Chapter Two:

The explosion could be heard for miles.

Szayel Apporo Granz was right above it, and was thrown from his chair as the room around him shook violently. He pulled himself up as the shaking died down, and rushed over to the monitor to see how bad the damage was.

"...Oh damn," he said as he saw that the explosion had wiped out every trap on the lower level. It had also severely damaged the floor plan above and below. Pretty much everywhere on the original had been hit except-

"Are you jesting with me!" he screamed as he saw that all three of his enemies life forces were at full strength. "They were at the center of the blast! How the hell could they have survived, let alone escaped unscathed!"

"So where did you pick up that ability?" asked Ichigo as he looked at the large blue shield covering the entryways for the flame throwers.

"On the way here," replied Uyru, prompting a curious look from Ichigo. "We had to go through the void between Hueco Mundo and the world of the living, remember? We had to create a pathway out of our spirit energy. I merely adapted that technique to create a physical object to block of the streams."

"Wow," said Ichigo with a smirk 'with the way you were freaking out I thought that there would be some kind of massive explosion. But all it did was mess the floor up a bit." He glanced down the hall, where many of the tiles had been knocked free, and broken from the tremor.

"Oh shut up!" said Uryu in annoyance "Your lucky that I had enough power to seal off these exits. If I hadn't we'd all be dead because of you."

"Yes," replied the Soul Reaper. He turned and began to walk off. "but we're not, my plan worked perfectly, and my faith in your abilities was not misplaced. Good job team."

"Uh... Ichigo," said Chad "I've known you since we were thirteen. You didn't plan this. At all."

"Sure I did," said Ichigo, glancing back. "My 'plan' was to wing it and hope everything turned out okay. It did. Just as planned. Now let's go kill some Espada."

"What? You mean rescue Orihime, right!" said Uryu in an accusing tone as he moved to walk alongside Ichigo.

"Of course I did." replied Ichigo, twirling his cleaver and almost hitting Uryu with it. "We'll probably have to fight at least a few Espada to rescue her."

"...Right," said Uryu from behind, his tone laced with an element of doubt as he slowed his pace. "Well I hate to break it to you Ichigo, but our best bet is to avoid unnecessary confrontations. Besides, there are ten Espada, doubtless with their own duties to attend to. What is the likelihood we'll run into more than one of them if we're careful."

"Pretty good, actually." said Aizen. He turned off the tv linked to his explosion proof hidden cameras. Then turned back to more important matters.

"Lord Aizen," said Tosen from across the table. "I know that this is important to you. However perhaps we should concentrate on deflecting Ichigo Kurosaki's invasion into our territory."

"Ha!" laughed Gin "Your just upset because we're not playing Pathfinder."

"Oh yes Gin, you caught me" admitted Tosen "My desire to actually have a plan is motivated by my hatred for the D&D 4rd edition. Truly my shame is unimaginable."

"I'm glad you were able to admit you were wrong." said Aizen, smiling from behind his GM screen.

"I wasn't-"

"I said I'm glad you admit you were wrong." said Aizen, and Tosen sighed.

"Yes Lord Aizen." he said, keeping the irritation out of his voice. "So the centaur golem is fifty feet away, right?"

"Yes," said Aizen, placing a few miniatures on the board. "What do you do."

Tosen considered the matter for a moment. "I charge it and initiate a grapple check to jump onto it's back so I can stab it in the neck."

"Yeah... you can't do that." said Aizen.

"What? What do you mean I can't do that? This is a tabletop roleplaying game! The entire flipping point is that you can do anything you want as long as your character would be able to do it!"

"Actually Tosen's got a point." said Gin "Remember that time I wanted my characters to become a Lich? You told me that Liches are now generic monsters with set stats. They used to be templates which anyone could put on their characters.'

"Please Gin, don't blame me for the failings in the rules of this game." said Aizen "The handbooks only gives me rules for using the standard abilities."

"Hmmm," said Gin "well then I'll multiclass my rogue with the wizard. That should-"

"Actually you can't do that either." said Tosen in disgust "Multiclassing no longer exists in this edition. Though I am certain they will release a 'supplement' which you can buy for an outrageous price."

"Well to hell with this thing then." said Gin before tossing the players handbook out a nearby window.

There was a long pause before Aizen turned to regard the silver haired haired man, whose smile had dimmed. A sudden knock on the door interrupting whatever the Lord of Hueco Mundo was about to say.

Aizen glanced to the door. "Come in," he stated and after a moment a pale skinned, dark haired man with green eyes walked in through the doorway. He carried a folder under one white-sleeved arm and had his other hand rested on a sword in his under grip.

"Ah, Ulquiorra." said Aizen, adopting a benevolent tone. "What can I do for you."

"I am here with 3rd Espada Halibels report on the casualties sustained in the explosion." he paused. "Shall I give them to you, or deposit them in the incinerator and tell her that I did?"

Aizen considered this. "Did we lose anyone important?"

"A few numeros, and all of Szayels Fraccion." replied Ulquiorra. "So no, I do not believe so."

"Incinerator then," said Aizen. He grabbed the folder from Ulquiorra and opening what appeared to be a dresser. Tossing it in closing it and turning back to his subordinate. Said subordinate remained unfazed by the low foosh which followed.

"Now," said Aizen "Is there anything else?"

"There is one other thing Lord Aizen." said Ulquiorra, his expression stoic and unblinking. "It is in regards to Orihime Inoue."

"What about her?" asked Gin a cheeky smile on his face. "Your feeling concerned for her. That's funny, I never figured you'd be the type to woo women. Well at least you know where to find-" He stopped talking as Ulquiorra gave him the look.

