Sombra yawned as he pulled himself into a sitting position on the bed that he had been allowed to sleep, as he and his friends had been given rooms to stay in after discovering that all of them had been fooled by Aizen, Gin, and Tosen, though some of them had been sent to the clinic rooms and some, like him, were sent to a residential type of building. The room was what he expected from his time in the World of the Living, or at least the older style that Urahara Kisuke used all the time throughout his shop, except for one thing, as the room was actually large enough for two people and two beds, as opposed to the norm for some odd reason. That happened to be reinforced by the fact that Yoruichi had shared the room with him, in her normal form and not her cat form, but he was starting to wonder why, when he thought about her, that a new feeling was starting to appear, one that he had no idea what it was, and yet he decided that asking the Shinigami was a bad idea, since most of them were afraid of him and the intense reiatsu that he could give off. Because his reiatsu was so strong he made sure to pull it back to the point to where he wouldn't knock anyone out, putting him back at the point he had been in when before Byakuya had arrived outside the Shrine of Penitence... and yet, at the same time, that didn't stop the Captains and Lieutenants from staring at him whenever he was near one or more of them.
He yawned again as he looked over at the other bed and found that Yoruichi seemed to be enjoying her sleep, since she wasn't up just yet and it appeared that most of her clothing was in a pile near her bed, on a nightstand of some kind that happened to rest near her... but, because of the daily routine that he had established back in the World of the Living, he touched the floor with his hooves and stretched his arms, before pulling on his attire, slipped Shokyo into his belt, and then headed outside the room.
As he walked through the hallway that he was walking in he passed by several members of the Eleventh Division, as everyone in his group had been moved to the Fourth Division's relief center, where their wounds could be treated until they were ready to leave, which would take some time according to Captain Unohana. The Captain told him that it should take a week before Ichigo, Chad, Ginju, Uryu, and the others to recover from their various wounds, especially since Renji and Captain Byakuya were in critical condition at the moment, but he had faith in their healing abilities, especially since they were occasionally asking Orihime for assistance to study her power, while Sora watched over them. Speaking of Shinigami the members of the Eleventh Division, apparently disapproving of the food that they were being served, tried to take it out on the Shinigami assigned to assist them, but as he walked by he stared at them and that, without his intense reiatsu, was enough to cause them to back away and retreat for another day, allowing the Fourth Division Shinigami to get back to their duties as he continued his walk. He even walked by Captain Unohana on his way out of the building, who he simply nodded to since she had to be busy with all the people that she and her Division had to heal, before heading outside and continued out into the winding streets of the Seireitei... where he also noticed a few Shinigami that backed away from him a little as he walked by, mostly with a look of fear in their eyes, causing him to sigh as he lowered his reiatsu some more and continued walking.
The only other reason the Shinigami stared at him, besides his powerful reiatsu, was the fact that he was the only one that was carrying a Zanpakuto at the moment, as the order for Shinigami to carry theirs had been withdrawn with Aizen's withdrawal into Hueco Mundo, so they were worried that he might attack him, something that he wasn't planning on doing at all, since he didn't want the Shinigami to turn on them while they were still recovering. Despite the fact that he wasn't going to attack anyone, however, he could tell that there was one Shinigami that was following him, not Yoruichi from the feel of the reiatsu that was around him, but for the moment he showed no signs of having felt the reiatsu and continued on his way through the Seireitei. He only had three possibilities for who the reiatsu could be: Captain Zaraki, who he knew wanted to battle him at some point, Captain Mayuri, who had been denied access to him and Orihime by Captain Unohana and Captain-Commander Yamamoto, and Captain Soi Fon, maybe because he had spent some time with Yoruichi in the World of the Living and she might have questions for him. The only downside to those thoughts was that, for two of them anyway, he could rule them out immediately, as Mayuri would have confronted him with little regard for the Shinigami around him and Zaraki would have been lost by this point in time, so, if he was right about who could be following him, he only wondered what Soi Fon had to say to him as he walked through the Seireitei.
