Act 6: Meeting Between 2 Leaders

A million different things went through the Arrancar’s mind as he sat on the top of the hill, overlooking the city. While still in its scabbard, his sword rested against his shoulder, with one arm draped over it. The other hand was gently tapping at the smooth white bone-like material that made up the sheath, a soft whirring sound coming from within it. Cold, narrowed silver eyes stared out at the city, illuminated by the lights of the skyscrapers and street lamps. Dawn was breaking and the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon. A soft sigh passed his lips once he realized just how long he had spent awake, and in the human world nonetheless. However, as long as his fracción was still caught in the wretched other world, he wouldn’t dare step foot back in Hueco Mundo. The tapping got slower, more rhythmic as he sat there, almost awaiting something. So far each day since the arrival of the Shield, something odd or interesting has happened, and he just wondered what surprises this new day would hold. With that, he took another deep breath and sat back, resting against a piece of the old ruins of his once-grand village.

The woman ran a hand through her long brown locks, golden eyes staring straight ahead. She had been walking for around an hour now, just sending souls that got in her way, and warriors who tried to kill her. The woman was now following a different reishi signal, it wasn't very high, but it felt like it had potential... it was being supressed by choice. "I wonder who is giving of this energy? It would make an exquistete addition to the hoard." She made her way along at her own pace, soon making her way up the hill side, and spotting the commander there.

Slowly, the Commander let a breath out and his lowered his head, resting the side of it against the sheath. His eyes closed for a moment as he rested there, waiting. Someone was coming; he could feel them, while the sword in his grasp could smell their blood. Those silver hues of his opened and he stared at the sword for a moment, pursing his lips and flicking it. “What a pain…” He muttered to himself, referring to both the blade and to the presence he felt coming up the hill at the time. It was not completely familiar, but he did recognize the signature from the other day, when he first fought with Urz. Sage made a soft “ah” sound and smiled lightly, shaking his head slowly while he just sat there, sitting against the ruined, eroded structure of his old family house. This was one encounter he was unsure about; he wanted to meet with the leader of the group that was attacking their kind, yet he also wanted to keep his distance.

Whitney came to a stop, standing at least 6 metres from Sage and his old home. The woman held her Rapier in her hand; fingers curled around the hilt as she tilted her head. "You who are cursed, it would seem your time of judgement shall soon be coating you in a thick suffocating blanket of sin." she spoke in a soft childlike voice, yet it held an age of wisdom. The young woman took a step forward. "Let me save you and let god judge you."

When she came within view, the Arrancar lifted his head, just enough to catch a glance of the woman while she approached. Not bothering to raise his head any more to get a full look at her when she came to a stop, he just sighed and rested his head against the scabbard of his sword again. “I who is cursed?” He huffed, smiling slightly at the title. “You have no idea… but you too seem to have a bit of a curse dwelling over you” His voice was soft, gentle even, but it was hollow. It sounded forced. He let her continue, still not bothering to look up at her until she was finished, and only then did he turn his full attention to the woman. “Before you ‘save me,’ do you care to sit and speak with me for just a bit?” He asked, tilting his head slightly and watching her, staring at the sword in her hand. He could see the energy coming off her; see it molding the wind around her body into a fine layer of armor. That alone made him realize just how much of a challenge it was going to be fighting with her in the future.

Whitney glanced over at him her golden hues merely watching him. "Sit and speak?" She smiled slightly finding it amusing. Two souls had asked her that now. Let's speak.. or something along the lines of it. The woman shrugged lightly, she had spoken with Kaaru in a fight, so why not sit for a moment. Sitting down she rested her Rapier on her lap. "Perhaps you should amuse me, or I might just want to fight straight away." She awaited his words, her eyes keeping on him.

Silver met gold as he watched her approach and finally come to rest near by with her weapon still in her lap. “Hmm…” With a deep sigh, he just shook his head and rested it against the smooth material of the sheath, but still kept his attention on the woman. Just because he asked her to sit and talk, doesn’t mean he trusted her. That close, he wasn’t going to take his eyes off of her. “Amuse you?” He scoffed and glanced off for a second before looking back to the woman and frowning at the mention of her just outright fighting. “You are so willing to kill us off… do you know what will happen to all of our worlds if you succeed?” He asked in the same soft tone as before.

Whitney watched him her gaze holding his own quite easily. "Of course. As soon as you are all sent. We will have no need to fight anymore." The woman said lightly. "Souls aren't meant to pass into the human world, they should be dealt with if they cannot pass on. Such abnormalities should not be tolerated in this world of the living. You all have no place here." Her eyes narrowed, towards him, she did not move an inch. "This world will be saved by god. That's all we need."

For a long while, he sat and listened to Whitney speak. He learned of their reason for doing what they were doing and merely shook his head when she was finished. “We die and remain in this realm until we either turn into Hollow or are sent to the afterlife by the shinigami… staying here is never permanent.” His eyes narrowed slightly and he stared back at Whitney, tilting his head slightly and shaking it once. Everything about the girl’s logic was tweaked. “You really believe that, don’t you?” He asked, looking her in the eye and arching a brow. “You off-set the balance in any way and all three of our realms die,” he muttered simply, expecting her just take the warning as a bluff or just outright ignore it.

