Flamediver [Ichigo, Ignacio]

Where had that girl scurried off to? Ichigo trudged through the desert alone once more, though he doubted that would be the case for long. Lilynette always seemed to pop back up before too much time, so Ichigo assumed this short moment of quiet wouldn't last that long. He just walked forward, silent and sure as he spotted what could, at least in some loose way, be called ruins. Really, it wasn't much more than rocks, but even the slightest mark of difference out here usually meant something.

What was he actually expecting to find here, though? Who knew. He'd heard tale that these parts felt out of sorts, that sometimes it felt as though there was some evil lurking underground. He really didn't care about all of that, honestly. Sounded like nonsense. What he cared about was that those other few arrancar who knew anything about the rings he was hunting seemed to have been coming this way too.

Of course, that could always mean more of them would be here. But anyone in Ichigo's way would just be cut down.

The sands shifted with the approach of another lone figure, Ignacio sensed as much even before he saw it. That alone warned him that this latest intruder was powerful, enough so that the rest of the Flaming Rings had already begun to slink away into their caves and hideaways. Better to less this one pass, many no doubt thought, and they would certainly not have been wrong to do so. But Ignacio was not so quick to withdraw, instead, he lingered before those ruins that had given him shelter for a little while and waited to greet the newcomer.

Most of his body was concealed beneath a flowing white cloak, but a mop of untamed golden hair identified them as something more than a simple Hollow. He stared forward with a fiery intensity, golden eyes burning with an intensity that was likely offputting.

His zanpakuto was already drawn, blade raised and with the backside resting over one shoulder in case the stranger chose immediate violence, but that was probably not what would catch Ichigo's eye. It was the hand that held the weapon, specifically the fourth finger, where the flesh had been replaced with cybernetics and yet still a particularly ornate ring clung tightly to the metal.

Mm. One more Arrancar to deal with, huh? That didn't really bother Ichigo much, if he was being entirely honest. Why would it? All he had to do was either ask him a question or cut him in two, same as he did for every Arrancar on this hunt. But as he came closer, something caught his eye.

The ring.

Ichigo wasn't exactly the hot-blooded young man he used to be. In another life, he might have come out swinging just from seeing that. But even knowing that this might have been the beginning of what he'd been looking for, knowing perfectly well that this could be the gateway to bringing her back, there was barely any indication that he felt anything more than a dull emptiness as he spoke to the golden-haired man now before him.

"Tell me about the ring."

He didn't have time for games, for politics or tiptoeing around the question. If that was one of the Rings of the Dead, then he wanted to know here and now.

There was little that the loner could have asked that would catch him off guard, the ring was certainly not one of those things. Plenty had asked before, plenty more would ask again in the future. It was intended to catch people's eyes, after all, only then might he find someone who actually knew what it was. That or they knew the one-armed assailant he had repelled all those years ago. Slowly, he lowered the sword that was held in the hand that bore the ring until the tip was resting against the sand. His fingers flexed whilst holding the grip, flashing the ring towards Ichigo.

"A trophy from a duel long ago. I can tell you have not seen it before, but I would advise not trying it on. It has a hunger for living matter."

It was a taste of what he had learned over the years, the first piece of information he had learned and yet a valuable clue about its identity all the same.

"If it does not mean anything to you, then I would ask why you have come this far? The Flaming Rings have remained secretive for many a reason, and I would like to keep it that way."

"So I've heard."

Ichigo's eyes moved lazily over the ornate ring, and part of him undeniably interested in it even as he returned his gaze to the man who wore it. Part of him thought he ought to just take it, cut past any of this diplomacy on the matter. But it would be easier to just talk about it, and Ichigo certainly didn't have much desire for unnecessary exertion.

"There's supposed to be more. I want them."

The near-apathy in Ichigo's voice obfuscated what was, in all actuality, the most he had cared about anything in quite many years now. This was something he could do, a way that he could fix the mistake he had made. He would do anything he was capable of to succeed in this quest, even if it meant searching for decades.

"I want them too. They're dangerous."

Ignacio did not feel any compassion from the stranger, the indifference in his voice even as he stated his goal was almost disarming. The hand that held the ring tightened around the handle of his sword, unwilling as he was to use it unless the man proved too resistant to the prospect of holding a conversation. Clearly, he knew something about what the rings did, a nugget of information that was rather challenging to deduce when one possessed only one and it was quite insistent on destroying them when given a chance. He was missing two fingers from his first misstep, they might have grown back in time from his regeneration but the damage was already done.

"What good are they to you?"

His eyes narrowed, clearly trying to gauge what little he could of Ichigo's intentions. They were certainly enigmatic, but so was most any Arrancar that one could run into in these wastes.

"And what will you do to get them?"

"I don't care how dangerous they are. I know what they can do. There's someone I want to bring back, and I'd do anything to make sure that it happens."

Even now, there was no particular hostility in Ichigo's voice or in his mannerisms, his gaze still listless and empty as sword simply sat limp in one hand, the blade's tip resting in the sand. The way things had gone, the very nature of himself as an Arrancar, meant that it simply wasn't possible for him to show any more passion than that.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. But only Tier had made him quite that angry.

"Nothing else matters to me. I've got nothing left to lose, and everything to gain."

Now that was an unexpected turn, to use them to bring someone else back. Ignacio had only heard that they could grant the bearer of all twelve an eternal life, but maybe it stood to reason that someone could grant this life to someone else. The utterly despondent selflessness of the proclamation was equally intriguing, and that was enough to raise one of his eyebrows.

"Must have been someone important, to go through all that."

Perhaps that was the mark of a man that did not want to always fight to achieve his goal. He was loathe to admit that he was looking for a companion of a similar calibre, and there was certainly a presence to him that exuded danger enough that Ignacio doubted he would need to be looked after.

"I don't know yet where the other rings are, but they're out there. I have no grand designs for them, I just want to ensure that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Now I've got no reason to trust you but I could use the help, so either we can work together or settle this like animals."

To reinforce his own opinion on the matter, he made a show of sheathing his blade. A lick of dark flame cleaning the ashen sand from the blade as he did.

"She was."

That was all that he would say on the matter. All that he even could say on the matter, really. Ichigo didn't particularly enjoy reminiscing about those days, not when he had some way before him to get her back. There would be time for memories later.

"I'm not someone that goes right for violence. Not my thing. Too much work, besides. If you don't intend anything with them, then we can work together just fine."

Ichigo knew that this figure would probably start something if he strayed off the path he'd said he was walking, but luckily for the both of them, Ichigo wasn't the type to lie about that. This was the only thing that especially mattered to him for now, and he'd pursue it until he couldn't anymore.

"So be it. Welcome to the Flaming Rings."

His hand released the hilt of the sheathed sword, letting it hang loose at his hip once more. The white cape billowed as he tucked himself within it once more, the need for any show of strength having fortunately passed. Golden irises scanned the stranger one more time before moving beyond them to the sands that surrounded them. The thought of extending a hand to shake did cross his mind, but it seemed rather pointless given circumstance.

"You may call me Ignacio, do you have a name of your own? Then we will have met the base requirements of a partnership."

Waiting for a response, he would eventually step out of Ichigo's way so that they might walk forwards side-by-side. It did not much matter whether he gave a name or not, though it would be pleasant to call him something other than 'stranger'. He cared much more for actions rather than words anyway, so better they headed onward so that he could gauge those actions with his own eyes.