Chapter 11: Zanpakuto?
Rain fell down and struck the land in small resounding echoes that originated from tempered steel as turbulent winds wrought havoc across the hill of swords.
A woman shivered, her mirror like eyes surveying the world around her. A thin white veil was wrapped around her, the rest of her body covered by layers of flowing blue silk that stretched down to drag over the ground. Her hair was a deep silver, her lips spread in a thin line that stood in contrast to her naturally passive and rounded face.
"What is this place?" The woman muttered to herself, raising a hand and watching as the droplets gathered on her palm.
It had been a question that had continued to plague her mind without end.
This wasn't her home.
Her path of perfection.
Her name was Kyoka Suigetsu, a Zanpakuto, the weapon of a Shinigami, but more specifically, she was the spirit that represented the sword and ideals of Aizen Sosuke, her master.
His was an ideal that sought after perfection, a tranquil world without deficiency like the clear surface of a mirror. Likewise, as his partner, and soul formed of the master's will, she was the same.
Therefore, she shivered once more as the once tranquil space she found herself in continued to change itself.
"The master is sad,"
It was a common occurrence that even she could easily understand. With the rise and fall of the wielder's emotions, the inner world in which she resides in would change like the coming of a high tide.
The rain represented that sentiment of sadness, and even if this wasn't her original master, she still wished for the world to return to tranquility. The stillness of a floating river lily was what she embodied.
Perfection was what she sought like her master.
A world where others could not bind her.
And a world where no one stood above her.
This was perfection of a certain fleeting moment where there was truly nothing that could alter and ripple the stillness of her perfect and tranquil world.
The rain dampened her hair, droplets racing down her smooth and pale skin, her senses once again alerting her of the numerous stares on her person.
Specters, all of them.
Their forms were vague with no defining details even on their faces. It could be said that in this world full of swords in which she had entered, only she possessed colour and identity.
She walked casually across the hill of swords, stopping upon a single growing tree in which a sword and sheath lay with the hazy figure of a woman leaning her back against the tree.
The specters followed her, discussing quietly amongst themselves as they watched a short distance away.
"You are?" The woman by the tree asked, her voice tired, yet regal.
She inclined her head before she spoke. "Kyoka Suigetsu," she introduced. "May I take shelter beneath this tree from the rain?"
The woman gave a curt nod before freeing some space by her side.
Voicing her thanks, she pressed down on her clothes and sat down to rest.
Thunder began to resound in the distance, and the woman leaning against the tree pursed her lips before frowning. The specters still around the tree were of similar expressions.
"I hate the rain and the thunder," the woman spoke after a moment.
She nodded. "Any Zanpakuto would as the weather represents the master's emotions."
The pitter patter of the rain echoed off across the ensuing silence before a specter of a man approached.
"You know what we are?" The man asked.
"Of course," she answered naturally with a small inflection in her voice. "You, all of you," she pointed around. "Are Zanpakuto, spirits that embody the master's ideals." Maybe, she couldn't help but think.
After all, she had never seen so many Zanpakuto spirits in the mindscape of a single individual, let alone what they would represent. As she once stated, each Zanpakuto spirit represents the ideals, or part of the soul of its wielder, and therefore, a frightening thought struck her mind. To contain so many spirits, how many faucets and identities did the wielder possess?
She shook her head as another specter approached, this time a man and a woman holding hands.
"Then why aren't we like you?" They asked. "Why do we not have identity, and are instead shrouded in this dark mist?"
Kyoka pondered silently to herself before broaching the question. "It's simple, none of you have yet to call on him. Whereas I have already been recognized by my master," she explained. "As I am now, I would still appear as a specter in front of this new wielder, but at least in here, I know who I am. Thus, my identity is not hidden in the shadows."
The specters slowly digested what they had heard before a majority began to wander away and disappear back into their specific weapons, leaving behind only the woman leaning against the tree and the male specter who now carried a red spear tucked around his arm.
The male specter smiled before rudely shoving out his own spot to sit by the tree.
She glared at him, but turned her face away when her actions were only met with a devilish smile. What a brute, she mentally insulted him.
"Say Kyo," the male specter began. "Do you-"
"Kyoka," she interrupted with a huff.
The male specter paused for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders.
