Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo...
The Espada exited the meeting room and walked back to their designated areas. The first one out the door was Sakura as she sprinted out to god knows where. Not even Nnoitra knew where she was going.
To his disappointment, she told him they weren't going to train for the day, saying something came up that she had to confront. He did not question her, but muttered how much he wanted to continue their time together. Everyday, after each session, he felt his body grow stronger and stronger and he relished it. It was nowhere near Sakura's power or even Harribel's, but it was significantly greater than before he took on Sakura's tutelage.
Speaking of Harribel, to everyone's ginormous surprise, Harribel and Nnoitra started talking to one another. Instead of insults or sneers, the two were actual having conversations. Even Aizen didn't see that coming.
That fact held more meaning than one would expect. It showed everyone how capable a fighter Sakura was if she was able to bend Nnoitra, the Espada with the literally and figuratively hardest shell to crack.
"So... you and Sakura going to train today?" Harribel inquires.
"Nah. She said she had business to take care of, whatever that means"
The blonde arched an eyebrow. "You don't know?"
"Do you?"
She shakes her head. She looks over Nnoitra and noticed his physique was starting to change. Before, he had a lanky but muscular frame. Now, however, it had changed. He was still the lanky Espada he will always be, but through his almost skin-tight shirt, she saw that his muscles were becoming a bit more bigger and toned out, looking more sculpted than before. There were also the scars. From his exposed chest, she saw a plethora of sword scars and burn scars. There were even some peaking out on his hand. She had no doubt that if she stripped his shirt off, she would see a collage of markings.
"She's really putting you through the wringer hasn't she" Harribel thought aloud.
Nnoitra merely chuckles. "You wouldn't believe it". What else was there to say? She was putting him through hell everytime they train. "You know, one time she dislocated my left arm and broke my arm. It was a fucking ninety degree angle in the wrong direction"
"My god..." Harribel muttered. "You cannot be okay with this Nnoitra" she then said. It wasn't so much she was concerned about the man. She still viewed him as vulgar and in desperate need of a few more manners, but she was starting to warm up to him. Slowly, but still.
She had seen first hand how Sakura taught Nnoitra and hearing more about about it made her not envy Nnoitra's position. If it wasn't for the ranking on his tongue, one would assume he was Sakura's fraccion and as someone who cherishes their subordinates, Sakura's methods seemed too extreme and demoralizing.
"The hell you talking about? It's great! Sure I get hurt, like, really hurt, but in the end, I'm getting stronger. I know it. I feel it. Just you wait. Someday, I'm gonna be coming after you for your rank. Just watch" he said smirking.
"I'm sure you would" she said. With his growth rate, he could catch up to her in no time. That is if she stoped improving herself. "I actually look forward to seeing how much you've improved".
The quinto then let out a lecherous smirk. "Maybe after I win, we can spend some time... healing each each other"
The displeased woman groans and narrows her eyes up at the man. She then noticed he was shamelessly staring at her covered chest, subtlety licking his lips.
One thing was for certain: there were somethings about Nnoitra that would never change.
"That is if you win". She kicks one of his shins and he buckles, wincing in pain. "Stop unclothing me with your immoral eyes"
"Bitch" he muttered. The two continued walking in comfortable silence afterwards.
The smell of something burning halted them. "The fuck is that?" Nnoitra said aloud.
The two Espadas follow the smell until it leads them to a double door. They open it and look to see a fully furnished kitchen. It was rarely ever used as arrancars did not need food to sustain themselves. It was more of a luxury they could could partake in.
However, it was being used now by Sakura as she was at one of the oven, her jacket off in favor of a pink apron. She hastily pulled out a tray out from the oven and slid it on the island table in the middle of the room. Sakura hummed as she looked over her work, a tray of a baker's dozen cookies, only, they were so black they couldn't constitute as cookies. "Maybe I baked them for a little too long?"
