Power Seekers

[Jukuma]

"...missed" Garve murmured to himself while his arm was still extended in the direction he had just thrown the giant rock.

It was impressive how boring life in Las Noches could be for some people. Garve didn't know how others coped with living in a giant castle in the middle of the desert with nothing more than petty missions to fulfill from time to time, but his method was to watch time go by at a slow, nerve-wreaking pace. During his many years in the Living World, he had thought a few times that he would've liked to have more time to do what he actually wanted to do and enjoy himself instead of engaging in his constant attempts to evade Shinigami and Arrancar; but now that he had all the time of the world for himself, it was hard for him to imagine how his past self could think of such a thing with a straight face. Even his fugitive life now sounded like a much more entertaining thing to do than just stand around, waiting for an eminent conflict to take place whenever his self-declared, God-like superiors felt like making a move. He was dying to pay a short visit to the Living World one more time now that he had a clear objective to follow there, but he was well-aware that, after his treason at the time of the Royal Espada, the Horror Vacui would be keeping an eye on him for a while and sadly his objectives could very well clash with theirs'. Unfortunately, for now he still had to carefully choose who were his enemies. However, for now, Garve had found a different way to kill time...

"Hmmm..." he sketched a zero on the ground at the end of a line of other numbers arranged in a manner as if he was keeping score of a game, which was precisely what he was doing.

It had taken him a while to arrange it, but he was now playing a simple and, probably, childish game. Taking advantage of the vast amount of crumbled remains of the previous Las Noches, which had now been repaired, he had arranged a number of enormous circles with giant rocks organized in a similar manner to a dartboard. Next, after building a long distance from the target, he was throwing rocks and trying to get as close to the center as possible; essentially it was pretty similar a playing a game of darts, only the 'dartboard' was laid horizontally on the ground. It sounded like an easy task to any Espada, but he had finally managed to find the perfect distance and weight of the rocks so that it was becoming harder for him to effectively calibrate the strength in his throws. In fact, that was the first miss he had made since he started playing, so the game was now starting to become interesting (although interesting wouldn't be as accurate as saying that it was simply less boring than when he started).

He had learned a similar game in the Living World, and that was how he had come up with the idea for the game he was playing right now. It was practically a copy and you couldn't say it was very creative, but since most of the other Arrancar had long ago cut their ties with the Living World and forgotten all about it, this probably seemed like a curious sight to witness.

"Ah..." without realizing as his mind was drifting somewhere else, Garve had used a lot more strength than what he was intending to and his last throw went way past the target zone. It drew an arc on the sky and, once it had reached almost half of its trajectory, Garve realized with concern where had gravity decided to place the rock. That piece of stone, that soaring satellite decided to land on the building that served as home to the Arrancar, particularly the area where most of the Espada resided. It was surely reassuring to see that his chamber was safe, since it was on the opposite wing, but by the time the rock made it to the ground, one of his fellow comrades had lost his room. "That will be troublesome for someone..." he reflected to himself as he watched the cloud of smoke and small pieces of the chamber follow the same path as the rock. "Wonder how many points that should be."

[Wanzer]

The tres espada was by no means an exceptionally social creature. Many of his days were primarily spent alone contemplating his plans, or doing some pointless mission for Death. If he wasn’t doing one of these two things, it meant he was either out speaking to one of the other espada or trying to find Reina in the hollow forests. No one had ever asked him to explain his reasoning in this, but then again he was known as the most violent of the espada to date. Many of the arrancar feared him and vilified him frequently, though Sojukin did deserve it for constantly devouring bits and pieces of the arrancar about Hueco Mundo. The entire process of eat or be eaten hadn’t quite find from Sojukin’s mind or he just thought it was damn good fun. Regardless, aside from the espada most arrancar avoided the man like the plague; primarly, out of fear of losing some part of their body to his jaws. As he was now, Sojukin dealt with a severe disorder from the sheer number of hollows he had devoured during his life as an adjuchas, but failed to become a vasto lorde before becoming an arrancar. The hollows inside of him instead of becoming condensed began to express their opinions and emotions, filtered through him and drove him mad. If there was ever a moment where he could gain some rest from them, it happened only during times of utmost relaxation. This was how Sojukin’s day was being spent, locked inside of his bathroom. One may have thought this odd for the male espada, but he had done so to partake in his favorite activity, soaking. “Ahh…nothing quite like a hot bath and a good book to calm the soul.”

Sojukin remarked to himself as he sank into the near boiling water. All of Sojukin’s time as an arrancar had created a massive heat resistance; it took a literal fire to cause him to cringe and even the desert did little to him. This could have been a consequence of his fire based abilities or maybe just the build up of resistance from time in the desert. He didn’t know and really didn’t care, all he cared about right now was getting through the next chapter of his book. Holding up the paper-back, recently acquired from a shop in the human world which he had happened to be near during a mission, he began to read. The act of maneuvering his eyes across the page was pleasurable to him, especially when the authors words created a barrage of images in his mind. Everything was going perfectly for him, all he needed was a little alcohol. Reaching downward to the side of the bath, he felt the bowl waiting for him. A freshly opened bottle of sake was waiting for him, something that had been an intensive labor of love for him. He had been waiting almost seventy-years for this particular batch as nothing made alcohol better than aging. Some said that only worked with wine, but Sojukin disagreed. Other alcohols could age rather well, though only certain brands of liquor, not beer which was just swine piss to him. As he moved the bowl up to his lips, the sudden sound of something whistling through the air drew his attention. “What…the…hell is that noise?” He commented to himself and his answer arrived…along with the absolute destruction of his room. Sojukin found himself pinned underneath a massive stone against the hot sands of Hueco Mundo. The sand didn’t really bother him, but the stone’s weight was already getting on his nerves as he evaporated it. The stone was gone with in moments as the heat in the area skyrocketed. “WHO THE FUCK THREW THAT!?”

Sojukin’s scream rocked all of Las Noches, he was particularly renowned for having an EXTREMELY loud voice. Looking around, he found his room with the exception of the door and closet were completely destroyed. His rage began to feed the other hollows in him and soon the voices were in full swing, screaming for bloody revenge. “Just perfect,” he thought to himself, “I was in the middle of the most amazing bath and book, now they are both destroyed. Ok…deep breaths Sojukin, deep breaths. No reason to get so worked up about….this….” Sojukin’s eyes had turned to a bottle sitting the sand, overturned and all of the contents spilled across the ground. “I’MA FUCKIN KILL YOU!” Sojukin screamed once more into the air, all the while his reiatsu exploded outward sending a heat-wave across Las Noches. It was only then that Sojukin realized he was completely naked…and standing in the middle of the work zone. A sudden heat overcame Sojukin’s face and the sting of embarrassment was steady. He really didn’t have anything to be ashamed of as he was of adequate size in all areas; however, the thought of several hundred, possibly thousand other arrancar seeming him nude wasn’t exactly his ideal position. “Errm….I’ma go now.” Sojukin said quickly jumping up to his devastated room and dressed quickly before seeing another boulder fly through the sky.