"Anyways, Kyo," the male specter ignored her request. Kyoka's gaze frosted over. "Any tips to get recognized by the master? I want to fight already," the specter complained.
Kyoka didn't answer and just crossed her arms instead, earning herself an exasperated sigh from the male.
The woman leaning on the tree let out a small resigned smile before deciding to mediate between the two. "Kyoka, he didn't truly mean anything by dismissing your request, and in fact is actually behaving quite well based on his violent personality," she explained. She elaborated further by explaining that the male specter would often pick fights with the other spirits rather than talk at all.
The expression of Kyoka's face lightened, but she was still angered and it showed in her voice. "Your voice will not reach him as you are now," she said dismissively to the male specter before gaining an edge of superiority. "But I can, as I'm already a fully formed spirit. I can then allow you to transmit your thoughts if I wanted to."
"Then you'll help?" The man asked even while grinning.
She didn't answer, and instead directed her gaze up at the clouds. Thus, began the annoyance that was the male specter.
Still though, she wanted what was happening outside with the new wielder to come to an end and return to tranquility.
Because amidst the raining sky, large gears began forming, spinning in motion as torrents of fire began to brew.
He was furious, of that there was no doubt, but Shirou still made sure to keep a level head.
His eyes were trained on the back of the intruder before him. Long blue hair fell down past the intruder's waist, his entire body armoured with sleek hollow bone plate aside from his head. From each of his elbows elongated out, were a large and sharp spike.
Harribel stood in front of the intruder, and based on the previous discussion between them, he had gleamed that the intruder's name was Grimmjow.
Harribel's eyes were cold, but he could clearly see the intention to fight within them. However, and unexpectedly, she drew back her sword and alerted Grimmjow of his presence behind him.
As Grimmjow turned around, he finally got a good view of his face.
Grimmjow had elongated canines, was his first observation, that and an unconcealed blood lust.
"Good good!" Grimmjow spoke in elation. "It doesn't matter if there are more of you, I'll crush you both!"
Harribel narrowed her eyes before speaking. "You alone will not be enough," she said before standing protectively in front of Sung-Sun and Apacci.
Grimmjow laughed as he understood the meaning of Harrible's words. It was clearly an insult, but her sentence alone conveyed the fact that she was not going to be taking part. One opponent at a time was far more convenient for him unless they were as weak as the previous two Vasto Lordes. However, based on the power the both of them were exuding, he didn't believe he would be disappointed at all.
"So, it's you," Grimmjow spoke as he got himself into a battle-ready stance facing towards Shirou. "Well, lets see how you're going to stop me."
Shirou didn't answer and instead leapt a far distance away from Harribel where she was protecting the others.
Grimmjow quickly followed.
As Grimmjow's feet gently set down on the sand, Shirou raised his hands and willed for two swords to form, the one's he was most familiar with.
A blade of the darkest black, and another of the palest white.
Kanshou and Bakuya.
"You are truly an idiot," the voice of a woman spoke in his mind. "How can you call out to them without truly knowing what they are?"
He didn't show any outward change in expression, but inwardly amidst the anger he was feeling towards Grimmjow, he was greatly confused.
"To think that that brute could be so annoying," the woman muttered to herself.
He couldn't think much on the woman's voice as the momentary distraction it had caused was enough for Grimmjow to land a blow to his face.
Spittle flew towards the ground as Grimmjow furrowed his brows. He wasn't expecting for his hit to land at all based on the strength and quick wit of his opponent. But still, he wasn't one to think while fighting. He pressed his advantage.
Shirou stabbed a blade into the ground to stop his momentum, and quickly bent backwards as sharp claws nearly stabbed into his chest.
He grunted as he willed for the formation of seven swords in the air.
Grimmjow's eyes widened as he sensed the danger. Those swords, he made them?
Shirou willed the swords to shoot down, each flying at break-neck speeds and heavily cratering the sand upon impact.
When the dust cleared, Grimmjow stood bleeding from his forearms, his arms crossed to defend himself. "You," he spoke. Breaking his own rule to never speak in combat. "You made these?" He asked, staring at the remains of the swords on the ground.
