If One Would Have A Friend [Cyrus, Nelliel]

When everything was considered, Cyrus knew that there was only so much to be immediately done about the Vandenreich's situation. They were on the back foot, certainly, and he wasn't willing to jeopardize his people's lives simply because he wanted vengeange on a single arrancar.

But even so, that arrancar had taken a woman he considered a friend. Whether or not she felt the same way was ultimately irrelevant, for Cyrus knew that she had been a part of the City of Lights as much as many others were. That alone was reason for him not to accept her kidnapping, and so he'd sent a request to the other arrancar that had been living in the City of late.

Watching the ocean as he sat at the table of this small cafe, Cyrus sipped from the teacup in his hand. Mm. It certainly wasn't quite the same as home, was it? No matter. It was more than enough to remind him of the sands, and he imagined the conversation with Mrs. Odelschwanck would be more than enough to keep his mind off such a minor complaint.

"Hello Cyrus. To what do I owe the request?"

The verdant silhouette of the tall woman asked, appearing as a looming shadow over the table. She was by no means a small lady and she didn't wait to take a seat. She was expected after all and not someone who was appearing by chance to a full cafe while having to share a spot with a stranger. Nelliel's mane of long green hair tucking behind her back while she leaned back against the chair and assessed the individual in front of her.

He looked a little weary but what decent leader shouldn't look weary in her mind, it was stressful when people depended on them. Maybe that's why all the sovereigns of Hueco Mundo thus far were such a detriment to it, none of them ever acknowledged their subjects as anything else.

Though the Vandenreich was in an perilous situation wasn't it? At odds with everything and she had barely met anyone as strong as her that called themselves a member of it since she was staying here. In an ideal world the strong did not need to leverage their presence but this world was far from ideal wasn't it?

"Thank you dearly for coming by, Mrs. Odelschwanck."

Setting his teacup down, Cyrus steepled his fingers as he leaned a bit onto the table, a gesture that perhaps gave away just how tired he genuinely was. It wasn't the same sort of dreadful exhaustion that had seeped into his very being before, at least, but was rather the inevitable fatigue of pushing himself for the sake of others. He would probably go home and rest after this meeting, at least.

"I hoped to speak to you about Ms. Inoue. Shirohime, as we of the Vandenreich came to know her. I imagine that the situation is perhaps one you would prefer not to speak on, and if that is the case, I would certainly understand if you chose to leave. But, that said..."

Cyrus' hands seemed to tense a bit as he paused, thinking over how exactly he ought to word this. He was the Grandmaster, after all, and he maintained a professional air at all times. But, after a moment or two, his posture seemed to sink just a touch more, his stern expression showing a faint shade of the guilt he felt internally.

"She is a dear friend to me. To many in the Vandenreich. I would be failing as a friend and a leader if I did not do everything in my power to bring her back to us."

"Hmm."

Nelliel took a more relaxed spot in her seat, she'd been around for quite some time and bad news came and went. She was thankful for Orihime having taken the decision to intervene if it meant avoiding Ichigo's continued wanton destruction of the place her daughter called home. Did that make her indebt to Orihime then, or did "Shirohime" do it for Ichigo?

Oh, there was no need to fret over the reasons why. The result is set in stone and whatever reached that conclusion was ultimately not important right now. It was more important to find him, and her by proxy.

"It's not the first time she's been taken to Hueco Mundo, assuming that's where Ichigo went. It's a big realm and difficult to fully investigate. Though I'm to understand she left willingly with him, right? What if she doesn't want to come back?"

Cyrus had considered that possibility, though he didn't like to think that it would be the case. He understood that there was probably far more reason for Shirohime to stay with Ichigo than for her to come back to the City of Lights, but to simply accept that would be defeatist. He would not accept that.

"If she chooses not to return, then I will not force her. But whether or not she wishes to stay with Kurosaki, I will not shift the Vandenreich's stance on him."

It was easier to say that than to truly do it, and Cyrus knew that. But he cared deeply for his people, for every single person in the Vandenreich and in the City of Lights. Ensuring that they saw justice was his aim, no matter how difficult it might be.

"I see."

