Evaluation Day [Closed]

At the moment the shout echoed through the building, Takua was bent over a gigai, two long needles stabbed into its flesh. Connected to a set of panels, they were doing what he could not in analyzing the construction of the gigai. It had occurred to Takua even before he had set off for Seireitei that the stores of gigai Tova had created for Las Noches were dwindling, nearly vanished. But the former Tercera's research was long gone, and further construction was impossible. So the new Primera was doing what he could to solve that problem before they were gone. As such, he'd requisitioned a gigai. Since knowing that it was possible was half the battle anyways, and he even had samples to work with, he didn't think it would be too long before he was able to start making his own. They might be clumsily made at first, barely even fit for wearing, but he had plenty of practice creating clothing, and the stitching of a gigai seemed almost eerily familiar.
 
Like an overcoat for the soul.
 
When the burst of sound roared through the air, the blind man took a moment to feel out the presences outside his tower. The King, to no surprise, and one other presence that had joined the chorus a week ago. In response, the shifting tides of reishi around the two warped. A flicker of will carried the curtains of spirit particles against their auras for just a moment, something that both of them should be perceptive enough to feel, and then fell away. A message from the man who was going to need a minute to disentangle himself and come upstairs. But he had, indeed, heard the call.
 
As he prepared the lab for his departure, Takua couldn't help but reflect on the King. There'd been a few things the blind man couldn't help but disagree with, like Nazomi being appointed to Segunda, but for the most part nothing Erasmus had done had forced the Primera into a reevaluation of his allegiance. That was good, for the most part. But that didn't mean that he was ready to trust the man, and for the moment he was staying on his guard. Whether he'd ever relax it was another question.
 
He was only too busy these days, doing what he needed to do and hadn't for so long. The Vigilance, working on saving lives in the World of the Living again...Sekai...
 
The last was actually a huge fucking mess right now, and part of him knew that he was risking burying himself in other problems to avoid it. Takua knew that he couldn't do that. He couldn't risk Sekai going down that road.
 
Placing the two needles onto the workbench and sealing them away, the Primera spent another five seconds tidying up the room before slipping out, leaving the door to lock behind him. The small, satisfying click of a lock left him assured that his lab was now secure. His expertise with the manipulation and detection of reiatsu meant that it was a relatively simple matter to create a lock that only opened to his reiatsu signature. Imbuing it with the kind of finesse needed to spot out fakes with his own skill, however, was a bit harder, but those people were few and far between.
 
Of course, someone could blow through the wall, or the door.
 
Thinking about the consequences of that action made him smile.
 
Of course, his current research was more or less a secondary project. Arrancar were violent, some of them were none too skilled at healing, and there hadn't been any kind of demand for his services before now. As a result, there had been somewhat of a rush to take care of old wounds that had simply never been taken care of. Missing arms and legs, long scars and burns left to sit because there wasn't a medic in all of Las Noches but for him. In the short time since he had become Primera, he'd treated over a hundred Arrancar for everything from missing organs to third degree burns across half of their body.
 
It felt good, to be able to help people. What didn't feel good was knowing that those people he was healing would almost assuredly go out and use their new health to kill in the World of the Living. Finding the balance between the two wasn't something he'd been able to find yet, but he had to admit that they had the right to live their own lives.
 
The door opened to admit the two, the blind Primera on the other side taking instant stock of the woman that stood at the side of the King. One hand entwined in his shirt. This has to be her, the new one. The person that Erasmus wanted him to meet.
 
“Sorry that took a bit, I was busy in the lab.” His voice was even and calm, even as he cast his Pequisa over both of them. There was something about the woman that pricked at him, a recognition of type instead of a single person. Whatever it was, that knowledge currently eluded him. For now, he'd address the King. “Regardless, welcome, both of you. May I ask who your friend is, Erasmus?” For once, and out of deference to the King's presence, Takua wasn't suppressing his reiatsu. Whoever this woman was, there would be no mistaking the pressure from the Primera.
 
Turning, he let the way open up for the two people, so that if they wanted to come in they could. As he did, he continued speaking, a faint smile finding its way across his face, “But tell me, did you know how many Arrancar needed medical attention?”
 
WC: 957 | GP: 19 | Total: 19

Being able to hear and feel every inch of Las Noches had it's perks, but with Takua who was always so silent and always so surgically precise with his movements as he worked it was hard for The King to discern exactly what the blind man was doing. Were it anybody else he'd have only decided to drop in for an "evaluation" if they had been slacking, but the visit was a necessity for Takua, a genuine check-up. If only Erasmus could plant one of his ghosts in his tower without the man noticing, or something or the sort, some sort of spy that could be the Kings eyes. Maybe she could do it. From what he'd heard of the conversation between them the two had a history, a very intimate history, if she could rekindle that history and if Erasmus could press his thumb down upon her she could be his little camera. She didn't seem particularly independent, relying on him to give her answers and raving about a higher plan she could depend on, but if Erasmus could get her to depend on him then she wouldn't want to disobey him. Maybe-

A breeze. But no mere whisper of the wind, it had been a gust against Erasmus' very soul and it brought him out of his scheming reverie only for him to realize that he had been staring a little to intensely at the surface of Takua's front door. Green eyes came alive like computer screens and he brought his head up, as if the feeling of Takua's awareness had turned on a robotic Erasmus. Slapping a pleasant smile back across his face Erasmus inclined his head to the woman at his side.

"He knows we're here." He sang to her, as if she wasn't already aware. In response Mesablanca clutched the hem of his shirt, afraid that she might have to wait outside while he and the other person of import discussed their deeds or maybe just afraid to be left behind. To ease her discomfort he reached down and took her wrist, entwining his free arm with hers so that they were locked at the elbow. He'd learned that touch was comforting for her, it gave her something to anchor herself to so that she wasn't lost in the sea of blackness.

"Don't worry, he won't bite." He soothed her with a calm and idle voice. "And if he does I'll kill him." The grin deepened. He realized that telling her such things wouldn't exactly ease her mind, but he couldn't help causing a little bit of discomfort wherever he went. 

They waited there another minute, the click of a lock from deep below as loud to Erasmus as a bomb shell penetrating the earth. Takua had something he wanted safe or secret or both. Not a cause for concern, probably just his appointed work, but he couldn't rule out the possibility. When the door swung open that pesky compulsion of his reacted again and before he could even possibly hope to stop himself he'd already begun to speak in tones and shades that ghosted that of hers.

"Takua. I missed you." Knowing emerald eyes studied his Primera's expression. 

"And this beauty." He gave her arm an affectionate tug before stating rather proudly. "Is Mesablanca, named her myself. She's new to the whole socialization thing, so I thought I'd bring her with me so she can see how things are done."

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Those mimicked tones again. He really truly needed to do his utmost best to stop doing that. When Takua stepped aside to permit them entrance Erasmus glanced at his companion, offering her an encouraging wink and then lead her inside with a courteously outdated "Come, milady." 

The place was no different to what it had been when Amaya had lived in it, with black and white every which way you looked and books scattered everywhere else. He bit his tongue this time, any more mimicry and he was liable to kicked out of his Espada's tower before he could even ask for a report and that just wouldn't do, so instead he simply turned at Takua's question, allowing Mesablanca's hand to slide from his arm, but staying close to her so that she could anchor herself to the world whenever she felt uncomfortable.

"Well, I won't lie, I didn't know the exact figure, but it's obvious that there are those of us that need treatment. Not everybody can regrow a limb around here, as much as some people believe so. I told you that you were needed and I meant it. Why, have you been busy?" A grin found Erasmus' face, he knew exactly how busy Takua had been.