He was also faintly aware of the fact that there were Shinigami watching from the shadows, no doubt Soi Fon's soldiers so they could be sure that she was safe and report anything to the Captain-Commander should he attack any of the Shinigami that he walked by, but he ignored them for the most part, as he believed that they would fall back if their Captain gave the order.
As he walked his thoughts were mostly plagued by the information that Aizen had revealed, that he had been behind the fact that Sora was able to become an Arrancar, by posing as the stranger they had seen that night, and that he had also been behind the second Menos Grande that had attacked him. It was disturbing to hear that everything they had been through so far was the plan of their enemy, that he had been planning on them coming to reclaim Rukia, and the Hogyoku that was hidden inside her, and them causing chaos in the process, which Sombra guessed was mostly both his and Ichigo's fault, since they had both beaten Captains by the time the execution arrived. What really worried him was the fact that Aizen had claimed the Hogyoku, an artifact of immense power that Urahara had created when he was still a Captain of Soul Society, and, from the tone that he had been using, Sombra had to guess that the traitorous Captain was planning on using it to create an army of Arrancar, which was why he went to Hueco Mundo with Gin and Tosen. Of course he had no idea if he was right or not, but the information that Aizen had given him seemed to suggest that he was trying to create an Arrancar army for some reason, to claim the 'empty throne' that sat in 'Heaven', which meant that he and his friends needed to be ready for whatever happened once they returned to the World of the Living.
By the time he pulled himself from his thoughts he noticed that he had walked, or more likely flashed, his way over to where the Sokyoku Hill, in the forest that rested below it, and he found traces of the battle that Yoruichi had with Soi Fon, a battle that Yoruichi had won from what she told her, before he sighed and found only a single reiatsu near him.
"How long are you planning on hiding from me?" Sombra asked, as he knew that someone was following him, and he would have though something was strange if someone wasn't following him, but at the same time he knew that it was time for whoever was doing that to reveal themselves.
A few seconds later a female Captain, who had a petite body with gray eyes and short black colored hair, which had two long braids bound in white cloth and ended in a large golden ring, flashed into the area in front of him, allowing him to see that she was wearing the same attire that Yoruichi had been wearing last night, as part of her clothing had been torn apart during their battle, to which he determined that she was the Commander of the Omnisukido, Soi Fon.
"Captain Soi Fon, this is a pleasant surprise." Sombra said, deciding to see if she had noticed that he had detected her shortly after she started to follow him, while playing innocent and seeing her reaction, but he remained respectful towards her since she was a Captain, "Do what do I owe the pleasure of your company on this fine day?"
"Don't play dumb, I know that you noticed that I was near you some time ago." Soi Fon stated, her tone revealing that she didn't like to be played with at all, something that Sombra could understand to some degree, though at the same time he noticed that her gaze was focused on him, "As for why I came here, I wanted to talk to you about Yoruichi."
"Really?" Sombra inquired, as that was interesting to hear, especially with his changing emotions involving someone that he considered one of his best friends, in a manner that Ichigo considered Chad one of his best friends, before he focused on the incoming conversation, "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"I saw the way she looked at you after Aizen defected and headed to Hueco Mundo," Soi Fon said, though this time around Sombra detected a hint of anger in her voice as she raised her arms and shifted her legs into a stance that looked like one that was used for battle, "I've known Yoruichi for a long time, before she and Urahara left Soul Society all those years ago, and I immediately recognized the look in her eyes when she sat near you... and it makes me angry to see that look in her eyes, especially when I noticed your expression afterwords!"
