body language the man emanated held the aura of “waste my time and you will be sorry”. Which to him translated into “you’ll become my newest test subject” because nothing about that man and this place didn’t scream “science experiment”. Words, if he could even think of any, refused to come out so all he could do was gulp before sitting back down in his chair, back straight but still shaking from fear.

“Yes sir he’s why I requested you here. I found him in my room injured and unconscious. I’ve looked through our squad’s personnel records but he’s not one of ours and from what I’ve gathered he’s not with the other squads either. Unless their rosters weren’t updated yet but somehow I find that hard to believe. Worst case he’s a spy, best case he’s someone’s test subject that got loose. I figured you should be informed on the off chance he is a spy. Especially if you have anything in particular you want to do with him.” Anthony looked Shitoke over once again. His energy was definitely still surging, which while not unusual given the situation was changing in . . . weight? Anthony couldn’t be certain since he was still getting used to this whole new world of sensory input. But something was definitely changing, something he was certain was more than just his emotional input.

Unbenownst to Anthony and Shitoke, the latters energy was finally starting to noticeably change into something caustic. His “deathtouch” curse was finally activating and it was slowly beginning to eat away at the bindings on his feet. It wasn’t quick by any means but to anyone paying attention to his ankles the reiatsu in the kido binding him was starting to get eaten away. Shitoke in the meantime stayed stock still as he kept looking over the captain and Anthony, but always returning to the captain. Shitoke knew when something was off, he was the literal textbook definition of “Not normal”, “messed up”, and even “what the fuck?” and this mans captain had something hovering about him that wasn’t normal. And no it wasn’t the bags under his eyes, though those looked a bit too large and present to be good for him. Words continued to fail Shitoke as his mind fumbled over itself time and time again. It wouldn’t be unfair to say there was a lot of internal screaming at this point.

At this point Anthony decided to speak up again. “In case you had any questions about what I’ve gleaned from him, I’ve got nothing to report. He woke up a couple minutes before you walked in and when I spoke to him he did not respond. Same as now. However he does understand what we are saying and he does have the means to speak for what it’s worth.” Anthony simply went quiet from that point on. Though he didn’t say it out loud he was curious about what Aramis would do. Or where his line of thought would go. Despite having worked for his captain for several months now, he’d barely ever seen him since their first interaction. Such was the nature of his mysterious captain and he couldn’t help but be very curious about how he’d handle things. As far as Anthony was concerned he’d gladly take him on as a test subject if only for the interesting qualities to his energy. But even he had to admit that without some help he’d struggle to do much beyond a visual inspection if he didn’t comply willingly. Which was unlikely at best. So for now the choice of this man’s fate lie in his captain's hands.

[Aramis Tezuka]

"Vice Captain Shihoin would also serve your purposes." Aramis commented idly, in response to Anthony's advisement that he felt Aramis should be apprised of the situation. He didn't sound upset or angry. Not even annoyed. As usual, Aramis's tone was clinical, as though simply laying another option on the table. Aramis's eyes searched Shitoke's face and form for several moments. "He's escaping." Still with that detached tone though. "Picking up shifts in his reiatsu signature. His bindings are slowly unraveling. Possible it is merely correlation and not causation, but find this dubious." Aramis contemplated for another few moments. "Did you identify nature of his injuries? Zanpakuto? Burns? Blunt trauma?" He asked.

Finally done with talking at Shitoke, Aramis addressed him properly. "Capable of speech? Please identify yourself. Do not try to run. Be descriptive." Aramis advised Shitoke as he reviewed the man. He took several more steps towards Shitoke and crouched in front of him. "Hmm... Appear to be a Shinigami at least. But. Reiatsu signature is strange. Vizard? Possible. Unlikely though. Does not appear to be Hollow reiatsu. Curious." Aramis continued as if he hadn't just commented that Shitoke's bindings were deteriorating, and as if there was no risk of Shitoke lashing out the moment his bonds finished their deterioration. "Further questions. How are you destroying your bonds? Does not appear to be kido, or any form of Hakuda. Appears connected to shifts in your reiatsu. Can appreciate why officer Anthony assumed you were test subject. Very unusual reiatsu. But. Have no documentation of individual like yourself being used as test subject. Please answer this as well."