At this point he knew it was a rhetorical question, but still he wanted to hear a spoken answer. After all, it was specifically because of these swords that he was quickly able to rise in power and he didn't want to owe anyone. He fought and shed much blood to possess the bounty of swords he had acquired in the cave using his own power, and now he had just witnessed the sword's origin.
Shirou nodded before raising his blades up into a stance.
Well shit, Grimmjow cursed. If he could turn back time, he wouldn't have used those swords to fuel his evolution. His pride would not have allowed it. His strength should be gained using his own power. Unfortunately, he could do nothing to change anything.
Suddenly his eyes gleamed. If he was able to defeat this other Vasto Lorde before him, the one who created all the swords, doesn't that mean he had a right to all the swords in the area? He mulled the thoughts over in his head and realized that yes he would. For he obtained the swords using his own power.
From this single conclusion, Grimmjow's blood lust sky rocketed, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Shirou," Harribel warned in the distance, sensing the sudden rise in Grimmjow's power. Glancing down at Sung-Sun and Apacci, she made the decision to move them farther away before she continued to observe.
Not even a second after Harribel's warning, Grimmjow was on Shirou, attacking with swift kicks and devastating punches that generated shockwaves.
Shirou was weaving in-between each punch, his arms swiftly lashing out with his blades, yet in close combat both seemed to be even. Each strike he sent was blocked by one of the spiked protrusions on Grimmjow's elbows.
"Will you not call on them? The power of the swords in your hand." The voice of the woman once again resounded in Shirou's mind.
He gritted his teeth as he saw an opening and lunged forward towards Grimmjow's chest. Once again, he was blocked by the spiked protrusion from Grimmjow's elbow.
"If you truly called their names and spirit, those bladed spikes would be nothing compared the edge of your blade."
Call their names? His mind was distracted in the middle of battle, but his body moved on its own to defend against the onslaught of attacks.
Roaring, he pushed out with both Kanshou and Bakuya and broke apart Grimmjow's guard.
"Cero!" The two yelled.
Subsequently, the two were forced apart as both of their ceros collided at the center producing a large cloud of smoke.
Shirou landed with his feet on the ground, his heels digging large grooves in wake of his backwards momentum. Grimmjow on the other hand tumbled across the ground before righting himself with an arm and two of his legs spread out.
Harribel narrowed her eyes as she watched. From the looks of the exchange, it was Shirou who won out, but even though Grimmjow was injured with small burns running across his body, the pressure and blood-lust he was emitting only increased further.
Shirou stared across at Grimmjow, a thin sheen of sweat coating his brow. Grimmjow was nowhere near as strong as Baraggan, but the contrast between both of them was what they represented. Baraggan was the aspect of time, while Grimmjow only seemed to embody sheer aimless destruction.
There was no way to truly defeat a person like this and expect them to change their personality so easily.
He dismissed Kanshou and Bakuya, leaving himself empty handed as Grimmjow quickly appeared at his side with his claws extended.
"Listen to the voices of those within you," The voice of the woman spoke once again as he closed his eyes to think.
Blood for blood.
Destruction for destruction.
He would face Grimmjow head on using a means the enemy understood most.
Trace On.
A connection was suddenly formed in his mind, a feint silhouette taking shape within his vision. And with that, a red spear formed within his hands.
"I was once held by the hands of a witch." The voice that spoke this time was not the woman's, instead it was gruff with the undertones of savagery hidden in between the lines.
With the red spear formed in his hands, an intense blood lust far larger than the one Grimmjow was emitting was released.
Grimmjow momentarily staggered in surprise, but none was more surprised than Harribel who had never seen Shirou ever emit any sort of blood-lust when fighting an enemy. Even when Shirou fought Baraggan, he always did so without giving anything away, but the moment that red spear came out? She involuntarily shivered as her eyes thoroughly inspected the red spear.
With a bang, the spear grated against Grimmjow's arm, the bladed edge digging into his skin.
"Damn it!" Grimmjow, pushed his arm off and twisted his body to elbow Shirou.
The bladed spike rushed towards Shirou's chest, but the red spear rose to meet it.
At this point, the blood lust was becoming palpable, the air growing heavy and a sinking fear taking root in Grimmjow's gut. Yet who was he to feel fear? He grinned, unexpectedly matching the expression on Shirou's face as he let himself be effected by the blood lust.
