Forget My Name [JT/Closed]

[Ailene Haschiro]

Karakura Town. Truly it was a beautiful town. Interesting architecture, the bountiful residential zones along with the bustling shopping District means that Karakura town was never without some form of interesting idea. Yet, despite all this, Karakura was a hotspot for spiritual anomalies and activity. In fact, Hollows seemed to run rampant here moreso than in any other area that most were familiar with. Nobody entirely knew why it was so densely packed with spiritual beings, but one thing was for sure. Hollow activity was rather high. This time, however, it was for the most part peaceful.

It tends to be that there must always be something to establish balance. Chaos is a necesarry precursor to order. As such, a black pit in the sky would open almost as if the air itself was contorting. This anomaly would grow in size until finally, it ripped open like the maw of a beast. What could step through? A Hollow? No, it was just what appeared to be a peculiar figure. Appearing to have a rather feminine build and white clothing on with a mask fragment and a Zanpakutou, this figure could only be properly identified as one of the Arrancar. Not just any Arrancar, however.

These white pristine robes were indicative of one of the highest positons known in Hueco Mundo. The group known as the Espada. Peering down into the streets with brown eyes, the Arrancar's vision narrowed as she sighed. As she began to tap her lip, the Esapda would just view everything. Why was she here? For one reason only. Kouhai had willed it as such. Ailene was the type of Espada to obey because there is no other figure in charge. She was not a blind follower, but she respected Kouhai's abilities and as such, if he said to do something, it was the will of Las Noches.

As such, Ailene just sighed as the Garganta behind her closed and she began to sink towards the ground. Immediately beginning to look around, the Espada smiled as she just looked at all the rather interesting places. All of this seemed somewhat familiar. A strange sense of deja vu almost as if she had been in Karakura before, but Ailene just passed it off as an afterthought. It had to be her first time here. It was not long ago that she gained consciousness and woke up in the sands of the White Desert and reported to Kouhai. Did this all have something to do with her past.

She just sighed as she noticed something approach. It was a humanoid figure, but it seemed to be walked on air. Ailene quickly jumped up and looked at this figure with intent. She was curious about them. The black-clothed feudalistic-looking man had brown hair, blue eyes and a Zanpakutou. He spoke with venom in his voice. "What the hell are you doing here? Your kind always arrives to cause trouble so what is your plan today Arrancar? What crazy and diabolical idea did you come up with this time." It seemed that Ailene was not welcome here to which she jsut sighed. 

Ailene did not answer. She felt as though she did not owe it to him as he quickly seemed to barge. It did seem that it would take a turn for the worst as this Shinigami drew his blade. Ailene tilted her head and then shook it. She spoke with a silky voice. "Look here. I am not looking to fight. I was ordered to come here for reasons unknown to both of us. Maybe you could stand down and we could talk about it? Your life must not end here." Ailene was trying to be friendly and defuse the situation. She had a feeling it would not work as memories popped up, this attempt apparently having been made in past memories and failing.

It seemed that this was the case as the Shinigami simply chuckled. "You face a Seated Officer of the Soul Society Arrancar. You stand no chance against my might." It was then that with suddenness, the Shinigami lept at her, intentions clear to kill or main. Ailene just sighed as moved out of the way with suprising speed. The traditional static of a Sonido could be heard right behind the Shinigami as the Arrancar grabbed the back of his Zanpakutou. She spoke with darker intentions. "Stand down. Do not force my hand. It is against my wishes to fight someone so much weaker..."

It seemed as though this still did not do it. This Shinigami was certainly persistent as he appeared to visible struggle with the idea that Ailene stopped him so non-chalantly. Being an Espada, even a low ranking one stood as a showmanship of atleast decent skill and ability. This Shinigami still could not believe it as he figured this Arrancar for just that. A simple Arrancar. Little did he know what he was dealing with. After hearing Ailene's last line, he could hear the killing intent in her voice. She was not kidding. Kouhai gave her an order albeit vague and she would see it through.

As Ailene thought it through, she wondered if the entire reason for her coming here was to attract other Shinigami. If so it did seem to be working. This one arrived within only a couple minutes of Ailene's arrival. After all, she was an Arrancar and those were a pretty big deal to the Shinigami faction. Even despite these explicit warnings and shows of ability, it seemed that this Shinigami still was not going to give up. He quickly leapt from her, his voice almost appearing to be in shambles. "Who the hell are you?!?! Why have you come here? Are you going to destroy this town?"