[Deleted]

Much to Anthony’s annoyance Aramis was right. He could have very easily requested their new vice captain to arrive instead. He’d make a mental note of that for the time being so that if something like this happened again he’d know who to inform. In truth Anthony still felt justified in asking for his captain to arrive but ultimately he did skip someone on the way up. Someone who probably was a tad more suited to this given the rank. Anthony shrugged mentally before answering his captain’s questions. Or would have had the mention of him escaping, driving Anthony to quickly look over Shitoke, glaring at him and doing his best to sense what he was doing that would break his kido. His energy sensory wasn’t the best but it wasn’t non-existent like some of his colleagues. But even now he’d still have to take a few minutes before he’d actually start to see what his captain was mentioning.

In the meantime he’d start answering the questions. “He’s not told me of anything so I can’t be 100% certain. However he’s several large bruises over his torso and thighs. He had a deep cut in his side but it was clean. Thankfully he hadn’t moved much since given it had started to cut into his liver. His arms were littered with cuts, scratches, abrasions and the like. No burns, nor any broken limbs surprisingly. And even with the limited information about his mental state he’s probably about as normal as can be. . . given the circumstances.” Once he’d finished explaining this was the point at which Anthony finally realized Shitoke was breaking apart the binding. Slowly, just enough to be noticeable but not enough to cause it to fail yet. Anthony would need to keep an eye on it for the time being to reapply a bakudo once it was sufficiently weakened but not yet broken. In the meantime he could wait for Shitoke to speak and learn more about their guest.

Shitoke on the other hand was listening intently as though his life depended on it. Which as far as he was concerned it did. But that didn’t stop him from flinching as Aramis got closer to him. Let alone when he called him out. Shitoke hadn’t realized it given he didn’t even know he could activate anything. However that’s when he started to tense up noticeably. Pain shot throughout his body if one could imagine pins and needles from having a limb or body part to fall asleep. That was the equivalent and man was Shitoke unprepared for it. He groaned quietly before trying to figure out how to stop using this curse but failing since he hadn’t even known how it activated in the first place. In the meantime he returned his gaze to the captain and took a shaky breath. The pain surprisingly made it a bit easier for him to speak since it kept his mind occupied instead of in abject terror but he’d still preferred to have not been in pain.

“M-my name is Shitoke. Shitoke Kasumi’Oji. I’m not a “family” member, more so the name was tacked on because I’m . . a tool of theirs.” Shitoke was not apt for sharing much more but considering the man even sensed his energy shifting he may be the only one who might help him stop the curse from continuing. But if he mentioned what he was used for would they just make him be their tool instead? They didn’t exactly seem to be the most caring people but they did heal him and keep him in a better place than he had been. And he wasn’t in a position to argue so he’d need to tell him what he wanted to know. He’d try to keep the details to a minimum however, no need to tell him everything especially if he was going to return him to the Kasumi’Oji.

“This is most likely the result of a curse. I’m sort of the living idea of Pandora’s box but in reverse. I contain curses and cannot be opened. At least that’s the intention however I don’t know how this activated nor why it’s harming me in the process. As for the difference in energy. . . that’s because of my being Pandora's box. You have to be “crafted” to be able to hold curses. Again, that’s to my understanding but you’d have to ask the head scientist of the Kasumi’Oji for a full explanation.” This was where things got harder to talk about. Everything was still very fresh and his memories were flooding his mind about things he’d gone through. Participated in. Injured and endured. He shuddered a great deal and even the constant pain numbed for a few moments as he relived some of them. It took another couple moments but once he was able to shake the memories away he finally spoke up again.

