The trio sat in silence waiting for Ggio to return. The threesome were so agitated about whether or not their mission would be a success that they could barely speak. Perhaps the amount of enerygy required to feel stressed is harvested from the energy usually used for speaking. Yachiru couldn't think of a better explantation. She decided to simply accept her theory because no more brain power could be used for such a trivial distraction. Otherwise, when it was time for the plan to be carried out, she might forget and mess up. And that was a no-no. She assumed that Lilinette and Nel were feeling the same way, for why else would they be as silent as her? Were they formulating ways to distract Gi-gi? Maybe if she asked they would forget about a great idea they had. So it was better not to.

The seconds seemed to ooze into a viscous syrup that made it think and sluggish. If it was passing by quickly, Yachiru could have been fooled. It wasn't like she had a clock to prove her wrong. But being in a room anticapating something that you didn't know when (it)would happen was no better than having the minutes before your execution rapidly slipping through your fingers. Either way, you felt like nauteous from the dreaded annxiety and psychosis trickling into your sanity. How much longer...would they have...to wait? The only sign that broke the illusion of suspension of time was the blurred landscape outside...slowly changing...but everything was desert...there was nothing there that wasn't in the last frame... perhaps the motion was only a sensation...nothing more...

"click-click"

All three girls got a pickle of adrenaline into the core of their spines, straightening them with the speed and abruptness of an automatic machine. The steward was here. He was finally here. It was time to carry the plan into action. This was not a drill. Would it work? Should they go through with it? It wasn't too late to back out?

Yachiru glanced frantically at her comrades, expecting a shake of the head or a whimper of "forget it. It's too risky" from them. She would not have blamed them if they did. Part of her wanted them too so that she could retreat into the safety of not getting caught as well.

But as she looked into their eyes, slthough she saw fear and aprehension, she also saw a greater concentration of firm resolve and determination in both pairs. And from each owner, she saw a slight tensing of the skin before recieving a confident nod. Although the little soul reaper was still uneasy, seeing her fellow convict's courage rejuvenated her spirit with positive thinking and solidified her confidence. If she could build a network of hidden passageways in and out of Brakki's mansion, hold the WSRA meetings in it, and karp-raid his pond, she could sneak into a kitchen and steal some candy. With her heart, begining to overflow with sunshine, she bobbed her head.

"Like we practiced" She mouthed before the door opened and before the trio stood a steward's cart complete with a steward.

Yachiru's heart did a somersault into the air. Now that they knew what kind of cart the snacks would be brought in, it was time to get to work!

"Hey kids!" Grimaced Gi-gi.

"I see you're all still in one peice"

He couldn't have hidden the disappointment on his face if his mask was covering it.

"Sucks for you. Gi-gi" Grumped Lilinette.

The steward's facial muscles momentarily had a spasm before he smoothed it into his artificial clown-smile.

"Well. Here's your snacks!" He beamed, presenting each child with a crude looking juicebox with the air of awarding them a gold medal. The expiration date seemed to have long been passed.

Upon being handed the juicebox, Yachiru knew that the steward would not be reaching under there again. Now was her chance!

With her skin turning into a sheet of ice, she licked her lips, pretending to covet the possibly hazardous children's drink. This was the signal to Lilinette and Nel to begin the distractions. She prayed that they had seen it.

Out of the corner of Nel's eye, she saw the pinkness of Yachiru's tongue slither across her lips. The signal! Whether or not she had imagined it, now was just as good a time to start as any.

"Mr. Gi-gi!" She squawked.

The steward turned his eyes disdainfully towards her.

"What?"

"Can you please tell me what the name of your zanpakuto is?" She blurted.

The steward seemed pleased that somebody was taking an interest.

"My zanpakuto is called ''Tigre Estoque'" He boasted proudly.

"Ummm...what does that mean?" Asked Lilinette hurriedly, quickly catching on to the tone of Nel's voice. She forced herself to look into the steward's eyes, not trusting herself to do so much as dart her eyes in Yachiru's direction to monitor her progress. She didn't even dare to think about her. The green-haired fraccion prayed to an anonymous entity that that the steward wouldn't detect the shakiness of her voice. She felt like she was experiencing the sensation of walking across a tightrope. If she looked anywhere but in front of her, she knew she'd throw up.

"Are you listening?" Snapped the steward.

"Umm-what?" Asked the greenette, snapping out of her reverie of anxiety.

"My name is written in Chinese as tiger's fang; swift as wind" said the steward, annoyed that he had to repeat himself.

"Nel thinks that's a very cool name!" Squealed Nel as she jumped up and down, trying to avert his eyes.

"Nel has never heard anything cooler in her entire life! In fact, Nel thinks your name is the most awesome thing in the universe!" Her voice was rising until it tottered on hysteria. It was everything Lilinette could do not to facepalm. That moron was going to blow their cover!

"Thanks... Are you ok" Inquired the steward suspiciously.

"Oh yes! I've never been better!" Shrilled Nel.

"In fact! I feel like I'm on top of the whole world! Exhilerated!"

"Good to know" Replied Ggio, disdainfully. His tone suggested that she get tested for rabies.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chitchat about dolls and glitter but I have to get back to the Main car. His majesty, Lord Barragan is anxiously awaiting my arrival!"

It took every ounce of Lilinette's will not to respond with a retort suggesting that the only reason Barragan was anticipaing Ggio's reappearance in the main car was so that he could tell him to get lost on another time-consuming errand. She was beginning to taste blood.

"Well, Nel doesn't want you to waste any more time here than necessary!" Agreed Nel nervously. There was no way to be sure if Yachiru had made it onto the cart, but she had had more than enough time to do so and should she and Lilinette stall any longer, Gi-gi would get even more suspicious.

"BYE!"

As the arrancar turned the cart around, the duo took a roundhouse glance around the caboose. With a singing heart they realized that Yachiru's pink hair was absent. She had made it on! For split second their hearts turned a triple somersault! Only for them to get refrozen in mid-beat. What if Gi-gi noticed Yachiru's conspicuous absence? What if he sensed the weight of the cart being heavier than it had been before? What if he turned around to say goodbye and noticed their was no pink hair amongst the green? What if a wheel fell off the cart and as he bent down to check it , he would see Yachiru? What if...

"Click" The only trace of evidence suggesting the presence of the steward in the caboose was couple of juiceboxes and the sound of a door getting locked. Ggio had left! And he had taken Yachiru with him! The mission was a success!

For thirty seconds the little arrancars gaped at each other, too amazed with the outcome to speak. Both of them had a large doubt that the plan would take off so smoothly. But it had! Yachiru was out!

Then, Lilinette and Nel simultaneously shattered out of the frozen molds that was binding them in a state of utter petrification. In one fluid motion they leaped up and connected their palms in a high five! A staggering amount of jubilation was gushing through their veins with so much power, they could barely breathe.

"We did it!" Squeaked the little hollows.

"We did it!"

And so began the five minute ritual, which consisted of skyrocketing off the walls, high-fiving, and squawking that three-word incantation like a couple of broken records.

When they finally were able to experience their euphoria on a smaller scale, they grinned at each other and walked through the bathroom, towards the balcony. The bleak night sky of Hueco Mundo had never looked so vibrant.