37. Encounter
Hanataro was LOST.
"Oh dear." He scurried in between the giant buildings of Las Noches, trying fruitlessly to find any sign of his trail. "No no no no..."
Getting left behind would NOT be good. Being found by an arrancar would be even WORSE.
But that didn't seem to be a problem; so far, he'd been left entirely alone.
He finally came to a halt on top of a dune, staring around at the dismal sandy expanse. Deciding to take his chances, he took a deep breath and called out.
"Ano...Hello? C-Can anyone hear me? Hello? Unohana-Taicho? Kuchiki-Taicho? Isane-fukutaicho?..." He went through the entire list of his allies in Hueco Mundo, yelling as loud as he could (which wasn't very loud at all). By the end, he was panting and desperate, but still alone.
The wind whistled through the buildings, blowing through his hair and accentuating the silence.
"Where IS everyone?"
"Oi."
"WAGH!" He yelled in terror and surprise when the voice emanated from directly behind him. In his haste, he tried to turn but tripped over his shoes and went flying, landing on his rump in the sand at the feet of the speaker.
"O-ow..."
"What're you doing?"
"Sorry. Sorry...I-I was just..." His eyes finally registered that the legs in front of his face were garbed in white, not black, and he slowly panned his gaze up, dreading what he would find. "...Uh..."
Yep. It was an arrancar.
"Nothing?" He squeaked, shrinking back in terror.
The creature blinked at him, looking more tired and apathetic than homicidal.
"Hn." It eyed him, but there was no sign of interest in its face. "Then be quiet. I was sleeping."
"S-sorry?"
The arrancar shrugged and turned to go and, in a fit of inspiration (or stupidity), Hanataro latched on to one of his legs.
"W-Wait!"
The arrancar didn't move, but stared down at him with an expression of unamused confusion. "What?"
"I-I'm looking for my friends. D-Do you know, m-maybe, w-where..."
"You're lost."
"Uh...Y-yes." He shot a sheepish smile at the enemy soldier, who blinked and sighed, then looked around the immediate area. After a moment he nodded in the direction opposite where Hanataro had been walking.
"Try there."
"Uh?"
The shinigami found himself shaken off and he immediately let go, worried that he was going to be kicked. Instead, the arrancar walked a few steps away perpendicular to the direction he'd indicated. His final statement was directed over his shoulder and delivered with the same lack of emotion as every other comment.
"That's where all of the shinigami reiatsu signatures are located. Use the sun to orient yourself; it never moves."
"Oh! Th-thanks!"
With a final grunt, the arrancar slipped into sonido and vanished from the small shinigami's sight.
Well, that wasn't so bad.
Hanataro pushed himself to his feet, brushed off his shihakusho, and followed the other man's directions.
"Hanataro-kun, how did you find us?"
"E-eh? Ise-san?"
"When you got lost, I was sure we were going to need to come find you. How did you find your way back?"
"Oh. Um. I asked for directions?"
"From who?"
"...An arrancar?"
"That WORKED?"
"I-I guess?"
"...Huh."
Update 2 of 3. I hope you enjoyed it!