Round two, here we go!
Arrangements
Chapter Two
The rest of the week was odd. Not only were the conversations that were heard about the 'future spouses' discomforting to Ulquiorra, but so was the response from the matchmaking department. Or rather, lack thereof.
Aizen expected to hear from Arpeggio before the end of the week, but when said time came, no such notice was ever given. Truly, Ulquiorra was relieved. They didn't have to meet any options soon, and he got to prolong his future suffering. That did not stop a pissed off Aizen from acting.
The Espada were walking down to the matchmaking department once more. The ten matchmakers and their boss were in Sergi's office, around the same table where Ulquiorra sat at nearly a week prior.
"This is not acceptable, Sergi, you know that!" He yelled at his subordinate, slamming a file down on the table. "You were supposed to look through all the files and find a probable match. And you come back with nothing! Nothing, you bloody idiot!" He roared, his face going red.
Clearly, this was occupying Arpeggio's attention.
One of the other matchmakers stepped forward. "Arpeggio-sama, we did get the other nine probable matches. Remember?" He said to his boss.
Arpeggion pinched the bridge of his nose, huffing in a breath of air to calm himself. "Nine out of ten are just as acceptable as none of the ten. I cannot bring this pathetic display to Lord Aizen, he will find it an excuse, and this department incompetent."
"And why would I think that?"
Arpeggio and the other ten stiffened at the sound of Aizen's voice, but the head of matchmaking soon recovered. He straightened himself, facing his lord with a slightly nervous smile. "Lord Aizen. I was going to send someone for you after our board meeting." He told the ex-shinigami.
Aizen smirked. "I'm sure you were, Arpeggio. My patience has been tried, though." Arpeggio's face paled a bit and his smile faltered. He said nothing to his lord, knowing he was not done speaking. "Now, what is this unacceptable excuse that's been delaying you?"
The ten matchmakers were stiff still, but Arpeggio only let out a sigh of defeat; grabbing file on the table before handing it to Aizen. "These are the results from Ulquiorra-sama's compatibility evaluation." He informed his lord, waiting with utter despair for his lord to look at the results.
And he did so; eyes widening briefly before turning to glare at Arpeggio. " 'Unmatchable?' " He questioned annoyed.
"That's what we were discussing." The head of the department admitted. "I am no more pleased with the results than you are, my lord. I told Sergi such a result was unacceptable and told him he had to continue checking the archives for a prominent match."
"And did he?" Came Aizen's next question.
"Twenty-nine times in the last three days, alone." Sergi informed him.
Aizen was still not pleased. "And you do not have someone more capable for my Cuatro?" Arpeggio looked he was about to say something, but stopped himself short; clamping his mouth shut as if wondering if he should dare speak at all.
Ulquiorra couldn't help but find the situation strange. He can't say he was too surprised at the idea that it was hard to find a good match for him, he didn't like most of the people in Las Noches and most feared him. But the exchange with Arpeggio and Lord Aizen was. "Arpeggio-san." Aizen demanded, tired of waiting for an answer. If there was someone better, he wanted him to step forward.
Arpeggio sighed. "Technically speaking, I have no one else under me that could do a better job."
" 'Technically speaking?' " Aizen caught on, a brow raised.
The head of the department pinched the bridge of his nose; taking in a breath before letting it out. "He's certified for matchmaking, most assuredly. However, his main contributions in these parts is as a marriage counselor as well as a divorce consultant and enforcer. I don't particularly like giving him our clientele, but when people demand better, we typically don't have a choice."
Ulquiorra inwardly cursed. He didn't want to go talking to another matchmaker. "And this person's name?" Aizen questioned, returning the file to Arpeggio.
Again, the blond sighed. "Reynaldo Fuentes," he said, taking the file back before adding: "I'll lead you to his office."
So, the group walked off. Arpeggio said that they could go over the other nine's probably matches once they reached Reynaldo's area, so everyone was going to meet him. There was a notable difference when they got to Reynaldo's area, however. The matchmaking section had a large hallway composed of three floors that had several offices behind the doors to it. However, Reynaldo's area had a large door that covered the size of the hallway, and only had one floor to it. Outside this door was an intercom system, which was used immediately upon arrival.
The head of matchmaking pressed the button, waiting patiently for the response. "Fuentes Office. State your name and business, please." The voice was male and stoic; a no-nonsense air surrounding it.
Arpeggio pressed the button before answering. "It's Arpeggio, Itzel-kun. I've got a new client for Reynaldo."
His hand moved away from the button, and not five seconds after did they hear Itzel respond: "Standby please." They waited for about three minutes or so, but the doors soon opened. Behind them stood a man with whip-lashed green hair, and charcoal eyes. He had a similar build to Nnoitra, only he was slightly shorter and wider than the latter. He had a clipboard in his hand, and an ear microphone hooked on. His eyes widened slightly at the audience, but he soon recovered. "Lord Aizen." He greeted, bowing.
Aizen smiled at this, walking in. "Indeed. Are you an assistant to Reynaldo?"
The male nodded. "Sentry and assistant divorce enforcer: Itzel Marina. An honor to meet you in person, my lord."
Said man nodded. "Thank you, Itzel-kun. Could you bring us to Reynaldo-san, please?" Itzel nodded, stepping back and bowing. He waited for everyone to walk in before moving to a set of controls, shutting the large doors before leading the way. They walked down the large hallway, finding another set of doors that could be opened manually. Itzel did so, and the sight ahead was a bit different.
Las Noches had two standard colors for clothing and rooming, and that was black and white. The exceptions of room color were given to the Espada and the three ex-shinigami, especially since they had more space. This room, despite having a white floor, was more decorated with rosewood bookshelves and tables lining most of the room, save for one wall. There was another door, slightly thinner than the first one the group entered through, but with a switch by the door. The seats were blue, and surrounded a small table. There was a pink rug underneath it, which stopped just an inch away from a desk.
A woman was sitting here. Her hair was bright orange, and was cut short. Her eyes were a serene blue and her skin fair. She was wearing a more appropriate arrancar uniform; a jacket, gloves, as well as pants and boots. She had an earphone on, and she was typing away at her computer. "I understand, Leyeur-chan. Reynaldo will be seeing you tomorrow at eleven; is that early enough." She spoke to the person at the other end of the line, gently. There was a pause, the woman still before she continued typing. "All right, then. See you tomorrow morning!" And with that, she bode the woman goodbye.
She looked up, just noticing the group before smiling. She removed the earphone, standing before bowing. "Lord Aizen, welcome." She greeted warmly before standing straight, turning to look at Arpeggio. "A new client for Reynaldo-sama, I see. That'll make his day." She said, cheerfully.
Arpeggio chuckled at the questioning looks that came from the many newcomers. "Let me guess; he's dealing with an ex-husband who's been denied a dispute file to stop his divorce."
"Ex-wife." She corrected, a small smirk on her face as she hit the switch near the door, a small light turning on above it. All the while, Itzel had let out a quiet groan, pinching the bridge of his nose in the process. The matchmakers had all cringed as well, moving to take a seat in the waiting area.
"An' who just might you be?" Gin asked, amused.
The woman bowed again, smiling. "Secretary to Reynaldo Fuentes, Nayla Marina. Pleasure to meet you."
Gin was about to comment, but a sound interrupted him. There were several clicks coming from behind the tall door next to the switch. It opened, and behind it came two people.
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