“Ok…so I know where the boulders are coming from, but lets see if I can find out who is throwing them.” Sojukin muttered to himself before leaping out of one of the windows of Las Noches; everything about the place just seemed sick and twisted to him. An empty shell of what could have been something great; however there was a force guiding it now. A very powerful force that was going to change the way everyone viewed life, for better or for worse. Death’s power was a universal presence here, constantly outstretched and creating a demoralizing atmosphere. Placing his power on anything would be the same as placing any human being into a prison. A constant sense of foreboding and being watched was there, driving down the spirits of those around them. If this was Death’s intent then he was doing a damn good job, but what if it wasn’t his intent? That question continually scratched at the back of Sojukin’s mind, made him wonder if something could possibly change to make conditions more livable or bearable. Right now Death was like a waterfall on top of all of them; every now and then it would subside for a moment, but then all the force would come tumbling back atop of them. Sojukin’s mind was often trying ascertain just exactly what Death wanted, but his focus was split.

“Aww…the poor baby can’t deal with the fact that there is someone else here?”

The voice inside of his head mocked him, it was…new…to say the least; however, it was much more formal and tolerable than the constant horde which was always afflicting him. This one also seemed to be speaking in a uniform voice, something that had never occurred before.

“So…I’ve got one more voice inside of my head, how quaint. What do you have to say to me that the other hundreds haven’t already?” Sojukin retorted, walking towards his destination so that the conversation between the two of them could take place.

“Ahh…well I’m just here to tell you that all those voices you were hearing? They merged…and that is me now. So if you feel the need to speak to them…speak to me. After all…with all this new strength, you won’t be able to suppress us anymore.” Sojukin had a sudden urge to leap up and dance, but he also didn’t. Not being able to have a mind of his own at any given time was a scary prospect; however, being able to deal with only a SINGLE voice was a god send.

“Alright…I suppose I can deal with that over that dreadful cacophony that was always on display. Anyway…since you are a single entity, you mind telling me your name?”

“Don’t have one. Just refer to me as the other, or Legion or something.”

“That sounds lame, I’m going to call you Eugene. I’ve always hated that name.”

“Err….that name sucks…give me something else.”

“You say something Eugene?”

“Go screw yourself.”

Sojukin laughed at the small triumph and was put into a slightly better mood as he walked along and found Garve, the primera, tossing boulders at some markers far off in the distance. Scratching his neck for a moment, Sojukin’s eyes cut to slits as he realized Garve had been the one to destroy his room. “Hey there Garve…you know…you should be more careful when you do shit like this. You know…you could hurt someone…or destroy something like…oh I dunno…MY ROOM. Would it have been so damn hard to fire in the other direction? I mean, for fucks sakes, you are the primera shouldn’t you I dunno…be the most intelligent of us or something? I was just minding my own business, then suddenly a damn rock has me pinned to the ground and I come up naked in front of all of Las Noches!”

Sojukin had steam rising off of him by this point and was blankly staring at the other espada in blind rage, ready to leap at his throat depending on his answer.

[Jukuma]

The earth seemed to be trembling moments after the boulder had taken part of the building with it, and it might have been Garve's impression, but he could have sworn that the temperature increased as well. He expressed his concern and sighed as he realized whose chamber he had destroyed with the boulder. There were 10 chambers for the Espada and he just had to hit the one that housed the most violent of them all. This was probably a good thing though; most of the other Espada would report something like this to the Horror Vacui, and that would be a problem for him given how he seemed to be on the spotlight all the time. However, if the information he had gathered about Sojukin was right, then he could rest assured since he was the type of person who would solve his own problems... by killing them... and then eating them.

Garve scratched the back of his head as he wondered whether he was in a bad or horrible situation, but since Sojukin was taking a while to arrive for some reason, he ultimately concluded that the best thing he could do was grab another boulder and try one more time before the peace surrounding him was interrupted. What was the point in running anyways? Sojukin would most likely rampage around until he found who was the one responsible for this and the rest of the Espada most likely had perfect alibis. Besides, the situation still wasn't so precarious he had to run away to save his life yet. Who knew? Maybe Sojukin wasn't as angry as Garve was assuming he would be and that scream earlier was simply out of surprise. After all, what could he have in his room that was so important he would feel the urge to attack a fellow Espada. He took another boulder and lifted it with one hand while he turned around to direct his sight to the target zone one more time.

"Hm...?" Garve murmured as he saw that Sojukin was already standing in front of him, and judging by the way he was glaring at him, it could be assumed that he was indeed a bit infuriated by the little incident. "Haaaa..." he nodded at Sojukin's ranting with the same expression he would have if there was a talking monkey in front of him; it was surprising and kind of comical. Even if Sojukin wanted him to take the situation seriously, there was steam coming out from every pore of his body, so Garve found it to be extremely difficult to do as the Tercera expected.

Where should he begin to explain himself? He was throwing boulders in that direction because he didn't really know he would make the mistake of throwing the boulders that far and get the direction so off. No matter where he threw rocks, there was always a building in the way. If it wasn't the Espada chambers, then it could have been the rest of the Arrancar's rooms (which were much smaller, so more than one would've been destroyed), or the meeting hall, or (God forbid) the newly restored central hall, and the list just when on and on. He could have taken all the boulders outside Las Noches, but now that the entire place was more organized, they kept track of who left and who remained inside, and there was a big chance that someone would've been sent to keep an eye on him since he didn't have a mission assigned to go outside.

He also didn't understand how being Primera had anything to do with intelligence. Though he didn't consider himself to be stupid and actually took pride on being a relatively knowledgeable person, he could think of at least four other persons from the top of his head who outclassed him in that area. Did intelligence have anything to do with the issue at hand anyways? And what was so bad about being naked in front of all Las Noches? Sure, Garve wouldn't do that willingly, but he had been naked most of his existence before becoming an Arrancar and even after doing so he remembered he had a hard time getting used to wearing clothes.

When he thought he had to explain all that to Sojukin in order to answer all of his questions, he suddenly felt lazy and concluded he preferred to continue listening to his ranting.

"No problem" Garve said calmly, waving his free hand (the other was still holding the boulder) as if subtracting importance to the situation. "take the chance to ask for a better room, you are still alive so I'm sure you didn't lose anything that important and people will soon forget you being naked in front of them, so there's no harm done. Now then... "

Garve moved slightly to the side so that he had a better look at the target zone as he prepared for another throw.

[Wanzer]

The desert sand became scorched as Sojukin stood in place. His rage seething over moment by moment; however he found Garve to be taking the entire situation lightly, as if the Primera thought the Tercera wasn’t worth his time. The insult hit home quickly, but then again he didn’t know Garve’s general personality. Of the ten espada, Sojukin was the most volatile; however, he could also be considered the most understanding, baring perhaps Garve. So far Taza had proven to be all about his revenge and never gave a thought about others; meanwhile, Gramica was too busy playing games with people. He competitor for the tres position seemed more of a clown then anything else, so nothing serious there. Yet the whole process of being stripped from his relaxation, smacked down into the middle of a desert, sopping wet and before a crowd of hundreds. Just wasn’t sitting well with Sojukin at the moment. Sure, one could say it was completely normal for the arrancar to be naked at times, as they spent most of their hollow days naked. There was a major difference between being a hollow and an arrancar though, hollows never had anything to hide. If they did though, the bodies natural furs or scales hid that for them. Sojukin was proud of this body yes, but that didn’t mean he wanted it on display for everyone to see; especially not the horrors. As the water on his body finally evaporated from him and the steam stopped producing, he took a good look at Garve.

