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((Even though you were tired and sleepy, you were still able to post this. This PRP is a priority one, and as they say, the highest priorities first. Thank you, Ayu-hime. (-^_^-) ))

Xeion laughed at Rakey-chan's innocence. Of course, he understood her situation completely. Being an Arrancar, it was obvious that she wasn't able to experience things like eating pizza or drinking soda much. Then again, that kind of thing, too, was rare among his kind. Most of the shinigami he knew always put duty first over anything else, even their own leisure time, so they, too, had little or no time at all to enjoy their time on earth. This was the first time for them to enjoy in something like this -- shinigami and Arrancar, eating happily like a group of close friends. The atmosphere was happy, giving the Vice Captain a warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart. Smiling, he began to explain what a Sprite and Dr. Pepper was to Rakey-chan, chatting with her happily as the three of them waited for the food to arrive.

"Well, a Sprite and Dr. Pepper are drinks categorized under a certain kind of beverage known as soda in the human world. It's packed with all kinds of acti-gens which stimulate the performance of a person, sugar is one of the most common acti-gens, and soda, tastes great because of that certain acti-gen. You can even say that soda is a form of energy booster that can increase your physical performance ten-fold," Xeion explained, but immediately shifted to a more serious tone right after, but still retained his smile. "But don't drink too much though -- too much soda will make your body over-active, leading to hyper-activeness, eventually ending with something called a sugar crash."

Xeion laughed, amused at her sheer innocence. "Well, Rakey-chan; I meant crash in the sense that sugar forces your body to produce too much energy, so in the end, after the effects of the sugar had run its course, it simply gets absorbed into the bloodstream, leaving you faitgued," he explained. He was about to continue explaining what a sugar crash was, but stopped when their orders finally arrived, a big smile coming to Xeion's face.

The waiter, as requested, put the drinks first. He put the Sprite in front of Yuu-chan, the Dr. Pepper in front of Rakey-chan, and the glass of water in front of Xeion. After which, the waiter then put a basket of garlic bread in the middle of the table, and along with it the pizza he ordered for them. The pizza was big, cheesy, and looked so scrumptious. The toppings he ordered were also there -- all part of the restaurant's excellent service.

"Okay, Rakey-chan and Yuu-chan -- it's time to dig in!" he exclaimed, getting a pizza cutter and a serving craude as he sliced off a piece and served it to both Rakey-chan and Yuu-chan first before he served himself a slice of pizza. It smelled delicious -- nothing less from Pizza Hut's chefs.

"Itadakimasu!"

((Edited.))

Xeion lifted the piece of the pizza up on his plate and took a quick bite of it. At once, Xeion's mouth was filled with the exquisite taste of the herbs and spices, the delicately prepared tomato sauce under the blanket of rich, Sicilian cheese. To top it all off, the intermixing flavors of the pepperoni, meaty bits, and thin slices of Hawaiian pineapple-glazed ham really brought out the pizza's unique taste. The rich and tangy taste all came as one, gigantic surge of flavors that overwhelmed Xeion's taste buds to their core. The pizza was so delicious, words can't even describe it. It was so good, it didn't make sense anymore.

When he heard his little sister enjoy her drink, he stopped himself from taking another bite of the delicious pizza, wiped his oily hands with a nearby dinner cloth, and patted her on the back, smiling as he did. "That's good, Yuu-chan. I'm glad you like it. This is your reward for doing so well against those people from earlier as well as congratulations for being able to attain your shikai at such a young age," praised Xeion. From his tone of voice, Xeion was obviously happy not only because she was able to do such a thing, but because of the mere fact that he was able to spend time like this with both Yuu-chan and Rakey-chan.

Speaking of Rakey-chan, how was she doing? Turning to her, Xeion saw that she was still unmoving. Slightly curious, he smiled at her. "Is something the matter?" he asked then assured Rakey-chan. "Don't worry, it's really good -- I can guarantee you that, Rakey-chan. It's like nothing you've ever tasted in your life."

