Warmongers

Prologue
The Wandenreich castle stood tall and solemn amidst the flavorless winds of Hueco Mundo's colder, more rigid northern region. A bleak yellow horizon steadily graced the fortress-city's walls and buildings, as if it were not simply the dawn of a new day, but also the dawn of something far worse. Inside the walls of this lone structure, the Wandenreich's lower ranking soldiers and denizens, along with several higher ranking figures, were running amok. Unsure of whether to remain at their stations and continue their normal duties, or prepare themselves for the battles that they felt were sure to come following recent events.

Inside of one of the larger central buildings, which acted as the primary living quarters for the Wandenreich's esteemed "Sternritter" division, one particular resident seemed remarkably calm, considering the circumstances.

"I'm gonna take my time..."

Asumu's living quarters, despite the more Victorian-era exterior of the fortress, resembled that of an average American apartment in regards to the interior, with but a single living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. He was a humble man, unlike many of the previous Sternritter, and never felt a need to live in overly luxurious or expensive quarters. Hell, he had spent much of his life living off of the wilderness and at best, a small log cabin in the middle of no where, so all things considered, this apartment room might as well have been a five-star hotel. A small stereo sat on his kitchen counter, playing a song that always helped Asumu think and relax when he was off duty. The song was loud enough to be heard through most of the apartment interior, but would otherwise not be heard by those in the rest of the complex.

"...I have all the time in the world..."

The white-haired Quincy in question had just finished cleaning himself up after his drawn-out fight with Tier Harribel. Normally, such an event would have required him to report immediately to the Wandenreich leader, Reinhild, but she and the others knew that it took a certain amount of time for Asumu to revert back to his human-self after being in his Lycanthrope state, so he was allowed this brief respite before having to face the music of his actions. He stood in front of his bathroom mirror, leaning against the sink just underneath it, staring blankly into his own reflection. He was wearing a simple pair of black jogging pants, having thrown the towel he used to dry himself over his right shoulder, but was otherwise bare, leaving the numerous scars he had obtained over the course of his life fully exposed on his back and chest area.

In particular, he started to look more at the newest scar that was added to his collection; a large stab mark in his left stomach area from where the Shark Empress of Hueco Mundo had impaled him with her large, tooth-shaped sword. Fortunately, his Lycanthrope form's regeneration factor allowed this normally fatal wound to seal up quick enough to where he could walk it off without much trouble, though it was still rather sore. He couldn't help but think fondly of the battle, for opponents like her were the kind of thing that he always sought when in a good fight, but he was also inwardly glad that his voice of reason had managed to prevail; there was no telling how much worse the situation would have gotten had he not decided to retreat.

Still though, he couldn't wait to pay her back.

He knew that he couldn't stand here for too much longer; Reinhild had ordered him and the other, remaining Sternritter to assemble inside of their primary meeting hall as soon as they were ready, and he wouldn't bring more flak onto himself by being late. "...Fuck." He cursed lowly and with resignation, casually balling up the towel on his shoulder and tossing it into a nearby clothes hamper. He turned around to leave, ready to accept whatever punishment his leader would give him.

"Have you gotten taller?"

...at least that's what he was doing, until a snarky, feminine voice emerged from behind him, stopping him dead in his tracks and causing his formerly blank expression to briefly brighten. "Casilda...?" He muttered as slowly turned around to the source of the voice, initially not seeing anyone.

"...cause you look a lot taller. Maybe it's just me."

Upon hearing the woman speak again, Asumu was starting to be convinced that he was going insane, as it seemed to originate from the mirror he had just finished looking at. His attention now fixated on the mirror, of which was now fogged up from excess steam generated from his previous shower, and he approached it, wiping his hand slowly across the foggy surface. Instead of seeing a reflection of himself as before, he now saw an Arrancar woman with vibrant orange eyes and scarlet red hair. She smiled warmly upon being fully revealed, while he only continued to stare at her in confusion. "How are you here?" He asked after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"You also look like crap." She chuckled, her eyes gradually looking him over. "Didn't you just get out of the shower? How do you take a shower and still come out looking like you just got out of a fight?"

"Casilda." Asumu responded firmly, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "How are you here?"

The reflection's expression lowered, but still retained her smile. "Does it matter? I've wanted to see you, and you've wanted to see me, so here I am." As she spoke, her expression gradually became one of gentle concern. "... You've really stirred things up now, haven't you, wolf?"

"Yeah... I'm really in the shit now." He said lowly, looking away from her for just a brief moment. "... and I'm not sure just what the hell we are going to do now. I'm worried things will only get worse from here on out."

In response, Casilda simply chuckled, causing him to look back up at her. "That's what I love about you, wolf." She said, her voice now becoming more like an echo as the mirror began to fog up once again. "Things are never boring when you're involved."

With that, the mirror fogged up completely, obscuring the woman from view. Instinctively, Asumu ran his hand back across the mirror in the opposite direction that he had done so prior, hoping to see her face one more time, but all he saw as a result were his own blue eyes instead. Surprise, sadness, and frustration were all that they conveyed as he stood at his bathroom sink once more.

If he were already hesitant to leave for his debriefing before seeing his old lover again, he was especially hesitant now.