Episode 28: White

A SHORT TIME LATER:

Las Noches has transformed from a roofless hall to a giant castle full of wide open hallways and rooms. Each Arrancar's room is unique. My room consists of a yellow tiled floor with cream walls. The furniture is green. The room is quite spacious as only a lounge and clear glass table take up the living space. My double sized bed has a white and red striped doona with red and black pillows as decoration. Finally I part the white curtains and open up my view into the eternal night. The crescent moon shines on the floor. I breathe in some fresh air and throw myself onto the bed.

"Yo'" A voice enters the room. An Arrancar with a sluggish features, including a bulging forehead and snout shaped nose leans against the doorframe. I notice fragments of mask form a jagged black and white patterned headband across his face. The pattern remind of me of my hollow comrade.

"Shrieker...So you're an Arrancar too?"

"Yep...Lord Aizen fixed us all up, even that lousy king."

I palm my head as I feel a slight headache. "What about the hollow that nearly killed me?"

"He ran away...Nel Tu scared him off before Lord Aizen and the pothers showed up."

Something about the way he talks bothers me. "So why do you call him 'Lord Aizen'?"

Shrieker cocks his head. "Well he is our Lord...he was the one that granted us this amazing power."

"Yeah but..." Averting my gaze.

"You need to learn how to address your master Banzai or you'll end up in a lot of trouble." He turns to leave but briefly stops. "Say...did you find out your number?"

"My number? What number?"

He groans. "Dude, every Arrancar has a number. If your number is 10 or higher then your the highest class of Arrancar." He lifts up his white jacket to reveal the tattoo numbered '5' on his lower abdomen. "I'm number 5 which means I'm the fifth strongest Espada...didn't they give you a number?"

I do recall they used some strange tool to scribe something on my body while. They must've given me a number as well.

Eagerly I lift my shirt. I see what looks like a fancy '07' on my sternum.

"That's it! I'm number 7!" I'm stoked until I see the expression on Shrieker's face which tell me I'm a complete idiot.

"You were looking at it upside down." He confirms this when he produces a mirror. Though the number is inverted I understand now.

"20..." My enthusiasm seems to drain when I realise I'm not an Espada.

"Oh well, I guess Aizen decided I was far stronger than you..." He chuckles in an evil manner. My eyes face the ground in disappointment. "Oh come on I'm just stirrin' hey nice outfit by the way."

I look down at my strange attire. A white jacket and hakama and black boots. I feel like a Japanese samurai warrior. "It's not mush different to your uniform." I respond after noticing his torn shoulders and shorter sleeves.

"Anyway all of the Espada and there Fraccion are going to have a meeting soon so I thought I'd let you know."

"So am I a Fraccion...because I only have a fraction of your power?" I feel insulted.

Shrieker holds his sides as he laughs hysterically. "Probably, anyway I'll catch ya later."

As Shrieker leaves I notice he left behind a long thin box at the doorway. I pick it up and feel warmth emitting from the object. When I open the box there is a sheathed sword inside. The sheath is golden-yellow and the handle is fluorescent yellow. The hilt bulges out at the side to form two semi circle with a hollow space in the middle, almost like the shape of a set of scales. I'm temped to show off the sword and I click it out with my thumb. Slowly I withdraw the blade and admire it's beauty. I can see my reflection in the shiny metallic blade. I perform a few basic moves until I get the feel of it. Then I really get into it. Slashing and stabbing. I almost perform a strange dance.

Then it breaks...

"Ahh crap Shrieker's gonna be pissed. The sword seemed to comb then split into wires. The tangled mess drapes across the room. I try and flatten it out and piece it together but it only makes it worse. Frustrated I swing it around the room, scratching the walls and inadvertently attacking someone. I hear a feminine yelp at the door.

"Shit sorry..." It's Nel Tu. Her uniforms been slashed in several places revealing some cleavage and I think I can see a nipple. I think it's a nipple, better get a closer observation to make sure.

Instead I face a knee to the ribs. "You pervert..." She crosses her arms then looks up, pouting.

"Um...I broke this sword...please don't tell Shrieker."

Nel notices the destruction and takes a closer observation. "Try containing your reatsu for a moment Banzai."

"How's that gonna change-"

"Please do it." She rudely interrupts (at least she said 'please' then again I suppose I was being perverted back there so I can't talk)

As I try and contain my reatsu the strange wires retract and straighten until they form a comb on the sword. Finally the combs fuse and the sword returns to normal. "Wow! That's pretty awesome!"

"This is your Zanpakuto Banzai...That is why I told Shrieker to leave it here for you."

"Ok..." I feel relived knowing I'm not in trouble. Before Nel Tu leaves I call out to her "Thanks..."

"Hmm?" She looks confused.

"You saved me from the hollow right? So thank you."

"Oh don't mention it...it was nothing really."

"That strange hollow...what do you think happened to him?" I ask.

"He left without a trace shortly after you lost consciousness...His reatsu was quite odd it felt like it had traces of your own."

I explain how the hollow managed to escape from my body. "Oh my! No wonder you're so weak now."

"Hey!" I snapped.

"Well for a Vasto Lorde you're reatsu is very low."

"Thanks for making me feel better." I say sarcastically. "You know I'm only ranked 20"

Nel offer a comforting smile. "That's okay, it means you were one of the later Arrancar to be born."

