The jungles of Bogota were Ika's first home in the human world. It was his chosen escape path when he had first given the Gotei the finger and escaped, and he had held up there for years with some of his old Vizard acquaintances and friends. He wasn't familiar with what might've happened to most of them, but he had heard vague rumblings that a Vizard had been spotted loitering occasionally in this particular spot. It made sense, perhaps one of his old allies was holding up here knowing they didn't really have a place for them in the Gotei. Perhaps they were hiding from the Quincies and other undesirable wretches currently occupying the planet, and hell perhaps they just really liked humidity.

So many questions, so little time. Ika took a drag off of a freshly lit cigarette and let the smoke dim the morning air in front of him, perspiration already beginning to gather and cling to various parts of his face. It was a miserable place, and it prompted plenty of internal questions as to why he'd even bother with it but nonetheless Ika had a hunch. He had heard that Kurisuten was still alive, and if she was? This would be the place to find her. Suddenly, in what could only be described as Anime levels of good timing, Ika sensed some Reiatsu. "Now what's a Vizard doing in a jungle like this eh?.."

Bogota was humid, hot and full of bugs, making a miserable place for people to live. Well at least in Kurisuten's personal opinion. She has recently visited multiple desert locations and out of all the places she has been, she may like this one the least. So why did she even bother coming here? Oh yes, sentimental reasons. Kuri internally cursed herself for being so emotional, being led here on the off chance she'd find something of use. Of course, that being said, this is where she knew a former ally used to be and it did have the sentimental purpose of old comradery. So here she was, sitting on a low hanging tree branch and staring off into the forest hoping to spot somewhere she could use for her purposes.

Despite the heat and humidity, Kuri kept her hood and mask up to help keep bugs at bay. Her tabi socked feet dangling and lightly kicking back and forth in the air as she wondered what she'd do next, or where she'd go. She had nowhere to go. Maybe that was her reasoning for coming here, the off chance that she'd run into an old comrade. She was willing to risk coming here in the first place right? Might as well stay for a few hours before moving on again, giving the chances a minuscule boost by adding time. It was quiet and lonely out here, the only sounds being the bugs and some moving water. Too quiet it seemed. That moment was when she felt it, reiatsu. Was she loosing her edge or were they just that good at hiding it?

The girls hand was on her violet handled zanpaktou in no time flat, even before she was on her feet again. Her eyes scanned the area until she heard him speak to her side and her eyes found him. "Now what's a Vizard doing in a jungle like this eh?" He was smoking a cigarette, which surprised her since she didn't smell it til now, and he was relaxed. Also, the odds against it, familiar. "Ika?" She muttered rather stupidly, due to her surprise. "I wasn't actually expecting to find anyone here... What are you still doing here?

Bugs and humidity and heat tended to be the package Bogota presented itself in. It was a miserable place to live as far as Ika remembered it, and there was hardly anything current that was going to sway him to some new found position on that topic. Trying to rummage through the jungle floor seemed as pointless as any activity Ika had ever undertaken but there was a chance something useful would come of it, and so he continued onward in spite of his increasing frustration and discomfort until, well.. he found what he was looking for. Kurisuten, an old ally he'd befriended a very long time ago was currently sitting in a tree in a hoodie for some god forsaken reason, perhaps this was some heat stroke induced hallucination?.. Surely not.

The girl muttered Ika's name and in doing so confirmed both his identity and her own. "That is still my name and if I had to guess I'd say Kurisuten is still yours, fancy finding you out here." Ika took another light drag off his cigarette, exhaling the smoke with a quickness so that he could continue to speak. "I'm not still here per say, I simply came to visit for nostalgia purposes and on the off chance that I'd run into some old allies. Old allies such as, well, you for instance. Couple hundred years and it doesn't seem like much has changed about this fucking jungle unfortunately, pity that.."

Kuri watched the man, almost in stunned silence, though her mask and hood hid most of that expression. When she recollected herself, she straightened and immediately sheathed her reverse bladed zanpaktou. Her second step was to lift her gloved hands to her hood and mask respectively and pull them down to release her long, braided, violet hair. She was indeed sweating, but she bug bite free at least, and the sudden rush of air to her now bare skin was a relief. Small though it was. She listened to him speak, almost picking on her at fist, and explain why he was there. It seemed like they were still, at least, somewhat like minded. A small smile slipped across her lips as he finished speaking and she replied, small amounts of amusement in her tone.

"Kurisuten is so long, Ika, call me Kuri please." She gave him a small chuckle, before continuing. "It's good to hear that you finally left this place, too many bugs for me. Though, it seems we are both here on similar business. I, too, came here hoping to find something. Whether it be allies or simply somewhere to stay for a short while, though I seemed to have forgotten how much I hate this place as well." Her tone was more amused than anything, though a small hint of relief seem to etch her voice too. And indeed she was relieved, she finally found someone she was once friends with... perhaps they could still be friends.

"Still hunting down fellow Vizards to join the cause are we?" She said teasingly, though she made sure to add an actually curious infliction to her tone. She was curious as to see if she would fall victim to another selling speech and where he took his fellow Vizards for safe keeping. Most of all, Kuri was curious if it had air conditioning and bug spray... But she probably wouldn't speak those last parts out loud.

