Chapter Two: An Unconditional Surrender

Seireitei, Special Forces Detention Unit Maximum Security Holding Cell

Three Days After the Fall of Constantinople

There was only one room in Seireitei's most secure prison facility, only one. This was not the Shrine of Penitence, the white tower reserved for those about to be executed. This was not even the highly secretive Maggot's Nest, where retired and insane Shinigami were held for their own and the public's safety. It was an unnamed room controlled by the Detention Unit of the Special Forces, completely made up of Sekkiseki, and built over five-hundred feet below the surface of Seireitei. Guarded by seventy Shinigami from the Detention Unit, one Division from the Gotei 13, several Kido Corps members for sealing purposes and one Shinigami Captain, when occupied, there was no force in Soul Society or otherwise that was capable of breaking out of such a cell.

Today's guest brought worry to that claim.

Twelve hours ago, a female Arrancar was found at the North Gate of Seireitei, facing down the Gate Guardian of that side. She did not resist any fight, but allowed herself to be captured; claiming asylum from Las Noches in exchange for information about Seireitei's opposing capital. Her spiritual power level was not estimated to be above Lieutenant-level, and was apprehended by several higher-level Shinigami, taken directly to the place she resided in now.

Initially, everyone questioned several things about this. One, the Arrancar gave herself up willingly, but when put to a lie detecting Kido about why, her excuse came up as a lie. Two, she was not found with a zanpakutou, or weapon of any kind, meaning she didn't plan on breaking out with her current power level, only Lieutenant-level before the draining effects of the Sekkiseki. Three, she mentioned her position in the leadership of Las Noches, which would be an odd position for someone who wanted to defect to Seireitei in the war against Las Noches. The Arrancar wasn't just some normal Numeros. She was the Fracciónto the First Espada, Public Enemy #1 to the Shinigami, known only as "Angel".

Currently, the Arrancar was being held by the spiritual-power-sealing stone shackles, seated at in one of two chairs in the room, facing one end of the only table in the room. All in all, with the one light in the ceiling, it looked like your stereotypical interrogation room. It even had the two-way mirror at the side, probably the only vulnerable point in the room. Behind the mirror, the two Shinigami guards that never took their eyes off of the Arrancar, and the wall of Sekkiseki were two Shinigami in charge of figuring out just what was going on with the person sitting in that room.

The Shinigami to the left was a petite young girl, looking no older than twelve. Her formal suit of black cloth, the uniform of the Special Forces, was slightly loose on her, even though it seemed to be specially tailored for her. Hazel eyes, full of innocence despite her position in Seireitei, complimented her waved red hair, giving off the impression that she was just a little girl in the wrong place. Her counterpart to the right knew that this would be a false impression. Her stance, her glazed stare, even her parting of her hair, gave off the air that she was a professional, and that was true. She was the youngest Commander-in-Chief of the Special Forces, and the second to actually hold the position since the position was created, Tokiwa Shisune.

To the right was a Captain, from what the haori on his back showed, 8th Division to be exact. Shisune knew him to be one of the two newest Captains in all of the Gotei 13, a specialist in swordsmanship and interrogations from his previous job as the 8th Division's Lieutenant. His face carried a quizzical look, still looking at the Arrancar and wondering what exactly was going on. Red eyes actually matched a short-cut red hair this time, as the Captain stood with arms folded in his haori and tapped his foot once to break the silence in the side-room. Shisune could only look up at the two foot taller man and think to herself how successful this would be. The legend of Captain Kosenjou Kenshin was a great reputation to have when it came to being recommended for jobs.

"What do you think?" Shisune asked, after five minutes of watching the Arrancar with no words, her voice high and fluttery, like one could expect out of a twelve year old girl.

A sigh came out of the lower-pitched Captain, a sigh that was more sympathetic than bored. It was obvious that he felt for the condition of the Arrancar for the moment, something that Shisune thought would wear him down. Eventually, he spoke, "I fear for the rest of Soul Society for the moment. There's something about her that makes me uneasy…and I'm afraid I'm never wrong in that respect. What sort of protection do we have around this base?"

With the precision of a computer in her answer, Shisune replied, "120 men trained to fight in this sort of environment, three Lieutenants, including your own, and one other Captain."

"Who is the Captain?" Kenshin asked, another look of worry on his face when he asked this.

The next answer came with a sort of irritated tone, as Shisune seemed to be getting annoyed by all of these questions on her ability to defend one room and one Arrancar, "Captain Jonathan Rallings from the Second Division. Do you want me to go over the Kido-sealed doors and the other Divisions I can have sent in here with a call?"