[Words: 792][GP: 15][Total GP: 29]

Mesablanca was never one to assume anything, but she somehow thought the other Arrancar of Las Noches would be somewhat...imposing. Despite their ability to think and act more human than she would have believed the fact remained that they were still hollows. The Primera didn’t rise to his position by sitting back and being docile, yet there was nothing about Takua that came across as particularly threatening. His build was so deceptively frail for someone who must have possessed a lot of strength.

He spoke to Erasmus with the same odd social tendencies Erasmus was trying to teach her, when really she would much prefer them to get to the point. From what she’d come to observe, being polite was just filler words that wasted breath and time. And so she didn’t have much to say, standing on the sidelines but knowing it was important to take in every action and reaction. It was these mannerisms Erasmus claimed could save her life one day.

It was her first time seeing him interact with another Arrancar. She wondered if he’d smiled at the newcomer, and if Takua had smiled back. She’d almost forgotten the small social grace, and belatedly she attempted a small, awkward smile that she could only assume was polite. It was as far as she would go to really involve herself.

But she did have to wonder; how many Arrancar did need medical attention? He spoke with the inflection that there were a greater number than expected. She’d always been under the impression they were the rarest breed among hollows and as such their numbers were incredibly low. So far she’d only seen one or two since she’d arrived. It was obvious that Takua knew they were both there prior to his arrival to greet them; Erasmus wasn’t trying to be subtle, shouting out for him like that. His loose grip on her arm was his way of offering her reassurance, to let her know everything was alright. Was it a mark of ownership? She still understood so little of the intentions of those around her. Their politeness was a foreign language to her that she was still trying to decipher.

There was no real reason for her to be worried or nervous for her own mortality, and so she wasn’t, only curious as to what the intentions of a man such as Takua could be. If it weren’t for his distinct Reiatsu she would have never guessed the man before her was a hollow.

On queue she followed them, feeling out for any and all obstacles in the room, knowing that if she had any accidents like she did in Erasmus’s chambers Takua likely wouldn’t be as forgiving. It was so different from what she’d come to know in their shared castle. As the two men talked she let her fingers glide over surfaces and walls, feeling their texture and density and drinking it all in. Was this where Takua slept? She couldn’t feel a bed anywhere in the room.

She didn’t stray far, but it was enough to give her the blueprints of the room she was in. Satisfied with her findings she joined him once more, wondering what their purpose for being here actually was. Wasn’t the Primera the strongest, who answered to nobody but the king? If so, then did Erasmus really have the authority granted to be here? She had yet to meet the king, though he must have been aware of her in his kingdom. Would he be here too?

"How do you fix a hollow?” She asked, more intent on finding out information directly now that she could see Takua didn’t oppose them being there. “What purpose do you have for fixing them if they’re broken?”

******

625 words: 12 GP
Total GP: 32 GP

The words given back to him were an echo of a visit he didn't want to think about, and in an instant a part of him withdrew. For a moment he froze, fixing his blind gaze to the King. The man had heard, somehow, or else he would never have been able to copy her voice so well. Not exactly, but the intonation was only too similar. Made worse seconds later, only confirming that suspicion. Erasmus knew of Evelynn's connection to him, and their...whatever the fuck you wanted to call a relationship with too many fucking negative connotations attached.
 
Interesting. Also, worrying.
 
How much more did the man know? Was this an indication of Erasmus spying on him, spying on Evelynn, on everyone, or just...happening to overhear? If so, why did he give it away so easily? Was it a mistake...or a warning? That even those conversations Takua thought no one could hear were only too easily picked up on by the King of Hueco Mundo?
 
The moment faded, and Takua smiled. A touch frosty, inviting the two inside as he stood aside for his King, speaking otherwise genially as he did so, “Of course. A pleasure to meet you Mesablanca. You two are quite welcome to come in-” The frost thickened, a touch of venom encroaching on his voice, “Unlike some people.” A message of his own. If Erasmus was going to give away that he'd overhead that, could overhear that, then Takua had to let him know that he understood, now didn't he?
 
He also wasn't terribly happy about that. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was distinctly unhappy about that. It reinforced the decision he'd made to acquire a base of operations in the human world, and to do it swiftly. A place where someone couldn't overhear him. Thankfully his thoughts were safe...or so he hoped. There was no telling what a being like Erasmus could do. But if the man really could get inside of his head, it seemed unlikely there would be much he could do about it until he learned exactly how...and find a way to stop it.
 
As the two passed him, Takua gave Mesablanca another once over. She was quite clearly new to Las Noches from what Erasmus had said, new to being around other beings at all. A Hollow who had spent a long time without being near other Souls except as a predator was usually vicious, although Takua was an exception to that rule. Perhaps this woman was too. Certainly she didn't carry herself like a hyper-confident predator. No, instead she carried herself like...
 
...like she was blind.
 
Feeling the walls, cautiously moving around the room. Walking slowly, carefully, touching everything around her as though to map where and what they were. Not quite unsure of herself, but clearly unsure of her surroundings. Not smiling at the same time that both the other Arrancar and the Ascendant monster had. Able to move so much more surely after she had felt out the room, walking back to Erasmus' side.
 
Erasmus, the man who had asked a question with a smile in response to Takua's more or less rhetorical question.
 
The Primera sighed, rolling his eyes behind his mask to the heavens in a plea for strength, “If it weren't enough that every last idiot wants to prove his strength by injuring the people around him, there's years worth of injuries that haven't been healed- or worse, healed badly, and then I have to lop off their fucking arm and start again. Arrancar who got caught by Shinigami on Earth, and even the few idiots who decided to take a stroll in the Rukongai and got away with it.” Takua laughed, shaking his head, “Most of it isn't that bad. Old injuries they didn't have the ability to regenerate. Usually limbs. But there's a lot of them. Maybe half of the Arrancar we have here are hurt in some way. So, yeah. Busy's a good way to put it.”
 
He turned to Mesablanca, wondering as he did so exactly how much she knew. It was clear already, just from those two short questions, that she knew very little. How long had she been an Arrancar? A Hollow? Surely far shorter than his own eight centuries. But it almost seemed like she was a sponge...looking for the knowledge that could fill it. So he considered it as he considered her, wondering what Erasmus' goal in bringing another blind Arrancar here was. That had to be why he had said Takua would want to meet her, but...
 
“Maybe half of the Arrancar and Hollows that exist can regenerate. The rest rely on Hierro to prevent damage, but it doesn't help them heal. About a year ago I found a way to use my own regenerative power to heal other people, 'fixing' them. There's some things I can't take care of- physical injuries are the extent of it. So I can't, say, grow a new limb. Or restore someone's eyesight if they never had it. What I can do is regrow a lung, an arm, or a even a person's skin.” His smile turned sardonic as he continued, “After all, a Hollow isn't useful to Las Noches if it can't fight. So I serve the King as the healer.”
 
Among other things, of course.
 
Takua regarded her a moment longer, letting the Eye of Infinity play over her soul for a moment, and then turned back to Erasmus, “I'm doing pretty good though. Caught up now, I think. Sobek is getting along with his own work. I think I'll redecorate this place soon enough though. I don't care about the decorations, or lack of them, but it's not suited to me anymore. Even without Fraccion to care, the tower should be mine.” It wasn't as though Amaya had the tower remodeled to support a blind person, after all. Things were set for her height. Paintings did nothing for him. And now that he wasn't her loyal tool, he needed to distance himself from the person he used to be. From the woman he had served.
 
Or else, one of these days, he was just going to Cero the whole fucking thing to pieces.
 
“There hasn't been much else going on though. Just continuing my own research.” Some of it, like the Gigai, would benefit Las Noches.
 
Some of the rest of it was just for him.
 
Now that those pleasantries were out of the way, and he'd given Erasmus a status report (such as it was), it was time to see why else the man was here.
 
