Chapter 6: Polka Dot Tail

"My name is Cyan Sung-Sun, Mistress Harribel. The only part of my name that I remember when I was alive are my initials. Which is C.N."

So I was telling the truth in its entirety. One cannot have pride in telling the truth when one lies or omits information after all, that was elementary.

She raised her brow. "C.N? Did you name yourself Cyan after that? In honor of what you lost?"

A fair question. "No, My Lady. Though I'm sure it sounds like it, this is the name that felt most natural to me."

"Natural huh?..." She studied me, her gaze seemed intense, so I lowered my head and listened to the tinkle of my beads. Anime characters typically did this sort of thing.

Wait...what's an anime character? And why do I feel complimented when I consider myself one?

But those thoughts didn't matter as she didn't do or say anything else. She probably just reflected on the lack of memories all Hollows have. I myself only knew of my prior life's initials and nothing else besides that.

"You can rest now, I can tell you haven't slept for a long time. Don't worry, I can, and will, protect you. You don't have to worry about being attacked, I will protect you with all my power, and even my life."

I couldn't understand that sentence. It was an incomprehensible set of words strung into an alien sentence. I could not comprehend it even if I mulled it over for years. And as I stared at her I'm pretty sure that she too had figured that out.

She turned away from me and moved onward to find her own spot to sleep in. And I stayed up for a few minutes longer before succumbing to sleeps beckoning call.

For once I felt...safe.

Only Gillians didn't require any sleep. All others clearly did, even Vasto Lordes. Who I imagined to be free from it due to their awesome power.

This was the only time sleep was a big thing, every other time I just murdered everything in a kilometer of me. Hmm...wait a minute...was that why I had such trouble when it came to finding and eating Adjucha?

No...surely not.

Strangle To Death, Anaconda!

Every other day we went out and did nothing but wander around and beat down the morons that thought it was a good idea to attack a Vasto Lorde of My Ladys capabilities, and myself, the most powerful Adjucha around.

A small voice in the back of my mind worried that she might forbid me from eating. I noticed that she didn't eat, and I recalled how she destroyed that one Adjucha surrounded by Gillians, leaving me with nothing to eat, but it seems she had no qualms about my doing so and partaking in the power of the Hollow evolution cycle.

So I tossed my head back, listening to the beads as I swallowed an arm the size of a puny human. Shouldn't she be eating? It was extremely abnormal behavior from a Hollow, even a Vasto Lorde ate to satisfy the appetite that all Hollows had right? Or was she a unique one?

Quite frankly the only problem was that Lady Harribel eviscerated everything that she came into contact with. All that was left was the Reishi that composed their bodies.

All that attacked were Adjuchas and I slowly came to realise that things did not get easier the higher you were up the chain of evolution. It was even harder to evolve incredibly enough. I couldn't count the amount of Adjuchas that I ate, every single month I ate at least two. And sometimes...not even the full meal.

She stopped me from hunting them down and devouring them.

Fascinating since I barely found Adjucha where I was before. But I suppose it was just the environment I was in, this was a completely new place I was in. Not that a stranger to Hueco Mundo could tell.

I...guess I was just directionally challenged. Even my ability didn't help, so much range after all.

Lady Harribel didn't even attack when she knew I could handle it, she preserved my food and didn't mention my devouring of our foes. Even though she seemed against it and never partook in eating her own opponents. Just destroying them with her blade and leaving noting to eat for herself, or me.

It wasn't long until the first time she let me fight a group by myself that she had any idea of what my powers even were. I took too long in killing them and one of the fools cried out in their final moments about how I drained their power and added it to my own collective. The pest that somehow figured that last part out was spot on in every educated guess of his. Even being aware of my poisonous smog upon him and his merry band of dead people. It still didn't save him, but he unraveled every single aspect of my powers to Lady Harribel. He couldn't unravel their weaknesses, not that it had one, and not that it mattered since Lady Harribel was aware of it now. I knew she would figure it out at some point. If she asked I certainly would have answered truthfully. I just wasn't sure to get over the initial shock of how she now knew.

But as it turned out she didn't have many questions about my power, any potential limits, and questions she had asked about when she compared my own ability to that of others she recalled meeting. I answered back without hesitation, except when she asked questions I could only theorise about. She did not ask many questions out of respect for me. At least, I thought it was respect. It might have been care. Or something else, I couldn't tell.

