Chapter Text
He presented her to the Espada, and she shuddered in the presence of his ten strongest blades. Most of them looked human, but the shards of Hollow masks reminded Orihime she was amongst monsters.
“My dearest Espada,” and then she remembered the real monster amongst all of them, “Rejoice. For a new brother joins us today,” his voice silk hiding a knife, “Ulquiorra, you have done well to bring Inoue to us.”
The pale-skinned man who wore a horned helmet on his head opened his green eyes and nodded to his master, yet offered no words to him. The other Espada held no visible reactions, but she felt all of their heavy gazes on her body, “Please,” she nearly forgot where she was, and felt shocked that she could forget such a man, as Sosuke Aizen, “Have a seat, Orihime.”
This caught the attention of the Espada, “What is the meaning of this, Lord Aizen?” an old man covered in battle scars from the other side of the table raised his voice, “This is the Council Chamber of the Espada! Only the Lord of Las Noches and his Esapdas are permitted to sit in here!”
He wore a fierce scowl, and to Orihime, it seemed that Aizen had offended the host of house, but when the Soul Reaper fixed his sight on the Arrancar, his face softened but did not look away, “I’m aware of the law of Hueco Mundo, and the customs of Los Noches, Barragan. And I do not intend to break them.”
A door opened behind her, and when she turned around she finally realized the two Soul Reapers who joined Aizen hadn’t sat down with him. And, she saw a pair of Arrancars carrying a chair into the chamber.
“It’s just as I said. A new brother joins us,” he said as a seat was placed near the end of the table, in between the only woman present besides Orihime, and a person who wore a mask over their face, “Please, have a seat.”
Orihime nodded to him and walked past the seated Espada. The heavy gaze they once offered now was a piercing glare, growing worse the closer she came to her seat. She sat down and rested her hands on the table, but the terrible glare from Barragan convinced her to lay them by her sand, though this did nothing to ease his mood.
“Please welcome to Las Noches, Cero Espada Orihime Inoue,” Sosuke Aizen smiled, and the rest of the Espada stared at this girl. This human they so easily captured, and one whose Reiatsu was so weak that it surprised some of them she was still standing with all of them in the same room. A human like her, Lord Aizen declared to be the Strongest of All Arrancar.
A half dozen Arrancars walked into the Council Chamber carrying kettles and cups. They placed one cup for each one seated, starting with the giant Arrancar who nearly killed her and Chad, and giving Aizen his cup last. All at once, their cups were filled with black tea. The Arrancars bowed and left the council chamber. Orihime noticed the two Soul Reapers standing by the doors hadn’t received any tea, and remembered how the old man made a big deal about only Espada are allowed to sit. She was curious enough to ask if the same applied to their cups of tea, but she wasn’t sure who.
The old man across from her hadn’t given her any attention, but he wore his scowl as tea dripped from his chin. She didn’t want to ask the giant Arrancar anything, and the strange being sitting to her left, she wasn’t sure if it could be asked anything. So she turned to her right and whispered to the only other woman in the room, “Excuse me, um,” the woman glared at her, “I’m sorry to bother you, miss Arrancar. But I was wondering, if only Espadas are allowed to drink in here, like they’re only allowed to sit in here?”
She never took her gaze off of Orihime as she unzipped her long-sleeved crop top, “You’re correct. This chamber is one for the Espadas and the Espadas alone. Only we are allowed the luxuries of a seat or the right to eat and drink at this table,” she answered, and Orihime watched the woman’s skull-like mouth open and sip the tea.
Having overheard their conversation, Aizen chipped in, “You are allowed to drink, Orihime,” he said, and he drank from his cup, “You are one of the Espadas. It is your right.”
Orihime nodded her head, and even if the source of confidence was from someone who was her enemy, she found herself drinking the black tea with ease, until the being next to her spoke up. Then she found the drink going down the wrong tube in her throat.
“Lord Aizen, I have followed your guidance for many years,” a high pitched voice emanated from the masked being, followed by a low-pitch voice, “And though I question your leadership from time to time, never have I doubted you,” the being faced Orihime, and though it had no face to her knowledge, she felt it was staring at her, “What is the purpose of making this woman, not only one of us, but the Cero Espada?” both of its voices spoke in unison.
“She’s a human for fuck’s sake!” the scrawny man wearing what Orihime thought was a spoon yelled, “We Espada have existed for aeons, and we have always had different Hollows amongst our ranks, but never has a human ever been considered nothing more than a snack to us Arrancars!”
Orihime sunk into her chair, her heart racing. Aizen looked at the scrawny man with an eyepatch and set his cup down, “Nnoitra, there is no need to yell,” and Nnoitra looked away from the lord. Aizen noticed Zommari looking at him, “Do you have something on your mind, Septima Espada Zommari Rureaux?”
“I share Aaraniero’s sentiment, Lord Aizen. If it would be appropriate, perhaps you can share your reason for appointing the rank of zero to this human?”
