White Hibiscus~ホワイト・ハイビスカス

「二」 The Flawless Usurper

In Hueco Mundo, a land painted with the darkest skies and the palest sands; a dimension with no day or night – nobody gets sleepy over here.

The lack of activities pushes the souls to a state where they are no longer sane – they begin to invent their own fun – slaughtering one another. Numerous killings take place by the seconds. Hollows, Arrancars, even Espadas clash swords with one another on a daily basis – just to satisfy their unfathomable obsession over the number '1'.

What's so special about this number anyway?

Should one decide to enroll in a one-day tour out of Las Noches and stride into the sands of Hueco Mundo, Sonido is recommended to deal with the ' weather conditions '.

I have, in my three days of existence, witnessed a few kinds of ' weather conditions '.

Firstly, it rains in some parts of Hueco Mundo – bones, heads, and sometimes the shards of broken zanpakutous. Secondly, when strong spiritual winds blow across the white plains, weak Ceros get deflected and they might just appear out of nowhere. Thirdly, you get to hear sounds coming from different directions – hysterical laughter from the victors; and the moans of the loser.

This world that I live in, fails to interest me.

There is one exception.

Aizen Sousuke.

He has proven himself to be quite different from my daily observations – his obsessions and ambitions, for example. He does not speak outright – he wants you to see it with your own eyes – it's his way of convincing you what he's capable of. He tells you things like 'you are worth nothing to me but a dispensable commodity '; yet grants you absolute freedom to do whatever you want as long as it's part of achieving the shared ambition. He lets you in on his thoughts and asks you if you are going to be part of it.

" A dream? No, no such thing, Ulquiorra, "

" It's the future, Ulquiorra. "

There's no doubt, that if I choose to follow this man, I will get to see a different world than the one I'm currently stuck in. After all, I was created to achieve his ambitions and to turn that into a reality.

What will the new world look like?

As I looked at the endlessly dark sky from the balconies of Las Noches, a voice tore the silence surrounding me.

What exactly are you after, Ulquiorra Schiffer?

I tried to locate the source of the voice, but to no avail.

An intruder?

The voice asked again.

What do you wish for, Ulquiorra Schiffer?

" What are you? "I questioned the voice.

You sought my help, and you don't know my name?

"...Murciélago,"

Don't you want to be better than what you are right now?

Why do we have to yearn to be better all the time?

" A penny for your thoughts, Ulquiorra, " Aizen was just behind me.

" Do we all have to be after something in order to be better? "

" Wow, that's a difficult one, isn't it? "He joked.

" I was repeating the questions someone said a few minutes ago,"

" You see, apparently it seems like the fastest way to get to your dreams,"

" Like the way Hollows kill one another to be Arrancars..."

" Not quite, Ulquiorra. It's meaningless to be number one, when you get defeated straight after someone notices your weakness, "Aizen closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

" Don't you wish to be number one too? "

" No. That thought did not cross my head at all. "

I turned round and faced Aizen. He did not seem surprised about what he had said previously; like as if it was pretty normal for the highest authority of Las Noches to make such a statement.

Aizen was looking at his right palm for a few seconds; he looked up as he made an O-shape with his fingers.

" Zero. Ulquiorra, "

" Being number one doesn't fascinate me at all. Being the origin does. "

" After all, I already have ten Number Ones lined up for those Arrancars to chase their lifelong dream, I'm a very magnanimous person right, " he smiled.

That's the reason why Aizen Sousuke is the leader of the Espadas; and why most of us follow him with due respect – he doesn't want to be the top; he wants to be the sole existence. His greed, his desires and his power has exceeded beyond my imaginations. He is the variable that differs from everything else. He turns this world into somewhere worth surviving in.

" Ulquiorra, you should meet the other Espadas too. At least know what their names are before they turn into dust, "Aizen gave me a pat on the back and leaned against the platform.

" Of course, you do know what I mean by 'meeting the other Espadas', don't you? "

Aizen had just demanded for a list of their strengths and their weaknesses.

An order has been given; I have to execute it immediately.

" Ah, one word of advice. Good luck with No. 3, though," Aizen pointed out as he left the room.

" Murciélago...

Those questions you asked, I wonder if I can ever give you an answer.

I do not wish to get stronger; I'm fine with the current state I'm in.

If you are sick and tired of such a wielder, you can abandon and seek a more able soul. "

You don't wish to be stronger, because you haven't met one that's stronger than you.

Someone stronger..

It was then I thought that I should pay No.3 a visit. Whoever the person may be.

If I were to be the Cuarta Espada, how much stronger would No.3 be?

Across the large hall where the Espadas meet occasionally, there's a long walkway covered with white pillars. Beyond that path lies a circular room with three doors – with each door leading to different parts of Las Noches. No. 3 is located at the first door right now – the place where Espadas clash swords with Arrancars who want to take over their place.

I wasn't thinking much when I pushed the door open; I had only wanted to see with my own eyes – what Murciélago meant by saying all those words.

There were about twenty bodies lying under the blue skies of Las Noches -heavily injured but not completely dead. A few pillars collapsed in a random manner – a battle just ended. The dust cleared, and a shadow revealed.

No. 3 had long green hair and he looked physically different, yet he seemed pretty strong – for he has not even drawn out his sword.

That person inhaled deeply.

" Uwaa~ done! Now I can go have lunch with them! I'm hungryyy!! "He raised both hands in the air and jumped triumphantly.

He sounded different too, a little higher-pitched than most of us.

What on earth are you, Tercera Espada?

yu-pon's note:

Whew -- done! Almost entirely based on imagination though, this chapter -- eheh ~~did some attempts with introducing Aizen into the story - although we might not hear of him in the actual story; but i suppose he should mean to Ulquiorra quite a great deal ya? At least that's how I feel about it. Anyway, Ulquiorra is a very interesting person with a dull mindset - forgive me for saying this.
but as the story progresses along, who knows? fufufu~

Look out for his interactions with the Tecera Espada in the next chapter!
(I hope someone does know why i gave the third Espada itallics whenever Ulquiorra said that it's a 'he' ^o^)

until the next chapter, ほなおつ！！