Author's Note: Tada! First chapter of the actual story, which Stand, Ice and Steel and Onward were leading up to! I've taken a few liberties with the story following the whole "Ichigo loses his powers" situation, as I mentioned in "Onward", and so I'm hoping that my readers will just go with me on some of the plot points. I promise, there's a good story to be had! Furthermore, I want to give a good bit of the credit for this to my beloved boyfriend, as any of the male OC's that you read about in this story were made up by him, and thus I owe him greatly for that, and for the inspiration for this story. As always, anything you recognize belongs to Tite Kubo, and I'm just having a bit of fun with his creations. And without further ado, on to the story!
The imprisonment of Aizen, along with the death of most of the Espada, had left a power vacuum in Hueco Mundo. That vacuum gave rise to a new regime, and no one had been more surprised than Unohana Retsu when she had been instructed to travel to Las Noches on an ambassadorial mission. She and her lieutenant had not really known how to react to being formally invited to the place that only a few scant years ago had been their mortal enemies. Of course, the reason that they'd had such a problem with Hueco Mundo was currently locked away in a cell in the god-forsaken depths of Muken, but even still, to be sent an invitation to attend the court of Drake Typhon, the new king of Hueco Mundo was certainly something that was fairly high on Unohana's list of "things unlikely to ever happen", situated somewhere between Kuchiki Byakuya posing willingly for the Shinigami Women's Association photo book, and Madarame Ikkaku deciding to lay down his weapons and become a Buddhist monk.
Nothing had been heard from the desolate moonlit desert that was home to so many lost spirits in at least three years, and so it was a most curious time to be suddenly inviting a pair of shinigami to come visit. Several of the captains had expressed concern over this, but in the end, given how the Winter War had crippled Soul Society's fighting force, Central 46 had agreed to at least meet with the new king. Unohana and her lieutenant were chosen, because of all the captains, Unohana was the one with the best mixture of power and diplomacy. Little had she suspected that the treaty with Hueco Mundo would rely on other skills than diplomacy.
Opening a garganta required speaking with Kurotsuchi-taicho, which was certainly not one of her favorite things to do, considering just how creepy the man was, and how often he liked to ask far too dear of payments for his services rendered. However, it was on the Soutaicho's orders this time, and so there was little he could do aside from skulking around creepily and berate his lieutenant, causing Unohana to wonder, not for the first time, why anyone actually put up with him. Then the garganta opened, and she had to admit that the man, while utterly without morals, compassion or a sense of restraint, was brilliant nonetheless. Times like these, she really missed Urahara Kisuke. He at least didn't go for the whole facepaint look. Some days she wasn't sure whether to hate Kurotsuchi-taicho with a passion, or ask him to make a balloon giraffe for her. It was an odd dichotomy there, to be sure.
When she and Isane had stepped out of the garganta, they had been standing inside of the throne room of Las Noches. Seated at the table were several people, only one of which was familiar to Unohana. It had been a bit surprising to see Grimmjow Jaegerjacque alive, much less seated in the spot of Primera. However, the eye was instantly drawn to the man that stood, walking towards Unohana and Isane with a purposeful stride. He was taller than either woman, a surprise to the white haired vice-captain, who was used to being on par with, or taller, than most people that she met, with crimson red hair that lightened to gold at the tips, in long, swept back spikes from his head and back over the back of his neck, resembling a Western dragon's bony neckfrill. He was handsome in a feral sort of way, powerfully built and yet sacrificing no grace of movement, with fine, strong features, reminding one rather of the statues of ancient Roman emperors, with a long, aquiline nose, a sharply defined jaw and deepset, flame red eyes. The sheer power that he exuded made it easy to see why he was the new king of Hueco Mundo.
He came to them, first to Unohana, then to Isane, taking their hands and bowing over it politely, an odd thing for an arrancar to do. "Welcome to Las Noches. I imagine it is a bit different than the last time this place had shinigami visitors." He said, his voice deep and rumbling, as if it came from some place deep in his chest. "I am Typhon Drake, King of Hueco Mundo. You do us a great honor by coming today." Even Grimmjow didn't sneer at this; instead he looked oddly…anticipatory. That put Unohana a bit on edge, but she smiled serenely and inclined her head to the tall man.