But one day I did ask a question I already knew the answer to, in order to proposition one of my most useless skills to her. A skill I had thought so useless that I never even thought about it up until now.

"Lady Harribel. Why do you not eat?" I asked in a "naïve" manner.

The moon shone over us. It was a rare moment where we were outside and resting. It was a long day of Hollow killing and we weren't close enough to our home to rest there.

As we sat in silence I found myself staring at her. There was just something calming about...staring at her as she sat there, cool and collected. Like she always was, I closed my eyes and rubbed my body a bit more into the sand that I was relaxing on, rubbing myself against what felt like grains of silk. If she didn't want to answer then I'd just have to find another way to ask in the near future.

Eventually she spoke, making me look up. "I don't want to become stronger by the power I would gain by sacrificing another being. If I can't win by myself...then I'll have to rely on the power of a group."

Excellent.

"I see...my Lady Harribel. There is...a way for me to help you. If you're...interested?" There we go. That will grab her attention.

"What are you talking about?" She finally turned to look at me from her position.

"Its...a hidden feature of my powers Master Harribel. I can take, as well as give. You're right in that my powers are more inefficient than others when it comes to draining, the fact I keep the drained power forever is enough, but I can also give it to others." I stared at her as we were both silent. "Master Harribel. If you desire my power then I would gladly give it to you, My Lady."

My power wasn't efficient at all. But nobody kept the power that they took, and only absorbed power under various circumstances. Even mine did. Taking only *potential* power rather than utilised power.

Serpientes Veneno Inexistente was a power made to combat *Shinigami.* Hollows were much harder to use my ability against.

In a fight against Hollows I had nothing to draw from unless they were caught unawares or didn't put everything into the fight. Against a Shinigami the thing to draw from was rather obvious...the Zanpakutō.

But the average Shinigami was no easier than the average Hollow. No, it was the stronger ones that were needed, without them my Serpientes Veneno Inexistente had a much harder time working. The Zanpakutō Spirit had yet to be fully manifested. Fully realized. And unless it was, drawing from them was much harder and less lucrative. But if they were realized to the point Shikai or even Bankai was *possible, then it was made all the more easier.

It didn't even need to be something the Shinigami knew how to do. After all...

The Zanpakutō had to *give it* to them. The Shinigami didn't need to be found worthy. The Zanpakutō Spirit just had to be mature enough. Hmm...hope I kept the bloodthirsty smile of my face.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Serpientes Veneno Inexistente was that it unknowingly gave me another ability too. The ability to transfer.

It used the very sub-dimension manipulation abilities it used to touch Zanpakutō Spirits and could travel to another and actually donate Reiryoku. So using this, I could-...I stared at her as she looked at me for a few seconds, before she turned back to look at the sands and distant rock mountains of Hueco Mundo.

"No thanks. You keep it."

I reared back. Shocked and speechless until I found the words.

"But, Master Harribel! This is power that comes off of the sacrifice of absolutely no one at all! So why? Why would you not take it!? I'm more than willing so why-"

"Because it is your power, obtained by your own hands. And I know that you're obtaining it for your own purposes. I've seen maddened desperation for powers own sake, and you don't possess that same lust for power." I looked at her in askance. I quite clearly remember my time before being an Adjucha, when I was suffering a bout of madness. "It's because you always look to me before eating those we defeated." Now I reared back in surprise, I didn't notice I even did those things, but looking back on everything, I realised that I faintly remember doing such things, multiple times even, before we did it enough times that I got an unconscious go ahead. And then I tried to recall how long we've been together for me to forget something that should have been so recent in my memory.

Was it...years? For how many? How long was I stuck here in this cycle?

But then...

Where was Mila Rose? Apacchi?

Shouldn't those two goons have showed up by now? I...were they even alive?

My lower body pressed itself further into the sand as I worried over them. Was I just going insane?

I had been having odd dreams lately. Of filthy Shinigami wearing tatty Hollow masks and gaining power. Even worse was the image of some smug blue haired *nobody* with a Zanpakuto, and he had a cracked mask...I shook my head as I focused on the meat of the matter. Mila Rose and Emilou Apacci were always portrayed as being right next to me. Were all these things just dreams? But all those Kido and Bankai I saw...

