"I... I don't believe it!" Ichigo said, as he was stunned by the sight in front of him, because they had just witnessed one of the greatest fights in the entire world and the outcome, despite being what he expected, still shocked him, which was why he was staring at Sombra at the moment, "He won..."
"Of course he won, you idiot." Zangetsu replied, though at the same time he managed to keep the grin on his face, because despite the fact that it appeared that his former partner was still an idiot he was more than happy to see a glimpse of Sombra's true power, something that even the Hogyoku recognized by the looks of it, "He's the Dios Hueco, the Hollow God, and there's now way that someone like Aizen, even with those power boosts he got, would have been able to turn the tides on him and beat him in battle."
"That's not what I was going to say." Ichigo snapped, to which he faced his former inner Hollow once more, though he didn't know what was worse, the fact that the Hollow was outside his body or that fact that it had been inside him until his last battle with Ulquiorra, "What I was going to say was that he managed to emerge from the battle without taking even a single scratch or wound in the process. Is Sombra's power really so great that not even Aizen, who was empowered by the Hogyoku, could do a single bit of damage to him?"
"Apparently his true power is far greater than what we originally thought it was." Grimmjow said, though he was smiling as well, because the previous Dios Hueco's power, from what he knew, wasn't as great as Sombra's was, meaning that they would have a much more powerful ruler in Hueco Mundo, "I knew that his true power had to be on a higher level than the previous Dios Hueco, especially since Sombra's Resurreccion was so powerful, but I never imagined that he'd be this strong and be able to take out someone with Aizen with little effort."
"Honestly, I'm glad that he's on our side." Hitsuguya commented, as his attention was on the destruction that Sombra and Aizen had caused to the fake city, while at the same time the Captain-Commander was busy making sure that the ruined pillar was restored to it's former glory so they could safely switch the fake Karakura Town with the real one that was inside Soul Society, before turning towards Sombra, "I knew he was strong, from the moment Captain Byakuya first mentioned his existence, and I knew that he was getting stronger and stronger with every challenge that he faced, be it his own Arrancar Zanpakuto or something else... but I had no idea he'd be able to fight Aizen, in all his various forms, and still be able to beat him so soundly."
"Everyone is in agreement on that end." a voice said, to which Ichigo looked off to the right of where their small group was standing and watched as Yoruichi flashed up to where they were standing, though he noticed that her eyes were solely on Sombra, "Urahara and I knew, from the very moment we started teaching him, that Sombra was strong and that his power might be beyond what we were capable of determining, since there was a chance that he was stronger that an Adjuchas ranked Arrancar, and we thought it would have ended with him being the strongest Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar in all of Soul Society's history... boy, were we wrong on that one. The Dios Hueco... the Hollow God... the strongest Hollow to ever grace Hueco Mundo... it seems like a fantasy brought to life and pitted against the one person that wanted to bring about the end of the world."
"Well, that fantasy turned reality is your boyfriend," Ichigo stated, recalling what he had learned before he and his friends had followed Sombra into Hueco Mundo, something that was still odd when he considered it, but right now he was more than fine with how the world around them worked, "Good luck trying to tame him, Yoruichi."
"Boyfriend?" Grimmjow inquired, though at the same time he thought about what Humans liked to do and the terms that they came up with, but his knowledge of them seemed to be limited, as he had no idea what Ichigo was talking about and that worried him.
"He means that the two of them are lovers." Nel said, as she had remained near Grimmjow's side, purely because she wanted to be close to their Lord when he returned from the battle with Aizen, though the news that Sombra was already in love meant that things weren't going to happen, before she sighed, "Oh well. I was going to ask him about that, if he had someone in mind to be the Queen of Hueco Mundo and rule at his side, but it seems that he's already got someone to fill that role, even if she's not an Arrancar or even a Hollow... though I wonder if he'd be interested in having a second lover, to appease the residents of Hueco Mundo."
"Excuse me?" Yoruichi inquired, to which she turned towards Nel for a moment, as she couldn't believe that the Arrancar would even suggest something like that, while at the same time she noticed that Ichigo and Grimmjow seemed concerned about what was going to happen next, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, the previous Dios Hueco, before the war against Soul Society, had a harem of lovers." Nel replied, recalling the information that only Hollows and Arrancar learned after a few years of living inside Hueco Mundo, which came shortly after the discovery of the final classification's existence, "I was just saying that it's entirely possible that Sombra might follow in his predecessor's footsteps and take one or two more lovers, even if it's to experiment on his likes and dislikes... or whatever he wanted to do."
