The Knight and the Teeth

Her steps crunched, as her body hit the stone with a sound. The night was cool and quiet. The girl before the eyes of none was a knight : the armor on her body was proof of that much. The way she moved was ethereal : beautiful even. Many had been caught up in how she looked : the blonde strands reflected in the pure moonlight, those enrapturing green eyes. Her stature, small and yet svelte, as a reflection of pure strength. The girl took a deep breath, letting the chill hanging in the night air rattle in her chest. She did not do a feminine gesture : such things were foolhardy to a knight. The girl changed her footing, and took off, deep into the night. Simply patrolling, as it was often want of her own time : after all, today was a day off, and thus she was here, in spirit, in the human world. Her body twisted and landed, as she heard a sound : a noise. Her head tilted, as she waited to see who would come to her tonight, the strong form almost light itself, as she waited.

The garganta portal had opened after Soran's fight with the strange masked girl was finished. The rogue Arrancar was still rubbing his forehead as his opponent had crashed her masked face into his very violently. "Damn, I have the biggest headache now" Soran said aloud to himself as he looked over and saw a blonde girl whom had just seen him exit the portal. He simply looked at her and closed the garganta portal before any hollows escaped. However, he had no idea what to say...

The stop had shown her something : the full moon glittered on the black edges of the gargantua, as it closed, a figure having emerged from it. However, still, she took no offensive pose, as that blonde hair was unique in the light. Her frame? Beautiful, eye capturing. The girl stepped forward, the heavy sound of metal clicking on the pavement, as those green eyes observed the black haired male before her. ''Ah. You closed it before hollows came out.'' she stated, plainly : and still, taking no offensive pose, the girl looked the male up and down. He had complained of a headache, as the girl took steps forward, her body a few mere feet from the male. ''If you have a headache, rub your temples. If you are not here for a fight, then I will do it for you.'' she spoke, her voice crystal clear. Her tone was musical and gentle, like a lullaby. It flowed with such a gentle passion, and a kindness that nobody understood : she knew this man was Arrancar by the sheer recognition of the Gargantua : however, she showed no hostility. Then again, her looks did differ from a typical shinigami.. so perhaps her insides were different as well?

The blonde girl stated that she knew why Soran had closed the garganta. Soran could tell that she was no human due to her knowledge of what he had done. She then examined the Arrancar and stepped towards him calmly. Usually the rogue would be hostile towards a shinigami walking close to him, but something told him that she wasn't going to try to harm him.

''If you have a headache, rub your temples. If you are not here for a fight, then I will do it for you.'' she spoke causing him to involuntarily smile, revealing his mouthful of razor-sharp fangs, Soran lifted up his cold pair of arm braces with gloves with one layer of pitch-black Titanium and spoke for the first tim directly to the girl "I think my hands would only make it worst." he said with a faint chuckle in his voice, showing his comfort around the stranger.

The knight held her posture. She was proud, as the male looked towards her, almost as if nodding. She understood what he meant. However, her eyes looked at his fangs, and then his hands, and smiled, as her fingers undid the straps of her own gauntlets. The gauntlets were then hooked to her sides, held there by a hook she had in her armor just for this. Surprising, the sleeves went to her wrists : her fingers were covered in a soft material, that also removed. And her fingers were like her skin : soft and creamy looking, a gentle humanoid color. Her blonde bang tickled the side of her face, as those enrapturing green eyes started at the male, her own lips curving into a small smile.

She moved closer, the curve of the armor slightly accentuating her curves, as her fingers softly touched the side of his neck. ''It's alright.'' she muttered, as if calming and soothing him with that gentle voice. And softly, her hands began to rub, like a massage. Anyone walking into this scene might have a heart attack, considering a shinigami was helping out an arrancar. Her touch was rough and yet gentle, the roughness undoing the knots in his muscles : once the knots were gone, the headache would bleed away, since the stress on his neck muscles would cause a headache due to stiffness. It was all about nerve connection.

''There. Do you feel any better?'' her gentle voice asked, as she showed no fear to him : in fact, there was something akin to curiosity in her eyes. If anything, she was definitely kind, and she still did not move to attack, as she started to put her gauntlets back on : because who knew when enemies would show up and attack? But the girl would assume he would not attack her : for she was kin d to him, and she assumed the same in turn. But her eyes did have undisguised curiosity in them.

