Candice slept soundlessly in her queen sized bed. After an successfully setting into Karakura, she spent her days exploring the town and familiarizing herself. She also took great care in being discreet and gentle, not just for her flawless looks but to not attract unwanted attention; there were many that would greatly question her if they knew her true nature.

And so she remains guarded. Still though, that didn't mean she couldn't have fun. She partied and drank at clubs she seduced in, she flirt with some cute guys, and even nabbed some cash out of many unprotected purses.

She reflects on the events of two weeks ago and how strange she found Arata Takahashi to be. He was reserved but quite the ruthless killer with some strange estrangement from the world. Honestly, it still amazed her how he didn't know what an arcade was. She even recalled all the times he looked at the cars funny, like they were new creations.

Her return back home did little to alleviate her head of her curiosity.

*Flashback - Two weeks ago*

The Silbern. The quincy base of operations. As Candice walked through the immaculate halls, she wondered for a moment how such a grand palace could be maintained.

She walked towards the throne room of the silver castle, passing by many soldats, who bowed in respect at her presence. Candice smirks. She enjoys the power and authority being a Sternritter gave. Even though she wasn't high up as, say, the royal guard, she was revered as nonetheless. Though, was it because of respect or fear?

She pushes open the door and walks into a room lit by torches and decorated with filigree featuring only a throne on a platform.

There sat the man her kind revered as king and to some, their god; Yhwach Bach. The man had long black hair with mutton chops that connected with his mustache. His clothes consisted of a white, double-breasted trench coat, which has the Wandenreich symbol on the middle, with large buttoned cuffs and lapels, white trousers, and trench boots. Over his trench coat was a tattered maroon cloak.

The man exuded power and authority. He was her king for a reason and that reason was as apparent as the sun on a clear day.

Candice kneels before him, her head bowed down. The king speaks, his voice deep. "Candice Catnipp, what have you to report on the anomaly in Karakura Town?"

"Nothing your majesty," she sighs. "There are no physical or spiritual disturbances in the town. Everything seems to be order but..." she then trailed off.

Yhwach quirks an eyebrow. "I allow you to speak freely Candice. What is it?"

"There's... this guy. He wears a mask on his face and never takes it off. What's strange is that it looked like a hollow mask. Even his spiritual pressure was like a hollow but his soul ribbon was that of a soul reaper. His spiritual pressure is pretty high too, nearing Ichigo Kurosaki's level of power and it's increasing. Slowly but still" Candice stated.

The quincy king narrows his eyes. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. He was... weird. It was like he never seen the world before. We went to an arcade and he didn't even know what an arcade was. And he kept looking around him at everything, like he has never seen them before"

Yhwach closes his eyes in thought. He agree that this man was indeed very strange judging on Candice's description but he did not see how he fit into this situation. That was, until Candice took him from his thoughts.

"He also mentioned he was new and moved in around the time that spiritual explosion took place" she mentioned.

"Hmmm... This man you have mentioned is intriguing. If he really was the cause of the anomaly, I want you to keep monitoring him as well Ichigo Kurosaki. Do not under any circumstance do anything that can even slightly reveal us. Am I understood Sternritter T?"

Candice nods quickly, the thought of invoking her king's wrath terrifying her to no end. "Yes your Majesty. May I take my leave now?"

Yhwach thought for a moment before asking a simple question. "What is his name?"

"Arata Takahashi"

The king closes his eyes and repeats Arata's name. What an new development, Yhwach thought. "You may leave Candice. Continue your mission and I repeat: do not expose us"

Candice nods again before getting up to leave. She closes the door behind her and she walks away from the throne room.

*Flashback ends*

A loud knocking and her door bell stirs Candice awake. She grumbles incoherent curses before throwing off the blankets. She walks down the stair and to the front door. Whoever interrupted her beauty sleep was going to get a full serving of-!

She then opens the door and there stood Arata. Her surprise was present but an alluring smile replaces it and takes its place on her face. "Arata! Two weeks of no contact and you suddenly show up at my front door? Wanted more of me?" she teased.

"No. I need a bed" he simply said.

"What?" asked Candice, confused.

Arata then elaborated. "My cousin and I... are on weird terms as of now. Better I sleep somewhere else until this whole annoyance blows by". Since exiting the Soul Society and making their way home, Arata knew something was very wrong with Orihime. For starters, the woman loved to talk and hearing her silence was... off-putting to say the least. Then there was the fact she couldn't look at him for more than a few seconds. Arata was more than used to people fearing and avoiding him but he was living with the woman. Such an emotion would only bother him. So, he split off from Orihime when she wasn't looking and when she did notice, he simply said he was gonna stay somewhere else for the night before she could talk.