"Ladies, there's no need to argue." Harribel stated, to which she stepped towards them and caused both Nel and Yoruichi to look at her, as they were curious as to what she was going to say, "Since Starrk doesn't like to lead, or really do anything that is considered work, and since Baraggan is dead, leadership of Hueco Mundo would have fallen to me, if there had been no Dios Hueco around at the time. Wouldn't it make sense for him to want to get together with the one that would have become the Queen of Hueco Mundo?"
"And I'm getting out of here while they talk." Ichigo said, to which he, Grimmjow, Hitsuguya, and Zangetsu moved out of the area that they had been standing in and headed over to where Sombra was standing, as it appeared that he was remaining in one spot and was staring at the Hogyoku that was imprisoned in a dark orb.
As they approached Sombra, however, they found that Urahara was approaching him as well, though since he had been the one to create the Hogyoku, before Aizen stole it, Ichigo was sure that the former Shinigami was going to ask Sombra what he was going to do with it, so he decided to keep his mouth shut as they stopped near the duo.
"I'm proud of you, Sombra. You defeated Aizen and saved the world." Urahara said, because that was a good thing to do, save the world from someone that wanted to destroy it, but at the same time he found that the Arrancar was staring at the orb that was floating above his hand, "What are you going to do with the Hogyoku?"
"I'm going to put it somewhere safe, where no one else will be able to get to it." Sombra replied, though at the same time he tapped his right fist on the air near him, like he was knocking on a door or something, and that was when a large circular metal door, made out of steel and adorned with several gemstones, appeared in the air in front of him.
"Sombra, what is that?" Ichigo asked, because he was worried that Sombra was thinking of hiding the Hogyoku in the same place that Aizen was located in, as he was sure that the former Captain would try to find it if he knew where the orb was resting, and he could tell that he wasn't the only one that was interested in figuring out what was going on.
"There are two entrances to the Shadowlands," Sombra explained, though as he said that the circular door opened and revealed his destination, but he turned and looked at the group that was near him first, since he knew that it was best to tell them what he was doing, "the first is the mirror, which allows me to teleport those that I want to punish to an area where they'll be tormented by their fears and nightmares, or send them to the Keepers, who are charged with watching over the lowest areas of the realm of terror, where the serious offenders are sent. The second entrance is by this circular door, as it allows me to enter a private study that's built into one of the mountains that oversees the pits that the others are sent to, and there's absolutely no way for someone to get to the study from the pits, trust me on that one. This study is where I keep some of the more important treasures and relics that I've, um, stolen since I became the king of the Crystal Empire, and it's a place where only I can enter... though I think it might be time I returned some of this stuff..."
Ichigo's eyes widened as the door opened and revealed the area that Sombra would be putting the Hogyoku in, as when he said it was a study he thought his friend was joking around, as the area that they were seeing looked more like a ancient treasury with all the gold coins, jewels, statues, and artifacts that looked like they should belong in a museum or something similar to that. Sombra, once the door was open, walked through it and was pleased to find that everything was as he remembered it, because off to the right sat the stairs that lead to the observation deck, back when he was evil and loved to watch ponies being tortured, and the actually study area where he practiced some of his spells in the privacy of an entirely different world, so his foes wouldn't learn of what he knew. There were other odds and ends around the place, like a bedchamber for when he got exhausted, an elegant bathroom that mimicked the one in the Crystal Palace, a meditation area, and a few other rooms that he'd have to check out later, before he focused on what he was doing here. He stepped forward and entered the vault area, where all the stolen treasures rested, before using a bit of his power to make a new pedestal rise out of the floor, one that he put the Hogyoku on and let it float there, being the center of attention like Aizen would have wanted, before he turned around... which was when he found Ichigo hitting the barrier between this world and his world, bouncing him backwards and causing him to rub his head.
Sombra chuckled for a moment before he stepped out of the study area and closed the door, to which it sealed itself up and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, before he turned his attention to the group that was standing near him with an assortment of looks on their faces.
