Isolated Confinement

The tapping of heavy feet brought a small smile to Sano's unkempt face. "Well well.. if it isn't my favorite little keeper, better make sure I haven't pried myself free of these chains.. would be a shame if you ended up hung by them wouldn't it... Ishii?"

There stood Sano, cockstrong with his wrists and nose pressed to the cage door, the seals that were placed on him weekly were strong but so was his Reiatsu, and he always seemed to manage to wriggle free over time, at least enough to goad Ishii into a visit, yes by this point their routine was well established and was at least a weekly occurrence. Frankly, it was the only thing keeping Sano from madness in the cursed isolation he'd been forced into. "Come on now Ishii.. surely you'd like a talk with your old pal right?.. Here Ishii Ishii, here Ishii Ishii.."

Sano chuckled aloud to himself, he had to enjoy these times while he could, after-all they were usually short-lived. Typically, he had about 2-3 minutes of Ishii's time before he was forced back into a stationary position, chained and sealed away in an elaborate storage closet under the Gotei's nose. Over the last couple centuries, it wasn't exactly difficult to see that Sano had.. went a little kooky. Nothing irreversible, but his more animalistic and sadistic urges hadn't been indulged in so long that they began to drift to Masochism, the holes on the nearby concrete wall where he'd smashed his head told the story better than words could ever hope to. "So Ishii tell me.. is it true that daddy's dead?"

A large solid door would screech as it slowly opened, light beaming into the empty void on the other side. Behind its mass a tall man dressed in white would walk in and his slow heavy steps would echo off of the walls creating an uneasy atmosphere. Demise's glowing blue eyes peered into the darkened room before the lights contained inside would turn on. The lights would emanate around the room, revealing a lone cell with bars stretched across it.

"Well well.. if it isn't my favourite little keeper, better make sure I haven't pried myself free of these chains.. would be a shame if you ended up hung by them wouldn't it... Ishii?", Sano would say with a small smile.

Demise's eyes were blank and uncaring, his hardened gaze peering at Sano as he talked. Demise didn't respond to Sano as he just simply walked over to the bars and listened to Sano's Antics. Demise was always surprised to see that Sano had escaped his bindings, it was meant to be impossible.

"Come on now Ishii.. surely you'd like a talk with your old pal right?.. Here Ishii Ishii, here Ishii Ishii..", Sano would say before he chuckled to himself.

Demise observed the inside of the cell, taking note of the damage present in the room. Sano was being driven mad, then again who wouldn't be driven mad down there in the dark.

"So Ishii tell me.. is it true that daddy's dead?", Sano would ask.

Demise's head cocked slightly, finally showing a response through his inhuman appearance. Demise bent down slightly and reached his hand through the bars, grasping Sano by his throat. "Interesting how all the way down here you still seem to hear things, it's a wonder to say the least."

Demise with his axe grasped in his other hand would slam the top end of it into Sano's chest with great force, at least enough to force him away from the bars. A few Operator's that were present would open the cell door and allow for Demise to step in. Demise's platinum mask would gleam from the lights, as he now stood just inside the cell and a few metres away from Sano. "I'll give you few minutes and then you'll go back into the dark."

Sano's eyes immediately bulged open with what would have once been fear but now pretty much any adrenaline was welcomed. He laughed, cackled till his throat could no longer muster the noise and then he wheezed incessantly as he stared forth at Demise, mouth fixed into a permanent smile. Sano reciprocated, sliding his hands through the bars to jerk Demise's head forth into them, hoping to bloody his nose at best or at the very least to get his attention. Once finished with that little movement of defiance he was pushed back into the wall, back splitting with pain as his eyes shot open once more. His chest felt like it had been wacked with a sledgehammer and yet it was a simple jab of Ishii's axe that had done the damage.

"Now now Ishii.. that's not fair. If you get to use your toys you should fetch me my own and let me use it as well.. fairs fair yeah?" Sano's bemused giggling continued on as Ishii stepped into the cell, announcing that he'd give him a few minutes of time. "Oh I was always such a fan of your courtesy Ishii~ You know I've heard other prisoners compare you to your father but I think you're just swell. So, tell me, did his life end swiftly? Did he die in battle? Did he suffer oh I fucking hope so.. Did you watch? Did he scream? Do you blame yourself Ishii? Oh I know you would.."

Metallic blood would drip onto the ground from Demise's nose, yet he would look completely fine and unfazed. "Now now Ishii.. that's not fair. If you get to use your toys you should fetch me my own and let me use it as well.. fairs fair yeah?", Sano would say giggling.

