Chapter 25
Soul Society, Seireitei
16 shinigami walked along the tile steps shrouded in hooded midnight black cloaks. If not for the fact that you could still see the lower half of their faces and the differences in height one would say they all looked identical.
These men and women were all among the elite of Soul Society. Everyone ranked 5th seat and higher for the 3rd, 6th, and 7th squads along with the 4th seat of the medical division in case his services became necessary.
The group finished walking in tandem as they reached the edge of the portal. A gateway to Hueco Mundo hung in the air between two large wooden posts jutting out of the ground.
The captain of squad 12, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, smiled from the side. "In exactly 168 hours, that's 7 days just so you know, this artificial garganta will reappear in the exact same spot that it deposits you all at inside of Hueco Mundo. Once it does I will only be keeping the gate open for 30 minutes so make sure you all return to the entry point by the appointed time." Mayuri then flashed his large golden teeth. "Don't blame me if any of you miss the ride home."
Without anything more needed to be said the 16 shinigami jumped into the portal.
Hueco Mundo, Las Noches, Main Hall
Ichigo listened in fascination as he chatted with the next Número on his alphabetical checklist. Actually he wasn't even sure Número was the right term. This Arrancar was definitely unique among all his brethren.
The last letter 'R' on his list, Rudbornn Chelute.
"...and thus was my duties as Captain of the Exequias when Aizen ruled over Las Noches." Rudbornn finished.
"These 'Exequias' being just extensions of yourself correct? You said you spawn them through the power of your Resurreción?" Ichigo asked just to be sure.
"I refer to the soldiers themselves as 'Calaveras', only when operating together as a unit were we the Exequias. They do possess some small modicum of free will and individual thought but yes it would not be...wholly inaccurate...to call them extensions of myself as you say."
Ichigo chuckled. "Damn...that's awesome. I've always wanted to be in two places at once, and here you can be in 10 or 20 or...exactly how many soldiers can you control at once?"
"To say I am in in multiple places at once is misleading. I can feel a mental connection to all the soldiers under my command but it is not as though I can see out their eyes. Regardless of that the answer to your question is 600."
Ichigo whistled in appreciation. "And how many can you spawn in reserve? In case some or all of your men are defeated and need replacing."
For a change Rudbornn didn't answer straight away. He tilted his chin up and seemed to be deep in thought. "I don't know." he eventually answered. "I'd probably get exhausted after a few thousand though. Assuming all my energy was focused solely on that task."
"Well you're just a one man army aren't you? You'll be doing quite a bit of work if we do end up going to war." Ichigo said in humor but with hint of seriousness in his voice. "What's the strength level on each Calaveras?" he couldn't help but ask.
"According to Aizen's assessment each individual soldier could battle two average rank and file shinigami to a standstill. However since the Calaveras are closer to automatons than real people they lack the ability to be creative in combat without myself there to guide them. They would likely lose the 2 vs 1 battle in the end. But as I mentioned earlier the Calaveras never fight alone."
Ichigo nodded his head in appreciation while leaning back in his chair. "Hey Rudbornn. I hope this doesn't qualify as insensitive...but what's the deal with your mask? You're the first Arrancar I've met that doesn't appear to have lost any of it."
Rudborrn gave the smallest of shrugs. "There are many Arrancar in Las Noches that lost well over 90% of their original masks. It would only make sense that there had to be others on the opposite side of the spectrum who lost less than 10%." To prove his point Rudbornn shifted in his seat and revealed the back of his neck to Ichigo where a few tufts of black hair were visible coming out the base of his skull.
Ichigo opened his mouth to comment further when a nearby door opened suddenly revealing a nervous looking Pesche Guatiche and Dondachakka Birstanne. "Excuse me your majesty." Pesche started. "There's been an incident in one of the training rooms. Mistress Neliel sent us to fetch you."
Ichigo quirked his brow up in confusion. "What kind of incident?"
Las Noches, Training Room #4
The Lord of Las Noches entered the room with a blank look on his face. Hiding his displeasure until he got the full story. Perhaps there was good reason for it. He didn't know either Arrancar well enough to make any judgments yet. They were both low enough on the alphabet that he had yet to have an individual session with them.
What he needed was more details. More than what Pesche and Dondochakka had known. Because all they knew was that Arrancar No. 32 Tesra Lindocruz had been killed by Espada No.10 Yammy Llargo.
As he entered the room he spotted Neliel first. Leaning back against the wall with eyes closed and arms folded under her bust. Next he saw Yammy sitting on the floor cleaning his ear out with a finger looking exceptionally bored. Then his eyes landed on a group of Números on the other end of the room stopping their conversation as they realized Ichigo had finally arrived. Finally his gaze fell on the bloody pulp of a corpse that was once Tesra Lindocruz.
Ichigo approached Neliel, his gait exuding deadly seriousness. "What happened?"
Neliel scoffed. "Ask him yourself. This isn't the first time he's done something like this." she muttered while nodding disdainfully towards Yammy and then glancing at the blood and viscera that was Tesra, her eyes holding a tiny spark of regret.
"Did you know him?" Ichigo asked.
Neliel sighed. "Only in passing. He was once the sole fracción of an Espada named Nnoitra Gilga. Someone I had to put down after he threatened...well you know that story."
Ichigo nodded as he connected the details to one of the many late night talks they had shared while laying in bed.
He made his way to Yammy and inwardly scowled at the Espada's demeanor. It reminded Ichigo of a petulant child sitting in front of a school principal. A child who had no respect for authority and wanted to just get the lecture over with so he could go back to doing what he wants.
"What. Happened?" Ichigo said much more harshly then the way he had posed the question to Neliel.
"Ain't it obvious. I killed him." Yammy replied as if it were no big deal.