“A-Anthony isn’t incorrect. . . I mentioned I was a tool but I was “crafted”. For lack of a better term I’m the Kasumi’Oji’s. . “ He gulps for a moment before looking Aramis in the eye, clear fear in his eyes. “I’m their current test subject. Not even this body is normal. It’s the product of some procedure they have to create artificial ones. It just happens to have been a good fit for me so thus when I came to the Soul Society and after the experiments I was able to merge with this body seamlessly. However due to the nature of my existence. . . they kept me a secret. There is no documentation even in the Kasumi’Oji about my existence. I’m merely known via word of mouth to ensure others think at best I’m a rumor.”

[Aramis Tezuka]

Aramis's eyes didn't leave Shitoke while he attended Anthony's comments. "Has the fourth division been notified in any way?" He inquired. The Captain's eyes studied Shitoke closely as he winced in pain-- completely indifferent. Neither amused by his suffering, nor disturbed by it. "Shitoke Kasumi'Oji." Aramis began with a slow exhale. The Great Noble Houses. How irritating. That would drag politics into this if they wanted him back. Best determine to find out as much as possible to decide if it was worth the trouble of fighting to keep him or not. Science before all else-- yes, that was a standard Aramis let the division operate-- with minor provisions. And unfortunately, one of those provisions effectively could be read as: "Unless your science will disrupt progression of further science." Picking a fight with one of the Great Houses would absolutely qualify as something like that unless the data Shitoke could provide was irreplaceable.

Head Scientist of the Kasumi'Oji? Aramis folded his arms and tapped his finger. "I see." Aramis didn't know much about that one. "Perhaps there is a use you." He mused. "Important things first. Your value to Kasumi'Oji's." He stated. "How valuable are you?" He asked. "12th Division can take you in. But. Am not willing to risk all out war with Great Noble Houses. Have several Kasumi'Oji as officers. Would get. Messy. Prefer to keep out of noble politics." He explained to Shitoke, bluntly. "Be honest. Be blunt. Or we will return you to them. Kasumi'Oji's owing a favor is also useful. Prove you are more useful." He ordered Shitoke.

This was pretty much Shitoke's entrance exam at this point. He'd demonstrated that he had potential and value-- as a test subject and a source of information if nothing else, but that was fine. There were positions for both within Squad 12. The important thing to Aramis was whether Shitoke could assuage any concerns he'd come to regret this. Aramis was being straight with the man. He didn't want trouble with the Kasumi'Oji's right now. Sozen's protection had disappeared with the man, and Ken'ichi did not hold a high enough status with the Shihoins to ward off another Great Noble House trying to interfere with Squad 12's business. And Aramis wanted Squad 12's business to continue unimpeded. That was his priority. That was his expectation. Squad 12 be allowed to continue and flourish.

At all costs.

But indeed, Shitoke was a valuable capsule of information. A curse repository, and one developed by the Kasumi'Oji at that? Perhaps he had other insights into their research that Aramis could use. Information on their Head Researcher... Yes, perhaps Aramis could arrange a chat with them as well. Trade notes. He'd have to be careful of course, not to let his own condition slip, but perhaps the reward could be worth the risk? But that was conclusions for another day. Largely pending Shitoke's answer. Aramis was silent now and permitted Shitoke to answer the questions he'd posed to him.

[Deleted]

Anthony's eyes widened some then sunken as he shook his head. "I. . . did not. I'll go call for a lesser squad member to make sure Shitoke is healed up properly." The embarrasment showed immediately on Anthony's face. He should have gotten one and claimed this one as a young and upcoming member of their squad. Ugh how it frustrated Anthony that he'd forgotten the first thing of being a researcher. Take care of your test subjects when not under immediate testing. They need to be retained if only so they could be used again AND in the case of willing subjects it makes them more willing to come back for another round.

