The Sloth Awakes

His eyes slowly opened as Pereza began to wake up from his long sleep. He yawned widely, waiting until his blurry vision sharpened, and then sat up, turning until he was sitting on the edge of his large bed. He ruffled his hair, noting that as usual his hair was all messed up from his sleep. Not that he cared much. Pereza put on his slippers and slowly walked to the door, opening it and startling a servant who was right outside, minding his own business. I'm surprised I didn't give him a heart attack, seeing how often I come out of here. Pereza looked down upon the servant for a second, then turned and walked down the hallway, grumbling to himself as he scratched at his hollow hole.

Pereza realized that he had not given Ginbara a lot of time to explain his worries. He had been extremely annoyed to be woken up for an unplanned meeting, and he had wanted to just go back to sleep. Perhaps now I can really listen to him now. Not that it will change my mind about the whole business with Lasconni. With that, Pereza began to walk towards Ginbara's palace, wondering if he would be awake or not. With Hueco Mundo, how can you tell what time it is?

Pereza's breath was ragged and his legs felt like they were made of lead. Sweat glistening on his forehead, Pereza finally reached the outside of Ginbara's palace. Even though the building was easily within walking distance from Pereza's chambers, he hardly walked such a distance, much preferring to stay within his own palace as much as possible. He paused for a moment until he had caught his breath, and then turned towards the entrance to the palace. Pereza started to knock on the doors, but he didn't check the amount of power he put into the swing. The hinges snapped and the door toppled over, hitting the floor with a dull thud that echoed in the antechamber.

Pereza looked down, sighing. He stepped inside and lifted the door with one hand, putting it back in the entranceway. Hopefully he won't notice that for the moment. Pereza looked up to see the antechamber open up into an enormous room. High above, Pereza could swear he saw- Is that the Sexta? How does he have the energy to run like that? Pereza closed his slightly gaping mouth. Though he didn't quite shout, Pereza's voice carried throughout the entire room. "Ginbara," Let's see if I get his attention, May I speak with you?"

"Oh, sure, Pereza!" Ginbara shouted, running straight up the edge of the dome. As he reached the top, he used Sonido and appeared behind the other man. "So, what do you want to talk to be about, eh? It must be quite important if you walked all the way over here and still had enough energy to knock my door down," he said with a chuckle, frowning slightly at the cracked door.

Pereza winced a little as Ginbara noticed the door that was now leaning haphazardly. "I didn't check my power, so I apologize for that. Anyway, you can get a new one within the day." Pereza leaned against one of the pillars in the room, taking care that he didn't put all of his weight on it so that it didn't crumble. "I wanted to continue our discussion that we had after the meeting. To tell you the truth, I was cranky from having been woken up over such a formality." Not that I'm never cranky when I'm woken up, Pereza noted. Ginbara's probably thinking the same thing. He wouldn't dare say it out loud, though. "Anyway, I want you to reemphasize the points you made. Why should the the Primera, Denzeru and I be concerned about the actions of Lasconni?"

"She's playing the part, right now. She's acting as if she's a loyal, trustworthy Espada. For the most part, this bit of acting is amazing, but she slips up every once in a while, something I've noticed due to my familiarity with her mannerisms and manners of speech. When she becomes interested as she did with Sorva, she tends to forget the part she's trying to play. I'm worried that she's planning a rebellion against the Primera, Pereza. If she does, she'll seek to ally herself with you and with Denzeru, as the two strongest. She'll also likely try to have me silenced, in the event that I am right. At times, it seems like she knows I've spied on her, and that worries me," Ginbara said with a sigh, examining Pereza's face for any kind of emotion.

Pereza gave a mental grunt while listening to Ginbara. I guess there was a reason why I didn't want to deal with this earlier. It's WAY too much trouble to deal with. Pereza shifted his attention back onto Ginbara. He scratched at the remnants of his hollow mask across his nose, mulling over his thoughts carefully.

"All right, I see what your point is. Lasconni is hardly someone I'd really trust to watch my back with a dagger in her hand. But let me say why I don't fully agree with you." [i]Other than the fact that I don't really want to get involved."