Xeion, too laughed at Rakey-chan's silliness, but was quick with the dining cloth, standing up from his chair to wipe the stains off her face. Bits of soda still flowed out from her mouth and there was a small pizza stain on her lips from when she tried to eat her pizza a bit too quickly. "Haha, you're so silly sometimes, Rakey-chan. It makes me forget that you're supposed to be the Sixth Espada, but that's good," Xeion smiled as he wiped Rakey-chan's face clean like how a big brother would to a little sister.

When he was done, Xeion sat himself back down onto his chair and looked at Rakey-chan, still smiling. "If it's too hot, you should blow on it first, you silly rabbit," he laughed. "Oh, and don't worry about the soda. It's normal -- you'll get used to it."

Xeion looked at the waiter and smiled at him, muttering a hushed "Thank you," just as the man passed by to go back to the kitchen. Taking another look at Rakey-chan, Xeion was pleased with himself. Rakey-chan looked like she was having fun. "I'm happy to see that you're enjoying the pizza, Rakey-chan," he said, "though I'd advise you to go easy on the Dr. Pepper though so as you don't repeat what happened last time."

By chance, Xeion looked to the other side where his little sister was and saw that the pizza the were eating, all six slices of it, were gone, in a flash. Xeion's eyes widened at the shock of seeing something like that -- to think that such a big pizza was scarfed down in mere minutes after it had been laid on the table. Looking to Yuu-chan, he saw that she had a small, satisfied look on her face. sighing with contentment shortly afterward. He was about to scold Yuu-chan for not leaving them some, but forgot all about it when he heard her say, in the cutest voice, that her "tummy isn't angry anymore". Xeion's heart warmed over once again, taking a table cloth, and wiped Yuu-chan's messy face with it, as he knew that she was somewhat of a messy eater. After cleaning her face up, he smiled at her, though when he turned back to his plate and eyed his half-eaten pizza, he let out a hushed sigh. "I guess this slice is my only portion for the day."

Xeion looked at Rakey-chan with an assuring smile. "No, I'm fine, Rakey-chan," he said though he was trying to hide the fact that he still wanted more of the pizza that Yuu-chan scarfed down all by her little self. At the very least though, his little sister was satisfied and her tummy felt very happy, or so she says. Well, she just ate six slices of pizza all by herself -- why won't her tummy be happy? "Oh, I almost forgot," Xeion exclaimed. Leaning over to Yuu-chan, he smiled for a bit. "Yuu-chan, Rakey-chan and I have something to talk about, okay? You wait here, okay? We'll be back soon," he said.

tanding up from the head of the booth, Xeion smiled at Rakey-chan and gestured for her to follow him outside of the restaurant. Once outside, Xeion looked over to the sky and saw the darkness gradually fading -- tell-tale signs of morning fast approaching. Lucky for him, however, the star from that time when he made that promise with the girl in Yokota was still there, shining brightly up in the sky. He smiled at this while he waited for Rakey-chan patiently.

Without saying so much as a word, Xeion pointed up to the sky with his right hand towards the solitary star, shining in the early morning skyline. It was alone -- the only star left -- while all of the other stars vanished when the sunlight crept along the Yokota sky. But even so, it continued to shine as brightly as it did on that fateful night he made a promise to do his best to the girl whom he might never see again. It was still shining even though it was already morning and so far away. “Lucky Star,” Xeion said while he retracted his arm, placing it back to his sides. He continued to stare at the star for several seconds after that before he turned his head towards Rakey-chan. “That’s its name -- I came up with it after my favorite TV show with the same name, ‘Lucky Star’,” Xeion explained, giggling while he did. “I call it ‘Lucky Star’ because it’s very fitting for a resilient star like that. It’s lucky in the sense that it always is the first and last one to disappear from the sky, even when every other star had already gone. It’s the star that is the first and last to be seen, hence it’s lucky.”

