El Color Rojo (Diablo and Ashlei)

As Ashlei turned back to look at him, Diablo met her gaze; albeit with much less expression than the Cero Espada's. Although he did not express or even fully comprehend them, Diablo was actually able to read emotions to a certain extend. It was never that he did not know emotions, and even then he could still discern what certain expressions meant. The problem for Diablo was that, without pain, the need for emotions had never been clear to him, and without the basest of emotions, fear, he had simply never developed them. Either way, the odd little mixture of being both pleased and annoyed upon Ashlei's face did register to him. Of course, even for Diablo, the reason why Ashlei made such an expression was rather self evident; his own lack of emotion. Still, this didn't mean he was any closer to understanding emotion, he was just observant enough to notice such changes.

As Ashlei moved back to sit at his side again, her next words did bring up a good point: why did he pause so much? Honestly, Diablo never really gave much thought to this. His pauses were definitely not a result of any form of anxiety, but instead, were more because of his thought processes. Basically, he put more thought behind the few words he did actually say, but even more, he was seemingly paying more attention to his thoughts rather than any conversation at hand. Well, at least that was one reason; as the lack of any real emotion within his tone and the general dislike of dealing with others were also just as much to blame. Of course, Ashlei had commented on more than just his speech patterns, and though his thoughts took no more than a few seconds, there was a slightly longer pause before he responded. "...by special, I mean... you are different... not annoying" he responded, and though there still was no emotion to his tone, the words themselves did actually express a bit of his actual thoughts. Basically, he had just said that he preferred Ashlei to any of the other arrancar, or perhaps any other person. Well, prefer might not have been the best word, but essentially, Ashlei was the only person Diablo would willingly give any of his time to.

"...I apologize if my... wording... was offensive..." Diablo said, though this time, his words began to fade near the end. Having looked over to Ashlei, Diablo noticed her acting "strange", almost as if she were sick. Having followed her for quite a while, Diablo had an idea what these symptoms could mean, but he was not quite expecting them now or to progress so suddenly. Before he could comment on it, Ashlei seemingly lost her strength and slipped off of the branch. Unlike earlier when Ashlei had slipped but caught herself, Diablo knew this was different and acted without hesitation. As soon as her posterior had left the dead branch, Diablo had used the arrancar's signature movement technique, sonido, to appear on the ground before the falling girl, arms outstretched as soon as he landed. Because of his quick actions, instead of colliding with the ground, the Cero Espada landed safely within his arms. "Is there a problem, Señorita Mischevang?" he asked as he still held her. While his tone may not have changed, his words were spoken without any pause, and maybe even slightly quicker than his normal speech. This, combined with his rapid response, showed that he did have concern for Ashlei whether or not he fully knew himself.


(Re-activated by the way.)

Even for Diablo, Ashlei's most loyal follower, it was hard to imagine that the young girl he currently held in his hands was truly the Cero Espada who ruled over all hollows. Sure, he had seen her in a similar state once or twice over his years with her, but something about her body there in his arms was so different; almost surreal. Of course, that being said, even this supposed sign of weakness did not change Diablo's standing for Ashlei. He did not follow this woman simply because of her position nor her power, but at the same time, he could not exactly say why he followed her. Of course, for once, thought such as these were not the most prominent in his mind. Right now, oddly enough, all his thoughts cared about was the unconscious girl laying in his arms. Surprisingly though, despite his usual lack of expressed emotions, the manner in which Diablo held Ashlei was... surprisingly tender. For one known as "The Cutting Devil" or more simply "El Diablo", a man whose very presence caused fear to course through the nonexistent hearts of other hollows, his grasp on the Cero Espada was surprisingly soft. As she grabbed onto his coat and pulled her head towards his chest, Diablo accommodated for her change in position by moving his arms to hold her in such a way that would make her current act of leaning against him as comfortable as possible.

As Ashlei spoke, though her voice was soft and muffled, Diablo was able to hear her words with enough clarity to comprehend them. Normally, such a phrase wouldn't have had any effect on Diablo, when spoken from this girl in his arms... he felt the need to respond to her words. "...Te tengo ahora... mi cariño" he said in response. Yes, his words were in Spanish, and yes, both his tone and facial features were their usual emotionless levels; but simply saying such a phrase was quite an achievement for this man. Though, as he spoke, his voice did seem to be intentionally soft this time, as if lowered in consideration to the recently faint girl. It may not have been much, but for one who had been around him long enough as Ashlei had, these few subtle differences would have been hints to a change in Diablo's attitude; or at least maybe once she had a clearer head. Of course, all this aside and there was still the fact that Ashlei had just fainted before him and was currently being held in his arms. "...do you request anything of me, Señorita Mischevang?" he asked, his tone still holding the quality as if he was intentionally speaking softer on her behalf. Though it may have sounded a bit formal, he was essentially asking Ashlei if there was anything he could do to help her right now.

~Diablo's Fun Translation Time!~

"...Te tengo ahora... mi cariño" = "...I have you now... my dear"

With Ashlei still held firmly in his surprisingly tender arms, Diablo had not moved an inch from where he had caught the fainting girl; save to lift her closer so that her rest against his chest could be more comfortable. Though standing solemnly was well within his usual behavior, it was never really around others. In fact, as he was now with Ashlei, this was probably the closest he had ever physically been to another being. Even during battle with his blade firmly imbedded in his opponent, even when creating his "art" with their blood; no one had been as close to his body as the Cero Espada was right now. Diablo found the act rather odd... though not necessarily annoying or bad. While he was unable to feel any pain due to his disease-born-power, many people forgot that this man's body was completely numb. It was not that he could feel nothing, just that stimuli could only be either neutral (as in eliciting no response) or pleasurable; meaning that all pain simply had no way to register and thus was never felt. Because of this (and a few other factors), however, Diablo was never approached by others, even as a human, so this misconception was born.

Still, this feeling of Ashlei leaning against him, her firm clutch on his coat yet soft breaths against his chest... well, Diablo definitely did not dislike it. Without the pain, he had never seen much importance in touch, but as he was with Ashlei, perhaps this sensation was not as annoying as with others. Of course, this little "epiphany" was solely internal, though even if her were emoting his thoughts it wasn't as if Ashlei would have noticed in her curent state. But, Diablo did not care. The fact that he too could feel some solace in this simple action was only a mere afterthought. All that mattered was what Ashlei wanted of him. Yes, he was her loyal follower, and though he still did not fully comprehend why, he would not abandon her as long as they drew breath. Though emotions may still be foreign to him, Diablo would still work for the pleasure of Ashlei that he had yet to comprehend. Maybe through this the Hollow Queen would be able to draw the emotions she wished to see from her most loyal follower. For now, however, the two simply remained as they were; a silence between the two born from a new origin. Yes, he would return her to her chambers to rest soon enough, but for now... this moment would live on.


~End Thread~