Soi Fon flashed through the air and raced towards where Sombra was standing, but Sombra, thanks to his reiatsu moving into the world of the Vasto Lorde, from what he had been told earlier, was able to see the attack in slow motion almost and moved his body to the side as he let the attack pass by him. Soi Fon actually seemed surprised as she slipped by him and landed on the ground, before turning around and attacking him again, to which Sombra mentally sighed as he dodged the incoming attacks with ease, especially since many of the incoming movements he recognized immediately, as they were the same moves that he had been taught in the beginning of his training. After some time he started moving his arms, just to make it seem like he was actually fighting back, but in reality all he did was raise his arms and block a blow from reaching him, seemingly annoying Soi Fon in the process, though he was sure that she would back off once she realized that he wasn't actually trying to fight her, not when he could overwhelm her in an instant if her truly wanted to do something like that. At the same time he noticed that the Captain had come without her Captain her attire and had, like the Captain-Commander ordered, left her weapon wherever she usually kept it when she wasn't carrying it, but since she was without a weapon he simply blocked the incoming attacks and did nothing else as Soi Fon flashed around the area that they were in and tried to overcome his defenses.
Of course what he was actually thinking about was what Soi Fon had said, that she had seen the look on Yoruichi's face when she sat by him earlier, and wondered what she meant by that, as Yoruichi seemed normal to him during that period of time, while also blocking the attacks with such ease that allowed him to divide his attention between the battle and his thoughts.
"In the time I knew her, I only saw the expression that Yoruichi gave when she loved something only a few times, and only directed at events that happened!" Soi Fon snapped, trying to kick the back of his head from behind, where Sombra moved out of the way a little and then caught the fist that came after that, before she retaliated by pulling her fist back and continuing her seemingly random stream of attacks as she sought an opening for some reason, "So why, after a hundred years of residing in the World of the Living, does she suddenly return with a bunch of Humans, one of which just so happens to have the power of a Shinigami, a Quincy, and two Arrancars, one of which she treats differently than everyone else in the group? Why does she look at you differently than everyone else? What makes you so special?"
"What in the world are you talking about?" Sombra inquired, as he had no idea what Soi Fon was even referring to at the moment, while at the same time blocking the incoming attack that was aimed at his face, though while anyone else would have gotten mad he was simply curious so he could understand the Captain of the Second Division.
"Why does she look at you with love in her eyes and treat you with more affection than she has shown anyone when she was still the Captain of the Second Division?" Soi Fon demanded, where she continued her assault as she sought an opening, one that she wouldn't be able to find unless she got serious about trying to hurt him, as Sombra detected that her emotions were getting the better of her, and the evidence was the tears forming in her eyes, "What did you do that made her finally find someone that made her heart flutter? What did you do to her that made her fall in love with you? How can you just sit there, when she's doing that, and do nothing in return to show that you care about her?"
Sombra parried the incoming attack that was coming his way and tossed Soi Fon backwards, though from that point he let his body move on it's own as he thought about what the Captain had said so far, as he really hadn't noticed such a change in Yoruichi, and he was very observant most of the time. The only change he had seen in his friends, not counting the sudden appearance of Ichigo's inner Hollow, who he believed was someone completely different than what Ichigo thought he was, came from Urahara, as he had been observing him all the time and occasionally frowned when he and Yoruichi were doing something together, something he associated with his training. There was also the fact that, unlike Ichigo and his Human friends, he had no idea what love was supposed to be, likely the combination of him losing his memories and becoming a Hollow back when he was an ordinary soul, so it was hard for him to know when something like Soi Fon had been suggesting had even happened. There was also the fact that he had seen Yoruichi smile whenever he recovered from his injuries, had seen her freak out when he was near death, and had seen the worry in her eyes be replaced by relief when he recovered from near death, emotions he had connected to their bond of friendship... but he was beginning to wonder if there was some truth to Soi Fon's words, as Yoruichi did treat him differently than anyone else, which he had connected to his Arrancar state, though maybe that was wrong on his end as well.
As he thought about all of this his hand caught the incoming punch that was aimed at his chest and caused Soi Fon to growl in annoyance, maybe because he suddenly reminded her of the training sessions that she went through when she was learning from Yoruichi, before he sighed and pushed her away from him.