And why he'd really brought Mesablanca along.
 
WC: 1114 | GP: 22 | Total: 41

The reaction that he was expecting was there on Takua's face, on his very soul and internally Erasmus might have laughed a little bit. Now he was probably wondering exactly how much his king knew, was he aware of the little project in the basement? Did he see everything that happened in the castle? Or did he just have a narrow way of spying on people? Could the king read minds? Erasmus could practically see those valuable little golden cogs in Takua's head whizzing and whirring as he tried to puzzle things out and when Takua verbally confirmed his acknowledgement, it was all Erasmus required to confirm his suspicions. He nodded politely, almost apologetically as he crossed the threshold and into the home of his Primera. 

Once they were all settled and Mesablanca had created her own little mental map of the room the discussions began. No offer of tea, no suggestion to sit down, nothing of the sort. That was disappointing, but then again Erasmus didn't plan to stay long as he had other business to attend to, so his objection would go unvoiced. In any case, Takua had his work cut out for him, there was a lot to do for just one man, even a man with apex strength.

"Perhaps you should take on some Fraccion, teach them to do what you do. I'll be honest, that's what I'd like to see from you. If you taught others how to heal then you could just leave it to them and I'd feel comfortable allowing you to pursue whatever other projects you're so eager to get to."

And then the lady at his side voiced her thoughts and Erasmus grinned encouragingly in her direction. She was asking all the right questions. She'd learned a little since arriving and had shown great interest in learning more. It would have been a shame if the person he'd picked up had been a stubborn neanderthal who refused to absorb knowledge when it was so easily presented to them, pretty soon Mesa would know all of the ins and outs and the secrets and she'd be able to answer Erasmus' questions!

"I love this woman." He said bluntly, turning back to Takua. "Been with me for only a week and she already knows exactly what to say to make me happy." The delight in his voice was brief as he allowed Takua to answer her question, nodding along with his assessment as he wandered over to one of the many books scattered about the place and idly flicked through it's pages, not really reading.

"Takua is a unique -And I use that word literally- Arrancar in that he can heal others. That's just one of the things that makes the Primera so valuable to the king." Thumping the book shut, Erasmus swerved to the front of a table and leaded against it, arms folded almost authoritatively. 

"Sobek damn well better be getting along with his own work, I'll be visiting him soon and if I don't like what I see then I shan't be happy. But if you're not saying anything bad about him I guess I don't have a reason to think ill of him just yet." The Kings gaze wandered around the room as he pondered the notion of Takua redecorating. He wanted to say something, question a blind persons motives for redecorating, suggest that Takua move into the castle that Erasmus owned before he became King, but it was clear that Takua wasn't doing it for any of those reasons. He just didn't want to be reminded of Amaya when he worked there, and that was fine. Nobody wanted to be reminded of Amaya for one reason or another, most of them bad.

"That's good." Was all Erasmus said at first. Then, "I'd like to know a little bit more about that research though, like what it is that you've got locked in the basement. I heard you down there." He lowered his voice a little, as if to hide his words from Mesablanca, but he knew that she'd hear regardless. His tones weren't hostile, closer to a friendly warning from one brother to another. 

"I hear everything Takua, but I don't listen unless it concerns me, and your connection to Evelynn concerns me because she's... Well, you know what she is. I just wanted you to know."

"So, about that research?"

[Words: 733][GP: 14][Total GP: 43]

The shift in tones, the small movements of their bodies and meandering demeanour were things Mesablanca could never be taught to understand. She knew enough from her lessons with Erasmus to know when all wasn’t what it seemed, yet it was times such as these that she would come to realise she wasn’t blind in only eye sight. She couldn’t touch a thought or an idea and experience the feel of it between her fingers, couldn’t peel away the layers between these two men to find the maggots underneath.

Everything was a mystery to her logic, and little of it made sense. “Do the hollows here injure others without intending to eat them, other than for self defence?” In a world where surviving was paramount, expending energy for no apparent purpose would be against all survival instinct. Everything had a purpose in life, and every action served to cause a reaction. Yet that simple logic applied to nothing within these castle walls. It was hard to tell if they worked under reasons so intricate she was as of yet unable to understand them, or if their interactions with other races had affected their logic somehow.

Takua’s voice was easy to listen to, and if she could touch it she would liken it to water. His words were simple and matter of fact, free of the intricacies of emotions she had yet to understand. This was the man who made sure they were fit to fight and defend, and who she would need to see should such a situation arise. Their conversation was like the tide, flowing high and low, ever changing between casual banter and serious undertones.

The only remote part of this conversation she could stay afloat through was Takua’s need for change and decoration. For Mesablanca, her body was her home, and it was decorated with the soothing burden of her turbulent travels. It was probably a feeling shared by those with the ability to see as well, decorating their homes in a similar fashion. This place was a lot barer than Erasmus’s chambers, that much she knew without a doubt. It spoke very little to her about the man in front of them.

Her questions were primitive, uneducated at best. But whatever need for information she had, it pleased Erasmus for reasons she couldn’t say. Hearing Erasmus claim an emotional attachment to her actions was...odd, to say the least. Odd mostly because if she could feel things she’d probably feel them in return to his declaration. Whatever she said pleased him, even if... “I thought it was my body that made you happy.” He was such a contradicting man. His race, his reasoning, his...everything. He was a maze she would wander forever, confused, alone and yet surrounded by his presence.

Yet as contradicting as it was she took all their words in anyway, storing them away for dissection later. She’d make her way out of that maze one day. She’d lived for hundreds of years and she have hundreds more, and each day she was getting closer. To what was anyone’s guess.

Erasmus’s voice dropped, and naturally, her ears followed. And there it was, yet another word, some more jargon to add to the list with no dictionary. What was an Evelynn? Surely, she could only assume it to be another Arrancar. “If he was attached to her, wouldn’t she be here? Is she a parasite?”

******

569 words: 11 GP
Total GP: 43 GP
I have no idea why this is so short welp

He had known, of course, that the King would want more healers. A cadre, so that the ability of Las Noches to recover from the scars of war was not entirely reliant on a single man. A single man could die. Refuse to treat someone. Or, worse, leave Las Noches entirely on his own volition. With the ability to heal spread across many Arrancar, that would no longer be an issue. Even if the quality of those healers weren't up to his level, the risk would be dealt with. That kind of pressure was something he'd expected, although so far it was just a simple, friendly idea passed on from the King to his Primera.
 
Takua chuckled, waving the suggestion aside with a cheerfulness he didn't feel, “Maybe. I don't think it'll happen, but if I'm drawn to someone, then I'll do it. Don't worry about my energy though, Las Noches hasn't taxed me yet.” But the odds that he'd find someone who wanted to be his Fraccion, and fit his temperament, were rather slim. Besides...no matter who'd held that position in the past, it still didn't feel right. He couldn't even find the right decisions for himself, how was he going to find those for other people? No, he wasn't meant to lead. Not even a few people.
 
Mesablanca had another question, one that made Takua laugh, the sound a little caustic as she revealed her relative ignorance. She must not have had much interaction with others...hardly surprising, given her blindness. Without echolocation, that must have been difficult. “Hollows everywhere hurt when it isn't necessary, but Las Noches throws a lot of them together in a relatively confined space. Most fights aren't fatal, but without regeneration they can certainly be debilitating. For protection, and other reasons, some Arrancar become Fraccion to the Espada- followers, if you will. Pissing off an Espada by attacking their Fraccion is rarely wise.” The dry, wry wit of the final sentence was only too easy to read into, and the look on his face was only barely related to its cousin the smile. There were only two people in all of Las Noches who could give him a challenge. One of them was in front of him. The other was the Merry Madman.
 