"Like I said, only I can enter the study area, since I created it for my own privacy, and I'm the only one that knows how to open the way to the Shadowlands." Sombra said, though at the same time he turned and headed towards where Yoruichi was standing, because he had the feeling that the two towns were going to be switched soon and he wanted to make sure that the others were out of the way for when that happened.
"You know that Central 46, when their replacements are chosen, are going to want to punish Aizen, right?" Urahara asked, though at the same time he and the others followed after Sombra, even though he was looking at the exterior of the large barrier he had helped construct and was happy to see that Soul Society had teams hidden near the town so they could begin the work of shifting the two towns once more, even if they were repairing the broken pillar.
"Yeah, I know that." Sombra answered, though at the same time he sighed and the wind whipped around him, where Ichigo and the others watched as his armor morphed back into his gray Shinigami attire and both of his Zanpakuto reformed on his belt, exactly where they belonged, before he smiled at them, "Unfortunately they won't be able to come up with an effective punishment for the former Captain, which is why he'll be staying inside the Shadowlands for the rest of his life. And here's an added bonus they might not even consider; since I'm the only one that knows how to access that part of the Shadowlands, a secret that's not written down anywhere and can only be gained from me, when death finally claims me Aizen will be stuck in that realm, forever."
"Death will have a hard time even attempting such a thing," Zangetsu said, as he could already imagine that it would be old age that would claim their Lord's life, and not death in a battle like many would assume, meaning that he'd be able to rule over them for many years to come, before a new question came to mind, "So what now? Do we declare war on the Captains of Soul Society, or are we heading back to Hueco Mundo to start your reign over your new world?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Sombra replied, as he had known that many of his new followers would want to know what his plans were and he could see that Zangetsu wanted to smack Ichigo around for a few minutes, before he looked at the sky for a few seconds, "For now we'll assist the Shinigami in making sure that this fake Karakura Town is ready to be transferred with the real Karakura Town, which they might need help working on from the looks of it and it seems like Szayelaporro is already hard at work doing just that. Once the two versions of the town have been switched with each other, and the people are safe and sound, then we'll head back to Hueco Mundo and set up the new order that will replace whatever Aizen had set up during his time in Las Noches."
"And what about Yoruichi, Nel, and Harribel?" Ichigo inquired, because at the moment the three ladies in question were currently arguing over whether Sombra would only have a single lover or have more than one, something that he wasn't terribly interested in but figured that he might as well ask Sombra what he had in mind for them.
"For now, I'll stick to having a single lover," Sombra said, though at the same time he could tell that both Yoruichi and Nel seemed to be the more calm of the trio, even if Yoruichi had no idea what the two Arrancar were talking about, before he thought about something that he hadn't considered before this point, "though that reminds me; at some point in time I'll have to figure out exactly what the previous Dios Hueco did before their war against Soul Society, so I can learn from his or her mistakes and endeavor not to repeat them. I will admit that it's very interesting that the previous Dios Hueco had a harem of lovers before their demise, especially since I have no idea if they were a Hollow or an Arrancar and I'm sure one of the other Arrancar would be willing to tell me the truth of my predecessor's nature."
Ichigo, on the other hand, didn't honestly care too much about that information, because he wasn't a Hollow or an Arrancar and naturally assumed that all residents of Hueco Mundo didn't care about that sort of thing, but even as he thought about that he had to guess that there were things about the Hollow world that Soul Society and their allies didn't know about. He could already imagine Mayuri trying to figure out how the residents of Hueco Mundo went about their personal business, especially since he had no shame and no sense of privacy, and shuddered when he considered what sort of punishment Sombra would inflict on the Captain if he tried such a thing. Sombra didn't seem to mind the fact that he might have to have multiple lovers in the future, though even if that were the case he could tell that he would put Yoruichi at the top, as she was his first and would always remain in that position, regardless of what happened and what he learned about Hueco Mundo. He also didn't like the look in Grimmjow's eyes, like he was a panther looking for something that wasn't his prey, and decided that he might as well stop thinking about what he was seeing, because right now he wanted to go home and relax, and maybe explain to his friends what had been going on... especially since he was sort of a jerk to them to prevent them from getting too close to them, just in case Aizen decided to use them against him and his friends.
