[Log] Ryuuken Ishida, Sousuke Aizen
Title: Grumpy Old Men
Characters: Ryuuken Ishida (lcpdragonslayer), Sousuke Aizen (formative)
Timeline: 19 October 1948
Rating: PG
Summary: The Kuchiki heir's charitable soul reunites two men who wouldn't have minded never meeting each other again. Twitchy, grumpy old men, smoking and drinking. How lovely.
Socialising with the greedy, the vain, the bloated and the incredibly dull had eaten up a not inconsiderable amount of Aizen’s life. In fact, it made up the majority of how he spent his time these days. While it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable task, it was necessary and the results were more than satisfying. Escorial was one of the most prominent and most successful construction companies of the East Coast and could allow itself the luxury to refuse projects on a regular basis.
Although the construction firm granted the descendant of Russian immigrants a great amount of freedom, it also limited him in some ways. Certain requests weren’t so much requests but demands which couldn’t be refused.
Legal business could be such a pain in the ass.
Like this one, for example. The young Kuchiki heir’s generosity nerve had itched and he’d decided to donate a hospital wing and in this fit of generosity had also decided that it should be built by Escorial because only the best was good enough for a Kuchiki. It was flattering, of course, and it would add to the prestige of the company.
But! The hospital in question belonged to Ryuuken Ishida. A man who was probably even less enthusiastic about this development than Aizen himself was.
When worlds collided, the outcome was rarely pleasant.
Shaking off the light touch of dread, Sousuke stepped into the luxurious bar of the Waldorf Astoria, and approached the table at the back, which would grant them some privacy. He’d picked this place over Ishida’s office and his own because it was neutral ground. Here, neither could throw the other one out, and he also had a feeling that they would both be in need of more than just one drink if they wanted to survive this meeting.
The director was not looking forward to this.
Though he had expressively declined young Byakuya Kuchiki's offer to fund one of his hospital wings to the best of his ability, somehow a note arrived on his desk, saying that construction was to begin in a month and that mobilisation of patients near the wall that was going to be demolished to accommodate the new area was to begin at the start of next week.
It was true that during peak periods, they were short of beds and short of staff. No doubt building a hospital wing would not only give hundreds of people jobs over the next few years, but it would also be beneficial in the long run.
However, Ryuuken was not entirely keen on the fact that, out of all the construction firms available at the Kuchiki's dispense, it just had to be the one run by one Sousuke Aizen.
He had wanted nothing to do with that man, nor did he want his hospital to have been any part of his illegal dealings, but now it seemed as if there was no choice or say in the matter.
Ryuuken was already halfway through a drink when he spotted said man walk through the door. He had not yet rehearsed what he was going to say but it would be difficult to be pleasant around a low-life criminal like him.
"Nice to know you could take time out of your busy schedule killing people to see an old man like me."
Aizen sighed inwardly, almost wistfully. Killing people didn’t show up on his daily schedules much anymore. Actually, the last time he’d got his own hands dirty was… too long ago.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Ryuuken. You haven’t changed at all,” the Concavo replied to contribute his part of the - one-sided - exchange of pleasantries, and took a seat opposite of the hospital director. He ordered a scotch whisky. Double.
“How is your lovely family? Doing well? That’s good.” Sousuke spread out the sketches Ulquiorra had prepared and slid them towards Ishida. “My architect was so kind as to do some preliminary sketches for your new wing. He’s focused on the optimal usage of space, squeezing out an additional twenty-two rooms. But I’m not sure if that’s what you’re after.”
Leaning back he took a sip from his glass and waited for the director’s opinion. He didn’t fool himself into thinking that it’d be even close to pleasant.
"I'd prefer it if we skip the pleasantries and time-wasting. Both of us hold significant positions where time is... precious."
He cast a glance down at the blueprints. The old man had the heart to show him how he was going to ruin his hospital; wasn't that wonderful.
"You needn't show me anything. I would rather you ask the impressionable young man who thought this was a splendid idea to call this whole thing off or hire another contractor. I can compensate you for the time and effort you have put in thus far, but I want you and your blood-tainted hands as far away from my hospital as possible."
He finished his drink too soon. When the waiter had arrived with Aizen's drink, Ryuuken ordered another one for himself.