...it would appear that taking lovers was definitely a hallmark of a Ruler, and not just the other Tova. Erasmus might have hinted at it, but Mesablanca's reaction left no room at all for interpretation. A slightly amused smile appeared on Takua's face at the female Arrancar's words. Clearly she wasn't anything but blunt and honest, especially given her nearly childlike questions. There had to be quite a lot she was just beginning to understand, judging by what she was saying. “Well good. It's nice to have someone who can make you happy- in a variety of ways.” The smile, and amused tone, remained even his mind wandered on to the next subject. Some things never changed. Concubines were apparently one of those things.
 
As for Sobek, Takua had his own opinions on the man which caused an enigmatic smile to creep across his face. It remained to be seen whether Erasmus would be happy with his progress, but the Tercera would prove to be a tool, easily directed and used. Smart but without a single devious bone in his body. No head for politics either, not that there really was much of that here...but some. Enough for it to matter.
 
And in the end, the man simply didn't have it.
 
For a long moment, Takua digested that tidbit. Hearing everything in Las Noches. Possibly farther out, into Hueco Mundo itself. That put an interesting spin on a lot of things. But it was only for a long moment he considered that, and then he simply nodded an acknowledgment. He wasn't going to hold himself back for the King, not like he did with Severance. The blind man had already made that mistake in spades, and was still paying for it not.
 
Evelynn's name, though, caused him to pause. He hadn't quite expected a direct mention of it, but now that it was out in the open, apparently Erasmus saw no reason to hide anything about it. Promising, that...assuming it could be trusted. Mesablanca's comment, however, made him burst out laughing. The image of Evelynn as a tick, or a mosquito sucking away at the blood of whoever she found, provided just enough humor to ease over the ragged edges of memory. Still chuckling, he turned to the woman fully, but his voice was tinted with a complicated mix of emotions, “Some days she might feel like one. We have history together from a few centuries back, none of it exactly good. She's also not exactly sane, and recently, I've had more than enough insanity to last me. But no. She isn't here, nor will she. I don't want her near my tower.”
 
The King's comments were concerning though. Was he going to make her into an Espada? Always a possibility, and a dangerous one. Especially given her professed goal. Takua was going to need to watch her carefully...
 
Fuck, but he really didn't want to do that.
 
Erasmus was harping on the research though, and it seemed best to nip this one in the bud before he could get more curious. With calm and ease, the Primera responded, “Oh, you don't need to worry about the lock. My lab, every private lab in this tower was designed to be privately locked to everyone but the owner and the Espada. Keeps the riff-raff out, keeps people who don't know what they're doing away from things they shouldn't touch, and keeps thieves away from things that don't belong to them.” They could also try to steal research notes, but that was rather difficult when it was all in his head. Waving all of that aside, he continued on, “You may know that our supply of Gigai was created by Tova back when he was an Espada? Most of them are gone now, and certainly most of the specialty types don't exist anymore. I've been retracing his steps using his own gigai. Especially since I'm not altogether happy with how silent Seireitei has been.”
 
Takua's grin turned a little sharklike, sharp and swift, “So my primary focus for that project is to come up with a Gigai that will let me hide it's a Gigai and blur the racial signature of whoever is inside. With it, I could spy on the Gotei as though I were a Shinigami myself.” He'd leave out that he didn't actually need a Gigai to change the racial signature of his reiatsu...or that he could just out and out copy someone's signature entirely.
 
Well, most anyone. He hadn't been able to copy Erasmus' signature just yet...there was something he hadn't been able to break past in the signature of one of the Broken. Not that he'd done that experiment in Las Noches. It would be rather silly of him to advertise...so he'd done it in the space between worlds.
 
But that was his, at least for the moment, main experiment. That he was willing to share with the King. There were others, but some of those were for himself and himself alone. “There're a few other things. Cloaks that suppress reiatsu and make you invisible- although right now, unless you're also blind, that last one doesn't work so well.” His attention turned toward Mesablanca again, wondering if she'd catch the veiled allusion to his own ability to see.
 
WC: 1260 | GP: 25 | Total: 66

For a moment there Erasmus had forgotten that Mesablanca was simpler than she seemed, seeing one and one, but never quite grasping the concept of putting them together to get two. She didn't need two, two had no benefit for her, so she didn't bother. In this case her declaration of their excellently sordid private antics threw the King for a loop and despite the cock of his brow and the open maw of his silent mouth there was a turn of his cheek that betrayed the amusement he felt beneath. This was why Mesablanca was his favorite, stubborn and complacent in all the right places and with a devilishly mischievous side she didn't even know she had. Once his mind had grasped the situation again Erasmus closed his mouth and offered Takua a coy smile, his arched brow shifting from mild surprise to a questioning furrow as if to say "Can you blame me?"

"It's possible," He began, turning his body, half to Takua and half to Mesablanca. "That you make me happy with more than just that thing you do with your tongue. There's more than one source of joy." A wink and a grin cast her way smoothed out the bumps in the situation. She wouldn't understand, not yet. It'd take a good long while before she grasped the intricacies of relationships that transcended hunter and prey, emotions that were complicated than simply being horny or angry or sad and he would be the one to teach her, mould her into a loyal and unquestioning tool; perfect in every way.

"A variety of ways indeed." The King agreed with his Primera's assessment, growing quiet when Mesablanca voiced her next question. She took precedence over his business with Takua and he was perfectly happy to step back for a brief moment and allow her to ask any questions she had stewing in her brain, it was one of their reasons for being on the Primera's doorstep after all. Somewhere at the back of his mind he was hesitant to expose her to the whirlwind that was Evelynn, knowing first hand what she was and how he planned to use her own nature against her. He'd have to take great care whenever Mesablanca and Evelynn were spoken about in the same conversation. Other than that Erasmus silently nodded along with Takua's brief account on Evelynn. Erasmus agreed with the man, but would that stop him from tapping into the potential that the chaotic force of Evelynn held? Absolutely not, waste not want not, Erasmus listened to his mother.

When the discussion turned back to the little project that Takua had locked up in the basement like the stereotypical mad scientist Erasmus seemed to light back up again, stepping back into the here and now and taking command of the room with his presence. The first flaw was the purpose of the locks. Arrancar weren't exactly subtle beings, if somebody wanted to steal whatever was in there they'd probably just blow the lock off. Did this mean that Takua had some other kind of security system for such an occurrence, or was the locks purpose to keep something in rather than keep others out? When the notion was waved aside however Erasmus decided to let it drop, he felt like he'd be pushing his luck trying to press more information out of the man so he'd save the rest of his questions until the next time they spoke. At least Takua was kind enough to tell him about his project to replenish their gigai stores, to which the King nodded his pleasure in response, thumb and forefingers curled around his chin and elbow supported by his other arm.

A sharp glint sparked in the fires of Erasmus' emerald eyes as Takua explained the true purpose of his gigai research and delving deep inside of himself Erasmus became dead to the world for a few short seconds. The smile, the biggest that day, that stretched across his face displayed his pleasure at the news. Another candle boosted the flames of the future and it's glow rendered everything frozen and lifeless.

"Good." He muttered, catching brief snippets of Takua's other projects. Something about a stout that, when drank, rendered you incomprehensible. Seemed a little redundant, but Erasmus was too satisfied to question it. "Good, good, good." The King snapped back to the world beyond his own musings and clapped his hands together, concluding the business of duties and check-ups and work and opening up his palms to make room for the next issue at hand. Mesablanca.

"That'll do for now, I'm pleased with what I've heard. Perhaps next time you could show me some of the projects in action." Erasmus suggested striding across the room and curling his way around Mesablanca, arm draped over her shoulder. "There's one final issue however. This golden beauty." He lightly pressed his finger into her cheek.

