I glared up at him and before he could continue I put a hand up to stop him.
"I'm not longer Ariswana Thompson. Since I'm a new person, I've decided to change my name to Skyler Lester." I said with sadness in my eyes. I was no longer the person I once new myself to be. I could never go back to living that life…I didn't want to think about it.
Hearing this, Aizen's eyes narrowed and his smile grew much larger.
"Well then, I see that you've accepted your fate. You're taking this rather lightly for someone who's just joined our side. Usually someone like you would run around killing everything in sight." He said slightly laughing to himself.
"I've stopped caring, Aizen. I'm not happy about serving under you- but I have no other choice now, do I?" I said with anger hanging off of every word.
Before Aizen could say anything Gin stood from the chair he was seated on and began to approach me. I closed my eyes and drew my sword. When I opened them, he was right in front of me, his grin demolished.
"Welcome, now I know you probably want to kill me and everything, but…" he couldn't even finish the sentence; I lunged at him and punched him in the face. I decided not to use my sword though; I would probably be in deep trouble for killing him. After beating the living crap out of him until he was bleeding from the nose and the mouth, I stood up and kicked his side.
"You're lucky I didn't kill you. I value my life too much to die because of someone like you." I said as he just lay there. I looked back at Aizen and he didn't look pleased.
"Maybe you should learn to control your anger, Skyler. We'll talk more when you've cooled down." He said.
Two guards similar to ones from earlier came up behind me and grabbed both my arms. I didn't even bother fighting back because I knew I would lose when Aizen was around. I just let them drag me from the room and cast me out the door.
I landed on the ground with a groan. I got on all fours and coughed a few times. Haven't they ever heard of being gentle with a lady?
I stood up and looked around. Where was I now? I had no idea where I was going. He was treating me like a child. I had to 'think about what I'd done' before I could talk to him again. I only knew one person here, and he was no where to be seen. Looks like I would have to go confront someone else. I hated talking.
After roaming the halls for an elongated period of time, I finally stumbled upon two guys- one with blue hair and the other with long black hair, almost as long as mine. They both spotted me, and they both glared. The one with the blue hair stalked toward me and raised a fist to punch me. I quickly retaliated and grabbed his arm to throw him over my shoulder.
"Damn bitch, they weren't kidding when they said you were tough." He said when he stood up rubbing his back. He glanced over to me and put his hand out with his lip pouting. "Grimmjow." He said. I grabbed his hand and shook it.
"Skyler." We both nodded at each other and I turned my attention to the other guy. He walked over and slung his huge weapon over his back.
"Nnoitra Jiruga." I shook his hand also. We all just stood there staring at each other in an awkward silence. Apparently I lost all social skills when I came here, also.
"Where are you supposed to be going, anyway?" Nnoitra asked with his eyes narrowed.
"I don't even know- Aizen threw me out of his presence when I attacked Ichimaru. We have a bit of a history, and I nearly killed the bastard." I said with a smirk. Grimmjow just laughed like crazy and Nnoitra sweat dropped.
"I didn't think anyone could pull that off and get away with it. You're like a gold key or somethin'." He said astonished.
"Don't go that far, I just got off easy because I'm the ultimate weapon and it's my first day here." they both just shrugged and flicked a finger telling me to follow them.
We walked through the halls talking about anything we could think of. How Gin left me, how he'd killed me and how Aizen knew I'd be arriving here. They were especially interested in the drastic change of my personality.
"Yeah, I was never this cold and heartless before I came here. I woke up in a crater and I just felt empty. It took some time before I remembered my life in Soul Society. You probably wouldn't have like me much if you met me back then. I was always chipper and way too moody. Now, I just don't give a shit and I don't know how to get any feeling back." I said with my eyes closed. Grimmjow had to grab my elbow so I wouldn't walk into the wall because my eyes were shut so tight.
We stopped in front of a room that had a purple symbol on the front. Nnoitra knocked once and it opened to reveal a woman with blonde hair and a massive chest. She glared down at Grimmjow and raised an eyebrow at me.