The shinigami moved closer and placed her hand on his neck, not used to this type of physical contact from anybody in a long time, the Arrancar allowed the aid from the stranger. Soran's headache faded away as the kind girl rubbed his headache away firmly and softly.

She asked him if it had worked, and in fact it had. "Actually it feels much better, thank you." Those words had not escaped Soran's lips since his life as a human, in fact nobody had even bothered to aid him with getting the pain away in over 400 years. There was a look of curiosity in the girl's green eyes, which resembled how his golden eyes were looking back at her.

"I suppose I can offer you my name, it's Soran Kanzaki; the rogue Arrancar." He told the shinigami with all honesty in his voice. "I am suprised a shinigami would aid me with a headache, you are very kind to do so." Soran had no intention on harming this girl as his eyes scanned her up and down, in fact he kind of thought that she might prove to be a valuable allie.

The male spoke good : he was content and his pain was alleviated. This made the blonde woman proud : she had aided someone that had done good, therefore she felt content. ''No problem, I am glad to have helped.'' she responded. Her voice was crystal, as she bowed to the male who introduced himself. His voice was soft but not gentle, a bit cold. She did not mind such : for Meimu was a girl that accepted anyone, regardless of what was to be done. She was not blinded by prejudice like many others : it is what allowed her to be friends with anyone. ''I am Forpath Meimu : I am a Shinigami of the Gotei 13. I believe last name first is how the Japanese introduce themselves?'' she said, not giving a rank simply because that might cause aggression : if he knew she was a vice-captain, that might get a bit dicey.

''And anyone with a decent attitude would hold off on harming someone unless they had foul intents. After all, should they believe in good, good is not in itself judgmental, but rather those that wield it. I am a knight : and thus I have vowed to protect, not to prosecute or kill. Should you have carelessly allowed a great many hollow escape, we may be engaged in battle right now.'' she stated, clearly, concisely, with no holds barred. It was a pure sort of honesty, as she offered him a kind, and gentle smile. Some have called it adorable, since her entire face lights up when she does that smile.

The gauntlets were safely on her hands, as the girl kept that light smile. Until that smile, her face had been mostly neutral, if not a bit cold. But that smile made her radiant, as she looked to the next alleyway, making up her mind. ''If you wish, we could talk more as I finish my patrol.'' she said, her blonde bangs waving in the wind. Her ethereal elegance was present in each movement : a grace so unusual that it seemed out of this world, her entire sense of being very much unique. The girl's statement was sincere : she was truly and honestly sincere in her statement. Because she was a knight : she never said things she didn't mean. She may omit unless asked specifically, but Meimu would never lie.

Soran listen to her words and waited until she was finished speaking to state his own opinion. "If I had released any hollows, they wouldn't get far. I would have a meal for the day." The Arrancar spoke with a smile on his face as he approached the girl. "Honestly, I have no good or bad intentions, I am a rurouni warrior whom is neutral."

She then offered to talk more as she finished her patrol. Soran nodded and began to follow her "It is finally nice to find a shinigami who wont attack me on sight." Soran said as his tone brightened up. "especially one as cute as you." he stated with a bright smile on his face ^_^

She nodded, although she didn't quite appreciate the wanton murder reference. But she understood what he meant : he wouldn't have let them run as they willed. As a man of neutral stature, that's all he could do : and she didn't mind that. At least, that's what the knight assumed in her mind. The blonde let him approach, has there was no fear in her, no sense of apprehension : a calm and quiet acceptance that befitted her utterly, a graceful composure so enlightened by her angel's smile. As he complimented her, the girl blushed, and stumbled for a moment. Shaking her head violently, she looked at her feet, still blushing from the compliment. ''I.. I .. just did what I believed in..'' she said, trying not to acknowledge the fact he called her cute. Although a part of her self was flailing in the corner, screaming that she wasn't cute. But that was something different.