"I know that I may not in the better position to be negotiating but it is a matter of principle. Hospitals should not be built by murderous hands and likewise little boys should not meddle with our affairs. Take your millionaire marionette somewhere else."
Reaching into his pockets, Ryuuken fished out his pack of cigarettes and lit a smoke.
"You can make things very difficult for me and likewise I have the ability to make things very, very ugly for you. It will benefit neither of us and I have no intentions of wasting my time with you. No amount of sugar-coating venom will change my mind."
“I’m not interested in making things difficult for you, Ryuuken.”
The acidic smoke wafted between the two men, expanding instead of rising towards the ceiling. How symbolic.
“And I’m not particularly interested in building your hospital, because I agree with your assessment.” Aizen said, draining his glass and ordered another one when the director’s drink arrived. The waiter would be busy tonight.
“But I don’t have time to waste on talking stubborn wealthy children out of whatever bee they have in their bonnet, either, and this one is quite attached to his precious little bees,” he added, smiling thinly. “So why don’t you save the scary director routine for another time and take a look at the drawings? It’ll save both you and me a lot of time and agony if we do it like this.”
"Scary director routine?" Ryuuken reiterated, cocking an eyebrow. He did not quite know what to make of that - Sousuke Aizen knew better than to not take the hospital director seriously, but that irritable tone, as well as all the other irritable things the man did in Manhattan, was not to the Ishida's tastes.
"I have made myself very clear. My hospital is not going to have anything to do with your illicit dealings. I have never interfered with your business or your people and I have no intentions to - and I do not wish for that to change."
Ryuuken was one of the few who actually knew what went on behind closed doors and in dark alleyways. He knew who was the big boss the underworld looked up to and frankly so long as they never crossed paths, he could not give a damn what happened in the cover of the night.
To let tainted hands build a part of his hospital was another issue altogether.
He finished his drink faster than water and this time ordered a jug so that the poor little boy need not run back and forth from the bar to their table.
"You can subcontract the work to a more legitimate company in actual need of the business, or you can decline the offer from the Kuchiki. I don't care what you do; I just don't want to see you or your men's faces near my healthcare facility."
Ryuuken did not bother himself with how the city was run - he was no vigilante nor did he have any real interests in pursuing justice, or any trivial endeavour of that sort - but he was prepared to go very far and do a great many things to preserve one of the only untainted facilities in Manhattan.
Inhale.
In every block of marble, there is a figure full of grace imbedded, and the sculptor’s task is to free it by chipping away the excess parts.
Exhale.
Whether it is marble or granite doesn’t matter. Stone is stone. It can be chipped and formed. Maybe not as easily as clay but with the right tools; hammer, chisel and-
Aizen didn’t finish that thought. Acting on impulse was… not advisable at this point. His options were pretty limited and he had to decide which one would give him the least trouble. Did he want to meet with the hotelier again and discuss this matter again? The answer was an emphatic ‘no’.
The Concavo tapped the rim of his glass thoughtfully. Could he live with the hospital director’s demands? Easily. There were lots of ‘more legitimate’ companies around - none of them overtly connected to Escorial - and Ulquiorra wouldn’t die if his name didn’t show up anywhere on the building.
The only name that needed to be made visible somewhere was Kuchiki’s, and that wasn’t one Ryuuken would or could object to.
“Consider it done. I have no desire to ‘tarnish’ your hospital,” Sousuke eventually said, meeting the silver-haired director’s steely blue gaze with mild amusement. “And I’d hate to cause you any distress.”
It was the truth. Despite their less than friendly encounters and clashes in the past, the dark-haired man had never consciously wished to do the doctor any permanent harm. He seemed to have developed a soft spot for Ishida, he realised with mild astonishment. It was microscopically small but indisputably there. Why else would he subject himself to that sharp tongue so patiently?
Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe it was the hair. Or maybe it was both.
"If you are capable of making such a comment, I believe your definition of distress and mine are clearly quite different."
Ryuuken helped himself to the jug of alcohol. They might have cleared things up but he was going to need to be a little less sober to keep his butt glued on the chair at the same table as the man sitting across from him.
"Don't pay me lip service, Sousuke. We are both too old to be playing snakes and ladders, and I expect you to hold true to your word once you have given it."
