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[Log (Ongoing)]

When; Today
Rating; PG, just to be safe.
Characters; Nao Kanzaki (

ritehereritenao) and Szayel Aporro Grantz (

unresearched)
Summary; Nao, upon getting a place to live, waits for Szayel at the Square to pick her up.
Log;

The waiting was always the hardest part.

Nao kept this in mind as she sat down at the fountain, her bag clutched in her hands and resting in her lap. This was a lucky break; she'd have a roof over her head, and she could still work on finding Akiyama-san. Crossing her ankles, she ran a hand through her hair, taking out the few tangles that had missed her brush and smoothing it out. She figured that, in lieu of rent, she'd have to clean up around the place she was staying, which she didn't mind. But what did science have to do with it? She wasn't sure, but whatever it was, she was optimistic about it. It couldn't be too awful.

Right?

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He never used sonido in public.

He considered it a weakness, a useless show of ability. Even during those two attacks over the weekend, he had worked under limited power. Better to not allow every single person know the full extent of his skills.

And that was why he walked towards the girl, slowly. The Octava allowed himself the time to take in every aspect of her appearance, every fidget and look. She was perfect.

Not because he had started to feel as Nnoitra had, missing his fraccion; Szyael Aporro had so many and yet spent so much time alone that their absence or company barely registered to him. But rather because it was convenient, and he liked convenient. Because he liked some form of control, and with a girl like Nao he knew he would have some.

And because there was nothing like keeping others guessing.

He stopped a few paces in front of her, schooled himself to smile as politely as he could, allowed himself to bow slightly. "Miss Nao."

Nao blinked, the man managing to catch her off guard (not that it was difficult to). She stood and bowed in return, a smile on her face. "Grantz-san," she replied, "Thank you again for what you're doing for me." She really was grateful; being homeless was a less than favorable position to be in.

She knew how she looked: innocent and naive. And truth be told, she was. Though she was at least a little wiser thanks to the Liar Game, she was still in the mindset of trusting and believing in people. Sorry, Akiyama-san, she thought to herself, I know you'd scold me...

"Please." It was the slightest falter, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Szayel Aporro. Grantz is a family name I don't need."

He was lucky that while the other arrancar had much more obvious masks; Cirucci's headpiece, Grimmjow's jaw, Nel's skull. His was barely noticeable, allowed him the satisfaction of slipping about in public. His white clothes marked him, his nature marked him, but nothing set him apart immediately as the Espada he was.

And he gained a sense of satisfaction from that. She must have been relatively new, but he would educate her in time. "You are helping me as much as I you, I would hope. I'm the selfish sort, you see. I do nothing without assurance it can be repaid."

Nao's own smile faltered, but she managed to keep it. "A-all right, Szayel-san," she said softly. It was harder to say, but she would respect his wishes. Don't bite the hand that feeds you and all that.

To his second statement, she nodded. "Of course," she replied, "That's only fair, after all." It was somewhat hypocritical of her to say; after all, Nao was the type of person to let someone stay at her place, no questions asked. However, she knew the world didn't work that way all the time, and she knew she'd wind up doing her part to repay what he was doing for her.

He wanted to correct her again, but he let it slide. His name was a name, a way of identifying himself, three simple words. He didn't place much need in it beyond that.

He bowed again, a sweeping gesture this time. "If you'd like to follow me. I have one request, however, and I hope you have no issues with keeping some information from others." He turned, intent on walking away, and glanced over his shoulder. The smile stayed in place. "You must never tell anyone the address."

Nao blinked, lightly surprised. However, she was a guest (or at least would be), and she knew to respect his right to privacy. She nodded, shifting her bag in her hands a bit. "I won't tell anyone," she said, "I promise." It's not like she was good friends with anyone enough to tell them where she lived anyway. If she found Akiyama-san... Well, she'd deal with that when and if it happened. No use on fretting about it now, even if she was worried.

"Good. That's not to say I'm demanding you never see anyone else, of course. Just not in my residence." The Octava smirked ever so slightly, took a few steps forward. "Would you like a hand with your bag?"

It was easy enough to be a gentleman.

It was even easier to let her assume away about him, for the time being. He'd left out the basic report on arrancar and their ranks for her to read before he left, and questions could be asked later if she needed. He didn't mind that, so long as Nao used him as her primary source of information.