Garve was a powerful looking character that was for sure and his strength must have been monstrous for him to be able to throw a boulder as he did. It was an incredibly stupid venture in any case, but still…he had to admire the man for doing something other than setting on his hands all day. Life in Hueco Mundo was boring in most cases and you either became lazy or a murderer; Sojukin was wavering back and forth between that line, though he did attack other arrancar from time to time for the hell of it. That much being said, he admired Garve’s use of what appeared to be an old highland game to pass the time, though exaggerated in scale. “Interesting set up, though I still think you should have pointed the other way, no real reason to endanger so many of your comrades now is there? Unless you are just some weird sadist, in which point I would suggest going to an S&M club or something. Unless you are also a masochist and just like getting the plump between out of you by the horror Vacui. Cause at the rate you are throwing these boulders, you’ll likely smack right into one of the main centers of Hueco Mundo. At that point…well…I’ll leave that to your imagination just how much pain Death will inflict upon you.”

Sojukin quickly felt ignored and soon noticed that Garve was already getting ready for another throw. Intercepting the man, his hand grasped the boulder first. A moment later the boulder began to smolder and bubble as it was reduced to a molten state, leaving Garve with nothing to throw. Shaking his head, Sojukin found his patience already wearing thin with the man. I mean sure it was one thing to make a mistake, but to openly put oneself in a situation to repeat that mistake? That was just complete stupidity. No matter what anyone said, a single mistake is fine, but constantly repeating that mistake wasn’t. Sojukin brought his hand up again and offered it to Garve though rather coldly. As with most beings of power, those that were on his level and he genuinely respected, he offered his hand cordially first before going on a rant.

“Alright, Garve…since this is the first we’ve actually met. I’ll introduce myself and shake your hand before I rant at you again.” He said this all coolly, as if it was a constant in his life. Regardless of the matter he could sense Garve’s reiatsu as his pesquia had been improving greatly over the past months of practice. Still…it was no where near most others, but he could get a good gauge of power, if only from a relatively short distance. Garve’s reiatsu was like a flare, not unlike his own and rocketed upward before applying pressure down on the area. Most of the arrancar here were probably used to it by now, but still it felt funny to reach out and feel it like this. “I’m Sojukin as I’m sure you’ve already gathered and the pleasure of this meeting is all mine. Anyway, quit with the boulder throwing already. You already cost me a bottle of sake that had been aging for seventy-five years. I had been waiting on that for a long time. I’m sure you don’t want anyone else making a trip out here. I mean couldn’t you have done something like chess or soccer or something?”

[Jukuma]

Garve was beginning to find Sojukin's presence a little annoying; sure, he knew he hadn't really said anything that would satisfy him and make him go away, but he didn't expect him to go as far as interrupting him when he was trying to kill time. Hell, it wasn't the most entertaining game he had played in his life, but it was far more amusing than having a kettle with a face telling him to watch what he was doing. Sure it was funny at first, but now it was losing all it's initial appeal. Garve's eyes became thin, straight lines as he stood in place, listening to Sojukin continue his ranting. His attention span was zero at the moment and was now only getting a few, random lost words of what Sojukin was saying; something about 'comrades', 'sadists', 'S&M clubs', 'masochists' and 'pain'. Garve picked on his ear as he wondered how in the world had the conversion morphed into that direction and concluded he just DIDN'T WANT to keep track of it again.

When it seemed like Sojukin had finished his speech, Garve tried to once again get a clear vision of the target zone and throw the boulder, but when he was about to let it go, Sojukin stopped the rock with his hand. Almost instantly, the boulder's temperature began to rise and in just a moment, it was melting in front of Garve. Soon, his hand was grasping nothing but air and he stared at the now melted rock forming a boiling puddle that dangerously neared his feet. He got out of the way and looked with interest how the melted rock slowly extended it's reach on the ground; he already knew Sojukin's powers were heat-related, but he didn't know he had the ability to melt rock in seconds. He really did have do more research on the rest of the Espada, since he would have to work with them soon. He sighed as he decided he should probably stop throwing rocks for the time being.

Sojukin offered his hand to Garve as he presented himself, apparently going for a hand-shake. The Primera looked at the Tercera's hand and then at his face and switched a few times. Was he really expecting him to shake his hand after he melted a giant rock in a few seconds simply by touching it? As far as he knew, Sojukin was still mad and he could end up the same as the boulder. On the other hand, he was surprised to see that Sojukin was not attacking him yet, like he though would be the case. Perhaps what information he had gathered so far on the rest of the Arrancar was wrong and was probably about time he exerted himself as an Espada. Chess, however, didn't sound like the best idea; he was already tired of playing that game and losing to his Fracción, Xifan. At first he won every match, but ever since Xifan learned to play, he lost almost every match.

"Soccer, huh?" Garve murmured in comprehension, although his expression remained as indifferent as always; it was kind of funny to watch him think about something resting his chin on his hand while Sojukin's hand was still waiting for his response. He seemed to have figured something out because he suddenly began to explore the floor, ignoring Sojukin's presence once again. He took hold of another boulder, although this one was roughly the size of two heads. "You be the goalkeeper then..." Garve said to the Tercera as he put the boulder in his extended hand, all the while with a smile that betrayed his calm eyes.

[Wanzer]

Garve’s sudden refusal of his handshake and slip into thought had put Sojukin on edge. If he was annoyed that he had destroyed his boulder; well that just made him a bit less than even; he was even up for a good brawl if Garve was going to bitch about it. He had turned his back to him and even placed himself into the ‘thinker’ position, that Sojukin had picked up in the human world and had even seen the little art exhibit. Not really that impressed with it or Garve for that matter, he clinched his hand; heat already starting to gather there again. His patience for the man was wearing then rapidly and he could already tell, nothing he had said had been even remotely noticed. “Now that was just plain rude.” He thought to himself as reiatsu began to build rapidly in there and heat continued to climb. Sojukin hated being ignored above most things; especially, when he was just trying to do his fellow espada a solid. The moron was obviously going to get himself killed if things kept up the way they were going; sure he wouldn’t be bored anymore, but he’d be dead. That was certainly an undesired effect. Sojukin let the flames now gathering about his hand slowly dissipate, there was no point in harming the man. What he was doing, was what they all wanted to do…escape from the drudgery of the monotonous life in Las Noches. Sojukin began to turn away from Garve and walk back to his demolished room, when Garve spoke up.

“Hmm? You want me to play soccer with you? Well…I suppose I don’t have anything better to do.” He said craning his neck around to look at his fellow espada. It would be an interesting diversion….though.” Sojukin stopped speaking for a moment as he locked eyes with Garve…there…was something off about his expression. It was far too calm to be proposing a game of soccer or sport, a near emotionless state glazed over with a smile. No…that was screwed up and he knew that look…a schemer’s look. Oh well, curiosity was always his weak point, he would just have to see what he was planning. A part of him wanted to deny the proposal, but the other part of him wanted to see what was going on. “Heh, even in my own mind…I’m still a bit loco.” Sojukin’s thoughts concluded when Garve set the boulder in his outstretched hand.

“Goal keeper huh? What are the perimeters for the game?” Sojukin said calmly staring back at Garve and looking down at the solid chunk of rock in his hand. It weighed a good deal, but was nothing to them, it might as well have been a baseball or something of equivalent weight. Taking a good look at the object, he spun it on the tip of his finger then started to bat it around with his legs. It bounced a bit over his knees, repulsed by subtle waves of reiatsu. Every motion was calculated and brought the boulder back around his body, before heel kicking it to the front. Catching the piece of stone with the tip of his foot, he chuckled at Garve.

“Let’s play some ball.”