Honestly, he did not know if he could even invest that kind of trust in the 'contractor'. Though he had no intentions of having this meeting ever again, he would definitely be keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
"As for plans, I have no care for them. Whoever ends up doing the job can use your plans if you wish. I have enough on my plate as it is. So long as the building is not structured like a labyrinth and will not collapse on my patients, how it turns out is of little importance to me."
If Aizen was surprised that the hospital director didn’t dart away the second they’d seemed to have come to an agreement, he hid it very well. He was glad and a little relieved that the business part was done. It would be delegated to somebody else, and he wouldn’t be bothered with it any further. Period.
Too old to be playing snakes and ladders. Ryuuken’s words struck a chord, gave name to a feeling that had been nagging at Sousuke subconsciously lately. He felt old? A shadow ghosted across his features, as he looked at the liquid in his glass.
‘It’s getting lonely at the top, ain’t it, Sou? Don’t ya wish I was still around now?’
He was old. They both were. Ryuuken Ishida had a successful career and a grown-up, nosy son to prove it. Aizen had an equally successful career and… Ryuuken to remind him?
Now, that was depressing.
“I assure you that your doctors won’t get lost and that your precious patients won’t have to worry about being killed by falling debris. Think of me and my people what you want, but we’re not amateurs, Ryuuken. We are the best in this business and we strive for excellence,” the Concavo paused and took a sip from his drink, smiling, “in all areas.”
"I don't doubt your capabilities for a second," Ryuuken replied. He wasn't trying to kiss Sousuke Aizen's ass or try to make this meeting go any better - it was merely a fact.
"And I don't believe you intentionally want to kill any of my staff or my patients. It just happens to be that life has a way of making things incredibly difficult for me and making me miserable."
The comment was stated dryly and accompanied by more drinking, but other than that there was no other reaction.
"I appreciate your co-operation in the matter, nonetheless. It would save us a few brain cells and blood vessels."
The round-bellied jug was being drained fast by the two men and the elegant ashtray between them was nearing its limit. Badly trained staff, Aizen thought and lit another cigarette.
“Life makes you miserable? Isn’t that a bit dramatic, Ryuuken?” The Concavo chuckled, his fingers toying with his matchbox absent-mindedly. Life didn’t do anything good or bad. It was just lying there, wasting away, waiting to be shaped by capable hands.
At least, it was to Sousuke.
"Surely, you're too crafty to let yourself be treated as a cue ball by 'life'. Or maybe you mean something different?"
"Crafty? Me? What in the world would make you think that?"
Somehow his conversations, when drawn out longer than necessary, always ended up with this sarcasm swinging back and forth like an unpredictable sledgehammer - some catastrophe just waiting to happen.
"Whenever life takes a break on bullying me, someone or something else puts on the mantle - it's a carousel that doesn't stop until you do."
If it wasn't the staff, it was the patients. If it wasn't the patients, it was work. And if it wasn't anything to do with work whatsoever, it was his good-for-nothing son. Finally, if all of that failed, he could always count on one Isshin Kurosaki to complicate things and either make him feel miserable or put him in a worse state than he had been before.
Ryuuken did not really know why he had to make things so difficult for himself.
"I believe we are done here? I would imagine you are a very busy man, bringing this city down, and I have work to do giving you fodder to get rid of."
Ryuuken Ishida was such a miserable man! So miserable it even managed to bring the mood of a well-balanced and content man as Aizen down...
"Yes, we are done." Resting his smoke on the brim of the ashtray, he picked up the sketches and returned them into the folder. "Thank you for your time, Ryuuken. As always a pleasure."
With his usual friendly smile in place Sousuke nodded at the director and rose from his seat.
"Have a pleasant evening."
Oh but nothing said 'fuck you, old man' better than that.
Forcing a small smile, Ryuuken stood as Sousuke Aizen excused himself from their table. He kept his gaze on the other man until he was gone.
With a sigh, the director sat back down. He couldn't go back to work with the slightest drop of alcohol in his system, so after this drink, he would go home. Call it an early night, go to work at some ungodly hour in the morning and see how things went from there.
As he stepped out of the building, Aizen took a deep, cleansing breath. 'Fuck you, old man' indeed. Ulquiorra could take care of this and keep him updated. Or not. He really didn't give a damn.