"I was then held by the hands of a warrior," The voice of the man continued to speak within Shirou's mind. Each word spoken was the signal for a new surge in blood lust, and an increased drive for destruction.
His hands and feet were moving on their own accord, the once hazy image of the man in his vision becoming clearer. No sooner than he realized this fact, he quickly understood that his body was mimicking the actions of the very man in his vision.
With the red spear in the man's hand, he seemed to be killing countless soldiers across an imaginary plain.
Stab.
Sweep.
Punch.
Every action the man took, his body accurately performed as he was becoming more and more in sync as time progressed.
Wounds that did not heal were starting to appear one by one on Grimmjow's body: Cuts, bruises, and even stab ones.
"I am the one who spilt blood upon the plains."
"Bastard!" Grimmjow cursed as a cut formed just over his brow. He quickly saw an opening and struck Shirou in the chest, stabbing his claws and dragging them down to gouge three deep scars. He grinned for a moment, but quickly clicked his tongue.
High speed regeneration, Grimmjow quickly noted as he ducked away from an over head sweep. He just didn't get it. Shirou's fighting style, it had completely changed along with the need for destruction that suddenly appeared in Shirou's eyes. Ever since he had switched to that red spear, the fighting style Shirou had adopted was far more similar to his own.
Brutal and savage.
Hell, all of Shirou's attacks seemed to be aimed at the center of his chest. If not for his sheer agility, he held no doubts that any other hollow would have been speared through and died by now. Adrenaline was coursing through his blood, his mind utterly blank except for the compulsion to kill. This was what true battle was like.
Live or die, he would regret nothing.
Grimmjow roared as he once again began his assault.
Blood continued to spray in small drizzles from both combatants onto the sand, the pale white becoming a pungent red.
"I am the bearer of a curse."
"The means of a sure death."
Suddenly Shirou pulled back, spun the spear in his hands, and clipped Grimmjow in the jaw, sending him flying up into the air. The sheer power put into the strike letting out a miniature shockwave at the point of impact.
Grimmjow spat out blood as he flew up in an arc before suddenly getting kicked down back towards the ground.
"Now, in this moment of violence and destruction."
Shirou's arm pulled back from where he was hovering, his eyes dead set on the prone body beneath him as the spear in his hand aligned itself with his line of sight. He cocked his arm, his muscles rippling as he strengthened his grip.
"Call my name."
"Gae Bolg!"
In that moment, the world became still as the once vague image of the man in front of Shirou's vision instantly cleared. The man turned around and spoke with a laugh. "My spear is your spear. From this day forth, we are partners."
The sky was instantly blotted in flecks of red, numerous red spears multiplying from one and showering down towards the ground like a carpet bomb. Each exploded upon impact, giving way to turbulent winds that forced Harribel back a few steps, and even caused her to shield her eyes.
This was an action she would not have done even if a cero was blasted in front of her, yet the scope of the damage produced and the backlash caused was not something to take lightly. Even some of the quart coloured trees in the area were uprooted and sent stumbling across the sky.
"Is this the true extent of your power?" Harribel muttered to herself, feeling a tad inadequate and deciding to bolster her own strength. Still, she felt somewhat happy that he was displaying this much power for the sake of Apacci and Sung-Sun, and maybe even herself. That last thought gave her pause, but she quickly thought nothing of the feeling in her chest.
She continued to watch mutely as each explosion whittled away at Grimmjow's defenses until all the spears exploded at once.
The blood lust was still present in the air, and Harribel found herself once again involuntarily shivering. If she was in Grimmjow's place, how would she have escaped? The sheer range of the attack Shirou had just used was way too large to evade it in time. Rather, she would probably do what Grimmjow had done and gather all her spiritual power into strengthening her defenses.
Up at in the air, Shirou surveyed the damage he'd done before slowly drifting towards the ground where he let out a breath of exhaustion. He didn't foresee just how much energy that one attack would expend. Although he had a vague idea about the consumption of the attack, as soon as he'd utilized it with his being resonating with the vague image of the man, the consumption suddenly skyrocketed.
He sucked in a breath, and like Harribel, decided to wait for the dust to settle down.