"You may not have noticed this Takua, but Mesablanca here is a bit uninformed when it comes to social interaction and the goings on of Las Noches. Over the past week I've taught her everything I can, but you know what my job entails, there are things I need to do and places that I need to go where she just can't follow; as much as I'd love to take her everywhere with me." He gave her a playful jostle as he peered from her shoulder. "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but since you're both sight impaired I thought you'd be the best person to leave her with while I'm gone. I'd leave her on her own, but quite frankly I don't feel comfortable with that idea. Who knows what could happen to her. Could you do me a favor and make sure she doesn't get herself into any trouble while I'm gone, maybe help her learn about Las Noches and how best to view it from unseeing eyes?" 

The dark grin and the crooked spark in The King's gaze that had been ignited by the news of Takua's gigai had never left Erasmus' face.

[Words: 1016][GP; 20][Total GP: 63]

The way he spoke could almost be human it was so gentle. This time she realised Takua was talking to her, and with a soft blink she turned to him with vacant eyes staring somewhere past his shoulder. His reiatsu spoke to her in a way she couldn’t explain, filling the gaps of his profile where her eyes couldn’t venture. He was so similar to her and yet so different , humanoid, but more so than she would ever be.

“So hollows act for you as my limbs would for me.” A...metaphor? Erasmus had told her that’s what they were called. She hadn’t quite got the hang of them yet; not that could she really understand other people’s metaphors either.

It took her a lot longer to realise referring to Evelynn as a parasite was also, likely, a metaphor. She knew it to be true that Shinigami thought all of them insane, and if she truly was a threat she could easily be eliminated. And so she wouldn’t ponder on it, instead opting to let it slide over her head like the majority of the conversation between the two men.

Familiar words but a foreign meaning, without of direct involvement to her wellbeing Mesablanca quickly found herself losing interest. Face as vacant as her eyes, tanned fingers rested gently across one of the smooth work surfaces, devoid of even the slightest twitch as she mulled over their exchange thus far. Erasmsus liked to call this her ‘down time’, where she would process data and reboot like a computer.

After a time her fingers began to creep, moving with a caterpillar like slowness over the smooth surfaces of one of Takua’s work stations. Everything was so clean, unnatural, devoid of anything even more so than the vast deserts in which she spent most of her life. It was almost like being on earth, the place where they worked so hard to defy nature for reasons nobody could explain.

It was these kinds of thoughts that crossed her calm mind, and it wasn’t until Erasmus’s secure arm was wrapping around her and his long fingers were brushing across her cheek that she relented, leaning into him as the attention was brought back to her. For a being that she couldn’t read through reiatsu alone the contact was something familiar, the blood rushing through his veins and the breath filling his lungs a reminder that although something broken, he existed.

“Happiness is a chemical in the brain.” She couldn’t deny she’d been feelings those chemicals come and go, at times where she wasn’t slipping beneath his sheets. She liked spending time with him because it made her feel good. The security, his being an enigma to ponder, his tower wonderful to explore and fulfilling to her curiosities. He fulfilled her needs, and the enjoyment that came from that was a fine treat after the years of desolation.

It was a feeling she knew she could live without but would rather not to. Hearing that he would be taking his leave sooner than later was unexpected, though she trusted he wouldn’t leave her if she would come to harm.

It was then that what had only been previously hinted at was brought to light, lips brushing loosely at the base of Erasmus’s throat as she turned to face Takua. “He’s blind.” She realised aloud, following the sound of his voice in an attempt to seek out eyes as sightless as her own, and with it her curiosity towards the Primera increased tenfold. Despite his apparent disability, Takua was the best the king had to offer, and it only made sense that Erasmus thought it a good idea that she learn from him. But learn what, exactly? It wasn’t as if the man was going to teach her how to see.

******

636 words: 12 GP
Total GP: 55 GP

No, in many ways Takua couldn’t blame Erasmus for partaking of the fruit that was Mesablanca’s body.  That was, at least, what his grin and raised eyebrow suggested, even before his words further confirmed it.  Certainly she was beautiful, at least in profile…and until she could touch her, that was all he had to go on.  It was one of the downsides to being blind and only being able to see by echolocation…even if your standard of beauty changed just a touch, there was so much you simply couldn’t get by only seeing the outer shell.  Enough to interest him, but no more than that.  It was only a superficial definition of beauty.  Of course, it was also entirely possible that Erasmus was also interested in more than just her physical beauty, but Takua would need time to get to know her before he could guess about that. 
 
He was, however, amused to see his King so surprised by Mesablanca’s blatant declaration of what they did together.  At least the King’s companion could put a look like that on his face.  That alone made this whole visit from the two of them worth it to the Primera.  Not that he’d been any less surprised on the inside, it had simply fed into his amusement.  But one thing that was becoming rapidly clear was that Mesablanca didn’t have any of the social grace and skill that was…required to live with others of her kind.  She was either young or new to Las Noches, one or the other.  Similarly, she wasn’t terribly good with metaphors…her simile was crude, but efficient.
 
Rather like the woman, he supposed.
 
Maybe if he had Fraccion at all, then that would be true.  As it was, that was rather, well, not.  But it would suffice.
 
The Primera had wondered if he should let Erasmus know about the real reason for starting to delve into the science of gigai.  Now, as he watched a smile cross the King’s face at the same time that an unholy joy entered his heart, he knew he had had cause to worry.  Replenishing the gigai stocks with regular gigai was, all and all, a fairly benign project.  But there was very little that could be considered inconsequential or harmless about a project that could allow an Arrancar, or maybe even Erasmus himself, to infiltrate Seireitei with relative ease.  There were a great many things someone could do with that kind of ability…most of them on the side of bad.  But he’d said it, in part to give the man a bone and get him off his back from the private project in the basement.  Partly because he really did want to create that gigai.  And partly to see what the reaction was going to be.
 
And now…well, now it was too late.  The idea that he could somehow stop the research was worth only the barest consideration.  Erasmus knew enough by now to consider Takua’s memory top class.  Losing data meant nothing.  The only thing that might stop Takua’s research was if he determined it was, in fact, impossible.  Faking that was out of the question though.  In part because Takua really did need to make those gigai.  In part for the sheer interest in knowledge and research.  And because the Primera wanted to see what Erasmus would actually do with those gigai. 
 
He had been truthful so far, not stepping outside of the blind man’s moral bounds.  Takua didn’t trust him to stay there though, watchful for what this man’s agenda was.  What he proclaimed out loud?  Or was there another plan in the works that Erasmus didn’t talk about, didn’t want to give away to even his Primera?  It concerned Takua, but that was another reason to give him what he needed.  To see what he actually did when his plans ripened and bore fruit.  Which, in many ways, was really too bad…he had liked Erasmus a touch when they were both Arrancar.  As much as he could like any Arrancar that wasn’t like himself- as peaceful  as his race allowed and understand the value of life. 
 
Still, it would be interesting to see what their first mission would be, once Takua was completed with them.  It would be even more interesting if Takua could get in on it to understand exactly what was going on.  For now, he just acknowledged the dark grin that had spread across his King’s face and knew that something had changed, but whether it was for the better or worse wasn’t known just now.
 
Hopefully Erasmus would also agree that they should be kept away from common use.  If they were to be a weapon in the arsenal of Las Noches, then they’d be more effective when Seireitei wasn’t even aware of their existence.
 
This was, however, when they got to the final topic that the ruler wanted to cover.  Clearly satisfied with his Primera, he was now…giving him babysitting duty, if babies were instead very attractive women with soul-devouring habits.
 
…okay, so not bad.
 
A few million men and women would swap with him in a heartbeat, although a few might be a touch put off about that ‘soul-devouring’ part.
 