"Your invitation was most kind, and most unexpected, Typhon-sama. There has never been a king of Hueco Mundo who wished anything but quiet hostility with Soul Society. While it is very heartening, it is also very unusual. Please, forgive my impertinence, but what caused this change in sentiment towards shinigami?" She was reservedly polite, unfailingly so, but the oddity of an offer of ceased hostility was, needless to say, an extraordinary situation, and she wanted to make sure that there was no hint of betrayal in this offer. The king himself smiled, a broad, toothy sort of grin, and there was a murmured sense of amusement that rippled around the table. The Fourth Division captain felt as though there was a joke at her expense going on, but it wasn't overt enough to call attention to just yet. The flame haired king simply turned and motioned to a pair of chairs near his seat at the head of the table.
"Please sit. I will answer all the questions you wish, of course. But I would be most remiss in my duties as a host if I were to keep you here without offering you the simple courtesy of a seat." Unohana and Isane allowed themselves to be seated and turned their attention to the king, though keeping a close watch on the other arrancar. There were so many of Espada level; had Aizen created so many before his fall? The king himself remained standing, and began to pace as he spoke. "You must understand the situation of Hueco Mundo after the traitor took the king's throne." He refused to even speak Aizen's name, and indeed it was very similar to a curse now, an epitaph rarely flung except in times of great fury. "I was outcast even before that, during the reign of Baraggan. I was a threat to the throne even then, if not for his little aging trick." He spoke dismissively of the former Segunda Espada's powers. "The traitor had the same situation; a cheap trick that he could use to win a battle with no effort or danger put forth. I have no such tricks. What I do have, is power. And in Hueco Mundo, power is the deciding factor in the chain of command. Of the arrancar that remain, and the ones that I have awakened, I am the strongest. And thus, I am king."
Unohana sat up slightly in her seat at the mention of him awakening arrancar, sharing a quick glance with Isane, who had a similarly alarmed look on her face. "You…say that you awakened arrancar, Typhon-sama? How is that possible?" The king smiled a little and nodded towards a pedestal beside his throne. It looked very familiar, and when he placed his hand on it, the sections slid away to reveal a glittering gem suspended inside of a glass case. Once the pedestal was opened, Unohana felt the familiar pulse of the Hogyoku… but it was different somehow. She looked up at him, her eyes having widened fractionally. "There was no second Hogyoku. The two were combined and formed one entity, and that is merged with Aizen still."
Drake looked at the softly glowing stone and smiled a bit. "You are correct in most of those statements, Unohana-taicho. However, what you are missing is the nature of how the two Hogyoku combined. You're assuming that their entire forms merged to create one singular entity, when that is not exactly the case. Yes, the essence of the two incomplete Hogyoku formed together, creating the one that the traitor currently has in his chest, which extends his miserable life far beyond that which he deserves. However, the physical empty husk of the second one was left, and… it seemed to resonate with me, with my desire to see Hueco Mundo restored to its glory. It wasn't until recently that it regained the power it once had. Nowhere near as powerful as the traitor's, but it serves the purpose I wish. Namely, to grant awakened sentience to powerful Hollows, to allow them to be more easily commanded, and to reduce the incursions of beings into the world of the living or into Soul Society that an ordinary force of shinigami could not handle." He turned his gaze to Unohana and Isane. "And for that, a peace with Soul Society is necessary."
He motioned to his Espada seated around the table, and Unohana turned to survey the assembled group. They didn't have the malicious demeanor of so many of the arrancar that they had faced during the Winter War. There was power there, a good bit of it, and a certain sense of arrogance, but there was no veiled ill intent towards her or her subordinate. It was a curious deviation from what she had come to expect from arrancar and gave a great deal of credibility to this idea of a peace between the two worlds. "If you are truly intending to keep all but the lowest, most uncontrollable Hollows from attacking the souls of the Living World and Rukongai, then of course Soul Society is pleased to extend the hand of peace." It seemed a strange reason to bring an ambassador so far for such a simple plan. There had to be more to it than that when the king smiled, a distinctly masculine expression, and she felt his eyes rake down her body in a very…appraising…manner. A quick glance at Isane showed that she had felt the same stare, not only from the king but from the other male arrancar seated about the table.