Candice crosses her arms over chest and leans on the door frame. "What did you do?"

He shrugs in response and say, "I have no clue. I just scared her"

"Well... what do you think you did for her to be scared of you?"

Arata files through his memories of his fight with Kenpachi. He recalled looking at the audience for a few seconds altogether but Orihime didn't look at him terrified so it wasn't the fighting she was scared of. It was only when she was up close did she react but it wasn't because of his wounds; she has proven to brave through healing his gruesome claw scratches. It wasn't his mask either; she's used to it. Then what was it? What was it?

"... I have no idea" he confessed. Truly, with all his might, he could not think of a logical answer.

Candice simply nods and leads him inside. "The couch is too small for you to sleep on. You can sleep in my bed" she states. How fortuitous this was, thought Candice. She won't just have a nice slab of man meat with her but she's also performing her duties. It was a win-win!

"... Fine" he agrees. Candice lets out a subtle cheer but was stopped when Arata says, "But no sex".

She reluctantly agrees but not before proposing one last thing. "Fine. But... I sleep in the nude soooo..." she trailed off.

"... and you want me naked as well" Arata finished. Candice nods. After some thinking, Arata shrugs. Unlike Ichigo, he did not react to women drastically. Plus, there's his uncanny ability to control his own arousal so there's that.

The two enter Candice's room and strip to nothing. They get into the bed and as soon as Arata settles into the soft sheets, Candice wraps her arms around him. "I said no sex"

"Yeah but you didn't mention cuddling" she smirked. True, he did not. He sighs and turns his body to face her and also wraps his arms around her. He was in her house after all. Might as well repay her somehow. Candice smiles wide and the two drift to sleep with Arata being the first. He had work in the morning.

Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo...

Nnoitra was walking behind Sakura alongside his fraccione, Tesra. Tesra was a slim arrancar with dirty blonde hair. He had a turquoise marking on his right cheek underneath his right eye which was covered by an eye-patch. His hollow mask remains was located on his head in the form of a circlet. His clothes consisted of a lab-coat like arrancar jacket with rolled up sleeves. He also wore black gloves and black boots.

When he had learned that his beloved master agreed to be under the tutelage of the new diez Espada, he supported it, like any loyal servant. However, that did not mean that he agreed with it. Tesra believed Nnoitra was fine by himself, that he didn't need someone to help him grow strong. But that was his opinion. Whether he liked it or not, he will follow Nnoitra's wishes.

Nnoitra was still hesitant to be in this type of relationship. It grated his head that he was being taught by a woman of all people but if she can make him primero Espada level, then he ain't gonna complain too much.

Harribel and her group of fracciones walked to them from the opposite direction. They see Sakura with Nnoitra and scowl slightly. When word got around that Sakura was playing teacher with Nnoitra, all laughed until they saw the two go at each other. Teasing came on Nnoitra's end with no end in sight while Sakura was just questioned why.

All she said in response was, "I see potential. And I want to grow that potential". But everyone doubted that. Nnoitra was Nnoitra. He's as stubborn as a mule to change.

Harribel and her group knew Sakura was more than capable to handle Nnoitra. In fact, they even watched one of their training sessions for entertainment. That did not mean they were worried to some extent and it was because of this worry that Harribel stopped Sakura for a second.

"Sakura, may we speak for a moment?"

"Can't it wait?" Sakura asked. "We're kinda on our way to train right now"

"No. This is important" pushed Harribel.

"Look woman, you better let us be on our way or there's gonna be a problem" threatened Nnoitra who was starting to get annoyed that his precious training time was being wasted. Harribel glares up at him before Sakura puts a hand up, stopping the both of them.

"Nnoitra, go to our usual spot. I will join you both shortly" Sakura stated. Nnoitra frowns but turns on his heel to walk away with Tesra behind him.

Some time later...

Nnoitra sits atop a boulder overlooking the desolate dessert of Hueco Mundo. Meanwhile, Tesra was cleaning Santa Teresa with a cleaning rag. He knew his master loved having his weapon shining so he always brought one.

Soft footsteps drive the twos' attention and they see Sakura heading over to them.

"Finally" huffed Nnoitra. "I'm gonna be extra difficult now that you made me wait"

"How petty of you Nnoitra. If you plan to be more difficult, then so will I" Sakura states, drawing her sword. The two charge and swing at each other. After the initial clash, Sakura elbows the quinto hard in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. She then slashes him upward, cutting through his hierro and creating a large wound that wound greatly scar.