Breathing heavily, Grimmjow stared up at the dim lit sky of Hueco Mundo and raised a battered arm out as if to grasp the moon.
He wouldn't accept this.
He couldn't accept this!
Yet the strength and power of that destruction had been enough to overwhelm even him.
He grunted as he spat out blood, realizing that life was quickly leaving his body.
He glared at that neutral gaze in the distance as his consciousness slowly began to leave him. From there, he suddenly burst into laughter, not caring that the action only served to force more blood out of his wounds.
You bastard. His gaze seemed to convey what could not be said from his mouth, for at this point he was too exhausted to even speak. It doesn't matter how you hide it.
The crater of sand he was in continued to grow deeper and deeper, the impact of such an attack great enough to punch a hole into the Menos Forest that the sand was slowly pouring into, and he along with it.
That familiar moment of sheer blood lust and destruction.
You can't hide it from me.
Because after all, beneath that neutral mask,
Grimmjow closed his eyes as his body began to disappear beneath the sand.
You and I are the same.
Shirou watched closely as Grimmjow's body fell into the Menos Forest, focusing intently on the ever-fading flame of life he could still feel beneath the sand. Moments later, he could feel it no more, and thus he finally turned his attention back to Harribel and the injured.
"How are they?" He asked.
Harribel laid down her blade and gently inspected both Apacci's and Sung-Sun's wounds. "We're hollows," she explained. "As long as we get enough spiritual energy, the wounds should naturally heal with our innate regeneration."
He nodded in understanding, and knelt down before laying a hand over both Sung-Sun and Apacci.
Harribel furrowed her brows, understanding what it was he intended to do. "They're Vasto Lordes now," she said. "The amount of spiritual energy they'd need to recover their wounds is quite extensive."
"They can't absorb the spiritual energy of the swords around us as they are unconscious, thus this is the best way. A direct transfer," he said as he began to circulate his spiritual energy into his palms.
Harribel's eyes softened before she spoke. "Then let me," she insisted. "I was the one who sent them here, and you have just finished a battle." She could have done it earlier, but she would of have had to give up her ability to fight and defend. This was inconceivable in the moments before as she needed to defend Sung-Sun and Apacci from any inadvertent, or misdirected attacks that came in her direction. Now with the danger gone, Shirou had beat her too it.
Not taking no for an answer, Harribel quickly placed her own hands on Apcci and Sung-Sun and administered a large amount of her own spiritual energy into the two, leaving any energy Shirou wanted to share utterly unnecessary.
The wounds on Sung-Sun and Apacci began to heal at a visible rate, the influx of spiritual energy triggering a hollow's innate high-speed regeneration. Their complexions soon returned to a rosy hue, as both their breathing became less laboured.
Harribel stood up after administering her spiritual energy. She staggered for a moment, but quickly righted herself by leaning on her blade. "You owe me one," she ended up speaking indifferently. The fight with Grimmjow should of have had been hers to avenge Sung-Sun and Apacci after all.
Even if Grimmjow was strong, she was confident that she was still stronger, yet she had conceded her right to battle after seeing the look in Shirou's eyes.
Shirou smiled. "I understand," he spoke with a nod.
Her lips pulling into a faint smile, Harribel quickly picked up both Apacci and Sung-Sun with the strength she had left, and departed toward her resting area: the place where she, Sung-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apacci regularly stayed.
Left alone, Shirou finally brought his attention on the vague image of the floating woman with her arms crossed before him.
Based on her posture, she didn't appear very happy standing next to the clear image of the man in a blue skin-tight body suit holding Gae Bolg in his hand.
The man had short and spiked blue-hair. The colour of his pupils was red, and his face was square with a narrowed chin. He also wore a pair of long silver earrings on each ear.
From the looks of things as Harribel departed, she didn't notice the two even with her keen eyes, therefore he quickly concluded that he alone was the only one who could see them.
A savage smile was over the man's face as he happily slung an arm around the floating woman's shoulder.
The woman suddenly bristled as she slapped the arm away before giving the man the cold shoulder with a resounding humph of disdain.
"Don't be like that Kyo," the man spoke. "I was just showing my appreciation for the help."
"Then do so by never bothering me again," Kyoka spoke.
Shirou who had been silently observing the two interact all along, finally voiced a question. "Who are you two?"