[Jukuma]

Garve had noticed without much effort that Sojukin's reiatsu had increased along with the heat just moments ago; his Pesquisa was extremely precise and more effective in distances than the average one, but even if his ability at sensing reiatsu had been a tenth of what it was, he could have still read Sojukin's energy without even trying since he wasn't really hiding it at all. It was clear that the man Garve was dealing with wasn't one who had patience to spare for everyone, or at least that's the conclusion he arrived to given the fact that this wasn't the first he acted that way towards someone and it wasn't normal that the other person would react that way, which was practically threatening him. Then again, that was probably because most of the others didn't have the power to stand up to him strongly. Nonetheless, Garve wasn't responding to Sojukin's threatening increase of reiatsu and his remained stable; in fact, it was good to know that some of the Espada could calm down quickly enough and act as if nothing happened with a simple soccer game. Hell, Sojukin wasn't exactly what the would call the ideal comrade, but if the rest of the Espada were like that then he really didn't have much to worry about during his stay in Hueco Mundo. For now, however, his objective was to analyze Sojukin, not the other Espada.

"Even if you ask me about perimeters..." Garve murmured to himself in low tone (as if he was already thinking about something else while he finished his sentence) when Sojukin asked him about the goal, which once again triggered his internal and autistic thought process. Although he had accepted the idea of playing soccer, the truth was he didn't really know much about it other than how it seemed to work superficially; basically a bunch of people from two teams kick a ball and try to make it go through a rectangle called a goal guarded by a goalkeeper. How did any of that translate from human to Arrancar capabilities, though? Sure, they could use rocks instead of soccer balls, since the first would most likely be destroyed no matter how much they held back, but what about the goal? A regular one just wouldn't cut it, since it would be too small for them if they were to use Sonido or any other technique. He sighed and began to walk slowly and aimlessly.

Garve searched through the ground with his eyes and not before long he spotted a bunch of rocks that seemed to be surfacing parts of buried columns, surely remains still left there from the reconstruction of Las Noches. He simply smiled, but didn't say anything to Sojukin and, without asking for help or explaining what he was doing, he began to work on making the goal. In a few minutes he had taken out three of those columns and, after arranging them so that they had the proper length, he had made a giant goal with those three columns. It wasn't really the work of an expert since Garve had based everything on 'eye measure' to make a goal three times the size of a regular one. The final result was a giant rectangle that would be roughly over 21 meters wide and 6 meters tall; at least it seemed to be stable as long as no one pushed it strongly, though if he kicked the ball towards one of the posts, they probably would have to do it again.

"That's the goal" he proclaimed as if it wasn't obvious. "I'll draw a line 50 meters away and kick the rocks from there."

When Garve approached Sojukin after arranging the goal and explaining how they would go around it, he saw that his fellow Espada was bouncing the boulder from one knee to the other in a similar way to how he had seen professional players in the Living World; he didn't know if it was the same, but it did look similar except for the waves of reiatsu. After an interesting performance of boulder juggling, Sojukin chuckled at Garve, which caused him to, for a few seconds, direct a puzzled expression at him. He wondered if he was being taunted by the Tercera with his soccer and reiatsu control skills, which he found useless and laughable respectively. But what most concerned him was the fact that what he was doing was something related to the Living World; knowing about soccer was already a small clue, but if he played with the boulder that way it probably meant he was familiar with human behavior. Had he studied humans in the past? Was he familiar with them the same way Garve was? He would have to look into it later on.

"Good to see you are energetic" Garve responded to Sojukin with a calm smile. He then turned around and began to move towards his spot 50 meters away from which he would kick the rocks, picking up boulders to throw along the way. "You can stop the boulders however you want, feel free to use Sonido or Cero."

[Wanzer]

Everything stood out about Garve’s personality as he walked around in his trance-like state; which made Sojukin stare at him with his eyebrows raised. Just what the hell was the man doing? His question had been a simple one, what were the perimeters of their game and just what were the rules? It wasn’t anything that needed much significant thought when there were only two of them; surely, the Primera could have just pointed at two of the shattered ruins and called them the goal posts. Sighing as he found himself alone in the world; aside from the voice in his head which he had now dubbed Eugene, the tercera began juggling the ‘ball’ again eventually catching it in his hands and letting it sit there as he took in numerous deep breaths. Relaxation was something Sojukin had been trying to practice lately and get a feel for the zen of life; however, it never seemed to work as often times he’d simply find himself becoming annoyed over the smallest details. Garve’s mumbling and incoherent speech to himself was one of those little details. It felt like he was simply being ignored by the man, which was something he hated more than anything. Just as his patience was reaching its limit and Sojukin was about to chuck the boulder at the man’s head; Garve stopped and began setting up some posts.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Sojukin called to him confused as to why he was setting up a goal post when they could have just used something else; however, he bit his tongue half-way through the process. Garve’s mind worked in a way he’d never understand, so he drew a little circle in the sand with his foot. Garve’s motions had put him into his own thought process regarding the many people in Hueco Mundo; whom he failed to understand. First and foremost on his list was Death, the man was little more than a mystery, wrapped in a mystery, then drizzled with mystery sauce. How anyone could ever figure that man was beyond him; however, next to death was Reina and then after that was Garve. Those two would be easier to analyze by far; however, his recent partnership with Reina had made her a bit more of an enigma to him. Could she be harboring some sort of feeling; more than likely, she was just the manipulative bitch he figured she was. Garve was the last on the list and currently the only one he could talk to without getting a spike shoved down his throat; or so he thought anyway. Reina was obviously the least powerful out of the group, though only missing Garve’s level of power by a smidge and even then, her abilities had yet to be seen as more or less effective than Garve’s. The primera showed himself to at least have some engineering skill with him, though it was crude at best as he set up three pillars of stone atop each other. Chuckling to himself, Sojukin walked over and looked around at it for a moment. The dimensions were good for their little game; just large enough to make moving from one end to the other difficult, while small enough that the smallest mistake on Garve’s part would mean a miss or sending it into Sojukin’s range.

“Mighty fine work, though it looks a little flimsy let me help with that.” As he spoke Sojukin began packing stand tightly around the bases of the two pillars; surrounding them completely before his hand came down next to them. An instant later a massive tube of glass had surrounded the pillars base and snuck deeply into the sand below; now, neither of them would able to push the pillar down. The major concern was breaking it, if Garve happened to smack one of the boulders into the goal posts. Laughing a little Sojukin met Garve’s gaze allowing all of his reiatsu to die out completely and the heat to fade with it. A friendly smile cascading off of him as he began dusting off his hands and looked around at the field for a moment. “Alright…so you’re going to be standing fifty meters away shooting at me right? Seems fair enough, you get to test your aim and I get to test my ability to jump into high velocity projectiles; interesting. Sonido and Ceros are able to be used as well, so nothing is off limits to me? Well then, this should be really fun. Ahh…just don’t try to kill me and I promise not to do the same to you.” Sojukin said quickly as he analyzed Garve quickly.

The gaze on Garve’s face told him that he was confused slightly, more over the confusion could have been based on one of two things. His laughing at him during the ball juggling or the ball juggling itself. Sojukin had often found himself bored in Hueco Mundo just as Garve did and to entertain himself, he would play human games. Hacky-Sack being one of his all time favorites; which he often dragged other arrancer into the games with him; so his juggling wasn’t from being good at soccer, though he knew of the game. Rather, he enjoyed another sport that took a small principle of that game and made it the most important feature. It was…interesting and enjoyable to him to find no dependence on his hands and be able to move his feet as he wished; it certainly wasn’t a dance like maneuver, though some considered it as much. Not taking his eyes off of Garve, he wondered just what the man was thinking. “Let’s have a good game and forget the boredom of Hueco Mundo for a little while…alright?” Laughing again when Garve told him it was good to have energy; Sojukin’s attitude proceeded with a bit of whiplash as he changed from angry to a little happy.

