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.
Post by Rebel Raven on Jun 24, 2009 2:15:26 GMT -5
Halibel was where she was when Nini left. How she could be missed was beyond her as she made no attempt to hide herself, but she wasn't bothered by unfriendly Shinigami and that was all that mattered to her.
She felt a lot better, truth be told, since she met Nini, and felt like, maybe, she could get over the loss of who she considered family.
Despite being more upbeat inside, outside, Halibel remained stoic, with her arms crossed. This time with the flower in one hand in a light grip between two fingers.
Every plant in Hueco Mundo was dead, so she almost considered it a luxury just to be close to something like a plant.
Unfortunately this higher morale would just allow Halibel to fight harder later when she were ordered to attack. Such a notion didn't please her, so she put it out of her mind, then resumed enjoying the scenery, and her hopes that her Fraccion have found peace. Of course she missed them, but she did not feel the sting quite as sharply over their being gone.
If it sounded like Halibel were a bit obsessed over them, she had reason to be.
Kisuke was walking outside the shop when he witnessed something he hadn't seen in years. A garganta was open in the sky above Kurakura Town. He though to himself that this seemed odd. He knew the Espada were nowhere near refilling their ranks and that any attack now would be certain suicide. Yet he felt a very strong reiatsu that made him feel unsettled. He decided to check it out and headed in the direction of the spiritual pressure.
Kisuke arrived at the location where he was feeling the pressure from. He stopped at the corner and put his back to the building and leaned slighly around the corner to see the source of the pressure. "Halibel? What is she doing here...." At the same time he saw a Shinigami heading off in the opposite direction towards his shop. "Were they talking?" He pondered to himself. It all seemed strange to him.
Kisuke sat still for a moment thinking of the situation. He wasn't a shinigami, yet he had aided in the defense against Aizen and the Espada in the past. "Hmmmm......she seems to have let that shinigami go......and she doesn't seem to be trying to start a fight......" Kisuke thought to himself. "Maybe shes just out for a stroll?". Kisuke couldn't think of a dangerous reason as to why Halibel would be in Kurakura Town, so he decided to say hello.
Kisuke turned the corner with a smile on his face and his hand raised. He greeted Halibel with a cheerful hello. "Long time no see Espada, what brings you to Kurakura town?" Kisuke felt uneasy about the situation and behind the care free greeting was a very cautious and ready to strike person.
Post by Rebel Raven on Jun 24, 2009 18:54:18 GMT -5
Halibel heard a familiar voice, then turned to look at the man with the ever familiar style. She had to wonder what drove a man to dress so... horribly...
"Not to fight, Urahara," she said in her usual, calm manner. She really didn't feel like she owed him the knowledge even though she were glad that he didn't disrupt her time in Karakura with violence.
It took a peaceful visit to make one appreciate facets of Karakura town that one could simply not appreciate when one were trying to kill another. She dared to think she enjoyed Karakura town, and would've hated to see it go. She realized it's why Aizen didn't want them visiting back before the battle of Karakura.
"I assure you, there will be no violence on my part unless I am attacked," she said in a serious tone to the man in the hat and clogs. It was half the truth, though. She left out the part where she may have to go on the offensive if she were ordered to by her superiors, but she felt bold enough to possibly decline such a thing, and retreat instead.
The fact an attack hadn't happened yet surprised her, really. She had to wonder if the threats here only reacted defensively lately. If it were true, that suited her fine. An uneasy truce was better than no truce at this point.
Nini sighs happily when she finds the shop again. When she got into the shop, she was grabbed and pulled to the counter, sternly asked for what she wanted. She replied, somewhat shocked, "I would l...like some clothes I saw in a window shop." She sighed when told she needed a gigai, but was happy when told he could make one.
She had waited for a while, playing with Ururu as she waited. Soon, she was taken into a room with a look-alike. She quickly described the clothes, and soon her gigai was clothed in them. She pays him the amount he asked, a little apalled at how much, and went into the gigai.
"Wow this feels weird.... But thanks Mr. Shop cleaner!" She quickly runs out of the store and runs to the opposite direction she went last time, believing that she could find her way back to Halibel that way. It was weird walking in one of these things, and weird when she wasn't able to hop from tree limb to lamp post like before, so she just walked along the side walk. She didn't want too much attention drawn to her...