The woman watched him shaking his head. "heh." She narrowed her eyes, looking him over with slight interest in his words. "Why do you think we have sent every Arrancar, Shinigami, Vizard or pulse to the heavens hoard?" She looked pass him into the distance. "You will go there, and once you do, you will forever remain there as a normal soul. none of this cero and kido business. You will lose it all. Your energy will be used on this world, converted to keep it in tact. You will serve out Gods will there in the hoard." Her eyes shifted to him. "Once we use your energy to stabilize this world, the humans will be safe, from your evil."

“You’re quite daft… you know that, right?” He looked at her, narrowing his eyes a little once more before he leaned back against what was left of his old home. His eyes closed and he let out a soft sigh, allowing him to relax completely. “Being a normal soul?” He huffed lightly and shook his head, returning his silvery stare back to the woman. “You make it sound like a bad thing… even in life I didn’t have a normal soul, so it’d be good to actually know what it’s like…” He sat back, biting at his lower lip gently and shaking his head slowly at the woman’s words. “You don’t get it. Nor will you get it until you witness for yourself the destruction of that which you are here to save,” he whispered gently to the woman, while shrugging his shoulders, as if not caring.

"Then you must be as skilled as I thought. " She muttered closing her eyes. "You should be resting in heaven or hell, not here." She said, standing firm to her fathers words. "You arrancar, seem like you don't really care what happens to this world." She noted his shrugging of the shoulders, breathing out lightly. He seemed like he ddin't care, but perhaps it was just a ploy. She didn't really feel in the least bit worried her only goal was to fulfill her foster fathers lifes dream.


Simply shaking his head once more, Sage whispered, “I do not rest here, child, I come here to find peace…” His words were spoken softly, it was as if he were suddenly afraid to awaken the dead or disturb the sanctity of the ground they sat upon. He drew in another breath before exhaling just as slowly, looking down at the woman and giving the slightest of smiles. “I do care what happens, this is the place where I was originally born and… it makes me feel alive again.” He shrugged slightly then and looked off toward the city again, noticing the sun had risen fully during their conversation. “However, if I am to be sent to this Heaven’s Hoard of yours, what should I care what happens then? As well, you will not have to worry, for when you prove me right… I won’t be there to tell you, ‘I told you so.’” Sage just smiled and rested his head back against the bare-structure again.

"I see, for an Arrancar you seem to be to peaceful, especially considering the last one a fought. Filled with rage and determination even though she was close to death. Strange, I thought all arrancars were like her, but you seem much more different." The woman glanced around them at the ruins, the ruined house at his back. "It is strange that a creature with supposedly no heart can find such peace." She tilted her head. "So you were born here? There isnt much left now though." She noted giving a shrug. "My own village lies in ruins also." she looked down at her rapier and watched it silently for a moment. "hmm, If we are wrong, then we would have failed at half of our goal, but we would still have sealed the souls away."

Hearing her, he smiled lightly and just kept his eyes on the city. “I am not without rage, I merely know how to control it. Your friend Urz has seen a little of what I can be like,” he whispered, turning his head to look back to Whitney. “But it is only natural to feel angry when someone very dear to you is taken away,” he said, never taking his eyes off of her, or even blinking for that matter. For a while, he watched her, before simply smiling and shaking his head. “A lot of us Arrancar are like that, but… many of us have learned to be different. And we have tried to teach the others the same.” A small chuckle escaped the Arrancar and he lifted the sword, eyeing it for a moment, before he placed it on the ground beside him. “It’s even more unusual when one literally doesn’t have a heart,” he said, putting a hand up and tapping his chest, pushing into the material and showing that it was pushing inward; it was where his hole was located. “Yes,” he said, dropping his hand to his lap once more as he took a look around. “Three millennia does have that effect,” he remarked with a gentle smile before tilting his head and watching her, listening to her speak of her home. “Hmm…” He let his gaze fall away from her and bit at his lower lip, thinking of something, anything that would get Yuki back. “If you were wrong, is there any way… to bring them back. At least the ones that were put there wrongfully in the first place?” He asked, looking to her, genuinely hopeful.

