Ulquiorra stood in front of the Captain-Commander of the West City Outer Guard, more affectionately known as simply the Guard, looking his absolute sharpest. As a member of the Outer Guard he patrolled the wild, fanciful forests for the creatures that the city-dwellers had built their walls against, and he only ever had a bed or shower when he was on one of his infrequent summons inside the Walls; this being said, when he arrived in the city a scant few hours before he had been- at least for him- rather dirty. But he had made use of the utilities put before him, and now his pallid skin was scrubbed clean. He had brushed his ebony-black hair until it lay flat, as was intended, around his face, and snatched a precious short nap to eliminate the dark circles from under his emerald-green eyes. He had even bought a new, less worn uniform. A private council with the Captain-Commander was an event.
Yamamoto Genryuusai, an old, wizened man with no hair on his head but a beard that reached his waist, did not lean but sat with a straight back behind his desk. He was a man to be respected, and by all accounts a force to be reckoned with. "Ulquiorra Schiffer," the Captain-Commander began in his gravelly voice, "I would like to begin by commending you for your diligent service to the Outer Guard. You are a highly valued member of our force, and you are well-known for your quick thinking in a crisis." Ulquiorra bowed his head respectfully. "I have called you here today to discuss your potential to take on and train a student."
"You wish me to train someone, sir?" he asked, quickly calculating the changes in his routine he would need to make should that come to pass.
"Yes," the Captain-Commander said. "There is one recent graduate in particular whom I believe would blossom under your tutelage. He reminds me very much of me, and therefore very much of you." This was a hidden compliment of the highest degree; until Ulquiorra graduated from the University designed to begin the training of members of the Guard Yamamoto Genryuusai was the only man to ever master the physical specter of his Talent, and Ulquiorra knew that many were speculating that upon Yamamoto's death- because surely a man with such power would not merely step down- Ulquiorra himself would be sitting in his chair. "I understand that you are more of a lone fighter, and that taking on a trainee would change a great deal about how you work. However, this particular young man is in need of a more direct kind of learning that I believe that you are the only one capable of producing. Do you assent to this new task before you, Ulquiorra Schiffer?"
Taking on a trainee would mean having to teach the green boy how to use his Talent, to speak to other people without opening his mouth, to put up shields, to probe within someone's mind for an answer, and to check the surrounding are for enemies. He would have to teach him the tactics that the University hadn't, along with the common sense that few people had when facing the untamed jungle. As well as overriding his survival instinct to save the people he said he would save. Ulquiorra would have to give up patrolling alone, which meant sacrificing a great deal of privacy. There was always the overwhelming possibility that ulquiorra wouldn't work well with his trainee, and after all he'd never worked well with anyone else, and keeping track of the boy in battle could mean his own death.
"Certainly, sir."