"What is this 'love' that you are referring to?" Sombra asked, because if he was going to understand what she was really talking about he needed to first understand the word 'love', as he needed some assistance in moving away from calling Yoruichi and the others his associates before he could call them friends, something that one of them explained to him, and it was the same now.
"You're kidding me, right? How could someone like you not know about love?" Soi Fon asked in return, as she knew that the Arrancar had spent some time in the World of the Living, watching over Ichigo Kurosaki and spending time with those that were close to his Human friend, and knew that he had to be pulling her leg, but after a few seconds the expression on his face didn't change and she realized what was going on, "You're serious? You honestly don't know what love is or the signs that tell you when someone's in that state?"
"Soi Fon, here's something that you and the other Captains don't know about me," Sombra said, to which he tapped his Zanpakuto for a moment, something that he knew his opponent was staring at from time to time in case he decided to draw it and attack her, "this Zanpakuto, Shokyo, is just like all the Zanpakuto that you and the other Shinigami have; it has a Shikai, a Release Call, and a Bankai. Arrancars, from what I have been told, also possess a Zanpakuto that contains the core of their Hollow powers, which means that I should have one, but right now that blade is lost somewhere in the vast entirety of Hueco Mundo, along with all the memories of who I was before I became an Arrancar. Sure, I might have known about love when I was still an ordinary soul, before my transformation into a Hollow, but now that I'm an Arrancar, and my memories have been taken from me, I have no idea what love is... just like I used to have no idea what friends were until someone explained it to me."
"Geez, I never expected such a thing like that to happen." Soi Fon replied, because in all honesty she and the other Captains had been worried that Sombra was an Arrancar that was using the invasion that Ichigo and his friends were a part of to attack and destroy Soul Society, but in reality he came to save someone he considered his friend, all while trying to remember or recover who he used to be, before she sighed, "Love is, well, complicated at times. I guess from the way I'm acting you could say that, both in the past and right now, that I've been in love with Yoruichi, except that mine was born from the desire to be just like her when I was older, and the fact that I was told, when I was much younger, that my family was supposed to give everything, even their identity, to protect and serve the family line that Yoruichi came from... a love born from devotion and admiration. Yoruichi has strong feelings for you, how I don't know because I've never heard of a Shinigami falling for an Arrancar before, and I guess I was the only one that was able to see it yesterday because I'm one of the few people that knew her better than most people. There's something about you that made these emotions awaken inside her, or maybe it's something you did or something you said, and she spoke of you during our battle with high regard, something that she gives to those that she enjoys working with."
"Emotion... I see." Sombra commented, as he recalled how Byakuya's story had made him sad, about how he lost his wife and promised to find her sister Rukia, only to be caught at an crossroads when her life was in danger, and how the simple gesture of Yoruichi sitting beside him and smiling had crushed that sadness with something else, something that was even stronger than everything else he had felt before, even hatred, before he chuckled for a moment, "Thanks Soi Fon, I'm glad you decided to come and see what I was up to... and that you decided to beat some sense into me, for not seeing what was right in front of my eyes."
"I see you finally understand me." Soi Fon said, to which she turned around and looked back out at the Seireitei that they had walked through, and partly flashed through to get here so quickly, where the other Shinigami were working their hardest to repair the damage that all the battles had brought to their home, before glancing over her shoulder for a few more seconds, "You should talk with Yoruichi about both of your feelings at some point... though if you don't share the feelings that she has for you, at least be gentle about it, otherwise I might have to call Suzumebachi out and kill you for breaking her heart!"
Sombra simply nodded his head and Soi Fon flashed up into a nearby tree, giving herself one last glance at him, to be sure that he wasn't up to anything, before she headed out into the Seireitei and went back to her duties, and no doubt to report to the Captain-Commander that he wasn't doing anything wrong... before he turned towards a tree that was opposite of the one that Soi Fon had picked, which just so happened to rest on the other side of the circular clearing that he was standing in.
