Piercing was the scream that echoed from the tall pale tower that belonged to the Octava Espada. Anguished and fearful. It hung in the still air, echoing over the endless white plains of sand that sizzled under the eternal untainted blue sky that hung above Las Noches.
Easily heard by any who occupied the area.

Within the tower, situated at the base of a long curving white staircase and not far from the tower's entrance, were two figures.
One, a cowering male. Tall, slender and quite ordinary to behold, though at that moment his body was in quite a mangled state. Both legs shattered beyond repair or shape, simply two tubes of bleeding mashed up meat. Deep cuts gorged the sides of his torso as well as his shoulders and arms, whilst the right side of his face looked as if it had taken the impact of a sledgehammer. Twice.
The other, an eleven-year-old girl. Short and painfully skinny, pale-skinned with long black pigtails and bright blue eyes. No signs of injury were visible upon her body, however the revealing white clothes - bikini, mini-shorts, knee-high boots, enclosing gloves and hooded jacket - that she wore showed some tears. Her jacket slightly shredded as well were the tips of her gloves. Hands, which held an unusually designed chain-sickle, both of its sharp blades were coated in fresh blood.
The metallic scent rich in the air, crimson droplets staining the pale floor as well as the girl's gloves.
Skeletal shards clung to the girl's face, forming a fang upon the left-hand corner of her mouth and small jagged horns just below her left eyebrow, disappearing beneath her hairline. The man had had half a mask too, only his had been destroyed along with the right side of his face.
Both were Arrancar. Numerous, to be more exact.

"Please!" cried the damaged male, turning his mangled face away from the girl as he painfully attempted to drag his body towards the tower's only entrance and exit. His breathing ragged, his voice choked. "Please, stop! Leave me alone!"

The girl, known simply as Charo Cross, frowned at him, an expression that appeared rather adorable and not in the least bit intimidating on her youthful face. Tilting her head slightly to her right, which caused her long pigtails to cascade down the right side of her petite body, she lowered her chain-sickle and arms to her sides.
"You don't want to play with me anymore?", she replied, her voice as childish and girlie as she appeared to be, baring a sad and sulky tone to the words that she spoke.

"No!"

Her thin dark eyebrows constricting further, a sigh was issued from Charo's pale lips and she immediately turned her back to the lesser arrancar.
"Fine. Our game was getting boring anyways."

Glancing over her shoulder back at the crippled figure, cold striking blue hues simply stared down at him. A cold emptiness that no child should ever be able to express. But as seconds rolled by, a bright radiant grin suddenly broke out on the numeros' face.
"You can get going now, Toadie. I don't think that you want to still be here, bleeding all over the floor, when Ojii-sama turns up."

Looking away from "Toadie", Charo raised the blades of her chain-sickle above her head before proceeding to use it as if it were some form of a skipping rope. Raising her knees high every time the lengthy chain of her weapon seemed to be about to touch her, jumping over it. The effort causing her surprisingly bountiful breasts to bounce, quite dangerously as they threatened to connect with Charo's face, though the grin on her face stated that she was unaware of the danger that her boobs posed.

"England. Ireland. Scotland. Wales," she sang, adding a jump between each word. "Inside. Outside. Inside ..."

Confident that Charo was amused by her unusual game, the injured Numerous made his escape as quickly as he could.
Dragging himself towards the door, his face was contorted with pain as he forced his useless legs to follow him, leaving a dark heavy line of blood in his wake.
As a slug would with slime.

Within Hueco Mundo and Los Noches, most had heard of the "Child Arrancar". It would have been surprising if they had not, for it was practically unheard of for an Arrancar to maintain the appearance of a child. Such a small helpless form was associated with weakness, and, as was the nature of the hollow, the weak were always devoured by the strong.
Never in the five hundred years of her existence had Charo encountered a being like herself, forming the assumption that she was the only masked child. Which didn't actually bother her.
Very little did. For, granted the body of an eternal child, her mind was that of a child's as well.

