White Hibiscus~ホワイト・ハイビスカス
「四」 When Mars meets Venus ~ Part 2 ~
There are definitely times you ask yourself questions.
As far as I do not question what my higher-ups instruct me to do, I do question my own decisions.
Among the many 'questionable' decisions I had made, most were committed at the spur of the moment; just because I happen to feel curious at that instant.
Occasionally, I feel deeply regretful of my somewhat rash actions; although that's not commonly seen of me.
Seriously, I should not be doing this.
I have to give myself consistent reminders that it's all for the sake of Aizen's instructions.
Just as I was wondering if I would be doing some very foolish things later,
I had to witness myself walking on air.
No, it's not Sonido.
I'm not moving. Something is moving me.
It's...
"Neliel..."
"Hmm?"Her green hair was dancing to the wind resistance. Neliel was daydreaming; for she seemed pretty oblivious to her surroundings – the existence of an Espada that went along by the name of Ulquiorra Schiffer, for example.
"I can walk on my own. "
"Ahh!!"Neliel released her grip almost instantaneously upon realizing what she had been doing for the past six minutes – grabbing my arm and sprinting at a speed she calls "Super Sonido" - which looked as if she's darting across air particles. As I had already anticipated her blundering actions (by now it already seemed like something common), I did not end up tumbling into the marble flooring of Las Noches – which would look embarrassing if it did actually happen.
Neliel kept apologizing as we began to walk down the long corridors of Las Noches. She tried to provide me with explanations; that she was afraid that I might not hold on to my promise – to have 'lunch' with her Fracción members. As much as I do loathe myself for what I had consented to earlier, a promise is a promise.
"Uru-san?" Neliel turned back and walked over.
"Ulquiorra."
"Are you angry? "
"No."
"You look kind of angry to me. "
"Do I? " Was I angry? I did not even noticed that myself.
"Because you are not smiling. It could only mean that you are angry. "
" No, I'm not angry. "
" Hmm sokka. We have to settle your glum face."
"We...? "
"Yep we've reached!! " Neliel ran towards the door.
I have an extremely bad feeling about this.
Each and every Espada has their own exclusive place of residence (well, Aizen tends to call them rooms; even though they look far too spacious to be called that.); they are located very far apart from one another for a reason – imagine if two Espadas happen to reside next to one another like neighbors; the reiatsu might be too much for their Fracción; despite the Espadas' concealing most of them when they are out of the battlefield.
While most Espadas didn't bother much about what they are given, Neliel's Fracción seemed pretty particular about the way their living quarters should look like.
When I saw what was lying in front of me, I wondered if Aizen has ever stepped into this part of Las Noches. Didn't he say anything about this?
The walls were white; I guess it was more like a rule each and every building has to abide when it wishes to survive in Las Noches. There were flowers at the sides of the walkway leading to the main door. Neliel's had painted the inner walls with violet; each individual room had a different shade of blue. The dining room seemed extremely bright with a chandelier-like fixture located in the middle of the round table.
It was where I met her Fracción for the first time.
In fact, it was the first time I saw a Fracción.
Neliel grinned and nodded hardly. "Meet Pesche and Dondochakka!! My wonderful Fracción!! "
I wasn't sure what to say when I met her Fracción.
Self introduction, I suppose.
"Ul..."
"AH! " Pesche exclaimed.
"You must be Ulquiorra-sama!! " Dondochakka continued.
"Yes I am "
So there's no need for self-introduction. But what did Dondochakka just address me by?
"Nel-sama, should we also fix lunch for Ulquiorra-sama? " Pesche asked as Dondochakka went into the kitchen.
"Hmm... Uru-san did say he didn't want to eat... "Neliel scratched her head.
"I'm not hungry,"
"Ulquiorra-sama, you can have at least some soup. It's bad to walk around with an empty stomach, "Pesche insisted.
I turned to look at Pesche, who looked onto the floor immediately.
"I am Ulquiorra all right, but why is that you address me as sama?"
"Pesche, get him some tea yo. Uru-san is a veryyy grumpy old man today, "Neliel grinned at Pesche.
"Understood, Nel-sama. If you would excuse me, Nel-sama. "
Neliel walked in front of me and explained.