What Ichigo found was that Nel didn't seem disappointed when she learned that Sombra was sticking to a single lover at the moment, since he was their ruler and it was within his right to do what he wanted, and he could tell that Harribel was a little disappointed, but at the same time she also conceded the point that he needed more information on what his predecessor did before he really came to a conclusion on the matter.
Despite Sombra's personal issues, and the fact that he might have three potential lovers in the future, both he and the group that surrounded him, made up of Shinigami and Arrancar, headed outside the barrier that was around the fake version of Karakura Town and let the rest of the lower ranked Shinigami get to work. Many of the lower ranked Shinigami did as Mayuri and Urahara directed, as they were the ones that knew how to repair the Tenkai Ketchu, or World-Shifting Binding-Posts as they were also known as, and it wasn't long before the Shinigami were able to put it back to the way it was, fully restored and the barrier strengthened to it's peak. Once that was done Urahara stalled Mayuri for a bit, taking about whatever he might have found in Hueco Mundo, which got the Shinigami scientist a little depressed since Sombra had prevented him from getting any new research material, and Szayelaporro even told him that he'd make up some informational pieces for him, provided the Captain could convince Sombra to let him return to Hueco Mundo for a time in the future. The reason Urahara stalled Mayuri was because the mad scientist wanted to activate the transfer sequence the instant the pillar was restored, where a number of the lower ranked Shinigami were still inside the barrier, and his actions allowed those Shinigami to evacuate the area and join the growing group that was standing near Sombra... though once everyone was outside the fake town the three scientists joined them and Mayuri activated the transfer sequence, causing the fake town to glow blue as the barrier formed a large box in front of them.
Sombra watched as the Shinigami performed the transfer sequence and switched the two towns, as not even a few seconds later he felt the arrival of a number of souls, the inhabitants of Karakura Town, and he knew that Ichigo had some explaining to do when he got home... and that also included the fact that Isshin was going to have to explain himself, as Ichigo was staring at his father the moment he noticed that he was wearing his own Shinigami attire.
"Sombra, you have our thanks for helping take Aizen down and bring justice to Gin and Tosen," Yamamoto spoke up, causing the group to turn towards him, where some Captains were a little surprised that he was actually thanking Sombra for his assistance, but at the same time they knew that it would put them on good terms with the powerful Arrancar that now controlled Hueco Mundo, "What will you do now?"
"We're heading back to Las Noches, so we can begin our own repairs." Sombra replied, as some of the buildings that had been built into the fortress that Aizen had controlled earlier had been damaged thanks to the battles that had taken place, and there was the fact that Nel would need a place to sleep as well, since Harribel currently owned the place she had previously owned, "During that time I'll be putting in a new order for the Arrancar that have joined me, nothing too restrictive, and I'll have to deal with the fake roof that Aizen built, but eventually I'll have the beginnings of a new empire and maybe control what the ordinary Hollows do. Though there is something I should do before we head home..."
Sombra turned towards the town and recalled that the graveyard had next to no visitors, in the time he had been in the town, along with the fact that there were a few temples around the area outside where the four pillars had been resting, small and hidden structures that a lot of people didn't visit either. In the end he picked out one of the temples and flashed down to where his chosen temple was located, where he felt the others following him, but when he arrived he waved his hand and felt Hueco Mundo respond, where a Garganta formed in the structure, though it took the shape of a rectangular gateway that mimicked a Senkaimon. The interesting part was that the rectangular sections of the gateway were made out of crystal, just like the quartz trees that grew in Hueco Mundo, though once that was done he turned away from the gateway and faced the Captains that had followed him into the temple, along with his friends. He knew that they were interested in what he was doing, he could tell that with a single look at their faces, and he intended to tell them exactly what he was going to do, though the Arrancar understood his hidden meaning without needing to be told what he had done.
"What you see before you is a gateway to Hueco Mundo, an instant one that I can open and close whenever I, or whoever I entrust control of it to, desire." Sombra explained, though at the same time the Garganta shimmered before the fortress of Las Noches appeared on it's surface, or more accurately the inside of the fortress, "I guess you could say that it's exactly like the one that Aizen opened to get here, for his invasion, but this one is more permanent than his will ever be... and, to make sure that there's a line of communication between all three realms, I shall grant both Soul Society and the World of the Living one of these."