Nao followed, shaking her head as he asked to take her bag. "It's fine, thank you," she replied, "You've done plenty for me as is." She was being honest; it was difficult for her to be anything but. She knew he was being a gentleman, and she appreciated it. However, she felt indebted enough to him.

She looked around a bit as she followed him; no matter how many times she saw it, the city still looked unbelievably huge to her.

He was starting to enjoy how innocent she seemed. It was amusing enough to watch her reactions to everything, and he walked in silence, simply letting Nao be.

He had nothing to talk about anyway; he hardly ever did.

The Octava settled into apathy, merely leading the younger girl around the City until they reached the desired building. He paused then, holding the door open for her, and something of a smirk hanging on his face. "I'm afraid you'll find the kitchen in the worst disarray."

The young woman startled a bit as they finally reached the building, her flats skidding on the sidewalk a bit. Nao shook her head at his statement. "That's fine," she said with a smile, "I'll get it cleaned up." She walked into the building, letting her eyes adjust from being in the sunlight.

"I meant," he murmured, a dangerous undertone to the quiet voice carried even now, "That it has never been used." Not since Lumina and Verona had been around, had played with that dog. He should probably find out where the runt got to, incidentally, but Szayel Aporro was fairly sure he didn't actually care. A dog was a dog and of no importance to anything he would do.

He led the way up flights of stairs, deliberatly slow as if dragging the walk out for longer than it needed to be. In some ways he was, allowing Nao time to rethink this, even to back out. She was only human, after all. Stopping outside the door gave her even more time to herself before the Octava opened it, leaving her on her own to walk inside as he passed through the sparse living room, pausing to collect his zanpakuto.

Nao had a lot of thoughts as they walked, but none of them were on backing out. Akiyama-san had a firm presence in her mind, and was the priority, but other thoughts swam in her mind as well. Such as, why some people seemed to show up here without intending to. Perhaps it was a phenomenon that couldn't be explained; more than likely, it was just a matter of being lost. Nao wasn't sure if it was one or the other.

As he walked in the door, Nao followed, blinking as he picked up what appeared to be a sword. She didn't say anything, just biting her lip softly and looking around.

He hadn't bothered to carry the sword around outside, and he rarely did. He knew his power, and others should too. Szayel Aporro honestly doubted that people were that suicidal around here. Well, shinigami dogs aside.

With the zanpakuto back in it's proper place, hanging from his waist, he turned to look at her blankly. "My room, the kitchen, the spare room, and the lab," pointing to each door in turn. He smirked as he pointed out the lab, his pride invested in one room, everything he was and had ever been summed up in the sterile equipment and items stored there. "You shan't be allowed in the lab without permission, and never in my room. Likewise, I shall never disturb your room."

He'd save the lecture on making sure not to be followed when she was outside for later; the Octava had time.

"Is there anything further you need?"

Nao took mental notes on where everything was. After he had finished explaining everything, she shook her head, her dark hair moving over her shoulders. "No," she said, "I think that just about covers it." She smiled again, feeling more and more hopeful about the situation. This really wasn't so bad. She didn't want to ask about the lab; he didn't want her to know, and she didn't want to know either. Of course, his room was a given for barred entry; everyone had to have their little personal space, after all.

"Then I hope you'll find everything else to your liking." He couldn't have done better if he'd really tried. Of course he was aware how hypocritical having Nao here would make him seem to the other arrancar, and Cirucci in particular, but it was never about them.

He knew what Aizen was doing, he knew what the others were doing. And they didn't know what he was doing. It was perfect.

The Octava waved - nonchalant and dismissive all in one - as he headed for the lab. He still had some tests to run on the blood he'd taken over the weekend, and she could use the time to settle in and stake her claim in the never-used kitchen and her own room.

Putting her belongings in the spare room, she went to the kitchen and looked around, getting a feel for where everything was. It really hadn't been used much; it needed a good cleaning before use, anyway. After looking in a few of the cupboards, Nao returned to her room.

The spare room wasn't much - just a bed and a very small set of shelves. Not much, but enough for now. Nao sat on her bed and sighed, falling till she was laying on her back, straing at the ceiling. Thinking of Akiyama-san, she smiled, closing her eyes. Since it had been so long since she'd been in a bed, it didn't take long for her eyes to fall shut. Sleep claimed her, the woman not even snoring.

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