Climb to Power [Akira, Reida, Safira]

Home sweet home, or something like that. South America was hardly a home to her but it was a valuable position. She had grown so tired of that barren wasteland and now that she had reclaimed her missing piece, one issue led into another.

It was far easier to split something than it was to fuse them. The process of fission was always simpler than fusion and so the petite woman's serpentine eyes remained closed amongst the luxurious hall of the resort's upper levels in contemplation of her current situation.

A few ideas had came to mind but they were risky or flawed in their designs. A process that resulted in lost energy, one that she assumed would end in regression to a Gillian, and another that might just have her lost in the senseless turmoil. The apple did not fall far from the tree and she'd kept Reida close after taking her own.

"What nonsense does Sumana want to waste my time with that takes valuable time away from my labouring."

She complained to Reida while skimming over the memos that her subordinate had created in regards to the arrangement and the mysterious individual that she'd engaged in deals with. It looked amusing though, evoking a sinister grin at the turmoil that would result from it.

Reida was perhaps the last person who had any interest in the beauty and opulence of the resort here in South America. It didn't have anything she was interested in, just a bunch of people enjoying themselves and wasting their time with nonsense. Reida wasn't here to enjoy herself, she was here to put a bullet in the head of as many shinigami as possible, and she was already getting a little testy, even in such a short time.

"Well, if it's such a waste'a time, just replace 'er."

None of the people who worked here had any more value than the average hollow did, and she knew damn well that South America had already been under watch by the Todgestalten for some time. That meant she was potentially in more danger of news slipping out, so she was planning to keep herself as under the radar as possible.

"I like your pragmatism but her intrinsic value outweighs these little inconveniences."

She explained when their new guest arrived. The mysterious one that Sumana spoke about and she beamed in sinister delight at the appearance. He had grandiose plans for himself, didn't he? Well that was good and all. Safira liked the ones that dreamed big. They either subjected everyone around them to their desires or their lofty dreams fell like the tallest tree to crush them underneath.

"That's quite alright... R, was it? Don't worry about a place to put your coat. This charming young woman is more than capable of helping with that."

The petite arrancar mused though the sneer left her face to become serious in one smooth motion.

"Reida. Relieve our guest of that stupid body, if you'd be so kind."

She said it with all the weight of an order since time was of the essence to her, and these silly games were not something she'd entertain like Sumana did. It also had the opportunity to gauge just what kind of hollow powers her sapling possessed while she was lacking the ability to do so.

"If ya say so."

Reida's eye moved to study the man before them, sharp and clearly lacking much in the way of kindness. She didn't appreciate the tone that the woman had taken with her, but she also didn't care enough to say anything about it. She simply nodded, bringer light shooting her toward R as her hand reached out to slam into his forehead. If he didn't get out of the way, she had every intention of separating his soul from his body without any hesitation.

Cruel? Probably. Certainly not the kind of thing a human being should ever do to someone else. But this was just one more thing she had to do for her ambitions, so it hardly mattered much to her.

"Friend of yours?"

Black had turned to white in a moment and her gaze became sharper, like dissecting the new specimen on a table. A shinigami? How peculiar but from what she'd heard already it was easy to put the pieces together for not being any friend of theirs.

"And what contacts would those be? I'm curious as to what insights you think you have into my business."

Even before Akira spoke his greeting, Reida's expression had become markedly more sour, her every muscle tensed as she held back from brutalizing the man in front of her. This was one of the last people she'd expected to see, let alone so soon. She might have just shot him on sight to close off any potential problems if not for the greater situation at hand right now.

"Friend? Not exactly."

Despite her being here, Reida still knew the Vandenreich were good people, doing the right thing. She was under no illusions that what she was doing was just. The thought of someone else betraying their trust didn't sit right with her, even if she knew how hypocritical that was.

"I see. Well, thank you, why don't you go relax a little bit, Reida. I'm sure you're exhausted and I'll see if I can find a shinigami rodent for you to play with later for all your help."

He spoke a little too familiar about her which she veiled under an aloof smile. Safira was busy snaking through the recesses of all her contacts before settling on one that made sense. The arrancar that served her would never be so bold as to share details about her, maybe Klein is more bold now, but the One-Armed Arbitrator of Evolution? This is exactly the kind of thing that she would do.

Nevertheless, he was speculating and couldn't keep his eyes to himself either. With Reida's answer it became more clear to her. He wasn't exactly a friend but they were acquainted. If he were a shinigami, neutral or otherwise, he ought to be dead. Which means the social contract of affiliations are at play.

Was the Vandenreich full of turncoats who are motivated by selfish whims? Revenge and avarice stood before her in the flesh before from that island.

"Aren't you a brave one to make insinuations and bold claims like that, is it because I am an arrancar that you believe my actions have to be more grand than cultivating a business? That I need more than to live off watching how depraved you humans will be in the pursuit of self-fulfilment and validation in this den of leisure?"

After she finished and pointed at the sickly white man. He was asking too many questions and not providing enough answers. She had the suspicion that he was a Vandenreich member now, this changed the situation. He could be here to try and acquire as much information to sell to them - that was his current profession was it?

"Why don't you stop worrying about me and tell me what you would like? I don't know what your relationship is to Reida but I know she has a trigger finger for shinigami which she has not been able to use yet, so I'd like you to talk very fast and tell me what you want because I'm a very busy woman."