“Alright…well then…come at me.”

[Jukuma]

As he walked towards his spot with calmed steps, Garve took the chance to mentally organize what information he had on Sojukin and compared it to what he was learning and observing from him now. The bottom line, no matter how he approached the subject, was that he was dealing with... an extravagant individual... to say the least. What little he had heard from him from his contacts was that he was a self-absorbed man with an obsession with power and a predisposition to obtain it at any cost, who would exert violence even on his peers for questionable reasons, and little concern for the well-being of others; in conclusion, a violent, power-hungry narcissist. Many labeled him a threat and he was practically being forced to be concerned about it now that he had been appointed Primera. However, he was more of the kind of person who investigates on his own and on a whim, so for now he had no intention to address the matter. So far, what Garve had gathered from the man was that he lacked patience, had a tendency to react threateningly when he was displeased with something (then again it was an entire room and an expensive sake), forgot about strong resentments in seconds when distracted with something else and could melt rocks quickly (very quickly). So far he could confirm that Sojukin's personality was similar to his ability, including a not-so-discrete tendency of changing mood (hell, he was giving a friendly smile to the person who had destroyed his chamber minutes ago) that scratched that of being bipolar (if not the actual real thing). Then again, he had always believed that all Arrancar without exception were mentally unstable to varying degrees, so it wasn't really surprising. So as things stood now, Sojukin was either a lunatic psychopath or a weirdo; either one of the options was discouraging. Not because he had to coexist with him, but because thinking about untangling a mind like that would be too troublesome and he felt lazy just by thinking about it.

Either way, if he had to compare Sojukin to the rest of the Espada, it could be determined he was easier to see through, in a superficial way, than some of the others. Taza wasn't really an unresolved mystery either; though he seemed to be a source of wisdom given his age, the truth was that, even though Garve found him to be someone he could talk to very occasionally, he wasn't really the kind of person that picked his interest completely. He had big ideas but not the determination or willpower to open a path towards them and that is all he needed to know about the Segunda. He did wonder how long he would last with Death around. The Horror Vacui, for that matter weren't really something that completely interested him; he obeyed them and would continue to do so, but he still hoped that they would disappear from his life as soon as possible.

"Try?" Garve replied when Sojukin mentioned how they shouldn't kill each other. Exactly what kind of game was the Tercera picturing? Apparently he did have a fixation with killing. "I wouldn't try, I would just do it."

Although it wasn't his intention, it sounded completely as if Garve was following up the joke, when he actually meant it for real. He didn't have the faintest intention of killing Sojukin, nor did he see himself doing so in the near future. They were both on the same side even if their objectives weren't exactly the same and the Tercera seemed to be cooperative despite everything and would probably remain like that when it mattered, so why kill him? If on the long run, however, Sojukin got on Garve's bad side (which would already be the case if what he had heard about him was true) and also tried to get in his way, he would just kill him like any other obstacle. However, that situation was still not realistic.

"Well then" he said when he was on his spot ready to shoot and confirmed that Sojukin was also prepared. "Let's begin with the game."

Garve built some strength on his leg while he raised it until it was as high as his hips usually were and, when he felt he could deliver a strong enough blow, released the strength of his leg on the boulder, hitting it still with enough control so that it wouldn't shatter from the impact. It was a straight shot directed at the lower right side of the goal, but the speed it carried was incredible. The boulder was practically a blur and the air around it left a delayed aftereffect that made the sand rise around 6 meters high. Suddenly 50 meters felt like nothing.

[Wanzer]

Sojukin chuckled a bit more as Garve said he wouldn’t try, he simply would. Many people had said similar things to him over the years; most of those people were now dead, under his foot or long forgotten into time. The most recent of those two were Taza and Reina; whom, he let it slide as he had ideas and a need for them down the road. Thinking upon it, he realized just how much he and Reina had in common; constantly using others to meet their own goals and contemplating such things often. A scary thought to be sure. Still, he was pleased with himself that he did not have to compare himself to Taza; whom he considered little more than a tiny dog yapping in the face of a leviathan monster who allowed him to live. If it had been so, he’d probably have slapped himself and made sure he didn’t survive through the day. What Garve had said was arrogant in any sense, regardless of being the primera; of the espada he was deemed the most powerful, yet no collection of data had been given. “You’re just as much in the dark about me, as I am to you Garve.” Sojukin thought to himself, yet shook his head calmly. Confidence was good trait to have and Sojukin applauded that momentarily; however, he had to correct the man on his arrogance. Sighing, he pulled out one of his strips of paper and began rolling reiatsu into it; sticking the ‘cigarette’ into his mouth before igniting it with the flip of his finger. Small puffs of blue exited his mouth as while tendrils of grey rose to the sky in a slow dance.

“Confucius once said that: Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without a star or Moon. Another wise man once said that: A man who thinks himself a king will soon find himself weeping with the fools. You claim to be able to kill me Garve…while this could be true, you have idea if you could succeed or fail; even deemed as the Primera…how are you different from me, Taza or Raku? Maybe you evolved into a arrancar from being a vasto lorde…unlike myself, but what does that prove? You are just another member of our race; while you are powerful and considered the cream of the crop....are you still not but a fly to Wisher or any of the Horror Vacui? Are you not, but a tiny insignificant flake of dust to Death? Tell me Garve…what makes you think you can kill me? The number branded into your flesh with ink or do you know something about myself that even I don’t? I claim not to be able to kill you…I claim only to be standing on the same platform; after all..as Confucius said: Have no friends, not equal to yourself.” Chuckling again as Garve kicked the ball at him; putting on a grand show of strength as the boulder soared through the fifty meters as if it were nothing. Sand skyrocketed as it traveled, yet it might as well have been in slow motion for all Sojukin cared; walking toward the projected point of impact and sticking out one arm. The boulder smacked into it and spun as it were a real ball for a moment as friction did the work for him; grunting softly, he took another drag. A haze of blue-smoke leaving his mouth before he dropped the boulder and drop-kicked it back to Garve. As it soared in the air, Garve would notice the amount of English, or spin, he had put on the ball, making it arch around at an angle towards him before landing five feet to his side as it hooked around his body.

“Good kick.” Sojukin said with a minor laugh as he took off his arrancar hakama, letting it lay against one of the pillars as he analyzed Garve’s movements. All he could gather so far from the man was that he was simply….thought-provoking. Everything he did held a small amount of mystery and he constantly muttered to himself; probably processing information like some sort of super computer. Having never much liked the intelligent types; Sojukin shivered slightly and sighed, flicking the cigarette away as he did so. Breathing outward slowly; his green eyes cut across the fifty-meters and he slowly traced the path of the kick back to Garve before clicking his tongue. A small shockwave of noise left his mouth, traveling over the sand without disturbing it; however, if Garve listened he could probably hear it echoing across the desert and even off his body. Sojukin had closed his eyes and his ears twitched a few times as he stepped back toward the center of the goal; coming out of it about a meter. Spacing his footing out so that he was crouched down a little; Sojukin actually looked like a professional goalie. His arms bent over his knees and toward his groin as he built up kinect energy around his thighs and joints; giving him a great deal of explosive power to react with at a moments notice.

