"Then settle in two." Toshiro had an idea...
Suddenly Kita inhaled and quickly raised her hand directly above her heart. She felt it. His touch. His nimble fingertips softly pressed against the skin of her chest. It was warm and she could feel his pain.
"Master..." She spoke aloud.
Toshiro heard her call out to him and in moments half of Toshiro reached into Kita's mind and he stood face to face with Ulquiorra.
"And where is your home?"
Kita’s eyes fluttered going closed and there; before her, stood her master his fingertips resting softly to her chest and Toshiro.
She tried to speak but nothing came from her mouth. She watched as Toshiro was speaking, but to whom she did not know; for she could not hear. The only thing she could do was watch and that was becoming difficult as well. She grabbed her head and shook it. Her vision blurred and getting worse.
"Toshiro... Master..." She called to them both, but to no avail. Slowly she was removed from the picture.
Here, in the confines of Kita's memories, the soul reaper had invaded. Cold touch and frigid manner had driven her away into a dark world of dreaming. He watched in dumb silence as she became deaf, dumb, and blind, before disappearing entirely. However, the selfish fingers of Ulquiorra held onto the warmness of her skin for just a bit longer.
Slowly, he turned to Toshiro and fixed him with a flat stare. The blurred profile of the 10th captain wavered between a solid figure to that of a ghost.
"I thought it would be obvious to such obnoxious trash like you. I do not need a home. Or a place to call home. Neither do I need you to lecture me about the necessity of returning to a familiar spot. I am not a being trapped by the word 'home'."
He withdrew his hand from the empty space of air and buried it securely in his pocket.
He hardly spared a thought as to what Toshiro's response would be, considering he valued the soul reapers words beneath his existence. Instead, he directed his thoughts to the dream landscape transforming around him. If he was no longer in Kita's dream, then who's directionless fantasy were they occupying?
"Really," he questioned, "so your 'home' is not with her? You are trying so hard to get her back. It makes me question if really its just because of Aizen's orders. Or, perhaps you miss her. That can't be right though because that would imply that you have feelings for her."
Toshiro turned his gaze to the spot Kita had vanished from, "And by the looks of it you long to be with her. You crave the warmth of her skin. I'd call that your home. You see, home doesn't have to be a physical place."
"Whatever answer I give to you would not placate your anger. It would not change your feelings of hatred towards my cause either. So when you ask what I call home and whom I choose to value, are you really waiting for my answer?"
The hand in Ulquiorra's pocket burned. For a moment-- a brief second in history--- he had shared something he did not want to share. Was that the power of the seraph? To share involuntary feelings and memories through touch?
Whatever happened, he had to get Kita back before she woke up. If she did, there was no telling what she could do with the dangerous secret she possessed. More importantly, she could not share it with Toshiro.
"What makes you think I am angry?" He looked back at Ulquiorra, matching his blank expression. "I want to kill Aizen, yes, but that is personal. I have nothing against you. In fact, I am quite curious about you. I don't believe you are without emotion. Even your name states that you might actually have emotions. Why do you cry Ulquiorra?"
"Were you not told, curiosity killed the cat? Were you deprived of the information that I am an espada? I have nothing to say to you, because in the end, what will I gain from telling you anything...?"
Ulquiorra let the question hang in the air; sure the soul reaper would find an excuse not to answer him.
"Satisfaction brought it back. As far as what you will gain in return," he lifted his hand and pointed at the hole in Ulquiorra’s chest, "perhaps the piece you are most curious about. I know you question what it is and what it's for. You could get your answers."
"You expect me to believe your words when we stand upon opposite ends of the moral spectrum? I am not one to fall prey to mind tricks, but if you think I am gullible then by all means, tell me what you're thinking and I will crush your false dreams of understanding. The hole you point to is nothing more than vacant space between a dead body."
"I am merely trying to show you how to get what you want."
Having said that Toshiro vanished. Leaving Ulquiorra alone in the dark.
When Toshiro came from Kita’s mind she was past out on the cave floor.
Continued To: Christmas Special