No...that didn't matter. None of those did.

"Miss Harribel might I...compare the Reiatsu between you and I? As you know the only way I can do this is by casting my Serpientes Veneno Inexistente upon you. Of course I'll cast it only for a second and do my best to avoid taking any-"

She closed her eyes. "Of course. I don't mind. I'll get it back after all."

"Yes, My Lady."

I casted my ability out for a second and compared.

"I see..." I opened my eyes and looked at her. Sitting calm and composed upon the sands.

I couldn't help but hang my head in shame.

She replied. "Yes. You wouldn't exactly be giving me a great deal. Although that ability of yours has likely been active constantly, the divide between Adjucha and Vasto Lorde is just too great. You couldn't even give me a quarter of my own Reiryoku." She opened her eyes to look in the distance. "A thousand Hollows could not stand up to a Menos Grande. Neither could three dozen Menos Grande kill an Adjucha. It sort of goes on like that. Although you've been using your ability to its maximum potential, you won't come near to surpassing the border between Adjucha and Vasto Lorde on that alone." She looked at me through the corner of her eyes. "Although, the thought is appreciated, Sung-Sun. That most of all, is why I can trust you so much."

I ducked my head and smiled. I also...well...I can't blush, but I could try. "A-ah, thank you, Lady Harribel!"

She huffed in turn.

We were silent for a while after, me fiddling with my beads by tilting my head as I puzzled over how to approach what I wanted. So in the end I decided on a subtle approach.

I slithered forward and waited for a bit.

Maybe a bit more? I slithered just a bit more.

I laid my head on the sand and waited. Hmm...yes, one minute would do, that would ease her suspicions. I closed my eyes as I moved my head forward even more, my body shape helping me to do so. I waited for a minute and moved forward again.

"Cyan? What are you doing?" I froze and flicked my forked tongue as I squeezed my eyes shut. Hmm, I was close. "Cyan?" I moved forward a fair bit more. "Sung-Sun? Why are you...?" I started to slowly coil myself. "Sung-Sun? I can't see." I stopped. I moved forward at a much quicker pace and rearranged my body. Making things more comfortable. "Thank you."

I rested right next to Master Harribel on the sands of Hueco Mundo, no longer having blocked her vision and successfully having wrapped myself around her and warming up the both of us. Temperature was a little odd in the land of Hollows.

Which made it an excellent excuse to cuddle up to her...completely, wrapping myself around her in all sorts of...intimate places. But not uncomfortable places. I realised how uncomfortable it would be to have my large body on her breasts or neck, no matter how I longed to do so, to place my head against her welcoming bosom. But...I simply could not do so. It was not a matter of social matters, I got used to premier levels of socialism in this world. The whole kit and kabodle of "I'm gonna kill you" or that whole humorous moment where people traded some lines and got embarrassed or smug. No, my social capabilities were ashamedly stunted after talking to ghosts for so long. No, It was because...

My head is too big.

Embarrassing I know but it was the truth for now. Up until...well, if my dreams were right then that wouldn't be resolved until Aizen appeared and granted me my "Arrancar" form, I wouldn't rip it off since one line in the Bleach anime was stuck in my mind. That the natural Arrancar's were supposedly inferior to the ones created by the Hōgyoku. And I do want the power of a wish making marble on my side, even if only for a moment. Of course, that was dependent on my dreams being grounded in reality.

And I would have it. Especially since I already had all the time to approach this subject with my Master. And although I didn't want to do it, I would leave the handmaidens Mila Rose and Apacci out of the plan. Those two ridiculous hotheads would only ruin everything Master had aimed to achieve, and I wouldn't allow some no good louts to interfere with our plan! Our plan which was!...Not so well thought out at all. I had no idea what specifically he could do. Lady Harribel also didn't actually know about any of this at all either, I had yet to tell her of my weird dreams.

Of course, that was what I would do. If Lady Harribel deigned otherwise then I would follow in her lead. I'd even tell them the full story.