Demise straightened his stance and stared at Sano, not a single funny bone in his body to speak of. His face was blank and cold as he watched Sano continue with his 'Play time' before the lights went out. "Oh I was always such a fan of your courtesy Ishii~ You know I've heard other prisoners compare you to your father but I think you're just swell. So, tell me, did his life end swiftly? Did he die in battle? Did he suffer oh I fucking hope so.. Did you watch? Did he scream? Do you blame yourself Ishii? Oh I know you would..", Sano would say.

It was hard to tell whether Sano had heard some whispers all the way down there, or if he simply was just a madman sitting in line for execution. Surely the confinement had messed with memories, but to come up with a story to try and make Demise angry. It seemed like he'd lost a little more sanity than first observed. The again it was impossible to tell whether he was lying, or simply didn't know.  

"I'd say you're lucky Sano. You get to live because daddy wanted it. You get to make up stories because your mind can't tell what's false anymore. The best part about this, is that I get to watch as your mind degrades."

Demise would bend over slightly and give Sano a good look into his soulless glowing blue eyes. A small smile making its way across half his face.

"No wretched soul in this place has ever seen my father. Your brother has never met him, your dear niece has never met him, and you have never met him. There is only one thing I truly value. Let me give you a hint, it's not a society of cowering lost souls calling themselves a society."

Sano chuckled raising a finger to his nose. "Got a little something there pal, may wanna deal with that when you get the chance." Sano cast the man a wink and a nod, before letting them settle in into their usual game of cat and mouse. It seemed that he'd struck a nerve, not that he'd ever know. Demise was a soulless being hell-bent on being as indifferent and nondescript as humanly possible, he seemed intent on being the premiere example of what boredom could look like in humanoid form. Such a shame, yet it was to be expected given he was raised under his fathers fist. A small smile slowly but surely crept across the mans face, his skin stretched in an unnatural fashion as he awaited Demise's response.

For a moment, Sano and Ishii simply smiled at one another as Ishii dished out whatever verbal abuse he could muster. He was trying to break Sano, but to break the broken was an exercise in redundancy and as such he would find it less than effective on the whole. "Well you certainly know how to verbalize your contempt for a man and his situation Ishii let me tell you.. I mean to frame me as some man driven mad by this hole is a bit degrading, don't you think? My mind still works, my heart still beats, and if I weren't trapped in these fucking cuffs you wouldn't be acting half as cock-strong as you are right now, would you Ishii?.."

Sano paused a moment, reflecting on the information that had been given to him. "I have a niece hm?.. And to think, he swore with me that our line would die with us, how priorities do change.. Well none the less. Perhaps I'll meet her someday, get out on spirit parole, what do you think Ishii eh? Have I been a model prisoner?"

In that moment, Sano would wink, striking a puppy face as he looked up at Ishii as innocently as he could muster with blood splattered on his face. "And I mean.. hey, least we can agree that this little pseudo-society we've formed is useless. It's just... such a shame that your family is so grossly indebted to it, you'll never truly leave will you.. not till You grace that great big throne in the sky like the rest of your clan, it's like you're destined to die for the preservation of someone else's ideals. Your brother fell into the same trap, I wish he hadn't yet.. here you are, none the wiser."

Sano was amused by Demise's current broken nose, which prompted Demise to fix the problem with a crude sounding crunch. Sano seemed unfazed by Demise's words, not really a surprise but worth seeing where he's at. "Well you certainly know how to verbalize your contempt for a man and his situation Ishii let me tell you.. I mean to frame me as some man driven mad by this hole is a bit degrading, don't you think? My mind still works, my heart still beats, and if I weren't trapped in these fucking cuffs you wouldn't be acting half as cock-strong as you are right now, would you Ishii?..", Sano would respond before reflecting upon Demise's words.

"I have a niece hm?.. And to think, he swore with me that our line would die with us, how priorities do change.. Well none the less. Perhaps I'll meet her someday, get out on spirit parole, what do you think Ishii eh? Have I been a model prisoner?", Sano would continue as he winked and made puppy eyes towards Demise.

Demise's smile would slowly disappear as he promptly observed Sano closely. It was surprising how similar Demise was to those rare few, though perhaps it was even rarer that he would find himself in the position he was. Demise would listen in again to Sano, standing himself up straight.  