Since agreeing to be Sakura student, he has had scar after scar put on him, creating a collage of battle scars out his once blemish free skin. It wasn't just his skin that was gaining marks. His strength was too. After each session, he noticed he was able to hold out a little longer against the masked woman.

Sakura fires off a low powered cero into his gut, pushing him many meters back. Nnoitra looks up to see her gone, he looks around but couldn't find her anywhere until she finally struck. She cuts the back of his thigh, spilling blood and firing a bala into that open wound. Nnoitra screams in pain and falls to his knees and grasps his thigh with his free hand. In his distraction, Sakura sonidos in front of him and kicks his face, knocking him back on his back. She lets him get back up and she sees an infuriated look upon his face.

He always looked at her like that when ever she and him sparred. Like he was not only in anger but in disbelief that she actually gained the upper hand on him. She did not understand it at first but considering on what she has been told, she knew now.

He fires off a cero from his mouth. She does not move as it quickly reached her and only acted when it was near. She brings up her hand and the beam continues hammering on her with no end. That is, until she focused. The beam had Nnoitra's reiatsu all over it but using her own energy, molded it to her own. She digs her fingers into the beam until the yellow beam coalesced into a larger than average bala sphere. The yellow turned orange before shifting into a bloody red.

Nnoitra's eyes widen. He knew of only one person that could take a cero, mix it with their own power, and redirect it back at their enemy. Sakura fires the sphere at him and it moved at an alarming rate.

It connects with his chest and exploded with the same power of a regular cero. It burns him and he was knocked back down on his feet.

As he stared into the endless night, he only felt one thing; despair. That bleak, dark aspect he was meant to embody. He saw how her power trumped his and trumped even that certain someone. He was sure that if those two fought, Sakura would no doubt have her head.

He felt so weak and not just from his wounds. His heart ached as reality dawned on him that he was nothing but an ant to this woman, an ant screaming that he was strong when he could barely last a few seconds against this monster. He felt so pathetic. How can he even stand close to her?! He couldn't even stand close to that certain someone he knew was weaker than Sakura. Hell, he couldn't stand against Harribel either even though she was weaker than both Sakura and that certain someone! It was evident from this spar that she out ranked him even though she was ranked the lowest of the Espada.

He chuckles heartlessly. 'So this is despair huh? It... it fucking sucks'

Sakura kneels by his side as Tesra rushes to his other side and starts administering first-aid. From the look of this, he will need more than this to get better. He was near death!

The fracciones glares at Sakura intensely but he was left ignored as she stared at Nnoitra's hollow expression. It was devoid of anything. No anger. No pain. Just... hopelessness. She strokes his dark locks gently, like that of a mother.

"You seem... empty" she stated.

"That's because I am. I'm so fucking weak. How can I loss so miserably against women? It's unacceptable!" he yelled out in frustration.

Ah, so Harribel was correct; Nnoitra was sexist. His view did not bother her however. Coming from a world that lets both men and women fight side by side on the battlefield, that lets men and women hold similar positions of power, and even lets men and women view each other as equals, sexist or misogynistic statements like that held no power over her. It still left her confused though.

"Why do you view women like that Nnoitra?" she asks gently.

"Because they're weaker! That's why! The strongest should be a man!" Nnoitra exclaims.

She did not show up but her brows were furrowed. As Tesra tended to Nnoitra, he explained, "There are not many female hollow in Hueco Mundo and when ever there are, they are usually weak and are preyed upon by stronger male hollows"

The realization hits Sakura. "Ahhhh, so it is simple this world's nature. I see. Well, I won't argue that women, for the most part, are the physically weaker sex..."

"See?! Even the woman agrees with-"

"But that means very little. For a warrior to be a warrior, muscles aren't always the deciding factor. There is also skill and willpower. Tell me Nnoitra, do you know any other strong women other than me?" Sakura asked.

"The hell do you mean? Every other female in this joint is-"

"But what about Harribel?" she interrupts. He pauses and growls at the thought of her. She continues and stops stroking his hair. "And what about... Nelliel?"