"Are you fucking serious?" said an irritated Nnoitra. "This was the 'important business' you had to take care of? Cooking?!"
"Duh" Sakura said bluntly. "The moment I turned into an arrancar and noticed I wasn't starving to death, it made me start thinking about food and so I asked Aizen if he had a kitchen of some sort, and he pointed me here. I've been coming here on my free time ever since"
"Why?"
"To advance my cooking skills!" the masked woman proclaimed. "Plus, you desperately needed the time off"
"I don't need 'time off'. I need more training! All of this," hes gestured to the kitchen. "is a waste of time!"
Sakura sighs. "You are so stubborn, but, then again, I am too and so, I will not stop my kitchen adventures, no matter how much you bitch and moan". She then gasped as an idea popped in her head. "How about you two join me? We can learn how to cook together!"
"Why the fuck would I want that?" Nnoitra rudely said.
Harribel was about to whack the quinto for his disrespect towards his own master, but Sakura seemingly did not care as she said, "Fighting is like any other art form. To keep our senses sharp and our imagination broad, we must turn to other art forms. Some choose calligraphy, some choose painting, some choose sculpting, and last but not least, cooking, my personal favorite"
"Did you spit-ball that or do you actually mean what you said?" Nnoitra noted dryly.
"That is why I am cooking. Plus, it's fun"
"Are you really going to ignore me?!"
"Hush Nnoitra! Come! We have more cooking to do" Sakura said.
"Do you even know how to cook? From what I'm seeing, you can't even make stupid cookies" the lanky man groaned.
"They were a trial in error" Sakura dismissed. "I'll get it next time"
"Oh? Then explain this" Harribel said, pointing to a garbage can filled to the brim with failed cookies.
"Hey, I never said I was perfect" Sakura laughed. "Oh! Harribel, wanna be our taste tester?"
"I'm afraid that I have to pass, Sakura. I promised my girls I would spend time with them today" the blonde said.
"I wonder how they're going to spend time together" muttered a smirking Nnoitra, only to be hit with a bala in the face by a vexed blonde before sonidoing out, leaving the teacher and student.
Nnoitra rubbed the place of impact, cursing the woman. "So, what the hell are we even gonna make?"
"Honestly... I don't know. I don't wanna make more cookies so I'll take suggestions if you have any"
Nnoitra, annoyed, began searching the cupboards for something to give to Sakura so that she can figure out what to make. 'The faster she gets done with cooking shit nonsense, the better' Nnoitra thought.
As he was looking around the enormous, he noticed how much of a selection it had. There were all types of ingredients, herbs, spices, and every cooking tool and machinery ever made. It made him wonder how in the world Aizen even got these stuff, but shoved away that irrelevant train of thought.
He opened another cabinet and saw a box of green tea bags and a whole lot of teacups. His eyes widen as he reaches out for one of the cups. He only knew one person who enjoyed a cup of tea before, but she was now long gone. It was only when he was holding it did he realize he spaced out and that Sakura was beside him, looking up at him strangely.
"Oh, you found some tea. Let me prepare some" she said taking a couple cups and green tea to a kettle. Sakura already had it boiling just in case she needed it. She places the teabags into the cups before pouring water into them. She walks back to Nnoitra and hands him his cup.
"How the hell are you suppose to drink yours?". Her mask had a narrow mouth line but he highly doubts that she can eat or even drink anything properly.
"Oh, yes I suppose you're right" and she sets her cup down before smashing a fist into her lower face, cracking her mask before the bottom half crumbled away, revealing the bottom of her face.
From what Nnoitra was seeing her features were soft and delicate, a far contrast to the monster he knew she was. Her lips were light and soft like pillows. For a second, the quinto wanted to make out with her, but then remember that this was SAKURA.
Her soft features did little to quell the panic that suddenly surged through Nnoitra as he dropped his cup, letting it shatter to the floor, and shook Sakura in anger. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU THAT!? YOU CAN'T JUST BREAK YOUR FUCKING MASK LIKE THAT SO IRRESPONSIBLY!" He starts dragging her out the kitchen, in direction of Szayel's lab, the medical wing, just... anywhere!