It was one which had become greatly feared amongst those who dwelled within Los Noches. His face did not change. Instead one got the impression that by being near him that your life expectancy had dropped.

"I was not speaking to you, Ichimaru." the pale-faced man replied. He turned to regard the white haired ex-captain with as close to dislike as the man usually got. "And my concern is entirely practical in nature."

"You had best elaborate, Ulquiorra." said Aizen, and the Ulquiorra turned back to him.

"As you wish, Lord Aizen." he said "Orihime Inoue has demonstrated a certain unwillingness to resort to violence. It will not serve her well within Hueco Mundo. It is my belief that we should assign her a guard, to ensure that she comes to no harm. There are those amongst the Espada who care little for human. They may take rash action which could interfere with your plans for her."

"Grimmjow?" deadpanned Tosen, from behind Aizen.

"Grimmjow," replied Ulquiorra in affirmation. "However Nnoitora and Aureniero are also a concern."

"I'm surprised you did not add Yammy to that list." observed Tosen.

"Yammy is a violent fool, but he is easily controlled." replied the pale Arrancar "Those I mentioned have both the incentive to become a threat to her safety. And they are mad enough to consider the attempt."

"It is a fair assessment." admitted Tosen "However it is one which could be solved just as easily. If you would allow me to execute Grimmjow and-"

"No, Kaname," said Aizen in a tranquil tone. "we'll go with Ulquiorra's idea. The only question is who to assign on the job?"

"Why not Barragan then?" suggested Gin, prompting an annoyed look from everyone in the room. "What? Annoying him is fun?"

"...You're an idiot," said Tosen as he looked across the table bluntly. "whoever was assigned would have to be loyal, and capable of defeating those who I mentioned."

"If I may make a recommendation." said Ulquiorra "I believe that Halibel would make for an excellent choice."

"Hmmm," said Aizen "Halibel would likely be able to do it, true. But I am concerned about her ability to remain pragmatic in this matter."

"So be it." stated the 4th Espada paused to consider this. "There is a rather significant drop in power after Espada number six." he mused "None of them would be able to fill the role."

"On that, we are in agreement." stated Tosen, his voice grim "And I think we may dismiss Grimmjoww from our minds. He cannot be relied upon in any form."

"Oh, I don't know about that." said Gin "I'm sure he can be relied upon to betray us at the first opportunity."

"I know, the ease with which he can be manipulated is exactly the reason I've let him live this long." stated Aizen with a shrug. "Nnoitora is..."

They all thought of what they knew of Nnoitora.

"No." said Aizen.

"No." agreed Ulquiorra.

"What about Starrk?" asked Gin "He hasn't got much to do, and he's personable."

"Out of the question." stated Aizen "Starrk might be able to gain her trust. However having him in constant contact with her would be unhealthy. His power cannot be fully controlled, even by him."

"...So I suppose that leaves Ulquiorra then." mused Tosen, his voice irritated.

"Something wrong, Kaname?" asked Aizen.

"Nothing specific." said the dark skinned ex captain. "It seems as though Ulquiorra ends up getting all of these missions."

"That is an accurate assessment." the 4th Espada stated. "I believe that it is because of my mental stability. Combined with my pragmatic approach to missions."

"Very well then Ulquiorra." said Aizen "You will take up this task. Ensure that no harm comes to her, and I will see you rewarded for your efforts."

"As you wish, Lord Aizen." the 4th Espada bowed his head "If there is nothing else, I shall make preparations."

"No." replied the Lord of Houco Mundo "You may go."

Without another word Ulquiorra turned and left, his white coat trailing behind him. They watched him go for a moment before Tosen whispered to Gin.

"What would a man such as Ulquiorra want, anyway?"

"Well if I had to guess I would say that he'd want the chance to kill Grimmjoww." replied Gin casually.

"...I suppose it is a conceivable possibility." admitted Tosen "It would explain why Lord Aizen won't let me kill him. But Ulquiorra does not seem the type to hold personal hatreds."

"He isn't." replied Gin with a shrug "But Ulquiorra does get annoyed with people. And his irritation is something which most people are smart enough to avoid. Grimmjoww isn't most people, and he thinks Ulquiorra is afraid of him."

"Overconfident fool." muttered Tosen to himself.

"Tell me about it."

Authors Note:

Well, here we are with Chapter two. This one was fun to write, particularly the scenes with Aizen, Gin, and Tosen. Some of you may have noticed that Aizen is acting a bit differently from his canon counterpart. This is deliberate.

Aizen in the main Bleach storyline is a faux affably evil sociopath. One whose past is shrouded in mystery, who possesses incredible power. He no notable weaknesses, and absurdly overpowered special abilities. He cares for no one except himself. He never loses control of the situation until the last three chapters. And even that requires a three blatant deus ex machinas.

In other words watching Aizen is about as interesting as watching paint dry. He's a completely inhuman character, with no explanation for how he got like that. He basically serves as a wall for the better characters to play off of. To the point where everything we know about him can be summed up by one sentence.

He wants to become a god and likes tea.

That's it, really. Though I'll admit he still beats the Vandenreich faction in terms of personality. So I've decided to boil his character down to the basics, and just work from there.

Also, I will be switching up power levels a bit.

Also, you may have noticed that no one in this fanfic seems to like Grimmjoww. This is because Grimmjoww is a psychotic, antisocial jerkass. He cares nothing for his subordinates. He hates anyone who has greater power than him. And considers thinking things through to be a weakness.

Forget about Tosen. A personality like that should have logically made him the most hated person in the Espada. And that's even without his blatant disregard for orders.