It seemed that despite everything, the members of the Soul Society did not listen to reason. Ailene just sighed and spoke calmly. "I don't know why I am here exactly myself either. I am not looking to destroy this place though." Ailene then began to wonder why he even asked as he began to charge at her. Another static sound later in the form of a Sonido, Ailene was right before the Shinigami and held his blade in her hand. Her Hierro stood strong against it and she just smiled. "Who am I? Ailene Haschiro. One of the Esapda." With her other hand beginning to raise, a Cero suddenly blasted at incredible speed and power at the Shinigami. After it dissipated, there was nothing left. Just ash in the wind. Ailene sighed and tilted her head, wondering if this would attract more of the little police.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

“You’ve got to be kidding me....” Ludwig sighed to himself as he stopped walking down the sidewalk. His head in his right hand he simply moved over to the steps of a nearby building and sat on it’s stairs. Right hand holding his head and his left hand holding onto a bag of assorted goodies he’d purchased just a few minutes prior from a small family owned store. The day was going well up until about a moment ago as nothing and for once literally nothing had been happening in his squad nor had anything weird been going on for the past couple days. This random bubble of peace was exactly what Ludwig had needed so he could sneak off on one of his snack runs in the human world. And then some entity had to fire off a cero. Ludwig admittedly hadn’t really felt it so much as he had seen a random beam fire off before fading away. And it didn’t take a genius to know what a cero looked like after dealing with hollows a few times.

One more solid minute of groaning into his hand passed before Ludwig took a deep breath and glared passive aggressively into the sky. He was in a gigai and outfitted in khaki slacks, a white button up shirt rolled up to his elbows, a dark grey vest, and had even gone so far as to pull out the nice dark brown dress shoes. He was dressed on point just so he could enjoy his day that much more. Now he could only assume his clothes would be ruined in some manner or another and if he were honest he was more upset about his special clothes than he was the potential for a hollow attack on a “day off”. “I’m going to need to find a place to put this body. It’s times like these I really wish I owned a house or even an apartment here. Because this sort of thing happens far too often when I come to the human world.”

Taking a quick glance around Ludwig soon found his options to be far and few between. He was going to have to just find a go into the sky and quickly find a nice, and preferably abandoned building. Granted being near the heart of the city, this was unlikely but lord knew he was going to have to try at least. Getting up Ludwig quickly found the nearest alleyway and sky walked his way up to the rooftop. Looking up he saw a speck in the distance, vaguely humanoid and could only assume that was where the cero had originated from. Thankfully though he had some distance between them though and so he had at least a minute or two to try and find a hiding spot. The building next to the one he was currently on had a nice spot he could tuck himself into, right underneath a water tower. Would it look crazy to anyone else? Absolutely but his options were slim and Ludwig just shook his head as he needed to get the body stashing over with.

A quick hop and skip with a dash of body separating and Ludwig’s body was on the right building separated from him. Another minute later and Ludwig had stashed away his body and snacks as best he could. Hell he’d even positioned himself to look like he simply was taking a nap. A quick glance at the speck just to make sure it was still around and he could see it still where he last saw it, just glancing over the city. =palevioletred] Please gods above let this end sooner than later. A few shunpos and a bit of sky walking and Ludwig was already close enough to his new acquaintance to be able to be heard by the other so long as he spoke up. “Good afternoon, I couldn’t help but notice there was a cero that was fired off. You wouldn’t happen to be the source of that cero would you?”

[Ailene Haschiro]

Within the arsenal of an Arrancar, there were a few techniques that could easily cause crippling fear in some from the sound alone. Yet one of the most basic yet impressive techniques in an Arrancar's arsenal was the Cero. A beam of discharged reiatsu that burned and seared all it came into contact with. As the Cero touched the skin of the Shinigami, they would just feel their flesh burn away as their scream echoed into obscurity. It was not a sound that Ailene relished, but for all intents and purposes, this Shinigami was the aggressor and she was not going to stand idly by and take this punishment.