“The only thing that separates an arrancar from an espada Garve…is the level of reiatsu one has; which is never more than a lottery for a hollow. Some are born with less…others are born with more and as we evolve and change that lottery is played again and again. Some win it big every time and others lose everytime; us…we won and won and won over and over again. Sure…we trained and worked our bodies and spirits to gain more strength, devouring hollows as we did so; however, our strength is little more than the product of luck is it not? We were lucky to develop a personality as a Menos Grande…we were lucky to avoid all the predators and stronger creatures when we were smaller and lucky to find others weaker or on the same level as ourselves. Yes, some skill and intelligence was required, yet there was always something that made us better than the others. That was simply ‘luck’, call what you will destiny, fate or drive. Everything was decided by a coin toss, just like one before every sporting event to decide who gets what side. So tell me Garve, what makes you different from me? What makes you so special? Why can you stub your nose at me, Taza and Raku….or are you simply becoming pretentious with your title? Does arrogance blind you to the fact that you are a dog, just like myself…just like Taza and just like Raku; we’re all nothing but faithful canines, held onto Death by his leash of power. So…tell me, did you break the leash or did you simply forget where you stood?”

[Jukuma]

Even though it was to be expected, it had to be commended. That shot might not have been Garve's full strength at work, and it was also true that Garve's aiming skills were rusty at best, but it was plenty strong and accurate for a trial shot nonetheless and Sojukin had been able to block it with no effort at all. He was worthy of being Tercera Espada after all, most of the other Arrancar he knew would have had a hard time with it (assuming they were able to even grasp it). He would probably have to try a bit harder next time.

The ball landed close to Garve, but even when it came in contact with the ground, the spin it was thrown with made it move closer to the Primera while describing a hook with its movement. Garve simply looked at the boulder with indifference until it finally stopped; he then directed his eyes at Sojukin. This definitely wasn't what he was expecting out of a soccer game: making a comment most people would ignore suddenly transformed into an entire speech dedicated to, once again, prove Sojukin's fixation with power. His obsession with the Horror Vacui, who he had brought up at least three times now, was also an evidence of how much he revered power; after all, that's all they were: power. He should have seen this coming though, so he was the one who brought this upon himself. Of course, he had already been warned, but he was now seeing how much the Tercera liked to talk, and the subject was painfully predictable. As he wondered who in his sane mind (which then again, wasn't Sojukin's case as the public's opinion dictated) would do something as unrewarding and most likely unhealthy as smoking his own reiatsu, he sighed in a clear response of laziness at Sojukin's speech. Hearing such a discourse was tiring; it was more elaborate than usual, but he had heard it enough times by now.

Trusting what Confucius, a man of extraordinary wisdom for a human, but still a human, said was something hard for an Arrancar such as Garve to do. He knew exactly what that man had been in life and why he was revered so, but it didn't change the fact that when Confucius said what he did, he didn't know anything about the afterlife and what spirits had to go through to survive (particularly Hollow) nor had he lived even half the age most of them had. What was wisdom faced with the experiences and time they had all gone through? Even if his teachings were to be considered as a philosophy to live on to, they would prove ineffectual in a scenario like Hueco Mundo. In this desert you couldn't allow yourself the luxury of a friend, and ignorance was a term that couldn't even cross your mind to begin with. Also, he held serious suspicions on the remaining quotation Sojukin had mentioned; even though he had been living until a few days ago among humans for almost an entire lifetime, he had never heard such a thing and it just didn't sound like something convincing at all. That added to the fact that Sojukin didn't even quote the name of the person made Garve think it was either something the Tercera made up and then quoted himself on it, or was said by another Hollow he had met; either way, it was completely invalid to him. Sojukin surely was a passionate speaker and an avid reader, but that was it, he wasn't convincing and the bottom line of his speech was simply what could be expected from him.

"Is that really how you feel?" Garve asked as he bent his body to grab the boulder with his hand. It was a simple question, and even though some might have expected it to have a deeper meaning, the truth was it didn't. "I never compared myself to the Horror Vacui or the other Espada, and if I really based my answer on my number I would have said so. You are the one who brought all that up. But if it will satisfy your curiosity, then I'll give you an answer to think with." He looked at the boulder with the same apathetic expression, as if he was more interested in it than in what he was discussing. "I am surprised that someone like you would say he got this far with luck; if that's the force that brought us this way, then what good is one's skills? If that's the case then we might as well sit back and let 'lady luck' pull the strings of our destiny, waiting until we lose a bet we are forced to make regardless what path we take. If that's your real vision on our existence, then I pity how little value you give your life, if you can even call it yours to begin with. But that's not what you asked me, right?" He ceased to gaze at the boulder and went back to paying attention to Sojukin. "You asked me what the difference between me and the rest is, right? I don't know about Taza and Raku, but I can tell you now that you and me are completely different. You are wrong about luck being a decisive force in our existence. If I maintained individuality as a Gillian, it was because my mind was stronger than the rest. If I made it further than you in the evolution of Menos, that was because my determination was greater than yours. And if I have survived this long, it was because my previous accomplishments and my will allowed me to." Garve's expression remained the same, but the atmosphere around him was suddenly colder than before. Even though he hadn't changed anything about his mannerism nor his face, not even his reiatsu, his eyes still somehow emitted an icy gravity. It wasn't threatening or intimidating as much as it was simply that: cold. As if he was looking at a reality that was much more heavy and absolute than what his words were or could express; something as glacier-like as truth. "The difference between you and me is that I don't use words such as 'try' and that I don't give luck any merit for what I have accomplished. If something has to be done, then it should just get done with no half-hearted promises. And on top of that, the difference is that I know dust can't be held in place with a leash."

The mood around Garve reverted back to its usual self. There was no longer any cold sensation inspired by his gaze and his expression was once again simply and plainly apathetic, just like before. In a second, the cold gravity around him was once again nothingness.

"But even with that said, that's not why I said I would not try to kill you. My reasons for that do not concern you now nor for as long as we are comrades." Garve held the boulder up and showed it to Sojukin, as if reminding him that they were doing something else at the moment, all this while drawing an empty smile on his face, fake like the sky of Las Noches. "But this is kind of a boring subject, why not concentrate on the game?"

For the Primera, time was precious, and he couldn't waste it trying to explain things to someone who would most likely not pay attention to him, maybe not even respect his opinion. He had already wasted some time and maybe words, that's how he saw it.

[Wanzer]

Sojukin merely shook his head with a smile on his face; as he extended his shoulders upward in defeat. Crushing the cigarette that held less than a millionth of his reiatsu in it; he began to walk across the field as he approached Garve. His face was actually turned into a rather nice smile; something almost sickly sweet and would seem ultimately suspicious for one as vilified as Sojukin. Yet, there was nothing in his aura that gave him any hint of maliciousness; rather, it just focused on Garve, doing little more than sweeping the area in a complete monotone. Sighing, he looked up and felt the hot winds ravage across his body, the sand strike him and the utter lifelessness of the region; dominated slowly by the Arrancar. It was depressing and in his head, there was little going on, but the cries of Eugene complaining about his name; cutting him off, Sojukin closed his eyes. Experiencing utter calm and peace for the moment, something that had been lost to him for eons. Now that there was absolute peace, he began to lock away that voice inside his head, caged it away with chains, hooks and manner of entrapments to keep him from ever getting out again. The only voice could still be heard at times; however, it was too weak to ever full break free and too large to squeeze through the bars he had constructed for it. Chuckling for a minute, he breathed a sigh of sweet relief; before his emerald eyes locked onto Garve's.