Walking near Rakey-chan, Xeion placed himself beside her then crossed his arms. He raised his head to stare at the star yet again. “You know, a friend of mine told me that that one, single star up there always tried its best to shine so that the people on Earth can see it even though it’s alone,” he paused, smiling for a bit, before he continued. “Though that kind of description may seem somewhat inspirational to some, myself included, I met a person who said that they just can’t agree wholly with what my friend said. That person said that although that star might be trying its hardest to shine for others, it must be pretty lonely for it to do that all the time while it was all alone.”

[Scene Song: Warmth]

Turning his attention back to Rakey-chan once more, Xeion’s eyes filled with an amalgam of emotions, hidden behind his deep, blue shades. Giving Rakey-chan a warm and gentle smile before anything else, Xeion opened his mouth and spoke. “When I almost died back there, I met a version of you while I was hovering between life and death,” he explained, “and that version of you made me understand just how hard it was for you. Of course, from what you said to me in the past, I had a rough sketch of how bad your life was, but it wasn’t until that day that I finally understood.”

Raising his right hand, the young Vice Captain placed it on top of Rakey-chan’s head, ruffling her hair a bit. In doing so, Xeion acted somewhat like a big brother to his Arrancar friend while he continued what he was saying. “You were running for so long, seeing others around you being eaten by Hollows. You were always running, always trying your best to stay alive, always alone, without anybody to care for you. In the end, after running for so long, you were eaten by a Hollow -- your efforts went unrewarded and your soul wallowed in despair.”

Slowly, Xeion leaned in closer and wrapped his arms around Rakey-chan, feeling the warmth of her body as well as the warmth of his own jacket which he lent to her since her clothes were all dirty. Xeion closed his eyes, relishing the moment, hoping that Rakey-chan would feel his deepest sincerity thorough his actions. “It was all our fault that you turned out the way you are today. I know I can’t change the past; what’s done is done, but I hope that we -- Yuu-chan, Rin-chan, me, and everyone else you consider important or love -- can help you change that.”

Xeion leaned out, his eyes focused directly into Rakey-chan’s own. Letting go with his right hand, he stroked Rakey-chan’s hair in a caring manner, caressing it as gently as he could. “Your actions, your words -- everything you did. All of it. You did all of those just because you didn’t want to show everyone your true feelings. You’re afraid that, if you show them, the people around you would distance themselves from you. This is the reason why you try your best, why you try to please everyone -- you don’t want to be alone again. You don’t want to experience that kind of lifestyle; not anymore.”

Relinquishing his embrace from Rakey-chan, Xeion once again looked up to the sky towards the star. Again, he raised up his right hand towards it and smiled. “That star, ‘Lucky Star’, looks so lonely up there, don’t you think? Well that’s what the person I met thought. Let me show you a graphical representation of my answer to his inquiry, even it’s just for a little while,” he said, and in a flash, the Angelus appeared in his right, his Raven’s Mark glowing on his forehead. Uttering words in a hushed tone of voice, the Angelus shone with blue light. Pulling the trigger, a light-blue bullet shot out of the gun’s muzzle and blazed across the sky. The sheer power of the shot broke through the sky, scattering the clouds to reveal thousands of tiny stars beside that single star from before -- stars which were covered by the clouds as the morning sun rolled over.

With the job done, the Mark and the Angleus disappeared from sight as Xeion once again turned to Rakey-chan. “Can you see it? All of those stars were beside the ‘Lucky Star’? Even though you can’t see them, as they were covered by the clouds, they were always watching the ‘Lucky Star’ as it did its best. Even though the ‘Lucky Star’ shone brightly even if it was alone, maybe it would be able to shine brighter if it knew that there were other stars watching from the back, don’t you think?” he asked. “I also think that the same could be said for you, Rakey-chan.”

