Interlude
"I might die, I figured that out early in the planning. There are always things that cannot be planned for, and any one of them might somehow lead to my death. And if I die... that's the end of it all.
"There is no one who would carry on my quest. Akama-kun would take his men and try to rescue his first master, despite the odds so highly staked against him. None of the Arrancar I have found care about the goal, not really... they obey because they must. If I were to die, nothing would hold them to my cause, and they would scatter with the wind."
"Are you trying to make me suggest I should carry on your goals for you, Arrarrico? Fishing for promises of support isn't like you at all."
"Of course not, my friend, I am musing aloud. We have a long while yet to wait before I can make any move, so what else is there to do? But, no, I already know the answer to that question, there's no need to ask. You would leave, just like everyone else. Probably try to hunt down the last of your little group, see if there is anyone who remembers you. In fact, you would probably like it very much, indeed, if I died."
"Probably."
"And if you were anyone else, I would be rather irked at you for admitting it so readily. If Akama-kun weren't so servile, I probably would have gotten rid of him long ago for his hatred. But isn't that just like life? The people I have collected are the people I can work with."
"And the rest are fuel for your crazy Shinigami."
"He has to have something to do...
...
"Have you ever wondered where we would be right now if either one of us had been just a split-second slower?"
"Of course."
"I've come to the conclusion that one of us would be dead right now. A second... just a second's difference, and none of this would ever have happened."