Easily distracted, what was judged to be "boring" within Charo's pale eyes she quickly overlooked and ignored. Only if something should prove to be entertaining will she focus her limited attention and limitless time upon, eagerly.
"Toadie", a numeros who had found himself wandering within the Octava's territory without any real purpose, who had spied Charo and decided that she would make an easy meal, had been a brief source of amusement. When he had confronted her, Charo had been sitting alone in front of the white towering structure, drawing childish images into the pale sifting sand as she waited for her Master to return. Bored.
Charo had thought that a hungry Toadie would enjoy the game that she had wanted to play with him, but within five minutes he had proved to be disappointing. Unable to breech her defenses, the child had made quick work of her fellow numeros and, as a result, found her attention slipping. Playing her favorite game wasn't fun if she wasn't cut too.

Charo could have killed him. It was an easy enough task.
But Toadie hadn't enjoyed their game, nor had he played it well. Only those who played Charo's games well actually reached the game's goal: death.
And those who didn't wish to continue playing, Charo chose to ignore.

A sharp scratching ring echoed whenever the long weighted chain of Charo's chain sickle struck the tiled floor, signaling for her to jump. It kept her grin plastered to her face whilst blocking out the whimpers and pained sounds of her ex-play-mate.
She inhaled deeply, savoring the heavy metallic odor that hung in the air, enjoying how it tickled the inside of her nose.

The melody of the girl's childish game had changed, falling into an age-long nursery rhyme.
"Miss Mary Mack - Mack - Mack. All dressed in black - black - black. With silver buttons - buttons - buttons, all down her back - back - back. She asked -"

The sudden arrival of a dark ominous but familiar reiatsu caused Charo's words to freeze in her mouth, her sapphire hues widening and sparkling with happiness.
The scratch of the chain of her weapon striking tiled floor sounded once more, but Charo forgot to raise her legs, causing the chain to strike the back of her legs. Hard metal and heavy weight connecting forcefully.
Charo did not react, acting as if it had not hurt, and simply turned towards the tower's door, her gaze falling upon the tall white-clad figure that stood there.

"Welcome home, Ojii-sama!" she grinned, waving enthusiastically at the Octava Espada, Raziel Ketz, the blades of her weapon coming perilously close to slicing her face from her action.

At Raziel's question, Charo once more titled her head to the side, her expression a brief frown, barely acknowledging how Toadie screamed and thrashed about beneath the weight that Raziel applied to his broken body.
"He didn't want to play with me anymore," she replied, as if that excuse really did justify the small mercy that she had given Toadie.

Eyes gazing up at Raziel, locked upon his cold shadowed face, Charo felt anxiety begin to well up inside of her. Of course, her childish mind did not actually know that it was panic that she was feeling, only knowing that her stomach hurt and she was finding it difficult to breathe.
Raziel wasn't a particularly emotional individual, and was of a terribly glacial personality, add to that a constant impassive expression, and it wasn't surprising that Charo often found it difficult to read the Octava Espada. With his crimson hues staring down at her, Toadie still struggling beneath his grasp, the thought that he was angry with her wiggled into the child's mind.

It was only in the past century that Charo found herself in the company of others, before that she had moved without any purpose through El Sol, then the Human World, and finally throughout Hueco Mundo. Utterly alone.
A child at heart, solitude wasn't pleasant for Charo and she often did her best to get those who she encountered to befriend her. Occasionally she succeeded but more often than not those she met attempted to kill her - all dying at Charo's hands sooner or later to quench her boredom.

Raziel Ketz was ancient even amongst the Espada and was probably the last being who should ever be paired with a child. Yet, Charo adored being with him, constantly chasing after his shadow like some silly puppy. She was overjoyed to be his Fraccion.
And the thought that he might be unhappy with her upset the girl greatly.

Large blue eyes glistened with gathering tears, whilst pale lips trembled and gloved hands tightened upon the handles of her weapon.
Threatening to cry. Acting as if she expected Raziel to scold her.

