You only see what your eyes want to see. [Open]
Characters: Ulquiorra and absolutely anybody in the area from any ship who might get a kick out of bothering this asocial little git?
Content: Ulquiorra, after getting confirmed as a new crew member of the Fiertia, gets his bearings of the makeshift Market town that has built up around the races.
Setting: Anywhere in the market town; he'll be on ( Read more... )
Content: Ulquiorra, after getting confirmed as a new crew member of the Fiertia, gets his bearings of the makeshift Market town that has built up around the races.
Setting: Anywhere in the market town; he'll be on ( Read more... )
Though his face betrayed none of it, he was finding the day wearing. Getting from where he was to the Badlands and joining the crew of a specified ship in limited time hadn't been an easy task, but Ulquiorra was never one to complain.
Not even when he felt an arm slung across him. Not even when he heard that familiar, slimy, unpleasant drawl in his ear. His eyes widened briefly in surprise, but that was where his reactions stopped. His hands didn't even leave his pockets.
"Gin." He said simply, not bothering to correct him on either the inappropriate honorific use or the uninvited abbreviation of his name.
His retaliation was to simply use his given name, as to not afford him the respect of addressing him by his surname, or any honorific at all. It wasn't anything personal, he just only ever affixed a polite suffix onto one man's name and, needless to say, that man wasn't Gin.
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"So cold. Is that the kind of greeting you give old friends?" He feigned woundedness for a moment, arm still wrapped quite companionably around the Arrancar's shoulders, before switching to an expression of thoughtfulness. "Oh, I forgot. You've never had any. Well that's okay, I'll just tell you how you should react since I know you're new at this sort of thing. First, you can buy me lunch."
He leaned a little closer, his voice dropping a dozen octaves until the two of them were the only ones who would hear. "And then you can tell me what orders he gave you."
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"Hmph." He slid a hand out of his pocket and pushed Gin's hand off him, stepping forward sharply at the same time in order to dislodge the offending limb. "My orders from Aizen-sama are none of your concern, Gin." He said calmly, turning back halfway to fix him with an icy gaze.
There was no emphasis on any of his words, no inflections, no change in tone.
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"See, if we wanted to get technical about things, I've been with Aizen-sama longer than you've known he existed. His goals are my goals." That wasn't technically true, but that was a matter between himself and Aizen. "And his plans are my plans, so it helps me to know where he's moving the pieces so I don't accidentally trip up his game."
There was a particular emphasis on 'accidentally', as though implying there would be nothing particularly accidental about it at all.
"So telling me helps him, you see?" he said smoothly. "Because I know you wouldn't want to cause him any setbacks."
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He didn't twitch, but his eyes did narrow almost imperceptibly and then return to normal at the very near implication that he was little more than Gin's pawn due to his relationship with Aizen being closer than his own.
Ulquiorra was only a young man, not yet out of his teens, but he'd been through enough in his short life to consider Aizen's orders a cause he could put effort into and complete with no questions asked, to the best of his abilities. He'd had a taste of being almost normal, he'd tried the military and he'd even pursued self employment, but none of it really compared to the firm, solid orders of a powerful man with a plan in mind. As far as the broken little solider was concerned, Aizen's words were law and they were really all that mattered, regardless of the length of time he'd known him.
"I have not been told to report to you." Ulquiorra said stiffly and with unconcealed contempt. He slipped his hand back into his pocket and stared at him, the glint in his eyes mirroring the despisal in his voice. "If he wished for my orders to be known to you, he would have told you them himself."
He wasn't usually so bold as to speak for his boss, but on this occasion he stepped forward to do so. Aizen was in constant contact with Gin, so if he had wanted his orders known to him, he'd undoubtedly had more than enough time and chances to have informed him of them.
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It was a cheap shot, and one he took gleefully, giving Ulquiorra a sharp-edged smirk that pretended to be polite. "He'd rather I find out these things on my own, so you see why I decided to come directly to you. If you don't tell me, well, I'm afraid I won't be able to take back a very favourable report. It seems he's asked me to take care of a few chores on the same ship you've been assigned to, so it would really be useful if you could tell me what you know."