Still though, it wasn’t actually bad at all.  If he said he wasn’t interested in Mesablanca then he’d be lying.  It was only for the most superficial of reasons right now, because she too was blind, but that was okay.  When the woman herself finally realized what they’d both been hinting at, Takua couldn’t help but smile in reply.  “For about eight hundred and twelve years now, ever since I became a Hollow.  To be fair, I’ve got two more senses than everyone else, and my Pequisa is good enough to navigate the world on its own.  But yes, blind.  You’ll pardon me if I can’t compliment you on your apparent beauty nearly as well as Erasmus.”  The amusement in his voice would give the joke away to, at the very least, the King. 
 
As for Erasmus…a favor indeed, although it really wasn’t.  Takua was more than happy to make sure that someone who might have gotten herself into trouble didn’t.  He had a fair idea what kind of business the King might want to get up to…alliances, spying on Seireitei, finding more Arrancar and Hollow for Las Noches, protecting their kingdom…none of that, as he had said, really meant for taking Mesablanca along.  But the Primera was curious as to what he was really up to.  And…back when he had accepted becoming an Espada again, the man had said something about needing advice sometimes.
 
Maybe it was time to make an offer.
 
“It would be my pleasure to look after her for a while.  If your business takes you a bit, I might be done with the first phase of the gigai down below.  When you come back, if you want to take a look at what’s showable in my lab, maybe you can tell me a bit about what you’ve been up to?”  It was transparent, but the offer was there.  No matter what, though, surely Erasmus would come soon enough for the gigai that would let him easily infiltrate Seireitei, or maybe even somewhere else.  With a bit of luck, and avoiding the roadblocks that could so often accompany research, he could be done with data collection and have a working prototype in a few weeks.
 
Of course, Mesablanca would complicate that.  But she’d sleep some time, and Takua still had trouble with that.  So while she rested, he could take time to go down into his lab. 
 
WC: 1268 | GP: 25 | Total: 91

Mesablanca had, as usual, boiled everything down to the basics. Happiness was indeed a chemical in the brain and what a glorious chemical it was. The King himself was experiencing the intoxicating effects of that chemical as they spoke, as he felt the soft limbs of his concubine wrap themselves around him with the tightness of snake hungrily seeking fulfillment. The only thing that could tear her away from him and the only force he would allow to take her away from him was her own curiosity. As she uncoiled herself with surprise at the news of Takua's impairment Erasmus didn't flinch, only smiled as he recognized the wonder in her demeanor. As far as he knew she'd never met a fellow blind person before and wanted to understand it from the other side of the opaque glass.

A deep rumbling laugh, like the purring of some great feline beast growled from the King's gullet, Takua's little jape tickling his fancy as he realized the tragedy in the room with him. A smoldering emerald gaze flicked to the long legged beauty at his side before Erasmus returned it to Takua, commenting with as much charm as he'd ever managed to muster.

"Trust me Takua, if you could see you'd be murderously jealous of me right now." Walking, guiding Mesablanca back towards the door, as reluctant as he was to leave her alone and in the open without sight or anchor it was his next intention to leave. Taking hold of her hand, then her shoulder, her other arm, gradually untangling himself from her until their only physical connection was the hand always upon her shoulder, those guiding fingers.

"For now though I'll have to love you and leave you, you've given me a lot to think about Takua. I won't be too long, I should be back by tomorrow, but I'd very much like to go into these projects of yours in more detail once you're ready." Leaning in Erasmus pushed his lips to Mesablanca's ear, burying himself in the knotted nest of hair and whispering something unknown in the faintest of tones before brushing the nape of her neck with his mouth and allowing the contact between them to drift as he approached the door that they had entered through.

"Oh, and..." He turned, silver hair slicing the air. "If I find one bruise on her when I return...." The King smiled knowingly, allowed his words to hang and finish themselves before shutting the door.

[Words: 414][GP: 8][Total GP: 8]

[GP Reset due to claim]

[Exit Thread]

It didn't take long for Mesablanca to realize that Erasmus, and likely everybody else, laughed when they were happy. It wasn't an unpleasant noise; the way his tone came from deep in the throat like some kind of jungle cat, his chest vibrating with renewed vitality vibrating against her own frame in a way that could only be described as warming. The arm that enclosed her refused to let go until their parting was unavoidable, the chill settling in after its presence sending gooseflesh up her bare arms. Perhaps it was the man’s lack of Reiatsu that had her revel in his touch so much, the only aspect of him that proved he was real. Blind to the only true means of communication she had, his body mass and the reactions that flowed to her from it went a way towards bridging that invisible distance.

Since her late arrival in Las Noches and being greeted by its odd illusion of sunlight, the cycle of days, weeks and years had finally become something she could grasp. In retrospect tomorrow was hardly any length of time away compared to her centuries of solitude, but it would be the longest she’d left Erasmus’s side since he’d brought her in. Day by day, hour by hour, Mesablanca found herself needing to ask less questions, slowly but surely learning to dance to their tune.

Tact, however, was something she knew she would forever struggle with. The complexities that came with being a member of society something she was only beginning to get the nuances of, but the brunette knew the humid words breathed against the shell of her pierced ear were for her and her alone. A slight tilt of the chin was enough to let him know she understood his meaning, the vibrations of his footsteps fading to only a dull whisper of his presence as he left through the meandering hallways.

The possessiveness was real. As ignorant as she was to most things, the territorial instinct was something she did understand. She was part of Erasmus’s territory now, and for the time being, she was alright with that. The security was contentment in its purest form, and she wanted for nothing in his company. There had never been a time in her history where she’d ever been so doted on, so fulfilled.

And now here was since her inception, alone with this curious new stranger. Opal eyes blinked slowly, sooty lashes lowering and the skin of her jawline still tingling with the lingering sensation of Erasmus’s touch. He spoke of a time that no mortal and most Shinigami could never understand; she had no idea how old she was in the concept of linear years, only that they were one and the same. “Two more senses?” She pressed, tongue slipping into the native Spanish dialect that appeared lost in these parts. Erasmus was foreign to her in so many ways, seemingly uncaring towards their native tongue and somewhat confusing with his slang.

Beauty, she knew, was subjective. A sight she would forever remain blind to, and Takua was in much the same boat. The disability of blindness wasn’t a worry that had ever crossed her simple mind, but Erasmus whispered the word as if it carried so much meaning. Granted, she could understand the way he felt when he spoke much like she did everyone else, the vibrations and life force of everything that touched solid ground feeing back to her in subdued frequencies.

“Why do you serve the king?” She wondered aloud, pivoting to erase some of the distance between them that had grown when Erasmus had dragged her along as he left. “What fulfillment do Arrancar really get from being here?” The basic needs she could grasp, but it seemed as if Takua spent the majority of his time performing these obscene tasks with little reward to himself. Surely a meal and the comfort of heat and shelter was something the Primera could conjure on his own if he really was so strong and adaptable.

Sandy fingers reached out like spider webs, kissing the thin fabric of his clothing as she rubbed it between the callouses of her fingers. His reiatsu was as soft as the uniform he robed himself in, the feel of it not unlike oil slicked bath water as it flowed through her fingers. For a man so strong he was incredibly light and not at all intimidating, his posture built for speed and swiftness much like her own. Interesting, that this was the man who could dominate all others if only he simply willed it, and yet he was hardly a threat. The mix of human nature and hollow instinct was a tricky one indeed.

“How is it you came to be here?” She implored, head tilting with thick, unruly hair obscuring her glassy eyes from view. “Why aren’t you broken?”

