Flamediver [Ichigo, Ignacio]

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo felt the urge to give his age, to tell the man how the name was spelled, but both of those things were simply lost to the sands of time for him. If he went back to Earth and simply looked at the date, he likely could have discerned at least how old he was, and searched for how the name was written. But did it even matter? He knew who he was, and that was enough.

"Is yours the only ring here? I've heard there's ruins somewhere out here in the wastes that might have more information."

Ah, there was the faintest edge of desperation to his voice now. A sense that this was urgent, that it was something he needed to do. Even in such a faint way, it spoke volumes for a man so hollow and apathetic. It was, after all, the only thing that mattered to him.

"This one is the only ring I've come across in centuries roaming this part of the desert. But I would wager that this is what you've heard about."

His hand motioned to the broken ruins that were closer to rubble than any proper form of structure. He could feel that underlying longing, and it clung to him just how similar it was to his own desire to learn, but there were no sweeping answers to their problem. Still, pooling knowledge was all they had to go on.

"I have gathered what knowledge on the Rings of the Dead there is here, but do not be under the illusion that this is a vast amount. Hueco Mundo is hardly a hub of knowledge and technology, even now."

That much was certainly true. Even he rarely dared to visit the other worlds, for they were naturally dangerous for a Hollow such as himself to traverse alone, and yet he was certain that they would find more answers there than buried amongst the sands.

"Perhaps it is best to start with what you know, to save a little of what time there is?"

"That's what I thought. Well, glad you know then."

Leaning onto his sword as if it were nothing more than a walking stick, Ichigo thought about what he'd managed to learn. It wasn't much, honestly, only what he'd heard from those scant few other Arrancar who had answers. Did he know anyone else who might have that knowledge?

Ah. Yeah. He did.

"I know it's been long enough that they aren't all here in Hueco Mundo. And the ones that were probably disappeared with the demons that ruled this place for a while. We'll probably need to get traveling."

That was going to be dangerous, he knew. Even moreso if he actually thought about the fact that he was going to be traveling with a band of Arrancar. If he were someone else, he might have found the irony almost funny.

"I know someone on Earth who might have answers. Though I don't know if he'll be willing to share."

There was an oddity to the way Ichigo carried himself that Ignacio could not quite, it was like he was the shadow of another man that was both going through the motions and yet somehow trying to reclaim that distant spark. It was strangely inspiring, and yet maybe he was reading a little too much into someone he had met only a few scarce minutes before. Certainly helped that he had some semblance of a plan.

"I would not be surprised if mine was the only ring here. It certainly was not native to this world, and our local searches so far have come up with little to nothing."

"Earth, though, is a dangerous place to be an Arrancar, even a comparatively reasonable one like you or I. Where is this 'someone'? There are more than a few places that I would rather avoid unless we are capable of being truly clandestine about the whole affair, which poses its own challenges I'd wager."

Honestly, if Ichigo wanted to travel to Earth then he would accompany him but the rest of the Rings might be better served staying here and standing vigil. The last thing they needed was for something to be misinterpreted and then the larger organisations started taking notice. Staying off the grid was their best asset, so throwing that away was a huge gamble.

"Karakura City."

Ichigo knew that was probably the last place either of them could reasonably go and expect to maintain any sort of cover for themselves. He didn't even necessarily want to go himself, and not just for the fact that it would call attention to their goals. It was just somewhere he didn't want to be.

"It shouldn't be hard to get his attention. I can probably get it fairly easily. He'll probably know the second we go down, anyway."

It almost irritated him just to talk about it. Well, no, that wasn't true. It had completely irritated him once upon a time, no almost about it. The idea that someone with that much control over the situation had seemingly let everything happen the way it did. Ichigo would have cared even now, but putting that much energy into something now irrelevant was a bit much for him.

"We can stay out of the way. He'll come to us."

"You are crazy."

Another man might have laughed, for the idea was so far beyond sanity that it was closer to suicide than a plan, but he was exactly used to hearing a joke and he could tell Ichigo was not the man to tell one. Of all the places on Earth, Karakura City was arguably the most well-defended and Arrancar-opposed place on the planet. Dropping in there was certainly a way to paint a target on yourself and not the kind that many walked away from.

"We could be shaking the hornet's nest going there. Are you sure this man is worth it? The last thing we need is a ring to be lost in a place like that."

If they were doing this, and it certainly seemed like they were, then it would be better to leave the rabble behind. This was not going to be easy even as a pair. Getting run down by the Defenders of Karakura was not exactly how he hoped his story would end.

"No sense in being anything else anymore."

An emphatic and definitive statement, but one that was still spoken with all the gravitas and force of a simple observation. Despite it all, Ichigo simply didn't have the ability to put forth anything else. His own nature made it impossible.

"I don't think we'll even need to go. All we have to do is go to Earth. He'll go, or he'll send someone. I'm sure about that."

Staring down at the desert sands, Ichigo's gaze grew incredibly distant for a few moments, as half-formed memories clouded his thoughts before being shoved unceremoniously away. He couldn't say that none of that was important. If anything, it was all important. But he couldn't let it distract him. It had already done that for far too long.

"I'd rather avoid Karakura myself."

The fact that they both spoke so plainly was a simple comfort, he had no use in mincing words on the dressing and neither did Ichigo. That didn't change the fact that he disagreed with at least the most dry statement the other Arrancar delivered in response.

"Attitude like that gets you killed more often than it gets you what you want."

Ignacio supposed he had heard the argument that they were all crazy one too many times, yet even as he responded it felt like his partner's outlook was so deeply entrenched into his being that it was impossible for him to even comprehend anything else. Whatever had broken the man down, the creature that had been put together from the pieces was a little less than whole. Well, a little less whole than the rest of them anyway. So perhaps that was what the Flaming Rings needed, a moderated dose single-minded devotion where Ignacio was the moderator.

"But alright, we can work on that another day. Rings first, always. If your man is this omnipotent then we can probably get away with dropping into a backwater and laying low. Let him come to us."

Ichigo knew that Ignacio was correct in that assessment. In fact, he knew that having that sort of outlook was exactly the kind of thing that had earned him chastisement from Tier before. It wasn't something that should have bothered him, but in truth, he couldn't help but think about the words she'd said to him. How irritating.

"He keeps an eye on everything. And I know for a fact he'll be paying enough attention to know when I show up. Whether or not he wants to answer any questions is a whole different issue, but any lead is a lead."

He knew fully that Kisuke Urahara was not in the business of answering any question directly, and after everything that had happened, it wasn't as if Ichigo had any real faith in the man, either. This just happened to be their only real option, and so he'd take it without any regrets.

"I've got another partner somewhere around Hueco Mundo. Can't be too far off. We'll get her before we go."

Despite Lilynette's entire personality, Ichigo still didn't have it in his nature to simply abandon a companion. It just wasn't possible.

"Answers can come in time, once he makes contact. He might well think that we hold more cards than him, perhaps we do."

A small comfort, especially when Ignacio considered that the likeliest response to their arrival was an overwhelming force, but maybe there was a chance that this would go vaguely as intended. The mention of another did cause his ears to prick up, an extra element to factor into calculations already being made. This was Ichigo's lead though, he would call the shots so Ignacio could observe and advise effectively. Still, some semblance of order had to be instilled.

"You vouch for this second partner then? We don't need any potential burdens on this trip, either they pull their weight and keep a low profile or you cut her loose."

A draconian sentiment, but a pragmatic one given what they were trying to accomplish. And equally, another test of character. Would Ichigo say he could do it? Would he then be able to go through with it? It mattered not, in truth. The Black Flame would wipe clean the slate before it was stained with the blood of failure.