In that moment three dark spheres that were perfectly smooth, and were roughly around the size of someone's head, appeared in the air near them, though to someone that understood him they would be interested in the fact that they weren't made out of crystal, but he'd just tell them that everything he made didn't need to be made out of crystal, even if that was his specialty.
"These are special communication spheres that will allow you to communicate between the realms," Sombra told the group, where one of the spheres floated over to Captain-Commander Yamamoto, who allowed his Lieutenant to gently take hold of it, while the second went over to Urahara, who nodded his head as he accepted it, before the third floated in the air near him, "with them you'll be able to speak with someone inside Hueco Mundo from either Soul Society or the World of the Living, and that includes receiving calls in the reverse direction. If something important happens, like another Captain turns traitor or a war breaks out for example, you can quickly communicate that information to whoever you deem it necessary, in case it involves either or both of the remaining two realms... and it can also be used to arrange visits, in case a Shinigami or one of my friends wanted to come over, and vise versa for the other realms."
"You make it sound like you're expecting something to happen." Ichigo said, though at the same time he stared at the sphere that Urahara was holding onto, as he had no idea that Sombra could have produced such an artifact, but he had to wonder if he was able to do it because of his new position and not because of his old powers.
"Ichigo, just because Aizen's been defeated, and his plans broken, doesn't mean that we should get lazy and ignore the possibility of there being other threats," Sombra stated, to which several heads nodded in agreement, especially since Rukia and the other Shinigami were used to there being in dangerous situations, "this just allows all of us to be in the loop in case something happens that the others need to be aware of."
Yamamoto and Urahara nodded their heads, agreeing with Sombra's statement that they shouldn't be lazy and that they should improve their skills for the future, before he turned towards the gate that he had made and waved his hand, opening the way back to Las Noches. He stood there for a moment, letting the Arrancar that had chosen to side with him enter the gateway and head back home, though he knew that this was familiar to him because he had taken over the Crystal Empire, but the main difference between then and now was that Hueco Mundo was his to rule because he was the Dios Hueco, not because he had conquered the land and beat the previous ruler. That make him remember what he had to do when he went back to Equus, if such a thing was even possible, and that was reforge the statue he had shattered so long ago, maybe even give the former ruler of the Crystal Empire her spark back, even though he knew that she would continue to dislike him anyway. He also wondered, for a moment, how Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor were doing, since he knew they were ruling the empire the last time he had shown up, though he had the feeling that they'd try to destroy him again, since the only time they had seen him was when he tried to take the empire back.
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder, where he found Yoruichi standing beside him with a smile on her face, because despite everything that had happened recently their bond was still there and she wasn't about to let it shatter or break due to his new position.
"Come on, the others are waiting for us." Yoruichi said, to which she stepped forward and approached the Garganta gateway that had been opened, though she was really interested in seeing what was in store for her now, "Besides, I'm kind of eager to see what Las Noches looks like, especially once you take control of it."
Sombra smiled and nodded his head as he followed Yoruichi into the gateway, as the next following days were going to busy for them and the rest of the Arrancar, since they had a lot to repair, including Szayelaporro's palace since Sombra had blown the thing to pieces, and a new order to install... but at the same time he was looking forward to the challenge that the future held for him, Yoruichi, and the other inhabitants of Hueco Mundo.
The first thing that Sombra had the Arrancar do, upon their return to Las Noches, was fix up Szayelaporro's palace, find a good spot for Nel and her Fraccion, which was Dondochakka and Pesche, to reside and build their own place to live, and do the same thing for Zangetsu. Surprisingly enough Sombra found that it took them roughly two hours to rebuild the destroyed palace, where Szayelaporro told him that they were always constantly rebuilding or smashing stuff when Aizen was in control, since the members of the Espada changed quite a lot before becoming the ten he knew. As such most of the original palaces, save for Aaroniero's, had been smashed when the original Espada was demoted and the new member that took their position, though Harribel had kept some of Nel's things to remember the member she had replaced as the Tres Espada. Since no one wanted to build on the remains of Aaroniero's palace they also demolished it, taking all of a few moments to do so, before they got to work building two new palaces in different parts of the fortress, all while making sure they were connected to everything else that existed in Las Noches. Sombra, for the most part, did as he said he would and removed the roof of Las Noches, since many of them liked the night sky, but, since he was the Dios Hueco, he also added in a few hours of the day where the natural light of the sun was replicated in this world, surprising him for a moment before he guessed that Hueco Mundo obeyed the will of the Hollow God.
