Stuck Betwixt The Trials of Mortals

Lost Hollow City, High-Noon
''Genius. Insanity. The fine line inbetween both. Heavenly or Corrupt; also a fine line. Greed and Welfare; all have muddled lines of grey; areas which can not be distinguished until investigated further. No man or woman is innocent... and trully; there is no grey zones of neutrility.''

Loly and Menoly stood with Team Ningensei's campzone. They were situated in the grim place; the sun perfectly set above them; Menoly was currently under the shade of a broken building; while Loly was getting herself a tan. Today was a dull day... and all was rigged with tense dull boredom.

And, thanks to Senkaku, there were some major adjustments made.

They were positioned right beside a large lake, its shape serving as a pool. The water was clear and crystal. Out of ice, there was even a diving board that was supported several feet high above the water. It was meant to simulate a swimming pool - something that would keep the Arrancar cool after a long period of training. Senkaku was sitting, sword embedded in the ground, and his hands holding the top of the hilt in a lazy manner. Work like this was aggravating.... but the results were fun. He looked up to see Melina appear on the diving board. Notably, both of them, as well as the rest of the team, were sporting summer-like appearances, though still having the Espada feel to them. Interested in the stunt that Melina was about to pull, he looked on, though slightly flushed at her beach attire. She looked awfully pretty...

After taking a careful step to the edge, Melina smiled and jumped off of the edge. She pulled a graceful flip that kept her flowing through the air, until she hit the water with the grace and agility of a professional. Nnoitra, who was sitting perpendicular to Senkaku and on the two Numeros's side, held up a sign that said "8.5" - a comical moment for the team. Strangely, Ggio was yet to be in sight.

Loly watched on; glad there was a pool. Pulling her lawn-style chair to the side of the pool; she placed small shades over her eyes; planning to catch a few winks and obtain a decent tan. Menoly on the other hand simply plunged into the pool with a cannon-ball fashion; splashing water all around, her form wet and sparkling; hair glistening. Something out a magazine. Looking around; she smiled at Melina and the rest. "Where's Ggio?" "And Loly; get in here stop trying to get a tan... face it; your stuck as with the skin of snow white."

"Cat-chan....?" Melina wondered, pondering for a minute. She allowed herself to swim... or rather, float towards the edge, resting her arms on the pool edge. "Oh! He's getting ready. He tends to take a bit of time with these things... something about wanting to look good..." Then, she caught the sudden presence of a spiritual energy, turning her head towards it.

It was Ggio, hands in his pockets.

He too had a change to his Espada attire to something suited for the beach. His jacket was shortened to fit his torso, opened up to reveal a rather well-toned body for someone so... average-sized. He wasn't expecting any comments towards him for it, but simply walked towards the group, not noticing a slight blush across Melina's cheeks as well as a smile. "Well, I see you've finally decided to join us, Tiger boy.." Nnoitra muttered, smirking.

Loly only popped the birdie to Menoly and continued to lay down. "Just screw off..." already annoyed at Menoly; she wanted a tan, and she was going to get one. Menoly herself continued to tread water, and gazed at Ggio; he was preety handsome when he cleaned up. Sighing; she decided to swim near the edge; whispering to Melina a plan...

''"Hey... once he get's close enough to the edge... pull him in." ''

This caused Melina to cover her hand and giggle a little. She was going to like Menoly...!

Unfortunately, Ggio's intelligence didn't pick up on such things, and he allowed himself to step directly within Melina's and Menoly's trap, looking over towards the rather smug Nnoitra. "Save it, cyclops..." He stated dully, purposely so in order to tick the former Quinta off. "I prefer not to look like a pitiful ba--" However, his word was cut off when Melina immediately reached out and grasp his foot, making him look down. "Wha--"

And Menoly helped. Grasping his other foot; she decided to tug hard; slipping his traction off; and spiraling backwards into the pull. Menoly was laughing hard as the water splashed over her. Loly only sighed as the water got on her. Groaning loudly she wasn't enjoying this tan...

Nnoitra joined in with Menoly, laughing at a spluttering Ggio as he spat out water. He rose to the surface, jerking his body as a dog would shake off water. "G...GAH!! WHAT IN THE--" However, that was when he caught a laughing Menoly. "Oh...." He muttered, a tick appearing on his jaw. "Think you're funny, hm...?" Immediately, he used a Sonido and got behind her, hands grabbing both sides of her waist. Then, he raised her in the air, smirking slightly. "Let's sink...." Then, he allowed himself to fall backwards, bringing his captive with him in a dunking move. This made Senkaku turn an eye, a bit impressed at Ggio's strength.