Sakura easily shakes him off and reassures him. "I'm fine! See? I'm not in pain so what's the-?"
"It is so a big fucking deal! You just shattered half of your mask! You don't know what going to happen to you! You might...". He pauses, trying to find the right words. "You might ... die or something-just... lets get you fixed up. We can return back after-"
"Nnoitra, look". The man does as he was told and looks to see Sakura charging what seemed to be a cero in her hand before putting it on her face. Before Nnoitra could stop her, he pauses, seeing her mask start to reassemble back to normal. In about a little less than ten seconds, her mask became whole again, leaving Nnoitra in shock.
"H...How?... What did you just do?"
Sakura merely shrugged. "I figured it out on my first night here. I trying to take my mask off to bathe, but when I found that it was stuck, I started pulling even harder until I broke my mask completely" she stated, stunning Nnoitra. She continues. "As I was bathing, I noticed my face was hurting a whole lot since I forced my mask off. I started fiddling with my powers until I was able to create this technique. I simply dubbed it 'Cero Curacion' or healing cero"
"Amazing..." Nnoitra muttered. She was able to repurpose the cero to make it heal instead of destroy. And on her first night too? Nnoitra could only stare in awe at her raw power and skills.
"I can teach it to you if you like. Doesn't just heal our masks, but other injuries as well"
"Please do"
Sakura smiles underneath her reformed mask. "Now, with that out of the way, let's talk"
Nnoitra did not like how she said that. "About what?"
"Your reaction just now. It was incredibly cute! You got scared about your nee-chan!" Sakura squealed.
Nnoitra steps back, blushing madly. "It wasn't like that! You're my only shot to becoming stronger! If you died or got weaker, I would've been pissed"
"What about the tea?"
"What?"
Sakura leaned on a nearby wall. "I noticed you looking blankly at the tea and cups. It was if they reminded you of something or... someone"
He stiffens and looks away from her, somehow finding the cabinets more interesting to look at. "It's nothing" he murmured.
Sakura was unconvinced. "Taking something out of your playbook, I'm afraid I have to say 'I call bullshit'".
He snaps his head at her and yelled, "IT'S NOT ABOUT NELLIEL ALRIGHT!"
He couldn't see it, but he felt Sakura was smirking at her. "I never said I was"
"But I knew what you were thinking. And you can forget it. I was just thinking the tea looked... cool" he lied. It was so blatant that he lied. Nnoitra knew how to fake stuff correctly, but in front of Sakura, it was useless whether he made a convincing lie or not.
"Now that we're on the subject of her, let's actually discuss her shall we? I don't know much other than what Harribel told me: You challenged her daily, lost daily, and have been for a long time until one day, she's just gone. Wanna paint a clearer picture for me, my dear otouto?" she cooed.
"I..." Nnoitra knew he was trapped. He could evade all he wants, but in the end, she was going to get her answers. It wasn't a matter of IF but WHEN.
He didn't know why he was seizing up. Nelliel's fate never bother him this much before. He talked about it with Tesra many times before, but he was never hesitant. Hell, he spoke about it like it was a badge of honor. Now though, it was different. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to talk about what happened, especially to Sakura.
Was it because he was afraid of what she might think of him afterwards?
Bullshit, Nnoitra thought. He never cared about anybody's opinions than his own. Sakura though was different. She wasn't a nobody to him. She helped him so much since she came here and just him. Nobody else. Just him. She saw something in him worth growing and...
She respected him.
Was he starting to respect her too? Is that why his words weren't coming out of his mouth? Because he actually likes and looks up to her?
Never in Nnoitra's wildest dreams did he think he would see that day he found a woman worth admiring, worth liking. It shook him to his core when he realized it. There was very few that Nnoitra would openly admit to cherish.