Ailene gently moved her hand after this. Something about all of this felt familiar. Was it perhaps the her two parts did this commonly. That odd feeling of deja vu came back to haunt her as she stood in the air. The spiritual pressure that she could feel nearby felt familiar. Who could this be? How could this even feel so familiar? Ailene had been formed only a couple of weeks ago. After she was formed, she simply waited within Las Noches, pursuing her countless studies and numerous experiments that she held dear to her heart. She was not a heartless person, but she could be violent if the situation called for it.

With this newcomer, Ailene wanted to probe the nature of the situation. After all, it could be someone that she could just talk it out with. Atleast she hoped so as there was little other choices she had when it came to this. It was then that as he came into view, moving at an impressive speed prior, the Shinigami would call out towards the Espada.  “Good afternoon, I couldn’t help but notice there was a cero that was fired off. You wouldn’t happen to be the source of that cero would you?” Ailene raised an eyebrow. What a peculiar question to ask. It was then that she got a good look at him.

Ludwig seemed rather well built. A 6'3" behemoth who just seemed like he was out to beat people to a bloody pulp. His behavior seemed to differ his overall appearance though. In fact, he seemed rather polite and willing to talk. Perhaps Ailene could get a chance to learn more about the Shinigami. To explore the very nature of who they are. After all, Ailene was a researcher. A pursuer of knowledge and an excellent scholar. That is all she wished to be. In a way she was fortunate to be an Arrancar. She had heard about the nature of Soul Society and just how stringent everything was.

As Ailene turned to face him, she chuckled a little at his question. Equal parts polite yet with an odd accusatory nature to it. Then again, he was not wrong and based on the mask fragments that looked similar to that of a horizontal headband stretching across the Espada's forehead, this Ludwig could most likely deduce that she was indeed an Arrancar. Would she be found out as an Espada though? She would not know if he had that level of ability to peer into her soul and find out every piece of infromation that he could pry from her defenseless soul.

After that chuckle, Ailene would speak in a very firm tone, but it was not aggressive. It was both inquistive and polite herself. "That would be the case. Although, I in good faith warned your kin about his impending fate. He did not listen and simply tried to attack me. I do not take kindly to that and as such, I retaliated. Seems that maybe I was a little too rough..." Ailene almost sounded like there was concern for the Shinigami, but this was somewhat facetious. She disliked the idea of someone just opening up fire against her simply for being an Arrancar. She would then finally ask a question herself. "You seem far more sensible. Who are you?"

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

Ludwig gave the arrancar a quick look over as he listened to her. There was no doubt she was an arrancar under Souken’s command, the ironic clothing was more than enough of an indicator. But her specific position could range anywhere from a freshly born arrancar to one of the espada. Ironically the espada, unlike their shinigami counterparts didn’t have specific clothing that separated them instead they all wore white and you had to find the tattoo on an individual to really tell where they were in their hierarchy. For now he’d have to assume that this. . . female? Was in fact an espada until further notice, he didn’t want any underestimations if things went sour.

Good news though they seemed collected enough to speak as opposed to being bloodthirsty or outright violent. However there was still the matter of having killed the shinigami… Thankfully it wasn’t one of his squad’s men but it was one of the others. And truthfully it didn’t really matter whose it was, there were a great deal of people who were about to suffer loss because of her actions. Ludwig somewhat doubted he could get away without some form of retaliation but perhaps it’d be possible, he didn’t need the humans below to get into any trouble on their behalf.

“That very often seems to be the case. However I’d like to point out that instead of outright killing another you could cripple them instead. A cero could be used much like a gun and be aimed at a knee, an arm, something less… outright mortally wounding. I won’t argue though on your self defense however, I would do the same if I was walking around Hueco Mundo.” His gaze had steeled a bit as he spoke. It wasn’t hard to say that Ludwig was actively considering what he should do. And if the way his lips went thin were any indication it wasn’t exactly an easy choice. Retaliate and endanger the others below them or allow the shinigami’s life to go unanswered. Neither settled well on him but unless a more aggressive response was shown by Ailene then he’d have to pick the masses over the singular.