******

814 words: 16 GP
Total GP: 71 GP

Tomorrow. Not long. But that was almost entirely disregarded in favor of the complete lack of attention to Takua's other words. The offer was there, and Erasmus had ignored it. Just as Takua had suspected he might. The words they had exchanged inside of the King's former castle...likely no more than fluff and hot air. If that was a lie, what else might be? Nothing yet...but there were good reasons the Primera did not trust his King. A chance was all he had given the man, a chance that Erasmus was beginning to burn through.
 
Not that that showed on his face. One of the only reasons why he'd accepted this position in the first place was so that he could keep an eye on the newest of the Broken, Obsession. So far, it hadn't paid off much. But by offering this tidbit, opening up a tool that Erasmus would want, Takua could get a glimpse into what he wanted it for.
 
But then the King was off. Departing with a warning of his own, leaving the Primera alone with Mesablanca. How would she react now that her patron was gone? How you behaved in private was different than in public, and now how would the King's companion act? Would it change, taking advantage of Takua's new directive to take care of her?
 
Apparently not.
 
Instead, curiosity. Wondering about the reference to his other senses. And then, more than that. Getting to the heart of an issue he wasn't sure, based on the few questions she'd offered so far, she would even have touched on. Intruiging. He wouldn't tell her the whole truth, he wouldn't tell nearly anyone the whole truth since it was a touch treasonous, but he could tell her some of it. “Two. The first is echolocation, locating objects around me through sound. It lets me see outlines, but little else. The second I developed only recently, perceiving reiryoku and reishi directly,” he replied to her first question as she closed in on him, her stance utterly peace, and...
 
Reached for him. Touched him. A truth about being blind that he should have known she would have shared...even for him, with echolocation, he still wanted to feel people. To touch them and thus know them. Mesablanca didn't have his gifts...and so was more reliant on that touch. It came quickly, and he let her hands roam across his body without interference. And in turn, he touched her. Slender, swift. Built like a hornet and as smooth as a rock worn by centuries of river water...except for her fingers, calloused and rough. Tiny marks across her body told the tale of a woman who had never felt the touch of regeneration and only too many battles. This was a gift, a way for him to feel like he truly knew someone's body...and until now he had only been given that gift by Amaya.
 
“I serve because I enjoy healing people. Plus, all of my experiments are downstairs, and I'd prefer not to leave them just yet.” That was all true enough. Maybe he should tell her the other part of why he was here...why he served as the King's blade. Not the part he couldn't, but the one he could. He smiled for a moment and then let his hand move up to cup her face in a move without sensuality, “But I also do it to keep an eye on other Hollows and keep them from being too cruel.”
 
Takua chuckled, somewhat amused by her questions...but glad to see her asking them. She was clearly intelligent to have asked them in the first place, but also clearly lacking a lot of common knowledge. The first, of course, was that he was easily the worst person to ask these things about. “I don't know why most Arrancar are here. Strength in numbers I suppose. Maybe they just want someone to lead them and follow whoever is strongest. Plunder, violence, murder and more...some of the previous rulers have given them all that.”
 
His smile grew a touch sadder, remembering that time years ago when he tore away his mask. She had asked Takua why he was here, and it all came back to a chance encounter with the man who became King. Tova Diablo. “I'm here because I promised someone I would be. Another Arrancar helped me transition from being a Hollow, so I came here at his request. I might have left, but I met someone...and became their friend and servant for a time.”
 
Her final question, though, was of a different sort altogether...and frankly, Takua wasn't sure what she meant. Her relationship with Erasmus could be a clue but...would he really have told her about that? Besides, he wouldn't refer to himself as Broken!
 
She hadn't stopped touching him, and regardless of its intent, there were only certain ways a body could respond.
 
Takua tilted his head as the hand on her cheek softened and continued to move, mapping her out. “What do you mean by broken?” He asked, unable to answer until she had clarified the question. There were simply too many things it could be to answer a vague question like that.
 
WC: 867 | GP: 17 | Total: 108

She understood the hypersensitivity well, humming her agreement as she drank in his words like nectar. His means of sensing the world around them were so much more sophisticated than her own crude means, no doubt trained by years of being in a world where such things were necessary. There were so many layers to this place she could give herself a headache trying to understand them all, and in some ways, she gauged the feeling Erasmus didn’t want her to. Of course, should she ask him directly he’d likely distract her with a harsh kiss, or laugh at her with one of those deep, vibrating laughs and ruffle her hair. The confusion still reigned.

The hand that splayed across her own skin in return was warm against the chill of the room, the texture and feel of it so different from the only man she’d known since her arrival. He was incredibly tall, his voice coming from somewhere up above her hair, echoing down to her and if she could touch it she would liken it to something soft and warm. He was as willing to give her information as she was to listen to it, his adams apple shifting with his words under the light press of her fingertips.

She’d once heard that other races thought them to be a monstrosity, like wolves cloaked in human form. But there wasn’t anything scary about Takua at all.

Somehow this enigma of a man wasn’t as confusing as he’d first appeared. Curious by nature, just like her, always observing and shedding light on that which he couldn’t see. Would she too end up the same way one day, obsessed with looking underneath the underneath? One day when she understood all that she needed to know, would she find herself only hungry for more?

“That doesn’t benefit you though, only others.” She was perplexed, unable to see why he would choose to put others before himself. It was an odd gratification to seek, truly, and everything about him just didn’t add up to the other hollows she’d met during her lifetime. But somehow they were here having this conversation, had both made their way to this obscure palace of dreams like many before them, and none of it would have been possible if not for the king.

But her final question gave him pause, the fingers brushing her jawline stopping briefly as he asked her to elaborate on a question that was anything but vague. Her own reflected the movement, taking in the shape of his face, the way his hair framed his brow, marvelling in how different he was to him, right down to his every molecule.

“You’re whole.” She tried to elaborate on precise question, finger tips dipping across the area where she knew his hollow hole to be, the irony of the movement lost on her blissfully ignorant mind. Observation was all she had, and she’d had the time and luxury of observing Erasmus from the rough texture of his hair to the tips of his toes. There was nothing remotely ‘hollow’ about the man, and yet somehow he was more primitive and mysterious than the rest. “Erasmus is not.”

“You call him broken, do you not?” She remembered every conversation they’d ever had, the first of which would always stick to the forefront of her mind like grease on a stove. Erasmus had described it almost as if it were some sort of ailment or condition, yet she had the distinct feeling he was almost proud of being what he was, as profound as that was.

“I can feel your presence, but not his. He’s a black hole.” She continued, attempting to keep her observations as eloquent as possible. Everything in this realm was made up reishi, even the skin and cloth that was pressed against her digits as she observed her new comrade. Nobody had been able to hide their presence from her before, not once. Erasmus just shouldn’t have existed. “Are there more like him? Why and how do you break yourself?” She wanted to know, and perhaps this new stranger would be the key to the lock Erasmus refused to give her.

******

703 words: 14 GP
Total GP: 85 GP

She was asking, in a different way perhaps, asking why he was so different. It was certainly a thought she had, he could see it imprinted on her reiatsu. Not the question inherent in her statement though. She wanted to know why he could consider healing others to be satisfactory to himself. Takua smiled, “I enjoy healing people. It brings me satisfaction to know that they no longer hurt, their wounds are healed, and they can continue to live. It's not terribly Hollow of me, but then, there's not a lot of me that's typically Hollow.” If it weren't for the hole in his chest that Mesablanca was about to poke at, or the mask over his face, he might not even be an Arrancar at all. A terrible Arrancar.
 
After what he'd done to Sekai, he couldn't agree with Erasmus about the other part of that sentence.
 