While Anthony rolled himself away Shitoke just stared at Aramis. He. . . really didn't know how to describe himself in such a way that would serve the squad well. He knew the Kasumi'Oji found him invaluable due to how he could circumvent several MAJOR drawbacks or failures or just slip ups when it came to their less than moral experiments. If you could call some of thier more grisly projects an "experiment". As much as he wanted to lie to Aramis he figured if Aramis was already capable of finding out that he was using a curse on accident then he'd have no hard time telling if he was lying. He had to be honest and he had to come up with a pretty damn good arguement. And quick, Aramis did not look like a patient man.

With a worried look plastered on his face about even potentially being returned he spoke quickly. "I can contain any spiritual drawback your scientists suffer. Contain it and be safe from it's effects. It's my entire purpose as a tool is to contain curses, maledictions, negative spiritual properties, etc. While I'm around I make a lot of slip ups, miscalculations, and general screw ups in spiritual experiements null and void. And from I was told by the head scientist. . . I should be able to utilize them to my advantage. He had plans of making me utilize the current curse plaguing a lot of the Kasumi'Oji of late. Their flesh rots away. Slowly. Painfully and it eats at their soul as well as their flesh. The current head was the last one I "cured" by removing the curse entirely. That is my pinnacle of use."

"However I've been around for a while. I don't know my exact age because I was effectively drugged by them to be kept obedient. However I've contained many a malediction already given the Kasumi'Oji constantly experiment on the nature of souls and other matters. Including life force. I know one thing if nothing else, clearly even! It's the creation and properties regarding Bakotto. I've recreated a prototype version with my reiatsu alone. . . at least I remember doing so prior. I'd. . need to figure out how to do it conciously but it's a start!"

Shitoke was getting a bit frantic as he kept thinking up reasons for why he was more valuable kept. And then it hit him. The other members here wouldn't know of him. And the Kasumi'Oji wouldn't reveal the lose to anyone. Why did he know this? Because in his fear one clouded memory came back. It was of the head scientist using a drug of sorts that utterly erased the memories of those who'd interacted with Shitoke. The only ones not under it's influence was the old head who was now dead, the current head, the scientist, and the counsel of the kasumi'Oji. With a determined look Shitoke smiled wide.

"I. . .I actually have one reason more so than the prior. And it's because I just remembered it from the fog that clouded my memories. Only the higher ups from the clan's counsel, head, and the scientist himself know of me. The scientist ensures all other members have their memories wiped. Your current members won't know who I am and thus can't report about someone they don't recognize. Besides that I can give you information, with some time, about the various experiments I was apart of. I. . . while drugged was a helper in many. Some of which I know I was there at the completion of. Others I can't recall clearly. BUT they may be of use to you or your members. Assuming some of them are interested in souls, life force, or anything else regarding the core aspect of an individual and how to manipulate it."

That was it. This was his best arguement. Sure a living containment was useful but information on the house. The fact he couldn't be leaked about without others knowing, and ensuring the members and his group would be safe. This had to be his way in. He wasn't lying, though he was scared, but he had a bud of hope. He did have something to offer. And it was beyond just the curses he carried. It was information on the house itself and their plans and experiments currently. Plus unbenownst to him, being a collector of sorts for maledictions. It could easily be assumed he might be able to mix and match curses together to create entirely new curses. Or transcribe them into something else. Maybe something others could use. Shitoke hadn't thought about that but surely Aramis would see the potential in that. A curse had work arounds that other things such as kido couldn't do. And Shitoke was living proof of that. But it was all up to Aramis. He ultimately would decide if he stayed and was under their care. Or if he would be sent back.

[Aramis Tezuka]

Aramis paid Anthony no further mind as he rolled out of the room, his bespectacled eyes fixed on Shitoke. He allowed the man to explain himself, and his value to Squad 12. Contain spiritual drawbacks? Interesting at least, useful... possibly. Cure for ails? Also promising. "You make a good case for your usefulness. If truthful." He stated. His further statement regarding the lack of knowledge about him, brought Aramis's right hand to his chin and he contemplated that line. "So, little risk of detection." He contemplated this for several moment, slowly pacing the room, still examining Shitoke.

