Numb and Hollow
Chapter 15
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Waking up to the sounds of cars and people going about their day was both annoying and loud. Why'd he have to buy an apartment in a shopping district again? No wonder this place was so cheap…sigh.
Looking to his bedside alarm clock Infra noted they were supposed to start school tomorrow; the time differences between Hueco Mundo and the Land of the Living was gonna get old real fast here too. With the knowledge that he needed to exit his bed sooner or later his body took the chance to remind him of just how warm and comfy he was in his 'spot' of the bed when he tried to move from said spot only to find everywhere but said spot was cold…and now his spot was ruined!
Finally getting up in a huff Infra made his way straight to the kitchen to make waffles; they're like pancakes, but better, and if the other two wanted pancakes, well tuff! He wanted waffles. Infra knew he was being a bit grumpy but he was upset about his spot…maybe he should let Stark back in…no…that would be a pain.
THUMP
Looking to the boy's room Infra took a wild guess and assumed the one who had fallen off the bed trying to get to the food was probably Stark. Watching Ulquiorra walk out of the room wearing a small smirk only confirmed it.
0-0
Hearing the horn of a car waiting outside after finishing their deliciously crunchy waffles, Infra decided it was time to drop the most dreaded sentence a guy could ever hear to his two unsuspecting victims, while wearing a suspiciously sweet smile.
"Well boys, it's time to go clothes shopping!"
Seeing their incomprehension just made Infra's smile twist into an evil smirk that would've made the twins oh-so proud as he led the idiots outside to the waiting taxi; quickly dolling out the destination as he shoved them both in the back.
"Main shopping centre please!"
With his designation designated the nameless taxi driver was speeding down the street to his customer's destination.
-7-hours-Later-
Watching as Ulquiorra and Stark staggered in the front door and straight to their beds without even bothering with dinner was extremely amusing.
He now knew the advantages of being a veteran at this, after being dragged around by the twins and Luna all the time. You wouldn't know it but the twins could probably shop better then one of the wealthy nobility; getting the same products for a quarter of the original price. Deciding he felt a bit peckish he decided to just make a sandwich and head to bed.
0-0-0The next morning was gonna be the real starting point of his plans for ditching the other two. Going to their shared room Infra lifted the pan and ladle he had retrieved after he finished cooking, putting earplugs in he lifted the contraptions of a sadist and banged them like a toddler who had just discovered the perks of a noisy drum.
Looking in after he was unable to withhold his snickers anymore it was to find both of his boys packed in a sleeping sandwich. It appeared like Stark had just rolled out while Ulquiorra appeared to have been trying to run out, but caught his feet in his sheets to land on Stark. Laughing and snickering as he left Infra called over his shoulder as he went to eat his own meal "Breakfast is ready, make sure you get dressed in your new uniforms!"
By the time the other two wandered out Infra had finished his food and was halfway through packing their backpacks; they resembled the normal school bags but Infra had decided to add a border to make it easier in the mornings: a pink border for Ulquiorra, light green for Stark, and sky blue for himself. Throwing the last textbook in, English 103 Infra set to work making something called a 'bento' but with European food. He wasn't keen on their Asian counterparts.
0-0-0Arriving outside the school gates Infra grabbed a hold of Stark and Ulquiorra's sleeves and began dragging them to the front office where they would be getting directions to the staffroom. It would look suspicious if three so called foreigners knew their way around a school they had never seen before, let alone been in any simular school buildings. Approaching the women on duty, Infra smiled happily at the women.
"Hello dear?"
"Hello! We're the new transfer students from Britain." Infra let his accent filter heavily into his voice, it never hurt to give yourself an edge, even if it was just done to get out of there quicker.
"Oh yes! I have your schedules right here" handing the timetables over to Infra, the three of them were soon on their way to their first class of the day after exchanging pleasantries. Entering the classroom when the teacher indicated, Infra wasn't expecting what followed.
"YOU!"
An orange blur launched itself at Ulquiorra, only to be swung into the sealing by said hollow.
The teacher didn't even blink.
After the teacher had ruffed the hot headed 'Ichigo' up for attacking the new students, Infra and his boys were directed to seats at the front where the teacher could make sure Ichigo couldn't try anything. Infra just thought the man wanted to keep an eye on them instead
Sitting down, Ulquiorra could feel Ichigo's glare directed at his back, but the glare was so weak it was easy to ignore, as were the confused stares of the boys friends.
Class passed quickly.
Following Infra to the courtyard, Ulquiorra and Stark kept an eye out for the reaper from earlier. It wouldn't do to let the Beta child near their submissive before they had properly claimed him.
While Ulquiorra and Stark were busy watching for strawberries, Infra was busy writing a letter to the Goblins. He hoped his idea was just crazy enough to work.
Drawing their attention back to the food once he had stowed the letter away, they had just enough time to finish their lunches before they had to go back to class.
