The Wind that Blows to You [Kizuna, Nelliel]

"I dunno, actually."

Kizuna hadn't really thought much about that at the time. Or, for that matter, until this very moment. It hadn't mattered to her, as far as her own aims went, so she hadn't asked. That actually had Kizuna scratching her head, before offering a somewhat empty shrug.

"Like I said, I've never talked to the kid, or really even any of his closer friends. Far as I know, everyone who was going there was just in it to mess with the shinigami."

"Tch."

That was annoying and while she could place doubt on the veracity of how much Kizuna knew, she was oddly specific when it came to listing every single person that was collaborating with him. Something that did make her raise an eyebrow when she thought about it.

"How do you know all these arrancar work with Ichigo?"

It rose some alarm bells in her mind that such a comprehensive list had been compiled but she wanted to know why this list was valid before she went chasing after the former Primera, Quinta, and any number of other arrancar.

"Hm? I know some of them, just not all."

For Kizuna, it was all pretty casual. Had she admitted she was in Soul Society? No, not yet. Was she necessarily opposed to it? Also no. Self-preservation told her that admitting that much might be a bad idea; but, at the same time, she liked to see how things went. Even to her detriment, if it meant the rest of the world could continue on. Besides, she'd reincarnate, or get eaten.

"I'm just counting off the people I saw. There's probably some other Arrancar who haven't gotten mentioned to me or slipped past my notice."

"And who tells you this?"

Typical arrancar served strength so it stood to reason that if she was being told this then she served one of the people that she mentioned. It begged the question to Nelliel if she had betrayed her loyalty to one of them or if her superior was indifferent to this behaviour in the first place. An alternative that came to mind was that arrancar served strength so if her master was weaker than a former third espada then it stood to reason.

"Safira?"

Without knowing any of the others and going off former espada, the Primera was stronger than her but the Quinta could still be weaker than her. Therefore she hedged her bet on that name.

"That's the one."

Kizuna wasn't terribly surprised that Nelliel was able to intuit that so quickly, nor was she unwilling to simply state the truth. After all, she'd ended up working under Safira out of necessity, anyway; sure, she liked the lady's spunk for the future, but she wasn't nearly so attached that she was gonna defend everything she stood for like no tomorrow.

"She might know more than I do, I dunno. I'm not exactly high up on the totem pole."

"Alright, and where is Safira exactly?"

With that established, Nelliel continued down this train of thought to interrogate the other arrancar. It was a bit more forceful than she would prefer to do but it was also the best lead she had so far. Kizuna had practically appeared in her hands, there was no reason to throw away this opportunity when it was continuing to proffer more at no cost.

"Not sure right now."

That much was entirely true, and Kizuna certainly would have shared the information if she did know the answer. Why not? This was all profoundly interesting. Kizuna was more than happy to see how things would go with one more variable thrown into the mix.

"She spends a lot of her time in Brazil, but she could be off in Hueco Mundo doing whatever it is she does."

What was the former fifth doing in Brazil? She had to try to recall what she could of the woman from a century ago. With so much happening since the days of the original Espada, Nelliel struggled to remember much besides her name and not liking her. She always seemed to have a chip on her shoulder but she wasn't memorable beyond that when there were other arrancar that made up the ranks as well. It was during the period when Aizen was weeding out the weaker and natural arrancar with his hogyoku-enhanced ones.

"Then I'll have to go to Brazil."

"I'd be careful over there if I were you. She's really sinking her fangs into other people if she can. Then again, you're probably not exactly a pushover or anything, so I guess you wouldn't have to worry about it as much."

The notion of actually stopping Nelliel from going to Brazil was the last thing on Kizuna's mind. After all, that was bound to be one hell of a brawl no matter what. She'd want to see that in action, for sure, but she also didn't want to just throw a potentially wild Arrancar into the snake pit if it was gonna cut off something with a lot of promise.

"I can probably head that way with you if you want. I can get a sub if the weekend runs long."

On one hand she did see the value in taking Kizuna with her but there were also some things that bothered her. If Kizuna was a subordinate of Safira then it did make her wonder if this was some kind of trap, had she not been transparent in saying that the snake was sinking her fangs into people.

If it was the same fifth espada, Nelliel didn't feel concerned about fighting her if it came down to it. This unknown arrancar and Safira could be trouble though.

"I wouldn't want to impose on you, Kizuna. Especially if it would impact children's education."