"Espadas ne... we are usually addressed as sama by our Fracción because, we are ranked higher than them. "
"Which means, Aizen... "
"HOHH!!" Neliel covered her mouth after that loud exclamation; her eyes became very large; she started to walk backwards, before running into the kitchen.
Is it okay to leave your guest standing in the middle of the dining room, alone?
"Eeeee!?!? He really said that!?" I can hear Dondochakka next.
"Sugee naaa~~~ "Pesche's voice came in after three seconds.
The trio walked out from the kitchen slowly, with Pesche and Dondochakka whispering among themselves while holding onto the trays of food. Neliel, on the other hand, approached me with her arms crossed at the back. She looked into my eyes and asked.
"You call...Aizen-sama...Ai...ai... "Neliel found it hard to complete her sentence.
"Aizen," I finished it for her.
The trio was gathered together and started discussing; I could hear Dondochakka whispering " Sonna kankei na no? (*Their relationships were of that kind?) "- I did not quite figure out what made him said that, though.
Neliel walked up to me once more.
"You are the Cuarta Espada, right? "
"Yes. "
"Ano... you shouldn't call Aizen-sama... the way you addressed him just now yo, it's very rude to do that. "
"Why so? "
"Dattte... he's the leader of Las Noches deshou? He's ranked higher than all the Espadas yo. So you should affix a 'sama' after his name... "
"Oh, I see... "
It wasn't much of a hassle; but I didn't see the big fuss about it because Aizen... Aizen-sama didn't say anything when I called him by his first name.
"I thought you and him were something else... "Neliel gave a sinister smile again.
"Something else?"
"Ohohoho I shouldn't elaborate!! Pesche, Dondochakka! You know what I mean by 'something else' right? "The trio began to laugh among themselves. Is this supposed to be an inside joke?
"Let's have lunch! " Neliel pulled out the chairs and invited me to sit over.
"Itadakimaassuuu!!! " The trio clapped their hands and said in unison. Shortly after, they began to look at me.
"Uru-san? Given this situation, you should say ' Itadakimasu '. Be thankful that you have a meal laid right in front of you, "Neliel explained, again.
I looked down at what was served to me. - A white porcelain soup bowl placed on top of a small plate, with a silver spoon laid beside it. The soup was yellow in color – the smell of corn, I suppose.
It did not smell bad.
For that, I'm thankful that it did not look as bad as I had expected it to be.
"Itadakimasu. "
"Wow Pesche this is good!!!! Umaaaiiii!!! "Neliel was waving her fork to catch Pesche's attention. Apparently, they had close-to-zero table manners. Dondochakka was laughing heartily as he was reaching out for the bread; Pesche was sipping his soup and kept nodding at Neliel. They were all talking very loudly.
This would have seemed pretty normal if I were to be dining in with humans. Yet...it's extremely puzzling to be seen dining with an Espada and her Fracción over at Hueco Mundo.
"Neliel, "
"Hmm? " Neliel has part of the spaghetti left dangling out her lips.
"I didn't know we ate, "
"Ah! It's an optional thing you see. It's up to us. My Fracción enjoys sitting down together like this hence we made it compulsory to have meals!! After some time, even though we don't really eat, you feel hungry when mealtime approaches!! Communication is a very important tool yoo, especially when you have a Fracción, "Neliel slurped the remaining bit of the spaghetti and licked the tomato chunk that was stuck at the end of the lip.
Neliel's Fracción continued with their jokes after their dinner.
Pesche and Dondochakka even displayed a pose which they had intended to show the intruding Arrancars; marking their grand entrance. Neliel agreed that it was a perfect idea and joined in the fun – and ended up inventing more poses. This particular room seemed to have filled Las Noches with a lot of laughter that night.
Neliel then took me to the upper level where there was an open-air deck facing a tiny part of Hueco Mundo.
"This is my No.1 favorite spot of Hueco Mundo, "Neliel stretched out her arms and inhaled deeply.
I looked out and I saw the silver crescent moon shining down onto the motionless desert.
"Do you know, across the darkness, somewhere over there, is where you stay? " Neliel pointed at a northeast direction.
