Chapter 2

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~~Discovery~~

The tall white doors greeted Serelah as they came to a halt. She didn't know what to expect... well she expected a lot since the servant stated 'Throne Room'. This feeling she was getting, it was nervousness and she hated it. She didn't want to look like that hollow. Maybe Aizen would want to test her abilities so he could assign her a position in his army and she had almost forgotten the weapon she would have needed to deem her useful : her zanpakuto.

She decided that after the meeting she would have some alone time with her zanpakuto. There was still much she needed to learn, that she knew. If she could impress Aizen and his espadas, she would be very much contented with herself. She already knew for sure the espadas were far stronger than her as she could sense their incredible high spiritual pressure. Seriously though, she didn't know why Aizen needed her, she wasn't even close to as powerful as the arrancars here, unless he wanted her as a servant... that would be a total nightmare.

Serelah snapped her head to the arrancar and the arrancar looked away quickly, seeming nervous as she had been caught staring. "What?" Serelah asked, not demandingly just curiously. The arrancar glanced at her once again.

"Y-your hair... is..." Serelah rolled her eyes once again. "Is a mess? I know. I don't see how my messy hair concerns you." Serelah said, clearly confused. The arrancar sighed. "It's just that... Lord Aizen expects us to have cleaned you up completely and it just seems right to appear presentable... especially towards Lord Aizen." the servant finished. Serelah understood her statement and sighed. Her hair was out loosely with strands framing her face. She knew she looked quite off, but Serelah could care less. She glared at the arrancar as she was right and packed her hair, but not up as she didn't like hair being pulled too tight. She used a thick strang of her hair to tie it as she didn't have any band or thread. There was still strangs of hair over her face but she didn't bother. She looked at the arrancar once again. "Better?" she asked boredly. The arrancar nodded once again quickly as if they were already wasting enough time before opening the huge large doors.

Serelah had not entered yet as she looked at the inside. It was pure black.

The arrancar gestured for her to enter first and she sighed before entering into the room slowly. As soon as she had entered she heard the door close behind her making her look back but saw the servant was there no more. She gulped nervously, never had she felt such before. She was always a careless and fearless hollow. It was her nature. Perhaps she was scared of the other arrancars. Yes, that had to be it. She was afraid maybe they would kill her once they saw her ability wasn't anything to write home about and probably kill her when they had the opportunity to. Surely, no hollows here got along with each other as hollows never viewed themselves as friends or allies rather, they would eat other or kill anyone that ever got in their way. They must hate themselves one way or the other, that she was sure of. A voice boomed through the large hall and she was suddenly called out of her thoughts.

"Welcome Serelah. This is my home, Las Noches." Aizen spoke as she glanced up to see him sitting highly on his stone chair...his 'throne'.

She walked forward a bit before she knelt down to honor him. Staring intently on the flawless marble floor in anticipation of what would happen next. She indeed felt the presence of other hollows although she dare not look up, but she was still tempted to look. She raised her head to peek at Aizen as he stared at her as if thinking of what to do with her. He finally sighed and looked towards his other espadas.

"Ah yes, we can do that..." he looked downward.

"Have you discovered your zanpakuto yet, Serelah?" Aizen asked. Serelah gulped nervously.

"N-no Lord Aizen. Is it a problem? consisering I just..." she trailed off. Stupid. Now she looked like a stuttering idiot. Aizen's smile widened.

"No not at all. It's what I expected. Before we get to that, I want you to have a look at your brothers and sisters." Aizen told her. Serelah knew he was referring to the arrancars. She stood up slowly and took a look around her. They all looked rather human looking, although they all had a piece of their mask either on their head or their face. There was a blue haired man seeming uninterested and bored, a large dark-skinned man grinning madly at her, she quickly averted her gaze. There was also a young looking pink haired man who looked nothing close to a hollow, she had to stare at him the longest to see if he had any mask remnants before looking away so it didn't get too awkward. There was a rather tall lanky, lean man who didn't really look that appealing as his collar was bigger than his head. She didn't stare at that one for too long as his stare unsettled her. Next to him was a man whose head was made up of some cylinder glass with two strange things inside. Yup, definitely creepy.