Sheathing her blade was probably the optimal step for Kuri to take at this point. Ika was hardly one to play with that kind of aggressive stance, even if she was by all intents and purposes a friend. Her next move was well-received, she removed her hood and mask to reveal a genuinely pretty face marred by sweat and probable anxiety about this whole encounter. As he spoke, she seemed bemused to say the very least, happily taking in whatever he said more or less because he was the one saying it. He could empathize with that truthfully, there weren't many familiar faces left from those days, and nostalgia in this way was hard to come by.

As she spoke, he figured it was his turn to listen and form a response of some kind. In truth this had already gone much better than he had expected it to. "Kuri seems reasonable to me, I don't know why I'm being so formal truthfully, not like we've never met.. Anyway, I am still hunting down Vizards such as yourself and I'm hoping to have them join me in this little.. alliance I've formed. It's not perfect by any means, but it's our best shot at getting back at the Gotei for excommunicating us for the sin of well, existing. To be honest, I think it's high time for a shake up in the world, and I'm more than open to the idea of you joining me in trying to accomplish that.."

Ika also seemed to relax once she was less on edge, it made the entire encounter seem a lot less stressful. She ran a gloved hand through her long violet hair, attempting to get the hair from her face. Her eyes swept the area lazily as she listened to her old comrade, a habit to always stay on her toes now. Kurisuten's eyes flicked back to Ika as he hesitated in his sentence, it was never a good sign when people hesitated to say what was on their minds. Was he hiding something from her? Probably just some hidden fact that didn't matter, but still why hide it? Her smile faulted only a little at first.

it was when Ika spoke of taking the fight to the Soul Society that she got a pang in her heart. Despite all they have done to her and her kind, the Gotei was still her home and she missed it. Now he was speaking of breaking the current regime and the way the worlds worked? About taking the fight to her home? Her smile finally did slowly vanish from her lips as he came to a close. How would she respond to such a thing? Was that even a viable option? So many questions.

"So you're planning on taking down the Gotei? Do you know how many lives would be lost if you waged war on them? A lot of those Reapers are innocents and a lot of them would die. I can understand hating the Captains in charge, or perhaps the Soul King...." Her words waivered a moment as she spoke, uncertainty in her voice. She wanted to join him, but she couldn't bring herself to understand the logic. "Besides... There can't be that many of us Vizards to fight all of the Gotei."

The girl wasn't nearly as receptive to Ika's personal wants and whims as he was hoping, and in truth he kind of expected that she wouldn't be as in favor as others were. He sighed, watching her with clearly disappointed eyes as she questioned what he was doing and what he intended to do. Once she finished he prepared himself to speak, and mustered up a cold bluntness to his tone. "I'm not ignorant to the fact that lives will be lost. I'm not ignorant to the fact that some may not even deserve it but hell, isn't that what the Gotei has always been about? Sending people to die on a sword for it's own fuck-ups and misdoings. If it wasn't me they were dying because of it'd be the Arrancar and if not them then the Quincy and if not them then the Sinners.. It's never going to end Kuri. We can't aspire to peace and the status quo. Change doesn't occur through peaceful measures.

"I've enlisted the help of the Arrancar in this fight. They serve under me, many will die in the conflict and those that don't can be beat back rather easily. All I need is a distraction long enough for me to kill Demise, to recapture the throne he stole from my father through spite and malice and then I can reverse the course of the current world. I can get you back into the home you've missed for years. Sometimes I miss it to, I'd like to be able to visit and I'd like my father to be welcome in my own home. Ideally I'd just behead Demise in front of his children and we could get this over with quietly but.. That may not be as easy as you think. My idea is to goad him into a one on one fight, threaten the Seireitei and the Rukongai with a massive military force, force him to face me one on one or be responsible for what follows. If he fails to agree to those terms then the deaths are on his hands, not mine."

Ika leaned back against the tree behind him, his eyes heavy with thought and sweat in equal measure. "Sometimes things don't come as easy as we'd like Kuri. You of all people should know that.."

Kuri could see the disappointment in his eyes as she spoke, but when he first spoke her own mirrored his. Her violet hues glowed with it and she shook her head as he spoke. He made obviously good points that the Gotei make their own enemies, but sometimes that was inevitable. Besides, most of those enemies are products of peoples mistakes from millennias ago. However, she let him continue and she owed it to him to at least hear him out. As he spoke though, she brushed her left arms sleeve across her sweaty brow. However, once again, she paused behind her sleeve as he spoke. Suddenly horrified by what he was saying and dropped her arm to stare indignantly at him.

"You have got to be kidding, Ika. You speak of the Seireitei making its own enemies time after time and I agree to a point. However, you speak of beheading a man in front of his children? How is that not going to turn around into another conflict? How are they going to grow up and not feel the need to kill the man who killed their father? Violence begets violence, a lesson learned after hundreds of years of life... One you ought to know yourself by now, there are other ways. I'm surprised you'd think I'd be so interested in a plan so reckless.... Arrancar... Do you really believe you can control them? What will they do when you tell them they can't destroy the Seireitei? Back down? My ass..."