Once he had done that, however, Sombra used his power to modify the five pillars that made up the palace of Hueco Mundo, shifting them into a single mass that he remade into a quartz version of the Crystal Palace, and it took him some time to remodel the insides to match his memories. Part of the reason why he did that was because he disliked the notion of sleeping in the bed that Aizen had been sleeping in, despite the fact that Rey had gladly slept in the bed of Princess Amore after he shattered her, and Yoruichi agreed with his statement, though she was amazed by his designs, even if he was mimicking what was in his memories. The bedrooms and bathrooms were put where he remembered them, as were the library, ball room, and a number of other rooms that existed in the palace, though the one room he made a change to was the throne room, as a second throne sat next to the one that he would sit on, when such a thing was necessary. The two thrones were for him and Yoruichi, though while that decision no doubt annoyed some of the other Arrancar, like Harribel, Sombra knew that they weren't going to lash out at her, not when the threat of the Shadowlands loomed over their heads, a place that terrified the smartest of the Arrancar.
Yoruichi, seeing how many of the Arrancar might not like her since she dressed like a Shinigami, also had her own custom Arrancar style attire created for her, which was really just the same as her old clothing, the colors being the only thing that were inverted from the original... though while some didn't seem to care about her decision others seemed happy that she was accepting the fact that she was, technically, the Queen of Las Noches and Hueco Mundo, since she was the one that was closest to Sombra's heart at the moment.
By the end of the week Sombra was impressed that they were able to repair all the buildings that needed to be repaired, including the hole that Ichigo and Renji had punched into the side of Las Noches' outer wall, had built several new buildings for Nel, Zangetsu, and for whatever else they needed, and that included cutting the size of Las Noches' walls in half, as Sombra felt their original size was too much. Almost all of the Arrancar were surprised when they found the bathrooms inside the new palace, since there wasn't any water in Hueco Mundo, but once again they were stunned by Sombra's control over how things worked, as he was able to draw a bath in what was supposed to be a desert environment. He then revealed that part of his experiments as the Dios Hueco was what sort of control he had over Hueco Mundo and how it looked, because if his ascension caused stars to appear for a few moments, and he was able to modify the five pillars so easily while adding in a few hours of sunlight, he figured that creating a source of water might not be as impossible as Szayelaporro thought it would be. Sombra also explained that it had to have been the power of the previous Dios Hueco that had turned Hueco Mundo into such a desolate place, meaning that since he was far stronger than the first one of his kind he was able to overturn that power and reshape Hueco Mundo as he desired, though it was more than the realm listened to what he was suggesting and found a way to do it... and the reason he told them this was because he felt they should know the truth.
Once he showed off the new additions he had made he also modified the palaces of his followers, allowing them to have their own bathrooms, spas, or whatever type of water relaxation area they wanted in their domains, even though he found that Harribel wanted an oasis that she and her Fraccion could relax in... and when he came by about two hours later he discovered that the four of them were relaxing in their Resurreccions, as one of the rules that he removed was the whole deal about the Cuatro Espada and higher releasing their swords.
Despite many of their differences Sombra found that the majority of the Arrancar were actually trying to get to know each other, as friends and not colleagues, and that they were finding success with those that they interacted with, though Zangetsu was included in that thought. The most interesting part about that was that Grimmjow, formally the lone wolf after the death of his Fraccion, found some of the other Arrancar befriending him and started hanging out with him, and even Zangetsu, the true outsider considering he had been a Zanpakuto spirit until he abandoned Ichigo and embraced his nature as a Hollow, found the same thing happening to him. The other thing that made Sombra happy was that some of the Arrancar had taken to Yoruichi's presence, not all of them since only a week had gone by, but what interested him was that Harribel's Fraccion were the ones to befriend her first, setting an example for the others to follow. Yoruichi was happy to have some friends once that happened, though at the same time Sombra also knew that staying in this world all the time wasn't a good idea, which was why he planned on heading back to the World of the Living for a day to see how Ichigo and the others were doing.