She immediately snapped her head to the left to look at the remaining. A rather striking blonde haired woman caught her attention. She was very calm and looked more conserved, that no nonsense aura alone made the woman look somehow elegant and...beautiful. The woman's eyes glanced at her before Serelah tensed and looked away quickly. Next to her was a dark skinned man with strange yellow eyes. He was rather calm and had no interest in this meeting she supposed. She saw a man along with a blonde small girl as they both seemed very bored. The man looked like he was trying not to doze off. She noticed an old man with grey hair who looked completely oblivious to everything, seeming deep in thought. Then the last person next to them was a rather pale man. He was staring straight ahead, his face rather focused and serious. He had such striking green eyes that resembled that of a cat, with very black hair and dark eyebrows. She didn't realize she had been gawking until his eyes caught hers and she immediately looked away before turning to Aizen.

She bowed once again.

"I have seen lord Aizen that you have indeed built your army up well." Serelah commented. Could you blame her?

She was simply trying to get on his good side so she wouldn't have to go to the lower ranks. She wouldn't be surprised if he noticed.

She suddenly looked right as she heard shifting and cursing.

"Tch, you called us all out for some bitch? I don't even need a fraccion." the blue haired man from before seethed as he sent a glare her way. Her eyes widened before she returned her attention to the floor glaring at it.

"Serelah does not fully know how to wield her zanpakuto and needs practice and supervision. I want someone of high intellect and who can strictly train her to her full potential as she would surely be useful." Aizen spoke, he wasn't volunteering, she felt like he was about to call on someone and she was dreadful of that. She didn't need anyone's company and supervision. She could train herself could she? All of the espadas here seemed quite uninterested in her, some even glaring at her. Such hostile vibes she could feel from them. Not like she wasn't expecting it, she wanted to be on her own.

"Pfft, an arrancar that can't even control her own sword... pitiful." She heard from her side and glanced briefly to find out the owner of the voice, of course it was the pink-haired man, he seemed stuck up and she already had him on the list of people she didn't like.

"I could've been using my time to be training with tesra right now, this is a complete waste of time."she heard someone mutter under their breath.

"Ulquiorra, would you mind taking Serelah as your fraccion as well as training her abilities?" Aizen suggested ignoring the espadas comments, well not really suggested. Serelah figured it was some kind of order to who ever Ulquiorra was. She wanted to explode right then. She clenched her jaw tightly as she stared at the ground. She didn't want to be under the custody of anyone. Being subject to Aizen was already enough, but an espada? They'd most probably maltreat her and take advantage of her. Although she didn't really get what a fraccion was.

She heard footsteps from her left but the person didn't near her.

"If that be your request, as you wish, Lord Aizen." A rather deep and collected voice spoke. She raised her head to take a peek at the owner of the voice. Her eyes widened as saucers in apparent shock. It was the pallid man from before. She stood up in confusion apparently. Aizen's smile broadened before shifting in his seat.

"Very well, then. This meeting is dismissed." Aizen declared before the espadas walked out the room immediately as if waiting for him to say that. She noticed the tall skinny man from before having a one-sided conversation with the pale man... Uluqora or what was his name? Aizen had already left the room with his subordinates so she figured this was their meeting room sort of.

Her eyes started staring at the floor awkwardly. Should she just leave or?She did a debate in her head before turning to leave the room as quick as possible.

"Where do you think your going?" Her breath hitched recognizing the voice behind her. Wasn't he with the other man a few seconds ago?

She turned slowly, fully facing the pale man. "I was going to um..." wander the halls aimlessly. She didn't know how to say she was just going to walk around trying to avoid every arrancar she can. Before she could rephrase her sentence he walked past her.

"Come with me." he ordered. She sighed before slowly turning to follow him from behind. They left the meeting room into the dark hallways as the man's back was her view for the whole walk. She would stare at the back of his head while occasionally going back to staring at the floor. He seemed to like placing his hands in his pockets, she noticed. After seeming like they've been walking for eternity, she finally sighed and decided to ask him their destination.