Whitney rose to her feet slowly, her blade held low, and loose like she did not intend to attack, or at least right now, but then again, she did not really have to strike with a blade. "I see. Well then, is this control on the verge of falling apart?" she tolted her head smiling. "After all, I dare say you can hold it back forever. And when you do, everyone would be in danger." Whitney ran a hand through her long hair. "Someone dear to you?" Whitney smirked. "I hope you don't mean the orange eyed arrancar. "she warned. "Because I sent her there bleeding half to death. don't worry she wont die. Her wounds will never heal, and she'll always feel their pain." The woman looked up at the sky and breathed out. "So.... you have ... teachers you say? strange indeed." The owman looked back at Sage and frowned as he spoke. "Well if this world was destroyed, we'd die." She muttered. "And then the hoard would become considerably weaker, it will no longer have the life to drag the reishi from the souls... you'd get them back in the end, but the worlds would be destroyed. Along with yourself." A hand went down her shirt pulling up the hidden medalion. "Take a good look at this." She whispered. "This is what is keeping that woman, and everyone else in the hoard. But you wont be getting mine so easily... " She whispered as the air constantly surged around her. "It is also a lock to the hoard. One of five which need to be broken." She did not tell him anymore, that was all he would get about the medallion. "Although I do believe the vizards have stolen my journal... so I am sure oyu will find some useful infomation, which will prove to make our battle, all the more interesting."

While she rose, Sage’s eyes followed her, though he remained seated, he did lean forward a bit and cross his arms on his knees. His gaze once again met hers when she spoke and he just smiled slightly, knowingly. “Either way, whether I keep in my anger or unleash it, everyone around me is in danger…” His voice almost sounded sorrowful, sad that he had to admit such a flawed existence. With a deep sigh, his gaze fell to the ground once she began to speak of Yuki, narrowing those silver eyes. “Yuki…” he whispered to himself, but bit his tongue and went silent once more while he listened to her, still not looking up at her in fear of showing some sort of resentment or sadness. “Not really… we just try to show the others that there are other ways to solve a problem than to swing a sword at it,” he replied. While she explained what would happen, he just sat there, shaking his head. Eventually, his hands went up and he cupped them around his face, shaking his head still before looking back up at her. “There is no way you can let some of the souls leave without breaking them?” He asked, looking at the medallion when she showed it to him. It was awe-inspiring, he had to admit, but knowing just what it stood for created a conflicting feeling within the Commander. Hearing her present the challenge, he just gave her the slightest of smiles. With that, he got to his feet, but did not bring his sword up with him. He moved a little closer to the woman, looking down at her and narrowing his eyes. Sage watched the air surge around her, but also stared into her eyes. “There is no other way than to break them?” He asked simply, waving a hand and dismissing the last remark she made. “You wish to continue this war, even knowing what I have told you… You are more foolish than I could have ever expected.”

Whitney watched him and smiled. "I see, never thought I'd hear the day of the arrancar becoming so friendly. No matter, you will all meet your fate." She raised her sword lightly, dropping the medalion under her shirt once more. She smiled lightly at him, looking oer the wind. "Well now.. trying to figure out a way to get past my armour?" She whispered shaking her head. "being foolish is an undestatement. This goal is madness..."

“You probably won’t for a long time after I die…” Sage gave a simple bow of his head and smiled at the woman after his response, but soon returned to that placid faced demeanor while he looked down at her. When her sword was raised through, his attention shifted to it instead, and he pursed his lips slightly at the sight, only to return his silver eyes to her golden hues. “Try to figure out a way past…” He huffed and just smiled down at her, while a hand went up. For a moment, it looked like he was going to try and hit her, before slowly lowering it on her shoulder. The wind ground away at his flesh and even started to fray the material of his uniform’s sleeve, but he was actually touching her shoulder, his grip gentle but firm. With that, he leaned forward a bit and whispered into her ear, “You are way in over your head here, Whitney…” He backed off and clasped his hands together behind him. He simply shook his head at her last remark and turned to go retrieve his sword. “You should leave, Whitney,” he whispered gently, leaning over and grabbing the sword by its scabbard before standing straight and turning to face her, while he slipped it back into place at his hip.

Whitney frowned at him as his hand went up. "heh.." In that short moment she felt his hand on his shoulder and immediately her eyes widened. "how...?" She looked up at him, slightly shocked. Her wind shield was like countless blades running through the air and he had passed through with ease. ~He must be truly powerful~ she smiled, this time she actually might need to tune into more souls from the hoard. "You say I am over my head... but I say, oaths are eternal." The woman lowered her blade as he turned to face her. "Very well .. I will let you go this time, but next time, it will not be so easy... and one of us, will surely meet their doom." Whitney turned on her heels and began to walk off, someone that was stronger then her own strength. She’d merely use the hoard to fuel her, and she would defeat the Arrancar King, or die where she stands.

The shock that came with him being able to just touch her shoulder was nothing short of amusing. He couldn’t help but smile at the reaction, though only did so while his back was turned. He was not going to risk a fight on those hallowed grounds. When he turned to look at her, he seemed to be frowning a bit, more so to her words though than to cover up his past feeling of accomplishment. “I would not expect anything less from the leader of the Shield,” he replied, once again dipping his head into a slight bow. He watched as she turned to walk away, smiling slightly again but shaking his head. That was not how he expected their time to go, but it did end a little better than he initially expected. At least they were both still standing and in one piece. However, as he looked down at his hand and watched as the scraped-away flesh began to grow back, he could only wonder just what the woman was capable of. His attention lifted to her and he watched her head off, moving to sit back down in his previous spot and continue his rest.