Hiatus

      Which was the main reason he found her presence tolerable, entertaining even at times. She filled the perpetual —- monotony that had once again become his life. It was not unlike it had been before. His solitary strive to continue to progress and achieve new strengths was just that: solitary. He was leagues ahead of those who served him and it meant that they could not keep up. As the King grew stronger, so did the enemy. Yet one worthy to call themselves his opponent had yet to surface ( or resurface if he would be so lucky to come across Kurosaki one more time ) and so there was nothing. Nothing beyond his own, silent progression. 

      Cyan Sung-Sun had broken that routine though, one that had only been broken once before. Why? Grimmjows mouth tugged downwards at the corner, watching her from the corner of his eye. What, beyond her mildly entertaining him, had him willfully continuing their interactions? He wasn’t entirely sure and the uncertainty caused frustration to bleed into his gut. He was content with being the lone King. Content with being alone. Yet here he was, engaging in a conversation where in she held some power ( no matter how careful she was with it ). 

      Grimmjow opened his mouth, as if to speak but the hesitation of her following question drew him short. This time his surprise shown in a flash across his face as he took in her words. How long had it been since someone had dared to ask him of them? — After what had happened, those who had didn’t survive and the rest of them quickly realized it wasn’t a topic for them to discuss. There had been hesitation though in her voice and he knew that she was aware of what dangerous line she tread. He almost laughed in amusement at the thought. Perhaps she wasn’t as careful as he had believed her to be and he could admit to himself he preferred her not to be.

“They tried to eat you?” Granted, that was how most encounters in the desert went. Surely, though, they should have sensed his power? When Harribel found her, Sung-Sun knew immediately she was gazing upon a being of an entirely different level. That sort of arrogance was something they all shared. She could only imagine how it must have went afterwards for his fraccion. Yet the fact they survived despite the odds said a great deal about him. If she didn’t know any better, she would have assumed a meeting like that would end in their deaths. He actually gave them a chance. How...interesting.  

The sudden shift of his tone drew her eyes back to his face. There was a glint of -- something there, flashing in his eyes and grin. Was he actually enjoying her questions? It almost seemed that way. Even after all their conversations, she still didn’t know why he bothered talking to her, of all people. She knew of him, knew what he was capable of and what he would do to the people that crossed him. How was she supposed to believe he had no ulterior motives? They always did. 

Even so...she wasn’t the one freely giving away information, was she? He could have easily demanded something in return for his answers. Perhaps he would, and she could gleam what it was he was after. In the meantime, however, there was no harm she could think of so long as he was doing the majority of talking. Her sleeve came to press against her lips again. She did so without realizing; the pressure of the fabric against her mouth always helped her think. Maybe something in his tone did embolden her. Whatever the cause may be, the pause was a much shorter one than before as she followed that line of thought to its logical conclusion. 

      Yet he made no indication of a reply aloud, instead waiting in silence for her to continue. Surely she had far more intrusive questions and he wondered if she would dare ask him. Even he didn’t know how he would respond but that made this… game all the more exciting. He was allowing her the opportunity to test her boundaries and in turn he was using it to read her. How comfortable was she exactly around him? — And to what reason had she yet to avoid him entirely? It wasn’t as though he had given her a reason to but he knew where her loyalties lay. 

      Perhaps the entirety of it was to gain information from him ( what sort of questions she asked would determine that ). Though a large part of him doubted Tier would risk the life of one of her own for something like that. Besides, she knew he was far from subtle. If he had any intentions of taking her out she would be the first to know. Lavender eyes turned back to meet his gaze, the question falling from her lips catching him somewhat by surprise. 

        He raised a blue brow, thinking upon it. He supposed that he did, though the frequency had died over time. Much of his early life had been spent within he World of the Living. The desire to return had been strong before, though it had always brought on swelling feelings of rage. Though most recently, from what he could remember, it had only seemed to produce a dull sense of familiarity and uninspiring anger within him. — How long had it been since he had gone back now? 

Since he seemed not to have anything else to add, Sung-Sun let that topic drop. When he made no effort to speak again she knew he was waiting for another question. Thinking of them, she was quickly realizing, was more difficult than she anticipated. It wasn’t as if she’d ever been overly interested in the Sexta. During Aizen’s reign, he was just another Espada that served along side Harribel, one with a nasty temper she preferred to avoid. The times their paths crossed could be counted on one hand. Doubtful he recalled any of those instances, either, when she spent most of them hovering behind Harribel with the other bestias. More often than not, it was his fraccion she met in the hallways. 

Not all of them had been pleasant. If she was being honest, she could only stand one of them. The rest were your typical arrancar -- loud, aggressive, arrogant. That they could somehow coexist in one tower was a feat in and of itself. How he came about such an odd group, that might prove an interesting story. But was the subject of his fraccion a sensitive one? Considering what happened to them, that is. Only Yylfordt had managed to reappear, and even now she remembered the rage that engulfed him after that...escapade went awry. Tilting her head to the side, she deliberated in asking, lips half-parted until she finally pushed through her hesitation.