“No....I don’t.” He replied nonchalantly as he stood there with his hands in his pockets and thought about all that Garve had said seriously. “I play devil’s advocate with people and I enjoy it; because it allows me to weed out those that deserve what they have and those that don’t. Anyone who would call what we have done, luck, is a moron. Allowing our strings to be pulled by a force outside our grasp or by anyone for that matter is foolish. Yes, Garve…you are correct in what you say. Comparing yourself to another is only setting yourself up for failure and saying you are ‘lucky’ diminishes the accomplishments that we’ve worked so hard for.” Taking the time to look at Garve’s interest in the ball, he merely laughed and moved back into the goal standing there in position once more as he waited for the ball to be kicked at him. Nothing had really mattered to him; all he had desired was to meet someone who could see past what he was attempting and Garve had. This having put him in a good mood along with the fact that most of his psychopathic tendencies had been shut down with Eugene’s conception and restraint; Sojukin was probably having the best day of his life. Rubbing his hands together, there was laughter in his voice.

“Well, then I’m waiting on you kick it at me.” Garve’s response at been exactly what he wanted it to be. An espada that was proud of his accomplishments and knew they were his and his alone; furthermore he hadn’t taken the bait as Taza had and had simply rolled with it. Moving through every step as if it were nothing. Sojukin admired that, as it was far more than he had expected of the Primera; when he had first heard of Garve, he had expected some dimwitted powerhouse who merely smashed everything to bits with his reiatsu; yet, he was standing before a man who actually knew some eloquence and could elaborate his own thoughts with no problem. Having dug through Sojukin’s garrulous speech and merely commented on the important parts, minimalistic to be sure and with no use for quotes or flowery language. Garve was what he had least expected for the position of Primera and what he had hoped for the most. Wiping his lip slowly, he was also thankful that Garve hadn’t asked him to roll one of his cigarettes for him; they were little more than a show piece, smoking little bits of papers that had nothing on them. Something stupid that lesser Arrancar thought would make them look more defined; Sojukin found the habit to be tripe and gave them out as a mark of rejection.

“Ahh…though it is refreshing to see an Arrancar with some intelligence Garve. I’ll give you that much." Moving his foot about the sand, he thought about the bleakness of his surroundings and the way everything seemed to only move at the behest of the powerful; what was the purpose of this? The weak could become strong if they gathered together, yet the strong also depended on the weak; if it wasn’t for the weak, then nothing would get done. Chuckling for a moment, Sojukin finally put one of his hands in his pockets and stood there; eyes trained on the boulder, waiting for the moment it would come. Back in his ‘goalie position’ he felt let in that moment, but a want to entertain Garve for a little while; show him exactly what the Tercera was capable of. Still, it was an awkward situation when the concept of power was actually reversed in his mind; allowing a few deep breaths to be taken in, he looked back at Garve, ignoring the boulder in his hand. Moments before the ‘chill’ of his presence had been near overwhelming, yet now it was back to near apathy….it was interesting to watch his emotions flux and then constantly return to that calm state. As if nothing bothered him at all; yet, it was hidden somewhere in there…like a bottle being shook up too much; Garve would probably explode eventually and that was when everyone needed to worry.

“If you want to know my true feelings Garve, it is that we wanted it more and had a superiority over the others; however, I find no comfort in that. When I look around Hueco Mundo…I see nothing really…I don’t see anything being built on the sands. Nor do I want anything for that matter; I gained power sure, but I had no use for it. I could say I’m strong, but that strength amounted to nothing. Slowly I realized something.” Sojukin let out a small laugh as he began to dust off his creating more friction for the boulder to work again, allowing him better grip. “I realized that no matter how much power I had…without a reason to use it. I was always going to be weak, so I’m still weak today. The thing that really makes us different from others, is that we have a goal…something we desire more than anything; me, I’d bore you with that goal and you’d call me crazier than what everyone else already says. The only other thing I can use my strength for…is to protect my comrades and my friends…that’s about it.” Laughing; his body shaking slowly for a moment, he covered his face and looked up at the sky; blinking at the falseness of it and his desire to see the real one.

“I am insane Garve, just not for the reasons everyone says. I’m insane because I believe in more than this….in more than this barren rock.” In the ubiquitous silence; the wind was the only voice in Sojukin’s mind and he swore, he could hear: “If you build it, they will come.” In his ear, shaking his head; he realized in that moment that he really needed to stop watching so many movies. They were rotting his brain slowly and the gravity of that hit him immediately, if it rotted anymore, he just might snap. Unable to feel anything happening or see Garve reacting for a few seconds; Sojukin closed his eyes, allowing the feel of the breeze to wash over him. The coolness of it bathing him in reassurance; while he fought to remain in control of his own body.

[Jukuma]

Garve raised an eyebrow as he silently looked at Sojukin approach him at a slow pace. The Tercera had raised his shoulders as if he was admitting he didn't have a comeback to counter him; did that mean he was now going to finally use violence? There was no hostility in his way of walking and if he really wanted a fight he probably would have taken a more direct and quick approach; however, he was simply walking the 50 meters slowly while smiling at the Primera. And that was the odd part: that smile was not the smile of a serial killer, it was just a smile, like the one any other person would be able to show. Any Arrancar would find that view odd and, even though his knowledge of the man was scarce, Garve was no exception. The atmosphere just moments ago had been filled with Sojukin's reiatsu and hostility, but now it was calm, silence substituted that uncomfortable combination and made the view the rarer. To any viewer, it would seem as if his eyes and ears were seeing and hearing a different scenario.

The surprise did not end there. Sojukin did not attack Garve, nor did he counter his argument in any way; he agreed with him and expanded on what he had just said while showing a smile and locking his eyes on the Primera's. He unmasked himself and revealed his true mindset and reasoning to Garve, there was no enmity and no bloodlust, there was pride and a feeling of self-accomplishment. In his tone, it seemed to the Primera that Sojukin had been waiting for someone to tell this, his true self, to. Normally, Garve's immediate reaction would be to ignore him and go on a different tangent inside his head, he didn't need anyone to tell him that his reasoning was right, not a fellow Arrancar nor anyone else. However, he didn't fail to realize that he was seeing a side of Sojukin practically no one in Las Noches (and probably Hueco Mundo) had been allowed to see, a side that many thought nonexistent, and concluded that the least he could do was listen to what the man had to say. And so, he listened silently, looking back at Sojukin's eyes, the boulder now forgotten completely.

Sojukin went back to his spot to continue the game, but he continued to explain himself. He even praised Garve to some extent, saying that he had some intelligence, but the Primera realized that this much coming from the man meant much more than what it seemed; after all, he didn't imagine Sojukin saying anything remotely close to anyone else. He imagined the thought of him and Taza praising each other and actually to hold in a chuckle. He thought Sojukin had ended his revealing speech, but the most intriguing part was yet to come.

Now it wasn't just the fact that Sojukin had a mask, the Tercera revealed his emotions to Garve as well. It was a vague explanation, but it was enough for him to understand what he needed to. His definition of power was not what he had once suspected, and the fact that there was a purpose for it was also something he hadn't predicted. To Garve, Sojukin seemed like a nostalgic figure as he looked at the sky. The Primera smiled as he realized that he and Sojukin actually had something, however small, in common: they both wanted a true sky.

"I suspect you don't need me to tell you this, but I'll say it nonetheless" Garve said as he let the boulder fall in front of him and stepped on it with his right foot. "Even if it costs you your sanity, don't forget your goal. That's what will give you strength when you need it." Garve waved his hand as if subtracting importance to it "well, at least it seems to work for me. But that's enough chatter, let's continue."