"Where are we heading to exactly?" she asked curiously. He ignored her as they continued their journey to god knows where. After turning corners, heaping down stairs and turning corners again. He stopped in front of a door, before turning to face her. His scrutiny making her almost flinch.

"This will be your room for as long as your in Las Noches. Your training begins tomorrow. I will inform one of the lower arrancar to fetch you to the training grounds where I'll be waiting. Meanwhile, you can use your spare time to try to do whatever you please." He finished, walking past her. She quickly turned around to call him back.

"Thanks for leading me to my room by.. the way." she called out. He stopped in his tracks and looked at her over his shoulder. "You need not thank me for something like that. I simply guided you to your room as that is what Lord Aizen would have required me to do." He spoke matter-of-factly. She blinked twice before crossing her arms. "If you put it that way, fine...If I may ask, what is a fraccion." she asked curiously. She was still quite skeptical about that title. She could only hope it meant something good.

He looked straight, his back still towards her, not moving as if deciding whether to ignore her and walk away or answer her question. He finally faced her.

"A fraccion is simply a Número that serves an Espada...Números are merely just less powerful arrancars. They are not close to as powerful as us Espadas." he explained. She nodded her head thoughtfully. She looked up to meet his scrutinizing gaze.

"So...I w-would be your fraccion?" she stuttered nervously. She didn't know why but something about his demeanor seemed disturbingly intimidating and she knew better to get on his bad side. He had this look that made her feel uneasy as his eyes always looked so calculating. She most certainly didn't want to be his fraccion.

He blinked before staring at the floor in thought. She nodded, he probably didn't want to state the obvious. She still had one more question though. "What is your name?" she asked pointedly trying to seem confident. His sharp eyes caught her's this time making her flinch very slightly. "Ulquiorra Cifer." he said in a rather monotone voice before turning on his heel and walking away.

She stared at his retreating figure before sighing and turning to her room. She still didn't know how she would be able to get used to that attitude. Once inside, she inhaled the scent of the room. Of course it smelled like nothing, but air. It was a very simple room. A comfortable moderate sized bed, an empty shelf and another door at the end which she assumed was the bathroom. Nothing special but livable. She cautiously walked to her bed before sitting down stiffly processing over all the events that has taken place today. She was a Número, a fraccion to an espada who would also be teaching her to use her zanpakuto and was now an arrancar. It was still quite interesting. So all she just needed was a some time to get herself together. She could do just that right? Or perhaps she should try using her sword to while away time. She couldn't just sit down and do nothing. Having made up her mind, she removed the sword from her waist and stared at the sheath before slowly slipping the sword from it. She stared at the stainless metal before standing up and swinging it through the air as if slashing a person. The feeling very enjoyable. She would have to get used to this for sure. Although she wondered just how it would feel like if she was literally slicing a person...

That would be for future uses. She was certain.

Ulquiorra walked quitely in the dark hallways on his way to nowhere in particular. His hands in his pockets as he was deep in thought, his steps calculated.

He was still quite livid about the whole ordeal of his new fraccion. He certainly didn't need or want one, but since Aizen 'suggested' he did, he obliged without complaint. He was content with doing all of his duties on his own, not that he had any problem with assistance, fraccions always grew to be somehow clingy and he wasn't one for that. He could only expect the woman not to be a nuisance. She was already a burden as he had to teach her how to wield a sword from scratch. That on it's own would be time consuming. Although her spiritual pressure was compressed, it wasn't anything that special, very low but fairly for a Número. In some hours time, he would have to train...Serelah then maybe report back to Aizen on how she's improved, if she does.

He frowns deeply for a second before going back to his impassive face. He knew that spiritual pressure.