The two floating figures paused, before the man stepped up and slung the red spear over a shoulder. "I'm Gae Bolg," the man spoke.
Confused with the answer, Shirou didn't persist, and instead turned his attention on the woman. "Like I've stated before, I'm not so crass of a woman to chase after another man; let alone someone who hasn't earned the right. You may remember my name, but you don't know me for who I am." The woman spoke with a flourish.
The man called Gae Bolg scratched his head before speaking out. "You can just call her Kyo," he explained.
Kyoka leveled the hardest gaze she had ever given to anyone, but still deemed it beneath her to personally act. Still, "call me Kyoka," she ended up saying, thoroughly incensed that anymore people would begin to simply call her Kyo.
Shirou nodded, and didn't know what else to say afterwards. Confused as he was, Kyoka would have none of it as she hastily spoke.
"Finished with your business?" She asked, her voice calm and tranquil. It wasn't even that far of a stretch to call it perfect. "If so, then hurry and be rid of the rain."
Gae Bolg nodded. "Indeed, the rain makes it hard to do battle, and even then, victory in the rain makes everything quite dreary."
Shirou blanked. He really had no idea what these two were talking about.
It was then, sighing with exasperation that the woman gently sat herself down on the ground without wrinkling her clothes. She stared up at Shirou, motioning for him to sit across from her as she subsequently gave shooing motions at Gae Bolg who reluctantly faded away from sight. After all, even if he was a tad uncultured, even he could understand that he was in Kyoka's debt as she had helped him manifest before his master.
With Gae Bolg gone, and Kyoka sitting across from him, Shirou waited patiently for Kyoka to speak.
She didn't do anything at first, other than keenly stare at him with a discerning eye, but she eventually sighed before leaning forward on her elbows before speaking. The motion itself could be described as elegant, and even then, it did little to express just how perfect it was. For she was a spirit that reflected the perfection Aizen sought in his own soul.
"I am what is called a Zanpakuto spirit," she spoke slowly so as not to confuse any words she was about to say. "Now you better listen closely, because I won't be repeating the words I say again, and don't think I don't know that you're still absently thinking about that hollow that went to the human world."
Shirou just scratched his head sheepishly.
At least eight or so nights had passed since Silent had left Hueco Mundo to explore the human world, and she was just about ready to briefly return, but something unexpected had come up.
For the past few days, the boy, Ishida, had thought it his responsibility to instruct her on how to use her bow. And thus, she had complied as she thought the matter to be highly interesting. From the basic stances, to the higher levels of aiming, all were things her body seemed to have already been trained in. In fact, her vast improvements greatly shocked Ishida who was loath to admit anything about it.
These days, he now seemed to wear a conflicted sort of expression on his face. His hands constantly clenching into fists when he thought she wasn't looking. Furthermore, he now continued to train until his hands bled from excessive use. Still, he was making leaps and bound in his own training, and somehow, she felt happy for him. It wasn't just because his face seemed to remind her of someone, but she was just genuinely happy to see someone who's treated her well improve though his own efforts. Regardless though, his goal seemed to be to surpass her arrows in fire power, or at least be able to match them. In which case if he couldn't, he had once said that he would match the power of her arrows with sheer quantity.
On another note, the unexpected situation occurred when she decided to tail him secretly on the last day before she decided to leave to report back to her friends at Hueco Mundo.
It was particularly involving an orange-haired youth that Ishida was quietly watching from afar. He wore a white buttoned polo with short rolled-up sleeves, and a pair of dark blue denim jeans. In his hands was a small satchel that he carried by hanging the handle of the bag over one of his shoulders.
She couldn't see his face from her vantage point on top of one the roofs of the many houses in the area, but his silhouette alone was enough to send the equivalent of a bolt of lightning smashing into her.
She had quickly retreated back into the forest Ishida was having her stay at the time, trying to get her emotions sorted out before doing anything reckless.
And thus, was her current predicament. Should she return, or sate the growing need and longing within her?
Eight or so days wasn't exactly long for hollows, she reasoned, letting her compulsions win through. Besides, she didn't think she would make that big of a deal even if she stayed for a month.
She nodded her head. Regardless of anything, she needed to make sure that she returned with answers.