"You can come out, Yoruichi." Sombra said, as he had felt her observing them some time ago, halfway through the mock fight that he and Soi Fon were having, and had a feeling that him walking out of the room had been enough to cause her to stir earlier, or maybe it was the clash of reiatsu that was between him and the Captain.
"One of these days you won't be able to detect me when I do this," a voice replied, to which Yoruichi, fully clothed in the attire that she had been wearing when they confronted Aizen, stepped out from behind the tree that she had chosen and smiled, as she was also pleased that all the training she had given him was paying off big time, "I overheard what Soi Fon wanted to ask you, though I was going to wait until we got back to the World of the Living before we talked about the feelings that we're both feeling."
"It's okay, I'm partly to blame for not realizing that the feelings were there to begin with," Sombra stated, because while he had confirmation that Yoruichi did have feelings towards him, something that he was only beginning to feel thanks to yesterday, he could only wonder how long she had been burdened with her feelings and had no one to talk to them about until he was ready, "It's just... I was so focused on saving Karakura Town, getting to know Ichigo while I worked with him, saving his friends, finding out that I also had friends, and so many other things, that I completely forgot to spend time with the people that had given me a chance and never noticed what the slight changes in how you acted meant. When you sat by me yesterday, when I was feeling sad after hearing the tale that Byakuya told Rukia, something that I won't repeat without his permission, the sadness that had sprung up was squished by a stronger emotion... an emotion that brightened my mood immediately, even if I couldn't place what was going on."
"So the first time you actually felt love was yesterday?" Yoruichi asked, though at the same time she was absolutely fine if that was the case, because his memories were still missing and, like he had said, he had been too busy to realize that there might be something after friendship, but she was happy to see that he was learning more about the various emotions that people, both Shinigami and Humans, went through.
"Yeah, and I'm still disappointed that it's taken me this long to figure out what the slight change in your mood and expressions has been." Sombra replied, to which he rubbed the back of his head for a moment, as he had no idea what he was supposed to say at the moment, before he turned his attention back to Yoruichi, "So, um, what's supposed to happen after two people reveal that they're in love with one another? I'm completely lost in that regard."
Yoruichi just smiled at him, grabbed onto his left arm for a moment, and pulled him out of the clearing as they flashed back into the Seireitei, or more like one of the numerous market areas that resided throughout the area that the Shinigami lived and worked in, before they started walking down the street and simply enjoyed each others company. While they walked, however, Yoruichi stopped once or twice to purchase something, mostly a food item since she had skipped breakfast to chase him down, and while he didn't actually need to eat Yoruichi insisted that he at least try some of the food, even if he just stuck to drinking his tea every now and then. He humored her a little and tried some of the rice balls, which had an unusual flavor when he tried them and found that it was the sauce they had been made in based on what Yoruichi told him, and sampled the breakfast tray that his companion had picked up, but for the most part he smiled and sat with her while he drank the tea she ordered for him. He also didn't ask how she still have funds, since it seemed like Soul Society would have confiscated all of it or something when she and Urahara left for the World of the Living, but whatever the reason was he didn't want to know and it didn't appear that anyone came to question them, allowing them to enjoy themselves as they saw fit.
After that Yoruichi decided to show Sombra around Soul Society, which included observing the office buildings that the Captains worked from, and Lieutenants since three Divisions were now missing their commanding officers thanks to Aizen's betrayal, but they never went close to any of them. Sombra had no idea why Yoruichi wanted to show him those buildings in general, but neither did he talk about that, as he could tell that just being in an area, and not having to worry about being found out, gave her time to consider her past for a few seconds. The interesting part was when they reached the office building that the Second Division worked from, where he found Soi Fon staring at the two of them from the walkway that connected two buildings, her glare reminding him of what she had said earlier, and he fully intended to make sure Yoruichi was perfectly fine. For the most part she seemed to be enjoying herself, showing him around and smiling as he kept pace with her, thanks to the training she gave him before this point in time, and a few Shinigami that they walked by on the streets seemed confused when they looked at them, but for the most part the duo ignored whoever was around them and did whatever they wanted... and that included heading back to the training area that she had brought him and Ichigo to so she could test him in speed and power.