Sakura stood by as she saw the conflict in his eye. He was clearly hesitating, something she had never seen him exhibit. He was always so sure of his actions and to see him all vulnerable was definitely other-worldly.
She smashes her mask again and drinks her tea. That snapped him out of his head and made him looks straight at her. "What will it be Nnoitra?"
"... Everything Harribel said to you was true. I did challenge her daily, lost daily, and I made her disappear" he said. It was almost a whisper by the way he said it. He slides down to the floor and Sakura joins him, sitting beside him. "When she came into the picture, I didn't like her. A woman as the Tres Espada? I hated it,... but..."
He feels a comforting hand running up and down his back. "Go on. I'm listening" Sakura soothed.
Nnoitra composes himself, deeply breathing in and out before continuing. "I... respected her too" he confessed. He never told anyone this, not even his loyal servant Tesra. "I admired her strength, her composure, and her beauty. She was... in a league of her own. I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to be just like the warrior she was"
"Then what happened?"
Nnoitra sighed heavily. He was starting to tremble, afraid of how she might to react after all was said. The urge to run was fierce, but Nnoita confronted his challenges head on. However, in this moment, he was beginning to curse himself for his pigheaded principles. "She was still a damn woman. I couldn't accept her as more powerful than me so I challenged whenever I got the chance". He clenches his hands as he remembered the rage his felt back then. "But I kept losing. I lost, I lost, I lost, and FUCKING lost over and over again. But you want to know what really set me off?"
Sakura just tilted her head as he continued. "It was how she viewed me. She never saw me as an equal. I was nothing more than a beast in her eyes. A lowly animal meant only to be pitied. I wasn't a warrior to her. Just a fucking beast" he growled. "I hated that most of all about her"
"How did you deal with her then?"
He paused and furrowed his brow. He did not want to say what happened, he really didn't. Even now, the despair within him swelled as thoughts of how Sakura would take the information. He practically had to force the words out his unwilling mouth. "Szayel had this... device. It could create fake images of people or objects. After I roughed up her fraccion, I used that device to distract her. I hit her from behind, causing a large wound on her head and large crack on her hollow mask. I dumped her body and the bodies of her fraccion off the side of Las Noches. Then... she turned into a kid" he said, confusing Sakura in the process.
"How?"
"I guess her spirit energy started leaking out" he concluded. He braced himself for whatever Sakura might say or do now that she knew the truth.
Only, nothing came. Sakura merely stared up at him, still rubbing him back gently. "Hm... interesting"
"...'Interesting'? That's all you gotta say? Aren't you mad or something?" Nnoitra questioned, his voice trembling.
Sakura shrugged. "Not really. It does, however, paint a perfect picture of what happened. Now it makes sense why you worried so greatly when I broke my mask. You were afraid I might turn into a child". She then noticed Nnoitra's forlorn face. "Ahhh... don't be so guarded around me. I'm your nee-chan, remember?"
"STOP FUCKING AROUND!" Nnoitra snapped as he suddenly stood up. "Don't give me any your 'big-sister-loves-you' crap! Just tell me straight up: are you disappointed or... whatever?!"
Sakura sat cross-legged as she gazed up at the lanky Espada. "I am being entirely truthful Nnoitra. I'm not mad at you" she said. "Victory is everything. I admit myself that I had to use tactics I never thought I would use. One time, I was going against this lawbringer with metal armor. We were in some sort of factory and he was incredibly tough to pierce. So, instead of aimlessly fight him as he was, I retreated" she said, shocking Nnoitra. "Only for a little while until I found some corrosive acid in the factory. At that point, I just melted him. However, that doesn't change the fact that I ran and I almost never run from an opponent. I don't fault you for using outside help or an illusion device to win. If victory was that important to you, go ahead. Use whatever you must. But, with that in mind, another question arises"
"W-What is it?"
"Are you content with what happened?" she asked.