I do remember he saved Lady Harribel from some blue reject that pushed her around without much of a scratch, all with just a single cut. And I faintly recall him blocking Ichigo's Bankai with just a fingertip. A Bankai that seemed to be focused completely on compressing all his power in a fine, small blade, and not just his sword either. It raised his personal power more than most others did, if I recall directly. So much power...damn him! And damn me for being so pathetic that I had to rely on the muscle head hero to take down Aizen.

Truth was when push came to shove I had no idea of what to do at each point in time. Fake Karuka was my gambit. I recall with excellent detail how Ichigo got a time dilated training trip where the "Cleaner" would show. I remember that occurring once only Ichigo was capable of putting up any resistance, since everyone else was gone. As for telling Barragan about this plan...that could never happen. Not in a million years, I knew we might need him, even if I wanted him dead for My Lady to take the throne. But...we really needed his powers if we were to muster a backstabbing attempt that stood a chance. But still...the stupid things he could do if we told him? No, I wouldn't risk it, even if he was my favorite character I would have to spring on the idea of betrayal right when Hachigen Ushoda showed his round tubby face.

Any sooner and...well. The results would be too unpleasant to think about.

Strangle To Death, Anaconda!

I felt a hand on my neck. Going back and forth on my clean scales, free of sand. Only one could do this, I was being caressed by a tiny and pure hand.

"Harribel..." I sleepily murmured her name.

"Yes, Sung-Sun?"

"Do you have dreams?" She was silent for a long while. I opened my eyes and drank in the scenery, we weren't attacked. Bit of a dice roll when it came to it, my dreams even showed me the absurd image of some tall Hollow having attacked Apacci and the rest of us. Hollows weren't the best at gauging their opponents power as you might be able to tell.

"Hmm, I suppose not. Whatever I might want from this world...I'm confident I'll get it."

Hmm...well that's not what I meant.

"I...see. It's just that my dreams have been a little odd." Better ignore the lackluster response. Huh? Wait, no! This is my chance to woo her! "Of course my dream is rather simple in nature Lady Harribel. I want to stay by your side and make you happy!"

"Oh? And what were they prior?" Damn. But I gazed at the distance as I thought about that, and I found myself being quiet for a good while.

"Hmm, I don't know. I suppose I endeavoured to become strong, like any other Hollow. But...a part of me feels like it longed for this. I don't know how to say it, but I suppose it feels like I've beaten my cynicism by meeting you. Yeah, I suppose I wanted to meet someone like you."

She looked at me before closing her eyes in what seemed to be humor. "I see. I've never been so praised before, I'll take those compliments to heart Sung-Sun."

"Ah, please do My Lady!"

She opened here eyes and made contact with mine. "So, you want to tell me about your other dreams?"

"I don't think I did dream before, I get the feeling it's a recent thing. But they have been very unusual to say the least. I see you from an odd perspective, and you're different."

"How so?" She raised her brow at me, and I tilted my head down in thought.

"Your mask is gone. At least, a fair part of it. Only the mouth and jaw seems to be covered, and you're dressed differently, with a Zanpakutō of all things."

"I see...odd dreams. Are you imagining what we'd be like as Shinigami?" I looked up at her.

"Well...I haven't given much thought to it, but I imagine two others are working for you along with me. I also imagine what the capabilities of other Zanpakutō might be." I couldn't help but look away from her in embarrassment. "But...now that you mention it..." Oh god, I really couldn't help but think about it now.

Wouldn't it be grand?! The Fourteen Court Guard Squads! With THREE Vice-Captains in a love triangle, all vying for their commanders love! Yes, and little Momo would be scared, and I could lord over Renji and smash his face in the dirt and take his Bankai clothes. Not only that, but I could drink! I could have something other than blood, meat, and bone for breakfast! I could molest Rangiku Matsumoto herself with these fine hands and slender body! And Rukia! Just thinking of how that loli will act when she sees us! Us fully grown women! Ohhh...and the Captains. Maybe I could do up Mila Rose's hair like Zaraki's! And Emilou would be the bitchiest law enforcer around, trying ineptly to work with her betters in the Second Division!