Then the sound of a howling hollow cut the air, thick as a knife. Instantly, her hands went to nothing, and her boots crunched. The pavement sounded hard as her body hit to a run, a hard one, to get towards the scream. It was a good thing that she was on patrol tonight : her body slipped through the city like an eel, leaving nothing behind other then the hurling wind. The whine of her movements scampered city wildlife, leaving silence, and emptiness. Her body moved like a bullet, speeding through the area. She wasn't good at Hoho or at Shunpo : but even so, Meimu had pride. She had strength, as her body dashed, pounding the ground mercilessly : she was almost like a super human, her will like a bull, rampaging down the streets towards the matador of a hollow. Her previous light seemed to have faded : no it had changed.

It was a living inferno, like the flames of hell given by god. That was her will : unshakeable, eternal and a torment for her enemies. Her body crashed, as the hollow reeled back from the sheer suddenness of it. The soul it was chasing tripped : but Meimu was here now. A mountain, unmovable by sheer force of will : and her hands were wrapped around air. The girl's figure was loose and flexible. And yet, there was a diamond hard feeling around her : as if every blow she would deliver was to be fatal, unable to be dodged. The hollow seemed to hesitate for a moment, leaving the two to stare at each other. And then the hollow moved to attack : everyone's breath stopped, because she moved.

Ethereal grace.

That was the only thought, as the moonlight gleamed on that blonde head : hands moved swiftly and the sword of cut air whistled in the area. The sudden sound of metal through flesh and then bone, and finally nothing. The loud thump as the head smashes into the ground, the body with it, as the particles began to float away. But still : there was no blood. And yet the girl had nothing in her hands. It was strange, as she turned to the soul, smiling her gentle smile. ''Please.. be at peace now..'' she said, as her hands moved. Without nothing touching the spirit, her hands inches away from their hand, a konsai mark appeared. The soul was sent to Soul Society, and yet nothing still was shown, as she breathed out.

''Oh! I forgot about Soran! I wonder if he is alright? Or did he follow me?''

Her mind finally caught up, away from the moment, as she turned around the way she came.

Without warning, he was then swarmed from all directions by a large group of human shinobi thinking he was the cause of this. He ducked under the first punch sent his way and uppercut one man, while airborne from the uppercut he side kicked another shinobi away from him. The Arrancar then flipped in the air and kneed another man on top of the skull, then quickly landed on the ground upside-down as he balanced on one hand in order to kick another man in the jaw only to see a kunai being thrown at his head, which was when Soran quickly hopped to his feet barely avoiding the kunai as it flew directly passed his head then back fisted the man who threw it in the face and broke his nose. Then a man tried to kick Soran in the ribs, but the swift warrior easily caught the leg of the man and threw him into four other men and made them all fall to the ground as he then shot a cero blast at the men on the ground using one hand, causing them all to explode in a blazing inferno. Soran looked over to see Meimu watching him

She noted the fire, the smell of burning flesh. There was no time to think : Meimu's body moved, right into the flames, quickly. Her instinct was on overdrive, as she looked but found nothing. Coming back out, the girl's eyes, green, were now darker. Her hands were facing towards him, as her body was shaking. Not fear, but rage raced in her veins : she could not heal them, she was not strong enough. Her body was shaking, composure cracked : he had realized one of her fears. The blonde felt something wet on her cheeks, and didn't realize that she was the one crying. Without an attempt to wipe her tears away, the girl lunged, her hands swinging : and as she swung, the arc missed him by a few meters, as the sound of crashing metal hit the ground, and sparks. Dropping to her knees, the girl started to sob painfully, heavily, her body shaking. Her hands hit the ground flat, as she felt her entire being shake, the pain of not making it tearing her inside. Rage at herself : not at the situation. She had to know why but her voice was choked up. The ethereal girl was crying : her heart was torn open and one bore witness to one of the cracks in the knight's perfect armor. Her body was shaking and in this moment, she looked like a frail girl, a girl thrust out into a world that she had no idea about or truly understood, in her own way. A pain that was innocent, and pure.

Soran was suddenly swung at by Meimu but evey single swing missed the Arrancar as he swiftly weaved every attack calmly. Soran's attitude remained as it always did; his instincts had shown the rogue to be an uncaring, cold, and ruthless individual, having not the slightest sympathy for anyone he had just killed. "The lives of others hold absolutely no value to me." he stated in a tone which revealed that he shows no remorse for his actions.