At Loly's groan, Nnoitra turned an eye towards her. "I think you're actually turnin' paler... pretty soon, you're gonna be Ulquiorra's color!" He remarked, grinning.

Menoly gasped a "NOO-" before being pulled under. She expected it. Struggling; she peered to the top of the pool's water.

Loly frowned, "And if you look at my breasts again; you'll need to replace that ugly smile of yours." frowning she threw a small magazine at his face; clearly annoyed but not enough to put forth an effort.

"Oh... real funny, considering you got your ass kicked by me before..." Nnoitra answered, tilting his head to the side in order to dodge. "Want me to do it again? I'm quite in the mood..." However, the same magazine that he had dodged struck him in the back of the head, making him recoil and clutch it. "OWW!!!" He turned incredulously towards Melina, who was staring at him in her own stern (but rather adorable) way. "What the FUCK?!"

Melina shook her head disapprovingly. "Stop picking fights with girls, Spoon-chan...." She said in criticism. "Harribel-senpai's already mad at you for saying what you said to her..." That made Nnoitra scoff, turning his attention towards Ggio and Menoly for a minute. As soon as Ggio came up to the surface, he raised his hand up and smacked it into the water, splashing a large amount of it on the back of Menoly's head. Immediately, he stood up.

"All right, that's it... from now on, you're not going to have the chance to call me Spoon-chan anymore!" He declared. "I'm not wearing my Espada outfit to the Hell tournament..." "And it reminded me of the dog I was.... Aizen's fucking pet....." He didn't want to be remembered as that.

Loly sighed, finally someone stood up to Jiruga. Loly added, "Hell Tourney, huh..." the thoughts crossed her mind as she began to think and ponder.

Menoly on the other hand both giggled and choked. Swimming to the edge; out of breath and full of water. She pointed at Ggio; "I'll get you later for that...!" smiling, she decided to place herself on the outer edge of the pool, out of the water, laying on her back as she attempted to rest for a moment.

Ggio smirked. "I look forward to it...hey, Nnoitra-sama!" This caused Nnoitra to immediately look up at him, slightly interested. "How about you and me do a little swimming match? Ten laps, one from front to back..." He tilted his head to the side, feeling a little cocky. "Y'know... unless you're afraid..." That caused Nnoitra to sneer in reply, and he briskly walked over to the edge of the pool.

"You're on, little bitch! You're going to be crying once I leave you in my wake!"

Accepting the challenging taunt, Ggio immediately climbed out of the water, standing beside Nnoitra. Both men readied themselves. As they did so, out of the corner of their eyes, they noticed Hermosa herself finally come out in her own swim-suit. At first, there seemed to be nothing wrong... until she got closer, trying to find where everyone was without having to rely on her spiritual energy. The top of the piece was backwards, the seams showing. The light color caused her to look a bit ridiculous. Nnoitra immediately started snickering, causing Hermosa to glare at him... or rather, in his direction.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

Loly frowned, "Your clothes are on backwards... and the colors... are a bit off." deciding to stand up; she would help Hermosa find some better choice of clothes. "Let's go get you some different clothes." deciding to take Savanna's hand; she would help her out. Not like staying with the Testostrone-man, the witty-fraccion, or annyoing-Menoly was helping.

Menoly on the other hand; made sure to watch; placing herself to where she was looking to the pool; her body on her stomach; knees bent to where her feet were lazily placed in the air. And her hands supporting her head; her elbows on the concrete edge.

The revelation immediately caused Hermosa to flinch slightly in shock and embarrassment, the blush all too clear. She raised her free hand to cover her face, shutting her eyes tightly. "I....can't believe I just did that...." She muttered, knowing Nnoitra would never let her hear the end of it. She allowed Loly to grasp her hand, stepping alongside her.

Melina herself, seeing the race about to commence, decided to raise her hand up. "Ready! 1...2...3....!"

Immediately, Ggio tensed, and Nnoitra narrowed his one eye.

"GO!"

With that, they were off, splashing into the water and putting their strength into work.

Changes of Clothes
"That was so embarrassing...."

Hermosa was still lamenting, even as they left the area. She had made herself look bad in front of her team leader. What in the hell was she thinking?! She could've at least asked before putting them on... this was the bad part about being blind! She could sense living entities, but she couldn't sense clothing! As Nnoitra put it... it sucked.