“ I am Ludwig, Captain of Squad 13. I assume the haori already gave it away but it’s worth making sure just in case. Who might you be and if you don’t mind enlightening me, would you happen to be an Espada? I’ve also got one final question regardless of your status, what are you doing here? I’m content to let others be so long as violence is kept to a minimum… but we’ve already crossed that point.” Try as Ludwig might to without any judgement of Ailene he couldn’t help but let a small portion come through. A quick mental slap and a deep breath and Ludwig looked back at Ailene a bit calmer though his gaze still searching, analyzing almost. Whatever he could get from Ailene would no doubt prove invaluable if things hit the fan. He just hoped they didn’t have to get to that point.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Ailene took the time to get a good look at this Shinigami. He certainly seemed imposing, powerful, but there was something about him. Ailene could not exactly put her finger on it, however he just seemed familiar. As if she had met him many times in the past. Perhaps this was something she should look into. After all, Ailene was the sociable type and felt that a good conversation could lead to so much more than the clashing of blades and the spilling of blood. She wouldn't necesarrily smile, but she did appear extremely docile. 

The Espada that was before Ludwig was more the scholarly type. Always looking to learn more, to discover the mysteries of what she did not understand. Unfortunately it was a journey not understood by all. There was something that has been on Ailene's mind though. She is the fusion of two Arrancar. Two similiar spirits linked by blood, bound by soul. Was she simply a fusion of these two? Or was she something greater? Admittedly, the names of the two Arrancar escaped her, but she would have time to think hopefully when this was over.

Ultimately, Ailene heard the Shinigami speak. His voice did not sound too harsh, but it was not that of a gentle friend either. It seemed that he was responding to her little prompt.  “That very often seems to be the case. However I’d like to point out that instead of outright killing another you could cripple them instead. A cero could be used much like a gun and be aimed at a knee, an arm, something less… outright mortally wounding. I won’t argue though on your self defense however, I would do the same if I was walking around Hueco Mundo.” 

This elicited a chuckle out of the Arrancar. The Shinigami seemed to be the type to cut down anyone who simply did not match there idea of a valuable race. Despite being protectors, hubris spilled and flowed within their words like a vile poison. It was admittedly something that made Ailene sick to her stomach. She simply wanted to pursue her wants and interests in epidemiology, studies and conversations that made her intellectually curious. Most Shinigami would stand in the way of that simply for her being an Arrancar.

Ailene did understand that he seemed different. More willing to talk and even then, more willing to just let things settle. Ailene atleast thought this was the case, but she could sense something changing in the air. Before battle, the tensions always did seem to rise. They were mortal enemies after all. A Soul Reaper and an Arrancar. There fates were determined for them before the two even met. Ailene had her hopes that it would not come to this and maybe she could talk her way out of this.

It was then that the Espada heard Ludwig make a remark.  “ I am Ludwig, Captain of Squad 13. I assume the haori already gave it away but it’s worth making sure just in case. Who might you be and if you don’t mind enlightening me, would you happen to be an Espada? I’ve also got one final question regardless of your status, what are you doing here? I’m content to let others be so long as violence is kept to a minimum… but we’ve already crossed that point.”

Once again, he seemed to be giving her a form of respect by revealing his rank and position. This, however, did elicit a little bit of fear within Ailene. If he was a captain, that meant that he needed to be strong. After all, Captains did not become captains by virtue of being weaklings. They had to have a bite to match their bark. It seemed that Ludwig felt that they were at the point of no return. Ailene would not give up so easily though as she did proceeded to speak in a rather gentle and silky tone.

"I see. Well let me atleast do you the honor as well since you were so kind to offer it by letting me know of your rank and name. I didn't imagine that I would run into a Captain admittedly, but I guess it cannot be helped." Ailene sighed and just wanted this to go quickly. She hoped she did not need to release if it did boil down to a fight. Ailene's release was one that she feared to an extent. It made her mind wane, her defenses crumble. She would become much like Hollow if she dared call upon that power.

This was something that Ailene was not very fond of. Losing her sanity and her speech was a price that came with her own release. She sighed and just locked eyes with the Captain. She continued to talk. "You are right in deducing myself to be an Espada. My name is Ailene Haschiro and I am the Noveno Espada." Ailene was not aware of the meaning this may have to Ludwig. She did not know him as well as Kazuna used to until he had fused with his sister to create the very being that Ailene was.