She rested an arm on the table and tapped at the surface with her fingers idly. Soft sounds one after the other while she contemplated the situation, ultimately finding Ichigo was on her agenda and it appeared to be on Ulquiorra's as well. Though she was still a little hesitant to say that was the Ulquiorra but stranger transformations amongst hollows have been observed. A little sex change? How progressive.

"And how exactly do the Vandenreich intend to handle Ichigo? Placing the matter of Orihime aside, while it aligns with my interests to seek out Ichigo I can't say it's exactly promising that in his current state he's little more than a wild beast who has given up its human reason and this is the young man who was paramount to the defeat of Sosuke Aizen."

It was a valid question to ask she thought even though she felt sad to admit it once more that Ichigo had ended up becoming the worst part of her race when she had tried to show him what they could aspire to be instead. It was pretty depressing to think about.

"I would be lying if I said that I had a plan for dealing with him. I would prefer not to handle the matter through brute force, though I would imagine that is not an entirely common sentiment here in the City of Lights."

Taking another sip of his tea, Cyrus couldn't entirely help but wonder what had happened to Ichigo Kurosaki. A hero that the whole of the world had known, one that he himself had considered an inspiration, and now he was their greatest enemy. But the weight of being a hero was certainly not an easy burden to bear. Cyrus himself knew that all too well, and he would have been a hypocrite to simply condemn the man without knowing how he had come to this.

"People will want justice. I want to know what sort of justice he can even be held to. A wild beast has no concept of justice. A man driven to sin by trauma is not as guilty as one who simply chooses it freely. We of the Vandenreich cannot fight him as we are, that much has been made clear. With time, that can be mitigated, but I would rather not rely on the hope that we are given that time."

"It's more likely to devolve to such a situation, whether you wish it to be seen as such or not. Ichigo will perceive your interference as attempting to take Orihime back and likely retaliate. That is his reason to fight after all. Without it he will not muster the strength to retaliate but if you threaten it you will receive the full brunt of it."

She did admire the simplicity of it all. To think that he opposed Sousuke Aizen for no reason other than Aizen threatened his friends' wellbeing. How much it must've broken his heart to be unable to do that a second time, what true suffering to struggle for victory only to learn that you had a secret final boss at the end or that the game was rigged to fail regardless of your efforts.

Nelliel hated those kinds of games.

"So then, may I ask what your interest in me and being here is then? Should I assume that you are requesting an alliance or my assistance with Ichigo?"

While Cyrus might have suspected that would be the case, it meant infinitely more to hear it from Nelliel herself, someone that had far more experience with Kurosaki than anyone in the Vandenreich. If it weren't such a pressing matter, he wouldn't have dared to even broach the topic with her, but Shirohime was someone he held dear, and he wouldn't let anything stop them from finding her.

"If you are willing, yes. The Vandenreich has found itself in a perilous position because of him, and I know fully that the Gotei considers our efforts to be secondary at best. However, if I may be so frank, I do not trust them to handle this respectably. The Gotei has historically been quite cruel with its loose ends, and I do not trust them to treat this matter with the delicacy or decency it deserves."

Taking a moment to finish his cup of tea, Cyrus drummed his fingers slowly over the tabletop once, a faint bit of irritation dancing behind his eyes. He didn't quite care for the amount of circumvention that his people needed to do these days.

"I have no intention of asking that you join the Vandenreich formally, unless you so wish it. I simply request that, until the matter of Ichigo Kurosaki is resolved, the Vandenreich be able to rely upon you for assistance with him, whether that be in diplomatic matters or the unfortunate likelihood of another conflict."

"For Ninsianna's willingness to host my daughter as a single mother herself, it'd be a little rude of me to not be willing to protect the place she's called home for the last year. Though I wouldn't go as far to help you in diplomacy, I'm not a member of your group and don't intend to be."

Her words carried quite a bit of respect for Ninsianna's willingness to do something like that. Few would she thought and even if she presented the situation like this Nelliel wasn't the type of woman to leave people to suffer under the strong arm of another. Though she would be honest and not create any misunderstandings that she had no interest in joining the Vandenreich.

She had her own family to take care of and that came first.

"If I encounter Ichigo Kurosaki I have my own matters to discuss with him but anything such as accountability or the like I will leave to you."