Nnoitra visibly freezes up at the mention of the green-haired ex-Espada. Even Tesra stops his healing, startled that Sakura knew that name. The quinto growled as he immediately knew who tipped her off. "Damn Harribel told you didn't she? I swear I'm gonna force that bitch to eat her own fracciones!-"

Sakura karate chops his head hard enough for his to see sheep. He was fortunately not knocked out. "She told me about her and how you challenged her to fight but lost every. Single. Time" she said, slowing down at the end for emphasis. It had its effects on Nnoitra as his teeth grated together in anger. "But that girl is another discussion we will have at a later date. Nnoitra, sex has nothing to do with one's strength. These women and I beat you so easily because we outclass you. It's just a fact"

"B-... But-"

"And you know what else? It is also because of you that you never progress. Your short sighted view blinds you from reality, preventing you from seeing what is in front of you and prevents you from getting stronger. You did not last long against me not just because I am stronger but because you only saw a woman. Blindness like that will kill you one day unless you rectify it". Sakura then got up and made her way towards Las Noches. "Every warrior have their strengths ans weaknesses Nnoitra... but our groins aren't one of them. Remember that"

Nnoitra looks her way before setting his head back on the sand in thought. Women are weaker, he thought. All that crap she just spat out was nothing but word diarrhea. He thought about everything she said and wanted to denounce it as bullshit but...

But why did his heart lean towards her words?

Tesra picks him up and he leans on his fraccion for support. They stagger into las Noches and in the halls. "Don't worry master Nnoitra. We will get you back in shape by tomorrow I promise" his servant assured.

Nnoitra barely heard him. He was currently drowning in despair in his soul. The sound of swords clashing wakes him from his soul. The two come near the entrance of the noise and they peer inside. They see Harribel and her fraccion sparring. From the exhausted look on the three fracciones faces, they've been going at it for quite some time with them losing to their master. The Tres Bestias charge in for a final group attack but Harribel acts to quick. She sidesteps Mila rose before dodging Sung-Sun's sai. She grabs her extended arm and tosses her into Apacci, knocking the two down and making them squabble. Mila rose engages her in hand-to-hand combat but was then swept under her feet. Before her back landed, Harribel grabs her leg and throws her into Sung-Sun and Apacci. She sonidos back some distance before firing a cero at the pile of girl. As the dust dissipates, it reveals the fracciones defeated, their heads in a daze and their clothes ruffled and dusted.

"All of you need to work on your teamwork. That was sloppy work" Harribel lightly chastised.

"Yes master" they all groan.

Harribel then notices Tesra and Nnoitra watching them. She especially notices how battered Nnoitra was. It would appear that Sakura was especially rough with him today. Though she was above gloating or rubbing salt in the wounds, she couldn't help but smile at the sight.

The Tres Bestias look up to also see the duo and they react more visibly, especially Apacci. "The fuck do you two want?" she yells out. Harribels sighs. She can be just as just as crass as Nnoitra sometimes.

Tesra scowls at the girl. Mila Rose followed suit, smirking at Nnoitra's form. "It seems like you two had an eventful spar. How many hits did it take? Six? Five? Or was it four?"

Nnoitra growls at her for her teasing. He shrugs off Tesra but in doing so, caused him to fall to the ground. "Master Nnoitra, please calm yourself! You will aggravate your wounds!-"

"Shut it Tesra! I'm fine" he said.

He stands on his own two feet, with much struggle though, and shambles his way toward Harribel. As soon as he was a few feet away from her, he stops walking, as doing more would have made him collapse. The two Espada regard each other. Nnoitra pants in exhaustion but forced himself to stay upright. "That cero... was pretty good..."

Harribel widens her eyes, thinking her ears deceived her. Her fraccion and Tesra were also shocked. Had Nnoitra just complimented her? He goes on to say, "And you three!," indicating to Harribel's fraccion "... That teamwork was shit. Me and Tesra have better chemistry and... I don't even like fighting with others" he panted. He then took one step towards the entrance but starts to fall to the ground as all his energy was sapped and his eyes close. Before his face met marble, Harribel sonidos to him and catches him. Her fraccion and Tesra are shocked even more. Even the tres Espda was surprised at herself for this act. She quickly composes herself and allows Nnoitra to lean on her.

She sigh. "You hard-headed fool. What were you thinking walking in your condition?". She turns to her subordinates. "All of you, continue training. I will transport Nnoitra to the medical wing and return shortly" and she starts walking. Shaking his head, Tesra heads over to her and walks by his master's side.

The act's effects don't fully leave him however and he asks, "Why?"

Harribel was quiet for a short time before she said, "... Thanking him for the compliment"

But a thought crossed her mind at the same time and she smiles underneath her mask.

'Sakura... You crazy woman. You actually put a dent in Nnoitra'. If a woman like her can make the fool of an Espada change, then she truly is one of, if not, the strongest.