Characters: Ryuuken Ishida (lcpdragonslayer), Sousuke Aizen (formative)
Timeline: 19 October 1948
Rating: PG
Summary: The Kuchiki heir's charitable soul reunites two men who wouldn't have minded never meeting each other again. Twitchy, grumpy old men, smoking and drinking. How lovely.
Socialising with the greedy, the vain, the bloated and the incredibly dull had eaten up a not inconsiderable amount of Aizen’s life. In fact, it made up the majority of how he spent his time these days. While it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable task, it was necessary and the results were more than satisfying. Escorial was one of the most prominent and most successful construction companies of the East Coast and could allow itself the luxury to refuse projects on a regular basis.
Although the construction firm granted the descendant of Russian immigrants a great amount of freedom, it also limited him in some ways. Certain requests weren’t so much requests but demands which couldn’t be refused.
Legal business could be such a pain in the ass.
Like this one, for example. The young Kuchiki heir’s generosity nerve had itched and he’d decided to donate a hospital wing and in this fit of generosity had also decided that it should be built by Escorial because only the best was good enough for a Kuchiki. It was flattering, of course, and it would add to the prestige of the company.
But! The hospital in question belonged to Ryuuken Ishida. A man who was probably even less enthusiastic about this development than Aizen himself was.
When worlds collided, the outcome was rarely pleasant.
Shaking off the light touch of dread, Sousuke stepped into the luxurious bar of the Waldorf Astoria, and approached the table at the back, which would grant them some privacy. He’d picked this place over Ishida’s office and his own because it was neutral ground. Here, neither could throw the other one out, and he also had a feeling that they would both be in need of more than just one drink if they wanted to survive this meeting.
The director was not looking forward to this.
Though he had expressively declined young Byakuya Kuchiki's offer to fund one of his hospital wings to the best of his ability, somehow a note arrived on his desk, saying that construction was to begin in a month and that mobilisation of patients near the wall that was going to be demolished to accommodate the new area was to begin at the start of next week.
It was true that during peak periods, they were short of beds and short of staff. No doubt building a hospital wing would not only give hundreds of people jobs over the next few years, but it would also be beneficial in the long run.
However, Ryuuken was not entirely keen on the fact that, out of all the construction firms available at the Kuchiki's dispense, it just had to be the one run by one Sousuke Aizen.
He had wanted nothing to do with that man, nor did he want his hospital to have been any part of his illegal dealings, but now it seemed as if there was no choice or say in the matter.
Ryuuken was already halfway through a drink when he spotted said man walk through the door. He had not yet rehearsed what he was going to say but it would be difficult to be pleasant around a low-life criminal like him.
"Nice to know you could take time out of your busy schedule killing people to see an old man like me."
Aizen sighed inwardly, almost wistfully. Killing people didn’t show up on his daily schedules much anymore. Actually, the last time he’d got his own hands dirty was… too long ago.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Ryuuken. You haven’t changed at all,” the Concavo replied to contribute his part of the - one-sided - exchange of pleasantries, and took a seat opposite of the hospital director. He ordered a scotch whisky. Double.
“How is your lovely family? Doing well? That’s good.” Sousuke spread out the sketches Ulquiorra had prepared and slid them towards Ishida. “My architect was so kind as to do some preliminary sketches for your new wing. He’s focused on the optimal usage of space, squeezing out an additional twenty-two rooms. But I’m not sure if that’s what you’re after.”
Leaning back he took a sip from his glass and waited for the director’s opinion. He didn’t fool himself into thinking that it’d be even close to pleasant.
"I'd prefer it if we skip the pleasantries and time-wasting. Both of us hold significant positions where time is... precious."
He cast a glance down at the blueprints. The old man had the heart to show him how he was going to ruin his hospital; wasn't that wonderful.
"You needn't show me anything. I would rather you ask the impressionable young man who thought this was a splendid idea to call this whole thing off or hire another contractor. I can compensate you for the time and effort you have put in thus far, but I want you and your blood-tainted hands as far away from my hospital as possible."
He finished his drink too soon. When the waiter had arrived with Aizen's drink, Ryuuken ordered another one for himself.