Continuing her train of thought, she wanted to try and defuse this situation as quickly as possible. "As I said. The Shinigami struck at me and I simply retaliated. I couldn't know that he was so pitifully weak that my Cero would consume him. As to why I am here. Well I seem to know just about as much as you which is next to nothing. Our lord told me to come here and I guess left me to my own devices. Perhaps he knew you would be here. Perhaps he knew it could come down to a fight..." The Arrancar would just sigh and waited to see how the Captain would react.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

So they don’t know why they are here? Seems a bit odd, unless Souken is up to something. . . But there is, to my knowledge anyway, nothing going on in Karakura. Well at least nothing surface level, it’s not exactly like I’m trying to find anything. I was really hoping to just walk around, get some food, and hop back to the Soul Society before anyone realized I was gone. But that went down the drain once this one appeared. . . And there’s still the others below. Ludwig would visibly look down and around them, realizing they were very close to the market district and definitely more towards the inner city. Which meant there was no chance in hell someone wasn’t getting hurt if they fought it out here and now. With a deep breath and a quiet sigh he decided it was the masses over the few. If he could keep them safe it was ultimately the correct choice even if it didn’t feel right to him personally.


Glancing back at Ailene though something she said caught him off guard. She was the 9th espada? His head tilted at this some and there was clear confusion on his face as he was 100% certain that Kazuna hadn’t yet kicked the bucket. Adolf had long since done so but Kazuna had seemed to be made of sterner stuff. Or at least he hoped. Their last but brief interaction had shown him to be going through some changes at least personality wise but perhaps it went deeper than that. Sadly he hadn’t gotten nearly enough time to talk with him prior to hearing just how much he had changed. Still though the question was now apparent even if Ludwig didn’t say it out, why was she the noveno espada? With no time like the present Ludwig simply spoke to her. “If you’re the current noveno espada then what happened to Kazuna? Last I checked he was the noveno and from what I remember shouldn’t have been easy to replace for a number of reasons.


Ludwig would wait a moment or two and let Ailene speak. He was personally interested in her answer as that could have turned this entire situation on it’s head. Depending on her answer anyway. For the time being though Ludwig while on guard did his best not to give off any aggressive body language for now they were simply in a messy spot. One that maybe they could put behind them with or without the guilt of ignoring the shinigami’s life on Ludwig’s conscience. But that weight buried deep inside mentally and if he could help it wasn’t going to let any of that come to the surface. For now he had to play the part of “Captain of the Soul Society” and live up to the title at least somewhat. If Ailene chose not to speak or after she did speak Ludwig would motion down to the building he was hiding his gigai at. “I’m willing to stay civil and talk things through if you are as well. Which from what it sounds like you seem to be inclined towards that. However I’d like to recommend we move somewhere else, the view is nice from up here but I’d rather not tempt fate and have another shinigami try to attack you on site. If any others are around. That sound fair to you?”


Ludwig hoped he wasn’t making a mistake doing this. He knew she could very well try to metaphorically stab him in the back, while he wasn’t looking. And it would make sense, especially if she was sent here by Souken. However there was a part of him that hoped she realized he was at least trying to extend the olive branch, his words may not have been as eloquent or feel good as they could have been but it was still an offer. One that if she revoked he could ask her to leave or if it came down to finish a fight between. Though that was the last option as far as he was concerned. Moreso for the humans below, the shinigami could heal themselves from near death if they were gotten to in time. Humans were a good bit more fragile that way. And it wouldn’t be fair to them to get their lives snuffed out unnecessarily. Although let’s be fair, when was it ever fair to die from being caught in the crossfire. Ludwig shuddered some at the thought prior to focusing his gaze on Ailene and seeing what her response would be.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As Ailene revealed the true nature of who she was to Ludwig, Ailene could see a rather dumbfounded look on his face. In fact, it seemed to be one of confusion and to an extent disbelief. Not very many knew about the true fate that befell Kazuna. At least those that knew him. Ailene was acutely aware that Kazuna was one of the catalysts that formed her yet she had no prior memory to recall upon. When Ailene was created, it was practically as if she had been born as a new person. She also knew only the name of Kazuna and the fact that he was formerly an Espada. On the other hand, she also knew that his sister was the other half that ended up producing Ailene. 