"And I mean.. hey, least we can agree that this little pseudo-society we've formed is useless. It's just... such a shame that your family is so grossly indebted to it, you'll never truly leave will you.. not till You grace that great big throne in the sky like the rest of your clan, it's like you're destined to die for the preservation of someone else's ideals. Your brother fell into the same trap, I wish he hadn't yet.. here you are, none the wiser.", Sano would say.

Demise took in Sano's words and would've proceeded to laugh, if he could. Shifting his gaze to one of the lights, Demise thought about his existence. The lack of things truly keeping him operational. Then again, that was to be expected of someone related to Malal.

"Destined? No. My debt to the society died along with your father. Though I must ask. What did you see in my brother? He was as old as me, and sure seemed to have nothing in common with you. Why did you care?"

Demise would signal his hand up, which caused two operator's to approach the cell with some new bindings and seals.

Demise fixed his nose with a pretty sickening crunch, Sano recoiled theatrically, squinting his eyes and leaning backwards as observed the man attempting to realign his face with.. let's say less than ideal results. "Come on now Ishii, don't you think it's maneuvers like that one that made you so damned ugly in the first place? I mean you're not easy to look at to begin with.."

It seemed if nothing else Sano had sent the man into a moment of dark contemplation, this on it's own was sufficient enough a victory for Sano and led to him smiling from ear to ear. He was preparing another witty one-liner, a zinger to mark an end to their conversation as the guards approached with their bindings in hand. Sure, Sano would fight it tooth and nail but he knew how this story ended, he'd seen it a hundred times. His life by this point was a perpetual state of deja-vu and would continue to be that for the foreseeable future. He was ready to put an exclamation point on the conversation when he was caught off guard.

"What did I see in your brother hm.. it's taken you 200 years to ask that?"

Sano's eyes went blank, the once deranged and excited expression his face held just seconds ago was replaced by a mournful, almost blank expression. He reflected back on his friends contributions, the many times they'd shared in combat and how the Gotei had simply swept them under the rug. It was as though none of it had ever mattered, no glory even in death. "I think we had more in common than you might think. I simply wasn't as willing as you and my father to sit around and let his death go unavenged. He fought for the protection of this society, this cycle, he dedicated his life to it. He had a level of character that you nor my father could ever hope to replicate, he died protecting me as he had been charged to do. A selfless villain attached to a selfish hero, that was the nature of our partnership to the bitter end."

Sano glanced at the men in cuffs outside his cell, smiling lightly as his crazed eyes dilated and yet again returned to the visage he knew as Ishii. "Make no mistake Ishii, I will one day escape this cell. I will eat your throat out if I have to, but I will not rest until those responsible for his death are made to pay. This cell is a temporary holding, but my life will not end until I see him avenged. I am not my brother, what corpses I leave littered along that path means nothing to me, less than nothing. One day, your brother will get his peace. And there isn't a damn thing you or daddy can do about it."

Upon finishing his tirade, Sano would wink coarsely in Ishii's direction, waiting expectantly for his new friends to descend upon him.

Watching as Demise attempted to fix his nose Sano's face would recoil as he heard the large crunch. Truth be told, Demise didn't really need to fix these types of injuries himself. At some point or another either his healing would kick in or someone involved within the medical application would heal him without word. "Come on now Ishii, don't you think it's maneuvers like that one that made you so damned ugly in the first place? I mean you're not easy to look at to begin with..", Sano would say in response to the display.

Demise ignored Sano's comment, caring little for anything he said if it didn't peak his interest. Though perhaps Demise was about to get plenty, and this whole time all it took was to ask. Yet it wasn't within Demise's nature to do anything unless either the timing was right or he had another agenda, his own agenda.  

"What did I see in your brother hm.. it's taken you 200 years to ask that?", Sano would ask back. Sano's usual demeanour in that moment seemed to bury itself, his eye's more focused than ever as they seemed to go blank.

"I think we had more in common than you might think. I simply wasn't as willing as you and my father to sit around and let his death go unavenged. He fought for the protection of this society, this cycle, he dedicated his life to it. He had a level of character that you nor my father could ever hope to replicate, he died protecting me as he had been charged to do. A selfless villain attached to a selfish hero, that was the nature of our partnership to the bitter end."

Sano's gaze met with Demise's as he himself stared in the windows of Sano.

"Make no mistake Ishii, I will one day escape this cell. I will eat your throat out if I have to, but I will not rest until those responsible for his death are made to pay. This cell is a temporary holding, but my life will not end until I see him avenged. I am not my brother, what corpses I leave littered along that path means nothing to me, less than nothing. One day, your brother will get his peace. And there isn't a damn thing you or daddy can do about it.", Sano would say finishing his speech. A wink making it's way from him to Demise's direction.