Yes! If I had hands, I would be doing something! Salute! Raise the fist! Beat a bitch! Just imaging all the cool stupid shit that could happen made me smile! Curb stomp a vampire today! Watch Shūsuke Amagai get bodied by Emilou and her just as inept colleges. And maybe even date Izuru! I'll pass men in my love life, but I think a dour and strong man like Kira could be an exception. And then stitch-for-face would get all jealous and try to copy him to woo Rangiku, and we two can laugh at him as we drink! Oh fine dining here I don't come! But picturing Emilou stuck in the boonies and bossing people around in some shack in the middle of nowhere has appeal.

Shame none of it's real.

But I knew what I'd be dreaming about for a long time to come...

My Mistress started to speak as I ended my daydream prematurely.

"...They say three's a crowd. Is there any particular reason for the specific details? I already made it clear that I don't want to succeed on the death of others, but with others."

She looked so spectacular. She hadn't even moved, but the words she said made her seem...Godly. She was like a solemn painting of royalty. I stared without shame for a few seconds, drinking in the words and thinking of her. Eventually I gathered my wits and recovered enough to speak. "Ah, well, it's just that my dreams are so substantial. They show me with arms and legs!" I pushed my face towards her a little to emphasize that. "And you even fight a pint-sized Shinigami Captain!"

"Is that right?" She gave me one more stroke across my head.

"Yes, and his Bankai uses ice to attack. It's rather gaudy."

"Oh yeah?...Anything else?"

"Well...nothing of great importance I suppose. My dreams are like an out-of-body experience. I'm always forced to watch something at a specific angle, and it comes across as some kind of show. Mostly in the way people act and how it looks."

She was silent for a while. "I see...is that all?"

"Well...I guess I'm just concerned. It feels less like a dream, and more of a premonition. And...there's this unpleasant feeling in my stomach, like a soul is writhing about. I guess it's just too consistent, nobody has their dreams be consistent after all. All the details are the same, details shouldn't carry over to another dream."

"I see." I turned to look back at the horizon, but dunes of velvety sand blocked my view. I charged a Cero as she spoke. "So you keep the same characters and powers? That is unusual." I fired. Watching the brilliant pink beam vaporize the horizon.

"Yes. Tōshirō Hitsugaya , Byakuya Kuchiki, Soi-Fon, Kenpachi Zaraki, Unohana Retsu, and an odd duo; Aizen and Gin Ichimaru. Each of them is a Shinigami Captain, although...I'm not sure about those latter two."

"Oh?" I stared at the distant Cero I fired off, turning my gaze to the tidy horizon once it escaped my vision. "And you recall their abilities? Sung-Sun, do you mean to tell me that you dream the future?"

I turned my head to the side, trying to escape her gaze. I felt too embarrassed to look at her when it was said like that. "I guess. It's just that I remember them like a slideshow. All these little details I know about people I haven't met yet. Like Kenpachi taking hours to do his odd hairstyle, and how he doesn't have a Bankai but kills someone called Nnoitra Gilga. How you seem to trust Aizen, only for him to strike you down. How a Substitute Soul Reaper called Ichigo kills Aizen. How we all become something called an Arrancar and gain a Zanpakutō, two others seeming to share my position called Emilou Apacci and Franceska Mila Rose. I even remember Barragan dying!"

I was confused by the sudden look she sent me. "Barragan? Die?"

"I remember it was Kidō that did it to him, some orange glow within him. I think there was something in it, but I can't recall."

"...What did Barragan look like?"

"Like a skeleton with a purple cloak and massive axe, why?"

She stared at me intently. "You've never seen him before..." The atmosphere seemed to change around us. "And yet...you described him perfectly apart from the axe. Who else Sung-Sun?"

And so I told her everything and felt the weight lift from my scales. Shedding my knowledge felt as good as shedding my skin. I told her everything from my dreams.

Every Captains name and the capabilities of their Zanpakutō, every Arrancar and what their Resurrección could do. Not a complete list, I named every Captain, but had no idea what Unohana's Zanpakutō did, along with some others. But at least they had the either the first or second release being known.

I also couldn't name one Captain. That's fine though, if I couldn't remember him then they couldn't be worth remembering at all.

I also listed every..."plot point" that I could recall.

Ichigo and Aizen's fight, The Hōgyoku and it's many properties and barriers, first being Rukia, second being a barrier by Kisuke Urahara, and third being Aizen himself. He absorbed it and cherished it, making it's capture by us impossible until he died.

