[52] Go along with it.
[2] Break past her and run for it!
The Espada leaves and you follow, waiting to exit last. As the door closes you feel Shawlong glare at your back.
"Don't worry about him." The woman, Odelschwanck, assures you as she leads you to an intersection. Once there you proceed down a direction that you think leads deeper into the warren of tunnels and rooms. "Jaegerjaquez and his fraccion are impulsive, violent, beings, but they aren't the kind of person that would attack a confirmed ally without good reason."
As you climb a flight of stairs Tatsuki clears her throat. "So uh, thanks for back there."
At the top the woman turns, and when she smiles it's like her face changes completely. The red mark across her nose looks cheerful and her eyes shine, even the sword at her waist ceases to menace. "I was happy to help. We arrancar are supposed to have risen above our savage origins, and being able to help a hollow that was friends with a human was a unique and worthy experience."
"Thanks anyway. That guy was tough."
"I suppose he would seem that way to a human." And with that she's off again. The stairs turn and wind up and up- you had no idea you were so far underground, but when they finally end it's to let you out into a wide courtyard, about as wide as a track field. There's a raised dias in the middle that holds your friend's attention.
"It's a ring." She says at your questioning look.
"How can you tell?"
"The stone is all scuffed up."
And sure enough it is. Well how about that.
There's two guys fighting on it now, and your . . . guide leads you over to them.
As you watch you change your mind. These guys aren't fighting, they're just fucking around, trying to get behind each other and slap them in the back. Both have masks that cover nearly their entire heads and are of average height, but where one's tall and wears tight white clothing the other is fat and wears a baggy white hoody that obscures the rest of his head. The thin one has a vaguely beetle-like mask with horns and the other's looks like the wrong side of a tiki-shop, complete with gaudy paint in primary colors.
"Nel-sama!" The both chorus in unison as you approach, saluting the green-haired woman enthusiastically. "We have been training as per your instructions."
The thin one continues, "I have an idea for a combination attack, a really good one this time. Uh. Who are they?"
"Is that a human or a shinigami?" The fat one asks, which makes the thin one recoil in horror.
"Do you really think so, brother?"
"She might be, doncha know! Look at that evil frown!"
You glance right and, sure enough, Tatsuki is frowning.
Nel, the Espada, steps in then. "Pesche, Dondochakkka, be reasonable. Would I bring a shinigami to you?"
". . . No."
"Right. This is, ah, sorry. I didn't hear your names." She admits abashedly.
"Whitey and Tatsuki." Tatsuki says with a smirk.
"Yes, Whitey and Tatsuki. Tatsuki is a human. I found them about to fight with another espada's fraccion, but when I realized that they were good people I couldn't let them be my enemy."
"I'm Pesche, and that lug's Dondochakka." The thin hollow says with a gesture to indicate the large spirit beside him.
"Nice to meet you."
Formalities out of the way, you turn to Nel. "So I guess we're your fraccion now. It woulda gotten a bit messy fighting out way out, so I guess we owe you that much, at least for a while."
Dondochakka puffs up and his mask opens its jaw as he begins a blustery retort, but Nel waves him down. "No, I suppose I can't expect lifelong service after press-ganging you, regardless of the benefits. But I hope you will stay. There might be . . . problems." She glances at Tatsuki thoughtfully. "But we are members of a great organization filled with many diverse members. I'm sure things will work out."
"Some of the others won't like it, doncha know."
Nel smiles beatifically. "Some of the others can deal with it."
This Nel lady is a lot like how you'd imagine an adult Orihime, except with bigger boobs. You're sure that sweater is clamping them down at least some, but you always thought those pictures were photoshopped or something. She's definitely got the same sort of hidden backbone.
. . . There's a joke about a strong backbone being a requirement for being so top-heavy, but you're not going to make it.
"Though I suppose that there's no point in unnecessary conflict." Nel purses her lips as she thinks. "Yes. Whitey, Tatsuki? You could avoid a great deal of negative pressure if you were to demonstrate your strength here. Everyone knows that Pesche and Dondochakka blurt out whatever on their mind and can't lie to save their lives, so there's no need to find a huge audience."
"You mean you want us to fight each other?" Tatsuki asks, interested despite herself. She probably wants a rematch.
"I would prefer you to spar with my other fraccion, for a better benchmark."
Well they look interested. Not in a 'I'm going to kill you' way, but in a curious way.
Tatsuki steps forward. "Sure, I'm game."
But you're interested in bigger fish. Spiritual power grows when fighting powerful opponents, you know that in your gut. So . . . why not Nel?
Who do you fight
[] Fight Pesche and Dondochakka
[] Fight Tatsuki instead
[] Fight Nel instead
[] Don't fight
How do you fight?
[] Don't use your mask
[] Use your mask