XI

Promotion Prospect?

"I didn't fail you Ulquiorra!" I hollered, the garganta smacked its lips as I chased after the Espada. He quickly took the lead once I cracked open the way to Las Noches. Probably thought I couldn't even manage making it home on my own.

"In what way did you not fail the purpose that I gave to you?" The even reply came.

"Look," I shoved the tea in his annoyed face, "this is enough tea to last until you turn to dust. Basically, I fulfilled your order and went way beyond the call of duty."

He glared at the 'offending' object and the castle yawned opened in front of us, "You did something stupid, trash. That, I ordered you not to do, and thus I disapprove."

I shook my head. Never in my lifetime would the Espada be happy with me. 'Happy' was the black plague to him. The white floor took our weight as we came to our destination.

"Take that to the kitchen."

I paused and looked at the box, but I wasn't thinking about the object. Schiffer kept walking down the hall. The 'little game'… my weird skin itched with words.

"…Ulquiorra?" Any other time, I would have been ashamed of how pitifully vulnerable and weak my voice sounded. The Espada sighed. He stopped and looked back.

"Yes?"

"Um…Ulquiorra…" a second before I continued, I rethought this course of action, "Thanks - uh…th-thanks for saving me. You probably saved my hide."

"Your sorry hide, trash," Schiffer turned back and his coat tails waved in salute.

"Right..." I mumbled to myself and felt the weaker patch of skin on my arm. They had been slowly growing in number and size. I walked off with no thought of really delivering the tea. Escaping down another infamous white hallway, I found an abandoned section.

Dumping the box by my feet, I yanked the sheath of papers from the sash of my uniform. The shopkeeper hadn't grabbed me for a shield in the end. As I studied the rolled up papers, I wondered if they were more trouble than they were worth.

Biting my tongue, I popped off the paperclip.

Just in time for Nnorita to waltz by. The papers rammed themselves down my shirt as he realized that he wasn't alone. For the first and only time, I was happy that I wore white. That gave me my much needed second to shuffle.

"Well, well, well, lookie here, it's an itty, bitty, teeny weeny, little fracción. What are you doing in this hallway?" How many times that he brushed those teeth, I had no idea, but today, they passed the purity of the walls. The rest of him gushed with a sickening creep-o vibe. Of all the Espada, I hated this one the most. Why did he have to find me?

"I got distracted by Lord Gin." Lie.

"And got lost." Lie.

"I was trying to find my way back." Lie.

"And because I need to deliver this for Master Ulquiorra," Truth! I felt like I was a fully fledged truthful-and-goodie-two-shoes Arrancar. Not.

"Did you get lost on purpose?" He dripped closer. I swear, He needed to bathe once an hour or figure out how to use all that oil in his hair to light a candle or something.

"Eh? No, I didn't. I really am lost," I gripped the box, making it cut into my stomach. No way were those papers going to pop out and say 'hi' to a certain Espada.

"I could point you in a preferable direction," His finger went to the left and my brain kindly remembered why nobody went this way. I was practically on this Arrancar's front door steps, a really great place to hide when this guy was out murdering things, otherwise…not so much.

"Thanks, but I need to go this way," I hurried in the opposite direction of that finger.

The ceiling suddenly looked seasick. I jumped forward just in time as it collapsed on itself, leaving a void in the room above. Flattening myself against the wall accordingly, I remembered that I always forgot how insane this Espada was until he was all up and personal. The large half-moon of a sword slithered from the ceiling.

"You are crazy!" I loudly voiced my opinion.

The Espada didn't really hear that, "You went the wrong way, girlie."

"No, I didn't. The kitchen is this way, I just remembered," I shouted over the rumble. I turn tailed and ran.

Thankfully, Mr. Crazy-&-Oil didn't follow. I noted to myself to get a map and start thinking about where I was headed. Papers jabbed me in the belly button, and I frowned as the questions started looping through my thoughts. Was I human? Could I be? Why would I be?

I returned the papers to my sash as I passed another Arrancar, hopefully one not so insane. I changed my mind as this fracción stopped and promptly fell into a bow.

"What are you doing?" I stared at the mop of hair that was the top of her head. The only reason that a fracción would bow would be to the higher ups and big cheeses. Even I had to do it, although I forgot enough that I shouldn't have a head on my shoulders.

The Arrancar rose, "What do you mean? I have too, its protocol."

"No, it's not. You're Aaroniero's fracción, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," she even sounded more respectful. I glanced back to make sure the crazed Espada was still being a good boy.

"Then why are you bowing to me? We're roughly equal," The fraccion cracked a banana huge smile.

"Nobody told you? Well, congrats!" Aaroniero's fraccion slapped my shoulder, "you were just promoted to HF of Master Ulquiorra Schiffer, like, ten minutes ago."

She dashed off after I thanked her. Somewhere along the lines, I misheard, there was no way I was a HF, acronym for High Fracción. It was strange enough that I was Schiffer's fracción, being a high-er fracción meant I was basically the personal assistant of the guy. A trusted one. It was a real honor. This meant that I was an Arrancar. Ulquiorra wouldn't hire a human for the job. Right? It knocked any fear from my mind about what I was

If this was all true and I was a HF, that meant I needed to be at the meetings with him, taking notes and doing all that stuff. I looked at the nearest clock. I was already late.

"H-h-hey! Can you do me a favor?" I shouted back down the hall.

Non-understandable noise crawled from somewhere deep and dark in my throat as I crashed onto my bed. Not only were Ulquiorra's meetings mind-numbing, but I now understood why he looked at everything in disdain. The Espada were idiots.

They sat there and argued for hours over nothing. All Lord Aizen did was slip his tea. He would wait it out and then tell everybody their orders and then they did it. End of story. Most of the time, I sat there and doodled.

This went on all day, "Defeat the Soul Society", "Personal Security" (whatever that was), "Refilling the files", "Las Noches Expansion", and "Meal Planning" meetings mushed together into a mushy mess of mushiness. Ulquiorra did nothing. He only verbally sparred when the conversation was stabbed his way.

I started keeping track of how many times the word 'trash' entered his vocabulary. Lifting the notepad, I checked under the poorly drawn cat, a hundred and four times in eight hours. Impressive, thirteen times an hour.

Papers poked me in the back, reminding me that they were still there. I dragged them out, I wasn't worried about them anymore. Schiffer wouldn't have made me what I was if I wasn't a fully fledged Arrancar. It just wasn't in his nature.

That is was what I thought. Only ten minutes later, I was on the last sheet of rumpled paper with my knees up to my chin. It wasn't true. It just couldn't be.

The paper made a good argument.

Thanks to Nizuna Fujieda & Rose202 as always for reviewing!

Bleach, Ulquiorra and co. do not belong to me but to the awesome Tite Kubo. Sola is my own creation, therefore copyrighted to me (she disproves of this).

First order of business today, I would like to thank Rose202 for betaing this chapter. She deserves a cheer for dealing with the worried, irksome thing, called me. So, HURRAH! If she hadn't stepped in to help, I highly doubt there would be a chapter this week. Also, she gets a sneak peek, which is always fun.

This is a chapter that really just is the ramp for the next chapter. The next chapter is...important, then the next one is a break and then we reach a climax. Oh yes, I said the "C" word. I won't say more. :)

I am wondering, this many seem like a strange question, but what do you think that Sola looks like? Told you, a strange question, but hey, it's worth a try. Never is this story have I write any real description of her, the wonderful little detail of 1st POV.

So, what do you think? You've known this Arrancar for eleven chapters, I challenge you!

-Quin