Continued from: Return to Las Noches / Hangs in the Balance (comments)
and
Spirits of Ice
Another blast of wind tore through the open gargaunta and ruffled their hair. Ulquiorra looked at the bowed head of his fraction and felt as cold as the subzero temperatures Hyourinmaru had produced before them. A demoralizing shadow of doubt gnawed at his bones.
“Master, I mean no dishonor toward you when I say this, but I do not believe you will be able to defeat Hyourinmaru.”
It mattered not. Her opinion of who was stronger was merely the strong conviction of a lie. He would do what was necessary and he would do it well. Even if it meant dying his hands red with the blood of another man. He would do it.
"Is that all you present me with: A disbelief? Rise. I do not have time for useless information." Ulquiorra began placing one foot in front of the other as he had always done, leaving the gate behind.
Like a practiced burglar, Ulquiorra stole into the dead landscape. Nothing moved. Nothing spoke. Nothing breathed.
How precious this silence must be to the deaf ears of the 10th captain. Perhaps he could appreciate its beauty if he were still alive. But he was not. He was dead. His only companion in the frozen terrain was the mournful keening of his zanpaktuto.
The sword's anguish could be felt in the biting wind and heard in the roaring silence. Ah, yes. This was the double-edged sword Ulquiorra could face, one in which he could sink his cold hands into and warm in the burning fury of Toshiro Hitsugaya. But he was not here to entangle in the business of the dead. Only to sate the curious mind of Aizen.
Ulquiorra inclined his head towards Kita, studying her face, but there was nothing to be found. She was as silent and stony as a corpse.
Kita followed behind, matching his every step. She had nothing more to say. She was fully aware of her surroundings and stayed that way. She could not defeat the zanpakuto, but she was not about to go easy if and when he came at her.
The bitter winds whipped around her like a haunting voice. She hated the feeling and the silence that draped over them both did not help the heavy feeling of guilt she carried within her heart. She wanted in and out of that cave as quickly as possible. She did not even want to look at Toshiro’s still emotionless face. Her heart started to ache as she fought back the on coming tears. She spun quickly away from her master and pulled herself together, taking a deep breath and telling herself it could not be avoided. It was something that had to be done.
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Hyourinmaru sensed a new disturbance in his storm, two more spiritual pressures coming towards the cave. He knew both, but one he hated above everything else. Instead of focusing the storm's rage on the first three in their cave, he switched it to the new two, his primary target, the one who caused it all. He vowed to destroy that one.
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