Loly frowned, "It's alright... if their your team mates... and friends, which they should be..." "It shouldn't make a difference; plus, we all make mistakes sometimes... my life is full of 'em." smiling soon; she decided to pilfer through some of her own luggage; placed near an abandoned store; long sense torn through; but the clothes remaining, Loly had even 'stole' some to find something decent. Loly grabbed some orange and black; different from the regular black and white. A tank top, and a bikini piece to follow; but modest enough to not look like a whore. Picking them up, "I know this sounds odd; but if you feel like talking, you can talk to me."

That caused Hermosa to half-lid her eyes and look away, though she couldn't really see anything. She folded her arms across her chest. "Talk to you? Like there's anything about me to be interested in... the only two things I can come up with is how I am around the ground, and my history... which I'm pretty sure is the same as yours. But... do you mind if I ask about...you?" At their first meeting, she felt her suspicion had gotten a little out of hand, though it was probably justified in the eyes of her teammates.

Tossing some change of clothes to Hermosa as well to change into; they were the swim set she had just chose before. "No I don't, feel free to ask away."

Poor Hermosa didn't even see it coming, the clothing tossed right in her face and startling her. Immediately, she caught them in her arms before they could fall to the ground. "Well... before you were found by Aizen..." She spoke hesitantly, nervous of poking at sensitive areas despite the other girl's carefree attitude. "How had you lived? I said that your history might've been much different from mine... but I want to make sure I'm right."

"Oh..." pondering whether to tell a total stranger that... she found odd. Only Menoly knew of her past... and Aizen knew used to know bits and pieces. But now; it seemed like a good time to tell someone else. "I lived rather poorly... to tell the truth. Me and Loly were never the strongest, we fended for ourselves, constantly we were attacked, nearly killed six times." "It's hard to live the way we did; we simply made it by." "It wasn't even close to a 'picnic'."

Hermosa pondered this for a moment more before speaking. "Nnoitra-senpai had always said that the Hollow before the Arrancar were built mostly on survival and might alone. To hear you speak of such things, of two of such sticking together in such circumstances, surprised me..." She tilted her head to the side. "Had you ever considered yourself, back then, to be friends?"

"Friends? Yes and no." Loly questioned the answer herself. "At times we were friends; we talked, became very close. But at other times; we became paranoid; or angry, fought, and became distant. One of those things that seem to cycle, but in the end we stayed together; even if it drove us both raving mad." Smiling, she had changed into her clothes; she was wondering whether or not that Hermosa had yet.

Seeing Loly's example, Hermosa immediately followed it with the assurance that it was O.K. "Well..." She began to speak. "I suppose I have to envy you. As my time evolving into what I am... I never had anything but allies, comrades-in-arms. They were never truly my friends, and we only sought to work with each other to survive. At that time... I had no idea how to find a way around my blindness, other than my five senses remaining. It was the reason I was constantly looked down on by the ones in my pack... it was a struggle as both an animal and an outcast... wasn't very pretty."

A portal tore open in the sky; on top of a large concrete and steel building; a good 20 stories. A portal... a rift created between the dimensions... appearing out of it was Yohei... her sky blue pony-tail flying in the air. Her breath taken away... she glanced around. This world was so different. Checking herself twice over for any signs of malformation or injuries incase of harm had occured through the 'Sea of Reason'; there was none. Only a mental exhaustion... she had been stuck in that miserable 'endless' 'Sea' for the last few weeks... she smelled the air. So much less tainted then in Kan'na... she wondered if any life was in this dump of a city.

Loly nodded, "I wouldn't envy me. I served a so called 'god' for a long time... I was more blind then you for a period of time. Still am; I suppose."

Hermosa frowned. "I don't see how you still are.... no pun intended...." She muttered. "I don't see the loyalty that was to only Aizen... I see someone who's willing to take her own path, and that is something I have yet to do myself... So I can't comprehend how you would say yourself to be blind."

Nodding; "True. But once blind... metaphorically; your tainted with that. Jiruga notices it... he knows how I was a loyal-dog to that so called 'king'." "But... despite everything. You aren't tainted by physical blindness. Sure, it's a tad embarrassing, and a annoying hinderance." Loly moved slightly. "But you have proven you can live with it. It's not thought of instantly; you've adapted to your situation; and gained friends through it all."

Yohei glanced; her large heavy Zanpakuto strapped across her back. She took her first steps forward on the edge of the building. This place was huge; but so dead... and empty. Pity... Yohei wanted life to test herself against. Deciding to take her time. She sat down; concentrating on any spiritual signatures in the area... if any. They were as good as walking corpses.

This made Hermosa smile a little, even as she put the finishing touches on herself. "Then I guess that means we both have something interesting to note about each other...." She turned on her heel towards Loly's direction. "C'mon. I believe I'm ready now." This time, she had put her outfits on correctly, learning from her mistake.