Kisuke eased his hand off his zanpakuto and had a mental sigh of relief. He was not like the shinigami of the gotei 13. Many enemies to them, were friends of his. "Thats good to hear Halibel, I was really not in the mood for a fight. What exactly brings you here? Its rather odd for an Espada to be in this town without a purpose." Kisuke was hoping for an answer that he thought she wouldn't have. He was hoping the reason was that there was no reason, just for fun.
It felt weird to be in that situation. During the first battle of Kurakura town he gave no thought to her appearance, but now here he was taken back by her beauty. He let out a little chuckle at the thought that he may have been attracted to the espada. Now that Kisuke thought about it, Halibel was no longer in the ranks of the espada.
Kisuke didn't want to ask her about her alliances out right, he didn't think he would get a straight answer that way. "So Halibel.....how is Gin in terms of a leader compared to Aizen?"
Post by Rebel Raven on Jun 24, 2009 23:21:06 GMT -5
Halibel relented, and replied to Kisuke, "This is the spot where Yamamoto killed Apache, Sun Sun, and Mila-Rose..." she replied to him, "It still bothers me that they're gone..." she said in a grim, serious tone. She didn't care if he knew, now. It wasn't exactly a wound that could be taken advantage of. After all, she could no longer seek to avenge her Fraccion, and there was no known way to bring them back.
Surely he could understand the pain of such a loss, hm?
All she could do is wait for more Arrancar to be made, or evolve, and hope they were worthy of her attentions. Or find some other way to rebuild her life... her family.
"As for Gin, I offer no information on him or his doings..." she said calmly. It wasn't clear if she would not, or she could not give information on Gin's leadership ability. So far Hueco Mundo was quiet militarily, and honestly Halibel had little information on the subject herself as she had gone off Hueco Mundo's Hierarchy, and had little contact. She wouldn't say such a thing. She may as well have been a spy if she did so she didn't bother giving Intel to potential enemies.
Kisuke was taken back by Halibel's openness. It wasn't because she was an espada, but rather because she always had such a stern exterior. Kisuke wondered to himself if that was all an act and if under her hard outside was a soft and thoughtful woman. Kisuke was no stranger to sadness. "I remember when I had first became captain. . .I had this vice captain who took a while to get to know. She was a little firecracker hah. It seems you espada have similar relationships with your fraccion that shinigami have with their subordinates. It took a while, but eventually she warmed up to me and we became friends. She was sent out on a mission, against my wishes, and we lost contact with her unit. I thought I had let her down. I know how it feels to lose someone."
Kisuke wasn't surprised by by Halibel's answer to his question about Gin. He didn't expect her to give any information, but it was worth a try. Gin's ascension to Aizen's position worried him. Kisuke and Aizen were very similar. They researched similar things, and had similar attitudes. This helped Kisuke predict Aizen's moves. Gin on the other hand.....in Kisuke's mind Gin was nothing more than a psycho. With such unpredictability, Kisuke was worried as to what Gin's goals might be. He thought to himself "Well.....were already being quite open with each other...." and he spoke "Gin scares me. Not in terms of power, but I don't know what to make of him. He's such an......odd person. But whatever, thats a conversation for another day." A smile grew on Kisuke's face. "Its been nice talking to you Halibel, but next time we meet, we might night have the luxury of using words. See ya." Kisuke turned and walked away in the direction of his store.
Post by Rebel Raven on Jun 25, 2009 0:01:21 GMT -5
"No, our relationships with the Fraccion vary widely..." Halibel corrected Kisuke, "Many do not care about their Fraccion and did not care if they died, some use them as tools, and their deaths only served their Espada... But some Espada did care for their Fraccion closely..." She explained. He didn't seem to get it, but that was fine with her. She felt no need to make sure he did, and wasn't sure that she wanted him to know just how close she were to her Espada.
Few really knew...
She listened to his story about being an old Shinigami, and it wasn't a bad anecdote, but it didn't quite match how she felt. Still, she could feel some sympathy for his position.
She listened to him speak of Gin, and honestly, she understood his outlook. Even she couldn't help but be bothered by how he operated. Gin was... creepy for lack of a better word.
She then watched him turn and leave in a manner that made him more of an enigma to her. He was an odd man, truly. Easily an enigma in almost every way. She didn't rue the notion of meeting him again. She just wondered if they would be enemies or not. "Later," she replied to him as he walked off, then resumed reminiscing about what she had lost, and she enjoyed the day as it went by.