Basically the two of them spent a good deal of time practicing their Shunpo with each other, where Yoruichi was no longer surprised when Sombra could keep up with her steps, and simply sparred with their hands for the most part, as there was no reason for either of them to hurt the other, though at the same time Yoruichi commented that hurting Sombra might be hard, given his power and the durability of his skin.
"You know, I've always wondered why my skin is like that." Sombra commented, speaking when the two of them were relaxing in the hot springs of the training area, more for actual relaxation this time around instead of treating any wounds, especially since neither of them had hurt the other, and they sat side by side while they talked, "Originally, before I fought that Menos Grande and Byakuya, my skin was pretty durable, but I think that it has something to do with an Arrancar's reiatsu, which is why my skin is tough when I'm in battle. If I'm right then the power boost I got from my training with Urahara, back when he helped me find Shokyo's name and assisted Ichigo in calling out his Zanpakuto, allowed my skin to become even tougher, which would have happened after Shokyo taught me how to use my Bankai. Of course I could be wrong and this is just something that occurs naturally in an Arrancar... though I'm not going to ask Captain Mayuri to explain what he knows about the Arrancar, as I have the feeling he'd try to experiment on me if he was given the chance to investigate my powers and abilities."
"Speaking of the Captains, what will you do?" Yoruichi asked, as she knew that the Captain-Commander would let Ichigo and his Human friends return to the World of the Living, since that was where they belonged, but, at the same time, Soul Society's history showed that an Arrancar has never come into this world, and the only reason they'd send Sora back was because he wasn't a threat to them, regardless of the training he went through from this point forward, "You know that they're not about to let you just walk out of Soul Society and go back to the World of the Living, not with the power you possess as a Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar."
"I'll speak to the Captain-Commander about that in the future," Sombra replied, though at the same time he actually wasn't worried about the fact that Soul Society might not let him leave, as with Aizen and his fellow traitors gone there was only one Captain that had the power to stop him, and that was the Captain-Commander himself, before he leaned back a little more and wrapped his arm around Yoruichi, who smiled at him, "but for now I plan on relaxing until Ichigo and the others are well enough to move, then we can think about how we're all going to get out of here without annoying the Shinigami any further than they already are."
Yoruichi smiled as she leaned towards Sombra for a moment, recalling that he was the only person whose seen her without any clothing on and has never once been embarrassed by her actions, not like Ichigo was, though she didn't care if it was because he was used to her presence or because of his missing memories, as she was more interested in the person she came to know and not anything else. While she was slightly upset that Soi Fon had ruined her plans of telling Sombra about her feelings, when they were away from all of the Shinigami that were around them, she was also impressed by her former student's ability to keep the information a secret, even from her own Division and the other twelve Divisions. She was also happy to find that, even though the feeling had only just awakened, Sombra was more than willing to see where this path took him, because love could awaken his old memories, but at the same time Yoruichi was planning on establishing them and explaining the various rules about this to Sombra, who was likely to remember them and act accordingly, which already brought a smile to her face. Of course she knew that Urahara was going to told her that he had seen this coming, since she had lied to him about her feelings for the Arrancar, but at the same time she honestly didn't care what he thought about them... and she was sure that he was going to be quite shocked when he realized just how powerful Sombra had gotten from his Shinigami training alone.
Even though she wondered what the height of his power would be like, once he got his Arrancar blade back, she decided to push those thoughts aside and focused on the moment they were having, something that she had envisioned long ago when she first found her feelings towards Sombra, to which she smiled and enjoyed herself... and the eventual massage that Sombra gave her, as a repayment for all the times she had worked the soreness out of his own muscles, which only brought a smile to her face in the process.