Garve stepped back a little from the ball to gain some impulse and waited a few seconds as a signal that he was going to throw another shot. This time he wasn't going to do any tests, the previous shot had been enough for him to figure out roughly how he had to hit the boulder to make it go in the right direction. If he kicked it to make any particular effect like making the trajectory describe an arc, he would most likely still miss the goal nonetheless, but if it was a straight shot he could use more strength now. After taking two steps forward and building a lot of strength on his right leg, Garve kicked the boulder with a strength that made the previous shot look like an amateur's. The trajectory was similar, but the ball had not only speed but also force; the rock vibrated as it went straight for the goal and a shockwave accompanied it, raising a storm of sand. While it wasn't Garve's full strength, the force he had used was around the 90s% of his full capacity. Since he didn't have much technique, that was probably one of the best shots he could fire.

[Wanzer]

The expected was something that Sojukin had always deviated from; in life, in combat and in almost every other facet of existence. He tried strange foods, fought with insanity and spoke inconsistently at times; however, this was all a guise, the relatively young arrancar was at the core nothing more than a man with a goal and a desire to accomplish what he wished for. Normality is what that would be called; however, that also meant being easy read and easily used by those around him. Something that wouldn’t be productive to his own goals and soon; without realizing it, Sojukin had constructed a mask to wear, descending downward into madness as a way to protect himself from those that would use his goal as a means of manipulation. Insanity had hidden his secrets away, but at what cost? The arrancar had ruined the relationships, he could have hoped to form; Sojukin had forced himself to become truly alone and tormented himself for hundreds of years. Only his pride and the thought of that singular goal had kept him going; through all of the blood lust, the spilling of it and the desire for power, he continued to march ever forward in his determination. Soon, the various traits of his new persona formed; his narcissism and his aversion to pain, each and every part of him working in a new reverse of what he truly stood for.


There used to be an old saying that reality is often stranger than fiction; Sojukin might fit that bill nicely, yet it does not define him. His mask was crafted for a specific reason and while he was never truly noble in anything he did; Sojukin at least had a reason for the many vicious atrocities he had committed. Still, he didn’t understand what exactly made him open up to Garve the way he did; maybe, he trusted the man do to his stoic nature. Maybe, he simply hoped that Garve would understand him on a level that others could not and would find a kindred spirit in the man; maybe, he was just as insane as everyone thought he was and the slip of the tongue would be his downfall. What use was it now to worry over what would become of either of the two? There was a game to play and some rest and relaxation to be achieved through this distraction; something, that Sojukin had lost when Garve had destroyed his room and left him stranded out in the middle of nowhere. No anger was present over that though; he just couldn’t seem to find the strength to muster anything up against Garve, though it was deserved for that intrusion.

“Insanity was only a tool to be used to further my goal Garve; it was something to ensure that others would never find out what I planned. If they had discovered it, I surely would not be here right now and the many of other arrancar would have attempted to usurp my position. Having a goal is a double edged sword in reality; people can use your goal to manipulate you…so what better way to avoid that, than by seeming like you don’t have one?” Sojukin laughed a little and noted that Garve was getting ready to kick the boulder towards him once more; this time using a far greater amount of force in his kick. The amateurish style that he was incorporating into his kicks was something that Sojukin had expected; over, the man’s absolute raw power was not. “Shit……” That was all Sojukin could mutter as he barely had enough time to react to the boulder coming toward him; even with the hundred meter distance, a sonido was required to get to the ‘ball’ in time. No trail was left in the sand this time for him to follow; only a speeding ball of grey stone hurtling towards him faster than anyone could see. The orb turning round and round in the air; heating the air through friction and when it finally collided with Sojukin, whom had come ten meters out of the box to meet it, it forced him backwards.

All of that raw power had built up so rapidly and with what had seemed to be so little effort; Sojukin hadn't prepared anywhere near enough to deal with that. Groaning out for several moment, he felt himself being dragged slightly backwards; though he had still maintained a grip on the boulder. Muscle fibers throbbing, thighs aching and his arms pulsating from effort; he eventually found himself tilting backwards with the orb in his hands. Using the boulder’s own momentum against it; Sojukin performed what those in the human world called a suplex, forcing the boulder into the ground. Upon impact, Sojukin found himself thrown away slightly, rebounding before he looked down and saw the boulder burrowing deep into the ground and vanishing from sight after several moments; sand pouring down over it in a cascading waterfall before he turned his head back to Garve.

“Damn….”

[Jukuma]

It took a while for the aftereffect to kick in, but after Sojukin had managed to make contact with the ball, a huge and long pillar of sand that went as high as 10 meters marked where the rock had passed only to then fall diagonally with the wind. For a few seconds, it was like a curtain had covered Garve's sight of what was happening and only a shadow remained of what he previously recognized as Sojukin. When the sand finally disappeared completely from the air and the place went back little by little to it's usual calmness, he was able to recognize the whole on the ground in front of Sojukin and, tying together the scenery with the movements Sojukin's silhouette made before, he realized what the outcome had been.

"Dissapointing..." he muttered to himself in a low voice, though he didn't look like he really thought so. True, he expected that, if he used that much power, the ball would go in, but apparently being a goalkeeper required more technique than he had initially thought and Sojukin wasn't close to being a weakling either. Nonetheless, it wasn't like he had started the game with the intention to fill the goal with rocks and he was actually relieved to see he had a reliable co-worker.

"A tool, eh?" Garve said, as he put himself in place. "They say there's a thin line between sanity and lunacy. Don't fall on the wrong side, will you?"

As he looked for another rock to continue the game he pondered on Sojukin's words. What kind of life had he gone through that made him believe that merely having a purpose would have that kind of negative effect? Garve couldn't deny that it was possible for someone to be controlled in that manner, but he had always considered it a part of his existence. He had never been manipulated to the extent he would curse sharing his dreams with someone else; although then again, he wasn't one to talk about those things openly and most of the times it was him who would sabotage others. In fact, last time there was conflict between his own purposes and others' intentions of manipulating him, he ended up leaving Hueco Mundo without ever coming back. But evidently, the plan failed in the end. In Sojukin's case, however, it was most likely very much along the lines of sabotage, else he wouldn't be so weary about sharing his own objectives with others. He finally found a rock of an acceptable size and took hold of it while going back to his spot. If he wanted to make the game more challenging, he would evidently need to put more practice and technique into it, so it would be more productive for him if he actually spent a couple of shots trying to learn how to control his own kicks.

"I can't rely on my experience to convey any message to you, since I believe you are older than me." Garve didn't actually 'believe' it as much as he 'knew' it. While he had had little interaction with most of the Espada, when it came to superficial data such as name, age and recent history, he knew more than enough about all of them, since he had plenty of people who gathered information for him both in Hueco Mundo and the Living World. He began to lightly tap the rock by his feet, playing with it. It looked like he was just distracting himself, but he was actually weighing the rock and looking at all the deformations it had as, evidently, it wasn't perfectly round. He might have not been a perfect shooter and bad at aiming, but he knew he had to keep at least that in mind to know what kind of trajectory the ball would have. "But I have seen that most objectives can't be manipulated that easily; it takes more than knowledge and bad intentions to . I don't know what you have seen that I haven't, but what I can say is... your purpose is very fragile, isn't it?"

Garve prepared for another shot, but this one didn't carry nearly as much strength as the previous one. He was no longer trying score goals using brute strength (or scoring, for that matter), he simply was testing a few hits. The ball still had enough strength to cover the distance separating the two Arrancar without touching the ground and described a bowed trajectory before making its way towards the right side of the goal.