Nnoitra's eyes widen. Before now, before retelling Nelliel's fate to Sakura, he was very happy with the outcome of what happened. Granted, after he actually did it and sent Nelliel packing, he did feel a little iffy about it, but it faded in time. Yet now, when Sakura asked that question, he began second-guessing himself.
Why? Why was he feeling like what he did wasn't worth the victory? Why was he feeling... remorseful of what did?
"...Y-Yeah..."
Sakura shot him down quickly. "Liar. It's enough to lie to me, but to yourself? Don't be like that Nnoitra" she chastised. "Tell me now: are you content?"
His breathing hitched and suddenly felt light headed. His footing stumbles as he unconsciously steps back and in turn, fell to the ground on his back. He stared up at the solid white ceiling as he attempted to find his answer.
The two occupants didn't know how much time had passed as the two awaited for Nnoitra's response.
Finally, Nnoitra swallowed his spit and quietly said, "...No. No i'm not. I'm not happy with how things went down". He screams in frustration and slams his fist into the ground, cracking the kitchen floor. "FUCK! I HATE THIS! She was a total bitch, but...but she was a better warrior than me! SHE WAS SO MUCH DAMN BETTER!". It shattered his very pride admitting that he was wrong, that he shouldn't have had Szayel's help, that he was weak, that he was a pitiful beast. He never felt this great of a blow in his entire life.
No, Nnoitra thought. This wasn't the first time he stabbed his own pride and soul. The first was when he sullied himself by using that damn device and giving a great warrior one of the most dishonorable ends!
Nnoitra's expression hardens and he gets up, making his way to the door. "Nnoitra" Sakura calls, but was left ignored. "Nnoitra" she tried again, louder, but was once again ignored as the quinto pushed the doors open and went into the hallway. She sonidos in front of him and without much effort, uses one hand to stop Nnoitra in his tracks. "What do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm gonna find Nelliel, make fucking Szayel fix her back into an adult and you use your new cero technique to fix her crack. Then everything will go back to normal, like nothing ever happened". He tried pushing past her, but she stood her ground.
"Do you honestly believe it would be that easy?"
"Yes! Now let me go find her!" he yelled.
"Nnotra, with what you told me, she turned into a child. How do you think she was going to last in the wasteland?"
"Her fraccion obviously! They may be weak, but they should be able to manage taking care of themselves and Nelliel. All I gotta do is find them-". Sakura grabs a hold of his wrist, stopping him. "Sakura, please! I need to find her! I can't leave things the way they are!"
"Even if they are still alive, they're probably miles away from Las Noches, probably somewhere else in Hueco Mundo. You would only be wasting your time" she said coldly. She then smiles underneath her bone mask. "Besides, something tells me she might come to us instead"
"What makes you say that?"
She merely shrugs. "Call it woman's intuition". She then drags Nnoitra back to the kitchen. "Now, with that of the way, let us cook!"
The quinto groans, but resides himself to his fate. Sakura's word stuck in his mind however, that Nelliel might return. He smiles as he anticipates the day she does.
'Just you wait Nelliel. I'll show you how much of a warrior I've become'
Later...
After scouring the kitchen, the two found dishes they could work on.
Grimmjow, bored out of his mind, walked across the kitchen doors until the scent of something good filled his nostrils. Like any curious cat, he peaks inside, only to find one of the most weird sights he has ever seen.
He was witnessing Sakura and Nnoitra cooking. Sakura was in her pink apron while Nnoitra was in a yellow apron while his hair was tied in a ponytail. Currently, the two were at separate stoves, cooking their own foods, but helped each other every now and then.
He laughed hysterically when he heard Sakura was training Nnoitra. He compared it a small cub looking over an even smaller cub. Along with many others, he witnessed one of Nnoitra's many brutal training session and took great satisfaction knowing the prick was getting his ass whooped.
"What're you two doing now? Playing house?" the blue-haired man snickered. Nnoitra sneers at him, but returns back to what he was doing, which was preparing noodles in a boiling pot.