After the first day that Sombra and Yoruichi spent together, doing whatever they wanted after their time in the hot springs, they spent some more time in each others company, surprising the few members of their group that had already healed and were merely waiting for the others to get better. Uryu, after asking politely a few times, had some sewing equipment brought to him and merely made some new clothing to replace his destroyed Quincy attire, which had been partly ruined in the wake of his battle with Captain Mayuri, then made something for Chad, Orihime, and even Rukia, which was based on some measurements that Sombra decided it was best that he didn't ask how he acquired them. Chad spent most of his time healing the last of his wounds, though when he was allowed out of his room he insisted on testing the mettle of some of the Eleventh Division members, just to make sure he didn't fall behind Ichigo, which was where he found Sora getting lessons from Ikkaku, so he could continue to protect his sister and push his strength to the limit. Orihime spent her time between assisting Captain Unohana when she asked for her opinion on something, while Ichigo spent most of his time confined to his bed until he was healed, which only made Ganju laugh, despite some of the injuries he had acquired when he and the others were being freed from their earlier cells by Zaraki.
It was in that moment that Sombra learned that Zaraki had battled both Tosen, who he defeated after witnessing his opponent's Bankai in action, and fought Konamura to a draw, since his second opponent withdrew so he could figure out what was going on after the announcement of Aizen's betrayal was sent out to everyone.
For the most part the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days of their rest went exactly like the first day; Yoruichi and Sombra spent some of the day exploring another part of the Seireitei, to let him understand the place that she had lived in a hundred years ago, while Uryu in the others relaxed as the rest of their wounds healed or did whatever they wanted to do to pass the time. By the sixth day most of the group was healed and the only ones left were Ichigo and Renji, since they were the ones that Aizen had messed up on the day of his betrayal, but at the same time Sombra stood near the area that they were allowed to stay in and knew that something was coming to interrupt their mood, even though he was staring at the door to the room. Yoruichi seemed to be of the same opinion, mostly because of her knowledge on what the Captain-Commander could do in a situation like this, and most of the group was in different rooms when the door opened and one of the Shinigami stepped in to talk with them, only for them to discover that it was Renji who came to see them.
"Lieutenant Renji, this is an unexpected surprise," Sombra said, as he was being respectful towards the Shinigami that were allowing them to stay in Soul Society, though at the same time he noticed that Renji frowned for a moment, meaning that he didn't like being called that by people close to him, friends anyway, "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company on this fine day?"
"The Captain-Commander is asking for you, and someone you trust, to come to a meeting with the remaining Captains and their Lieutenants," Renji replied, though his tone revealed that he didn't know anything about what the meeting would be about, even though it could be anything from what the verdict was on his life or about what Aizen said to him before the rest of the Captains arrived, before he turned around, "The meeting is supposed to be soon, and I'm supposed to escort you and your chosen companion to the room that we'll be gathered in."
"Very well then," Sombra said, to which he stopped leaning against the wall and turned towards Yoruichi for a few seconds, who smiled as he did that motion, as she knew exactly what he was going to say next, "Yoruichi, would you like to join me on my adventure?"
"Sure." Yoruichi replied, to which she got up from where she was sitting and walked over to him, keeping the smile on her face while Renji raised an eyebrow for a moment, before sighing as they headed out of the room and walked outside the building, where they could flash through the Seireitei to reach their destination.
