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Hueco Mundo was a wasteland.
As it should be.
Aizen had tried to mould it into something else, a clear mockery of Soul Society. It was not something Tia had ever truly agreed with, but it was not her place to protest. In Hueco Mundo, all that mattered was strength. The strongest ruled, while the weak trailed behind them, accepting what meager scraps were left for them.
Tia had never been weak, but she was not the strongest either. That made her smarter than most Hollows in existence. So many believed themselves to be the strongest, when it was so obviously untrue. Such a thing was a death sentence. Arrogance guaranteed becoming someone’s meal.
Aizen was the only one who had been allowed true arrogance in Hueco Mundo.
But then… He was not the strongest either, so in the end, his arrogance had been as foolish as anyone else’s.
Hueco Mundo might have once again become a wasteland, but Aizen had left behind one last semblance of order.
There was a three tattooed on her chest, that would remain there forever.
Aizen was defeated. Stark was dead. Barrigan was dead.
Tia was the strongest that remained.
And someone must beat what remained of Hueco Mundo into submission if the rest of them wanted to live. They could not afford to antagonize the Shinigami while they were in such a precarious position, but if someone did not control the Hollows that remained, the foolish, brain-dead things would do just that.
Tia was now the strongest, and even Ulquiorra and Nnoitra were dead. She thought she might sense the gentle rumble of Grimmjow’s reiatsu out in the desert, as pathetic and subdued as it might be, but that didn’t matter. Grimmjow was far too volatile to ever take on this role. Hueco Mundo would not survive his brash, violent stupidity.
There was no one except her to take on this role.
How infuriating.
She preferred keeping to herself, and minding her own business. So long as Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun were safe and well fed, that was.
Unfortunately, with Hueco Mundo in such disarray and such a massive power vacuum only adding to the chaos, the best way to ensure that for her fraccion was to assume control herself.
So here she was, marching through Las Noches, still bloody and beaten and haggard from her battle with the Shinigami, ready to showcase indisputable proof of her rule.
She did not expect to be faced with someone already lounging on Aizen’s throne.
Nelliel Tu Odelschwank threw herself over the throne like she didn’t have a care in the world. One of her legs dangled over an armrest, her torso twisted to allow her elbow to prop on the other armrest, with her cheek resting on her fist. The clothing—no, something closer to rags that she wore did little to cover her, giving Tia a wonderful view of her toned body, lithe muscles, and tanned skin. She was every bit as bloody and roughed up as Tia herself was. Who the hell had she been fighting? Obviously not the Shinigami. Blood stained her rags, and dried in the grooves of her cracked mask.
“I wondered who was going to be the first one to show up,” Nelliel remarked as she regarded Tia with a cool expression. “I don’t think we ever actually met, but I suppose you were my replacement.”
Yes, around the time that Aizen had discovered Tia, the Espada were in the midst of a power vacuum due to the former Tres Espada’s “death.” Her arrival, leading to her challenge and victory over Ulquiorra, solved that without any more shuffling of the ranks.
She suspected that had been Aizen’s plan all along.
Tia had never given much thought to her predecessor. Why would she? A dead Hollow was a dead Hollow. It didn’t matter if she was the Tres Espada or not; she was still fucking dead.
But she wasn’t dead. Here she was, lounging on Aizen’s throne, as if it belonged to her.
As if the title of the strongest was still hers and not something Tia had fought tooth and nail for.
“Let’s get this over with,” Tia said with a long, tired sigh as she drew her sword.
Nelliel quirked an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“I will not bow to you,” Tia growled through bared teeth. “Either you will to me, or one of us will get their throat torn out.”
“Nothing ever changes around here, does it?” she asked, making no move to grab her own weapon or even get up.
Tia narrowed her eyes. Did Nelliel think refusing to draw her sword would save her from this fight? She would prefer an honorable battle, but if Nelliel would not indulge that, Tia would kill her here and now and be done with it. She would lose no sleep over it.
She simply could not take the risk of someone she did not know assuming control of Hueco Mundo. For all she knew, Nelliel could drag them all down to hell with her if she didn’t handle this oh-so-delicate situation with the utmost care. The decimation wrought by Aizen, coupled with the Shinigami winning the war…
They were all in extremely precarious situations, and someone needed to do damage control. Most Hollows weren’t sane enough for such things. Tia almost wished she wasn’t.
“Get up,” she snarled. “Draw your sword.”
“I’m not fighting you,” Nelliel said, like it was simple. Like it was that easy.
Like Hollows could do anything without fighting.
“I will not let someone I do not know take claim of Hueco Mundo.” Tia tightened her hold on her sword. “I will not let us find ourselves in the midst of another war.”
“You don’t want a war?” Nelliel asked, her eyes widening in pure shock and disbelief.
“Why the hell would I?” Tia demanded. “I am not a fool. Conflict for the sake of conflict is senseless.”
Nelliel laughed, the bubbly sound downright joyful, almost pure. It was fucking unnatural to hear from the mouth of an arrancar. “A reasonable Hollow. Never thought I would see the day.”
“Does that mean you’re unreasonable?” Tia asked.
In a fluid movement of pure grace, Nelliel launched herself from the throne, her cool, menacing aura vanishing in an instant as she flashed Tia a bright grin. “Take it however you like!” She motioned towards the throne as she bowed, ever so slightly. “All yours.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Tia demanded. Her fingers itched to press the tip of her blade against Nelliel’s chest, to remind her of how serious this conversation was. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with fucking clowns.
Nelliel’s grin somehow managed to widen. “Believe it or don’t, it’s true! I never wanted that thing,” she said with a flippant wave of her hand. “I just wanted to make sure some bastard like Nnoitra was going to try some stupid shit.” She sighed, then let her shoulders slump with a pathetic whine. “I forgot how annoying all this Espada stuff was. I miss just running around the desert!”
“Are you a child?” Tia hissed, still reeling from the abrupt shift in personality. “Take this seriously!”
“I am!” Nelliel protested as she hurriedly shifted her weight from foot to foot, as if she wanted to take off in a sprint. “I had to make sure some maniac wasn’t going to try anything, but you seem fine! You can deal with all of this! I just don’t want to keep fighting the Shinigami if we don’t have to, and I don’t want to deal with an all out bloodbath if other Hollows think they have a chance of ruling Hueco Mundo. I get the sense that you’ll stop both of those things. Therefore, this is not my problem.” And with that, she turned to bolt.
Tia’s arm shot out to grip her wrist. “You are not going anywhere.”
Nelliel’s mouth fell open as she skidded to a halt, as if she had the right to be shocked after the bullshit she had just pulled.
“You are my competition. You are the Hollow most likely to challenge me and succeed. You are staying right here,” Tia said.
“I don’t want to be an Espada anymore!”
“There are no Espada anymore. Aizen is gone.” She tightened her grip on Nelliel, so tightly the bones creaked beneath her grasp.
If it pained Nelliel, she did not show it.
“There is only me, and I will need other Hollows under my command for this to be successful.” She might not agree with Aizen and his iron rule, but she could admit that order would be important, and it was not something Tia could achieve by herself. She had her fraccion, but that wouldn’t be enough.
Nelliel was powerful, and clever, even if she had now chosen to hide it behind wide, clueless eyes. This ridiculous persona that had sprung out of nowhere was merely a testament to her cleverness, a concealment of what she was and what she was capable of.
“You will do as I command,” Tia said.
For a split second, the cold, harsh glint returned to Nelliel’s eyes. Tia thought she was going to argue, that perhaps this was going to devolve into a bloody fight after all.
But it disappeared just as quickly, and the blinding smile stretched back into existence. “Sure thing, Harribel!” She wrenched her wrist out of her grip.
Tia’s eyes narrowed, and she found herself at a loss for words.
Nelliel was already bounding off with a friendly wave over the shoulder.
Tia sighed, exhaustion from the battles slamming back into her now that the prospect of one last fight had vanished.
She could deal with the enigma that was Nelliel later.
For now, she just wanted to wash the blood off, find something to tear her teeth into that would fill her belly, and go to fucking sleep.
Yes.
The rest of Nelliel would be a problem for later.