"I know that I may not in the better position to be negotiating but it is a matter of principle. Hospitals should not be built by murderous hands and likewise little boys should not meddle with our affairs. Take your millionaire marionette somewhere else."
Reaching into his pockets, Ryuuken fished out his pack of cigarettes and lit a smoke.
"You can make things very difficult for me and likewise I have the ability to make things very, very ugly for you. It will benefit neither of us and I have no intentions of wasting my time with you. No amount of sugar-coating venom will change my mind."
“I’m not interested in making things difficult for you, Ryuuken.”
The acidic smoke wafted between the two men, expanding instead of rising towards the ceiling. How symbolic.
“And I’m not particularly interested in building your hospital, because I agree with your assessment.” Aizen said, draining his glass and ordered another one when the director’s drink arrived. The waiter would be busy tonight.
“But I don’t have time to waste on talking stubborn wealthy children out of whatever bee they have in their bonnet, either, and this one is quite attached to his precious little bees,” he added, smiling thinly. “So why don’t you save the scary director routine for another time and take a look at the drawings? It’ll save both you and me a lot of time and agony if we do it like this.”
"Scary director routine?" Ryuuken reiterated, cocking an eyebrow. He did not quite know what to make of that - Sousuke Aizen knew better than to not take the hospital director seriously, but that irritable tone, as well as all the other irritable things the man did in Manhattan, was not to the Ishida's tastes.
"I have made myself very clear. My hospital is not going to have anything to do with your illicit dealings. I have never interfered with your business or your people and I have no intentions to - and I do not wish for that to change."
Ryuuken was one of the few who actually knew what went on behind closed doors and in dark alleyways. He knew who was the big boss the underworld looked up to and frankly so long as they never crossed paths, he could not give a damn what happened in the cover of the night.
To let tainted hands build a part of his hospital was another issue altogether.
He finished his drink faster than water and this time ordered a jug so that the poor little boy need not run back and forth from the bar to their table.
"You can subcontract the work to a more legitimate company in actual need of the business, or you can decline the offer from the Kuchiki. I don't care what you do; I just don't want to see you or your men's faces near my healthcare facility."
Ryuuken did not bother himself with how the city was run - he was no vigilante nor did he have any real interests in pursuing justice, or any trivial endeavour of that sort - but he was prepared to go very far and do a great many things to preserve one of the only untainted facilities in Manhattan.
Inhale.
In every block of marble, there is a figure full of grace imbedded, and the sculptor’s task is to free it by chipping away the excess parts.
Exhale.
Whether it is marble or granite doesn’t matter. Stone is stone. It can be chipped and formed. Maybe not as easily as clay but with the right tools; hammer, chisel and-
Aizen didn’t finish that thought. Acting on impulse was… not advisable at this point. His options were pretty limited and he had to decide which one would give him the least trouble. Did he want to meet with the hotelier again and discuss this matter again? The answer was an emphatic ‘no’.
The Concavo tapped the rim of his glass thoughtfully. Could he live with the hospital director’s demands? Easily. There were lots of ‘more legitimate’ companies around - none of them overtly connected to Escorial - and Ulquiorra wouldn’t die if his name didn’t show up anywhere on the building.
The only name that needed to be made visible somewhere was Kuchiki’s, and that wasn’t one Ryuuken would or could object to.
“Consider it done. I have no desire to ‘tarnish’ your hospital,” Sousuke eventually said, meeting the silver-haired director’s steely blue gaze with mild amusement. “And I’d hate to cause you any distress.”
It was the truth. Despite their less than friendly encounters and clashes in the past, the dark-haired man had never consciously wished to do the doctor any permanent harm. He seemed to have developed a soft spot for Ishida, he realised with mild astonishment. It was microscopically small but indisputably there. Why else would he subject himself to that sharp tongue so patiently?
Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe it was the hair. Or maybe it was both.
"If you are capable of making such a comment, I believe your definition of distress and mine are clearly quite different."
Ryuuken helped himself to the jug of alcohol. They might have cleared things up but he was going to need to be a little less sober to keep his butt glued on the chair at the same table as the man sitting across from him.
"Don't pay me lip service, Sousuke. We are both too old to be playing snakes and ladders, and I expect you to hold true to your word once you have given it."
