It was late as Kita walked back through the gates of Los Noches. She was pleased she finally found her mysteries Arrancar, and to top it off they made friends. Something that is not normally done between two Hollows or Arrancars. Slowly she entered the gate making sure no eyes were watching. How she was going to explain two missing Fractions escaped her completely, but she would cross that bridge when it was brought up.
Ulquiorra knew something was up the minute the spiritual pressure in Los Noches changed. He had been watching the way Kita avoided his questions about her whereabouts, but he knew. He always knew. "Kita." He stepped forward from the gloomy hallways, hardly more than a shadow in the dying light.
Making her way into the palace she walked quickly toward her room. However, she froze in her steps hearing Ulquiorra speak up behind her. Slowly she turned to him. She bowed slightly to him, "Lord Ulquiorra"
"Your whereabouts disturb me. Tell me where you have been." His voice betrayed no anger or malice, but his thoughts were otherwise. What was the purpose of her disobedience? What would it take to bring her into the fold of Aizen's instructions?
She stood before Ulquiorra she knew there was no way she could lie to him. He always saw the truth with her. "I have been going into Hueco Mundo to train."
Looking into her eyes, Ulquiorra knew she could not lie to him, just as he could not completely lie to her. It was a bond both of them knew they had, but refused to acknowledge. "Tell me the rest. The spiritual pressure. The missing fractions. All of it." With each demand, he ground his hand tighter around the tiger pendant. The sharp edges of the ears dug into the flesh of his palm, but he no longer felt it.
Kita sighed looking at Ulquiorra, anger built in him and she saw it plane as the nose on his face. "I went out this morning and I had two followers. Dixion and May."
"And what became of them?" It was a question anyone could tell the answer to, yet he needed to hear it from her mouth. The guilt of admitting she was wrong.
"Their..." she hung her head, "Their dead. A Vasto Lorde attacked us and they attacked before me. They were killed..." Kita paused not sure what else to say. Partly truth partly lies, but she could not let on about the other Arrancar.
"As I expected." Ulquiorra slowly let the pendant go, still feeling the ridges of what the metal imprinted on his hand. He could see she was at a loss for words, but what he needed to hear was what she wouldn't say. It was her fault. Whether they chose to follower her or not, they were merely children following an elder. But there was a darker more cunning side to Kita that was hiding something. There had to be.
Kita hung her head, "I should have..." She looked up at Ulquiorra, "I should have helped them. I know, but I could not. I was busy with other things."
"You were in a Forest of Menos’, yet you did not help them. What left you preoccupied?" He hated to see her looking subdued, but part of life required responsibility. If she could not answer for her actions, then he would have to find out who might.
Kita looked to Ulquiorra once more she had to make this as believable as possible. She knew if she slipped in anyway Ulquiorra would go straight to the Forest of Menos’ and find Ujikiyo and kill him. “I was fighting another Hollow much stronger than the one they were fighting. By the time my fight ended it was too late for them.”
The seconds ticked by in a slow rhythm. Kita's eyes never wavered from Ulquiorra's and the common noises seemed far away. Finally, Ulquiorra nodded slowly and shifted his eyes over her. "Your uniform is dirtier at the hem and side, than at the knees." His mind was racing through the patterns of things that could've happened in the forest. His eyes told him she was not lying, but that did not dispel the feeling that there was something else out there. Lurking. Waiting to see when she would return.
Kita nodded slowly at Ulquiorra's comment of her uniform, "I will see to getting that cleaned up right away, Lord Ulquiorra." She bowed slightly to him again. "Is there anything else? … And so you know. I will be going out to train again tomorrow morning. You don't object… Do you, my Lord?"
"Training again?" It was in that moment Ulquiorra knew there was something more than Menos’ and lesser arrancar waiting in the forest. This was no longer a 'something' it was a "someone". "I cannot say I have seen your effort pay off. If you need someone to train with, then you will only train with me. Here." He watched her carefully through silted eyes.
Kita blinked looking at Ulquiorra her tone held a hint of urgency, “But Ulquior--” she was cut off by Ulquiorra's reproach.
"No. I will take over from now on." If there was something there, then he would personally deal with it.
Kita knew she was not talking her way out of this. Ulquiorra gave her a firm 'No' and in doing so she was stuck behind the walls of Los Noches once more. However, there was always more time in the day. She would just have to find another time to go to the Forest of Menos’ to see Ujikiyo again. Sighing she looked away from Ulquiorra, "Yes. As you request, my lord. I will see you first thing in the morning tomorrow."
"And at night. You will report to me regularly." There was a way that Kita had about sliding out of loopholes and bending the rules that Ulquiorra couldn't quell. He wanted to see inside her head and understand why she had to break the rules. Until then, he would make it his business to monitor her.
Kita looked at Ulquiorra with wide eyes and her return statement held a bite, "Seriously! Lord Ulquiorra, come on?! That's crazy!"
He expected this much from her. The real fight was yet to come and she was less than prepared, still naive that not everything or everyone was on her side.
"Consider this your first report," Ulquiorra turned away and stepped back into the shadows.
Kita growled under her breath kicking at nothing on the floor. "This is crazy!" She turned walking toward her room still mumbling to herself about what she was going to do now.
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- Part 8 Growing Stronger...
So this was my first collaborative post with none other than Kita~ I hope I didn't crash and burn too badly, but there it is.