"Well hello...quatro. Didn't expect to see you here." the demented sixth espada mused. Ulquiorra ignored his sarcastic remark before walking past him. He didn't have time for his pointless antics. "Having a fraccion especially for a person like you must be so fuckin' irritating." the blue haired espada scoffed, already caught up to the fourth as he walked beside him. "Since ya don't like company, I don't see why Lord Aizen even gave her to you...an arrancar that can't use her own zanpakuto... hmph, pathetic bitch." the sixth espada commented. Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks before glancing at the sixth over his shoulder. "Were you so out of work that you considered deciding to make a pointless conversation with me? Hearing you speak is sickening." Ulquiorra finally replied. The blue-haired man grinned as he succeeded in irking the quatro although no emotion seemed to be expressed on his face, his tone confirmed the fact he was irritated with his presence alone.

"How do you plan on training her?" he asked with a grin. Ulquiorra blinked before turning to face him, replying. "What I have planned for her or how I decide to train her is none of your concern. I would be very glad if you'd direct your foolishness elsewhere." Ulquiorra stated. He really disliked the espada, maybe not as much as the fifth, but he found them both intolerable. The blue-haired man scoffed. "Beleive me when I say I'd rather sit around and do nothing than talk to you." The sixth seethed as he glared at the fourth. "Then perhaps you should find something more productive to do with yourself." Ulquiorra replied before turning to walk away. "I'll be at the training grounds when you're ready to train her." he taunted. Ulquiorra did not turn as he was a little taken aback by that statement.

"For what reason exactly?" he asked, his voice a bit curious.

"Just want to see her capabilities or maybe see her get thrown around mercilessly by you...I'd prefer the latter." he chuckled. Ulquiorra said nothing at that. He didn't have a problem with that although he prefered if no one was around to distract them, he knew he couldn't stop him from going. The sixth was as stubborn as a mule, he wouldn't waste his energy trying to stop him.

Seeing as Ulquiorra had nothing else to say to him, the fourth espada walked away as he thought on ways and strategies of training a clueless hollow.

Serelah was panting hard as she finished (what she would call) a very heated 'training' session. She had been swinging her sword here and there. If she wanted she could use her spiritual pressure to make attacks with her sword, but she didn't want to cause damage in her room as that would be problematic.

She needed more space to really test her abilities. She hadn't even started sweating yet. No, until she felt like she was worn out and exhausted, then she had trained hard enough. All she needed to do was get to the training grounds, there was no way they didn't have one. She picked up the sword from the floor as she placed it back onto her waist. Ulquiorra didn't say she couldn't wander around Las Noches as she wasn't some captive. She walked out taking in the fresh air, inside her room she didn't really bother to open the windows as that wasn't what bothered her as of then. She felt rather cold as she walked quietly in the hallways. She didn't want to attract too much attention to herself, so she would try as much as possible to conceal her spiritual pressure. She didn't know her way though, the whole Las Noches seemed like a maze to her. This was not what she expected when Aizen had brought her to Las Noches. The place looked like a palace and it was well constructed with flawless marble floors. Aizen had to be ruling Hueco Mundo as he seemed in control of everything. She remembered Barragan Louisenbairn being the ruler of Hueco Mundo in the past, not that the man had noticed her, she always avoided him as she didn't like being pushed around. Why she's here though was entirely different because it seemed Aizen actually went out of his way to recruit hollows. She wondered if Aizen had over throned him. She didn't know if she was able to beleive that because Barragan was an extremely deadly hollow. A Vasto Lorde at that. There was no way two people would be raising an army in the same land. No, Aizen had probably fought for the title and he won. Maybe Barragan was even recruited here...

