Sorry if this chapter is not as good. I dislike Zommari and don't know much of his personality, other than being very prideful and the "BANZAI AIZEN-SAMA!" But I'll try to do him a little justice. I also changed the pairing to Halibel and Espada since it will be hard to do any romance other than hints or slight moments. After comparing to some excellent fanfiction, I noticed that I seem to depend a lot on dialogue instead of describing the background and situation so I tried fixing that a bit in this chapter.

Zommari Leroux

"Szayel-Aporro sounds like such a freak!" Apache's voice rang out, interrupting Halibel's nap. She remembered telling her fraccion about her day the previous night and they immediately took a dislike to Szayel.

"Careful where you go screaming that, Apache. I may have threatened Szayel but I still have no guarantees that he will leave you alone if he is insulted." Halibel warned the horned fraccion who nodded with a slight sulk.

"Shouldn't he know better than to disregard your words, Halibel-sama?" Sunsun asked carefully.

"He should, but I strongly doubt that the Primera or Segunda would have bothered with the previous Tercera, which only leaves the lower ranked espada. Clearly our co-workers are bolder than they seem." Halibel informed the three girls.

"Bold… or just plain power-hungry?" Mila-Rose murmured.

Halibel stood up while staring into space in the white lounge of her tower. Even the couches were white but at least some of the pillows in the room were navy, otherwise the lack of color would drive anyone mad.

The three fraccion stared at her for a moment before continuing another conversation between them, one which quickly turned to squabbling. The noise level in the Tercera tower rose while Halibel was brought back to reality and slowly stepped through her doorway. She was deep in thought, wondering how to handle Zommari since he seemed more of an enigma than the previous espada.

The blonde decided to head to head to the lunch hall and get something to drink first. As she walked through the hallways, a familiar noise was present as she approached the dining room. The numerous were jovial in their conversations, only hesitating when an espada entered the room but quickly returning to their normal state.

While most espada kept to their towers and had the fraccion bring food, those without fraccion or reservations would come themselves. This usually included Yammy, Zommari, Grimmjow and Nnoitra. Fortunately Nnoitra wasn't there since Halibel wasn't feeling up for his idiocy.

As she tapped some water into a glass she noticed that Zommari was indeed present, sitting in a deserted corner at the back of the hall. He seemed to be lost in some sort of meditation with an already empty plate in front of him.

Halibel picked up her glass and moved to a chair at his table, "It's a bit noisy here for a meditation isn't it?"

At first it seemed like he didn't hear her, until his response came, "That's why I like it here Tercera-sama."

"Halibel is fine. Isn't the noise disruptive?" Halibel asked.

"It helps me perfect my concentration and inner calm. If I am able to cancel out all of the noise then my focus is improved, Halibel-sama." Zommari explained without opening his eye or changing his posture.

"I see…"

"Do you have a query for me Halibel-sama? I can't comprehend any reason for you to approach me otherwise." His monotonous voice came.

"Not a specific one. I'm just trying to get to know my fellow espada better since we'll be working together in the future." Halibel told him.

"That is a noble quest… and a futile one."

"How so?"

"We will be entering war. There is no guarantee that that we will be working together. Most likely, Aizen-sama will give every espada their own vital duty to complete. We are all important pieces of our Lord's puzzle and to fully complete the puzzle, we cannot all be attached to each other with emotions and memories getting in the way. There is only our duty to Aizen-sama." Zommari said and finally opened his eyes.

"That is a rather pessimistic way to look at things isn't it?" Halibel queried.

"There is no optimist or pessimist, there is only the realist. Thank you for talking to me but I must go now. Until next time, Halibel-sama." Zommari said before standing up to leave. He was paused when Halibel grabbed his sleeve.

"You say that we are like a puzzle and that Aizen-sama will need us all?" The blonde comfirmed.

Zommari nodded, "Yes, that is correct."

Halibel looked down for a moment before making eye contact again, "I don't think that comparison works, suggesting that we are all vital to Aizen-sama… I think we are more like pieces on a chess board, everyone working together towards an ultimate goal."

Zommari's eyes showed slight confusion, "Yes, that works as well but I don't see the difference."

"In a puzzle all the pieces are vital but during chess… they can be sacrificed."

"…Or promoted." Zommari responded.

"Some usually has to be sacrificed for others to be promoted. Those who has to clear the way." The blonde explained, thinking about her sacrificial aspect of death. "In the end, only the King can never be sacrificed."

Zommari was silent for a moment, "I'll keep that in mind." He turned around, pulling his sleeve out of Halibel's grip and started walking again before murmuring something else that was picked up by the Shark Empress' sharp ears.

"I intend to be promoted. Aizen-sama will not abandon us."

Hope I handled that alright, Zommari is hard to get in character. Please review to say what you thought of the chapter and if my writing style needs any work. I'd like to improve during the shorter stories in case I want to start up longer ones again. Next is Grimmjow, this ought to be fun. Until next time…

Ultrawolfie out!