Could it be that Ludwig knew Kazuna? This is what was on Ailene's mind. Why else would be look so confused. It was then that Ailene overheard Ludwig's question to her. It just went further to confirm her supsicions about the Captain.  “I’m willing to stay civil and talk things through if you are as well. Which from what it sounds like you seem to be inclined towards that. However I’d like to recommend we move somewhere else, the view is nice from up here but I’d rather not tempt fate and have another shinigami try to attack you on site. If any others are around. That sound fair to you?” Ailene blinked and chuckled a little. The Shinigami wanted to play nice. Just as he said before. This was a welcome change of pace.

In a non-hostile and rather calm tone, Ailene began to reply to Ludwig. "Kazuna...Oh yes. There was a fellow like that. However, he perished a long time ago..." Ailene would come clean about Kazuna later. First she had to confirm Ludwig's want for peace between the two of them. In truth, it was something that Ailene cherished. Shinigami who didn't just immediately attack her for being an Arrancar. It seemed that they did not need much reason. Ailene would resume speaking. "I suppose I could indulge that request. After all, I wouldn't want to fight you nor harm anyone else either." There was little deceit in Ailene's tone. It may have caught Ludwig off guard, but Ailene was being 100% genuine about not wanting to harm anyone.

In truth, it was far from Ailene's best interests to start a fight with the Shinigami. After all, he may have some insight on Ailene's past. Her past as the nihilistic 9th Espada. After the transformation, there was little left of Ailene's memory and she wanted to try her best to reconstruct it. To find some way of being able to recall even a shred of information from her past. Who she used to be. What was used to create her? These were all things that swirled through her mind. Not that she wanted to change back. After all, what would it mean for her? Would she cease to exist? Would she fade away? These were things that troubled her. One could even go as far to say that it scared her. 

As Ailene proceeded to look at Ludwig, he seemed to be pointing down at a building. Was this where he wanted her to land? She suppose that for now, she could trust him. She would still remain cautious, however. After all, she had almost been conditioned to not trust Shinigami. Regardless of such, she would begin to sink to the ground in somewhat of an arc to land in front of the building that Ludwig was pointing at before. With some caution, she would wait around what appeared to be an old water tower. Was he looking to get anything from there? They were out in the open so assuming that he had anything planned, Ailene could back off if she needed to. 

Assuming that Ludwig would slip into his Gigai whether it was in front of Ailene or not, she would wait for him. She would not make any aggressive movements herself. No indications of building up reaitsu to fire a Cero nor drawing her weapon. Her demeanor would appear frighteningly calm for an Arrancar who was face to face with one of the Gotei's finest. Ailene would, however, speak up. "Now then. I do have to ask where the death of what I presume to be your subordinate leaves us? If you truly want to go about this peacefully, I both respect and admire that motion. That being said, I'm sure you also want to know of Kazuna's fate?" She would be blunt. After all, she did tell him that Kazuna had died. She would wait to see what Ludwig would do or say. 

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

Seeing Ailene gracefully drop to the rooftop calmed Ludwig's nerves immensely. He seemed to have a knack for either talking down or finding the special few arrancar that would be willing to talk through things. Kazuna, Adolf, and now this Ailene individual. Still though there was an eerie feeling about her that Ludwig wasn't certain how to take. She didn't sound or act like Kazuna but there was something reminscient of him about her. Perhaps they were related, which would be the reason she knew he'd perished and not anyone else.


To be completely fair though, it's not like I'm supposed to be on good terms with any arrancar, let alone espada. Thus it'd be hard to truly have any REAL idea of what's going on with them. . . But even still. . how is it that the beings I meet keep dying so suddenly? Adolf had turned reckless so as sad as it may be it is. . . expected in a way. But Kazuna? There was no way. . . He was cautious. Or at least I thought he was. Hell he'd even talked about a change about him in our last interaction. . . Surely. . . it wasn't something that would be detrimental to him right? There's only one way to know and that's going to be through Ailene.

Once he got down to the roof, Ludwig immediately went to his gigai. A quick check of his belongings and that they were still good for consumption followed shortly after. Once done with his inspection and placing his gigai back "on" he made his way to Ailene. Shopping bags in each hand and immediately maintained eye contact. For a total of 5 seconds anyway, she had in fact decided to just immediately call out the elephant in the room. One he still wasn't sure he was making the right call about but one he was going to stick to since he decided because it would keep the humans safe.