Soran leaned down and hugged the girl, whispering in her ear as his did so "I am sorry you had to see that, but it was either fight back or die." he explained "Besides, living to see your beautiful face gives me plenty reason to live on" he said with a smile as he then looked into her eyes and whiped her tears away. "No more crying, ok?"

He held no sympathy : Meimu didn't care for the people themselves. Well she did , but her acceptance allowed to bypass his self-defense. Although she would have found a non-combating solution since humans could be reasoned with, that was her. What she was most upset about was the fact that she saw one still half-alive : and then he had died as her hands had touched him. That harmed her heart : the initial fear invaded her so much that she couldn't stand it : it was a crack in her armor. The girl felt her body tremble, even as he came closer, his arms wrapping around her small frame. The shaking was horrible, but her body ached : her face flushed almost instantly. It was strange, to be hugged by someone, as his voice whispered into her ear : it fluttered and flowed through her, like a gentle butterfly kiss.

His voice was smooth, and he explained something. The very fact that he actually wanted to do something in his life, apart from evil, was new and unique. The girl felt herself blush more, as his fingers softly took her tears away : but the gauntlets, he unmindful of them, cut her skin, letting blood tickle down her cheeks : but soon the wounds closed, as if by magic. The girl just wiped the traces of blood away from her cheek, as she tried giving a smiling. ''I couldn't save the one that lived..'' she muttered, getting to the root of the matter that was shaking her. She couldn't help it : those tortured eyes, that plea. And she could do nothing.

Just like then.

Soran was wearing his pair of arm braces with gloves as he wiped her tears away which take the shape of the Soran's hands with sharp finger tips that had accidently cut her skin, letting blood tickle down her cheeks: but before he coould apologies, the wounds healed, as if by magic.

''I couldn't save the one that lived..." She said quietly to herself. "They still exist." Soran reassured as he softly rested his forehead against hers as he whispered, he really wanted her to stop being upset; but not out guilt or sympathy. The Arrancar wanted to cheer her up by any means necessary.

Soran further explained what he knew first hand about death as a human in a calm monotone voice; "No need to mourn over the loss of their limited body, a human soul can do anything. Thas is the joy of death as a human, that is what I learned after death. Even the souls with exceptional spiritual energy reach the level of Shinigami." Soran looked into her eyes and gave her a smile. "Our souls have evolved." Soran said as he held her

This arrancar was strange, to say the least : he was soft against her forehead, as she closed her eyes. She liked the feeling of someone else, but she was still.. hurt she guessed. But she understood : humans got to bloom to a more beautiful life. Still, it rended her soul that someone would have to suffer such, when she could have helped : it only spurred her to become stronger, more and more. For a knight protected, regardless if it would've been better to let it end. That was her duty, as she rose to her feet, slowly separating herself from that grip of the arrancar. She stared at the sky, the flecks of burning ash floating, as she nodded softly. She understood this a lot more then many, as her face, solemn, stared at the moon. Her hand rose, and made a fist : a silent vow to the moon as the wind stirred her dress, the blue ribbon in her hair moving. Arresting, she was the image of a purity that few could understand, as she turned back to the arrancar, her gaze solid determination. She was not going to let this bring her down.

Turning to the male, she bowed, her body straight : it was a thing of courtesy. ''Thank you, for helping me.'' she said softly, lightly, her face almost pale in the moonlight, as darkness began to overwhelm the streets once more. It felt.. at piece tonight, as the girl tilted her head towards the man, and smiled softly. ''For an arrancar, you are strangely kind. Even if you, yourself do not think so, and wield cold words, it is not out of cruelty.'' she said softly, unsure of why she decided to speak like this. But she felt as if.. as if he should value that kindness, which rare others have. For in this world of fighting, kindness was sometimes hard to give an extending hand to : for the very concept of fear slayed what kindness remained in the heart of people. However.. she would never let such a thing happen.

The smile she gave the male was radiant, as if the kindness was an untold beauty to her.

Soran was actually being complimented for his "kindness" by this girl, even though he was happy that she wasn't upset anymore he didn't expect to receive such kind words from the girl. The Arrancar lightly placed his hand on her shoulder "Don't get the wrong idea, even though I intended to help you I will not do the same for others" as he spoke he looked into her eyes and his cold tone rapidly shifted into a brighter mood "You are a special case, you have shown me kindness so I have decided to return the favor."