"Why?" Ichigo asked, a little anger bleeding into his voice.
"He annoyed me. Little shit was talking about how great his 'Master Nnoitra' was. He wouldn't shut up about him. Plus he was a weakling. So I killed him."
Ichigo's expression briefly shifted to complete confusion. "He...annoyed...you?"
Yammy laughed. "Yeah. That is what I said isn't it? He was like some bothersome little fly buzzing around so I just squashed him!" The Décima Espada then burst out into a big bellowing laugh as he thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
He raised his left hand up to grip his forehead in his laughter when he felt a slight pinch on that arm.
Yammy looked down in bewilderment and saw his severed left arm on the tile floor and Ichigo in front of him with fire burning behind in his eyes. A bloody Zangetsu now materialized in his hand.
"Y-YOU BASTARD!" Yammy screamed in fury as he shot to his feet. He reached across his waist with his remaining hand and gripped his zanpakutō tightly. "BE ENRAGED, IR-"
His release command was cut off when Ichigo severed that arm too. The disembodied limb still holding tightly to the hilt of the sword on Yammy's waist.
"No... you can't!" Yammy stammered out fearfully as he suddenly was without a way to draw his blade. "You can't do this! I'm the strongest! I'm the Cero Espada Yammy Llar-" he was silenced mid-sentence for a second time when Ichigo gripped his head and slammed it into his knee knocking out the huge Arrancar.
Ichigo looked over to the group of Número's who had watched it all happen. "You there." he called to them. "Fan out and spread the word. I'm calling a meeting of all the Arrancar in Las Noches for one hour from now. Attendance is mandatory."
While the Número's buzzed away with sonido in compliance Neliel joined Ichigo's side and looked down at the passed out Arrancar. His natural healing preventing him from bleeding out his new stumps.
"What was that Cero Espada thing he was talking about?" Ichigo questioned.
Neliel shrugged. "Who knows. I never pay any attention to what comes out of Yammy's mouth."
Las Noches, The Throne Room, One Hour Later
All the Arrancar of Las Noches shuffled about the grand room. Some looked annoyed by how crowded it was while others talked amicably amongst themselves. Some chose to lean onto the pillars and walls while waiting for the meeting to start and some went around asking if anyone knew what this summons was actually about. In the back of the room, two Gillian class Arrancar who had retained a portion of their massive stature after the change, passed the time arm wrestling.
Ichigo appeared atop the colossal stone that held the lords throne and looked down upon them all. He had cycled to his Vasto Lorde form for dramatic effect and to make sure what he had to say stuck in the minds of those who heard it. Many of the Arrancar could tell he was dragging something with one of his hands but the angle didn't allow them to see what. He stood there imposingly until all the chatter had died off and everyone's eyes were on him.
"We are Las Noches." Ichigo said in a strong voice as he began his speech. "We are less than 200 strong and yet we hold the greatest power in all of Hueco Mundo. One might say we ARE Hueco Mundo."
Ichigo paused to let the snickers and calls of agreement to die down.
"Soul Society claims we are abominations. That we are a perversion of the natural order. But the truth behind their words is this. They are afraid. They are afraid of what we can do and what we can accomplish...and it is possible that they will be bringing the full might of the Gotei 13 against us."
Ichigo stopped once again to let the crowd have their expected outbursts.
"It is us versus them. Do you hear me? Us. Together! Your fellow Arrancar in this palace are your allies. They are the ones who will stand beside you if war is to come. They are your friends. They are your family! You do not have to like your family. Some of you may even hate certain members of your family. But know this...so long as I rule here...You. Do. Not. Kill. Family."
Ichigo yanked his arm forward to reveal the item he was dragging was the hair of Yammy Llargo. Ichigo pulled the Espada over the edge of the massive stone block and had him hang there, suspended only by his pony tail gripped tightly in Ichigo's hand. Yammy swayed slightly in the air and seemed to barely be on the edge of consciousness.
"This as you all know is Yammy Llargo, the 10th Espada. Today Yammy killed Arrancar No.32 Tesra Lindocruz. He killed him because he was annoyed with him. Tesra was among the 50 most powerful beings in Hueco Mundo. He was a valuable member of our forces and now Las Noches is weaker because he is gone. WE are weaker because he is gone. And the worst part is he died for no reason at all."
Ichigo raised his hand up and held Yammy in front of him. A bright red cero started building in between the horns of Ichigo's mask and the Lord of Las Noches took aim at the back of Yammy's head.
"The punishment for killing a member of our family. Is Death."
The cero exploded outwards with it's distinctive vroom sound and vaporized the upper half of Yammy's torso. The Espada's waist and legs crashed down to the ground below making a mess on the tile floor.
Ichigo released the remains of the ponytail he held and let that fall slowly to the ground as well. "Do not kill your family." He reiterated one last time before sweeping his gaze slowly over the crowd. "Who currently holds the rank of Arrancar No.11?" he eventually asked.
"I do your majesty." An effeminate Arrancar said with a raised hand as he stepped to the front of the crowd. An Arrancar Ichigo had already met with named Luppi Antenor.
"Every Número is hereby promoted one rank. Two if you were below Tesra. Welcome to the Espada Luppi."
A/N 2: In case anyone needs it here's the current list of Espada now that we're sufficiently different from canon.
1. Stark, 2. Ulquiorra, 3. Harribel, 4. Neliel, 5. Wonderweiss, 6. Grimmjow, 7. Zommari, 8. Szayel, 9. Aaroniero, 10. Luppi.
Before anyone comments that the list is incorrect I'd like to refresh their memory that in my Chapter 2 A/N I mentioned I was swapping Ulquiorra and Harribel. My reasons for doing so are stated back there.