With a bit of guilt showing in his eyes for a moment he spoke back to her. "I'm going to. . . look past it and trust in what you said prior. If he attacked first it'd be a bit far fetched to ask you not retaliate. But if we do get seen by another shinigami or the like please refrain from killing them. I'll figure something out as far as sending them off. And to answer your other question I would like to know Kazuna's fate. He was. . . perhaps not a friend as that was more how I viewed him but. . . we were on good terms. As much as a shinigami and arrancar could be. So I'd like to honor his memory as much as I can."

[Ailene Haschiro]

As Ailene stood there waiting for an answer from the Captain as to the unfortunate death of his subordinate, Ailene pondered on the events currently transpiring. She was here with a Captain. A member of the upper echelons of the Gotei 13. Yet here she was as an Espada simply having a conversation with him. This was all so bizarre. Despite that, Ailene was pleased to see that not everyone within the Soul Society was ruthless to Arrancar. In truth this is what Ailene hated the most about who she was. Facing adversity was common place for her, but no less annoying. It was this adversity that had led to the death of some nameless Shinigami before meeting Ludwig.

Ailene just listened to Ludwig as he explained his situation and solution.  "I'm going to. . . look past it and trust in what you said prior. If he attacked first it'd be a bit far fetched to ask you not retaliate. But if we do get seen by another shinigami or the like please refrain from killing them. I'll figure something out as far as sending them off. And to answer your other question I would like to know Kazuna's fate. He was. . . perhaps not a friend as that was more how I viewed him but. . . we were on good terms. As much as a shinigami and arrancar could be. So I'd like to honor his memory as much as I can." The Espada simply offered a nod of approval.

The Arrancar was going to address each segment of his reply systematically. "I am impressed to see a Shinigami practice temperance. I am so used to being vilified simply for my existence. for treading down a path that I had no semblance of control over." Ailene would undoubtedly be referring to her time as a Hollow. A time in which mind and morality lost to the eternal hunger. Ailene looked back at it with regret. Especially due to her fragmented memory. She could not remember specifics. However sometimes she could hear the shouting of men. The death cries of women. Sometimes even the taste and texture of flesh would come to her. It was repulsive to say the least. 

With a long and drawn out sigh, the Espada continued. "Do not be mistaken, however. While I did not know the Shinigami whos life I have taken, I am no less sympathetic to you and those he left behind. You have my word that should we come across another of your brethren that I shall not raise my hand against them." She smiled a little as she contemplated just how Ludwig would deter others from striking at her. Would he simply pull rank? Would he make up some story about her in fact being a prisoner of his? Ailene was not sure, but regardless she would place her trust into him. After all, he showed trust by claiming to believe her words. Ailene would consider herself barbaric to not return the favor.

Then of course there was the matter of Kazuna's fate. Ailene was the type to normally play games with others. She enjoyed riddles and wanted others to critically think their way through one of these riddles. This would, however, not be one of those times. In fact, Ailene decided that she would outright tell Ludwig of what befell Kazuna. Perhaps it was his appeal to her emotions. To her sympathy. He seemed unique among the Shinigami that she had met before. Others would have attempted to kill her on the spot. Yet Ludwig reasoned with her. Not only that, Kazuna and he were well acquainted. Ailene felt that it would go too far to tease about a topic like this.

Ailene simply sighed once more as she cleared her voice. "When I tell you of Kazuna, you need to understand a few things. First and foremost my memory is incredibly hazy. The reasons for that are about to become incredibly clear. Additionally, I do not necessarily expect you to believe what I am about to tell you. This is fine. I am here to weave the both the end of Kazuna's final moments and the beginning of my own existence. Regardless whether you believe it or not, I do stress that this is the truth." Ailene felt that she had to make this clear to Ludwig. After all she was about to delve into quite the tale. Or at least as much as she remembered. 

"First know that if you are looking for Kazuna then you are staring right at him." There was no deception in Ailene's voice. Her gaze would remain stoic as she continued. "I cannot explain how. Or why for that matter, but I am a combination of two souls. A fusion if you will. One half of who I used to be is Kazuna. The other half of me is his sister, Eleana. I am just as much of Kazuna and Eleana as I am my own person. The reason I cannot explain why is that the process has splintered my memory. Like a shard of glass digging itself into my thoughts. Threatening to drive me mad. When you appeared, I had a hunch that we had met before. You now confirm my suspicion." 