The girl reached behind her, gripping her violet handle with her hand and removed her blade in a non aggressive manner. She held the blade in front of her as if in Kendo, however her reverse blade katana made the blunt end face Ika. "What do you see? A weapon made for slaying enemies? Or a weapon made to protect allies and perform Konso? This is my zanpaktou, Purotekuto... Protection. Safe and strong." She lowered the blade in one hand and with her free one, gripped the crimson handle of the Katana on her side. After pulling only a short way, the broken blade of a regular bladed Katana gleamed defeated in the heat. "And now what do you see? A broken blade, the edge facing forward... now useless and broken. A reminder that swords are meant to protect life, not take it." She sheathed her twins zanpaktou first, before sheathing her own. "I Don't think I could join a crusade"

Ika sighed, glaring lightly in his old allies direction. He couldn't help but to feel sorry for her, he was making a decision that he knew deep down she would never be able to approve of. She could never get on board with it and frankly, he wasn't here to ask her to change her own moral compass. "I don't literally mean in front of his children but if they need to see their father fall to understand the indignation of what he's done to us then so be it. Violence begets violence and can only be stopped by violence, the cycle of our entire being is not but violence! You think I'm unaware of this Kurisuten!? I've spent my whole life watching my father create enemies through cruel decrees and overreactions, and I watched his one moment of emotional weakness lead to his usurping all those years ago. He wanted me to be able to thrive there, and he was ousted for it."

Ika's eyes were by this point as open as they'd ever been, cold and blue and seemingly mirroring the girls every reaction as he spoke. "A reckless plan? Your plan is to die in a hail of arrows due to Quincy intervention or end up a Hollow meal deal or end up some Lieutenants promotion for your damned moral high-ground. Do you really expect everyone to make that same decision and die for that flawed fucked-up death factory in the sky? Do you still view yourself and indeed me as peons, cogs in a machine that is seemingly only oiled with blood?! The Arrancar are weak, they follow power like lost dogs and will be grossly out-numbered by the combination of Shinigami and Vizards. They will back down, I've tested it and if they don't they will die. Many of them listen to reason after-all Kuri, and many of them simply wish to exist. I know your text-books and teachings have lent themselves towards believing these are heartless monsters, but they are only flawed, just like Shinigami, just like us! What is the difference?!"

It was at this point that Ika watched the girl pull her Zanpakuto out for her theatrical display. "And how many Vizards did you slay with that blade? How many Hollow and Quincy lives did it take to protect a death machine? There is nothing but hypocrisy in both of our arguments, yet you're the only one seemingly blind to that Kuri. Do you think you were protecting lives when you slayed those Vizards and Quincies? Hell even those Hollows are simply doing what they must to exist. Your blades intent may be protection, but it's utilization has lent itself only towards death, just as my gauntlets have, just as anyone elses Zanpakuto has. You have only protected a machine that wants you dead, and that haunts you and will continue to haunt you if nothing changes.."

Ika stared daggers at the woman, curious as to what her rebuttal would be, what it could be. Guess he'd find out..

It was Kuri's turn for pity to show on her face as he spoke of his father. The sins of the past always come to bite one in the ass, this was just karma and she felt he was simply to close to see it. A soft sigh escaped her lips, though she wasn't going to interrupt him. She might disagree with his opinions, but that didn't mean she wanted to be rude or make an enemy of him. "I know my ideals and beliefs are unrealistic, Ika, and that's not the point. If everyone laid their weapons down and talked, there would never need to be a reason for weapons. Violence may be your existence, but mine has always been protection." She said this with the air of knowing he wouldn't care and keep down his path.

Kurisuten closed her violet eyes and took a deep breath, choosing her words in order not to provoke anger. "If my plan were to just lie down and die for the Seireitei, do you honestly think I'd be in this shit hole talking ideals and politics with you? Of course not. I agree one hundred percent that the Seireitei needs changing, but violence and bloodshed will never be the option I take. I have friends that still reside there and I have friends that don't. Why should I be forced into one side or the other and have to kill one or more of them? I'd rather find my own way, a more peaceful solution. I have no inherit misgivings for the Arrancar, I've always given them the opportunity not to attack me. They will more often than not attack. I have no faith that you can control them once they get where they want to be. Even if they all did die, so will many Shini and Vizard. I'm just not okay with that."

Suddenly her violet eyes were open and blazing with a sudden anger rarely seen on the girls face. When she spoke, her voice was oddly calm and cool considering the look of fury. "How dare you. I have never taken the life of an innocent person, no matter the race they belong too. In fact, the reason I originally left the Seireitei was because I disobeyed an order to kill an innocent Vizard. You judge my integrity, but the only thing I have ever killed without a  thought were hollows. Not Arrancar, but Hollows. Our Zanpaktou were created for that purpose, cleansing the souls of the hollows and sending them back to the cycle. You may be haunted by the things you have done on the whims of others, but don't you go pushing your guilt on me or anyone else. I have my dignity. All that haunts me is the fact I can't help the ones in need." The girl scowled and matched the mans eye daggers with no faulter.