"Decision made. If you are speaking true, will permit you to benefit from Squad 12's protection for time being. You will take on duties within the division. Equivalent rank of unseated officer to begin with. May award additional privileges if you continue to prove yourself useful." The Captain concluded. "Contingent on truthfulness of statements here. Will continue an investigation. Privately. Look through records. Will monitor effects, to ensure veracity of statements." He informed Shitoke. "Anthony is competent officer. You will wait here until he returns with Fourth Division representative, or until I or my Vice Captain, Ken'ichi Shihoin come to retrieve you." Aramis stated. He stopped for a moment to check Shitoke more closely, with a slightly different glint in his eye.

"Hmm.... When did you last receive food? Will arrange to have a meal sent to you while you wait." Aramis informed him. At this point, Aramis was trusting Shitoke to have the common sense that cooperation was vital to his future. Aramis would tolerate his division going behind his back, but he wouldn't tolerate blatant disobedience in the division. Shitoke's patience here was to be his trial period. After that... Well it was simply a matter of whether Shitoke had been truthful or not in what he'd told Aramis. The Captain swept towards the door of the division, his haori flowing out behind him. He stopped in the doorway, and looked back at Shitoke. "Are these terms agreeable to you?"

[Deleted]

For what felt like an eternity everything around Shitoke felt like it was getting darker. Aramis was agreeing with what he was saying but his expression held no sign of where his decision was swaying to. And with the way he spoke it didn't exactly point Shitoke's thoughts into any good direction. So when he altogether stopped talking Shitoke steadily lost any semblance of a smile he had on and his fear started to spike. Not to mention his heart rate was increasing drastically, to point he almost felt faint. But he couldn't show any weakness yet not until he was allowed to stay.

And thank the gods he would not end up having to try and force a facade or do anything else. Instead he simply was able to relax because he'd actually managed to convince Aramis he was worth the trouble. For as much fear and anxiety as he had earlier he was for the first time since he'd been given free will feeling a joy and relief he'd not experienced prior. He couldn't even answer Aramis's first few questions because he was honestly at the verge of crying tears of joy. He simply nodded as he was told he needed to stay where he was and wait for someone to come back. Most likely Anthony but this Ken'ichi could come also.

Unbenowst to Shitoke with him finally calming down he didn't feel the pain from Deathtouch. The necrotic energy having started to fade off and the kido restraints actually not being lowkey attacked. Aramis likely would have noticed this but as far as Shitoke was concerned he didn't even remember it had been happening in the first place. When it finally came to his last question Shitoke realized he needed to actually vocally answer this one. It was too important to be left open to interpretation. "Yes, Captain." There was more he wanted to say such as "I won't let you down." or "Thank you for taking a risk on me." or a number of other things. At the end of the day though he couldn't bring himself, Aramis probably wouldn't have wanted to hear it anyway.

Thus Shitoke sat patiently, calmly with his thoughts to himself. Eventually Anthony came back, with a lower seated officer at his side who immediately made their way to Shitoke in order to start tending to his wounds. Anthony looked him over, a bit neutral and with bit of a blank expression. That is until he noticed the tears Shitoke had. "I take it the conversation with Aramis didn't go well? You're crying afterall." Shitoke simply shook his head and for the first time smiled at Anthony. "I-I'm actually one of you now. Hah." He spoke softly and more tears came out of his eyes but nothing at this moment could make him anymore happy than he was just knowing he was safe.

[Deleted]

So~! For Shitoke, I counted 26 Paragraphs, so that'll be an extra 20% bonus to the next thread you do with Aramis!

For Aramis, I counted 11 Paragraphs, so that'll be an extra 10% bonus to the next thread you do with Shitoke!