In fact when the day of his visit arrived, something he arranged with Urahara, he made his way to the room that the gateway to the World of the Living rested, as he had moved it shortly after the palace was completed, and found Ulquiorra standing outside the throne room.
"Lord Sombra, I take it you're heading to the World of the Living?" Ulquiorra asked, though at the same time he still retained his usual expressions, despite the fact that he had some interest in Humans, or more accurately Orihime, though Sombra knew that time would change him, even if it was by a little bit.
"Yes. Yoruichi and I are heading to a party that Urahara is throwing to celebrate Aizen's defeat." Sombra replied, as that was what he had discovered when he had made the call to the World of the Living, despite the fact that it took some time to organize everything for the event, "You know, Orihime is going to be there. You sure that you don't want to come along and see how Humans celebrate something?"
"Maybe next time, my Lord." Ulquiorra answered, though as he said that Sombra had to think that the Arrancar had briefly considered going since Orihime, the Human girl that had peaked his interest in Humans, was going to be there, but at the same time Sombra decided to let the Arrancar do as he desired, "I shall watch Las Noches in your stead."
Sombra nodded his head, as despite Harribel's position as the third strongest Arrancar, after himself and Starrk, she didn't like watching over Las Noches and Ulquiorra, who had done that duty for the previous ruler, was more than happy to do so again for him. Since he had someone to watch this world while he was away, and would be in range of the sphere in case something happened, he continued down the path he had been following and joined Yoruichi, who was dressed in her normal attire, before they stepped through the gateway and headed back to the World of the Living. It took the two of them a few moments to arrive in the World of the Living, confirming that the gateway worked like it was supposed to, and after they walked outside the temple the other side was hidden in they flashed into the air and made their way to the park where the others were gathering, though it would be impossible to miss with the number of reiatsu signatures that were gathering in the area. When they arrived at the area that they would be celebrating in Sombra found that all of his Human friends were present, including the inclusion of Tatsuki, which told him that Ichigo must have broken the news to her and she was adapting to the world that she was beginning to see, and a few Shinigami were there, such as Renji and Rukia, as their respective Captains were busy and couldn't make it.
"Sombra, Yoruichi, I'm glad you could make it." Ichigo said, welcoming them to the party, as it appeared that they had been in the process of starting and was happy to see that his friend had been able to make it, especially given his new role as the King of Hueco Mundo.
"I wouldn't dream of missing this celebration," Sombra replied, where he noticed that Yoruichi went off to see what Urahara was doing, since it had been a week since they last saw each other and she didn't trust him to try anything while they were gone, before he turned and looked at someone who he didn't think would be here, "I take it you finally told Tatsuki the news that your a Substitute Shinigami?"
"Yeah, and some other things as well." Ichigo answered, his meaning being that he likely had to tell her who Sombra was and why he had lied about not seeing him, before Orihime suddenly disappeared, before he sighed, "However, that's brought up a new issue... she wants to become a Shinigami, like me, so she can help protect Karakura Town from Hollows and other threats."
"Good luck trying to convince Soul Society to let that happen." Sombra said, though he wasn't all that surprised by Tatsuki's sudden desire to help Ichigo, as he could tell that the two of them had a long history together, as friends, and that she didn't want Ichigo to shoulder this burden alone, even if he had Chad, Orihime, Sora, and Uryu to help him defend their beloved town.
He honestly had no idea what the Captain-Commander and the rest of the Shinigami were going to do if Ichigo asked them about such a thing, since he was the Substitute Shinigami for the town, but at the same time he guessed that it hardly mattered to him at all, not when his duty was keeping Hueco Mundo in one piece. At the same time, however, he had the strangest feeling that something was going to happen in the near future, because right now they were resting from their war with Aizen's army, recovering their strength, preparing for the next battle, and repairing anything that might have been broken. It was the prime opportunity for something to go wrong, something that he had warned Ichigo about after Aizen's defeat, and as much as he didn't want another war or event to happen he had the feeling that they were about to be caught in the storm of another war. Even Shokyo and Rey agreed with him, something bad was coming their way and they needed to be prepared for it, but for now he returned to the party and made sure to prepare himself for whatever their next foe brought to the table, as he had the feeling it was going to be much different than anything they had faced in the past.