“I prefer to help people. Whether that's healing their wounds or preventing them from being hurt at all. It doesn't benefit me, no, but direct benefit isn't the only reason to do something.” Which was probably the problem. Most Hollows only knew how to serve themselves, to better themselves. They had no idea how to give of themselves to something else, something more, and not expect anything back. What Takua got from helping people was self-satisfaction...which was a reward on its own, he had to admit. But in the end, he could probably be stripped of his ability to feel that satisfaction and would still continue doing good. Because that was what was right.
 
But then she clarified her question, and Takua felt like he'd been hit by a lightning bolt.
 
Broken.
 
Of course, he chuckled a bit when she said that Takua was whole. That was a big, fat lie, but he supposed it was closer to the truth than not when compared to Obsession. His soul was fractured, yes, but that was like holding up a lightbulb next to the sun. One of those shone, yes, but the other was an eye-searing glare that threatened to boil your brain from your skull. So it was that his chuckling came to a rather sudden and shocked halt when she finished her statement. He wasn't sure what she had been referring to, but now there was no doubt at all...and he found himself in quite the peculiar predicament. Erasmus had just revealed he could hear all of Las Noches if he so wished to, and his presence still resided on this plane. Had he planned on this, to hear what Takua thought of the current situation...and what he'd say to Mesablanca? It was certainly possible.
 
He wasn't frozen for long, but there was time enough there to read something. Whether Takua would say it was another question entirely. “I see.” This was definitely not the topic he had envisioned, but it was the one he got. Might as well make the most of it and treat it seriously. “You are quite correct about some things. But you can feel him. Or, rather, could, if you had more power. It's a defense mechanism for souls whose spiritual pressure is far lower. If you didn't, you could be knocked out simply by being near him. In turn, you shut it out and refuse to perceive it.”
 
He didn't withdraw physically, but it was there nonetheless. The warm man that had welcomed her, traded out for someone who things things...and had been hurt by them. “You're right though, I do call them the Broken. I've seen four of them, and know of a fifth by reiatsu alone. Was there when two of them Broke. But I'm not sure why they did- I'm not even sure they know, to be honest. I do know what they are- and I know you should never want to be like them.” Never. Because in those minds of concentrated madness lay the potential for darkness beyond that of any mere Arrancar or human. Whether they actually did what they were capable of was another matter- and was why Takua was here. Watching Obsession, seeing what his aims were. And that was why he couldn't tell Mesablanca everything.
 
“They were...anything once. Shinigami, Arrancar, human, it doesn't matter. But they were driven to a breaking point, a moment where they could have...chosen something, I don't know what. But they made their choice. So they change themselves. The soul itself is rent, but everything follows that one blow. Their ideology, their power, what they care about. All defined by one word.” Obsession. Nothing. Hatred. Severance. All defined by the power that they had control over once their souls had broken into shards. Shards...purified shards. Cleared of everything but that one overwhelming drive. It was like their power came from the purity of their corruption.
 
Severance was given the choice as she lay writhing in the grip of madness. One lover dead, the other didn't come to see her. So attached to Tova she couldn't bear it. And in a moment she had cut both Erasmus and himself from her. Everything, perhaps, but her need for Tova. Obsession couldn't bear to lose his daughter...so he'd devoured her himself in order to 'keep her safe'. Horrible moments, horrible decisions. To be driven so far...why?
 
He didn't know. Nor did he know...and maybe never would...why such a choice would give them such power. Would transform their very souls along with their bodies. The same way, he supposed, that even people like him could achieve Resurreccion or Segunda Etapa...by being confronted by a choice and picking something. An answer that made sense for their souls. In the heat of a crucible, did someone become diamond or shatter? That seemed to be the only thread that bound it all together...but there was something different about the Broken. The choice was somehow...not the same.
 
Or perhaps it was something else entirely. Something beyond what he could consider with the facts at hand.
 
And then his tone brightened, the warm man suddenly back, “As it happens, I can erase my reiatsu if I want to. Well, not really erase. There are beings out there who really can't be felt. But I can suppress it enough so that there's...mmm, maybe one or two people in the world who could sense it. Would you like to see?”
 
WC: 1055 | GP: 21 | Total: 129

Without Erasmus to guide her hand at what was and was not inappropriate, Mesablanca found her digits wandering places that most would find uncomfortable. She knew that a hollow hole was a sensitive place for most of them, both emotionally and physically, and with no amount of care she let herself trace its edges, uncaring if she was tickling him or not. It was about the same size of her own and a few inches lower down, and the brief thought entered her mind as to why. A hollow hole represented their lack of heart, and her fingers formed a loose fist inside the hole as if to make a grab at what wasn’t there.

He didn’t have a heart. Of that she was certain. No blood coated her fingers, no organ beat beneath her fingertips, and she had to wonder why. The heart was something spiritually spoken about often, the anomaly that guided people to help others for no reason something that intrigued her to no end. It seemed ironic that Takua would be the one to answer her questions, when he had no answers of his own. He was always looking, always searching and forever wandering alone, just like her.

“You’re an odd one.” The words slipped from her lips like a vintage wine, rich and filled with flavour. He certainly was a being she had never had the grace of encountering before, another piece to the puzzle she just didn’t know where to put yet. Would he help her, should she find herself in need of it? She didn’t find herself doubting for a second, and the security of knowing that there was someone there that she didn’t have to work for was an oddly soothing one. It was an effortless gain on her end.

Was the chuckle that left him at the irony of his own existence, or hers? They were both small pawns in the grander scheme of things, a fact some found more bitter than most. A laugh was something that she had come to learn meant good things, happy things, yet the way Takua’s body froze under her palms spoke of something else entirely. It was all too confusing to process, and with a slight frustration of her own turning thoughts her hands slid around his neck to feel the texture of his hair, toying with the strands to distract herself, and him to some extent. Erasmus always did like it when she touched his hair.

But now it was her turn to stop and freeze, letting his words sink into her nervous system like liquid nitrogen. The prospect that one day, one day Erasmus and the broken could be so very real to her in every way was unfathomable. And yet she knew his words to be true somehow, that it was possible to feel them if only she had the mechanism capable of doing so.

“How do you get stronger?” She wanted to know. As strong as she was she couldn’t say she’d done anything in particular to become this way; there was no trick or gimmick to becoming as obscure as they were. As far as she’d known it had always been the natural order of the food chain and nothing more. Had the Primera too once been as weak as she?

Had Erasmus been as weak as them, once?

Takua’s explanation did little to sate her thirst, the proffered lip service as vague as Erasmus’s, yet she knew it was all he had. Even being there for their ascent into power had provided him with little answers. “What does it feel like?” She murmured, mind drifting in the other direction. “Erasmus’s reiatsu?” It was the one part of him she had never been able to touch or feel, the one aspect of his being that she needed the most.

It was odd, meeting a man who had a Prequisa more advanced than hers. But it was something that she welcomed, the idea of learning and expanding more upon her one true sight too delicious an opportunity to miss. The topic at hand even brought the light back to Takua’s voice, proving that he had no problem with sharing his secrets. It was refreshing, after being hidden away for so long, to see a man unafraid to voice his opinions.

”Erase it...completely? Like Erasmus?” The very thought of such a thing was almost overwhelming. The black hole in reality that had been his presence before was now something obtainable and understandable, the revelation lighting up her dead eyes like Christmas lights. He had her sold. ”Show me.”

Show her what it was like, show her how to do it. It was such an open demand that she clung to him tighter, pressing against his scalp with a desperation that could almost burn. It wasn’t often that something was able to get her quite so eager, but the desire to know was an uncomfortable itch she couldn’t reach.

Erasmus had been right when he’d left her to enjoy herself. The feeling was one she still didn’t quite understand, but the more free information she was given the more she was coming to understand.

What a prize she’d gained.

******

867 words: 17 GP
Total GP: 102 GP