I explained the timeline of events as my limited dreams told me. Ichigo Kurosaki and his relevance in the dreams that I had, Ulquiorra Cifer's Second Resurrección, and more. But then she interrupted me.

"Wait." I stared at her for a few seconds before she got her composure back. "Back to Barragan...was he able to hit his attackers?"

I puzzled over my memories. The answer was yes, but...that was Soi-Fong. Why would this matter? "Yes, but...it wasn't the Kido caster that got hit, he was chubby and had a stupid haircut."

"I see...it doesn't matter if it was him that was hit. Doing that would only kill the caster, so he must've...I see...so Baraggan isn't invincible against his own power." My eyes widened at that, I went to get a word in before she continued speaking. "How quickly the tides turn. Well, as long as I deliver my tainted water to him then I can kill him..." She looked straight to the ground, seemingly doing so despite her amazing chest. "How important is he Sung-Sun? Can we kill him now?"

"Well, I know he wants to kill Aizen. As I recall, Sōsuke had forced him to co-operate with him by threatening him."

She mulled over those words before speaking up again. "So he'll fight for us against the man that betrays me." She stared past the valley of that amazing, luscious chest of hers. "Then I'll need to do something, but what? He'll die the moment he gets touched by his own power. So how do I?...Sung-Sun, what's the time frame, how long do we have before all this happens?"

"I don't know." I put my head down in shame, disappointing My Lady was never a good feeling. And I began to wonder if I could have a chest like that too.

I heard the sand shift, the tail decoration she had sifting through the sand, I looked up and saw her looking at me. "Are there any markers for what's happening?"

"Only when a loser attacks us at our own base, then Aizen appears and tries to earn your loyalty and trust by saving you."

"So that's why I'd trust him...Sung-Sun, would you have told me someone would attack our home if I disregarded this?"

I could feel my "brows" furrow.

Hard to describe what your "eyebrows" were when you were a giant man-eating snake.

"No?" Confusion was audible in my voice. "Why would I?" I tilted my head without moving it. "You'd deign it to be a dream, and if you believe it to be so, then it must be a dream."

She looked down with frustration evident on her features.

I hoped it wasn't my body language that made her that way. Without the typical facial features I had to make sure to curb my typical behaviors, such as not moving my head whilst tilting it. To anyone other than a snake who could understand the move, my gesture could come off as insulting. When it came to Lady Harribel's additional helpers I'm not so sure I'd hold back on my body language though...

In truth it wasn't body language. The truth was Tier Harribel wanted to admonish Cyan Sung-Sun. But found she couldn't do so, she could see herself disputing it. Besides, it would be mildly hypocritical to do so considering she trusted Aizen. But Harribel was unchanged in her stance to life despite this revelation. Half-heartedness wasn't something she'd ever do, even with the knowledge of what may have been tucked away in her heart, she would still follow her principles even if it brought her pain.

Harribel spoke again. "Sung-Sun, does this guy have a cracked mask when he attacks us?"

"I think so? I didn't really bother remembering him. He was just an ugly blue eyesore, so I forgot him."

"I see, then I suppose since I've become a Vasto Lorde then I better become an Arrancar." I prepared to slice my mask off when I heard her yell.

"Wait! Stop! You can't do it! There are...benefits to having Aizen turn us into Arrancar." I lowered my Pata.

"Is that so? Alright then." Her fist clenched. An Arrancar attacked her huh? No. Not just her, but her allies and comrades. Cyan Sung-Sun, Franceska Mila Rose, Emilou Apacci. All people who decided to work with her out of the goodness of their heart, assaulted by this man.

There was so much to plan for. "Sung-Sun. Who's the strongest?" She knew of names and abilities, but perhaps there was something more solid.

"Coyote Starrk, then Baraggan, then you, and Ulquiorra. All in that order, with six people below you all."

I looked at her, her Hollow mask still fascinated me. It was a rare one that didn't cover the face at all. "All in that order? Starrk is stronger than Baraggan and so forth?" Interesting. Who was Starrk?

"Yes, you're all numbered. One through ten I believe. Nnoitra Gilga is the fifth Espada, Grimmjow being the sixth, Zommari being seventh, Szayelaporro Granz being eighth, Aaroniero being ninth and some pitiful idiot called Yammy being in last place."