The Arrancar paused to recollect her thoughts. "For all intents and purposes, Kazuna is dead. Some of his parts and Eleana reside within me, but I am more than the sum of those two. As I said my name is Ailene Haschiro. I have taken on their surname, but I am different from them." Ailene was not sure why, but she felt melancholy overtake her as she delved into the tale of Kazuna. She had little else to share and that saddened her. She was not sure if this would provide closure for Ludwig. It had to suffice though. At least so Ailene had hoped. If Ludwig wanted more information then Ailene would be hard pressed to provide any more. Lack of access to the memories of both Kazuna and Eleana wouldn't allow her to.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

Ludwig had to admit, Ailene was correct about how majority of shinigami viewed arrancar. She would be vilified by most. She would be attacked on sight by most. And a lot of it was over just "what" she was and her "crimes" both as a hollow and as she is now. He simply nodded towards her. Though when she agreed to not harming the next, if any, shinigami arrived he breathed a visible sigh of relief. He really wasn't certain how many he personally could overlook without getting eaten at by his own conscience. It was already having a field day and would continue to until he'd deal with it in his private time. But that was a long ways off. For the time being though he simply smiled in her direction.

"I appreciate that. Let's hope we don't have another arrive. Lord knows no matter how it gets handled it'll be a hassle for both of us." He then took a turn for the serious, if not somewhat foreboding given he figured he wasn't going to like what Ailene had to say. Especially since Kazuna had already been mentioned to have died awhile back. Still regardless of how he passed he silently hoped that he found some measure of peace. It would only be salt added to the wound if Kazuna was anything but the former.

Nothing could have prepared Ludwig aptly for what he was about to find out. It started from understanding that yes, he may have doubts about what she'd say. That was par for the course when hearing information from a second hand source. And depending on the situtation, especially if it was a fight, Ailene not having the best memory of the event in question could also make sense. But the idea of Kazuna finding his sister and fusing body and soul with her into Ailene basically shattered any sort of "understanding" he could have.

The world around Ludwig went dead silent. He could blink and attempt to process and reprocess what she'd told him but it only further showed just how flabbergasted he was. [color-palevioletred] H-He's fused?! Souls can do that?! She's got to be lying. . . but. . . it's obvious she's not lying. Her body language for one is calm and relaxed. Well maybe a bit tensed from the subject but still. . . Is it really possible that this happened? It certainly explains the lack of memory but it's . . . insane! I'd sooner believe. . . well a lot of other things honestly. Kazuna. . . just what in the hell happened to you? [/color]

Ludwig remained quiet for what felt like a long time. And maybe it had been, he sort of lost track admittedly. But that explanation was so far out there that it really would be more strange if he outright believed her without any doubt. Still to say that without losing his gaze meant at least as far as she was concerned this was true. And if her tale was true then that meant he had lost his other friend permenantly. It also meant he had to decide how to deal with Ailene. Especially how to interact with her. She was but wasn't him. She'd have influences of him but might be so minute that it wouldn't matter anyway. Not to mention there was his supposed sister in there somewhere also. Someone he'd never heard of barring maybe one instance about how his "family" sister included passed.

When he'd finally come to terms with the fact he'd have to think over this more in his personal time he took a deep breath and shoved everything into a box in the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time to start thinking nearly as hard as he was over this. He needed to decide how to interact with Ailene. She wasn't him. She was an entirely different person. For now it had to just be taking her at face value. He could decide more as he interacted with her. However short of long that may be. Another deep breath and quick mental shake of his energetic thoughts he nodded at Ailene before speaking. "I. . . well understand on a surface level. Admittedly I'll have to think over it more before it finally settles in but I understand better now. With that said, where do we go from here? You've found your hunch to be correct and I've learned the truth of Kazuna's disappearance. Not to mention the rocky beginning has been dealt with also. I'm not sure about you but I don't have much else to ask. And I've got a lot to consider given everything you've said."

[Kitai Yoru]

62 paragraphs, 310 TP awarded since none was mentioned