"How do you know? "
"By feeling your reiatsu. You have a weirdly monotonous reiatsu. Oh! Do you know your reiatsu is green in color? It resembles a lot like your eyes; mine's pink in color. In case you do not know, your reiatsu doesn't seem volatile but it's very powerful. From this deck, you can see almost every Espada from here. They are not visible but you can feel their presence," Neliel leaned her arms at the end of the deck.
"There are a lot of things you can't see with your eyes, so you feel them like this, "Neliel pointed this out to me and closed her eyes.
"I only believe in what I see, "
"Sokka. It takes time I guess. You are just not used to the way this world works, "Neliel giggled.
"What is so funny? "
"Nothing. One day, Ulquiorra. When you find something you really want to protect, so much so that you can even sacrifice your life for it, you can become the strongest thing in the world. I suppose that was why you met me over at that room, earlier today. "She pronounced my name correctly, for the first time.
"Why are you even sharing this with me? "
"Because... we are friends! Aren't we? "
Friends. I do not comprehend the meaning of this word.
"Anyway, you should invite us over too. For a meal or something! "Neliel suggested.
I should return the favor.
I wanted to, but I never had the chance to.
For that was one of the last few times that I saw Neliel and her Fracción.
Her reiatsu disappeared the following week; and was never to be seen again in Las Noches. Aizen-sama said she was taken out by a joint effort of an Espada and another Arrancar - Nnoitra Jiruga and Szayel Aporro Grantz respectively. I happened to look away when Aizen-sama stopped talking.
"Ulquiorra, you seemed pretty concerned, "
"Aizen...sama," I recalled what Neliel had said to me previously.
"Oh, you've learnt something eh. " Aizen noted the change.
"Neliel's definitely stronger than Nnoitra and Szayel combined. I've observed her fighting after all, "
"That's true. But that fight was not a fair one. Neliel lost because she was caught off guard, which should not be expected of an Espada, "Aizen-sama did not seem concerned that a Third Espada had been taken off the Espada army.
"Will Nnoitra replace her as the Third Espada then? "
"No, that is not going to happen. Perhaps, due to his display of skills, he might get a change in Espada ranks; but he's still not good enough to be Tercera. It seems like I have to start finding another person to take over the Tercera position. "Aizen-sama sighed as he turned his back.
I left Aizen-sama and walked up the spiral staircase connecting to the balcony which overlooked a part of Hueco Mundo. Neliel had taught me certain things, tiny little things that seemed pretty insignificant – but it definitely changed the world I would see. I looked across the dark skies, where Neliel had once said it was where her residence was. That place was now empty and lifeless - no more fighting and quarreling between her Fracción over trivial matters like the decorations on the ceramic plate. There was no laughter and hopping around either.
As if Las Noches was a playground...
Some part of me felt a slight twitch. Even though I had ignored it, I assumed a certain part of me was trying to adapt. It was trying to eradicate the existence of Neliel.
I heard her laughter instead.
I felt her reiatsu somewhere. Faint, but it was hers.
Mine's pink in color…
I tried to follow the trail, and it seemed to be lurking around the white plains.
Neliel was alive somewhere, along with Pesche and Dondochakka...
Neliel, I wonder if it's wrong of me to think of it this way.
You do not suit this place at all; it's filled with too many vicious monsters with no sane logic in their heads.
The fact that you left Las Noches, might be a blessing in disguise after all.
Farewell, Neliel.
May we meet again; under the same sky, someday, somehow.
Although I didn't know what made me say that; I passed off as something I should say as 'Neliel's friend'.
Before I left the balcony, I looked down once more to where the sands lay motionless; and happened to catch sight of three tiny shadows scampering across...
yu-pon's notes:
Thank you so much for reading!!
It brightens my day when I see people reading this little fanfic!
First of all I would like to apologise for this rather-late update! I had actually started writing once the previous chapter was completed; but somehow I didn't know how I wanted the story to flow, so I took some time to think about the possible ideas that can make up this chapter. As of now, I have not thought of what to write yet…I saw a particular request for a Stark appearance - that's a good idea (^o^)v!!
When inspiration knocks on my head, that's when you'll see Chapter Five!! がんばりますー!
until the next chapter, ほなおつ!!