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "All Arrancars above 11 are ranked according to birth. So number 11 was created first then 12 and so forth.

"Well at least I'm not ranked as 20." I gain a sense of contentment.

"You may still have the chance to be promoted to Espada if your able to impress Lord Aizen somehow."

"Well that's good to know...so what number are you?"

She stands up and takes off her jacket. I cover my nose to prevent the blood flow as I gaze at her back. A large number '3' takes over her back flesh.

"This shirt needs restitching...Good thing we get a few spares..." She turns to me revealing a bit of her side boob. "You should go to the great hall for the meeting. It will commence soon."

"Ok" I honk as my nose is covered.

GREAT HALL

The Arrancars slowly organised themselves onto the room. Most of them were with me in the main crowd however the ten Espada were placed upon ledges across the room. Some were placed higher than others – asserting their higher rank. A man with pink hair was on the lowest level and placed at the end so I assumed he was the weakest of the Espada. Another one seemed to stand out with long black hair and an eyepatch. He was low ranked as well. A man with an orange afro was on the other side but seemed a bit stronger than the last few. Further up was a goth-chick with a frilly skirt instead of a hakama. Shrieker was next to her and I already knew his ranking. Next to him was a Latino Arrancar.

The two highest Espada were placed close to the centre of the stage. One of them appeared to have a jar on his head and the other was an older man with a mask fragment resembling a crown. His reatsu reminded me of King Barragan and judging by his ranking I reckon it is him.

Nel arrived late and confirmed the Espada's were placed according to ranking. She Sonidoed up to the ledge just below the fish-tank man and near the Latino.

"Is everyone ready?" The voice of Sosuke Aizen rumbled through the room. Everyone was suddenly silenced. Aizen walked in alongside two other strange Arrancar. They had no masks and neither did he for that matter.

Aizen sits atop a throne. "I have gathered you here for an important meeting...I hope you are getting comfortable here in your new home." He addresses the audience. "I have called you all to remind you of our number one enemies – the Shinigami..."

The audience hissed and jeered at the word. "We wish to create an army of Arrancars and wage war on those pathetic souls. However at the moment our numbers are small. So far I have conceived you all naturally..."

This guy sounds a bit creepy...

"...However to create an army I will need an essential tool which breaks down the barriers between Shinigami and Hollow powers...This object my comrades is known as the Hogyoku. Soul Society has tried desperately to hide it from us and so we must find it and obtain it...Events have shaped differently to the way I had originally anticipated and I have now run out of leads as to who exactly possesses the object...Therefore I will need the assistance of someone who has recently been involved with Shinigami..." He opens his hands in an offering gesture. "Any volunteers?"

I have been around Shinigami before...maybe I should raise my hand...after all, if I do well I might receive a promotion.

"I WILL" I raise my hand but so too does someone else.

"Ah! There you are Adopheles!" A man with spiky black hair and large metal earrings enters. "So you would like to go with Banzai Benendes?"

"Yes Lord Aizen." He kowtows. His uniform is customised, he wears a white singlet and a thick scarf which covers his neck. His mask fragment appears as a horizontal V which comes off the side of his left cheek. "Banzai will be my Fraccion for the mission."

I open my mouth about to protest but it's no use. Adopheles is far superior to me and if I disobey Aizen who knows what might happen.

"Very well then...I will send you two envoys to outer Rukongai. You will pose as residents of Rukongai until you can find a way into Seretei. There you will use your Pesquisa to find the Shinigami with the Hogyoku.

"So this mean we will be visiting Soul Society?" I ask with enthusiasm.

"Of course we are." Adopheles responds harshly.

"So I will finally get a chance to see my brother..." I smile.

"Remember your mission is to find the Hogyoku, we are not provoking them into a war a of yet so please show some restraint and avoid conflict if possible."

"Yes Lord Aizen." We both bow before our leader.

"Excellent...you are hereby dismissed."

"So we are seriously going to visit Soul Society?" I'm ecstatic.

Adopheles mood is quite contrary to my own. "Yes..." He says monotonously. "He creates a dimensional tear which I recall was known as a Garganta.

"Please maintain some composure, we must not look suspicious." He hands me over a ragged cloak. "Put this on so our masks aren't visible."

And I thought we were trying not to be suspicious...

The precipice world is different to the Garganta. Adopheles explained this was the Dangai precipice world. We had to avoid the walls as they emitted a deadly current which eats away reatsu.

"We should hurry..." Adopheles is alerted. I feel a heavy rumble in the ground. A small but immensely bright light appears at behind us. "We have to go NOW!"

"Huh-urk!" I'm choked as he grabs my collar. The large object travels incredibly fast and seems to get closer and closer to us.

"We should just fight it." I say but Adopheles urges me not to.

"That object is basically a cleaner of reason and reality. Anything that come into contact with it is obliterated from existence...fight it if you don't believe me.

A portion of my hakama is eaten away by the strange object. "YAHHHH I BELIEVE YOU!" We run for our lives until we reach a light at the end for the tunnel. We fly out of the precipice world and end up crashing into the dirty ground with an 'oof''.

As I dust myself off I gaze in awe at this seemingly ordinary world. It is nothing like the sort of heavens I expected. Civilisation is ahead, they inhabit small houses which resemble a feudal Japanese style.

"Let's go Banzai..."

"Yes..." Soon we will meet again...brother...