With the air of the room completely changing in temperament, Kenshin raised his hands in a sort of surrendering manner, trying to get out of the room as soon as possible by asking, "I'll just go in there now, before the stone out here takes more than I've already given. Don't worry, I left my zanpakutou back at the headquarters, I don't carry it with me anyways."

Three doors were in between the side room and the actual interrogation room, the last one sealed through Kido by the Kido Corps members standing in front of it. There was a search and verification process that was done by these men as well, making sure that Kenshin did not take in any weaponry or anything else that the Arrancar could use as a tool for escape. Everything was cleared when the doors stopped shining in their golden color and moved to the side, allowing the Captain in to begin his business.

At the table sat the Arrancar, a dark-skinned beauty who stared mainly at her left hand, twirling a golden ring on her middle finger. Her hair was an odd color for a Shinigami, but seemed fairly normal for an Arrancar or Hollow, a deep azure that seemed shiny and curled near her shoulders, just like an ocean's waves. Her clothes that she had come in with had been replaced when she too was searched for hidden weaponry or items. Now she wore a sort of diminished Shinigami uniform, a black robe that covered everything to the shoulders and the knees, and nothing more. There was absolutely no way that this Arrancar would escape. It would take an army of ten to even stand a chance.

Kenshin sat down in his chair and situated himself, looking at the Arrancar's eyes, something essential to the interrogation process. The eyes of the woman sitting across from him were just as blue as her hair, which was odd considering the color of her skin. Immediately, Kenshin locked eyes with her and asked, "Hello, my name is Kosenjou Kenshin. What is your name, Arrancar? I would hate to have to refer to you by race all of this time."

Following this, the Arrancar sat up in her chair, assuming a posture that allowed Kenshin to see her mask remnants, a sort of spine of spiked ivory down the left side of her mandible, polished to where it shone even in the lighting of the interrogation room. Her face still showed the despair of someone who was imprisoned, as she replied with a sort of regal smoothness, the calm of her voice completely different than her face, "My name is Rena Faycorps, Fracción of the First Espada Lord Angel."

She was telling the truth, at least about that. It was a good start, and Kenshin decided to continue with that, "Through Kido barriers in the Rukongai and Seireitei, it is impossible to open a Garganta to Soul Society. How did you get here? You are actually the first Arrancar to come to our world."

"Thank you," Rena replied, a small smile coming over her, flattered over the record she had just set, "but you Shinigami are obviously behind on your knowledge of Arrancar technologies. I'm sorry that I don't know more than that."

Kenshin could almost hear Shisune raving behind the mirror about how Shinigami technology was superior, and would be having scouts sent into Las Noches probably to verify that. A small smirk came onto Kenshin with that thought, as he continued with another question, "You said that you had information to give to us regarding your people. What do you have for us?"

Rena stared directly into the eyes of Kenshin as she waited for a moment, letting a sort of severity sink in before she finally answered the question, "An Espada is coming to Soul Society to speak with the Commander-General and Central Government of the Shinigami. An Espada is coming to try to negotiate with the Shinigami for a truce or surrender of a certain asset that we would like claim of. If demands are not met, then people will die."

Kenshin was now interested as he leaned forward in his chair, asking once more, "What demands?"

Once again, Rena smiled as she leaned back in her chair, tugging at her shackles slightly, replying with a smile, "The first one is that I be set free."

Chapter 2 Notes

The Onmitsukido are referred to as the Special Forces in my story. Just a heads up for everyone who might be confused there. At the same time, their role is increased in the story, being an actual military force instead of just being a tag-along for the 2nd Division.

When I started writing this story, the Espada were assumed to be numbered from 10 to 1, with 1 being the strongest. However, when Yammy was revealed to be the "Cero Espada", I thought that it was ridiculous and stupid, so I kept everything as the 10 to 1 system instead of the 9 to 0 system it seems to be now. Angel, the Primera Espada, is the most powerful Arrancar.

On the note of Angel, if you are also reading the story Dead Beat Swords, you may notice that there is a character named Angel in that story as well with similar characteristics and everything. This is because Angel is indeed my original character that I made back on a now-dead RP forum, and I allowed for The Strider to use my character in his story before I decided that I would publish my story to the Internet as well. I trust him to keep my character from doing something stupid. ( :P ) Just so that's cleared up before drama ensues.

You must be thinking: "Jonathan Rallings doesn't sound like a Japanese name! What are you doing?!" I would think that Soul Society would be more multicultural than just Japanese, and that Hueco Mundo would be more multicultural than just Spanish. So when you run into those things, just go with it. It's a lot easier to make names when I have more than one country to work with.