"Afternoon, Halibell. This here is the new recruit, Skyler Lester- the one Aizen's been raving about." Nnoitra pointed to me and she eyed me up and down. Without warning, she grabbed my wrist and shoved me in her room, locking the other two out. I landed on her bed and she pulled a chair over in front of me.
"Well hey there, Skyler. As you probably figured, I'm Halibell- one of the only female Espada here. It sucks majorly, and I'm grateful for your presence." She said with a smile. I could only tell by her eyes though, because I couldn't see her mouth. She saw me eyeing her collar with curiosity so she unzipped it enough for me to see that she had a mouth made of bone. My eyes widened and I looked into hers.
"So, that's the location of your mask then?" I asked her and she nodded once.
"You're lucky, yours is barely noticeable. In fact, you don't even have a full mask. That shows how similar you are to Aizen's power level." I gave her a quizzical look.
"You mean to tell me I'm closer to a human than an Espada?"
"Yeah, why do you think you're lacking in mask? The only thing that truly marks you as an Espada is the hole in your neck." My hand shot to my neck. I never dared poke into it because that would just be disgusting.
Halibell and I talked for a long time, until she received yet another knock at her door. She opened it and it revealed Ulquiorra. I shot off of her bed and walked quickly to the rim, so he would see me also.
"I need the woman, Aizen calls for her." He said as he extended his finger to me. I thanked Halibell for making me feel a little more comfortable and she said she would be seeing me soon. I walked out of the room and the door closed behind me.
As soon as we started walking, felt some odd type of pressure working its way on me. I recognized this pressure; it was my sword trying to contact me.
"Oh crap." I said before I hit the floor.
I sat up and was met with a tree and a river, except instead of it being sunny as it always was, it was pitch black. The only lighting was the brightness of the stars and the crescent moon in the sky. Even this place had changed. I stood up and brushed myself off.
"Sorry I had to be so abrupt, Skyler, but who knows when Aizen will let you go? I swear he holds meetings for hours- I've been spying around while you were with Halibell. I know you sensed my presence leave for a bit, did it make you nervous?" Tsuyoi Ishi said. I nodded once in response.
"Well, I just figured I'd let you know that there is hope in re-gaining some of your lost soul. You'll be able to love again, because after researching a little bit- I found some key information out. Sometimes, the Arrancar's soul mate can be found by just simply looking for the hole's location. I'm telling you right now that yours is going to change- I can feel it; however since it's at the base of your neck now, your 'Soul mate's' will also be at the base of his neck. Look for him and you'll find some answers." She said while pacing around. She picked up her harp and started playing a melancholy tune that sounded like Steve Conte's 'The Garden of Everything'.
"Thanks for the information; I'll try my best to find him. Maybe I'll get a search party going or somethin'." I said while stretching out.
She winked at me and I felt myself returning to the real world. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was Ulquiorra inches away from my face. He slowly moved back and I slowly sat up.
"Are you alright?" he asked me with an eyebrow raised.
"Ha, yeah sorry about that. It happens when my sword wants to communicate with me." I said while brushing up my torn captain's robe. If I was going to stay here, I really needed a wardrobe change. We continued walking forward.
"Did she say anything interesting?" he asked.
"Actually, yes. It was useless information but I think I'll look into it. She says that Arrancar sometimes have 'Soul mates' or someone their destined to be with. She said that if they have a hole in the same location- it's the prime sign." I put my hand to my neck and my spirits dropped a little. "She said my hole location was going to move soon, but my soul mate would have it right here." I pointed to my neck. He made a weird throat noise and picked up the pace a little.
"You know, I've never seen yours. You do have one…right?" I asked. He just nodded and fiddled with the zipper of his collar.
"We're here; I'll be following you in this time- this is for everyone's eyes." Perfect. I started walking in but he said my name quietly under his breath. "Good luck with finding him." He said before we walked through the double doors.