Sombra honestly had no idea what to expect when he reached the building in question, though when they arrived he found that most of the Divisions were accounted for, save for the Fifth Division since they were in shambles from Aizen's betrayal and their Lieutenant was still healing at the moment, and that both Gin and Tosen's Divisions had their Lieutenants standing in for their traitorous Captains. At the very end of the line, as Sombra noticed that the even numbered Divisions were on one side and the odd numbers were on the other side, stood the Captain-Commander, who seemed ready for a discussion, though he also raised an eyebrow when he noticed that Yoruichi was with them, but instead of doing anything he understood why she was here and turned towards Sombra. At the same time Sombra noticed a mix of emotions on the faces around him, as some of the Captains clearly didn't trust him, since he was an Arrancar, and some of them wanted to do certain things to him, like Mayuri for experimentation and the desire to battle coming from Zaraki, but he kept his feelings to himself as he waited for someone to say something.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Yamamoto said, as he knew that they were all busy from what happened a few days ago, especially after discovering that Central 46 had been assassinated, but there was something that needed to be cleared up before the Arrancar and his friends departed from Soul Society.
"Not at all, Captain-Commander Yamamoto," Sombra replied, because he was curious as to what the Captains wanted to talk about, while at the same time noticing that many of the Lieutenants were studying his reiatsu and were definitely sweating, no doubt because of the power he possessed, before he focused on the task at hand, "If you don't mind me asking, what did you and the rest of the Captains want to talk about?"
"You and I still haven't had our battle, Sombra," Zaraki answered, to which he stepped out of the line and approached Sombra, who turned around and stared at him for a few seconds, finding that he was still one of the few Captains that was carrying his Zanpakuto, since he didn't like the rules that Soul Society was run by, "My battle with Ichigo Kurosaki was exciting, and you were an Adjuchas ranked Arrancar at the time, but now you're a Vasto Lorde... I'm excited to see what you are really capable of before you head back to the World of the Living, or Hueco Mundo, or whatever you call home."
"The real reason is because we have decided to allow you to head back to the World of the Living with those that you arrived with earlier," Yamamoto continued, taking note that Zaraki cut into the conversation like usual, since that was what he did all the time, before focusing on the Arrancar, "We have determined that you are not a threat to Soul Society, for the moment anyway, and that you are definitely not one of Aizen's pawns, since you did not flee with him, and so we're letting you leave as well. Before that, however, Zaraki insists that you fight with him, so he can experience your power as well."
"Very well then." Sombra said, to which he turned towards the Captain that was addicted to battle, as he knew that he would continue to do this until he got what he wanted, and decided that he might as well humor the Captain before he and his friends went back to the World of the Living, "So then, Captain Zaraki, when would you like to have our battle?"
"Tomorrow morning, in the area near the stands that Ichigo destroyed," Zaraki replied, though the look on his face told Sombra that he was eager to see the power that he commanded, even though he could have felt it by just feeling his reiatsu when he and Ichigo were battling Byakuya, "We haven't even started and I'm more excited than I've been in the last couple of months."
Sombra knew that the battle Captain would be excited about all of this, even though he wasn't too keen on wasting time in a battle that might be decided before it even started, but he nodded his head and decided to let the Captain have his way, especially since the others were willing to let someone like him leave Soul Society. At the same time, however, he noticed that Mayuri was disappointed that he was even agreeing to the suggestion, though that was only because the Captain wanted to test and study him, since he was a Vasto Lorde, while the other Captains merely sighed at the idea of Zaraki battling him. He also noticed that many of them were also interested in the idea of seeing him in action, no doubt because he had shown off his Bankai against Byakuya earlier, who was currently keeping his eyes closed as he let the meeting go on without him saying anything, and no one else actually said anything after Zaraki issued his challenge to him, meaning that this was all he was getting from this meeting... though, even as that thought crossed his mind, he realized that this meeting didn't seem as important as Renji seemed to make it sound, but that might have been due to the fact the Captain-Commander was the one calling this meeting together.
In the end he, Yoruichi, and both the Captains and their Lieutenants were dismissed so they could rest and prepare themselves for tomorrow, as he knew that Zaraki would be eagerly waiting for them to battle and some of the other Captains were thinking the same thing... to which he sighed as he walked away, as he knew that this was better than the Shinigami trying to stop him, and soon enough he and his friends would be able to return home, he just had to battle Zaraki and the deed would be done.