She came to a stop as she noticed a group of people coming her way. It was the blonde woman from before in the espada meeting. She widened her eyes briefly as she thought of a way to avoid her and her... fraccions? Possibly, considering they stuck to her like glue and their spiritual pressure was incredibly low compared to the woman leading them. The blonde-haired woman stopped along with her fraccions. Serelah wondered what she should say... perhaps she should use this to ask where the training grounds were, and she should probably address her with respect considering she was an Espada. Tired of doing the same thing so many times today, she bowed briefly before standing once again. The espada nodded her head in acknowledgment. Her fraccions were gazing at her curiously as if looking for something before their faces turned disinterested. The espada shifted to walk away before Serelah remembered why she even greeted her. "If I may ask...do you happen to know...how to get to the training grounds?" she asked with as much politeness as she could muster. The blonde haired woman stared at her for a moment before she glanced over at one of her fraccions as if sending a silent message before one of them stepped aside. The Espada walked past her with her two other fraccions. It seemed she sent one of them to help guide her. The arrancar had a fixed glare on her face, not that she was glaring at her, she figured her face was probably always like that. The navy blue-haired arrancar turned on her heel.

"Let's go." she harshly ordered. Serelah had to raise an eyebrow at her apparent hostility, but said nothing of it and immedieately followed her. She probably wasn't as powerful as her considering she doesn't even know much about her own power. It would probably be better to get off on the right foot. She quitely observed which turns the arrancar took so she could memorize the way to the training grounds. She couldn't imagine herself asking someone to guide her everytime, what was she? A baby? She wondered if there were more Números, considering she didn't see those three women in the meeting. There were probably more than she expected. It seems the Espadas were really important considering they had their own meetings. She was drowned in her own thoughts as she heard someone speak but didn't really catch what they had said.

"Huh?" she asked curiously as she probably didn't listen to what the arrancar had said.

"Apacci Emilou...Número fifty fourth." she said shortly. Serelah nodded her head, so it seemed they had ranks... interesting. That means there was probably the same for espadas too. If she was correct, she remembered being about nine or ten of them. Aizen probably ranked them according to their strength. She had to wonder what rank Ulquiorra would be...

"I see...Se-" she was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

"Serelah. I know." the arrancar stated before suddenly disappearing with sonido. Serelah had to blink for a second before using sonido to catch up with her. Those were still part of her abilities as a hollow, sonido, cero and her precise pesquisa. She figured the training grounds was apparently a long distance so the arrancar thought it would make sense to use super speed than to walk in awkward silence. After what seemed like a minute, Apacci stopped and Serelah had to balance herself as she almost bumped into her. She turned to face her, eyes hard. "That's the door to the training grounds." she pointed behind her with her thumb before walking past Serelah.

"Tha-" before she could finish her words, the arrancar had sonidoed away. She shrugged to herself before opening the door to the training grounds. She couldn't sense any spiritual pressure nearby so she proceeded to enter. The fierce wind closed the door behind her as the white sand came across her face making her eyes squint. She tied her hair back once again before grabbing the hilt of her zanpakuto, removing the sword from it's scabbard. She steadied herself as she took a stance. She closed her eyes as she focused all her spiritual pressure on her zanpakuto.

After concentrating all her spiritual pressure to her zanpakuto, she swung it forward on one hand with as much strength as she could muster, her blue spiritual pressure causing an explosion in the air before it disappeared. She could do better than that, the attack was rather weak. One more time. She swinged forth another one before the same explosion sounded in the air. As an Adjuchas in Hueco Mundo, back then when she wasn't as evolved, cero had been her primary move and attack as she would use her bird-like furry fingers to attack other Gillians and less weaker Adjuchas when they would try to harm her. Her cero had been strong then, she wondered if it would be as strong now or even stronger. Maybe she would summon it after she made a little more energy release through her sword. She did that a couple of times and she suddenly felt very weak and tired for some reason. That was pretty fast though, she didn't expect to feel worn out so quickly. She steadied herself once again, getting ready to release another wave of spiritual pressure before she sensed a rather foreign one and an all too familiar cold voice.

"Continue doing that and you might end up killing yourself." she heard clearly from behind.

Her master had arrived.

•

Well that's chapter 2! Took me like three days to finish it up. I know it's kind of short but I'll try to make it longer next time. I took my time in trying to capture Ulquiorra's character cause I didn't wanna mess anything up. This chapter was mainly about discovering more of the arrancars and espadas, but don't worry, there's still more to come in the upcoming chapters. Please don't hesitate to review as encouragement really goes a long way.

Bye!