As a few Operator's surrounded and descended upon Sano as to get him chained and sealed again, Demise would reach out a hand and grasp Sano by the face. Demise's face didn't reveal much in terms of emotion, but it was possibly obvious that a certain sentence of Sano's had snapped an emotional response.

"Willingly? I had no desire to sit willingly as my brother's death escaped me. Yet I had every desire to bring extinction upon the Quincy disease. Your dear father however had other plans, and I wasn't willing to go against a friend."

Demise would loosen his grip from Sano momentarily, before then continuing his final words.

"You're not the one who had to make the coffin for his dear brother."

Well it seemed like play time was over as the operators descended on Sano's body, his face was still gripped by amusement, and soon enough it had also been gripped by a very large hand. Frankly, under normal circumstances a man would have to buy Sano a drink before they could handle him this way, but he wasn't really in any position to barter presently and as such he was simply going to have to let it slide. It seemed that for the first time today Sano had something that had truly and honestly gotten through to Demise, prompting him to give a long heavy-handed story about how Sano's daddy was to blame and how he would also exterminate the Quincy and like hey, at least they agreed on the genocide bit, progress!

As Demise's grip loosened, Sano cast the man a wry and sensual wink, letting the man finish his sob story before pressing on. "First off I have to say the last time a man handled me that way he at least had the courtesy to buy me a drink and make reservations, honestly I think you may have drove your wife to suicide through your rapey spontaneity.." Sano's smirk was still present, and through sheer force of will he pushed himself forward to talk to Demise eye to eye. "Say what you want about dear daddy, but he didn't stop me from getting revenge now did he? I knew what the consequences were, I knew I'd end up here but this is what your brother deserved. You on the other hand, are comfortable. Too big of a fucking coward to be where I am Ishii. That's all it is, and as for my dear brother? I'd have made his coffin out of your corpse if he'd gotten in my way."

Sano stepped forward, face full of conviction and the grin he wore earlier was gone. "You're a fucking coward Ishii. Say it. Say I'm a coward. SAY IT!"

"First off I have to say the last time a man handled me that way he at least had the courtesy to buy me a drink and make reservations, honestly I think you may have drove your wife to suicide through your rapey spontaneity..", Sano would respond.

A smile was still dragged across Sano's face and through an unexplainable force, Sano was able to force himself closer to Demise. "Say what you want about dear daddy, but he didn't stop me from getting revenge now did he? I knew what the consequences were, I knew I'd end up here but this is what your brother deserved. You on the other hand, are comfortable. Too big of a fucking coward to be where I am Ishii. That's all it is, and as for my dear brother? I'd have made his coffin out of your corpse if he'd gotten in my way."

"You're a fucking coward Ishii. Say it. Say I'm a coward. SAY IT!", Sano would yell with his face painted with conviction.

Standing up straight and hazily glaring at Sano, Demise would clench a loose fist. In the reflection of Demise's eyes the Operator's had almost finished their work, hoisting Sano up and proceeding to bind him to the middle of the room. Demise paced himself slowly towards Sano as the Operator's left the cell and were awaiting to seal the room.

"A far worse day comes and on the ninth call, the Kokoro's vengeance shall claim."

Demise finished off his sentence before swiftly raising his fist and swinging his fist to connect to the side of Sano's head, the blow surely enough to knock the rambling out of him for a while.

Correcting his clothing, Demise would exit the room. The lights going out and the final sound of a screeching heavy door was the last thing to be heard, as the cell was sealed off.

Ishii spouted some nonsense about the 9th reich or the 9th circle of some shit that Sano was frankly incapable of pretending to be interested in. Sano's smile was soon replaced by a newfound disposition that could best be described as blissful unconsciousness. Ishii's fist was large, large enough that it seemed to swallow up the light in Sano's eyes well before it had ever made impact with his head. As Sano's body mercifully slammed against the concrete beneath him, he would only come to loosely in time to watch the door. His eyes were glazed over still, his mind foggy and his body radiated with fury and a need to fight back, but as his binds became apparent yet again it was enough to slow him down.

Sano tried to speak, but his mouth was covered, the only thing they couldn't silence was his mind. Sano's mind moved a mile a minute, even in it's currently concussed haze, and all he could ponder here, was revenge. Ishii would pay, just as they all would.

-end thread-