"Heya Grimmjow!" Sakura happily greeted. The owner of pantera scowls. He had not forgotten one bit about their fight. The sheer audacity of this woman to just fight him as if he and her were equals still angers him. "You came just in time. Please, take a seat"
Nnoitra stared at her wide-eyed. "You can't be serious! Like hell I'm gonna feed him any food!"
Grimmjow smirks the quinto's way. "Like I want to. Bet it taste like dog shit anyway"
"Say that again pussy cat!" the angered Nnoitra called.
The sexta, enraged, was about to pummel Nnoitra for the insult but, just when he sonidoed in front of him, Sakura stops his incoming fist with her palm. "Enough you two. Behave"
"Don't give me order like I'm your lap dog! I'm still stronger than you could ever dream to be" he scowled down at the woman. "That also means I'm stronger than you, Mr. Quinto Espada" he then smirked up at Nnoitra.
"You're more cat than you are dog, but that's beside the point. Nnoitra, give him a bowl full of the good stuff"
Nnoitra groans, annoyed, but follows Sakura's command. Taking a seat, Grimmjow smelled the air around him before asking, "So what the hell did you two even make?"
"I made some chicken wing gyoza while my dear otouto made some mapo tofu" Sakura said.
"Since when did you know how to cook lanky?" Grimmjow ask, actually intrigued how his fellow Espada knew how to cook. Sakura he could understand. She came from a world of humans. Knowing how to cook was a must.
Nnoitra shrugs his shoulders and say, "I don't know actually. I just do"
"The hell do you mean 'I just do'? You don't just know how to cook on the fly" Grimmjow commented.
"Look, I just do. What else can I say?" Nnoitra said, irritated.
"Anyway! Here is your meal, my littly poody cat!" Sakura cooed as she set the bowl of mapo tofu and gyoza in front of Grimmjow. She then petted his wild blue hair, like that of a cat.
A vein bulged on Grimmjow's neck, he was so angry. "Don't call me a cat bitch!" he yelled, shaking her hand off him. A descending karate chop landed on top of his head and he turned to see Nnoitra staring down at him angrily.
"CALL HER A BITCH AGAIN! I DARE YOU!" he yelled.
"You wanna die today lanky? That's fine by me-" he growled before a hand gripped his shoulder tightly and he turned again, only to see Sakura's face a few inches from his own.
"Just eat Grimmjow" she said chillingly. Grimmjow swore a shiver ran down his spine and sweat coated his back. "And you Nnoitra. Play nice too"
Nnoitra just grumbled and crossed his arms across his chest. Grimmjow scowls at her. "The customer service in this joint is shit" he muttered before taking a bite of the gyoza. His eyes widen and before he knew it, his gyoza plate was cleaned of food.
"Well then, knowing I still got the skills makes me extremely delighted!" Sakura happily said.
Blushing from frustration, Grimmjow bashfully looked away from her before turning to Nnoitra's dish. He had low expectations, considering this was from Nnoitra of all people. He had to admit, the dish smelled nicely spicy and he always liked a little spice. He gets a spoonful and plunges it into his mouth.
"Huh?!" he muttered, his mouth still full. He chews before swallowing and he looks down at Nnoitra's mapo tofu blankly.
"Did you use a recipe to make this?" Grimmjow asked.
"Umm... no"
"You're not bullshiting?"
"I'm being serious Grimmhow". The sexta quiets and pauses for a minute before continuing to eat away at the bowl of mapo tofu. Nnoitra quickly smirks, a smug disposition emanating from him.
Sakura laughs as Grimmjow ate. The sexta was red in face from frustration. Frustrated that the prick's cooking was actually good. "I don't know about you, but I think he likes your food better than mine"
"I think so too nee-chan" he smirked. "I think so too"
Sakura smiles warmingly, pleased at his words. 'He's finally calling me nee-chan! Oh, Happy days!'