"Hueco Mundo is a very loose coalition of hollows, each with his or her own agenda besides the Primera's, so I'd be willing to let some things go by unnoticed." Pereza raised a finger. "What your suggesting about Lasconni's motives is a more serious matter altogether. But I still stand by what I brought up earlier. I would not join in whatever coalition she formed against the Primera, because I like to keep my head and it'd be too much of a hassle. I don't see Denzeru really joining her either, as long as the Primera still gives him ample freedom and leisure time."

"Lasconni's incredibly smart, to the point that it should be a sin. I just don't see her planning on standing against the Primera when she has no other stronger people with her. At least, not at the moment." Pereza closed his eyes and stretched his head back, his number 2 tattoo showing in the artificial light of Hueco Mundo.

"In this war against the shinigami, Ginbara, we need Lasconni's strength. I personally think it's more likely that she'll make her move if we lose the war. Until then, I am content with her fooling around with whatever she wants. Unless of course," he added with a grim smile, "she decides not to follow the Primera's battle orders when she is needed most."

"Meanwhile," Ginbara began, glaring half-heartedly at the other man, "I get to stay on-edge like one of those fat birds in the real world, knowing that when the leaves fall it shall be slaughtered? What you propose involves me being the portly bird, and Lasconni gets to be the huntress. While I'm fast, she's intelligent, VERY intelligent. If she really tried to, she could have me killed while still seeming innocent. She won't strike out against you or Denzeru, as you two are much stronger than she and I, but I'm slightly below her in power," he said with a growl, lashing out with a kick at the pillar behind him, carving out a foot-sized hole in the marble.

"I don't like the idea of being the bait in the trap, waiting for her to make her move. I'm always the hunter, I don't like this idea of being the hunted..." Ginbara half-whined, growling some more.

Pereza looked at the antsy Espada with a bemused expression on his face. No matter what happened, he mostly admired Ginbara's seemingly limitless enthusiasm and energy, though it really irritated him at times, this moment being one of them. "I don't think Lasconni will risk fighting you either, Ginbara. As you said, you are only slightly below her in power. Even if she does succeed in defeating you, she will not get out of that fight without significant injuries. And then she would have to deal with the rest of us when we discover that you have died." Pereza spoke very bluntly, a tad uncharacteristic, hoping to drive his point across. "I don't see you as being the hunted, Ginbara. I see you and Lasconni as two fighters, trying to outmaneuver the other when they realize that the first to make a move will be at a disadvantage." Pereza straightened his back. "You'll just have to keep your wits about you, Ginbara. Keep your ears and eyes open, and she won't be able to lay a finger on you."

"Keeping my wits about me won't protect me if she decides to lay a trap like she so often does. All it takes is one well-placed trap or assault to clip my wings. If I can't escape and Sonido around, she can cut me to ribbons. I'm not much one for sacrifice, certainly not just so you can realize she's a true rat and then kill her..." Ginbara said with a growl, using Sonido to fly up through the roof of his palace, leaving a large crater there. Shooting through Las Noches, he found one of the openings in the barrier and left, ending up in the wide-open sands of Hueco Mundo. "If he won't help me, I'll just have to leave here, at least long enough to come up with a plan for that bitch..."

Pereza looked on with a wooden expression as the energetic Espada rained down bits of stone from his attempt to leave the building. He shifted his shoulders and brushed dust off of his leather. "And he makes it a deal when I destroy part of his palace." Pereza shrugged and began to walk back to his own palace, taking his time now to walk as slowly as he could. Oh well. I would bring this up to the Primera, but who knows if he'd want to hear it? And I don't feel like drawing his attention too much. The less the better.

Pereza had almost reached the entrance to his palace when he felt a small, almost insignificant source of reiatsu approaching him. Which can only be one thing... not that I like it. Just as he predicted, it was a messenger telling him that the Primera was calling a crucial meeting that all Espada were expected to attend. Pereza ran his hair through his head and sighed. "Fine. Tell him that I'll be there." The messenger bowed his head quickly and left without another word.

Pereza closed his eyes slightly. In his palace's bedroom, his zanpakuto began to quiver and then shot out of the room, zooming through hallways before flying through a window and right into the hand of Pereza. He slowly set it onto his back, and then began to shuffle his way in the opposite direction, towards the Assembly Hall.

{Exit to Assemble the Army}