With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
Celia sat, watching a wayward soul. This time she thought better of bringing Adela and Neva along - those two would be fine so long as they stayed far away from anyone who might wish to do them harm. Perhaps that would be trickier for Adela - but she had calmed down slightly since their little heart -to-heart...which was actually a lecture.
A very loud, angry-sounding lecture.
The soul reminded her a little bit of Adela, cursing at his inability to take more than a few steps. He could not sense Celia, nor see her. And Celia did not care about the young man, effectively chained to a dumpster in a forgotten alley. Idly, she watched the man, her pen still and leaking ink onto the page.
The red-haired woman seemed not to care about how dark or overcast a night it was. From her perch atop a street light, she had exactly the right amount of light. She could see the people passing below, some tired and yawning - exhausted after a long day of sitting at a desk. Some were young, students from what she had observed so far.
It was amusing to think that they could not see her shadow, at the least, considering how large it was. The petite woman smirked at the thought - a giant shadow, and she could see a man reading a newspaper in it.
She remained standing, as it was all she could do if she were to remain on top of the conic post, her feet clapped against the side. She marveled at how warm the air was. It was cold in Hueco Mundo, and so it must have been summer, or perhaps it was still spring.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
He walked and saw her. Red hair, Espada outfit. That had to be her. Taking a deep breath, he neared her. This was what he was here for. It was his purpose for being here. Was this Izaya, restored and after revenge? No, it was just Shunsui trying to hit on a classy lady. Pffft, this audience needs to calm down. Not everything is serious people. Ya need comic relief. Cue Shunsui.
"What a curious place to stand. Pray tell, what motivated you to pick this spot on which to perch?"
He moved even closer to her until he was almost on the post with her. He offered a small smile in her direction and offered his hand to her. Come to think of it, why was he the one who got picked for this revenge assignment? Oh yeah, the lovely captain of the fourth division had told him that he "owed her" because of what happened at that party. Okay, she had asked politely. But, Nanao had said that he owed her. While lovely, his lieutenant had a way of making him do things that never involved taking a nap or hitting on girls.
Celia didn't even blink when a man said, "What a curious place to stand."
She could feel him nearby - in fact she could feel him coming much too close for her liking before offering a hand. Brow raised, she listened but did not accept his hand.
"Pray tell, what motivated you to pick this spot on which to perch?"
"Shinigami," she said dryly, "Should you be concerning yourself with a woman standing oddly when there are souls wandering nearby?"
The woman couldn't care less about the souls. She was here to watch the humans - like a child watching ants scurrying along. Turning away from the pink-clad captain, she simply jumped off of her perch and landed on the pavement. Surely this had something to do with the shinigami she had beaten. From her understanding, this man was a captain - and from what she could sense he was powerful. It would be best not to tangle with him.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Smile never leaving his face, he noticed that she didn't want to shake his hand. Shunsui was sure the Arrancar must have her reasons for it. However, he saw the soul wandering around in the street near the dumpster. The captain had sensed the soul but was simply more engrossed in the Espada. She seemed like she might be annoyed by his presence. And, that was just no fun.
"Should you be concerning yourself with a woman standing oddly when there are souls wandering nearby?"
Shunsui laughed a little. She was quite perceptive. And a little rude. But, he really didn't mind her attitude. It was a good question after all. However, the man appeared to have quite some time before he became of major concern. When the woman jumped and landed on the pavement the captain sighed. He supposed it was his duty to preform Konso on the soul. As he used a quick Shunpo, he placed himself only a few feet from the soul.
"Hello good sir. If you excuse me for a moment I'll ease your pain. This will all be over in a minute."
He placed the hilt of his sword on the soul's head before a protest could be had. He preformed Konso on the soul and in a moment he was gone. Off to a better life. How glorious for him. The Soul Society was truly marvelous when you first got a look at it. He could not allow himself to get sidetracked; however, he still had a job to do.
He used Shunpo once again to place himself in front of the lovely lady. He gave her a smile and nodded at her direction.
"Now that my job has been taken care of, do you have time to talk?"
The woman was glad that he rushed off to do his job, and started to conceal her reiatsu so that slipping away would be easier. But he was finished in a moment, and had caught up with her before she had time to remove herself. Any attempt at concealing her reiatsu was halted - she let it flow as it normally did.
"Now that my job has been taken care of, do you have time to talk?"
"Time I have in scores," Celia answered plainly, snapping her notepad shut. She slipped it into a pocket in her hakama, and then she folded her arms under her chest."Interest, on the other hand, I do not."