It seemed that a great weight was lifted off Orihime. She looked at the Espadas and noticed that they all gave their full attention to Aizen. She leaned over to try and see what Aizen was going to say.
“Starrk? Is it safe to assume you can easily kill a thousand Adjuchas without a sweat?” he looked at a man with droopy hair sitting mid-way on the table.
He sighed and shrugged, “Yeah, probably.”
“Halibel? You could drown a whole city of humans?” the woman sitting next to Orihime silently nodded, “Yammy? Could you release your Zanpakuto and stomp down an army of Soul Reapers?”
The giant Arrancar grinned madly, “Of course, Lord Aizen! Wouldn't be hard either!”
Barragan felt Aizen’s eyes and met his gaze with his own, “When you release Arrogante, Barragan, could you reduce all creation to ash?” the old man nodded, “All of you possess tremendous power, capable of trampling the human world with little effort,” his smile grew, “And our newest addition, could undo all of yours with even less effort,” Orihime felt the weight of all the Espada’s sights on her again, and it nearly made her choke on her tea.
“That’s bullshit, Lord Aizen,” Nnoitra called out, “Since the Espada have formed, we have always been ranked by how strong we are! How can restoring what we destroy make this woman stronger than all of us?!”
Orihime saw one of the Soul Reapers standing by the doorway reach for his sword. Aizen noticed this too as he raised his hand, “Nnoitra. You are stronger than Grimmjow, yes?” he mockingly grinned at the blue-haired man, “In a battle between you two, what if both of you deal mortal blows to each other, but Grimmjow retreats to Orihime? And all his injuries are restored?”
Grimmjow had remained silent, staring at his empty cup of tea, but he took the opportunity to mock Nnoitra, “Then you’d be dead.”
Nnoitra scowled and prepared an insult for the Sexta Espada, but Szaelapporo spoke, “I see! So that’s why she’s ranked Cero!” he snapped his fingers, “Correct me if I’m wrong, Lord Aizen, but she is the Cero Espada not because she’s stronger than all of us,” Orihime didn’t like any of the Espada looking at her, but the way this pink-haired, glasses wearing man stared at her was beyond uncomfortable, “But because she makes the Espadas as a whole stronger? Am I correct, Lord Aizen?”
Aizen drank the rest of his tea and smiled, “It is as I said. The strong reduce all creation, but the truly powerful reconstruct what was destroyed,” he put his cup on the table, “Orihime is one of us, and I hope you welcome her as one of your brothers. She will be of great use to me, and a formidable ally to all of you,” the Espada didn’t speak, only nodding to their master, “Now then. Orihime. Would you like to spare a word to your brethren?”
What could Orihime even say to these people? She only knew two of them, and they both did horrible things to her and her friends. She couldn’t consider any of them her friends, let alone brothers, no matter what Aizen said. But at the same time, she remembered what Ulquiorra said to her.
Maybe this was a test, or still a part of the bargain she made with him. To keep Rukia, Tatsuki, and Ichigo safe she would have to play the part of loyal Espada.
She suddenly stood from her chair and bowed, “I,” she stuttered, “Hope that we can work together and,” the thick air somehow grew thicker, “Serve Lord Aizen to the best of our abilities!”
She rose from her bow, and sat back down into her seat. She didn’t want to see any of the Espadas’ reactions, but her mind imagined all kinds of fearful scowls and furrowed brows.
Then she heard a slow clap a few seats down from her, “Nicely put, number zero. I’ll drink to that,” she looked over the table at the man sipping the rest of his tea. He looked back at her and pulled off his left glove and showed a tattoo on his hand, “I’m Primera Espada Coyote Starrk, nice to meet you.”
The old man snorted, “Segunda Espada Barragan Louisenbairn.”
The woman to her right turned and unzipped her top. Orihime wasn’t pleased to see how much of this woman was a skeletal monster, but she did see the tattoo on her right breast, “I am Tres Espada Tier Halibel.”
Ulquiorra stood and unzipped his coat to show the tattoo on his chest, “Cuatro Espada Ulquiorra Cifer.”
The thin man wearing a spoon looked over Halibel and stuck his tongue out at her. There she saw a tattoo, “Remember my name, woman. I’m Quinto Espada Nnoitra Gilga!”
Grimmjow waved his hand, “Sexta Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.”
The dark-skinned man looked at Orihime without turning his head, “I am Séptima Espada Zommari Rureaux.”
The man with the glasses offered a faux-bow to Orihime, “Octava Espada Szaelapporo Granz, at your service.”
The being that sat next to Orihime spoke in both of its voices, “We are Noveno Espada Aaroniero Arruruerie.”
The large Arrancar looked down on Orihime, “I am Diez Espada Yammy Llargo.”
The room fell silent, and Orihime soon realized that the Espada were waiting on her to introduce herself. She stood from her chair and said, “I am,” she received one more reassuring look from Aizen, “I am Cero Espada Orihime Inoue.”