I responded. "Are any of the one's below me any threat? What are their chances of defecting? Ulquiorra and Starrk especially?"

Cyan seemed to puzzle it over. "Ah, no. They're all quite pitiful, like Shinigami graduates in comparison to you. But I know Ulquiorra is a hard-line supporter of Aizen, at least, it seems to be that way. He did keep his second form a secret. And Starrk is there for friends, Convincing him is possible, but I don't know how you'd do it. I think there are cameras in Las Noches too. I know it can be manipulated in some fashion after Aizen gets his hands on it."

Her fist gripped the sand underneath her. So many avenues of betrayal cut off, and direct confrontation was suicide. If Aizen could drop her in just a single hit when she was the third strongest of these "Espada" then it was hard to say how all of the Espada would fair against him even if they worked in perfect harmony, of course, looking at Sung-Sun...

Hmm...It wouldn't be good, or honourable for whatever the latter mattered. But three more Vasto Lordes would help. And maybe there was a situation he might be vulnerable.

"Sung-Sun. Is there anywhere he'd be vulnerable? Is he surrounded by enemies who can resist him at any point in time?"

And does it even matter? Resisting Aizen's Zanpakutō was a daunting task to undergo. But that wouldn't stop her.

And that was when Tier Harribel finally pieced together the significance of Karuka Town. Home to a last resort, and where Aizen would be surrounded by Shinigami according to Sung-Sun. But the Substitute Shinigami, the last resort, was all Harribel was focused on.

Humans lived short lives, and if she could find Ichigo Kurosaki quickly enough, then that was all she needed. But was it better to wait? After all, it'd be far more convenient to have more backup to ensure that stealing Ichigo Kurosaki's power didn't come with any grave costs. Finding and introducing Ichigo Kurosaki to Cyan Sung-Sun's Serpientes Veneno Inexistente would greatly accelerate her partners evolution.

"Only we would incur casualties from this. But there's not many in the human town capable of stopping us. And it may serve us well to know our future enemies...yes, we'd need all the help we can get, Ichigo Kurosaki can recuperate. If he has the power to destroy not only the Cuarto Espada, but Aizen too, then we'll need Cyan Sung-Sun to take all his potential power while he's still young. But still...Kisuke Urahara complicates things. If two former Captains and supposedly strong test subjects are there...he may bring down the Soul Society. Or the Captains may find out if we make too many repeat visits. One is dangerous enough, more and the stronger ones will notice and most certainly fight us. Aizen's interaction with us may already change after the first visit. Her headache was only just beginning. "Aizen, two ex-Captains, these Visored, and potentially all the Captains of the Soul Society finding and catching us. No...we may in fact, beat them. If the power obtained from Ichigo Kurosaki is enough...but what could then result from that mad spiral?..."

Strangle To Death, Anaconda!

"Morning" must have came if I was awake. Mistress wouldn't wake me if time didn't pass enough to make it the next day.

"Sung-Sun. I wanted to talk to you about the plan. I don't think just fleeing to Hueco Mundo is going to work."

"Yes, My Lady."

I patiently waited her follow up question or answer. Suddenly departing to Hueco Mundo when events progressed enough in Karuka was the best bid to live. We could tell Mila and Apacci. Could also let Barragan die to boot. Our deaths weren't necessary for Ichigo to get his new power in that tunnel after all.

"I think we should find these two Fraccion you mentioned me having. If they were weaker because they were Adjucha's before becoming Arrancars then we've got to fix that. It's better than doing nothing."

She was quite right. Empowering them didn't even factor into my mind. It was an improvement over my own. But we'd have to orchestrate something to make those two useful. But what? We might take too long if we tried doing things the regular way, Tier wouldn't abandon her morals or principals so easily after all.

"Yes My Lady, but turning those two dolts into Vasto Lorde's will be a burdensome task. Even for us two."

She gave no response. It's sort of what I expected, the lack of response. An imperfect plan for an imperfect situation. But we could make do. We weren't the smartest people, nor were we the strongest. But where we failed ourselves, we had each other.

We had the power and safety of each other to rely and depend on. No one could tear that apart. Our bonds were something even Aizen couldn't tear apart.