With this said, the Octava Espada turned around once again, prepared to simply walk away. Of course, she was actually running through maneuvers in her head. If he outright attacked, she would block with her hand and fire her gran rey cero at him. If he hinted too closely to attacking, she would distract him with a bala and flee through a garganta. If he did not attack, she would open a garganta and simply leave.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
The lovely lady told him that she had no interest in talking to him. That was just disappointing. She seemed to be of typically nice regards but maybe that was just a clever front. She turned her back to him, how rude.
"You know, lovely ladies such as yourself shouldn't be so quick to end conversations. It could very easily send those without proper determination running away because they think you're cold. I happen to not. There's a subtly in your actions, I feel that you believe I have ulterior motives."
Shunsui continued to walk after her and eventually matched her stride. He looked over at her. She truly was lovely. How could someone so beautiful be ill-willed enough to put someone like that boy in the infirmary? Of course, he was always a little too easy on the ladies. Looks could be deceiving, after all.
"You know," the captain said, walking after her at the same pace as her, "lovely ladies such as yourself shouldn't be so quick to end conversations. It could very easily send those without proper determination running away because they think you're cold."
"That is my intention." She smirked at the thought. Her? Caring about what others thought of her? Now that was interesting.
"I feel that you believe I have ulterior motives."
Celia could correct that - she knew that he had ulterior motives. Instead, she was quiet. She slipped her hands into the pockets of her hakama and continued to walk, knowing he would follow. "A shinigami captain sent to a small town just for the sake of hunting hollows? A powerful shinigami sent to dispatch a threat I find more likely. We would not be given orders to exterminate fodder. I assume your standards are the same?"
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Shunsui let out a small sigh as he continued to walk on beside her. He shook his head a little and shot a weary glance in her direction. It was rather unsettling when a lovely lady like herself acted so cold. A small frown occupied his usually smiling face as he thought about how best to continue this conversation.
She then went on to talk about how he was sent there to most likely neutralize her. It was true; he had been sent here to do just that. However, he highly doubted he was going to actually take care of her in that sense. He gave her a look and a small smile.
"You are quite perceptive. I was sent here with that exact mission. However, I don't see the point in it to tell you the truth. Let's say we were to fight. We would most likely level large portions of the side and harm countless people in the process. Now tell me, what would that possibly solve? Another Arrancar would pop up and cause the same problem again. It's a vicious cycle. Besides, I kind of like you. You're quite lovely."
Celia only half-listened. She knew that he was trying to avoid actually fighting just a few words in - it was clear in his tone of voice and his smile. Unless he was truly duplicitous, he had no intention of fighting. However, she narrowed her eyes when he called her lovely.
"I've no interest in you," she said callously. She stopped walking, her eyes resting on his with an apathetic stare. A thought drifted to her mind, and she decided that it may deter further advances, at the risk of provoking the captain. She preferred to provoke him - he seemed as if he would not be easily provoked. "As for that shinigami, did he live? If I recall correctly, he was alive when I left."
She smirked - this was fake, she took no real pleasure in what she had done to the shinigami. It was retribution. He injured her fraccion, and was about to kill her. In fact, he was about to kill them both.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Shunsui covered his mouth with his left hand and gave a small chuckle. Apparently there wasn't much difference between Shinigami and Arrancar women. They were both hesitant to give him a chance at first. However, they always came around in the end. Wait, you're telling us they never came around in the end? Nevermind you narrator. Shunsui was going to continue his conquest anyway.
"Oh come now. You could at least give me a chance. I'm quite fun once you get right down to it. Come on lovely lady, I brought sake."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. Smiling at her he gave it a jovial shake to reassure this lovely redhead that there was seriously sake in this bottle. He nodded slightly as she stopped and cocked his head curiously. Why was this beautiful dear stopping? What reason could she possibly have for stopping at this very moment?
"As for that shinigami, did he live? If I recall correctly, he was alive when I left."
Ahhh, she was referring to the fourth seat of third company. What was his name? Izaya something. Yes, that was it. Izaya. He hadn't taken a look at him but he had read the report: a missing right arm, five broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and hips, and several pulled tendons and ligaments. It was truly quite horrible. Shunsui didn't know about his konpaku problem or he might have been further angered. As it stood, he wasn't all that upset. Nanao had told him the young man would make a full-recovery someday.
"Yes, he's still alive. However, he's quite the broken man now. He's missing an arm you know? There's also several internal injuries that require tending. You really put him through a lot."