Honestly, he did not know if he could even invest that kind of trust in the 'contractor'. Though he had no intentions of having this meeting ever again, he would definitely be keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
"As for plans, I have no care for them. Whoever ends up doing the job can use your plans if you wish. I have enough on my plate as it is. So long as the building is not structured like a labyrinth and will not collapse on my patients, how it turns out is of little importance to me."
If Aizen was surprised that the hospital director didn’t dart away the second they’d seemed to have come to an agreement, he hid it very well. He was glad and a little relieved that the business part was done. It would be delegated to somebody else, and he wouldn’t be bothered with it any further. Period.
Too old to be playing snakes and ladders. Ryuuken’s words struck a chord, gave name to a feeling that had been nagging at Sousuke subconsciously lately. He felt old? A shadow ghosted across his features, as he looked at the liquid in his glass.
‘It’s getting lonely at the top, ain’t it, Sou? Don’t ya wish I was still around now?’
He was old. They both were. Ryuuken Ishida had a successful career and a grown-up, nosy son to prove it. Aizen had an equally successful career and… Ryuuken to remind him?
Now, that was depressing.
“I assure you that your doctors won’t get lost and that your precious patients won’t have to worry about being killed by falling debris. Think of me and my people what you want, but we’re not amateurs, Ryuuken. We are the best in this business and we strive for excellence,” the Concavo paused and took a sip from his drink, smiling, “in all areas.”
"I don't doubt your capabilities for a second," Ryuuken replied. He wasn't trying to kiss Sousuke Aizen's ass or try to make this meeting go any better - it was merely a fact.
"And I don't believe you intentionally want to kill any of my staff or my patients. It just happens to be that life has a way of making things incredibly difficult for me and making me miserable."
The comment was stated dryly and accompanied by more drinking, but other than that there was no other reaction.
"I appreciate your co-operation in the matter, nonetheless. It would save us a few brain cells and blood vessels."
The round-bellied jug was being drained fast by the two men and the elegant ashtray between them was nearing its limit. Badly trained staff, Aizen thought and lit another cigarette.
“Life makes you miserable? Isn’t that a bit dramatic, Ryuuken?” The Concavo chuckled, his fingers toying with his matchbox absent-mindedly. Life didn’t do anything good or bad. It was just lying there, wasting away, waiting to be shaped by capable hands.
At least, it was to Sousuke.
"Surely, you're too crafty to let yourself be treated as a cue ball by 'life'. Or maybe you mean something different?"
"Crafty? Me? What in the world would make you think that?"
Somehow his conversations, when drawn out longer than necessary, always ended up with this sarcasm swinging back and forth like an unpredictable sledgehammer - some catastrophe just waiting to happen.
"Whenever life takes a break on bullying me, someone or something else puts on the mantle - it's a carousel that doesn't stop until you do."
If it wasn't the staff, it was the patients. If it wasn't the patients, it was work. And if it wasn't anything to do with work whatsoever, it was his good-for-nothing son. Finally, if all of that failed, he could always count on one Isshin Kurosaki to complicate things and either make him feel miserable or put him in a worse state than he had been before.
Ryuuken did not really know why he had to make things so difficult for himself.
"I believe we are done here? I would imagine you are a very busy man, bringing this city down, and I have work to do giving you fodder to get rid of."
Ryuuken Ishida was such a miserable man! So miserable it even managed to bring the mood of a well-balanced and content man as Aizen down...
"Yes, we are done." Resting his smoke on the brim of the ashtray, he picked up the sketches and returned them into the folder. "Thank you for your time, Ryuuken. As always a pleasure."
With his usual friendly smile in place Sousuke nodded at the director and rose from his seat.
"Have a pleasant evening."
Oh but nothing said 'fuck you, old man' better than that.
Forcing a small smile, Ryuuken stood as Sousuke Aizen excused himself from their table. He kept his gaze on the other man until he was gone.
With a sigh, the director sat back down. He couldn't go back to work with the slightest drop of alcohol in his system, so after this drink, he would go home. Call it an early night, go to work at some ungodly hour in the morning and see how things went from there.
As he stepped out of the building, Aizen took a deep, cleansing breath. 'Fuck you, old man' indeed. Ulquiorra could take care of this and keep him updated. Or not. He really didn't give a damn.