The tears that threatened to flow instantly dried up as she watched him casually place Toadie's throat against the inside of the upper blade of his dual scythe, the numeros looking as if he were about to expire from fear, rather than his large loss of blood.
Crimson hues never leaving her face, Raziel extended one pale hand towards Charo, beckoning her towards him.

Giggling, Charo showed no hesitation in rushing over to him, coiling her weapon as she did so before securing it to the thick belt that she wore. Gloved hands reaching out as if to take hold of the hand that was offered to her, long raven pigtails dancing wildly against the back of her bare knees.

As previously stated, there was no hesitation in Charo's movements as she moved towards Raziel. There was no reason to.
There was no being in existence whom the child arrancar trusted or adored more than the Octava Espada, baring an affection towards him as a daughter would do for her father.
And though, Charo had never stopped to question whether or not Raziel loved her in return, or even cared about her, she knew, without any confirmation from her scarlet-eyed master, that her existence meant something to him. Raziel would not have tolerated her presence if this was not so.
And that was all that Charo needed from him.

As Raziel's hand held her own, more pleased laughter echoed from the child's pale lips, her sapphire hues bright and sparkling, as she allowed him to pull her towards him.
Unpleasant gargled sounds echoed from Toadie as Charo's boots sank into his flesh, her added weight, despite how little, caused his throat to be slashed by the blade on which it rested upon. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to cause blood to trickle and decorate the pale tiled floor, causing Toadie more pain.
Standing upon his back, Charo paused briefly. Sapphire hues staring down at the tormented creature, though the expression that her youthful face wore was not one of worry, sadness or even guilt. Curiosity danced across her facial features, as if she had never witnessed the process of beheading, or any scenes similar to it, before.

Standing upon the numeros' back, the girl began to bounce lightly on the heels of her feet in a gesture of impatience. Adding further damage to Toadie's cut throat, causing more droplets of blood to coat the stained floor.
Her hands still clutching Raziel's, Charo titled her head back to look up at him, pouting as she did so.

"Ojii-sama," she said, her voice almost a whine. "This is boring."

Listening to Raziel's words, Charo became curious as he directed her hands over to his precious scythe before placing them onto its metal bar.
It became clear to Charo then that the situation had taken on a serious vibe, for she knew how precious the weapon was to Raziel, having never seen anyone but him so much as touch it before. The fact that he was allowing her to freely place her hands against it was both exciting and confusing to her.
Immediately, Charo became still, her sapphire eyes noting that Raziel had stopped using his foot to keep Toadie from attempting to flee, before she quickly resumed to gaze up at the Espada. Her gaze questioning, yet she remained uncharacteristically silent.

Even when Raziel placed a hand over her own, making her hold upon his scythe firmer, before stooping slightly so that his lips hovered close to her ears, Charo said nothing.
The words that he then spoke were soft and told Charo what he wanted from her, in a manner that reminded her of a teacher instructing a student.
Charo wasn't sure what the word "absolution" meant, though she had heard Raziel use it countless times before, but knew that he wanted her to kill Toadie. To witness her performing the kill.

Sapphire hues glanced sidewards and focussed on cold crimson orbs, and a small frown showed upon Charo's fragile features.
Closing her eyes, she leaned her head slightly to the side, seeking to rest her skull-covered left cheek against Raziel's cheek, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she said and did nothing for a moment.

This wasn't the "fun" that Charo had been expecting, in fact, it was hardly what she would actually refer to as "fun". For whilst she could take a life whilst wearing a smile, it wasn't the part of her games that she enjoyed.
What Charo enjoyed was actual combat, it was the only act in life that truly kept her amused. Killing an opponent ended the combat and, as such, stopped the game and began the cycle of boredom once more. Besides, hadn't she already decided to let Toadie go when their game became boring?

But it was the first time that Raziel had ever asked such a thing from Charo, and his gentle, almost parental, behavior was enjoyable to Charo, and special in her eyes. She wanted him to be happy with her.
Besides, it wasn't often that Charo ever got to play her "games" with the Octava Espada, or at all actually. And whilst this wasn't one of her own games, it appeared to be, at least in her eyes, a game of his own. One that he was inviting Charo to play with him.