On their way back, they made sure to stick to the heavily populated area's so the reaper couldn't attempt to isolate them and attack. Dodging those attempts meant it took them an extra five minutes compared to the calculated 15 they had anticipated.
In the end, the day was uneventful as the last despite the reapers presence along with his fellow stalkers.
The rest of the week followed the same pattern until Infra received a curious package.
Reading the contents, Infra send his reply back with the same hawk who had delivered it.
0- Mischief-0Opening a portal, instead of heading to Hueco Mundo like he had told his boys Infra stepped out safely on the outskirts of the Japanese magical district.
Weaving through the light evening crowd towards his destination Infra was soon climbing the steps to Gringotts with practiced ease. Arriving in the foyer, Infra skirted the tellers and instead made his way to the desks that handled Gringotts legal and business affairs.
Pricking his finger on the identification rune, the Goblin at the counter went to fetch the Goblin he had been dealing with.
"Mr Rune, the contract you commissioned is finished"
Accepting the sealed parchment from the Goblin, Infra paid the Globin his due before leaving.
Walking through the main Japanese magical district, Infra waited until he cleared the first and secondary wards before he opened a portal to one of the forests surrounding the Soul Society.
Infra sweet talked his way inside and to the lead honcho. It took a bit of doing but he made it in on bullshit alone and a tiny bit of mind manipulation. It helped he looked like a normal living human.
"What would this contract entail?" inquired Yamamoto as he eyed the hybrid before him. They were still trying to determine what the classification for the Arrancar would be despite the years that had passed. They were too much reaper to be pure hollow.
Infra shrugged, "basically that every 100yrs a series of competitions between high level hollows and reapers will be held and that the winner has bragging rights and a boon for the next 100yrs until the next competition."
Yamamoto brow rose at that
"And if Aizen doesn't sign?"
"The contract is void"
Looking back down at the contract, Yamamoto perused it one more time before passing it to Shunsui, who then passed it to Jūshirō to peruse.
The three of them had been surprised when the Arrancar before them had strolled through their door with a proposal meant to bring about a small kind of peace. While it would mean small concessions such as not killing the Arrancars if they saw them on the living plane, unless they attacked first, it would hold the higher ranking Hollows under the same conditions.
If Aizen signed the contract and kept to it, they would have more time to get their squads into position before attacking Hueco Mundo using the experimental portal.
Signing the contract and handing it back to the Arrancar, Yamamoto had Shunsui and Jūshirō escort the Arrancar outside the Soul Society while he lost himself to his thoughts.
Aizen wouldn't know what hit him.
0-Hueco-Mundo-0Stepping out of his portal, Infra strode through the hallways with practiced ease until he reached Aizen's office. Knocking once before entering, Infra spotted Aizen writing in some scroll. He swore the man was writing a diary or something.
Probably a monologue
"I want you to sign this"
Passing the contract over, Infra watched as Aizen read it for a long time, but eventually signed the contract once he noticed the signatures on the bottom.
Infra grinned. Knowing Aizen would react just like head reaper Yamamoto had. Thinking they were in control when in reality they were falling right into his trap.
"What?" Aizen demanded, not liking the look in Infra's eyes. Out of all the Hollows he had under him, Infra was the only one he didn't have on a leash that wasn't weak. But that would change once Ulquiorra or Stark succeed in bonding with the submissive hollow.
"The contact is binding"
Aizen was confused but did his best not to show it. All contracts were binding to an extent until one party revoked on their side of the agreement.
Infra's grinned turned vicious, showing too much teeth for Aizen's liking and setting him on edge. "Whoever breaks the contract, losses their abilities or life depending on the violation. Be they hollow or reaper."
"How?" demanded Aizen, wondering if it was the boy's hollow special ability.
"I visited some associates from when I was alive." Infra shrugged, "I had them draw up the contract and had them use their abilities to make sure it was binding regardless if the original signers die."
"Why would you do this?"
"To buy time"
Seeing Aizen was about to lash out and try to kill him as the implications of the contract sunk in, Infra shrugged.
"The soul society has had centuries to build their empire and power. You may have been working on your little plan for years, but as it is, the society you're working on building can be easily be destroyed under the right conditions. But with this contract, we have a century before the contract will need to be renewed. By which time everything in Hueco Mundo will be stable enough to survive any backlash."
"And the…games?"
"Used to give us an indication of their power level and abilities"
Aizen calmed as he thought about the logic behind the contract. It would buy him enough time so that he wouldn't need to rush through his plans. The stipulations weren't too limiting either, both sides were made to make concessions but they weren't too strenuous to follow.
"Very well"
Infra smiled.
And life went on.
Though now both leaders were now cautious about signing anything, especially if Infra was somehow involved.
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A/N: Finished. I'll come back sometime in the far future to fill in the parts I glossed over and add more, but for now that's it.