He wasn't exactly speaking untruths. If there had been anything Aizen had wanted him to know beforehand, he would have been told. The absence of that essentially meant Gin could do as he pleased, within certain boundaries. If there was anything significant to know about the Fietra he could probably find out for himself without relying on Ulquiorra's report, but...
He enjoyed the novelty of trying to pull rank. He could probably get away with it too, knowing he enjoyed Aizen's favour even though he certainly hadn't earned it on any merit of loyalty or devotion.
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"Very well," he started, relaxing his stance to adopt his usual, lazy almost-slouch. "My orders are to observe."
He wasn't exactly speaking untruths, either. He wasn't prepared to divulge everything Aizen had asked him to do, but when it came down to it, when all of the aspects of his orders were taken into consideration, he was just told to watch certain people.
"I arrived this morning. What do you expect me to have learned in such short a space of time?" He asked, his tone barely rising enough to make it sound like a question. He inclined his head very slightly, and it was so slight a movement in fact, that it was barely noticeable.
He'd arrived mid-morning and had gone straight to the Fiertia to join up with the crew. From there he'd been given his room and had then had gone out to explore the 'town', as per Aizen's request. If Gin was thinking of taking what Ulquiorra had learned about the crew to avoid doing any work himself, he was too fast out of the gate.
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If Aizen had delayed, he probably had a reason for it, but if there was any chance to work in some kind of imagined slight or insult into the delay, he would. Ulquiorra acted as though his loyalty was so infallible, but Gin was sure that it could be shaken or broken with the right kind of leverage. It always could, and Gin was masterful at it. He'd get there, sooner or later.
"Well, I did have the utmost faith in your abilities...I suppose they were unfounded," he said with a dramatic sigh, shooting Ulquiorra a covert, sideways look to see if he'd rise to the bait.
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"You're annoying." He said simply, and with a roll of the eyes, as though stating fact rather than undoubtedly popular opinion.
He really couldn't fathom why Aizen-sama kept him around. Always trying to throw a spanner in the works, always attempting to cause in-fighting and unrest... he could never work it out. In Ulquiorra's eyes, he was too much of a loose cannon to keep so close, much like a number of the less obedient Arrancar, but somehow worse. Of course, he didn't take into consideration the potential personal or emotional reasons for his still being so near to him, he never did, he never could.
He briefly considered that Aizen perhaps thought that Gin was better to have with you than against you, but if that was the case, he could just dispose of him to get him out of the picture. If he didn't want to do it himself, he certainly had at least one Arrancar that would be willing to step up and put an end to that perpetual sneering grin.
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"There's no need to resort to name calling, Ulqui-chan," he said blithely, as though utterly unaware he was doing exactly the same. "Maybe you should try being a little nicer to me. We should be friends, don't you think? Aizen-sama would want us to get along."
Gin actually wondered whether Aizen found the friction more amusing than anything. The man wasn't nearly as kind as he appeared on the surface, after all, not even the surface that those in his service saw. Even Tousen had wound up on the wrong end of his manipulations, from time to time, although he never seemed to notice. Gin didn't think he was immune either, but if he happened he was at least determined to be aware of it.
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"Friends? With you?" Ulquiorra did not find the idea of that scenario appealing. To the contrary, the words that he replied with were simply Ulquiorra-speak for something along the lines of 'I'd rather lick a toilet seat than buddy up to you.'.
Even if you didn't have the translation, his tone was more than enough to make it very plain and easy to understand how unlikely it was that he would be making friends with Gin any time soon. Really, it was hard enough to even be civil with the grinning imbecile, let alone anything else.
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If Ulquiorra had taken him up on that offer...well, being Gin's friend really wasn't so different from being his enemy. The treatment was about the same, it simply meant you had less reasons to avoid him, although very occasionally it came with fringe benefits that were just as likely to backfire as not. Luppi's 'fun' jobs, which came with just as many risks as rewards. Kira's loyal servitude which caused Gin to push him into the line of fire just as often as he pulled him out of it.
He could have had a lot of fun with Ulquiorra. It was kind of a pity.