"You see, there is a small matter of…incentive, Unohana-taicho. You see, if my arrancar do not go to the world of the living and to Rukongai to feed, then they have to feed on the lesser Hollows here, and while they are sustenance, they aren't particularly satisfying." The captain felt herself tensing a bit. Were they going to start asking for tribute in the form of shinigami souls to feed on? The idea made her vaguely nauseous. However, when he actually spoke again, she felt her stomach twist, but for a different reason. "Hollows are beings of instinct, you understand. And there are several instincts that rule them; the instinct to fight, to feed…and of course, the most primal instinct, to mate. However, as you can see, there is a severe lack of female arrancar to alleviate those…tensions." His smile took on a slightly more carnal tilt. "And that is where Soul Society's side of the bargain comes in." He waited to see if Unohana would speak up, but judging from her face, there was nothing that the normally unflappable captain could say. He continued. "Willing women only, of course. And naturally I would prefer that they be accompanied by yourself and your lieutenant, as you are both proficient healers and highly respected. The women that elect to come have nothing to fear if you should agree to these terms, as I have been quite blunt with my subordinates in what will happen should any of the women that come to us in such a manner were to come to any harm. Death would be the best that they could hope for."
Unohana was in shock. She didn't really know how to respond to such a thing. The idea…the idea was certainly not a bad one, particularly if the women were willing and the men were careful. And if it ensured a peace between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, and thinned out the numbers of Hollows roaming the Living World, it was certainly worth consideration. She didn't let her face betray any of this though, and smiled serenely at the king. "I will certainly offer your proposal to the Soutaicho and Central 46. If they agree to the terms, then we will set up a trial period to see if this arrangement is amenable to everyone." She stood, beckoning her red-faced lieutenant to stand as well. However, a large hand on each of their shoulders gave them pause as quiet, rumbling voice of the king let them know that the meeting wasn't exactly over just yet.
"I should certainly not wish to send you back to Soul Society without being able to attest to our hospitality personally. It is entirely your choice, but you would be able to give a much more fair assessment of the situation, were you to know what the women coming would face." His breath was warm on the older captain's neck, and in spite of herself she shivered. Normally she would have very politely and firmly shut such a suggestion down. However, circumstances were very different this time. This was for the good of everyone…and though she didn't admit it, the idea was not repugnant in the least. In fact, it was quite enticing, were she to be completely honest with herself. A quick glance at Isane's blushing face and bitten lip made her certain that the young woman would prefer to be left out of such arrangements though.
"That is a very fair assessment of the situation, Typhon-sama. It would be very reckless of me to make a recommendation for or against something with no knowledge of what will be faced by the young women coming here. And so, I will accept your offer." She turned towards the king, glancing at Isane. "I am sure that the king can arrange a comfortable place for you to wait while we conduct our business." She said, and Drake couldn't help but hide a small smile at how very properly she was approaching this. However, he was rather surprised when the tall young white haired woman, who up until now hadn't said two words the entire conversation shot up from her seat, her hands folded in front of her. Her voice was a little shaky, and it seemed that all the blood in her body had migrated to her face, but she had a determined expression on her face.
"No, I will…stay with you, taicho. I wouldn't w-want you to have to do this alone. B-besides, if we b-both speak well of…of…" she trailed off a moment, not sure how to word what she was agreeing to, before firming her chin and soldiering on. "then it will lend more validity to our recommendations, either for or against." Privately Drake couldn't help but smile inwardly at how adorably out of her element the young fukutaicho appeared to be, but she did have a point. A goodly number of the women who would be coming here if all went well weren't going to be of captain level. If Isane could give her recommendation, it would go a long way towards allaying the fears of the less powerful women. Besides, the idea was quite…stimulating. He grinned toothily, stepping back and bowing slightly to the two women, motioning to the hallway leading out of the throne room and into the deeper halls of Las Noches.
"Well then, ladies…I am sure that between myself and my subordinates, we can give you a very good taste of what delights await the brave young women who may choose to act as…goodwill ambassadors of a sort." At his nod, several of the top Espada stood and bowed politely to the two women, though the positively roguish grins that accompanied the bows left Unohana and her lieutenant with no questions that politeness was about to get thrown right out the window.
And she had worn her good shihakusho today and everything…
Hope that you enjoyed the intro, and if you're so inclined, I do love getting reviews about what works, what doesn't work and how I can improve. Now, there would have been a lemon included there, but I figured that would be best left to the imagination. However, if you the readers want me to include it, let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading!