44 Captain-Commander Yamamoto

Orihime awkwardly sat with Yamamoto while he was performing his regular tea ceremony. He had offered for Orihime to participate but she politely declined. After four hours of preparing tea and eating, he finally addressed the reason for Orihime arriving here. She had already assumed this was a power play to show her who's boss, as if she didn't know already.

"So, Aizen left behind some startling documents and you believe investigating Hueco Mundo and the world of the living is necessary? Why did you request to go yourself when you can task the Onmitsukido."

"Captain-commander, as a new captain, I wished to gain some achievements instead of putting my subordinates at risk."

"Very well, you shall be accompanied by Shinji Hirako."

"Captain-commander, why Shinji?"

Orihime had a slip up and questioned his decision. She regretted it immediately. Yamamoto didn't get obviously angry but the temperature in the room started to rise rapidly. Orihime did her best not to flinch and tried stay calm and keep her head down.

"Do you really think I let a young, arrogant, and foolish half-human become captain because of your ability? Never in my several hundred years as captain-commander would I have let someone like you into the court guards and take up captain in such a short amount of time, regardless of your strength. Thinking that your actions of manipulation and calculatedness were missed by me is a great mistake.

If I was your enemy and still treated humans as tools for Soul Reapers, do you think you would still be here in front of me wearing the greatest symbol of the court guards? Do you wish to know the reason why I have tolerated your behavior since the moment you broke our laws and had the audacity to infiltrate the court guards?"

Orihime gulped and kept her head down. Yamamoto would naturally tell her based on his tempo so she patiently waited.

"There is a division above the thirteen court guard squads. They hold an authority equal to mine, and represent an authority above mine. Although you are a captain, these details are not something you should be allowed to know. However, several months after Aizen defected, I received a notice that you had been captured.

Simultaneously, I was also given a royal decree stating that you are a candidate for the King's Key. Therefore, I have been accommodating you and allowing you opportunities to treat my court guards as your playground. However, be aware of this, nothing you do is missed by me. Until you are given the King's Key and join squad zero, you will follow my rules and my orders without question!"

When he finished, he slammed his cane down and flames burst out, warming his tea that had gotten a bit cold. He then calmed down and continued drinking as if nothing happened. Orihime nodded rapidly and quickly escaped his menacing aura. Although she wasn't affected by it, she still felt nervous. Additionally, the information he revealed had really shocked her.

'The royal guards want me to join squad zero? Does this mean that the Soul King is preparing to enlist me to his side and tie my life to his own with the King's Key? This is a disaster…'

When she arrived outside, her eyes were slightly glazed due to the high temperature. Shinji was already waiting there for her and saw her expression. He seemed to misunderstand that she got scolded based on her panicked expression and the spike in Reiatsu he felt from inside the first division barracks.

"Cheer up, captain. The old man has always been like that, it's probably not personal. You'll get used to it."

"Shinji… I'm sorry that I took your position. This is kind of awkward, but I hope we can work well together."

"The old man explained to me that I will be shadowing you from now on. Our bankais are quite compatible, how about we get together and have some fun during this time."

He gave her a perverted look as he lifted his eyebrows up and down, but before she could say anything, Hiyori came flying in and kicked him right in the face.

"You damn pervert, you are hundreds of years old and she's not even seventeen yet."

"H-hello…"

"Hey, I'll be joining you two to keep an eye on Shinji. I'm Hiyori Sarugaki, good to meet a friend of Ichigo's."

"Well… are the two of you ready to get going? Our first stop is Hueco Mundo. Our goal is to investigate the remains of Aizen's dealings as well as assess the situation of the Arrancar."

"All packed and ready, captain."

"Ah-ha, please just call me Orihime."

Originally, she was fine with people calling her formally if she wasn't close to them, but after getting scolded by Yamamoto she lost a lot of confidence. Her body language had switched over to a timid one without her realizing. Once everyone was settled, they headed toward the Senkaimon. Since they would be going to Hueco Mundo first, they didn't need to worry about limiters.

This was the original reason why she wanted to go to Hueco Mundo first. Orihime expected to encounter some members of the Jagdarmee trying to recruit the remaining Arrancar. Thinking about that possibility, she was glad that Shinji and Hiyori were joining her. Now that she knew Yamamoto hadn't become senile and was just tolerating her presence, she needed someone to corroborate her story about the Quincy.

The other reason she needed to go to Hueco Mundo was to check up on her subordinates. Grimmjow, Nelliel, and, hopefully, Ulquiorra should listen to her after what they went through. Orihime hoped that they either took over Las Noches, or that Tier Harribel would be reasonable. She still needed to evolve the three of them further.

During the last several months, the hogyoku was waking up much more rapidly. Because of her continuously rising strength, she was able to supplement it with her spiritual power to speed up its awakening. Additionally, fighting with Soi Fon helped stimulate it as well. She was fast approaching twenty-five percent dormancy, which was the next stage of upgrades.

Although it may cause some problems with Yamamoto later, she planned to convert as many Arrancar to her side as possible using the hogyoku's power. She would not be so nice to the others as she was to the first three. She had already devised a way to add a kill switch inside their souls in case they dared rebel. Of course, if they could get stronger than her, they could remove it, but that was unlikely.

The Arrancar would be necessary very quickly. In order to oppose the Quincy, having a hidden army that she knew they would attempt to recruit regardless was perfect. She hoped to cut down their numbers as much as possible before the final battle. Ideally, she would find the portal to Wahrwelt or create her own. Therefore, they would not need to wait until Yhwach was fully revived before attacking.

They arrived at the Senkaimon and the barrier corps were already there ready to activate it. The location they would drop in was directly in front of Las Noches. After firing up the portal, they immediately stepped through. When they arrived, it was eerily quiet. Orihime assumed that the infiltration near the fortress would surely alert someone.

When she spread out her spiritual awareness, she finally realized it. Shinji had done the same and looked over at Orihime. They looked at each other and had a silent understanding. They immediately set off inside Las Noches towards the large battle that was happening. Orihime was certain this was the Quincy.

"What the hell is going on here, who are those clowns? They don't look like Arrancar."

"What the hell are the Quincy doing here? Weren't they extinct?"

"Unfortunately, not. This is one of the things I wanted to investigate. I found evidence that he may have been trying to make contact with the Quincy who survived. We need to capture some alive, kill the rest. Try not to kill any Arrancar, but if they cause trouble, don't hold back."

Orihime immediately went on the offensive and destroyed limbs and blasted chests open of several Quincy. There were at least a hundred soldat and jagdarmee fighting against the Arrancar and Hollows. She saw that Tier, Grimmjow, and Nelliel were facing higher ranked opponents. An adult fully released Ulquiorra was facing the strongest opponent.

Fortunately, Orihime didn't see that sadistic "The Jail" Sternritter. However, this cleansing was only the first of many. Once this group returned with bad news, they would come with much stronger forces. Therefore, Orihime was determined to make sure no one escaped. And if one did manage to, she would attempt to chase and acquire the coordinates to the shadow realm.

"Orihime, you're finally here. Who are these people? They seem like humans but are quite powerful."

"Nelliel, they are Quincy. They are enemies of Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Humans alike. Don't hold back, take them out."

Upon hearing this, Grimmjow and Nelliel both released their full forms. They had previously been wary of going all out since they were human and had already devoted themselves to following Orihime. Now, however, the two opponents facing them were immediately impaled and killed.