"But even if you don't want to be friendly, there's something you can do for me. A little task Aizen-sama left me in charge of. I'm supposed to be having a little chat with Lady Uni soon - one of your new shipmates - and I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on her afterwards. You'll know when it happens. I think she'll be rather...upset."
He grinned viciously. "A full report, if you don't mind. I'll be passing it along to him later." The tone implied that this wasn't a request so much as an order, and one he'd be willing to back up with proper authority if necessary.
[OOC: If interested, the meeting in question is here. Still in progress, but likely not to end well. Gin and Aizen kind of arranged for a number of murders within Uni's company, and they're sending her a message~]
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"I have been ordered to observe Uni Giglio Nero by Aizen-sama directly, so you can stop wasting your time by asking me for favours." He paused to look him in the eyes, his gaze as flat and lifeless as it usually was. "As such, I will be giving my report to Aizen-sama and Aizen-sama alone. I see no need to send information to him second hand."
If Ulquiorra was prone to bursts of victorious smirking, he would be doing so now.
[OOC: Okay! I'll use the pin thingy to keep an eye on the thread~! =D]
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"Ah, so you'd submit him an incomplete analysis just for the sake of some sort of petty vendetta against me? You surprise me. I thought you were better than that." His disappointment wasn't terribly convincing, but the effort would have been wasted on Ulquiorra anyway. "Here I am, trying to work with you for Aizen-sama's sake, but if you're really so eager to vie for his approval that you'd work against his interests..."
He let that hang. He was quite sure Ulquiorra knew Aizen well enough to pick up the implications. Both of them were nothing more than useful tools to further Aizen's interests, and it was a mistake to think that mere approval would be enough to spare his wrath if either of them happened to oppose his goals, even if simply by the virtue of a lack of cooperation.
Gin might dare such things, but he was expected to, and there were certain mitigating factors in his involvement built on the ever unspoken understanding he and Aizen had. Ulquiorra was not quite so lucky.
"I'll be sure to let him know," Gin demurred softly, but with a deadly edge, "that your focus is so narrow that you've lost sight of the bigger picture."
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"You seem to be forgetting that I am the one sharing a ship with the Giglio Nero woman," he said, his tone neither rising nor falling in indignation or annoyance. "I am quite certain that my report will contain all of the information that he requires."
He re-adjusted his weight then, shifting his balance from one foot to the other. He thought, distantly, how Gin was beginning to irritate him. Vie for his approval? Hmph. He didn't need to vie for Aizen-sama's approval; he already had it. He was the most trusted of the Arrancar, after all.
Passing information that he was supposed to be giving him directly through Gin, the untrustworthy fox, was not something that rang right in his head. He would accept any harsh words or punishment that came about with the good grace of a bow and an apology if it turned out that he was wrong to not go through him, but at the same time he rather doubted that it would come.
"If you're finished?" He said tersely, his tone barely rising to make it a question.
He took one hand from his pocket to re-tame a lock of his uneven fringe that had been disturbed by the light desert breeze, the small gesture making him seem decidedly more human than he usually did. It didn't remain where he brushed it, instead it shivered and moved in much the same way as the long black tails of his coat.
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The answer seemed resoundingly obvious, although rather than being discouraged, Gin allowed himself the amusement of acknowledging that Aizen had done a thorough job with this one in creating a tool no other hand could wield. More sadistically, he likened the Arrancar to Hinamori Momo for their matching, insufferable loyalty, but while Gin wanted to see Hinamori broken for her weakness, destroying Ulquiorra would be a matter of pride. If they were nothing more than weapons in Aizen's arsenal, Gin was forever determined to be the sharpest, and if that occasionally meant cutting down any of the others who came close to matching him he never felt particularly repentant about it.
"Oh yes," he agreed. "We're finished. Do be careful, Ulquiorra. I'd hate to see you slip up too early. Then it won't be any fun for me."
He walked past Ulquiorra, almost but not quite shouldering him out of the way and leaving his back insultingly exposed as he departed. He could at least be slightly grateful that he wouldn't have to share a ship with the Arrancar, because that was a combination likely to end in tragedy very quickly. True, arranging for that fatal slip would be more difficult this way, but Gin did have an exceptionally long reach when it came to such things. He just had to find a way to pull it off without Aizen noticing.
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