[Scene Song: Mamotte Agetai (I Want To Protect You)]

All of a sudden, the crystal clover Xeion gave Rakey-chan began to glow inside the pocket it was being kept in as if responding to its creator’s emotions. The crystal molecules began to crack and break then quickly rearranged themselves, not into a clover, but in the form of a star with a clover in the center of it -- the very same clover Xeion borrowed from Rakey-chan on that fateful day, in its original state, perfectly preserved in a star-shaped crystal. With the transformation of the crystal clover, the item began to surge with more cosmic energy than before. That alone served as the symbol of Rakey-chan’s acceptance into Xeion’s heart.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Xeion reached out for Rakey-chan’s hand and clasped it gently, letting her hands feel the warmth of his. “Ever since we first met, I knew that you were different. You were nice, you were kind, and you believed in peace rather than violence. It’s not strange for us to get along, seeing as we both have almost the same ideals and goals, but even so, and Arrancar and a shinigami getting along -- it’s something that is totally unheard of, or rather, it‘s something that both our worlds aren‘t ready to accept yet,” he explained, but smiled. “However, I don’t care about that.”

Xeion’s face leaned in closer to Rakey-chan while he still brandished his smile. The joy he felt in heart was about to overwhelm him, but Xeion, being who he was, was able to keep it from letting out all at once. This was it -- the moment of truth. With inches just near his and her face, Xeion resumed.

“Rakey-chan, I love you. With all of my heart, I absolutely love you. You’re a part of my family -- a precious part of my family.”

With those words, he expressed his unconditional love for Rakey-chan. It didn’t matter what the circumstances were, or more specifically, he didn’t care. He viewed Rakey-chan as a sister; a sister whom he loved very much.

Xeion’s eyes teared up, but instead of crying, he smiled even more. He was crying tears of joy. “It doesn’t matter if you’re and Espada. It doesn’t matter if you’re supposedly our enemy. In our eyes -- in my eyes -- you’re simply yourself. You’re not the Cuarta Espada. You’re not the one whom we are supposed to kill. You’re just Rakey-chan, and nobody else. The Rakey-chan who makes Yuu-chan smile. The Rakey-chan who gets along with Rin-chan. The Rakey-chan who likes to drink Dr. Pepper and eats pizza. That’s the Rakey-chan we know. That’s the Rakey-chan we love.”

In that moment, Xeion planted a sweet kiss on Rakey-chan’s forehead, like he always did, but this time, he kissed her longer than he usually did. Leaning out, he stepped back a little and turned around, his back facing towards her. Taking a step forward, Xeion began to slowly walk away from her, headed toward the other end of the restaurant -- the east end. While he did, he made sure that his voice was still audible so that Rakey-chan could hear. “If you ever feel alone, we’ll rush to your side and hug you tight. If you ever feel cold, we’ll make a fire for you and give you warmth. If you ever feel sad, we’ll tell you jokes until you make you smile. If everyone says they hate you, we’ll tell you we love you until you say that it’s okay.”

When he was at the end, Xeion stopped in his tracks. The sun crept up slowly but steadily, and by the time Xeion got to where he was, the light was already just a few inches away from his feet. Xeion immediately turned his hear around to look ad Rakey-chan with a smile, the warm, gentle sunlight kissing his face, making him look almost angelic. “Whatever you have done, it doesn’t matter to us or to me. We will accept you for who you are. Your zanpakuto’s name, ‘Mamoru’, means to protect. If that’s the case, please allow us -- allow me -- to be like your zanpakuto too, Rakey-chan. Let us protect you, let us be your shield. It’s not that we’re doing this because we need to, we’re doing this because we want to; because I want to. I want to protect you, Rakey-chan, that’s the truth.”

Xeion now turned around to completely face Rakey-chan. He smiled at her once again, but this time, the shine shining behind him illuminated the entire area in his spot, making the view beside him heavenly. Awakening birds then almost immediately chirped to life from directions as Xeion began to speak. “We will always keep the door open for you and welcome you with open arms once you return.”

In an instant, the birds flew in all directions in addition to a gentle wind that passed by, caressing both Xeion’s and Rakey-chan’s faces. “You’ll always have a home here, Rakey,” he whispered into the wind, intentionally dropping the use of an honorific to express it as a term of endearment. He just hoped that Rakey-chan wouldn’t take it as an insult.