Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Sleeping with the Enemy ❯ The Artist ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: The Artist

 

“Oh, I'm sorry about that.”

Nina didn't have to look up to recognize that soft, calm voice. She's bumped into Captain Aizen in her lack of attentiveness and was now the one sitting on her rear on the ground. She slowly glanced up at him with her pretty blue eyes, embarrassed.

“I should be the one apologizing, Captain Aizen. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going,” she told him.

He held a hand down to her and with it a reassuring smile. “Not at all, Seito-san.” He let her take at and pulled the girl to her feet before stooping down to pick up her book. Aizen paused a moment to look at the title. “”Hnn…Great Expectations…an admirable choice.” He returned the book to her with a smile. “You will enjoy this book immensely. I couldn't put it down the first time I read it.”

Nina accepted her volume from him. “Thank you.” She adjusted her messenger bag.

“So where were you headed off to? Dinner perhaps?”

She nodded. “Yes…well, after I put away my things.”

He nodded toward the bag over her shoulder. “Would I be intruding if I asked what you're carrying?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. They are just my art supplies. I take my sketchbook and supplies with me wherever I go.”

He seemed satisfied with her answer, and he offered yet another gentle smile. “I see. So tell me, would this be the aforementioned artwork that I asked about in our little chat the other morning?”

“It would be, Captain.” She paused. “Uh, did you want to see it?”

He waved a hand in front of him. “Only if you want to show me, Seito-san.”

“Well…um…I'll let you see the ones I did today…” she trailed, reaching into her bag. She pulled out her sketchbook and handed it to him.

Aizen flipped through the pages examining each picture, and he was amazed by her remarkable talent. Each picture was painstakingly drawn in detail in either pencil or charcoal, and some were even colored expertly with colored pencil. He stopped on one that looked to be a portrait of the Fifth Seat over in the Eleventh Division.

“Seito-san, these are remarkable,” he told her. “I see Ayasegawa-san let you do a portrait of him.”

Nina stood on her toes to glance at the picture. “Not exactly. I drew that from memory.”

He took a closer look at the drawing and then looked at Nina. “Are you serious? But it's so…thorough. I could have sworn you had him sit for you. How did you recall his features from memory?”

She smiled shyly. “I have a photographic memory. I can recall people and things with amazing detail.”

“Really?” he asked, fascinated. “Not many people have such a trait. A very unique and admirable ability indeed.” He handed the sketchbook back to her. “You're very talented. So tell me, if I were to leave, you could do a portrait of me and recall every aspect of my face?”

“Hai…” she admitted.

He smiled. “Amazing.” He watched her put away her sketchbook. “Do you happen to dabble in other mediums?” He led her along to a bench under a tree and sat down, inviting her to sit with him.

She complied, not wanting to be rude. “Yes, I've done art in all mediums actually. Though I do mostly drawings, I also paint in both oil and watercolor.”

“I see. So what style are your paintings?”

“Mostly abstract, but I can do figures and models, though I actually don't find those as fun. I'd rather let my imagination just run with my paintbrush on a blank canvas.”

He smiled at her. “Ah, yes, that's the best way to do it. Any favorite artists?”

She looked thoughtful. “Well, I honestly do not know. I like the works of many, but I think if I had to choose, I'd go with Gorges Seurat.”

“Ah, Seurat…isn't he famous for painting with dots?”

“Yes…it's called pointillism. I could never do that. Well, I could, but you might find me curled up in a corner somewhere.”

Aizen ventured a soft laugh at this. “It would drive you mad, would it?”

“Oh, absolutely. I can't be so meticulous with placing dots with paint. I'd probably mess it up.”

“You like your big bold strokes, don't you?”

She shook her head. “I do.”

He stood up and chuckled. “Perhaps sometime if you're willing you can share your paintings with me. I can only imagine the expression held within them.”

Nina nodded. “Perhaps, Captain.”

He began to walk off. “I shall see you tomorrow, Seito-san. Do your best on the training field.”

Nina watched him leave and thought to herself. What a charming man. He's so easy to talk with and really quite attractive, I must say.

She shook her head and stood up to go to dinner. She really shouldn't think things like that or she could find herself in a world of trouble. Thinking someone was attractive, even if it was a captain, was no crime, but it could escalate into some complicated problems if those attractions were to get out of control. Nina figured she didn't have anything to worry about. She had enough of a handle on herself that she wouldn't allow it to get out of hand or even go farther than an attraction.

Nina skipped into the mess hall to investigate what was for dinner and decided that the rest of the day would be spent reading and chatting with Kiyohime. Her life here in Seretei was exceeding every one of her expectations so far, and it was so different from growing up poor in Rukongai. For once, she could count on a good, hot meal every night.

Later that night, Nina sat on her bed with her sketchpad propped on her knees. She was scratching at the blank page with her pencil to make out the basic features of Captain Aizen's face. Once she'd drawn in the major details, Nina held it up to be sure that it was proportionate, especially his square framed glasses. Satisfied with her work so far, Nina returned to sketching, this time filling in his hair, though it proved somewhat difficult because of the messy way that it laid. But she kept sketching, nonetheless.

I really hope he'll like this, Nina thought as she continued to draw.

It was well into the night before she'd finally finished her portrait of Captain Aizen - it lay safely enclosed in her book until she would take it to his office and drop it off. Then she had a second thought: no, that would just be weird. She better not. She sighed. But she worked so hard on it! She had to give it to him, but then it would look really weird.

Nina flopped over in her futon and pulled the blankets over her head in a huff. No. That was the final answer. Maybe he could look at her sketchbook again sometime and pull off some not-so-unusual reason for drawing it. Yeah…that would work…