Sapphire hues fluttered open, and Charo moved her head away from Raziel, gazing up at him with a wide grin that did not suit the mask that clung to her face.

"Okay, Ojii-sama!" smiled she.
Without hesitation, Charo tightened her hold upon the large and heavy weapon, before pulling upon its handle to make the blade lift and slide against the arrancar's throat. Cutting deeply into exposed flesh.
Blood splattered the floor and walls, striking Charo's pale face and clothing as well but no sound left Toadie as his life was severed.
Only Charo's childish laughter echoed to signal his death.

Red against white. A striking combination that caught the eye effortlessly, as did white against black.
Large sapphire hues eyed the blood splatter as the laughter began to die from her lips, not with an expression of discomfort, distress or fear. Once more, the same curious gleam showed visibly within the cool depths of Charo's gaze, as if unsure of what to make of all the blood that dripped sluggishly from the walls and began to form shallow puddles at her feet.
The metallic odor that had been swirling within the air was much stronger now, verging on being overpowering. It burnt at Charo's nostrils, making her sneeze.

"Art ..." murmured the child, in response to Raziel's words, her lips frowning in a puzzled manner as she continued to study the crimson scenery around her. Her gaze dropping to the body on which she continued to stand on, his head severed and the inside of his throat visible.
Her immature mind did its best to absorb and to make sense of the words that Raziel said to her, unaffected by the corpse or the grotesque room in which she currently occupied.

Charo had no interest in art. Paintings, drawings and pretty constructed sculptures could only hold her attention for so long, and she wasn't sure if she could see the "art" that Raziel was indicating to her.
Perhaps this "art" was the name of the game that Raziel wanted her to play? Yes, that made more sense to Charo's uncorrupted mind.
And if what she understood that he was saying, the more that she played this game, the more people there would be to join in. The idea causing Charo to grin and to clap her hands twice.

"Yay!" she smiled, "Ojii-sama's game sounds like fun! Fun! Fun!"

With Raziel no longer holding her hands or pressing them against a weapon, Charo was free to leap off the dead mound, her booted feet meeting the ground with a wet splash as they landed in a shallow warm puddle, further staining her clothes.

"Ojii-sama, let's continue to play," she said, staring up at him eagerly. "I wanna try again only with someone more fun than Toadie was."

A gurgled sound echoed from Charo, a scowl marring her face as she clutched her stomach, pausing before raising a hand to wipe the clinging blood off from her face. Examining the crimson liquid that covered her glove, Charo began to lick some of the blood away.
The scent having made her hungry.

The sensation that hunger brought for an Arrancar verged on pain. It was an aching, gnawing desire, one which few could ever properly ignore. Burning, biting, it swam ever higher within a masked being's gut, tormenting mercilessly, demanding to be acknowledged, and punishing the being if it was ignored.
Before the stage of emerging from a gillian, such a ravenous hunger erased any logical thoughts from a hollow's mind, driving them to kill and devour constantly. Afterward, the overwhelming sense of control that such an appetite held lessened, but could rarely be sated by consuming the lives of humans. Requiring the flesh of hollow, menos and arrancar instead.

Charo tried hard not to focus on the ache that burned within her belly, wishing to concentrate only on the fun that Raziel promised her.
Hand raised to her lips, the child slowly lapped up any traces of blood that held stickily to her glove, enjoying its warm sticky and metallic texture and taste. Her sapphire hues watching Raziel as he began to take his leave of the tower, grinning happily from what he seemed to promise her.

Not wishing to be left behind, Charo dropped her hand, allowing it to fall back to her side, before she hurried after the Espada, only needing to move at a jog briefly.
She walked directly behind him, treading on his shadow, her movements close to skipping, her long dark hair flowing behind her.

Softly, she hummed, slightly off-key, to herself. Wondering if whomever Raziel found for her to "play" with, if he would mind if she ate a little bit of the being after their game.