Therefore, after practicing with Ishida again on the following day, she quickly began tailing him once more in hopes of running into that orange-haired youth.
What she didn't seem to understand at that moment however, was the attention she was bringing to herself every time she left the reiatsu suppressant properties of the forest Ishida used for training. Particularly, the black cat that immediately put aside what it was doing previously to quickly vanish in the direction of a particular candy shop.
But that was a matter she could care less about.
Her hopes of the day were not in vain as Ishida once again decided to observe that orange-haired youth. However, this time when Ishida left, she decided not to follow him, and instead remained to observe the orange-haired youth.
She could feel her blood pulsing, her mouth suddenly going dry as she leapt from building to building, sometimes street lights. All the same, her attention was always on the back of the youth, watching as he bickered with the raven-haired girl walking by his side.
The girl was wearing the same buttoned polo the youth was wearing, but it was more of a targeted design towards females as a red bow-knot-ribbon was tied around the collar. Different from the youth wearing jeans, the girl wore a skirt.
Oddly, there were moments where the two seemed to quite down, and the girl would look in her direction holding a blinking device, although each time she would simply duck out of sight.
Other than that, the youth and the girl walked to the front of a small building, half clinic and half house.
She quietly made her way to stand on the roof, the feeling of dejavu she felt upon seeing the home still yet to leave.
Slowly, she lowered her head to glance into the window at the front of the house, watching quietly as the girl the youth was bickering with made her way to seclude herself inside the youth's closet? For some reason, she felt that fact alone was a tad weird, but ever since she'd come to the human world, a lot of things didn't make much sense.
As for the youth, he wasn't in the room at the moment.
Nodding her head, she decided to continue her observations in the following day.
She jumped down onto the ground in front of the house before taking a few steps away.
By now, Ishida should have arrived back at the forest, and would probably begin looking for her if she didn't return soon. As much as she might enjoy watching him run around the town looking for her, she still didn't feel like troubling Ishida who had been nothing but courteous towards her. After all, he even bought her a change of clothes to wear after mentioning that a lady shouldn't wear such revealing clothing. Therefore, she was wearing a white T-shirt with a flaming skull depicted at the center, and jeans that fit perfectly around her legs.
Walking away, she paused briefly for a moment and turned her attention back on the clinic, frowning, before she left in a hurry, feeling as if something was twisting her gut.
In her haste, she didn't hear the choked gasp and the shattering of glass as she left.
Nor did she slow down when the clinic's door was roughly kicked open and a desperate pair of eyes lingered in the direction of her departure.
Chapter 12
As soon as Brans woke up, he felt extremely tired, his body in a great deal of pain, however, he was a smart hollow and he didn't know where he was and what had happened. Therefore, as soon as he woke up, he didn't move and instead used his eyes to survey his surroundings. At least one advantage of still being an Adjuchas was the mask on his face. Even for a Shinigami, one would not know if a hollow with a mask was awake or not. They simply had no eye-lids to blink.
Still, if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he had managed to get away.
The room he was currently in had no roof, only four walls that covered him on either side, yet that alone was enough for him to confirm something. He was back in Hueco Mundo, the moon in the sky, and the feel of the environment was uncanny.
Then why hadn't he been eaten?
He held no notions of how life was like for hollows outside of his King's domain. It was a world of eat or be eaten, and with his condition he wouldn't have been surprised if he woke up within the consciousness of another hollow. Clearly, this was not the case.
Even as he lay motionless, he couldn't feel his arms, let alone work up enough energy from his legs to carry himself out of here. Still, he didn't remember four walls around him before he passed out, so he must have had been moved.
"I know you're awake hollow," a clear voice spoke before a hollow appeared at the entrance of the room.
"You're lucky Lord Baraggan has spared your life," the hollow sneered before tossing the remains of another hollow before speaking again. "Eat."
He was stunned for a moment. "Baraggan?" He ended up saying.
The hollow didn't answer, and instead turned to leave without another word.
He didn't call after him, nor did he even move for that matter, too caught up in his own disbelief. Of all the hollows, he knew that would have helped him in his situation, Baraggan was definitely not one of them. In fact, he considered Baraggan far too dangerous to even approach.
Noticing that the hollow had left, it was only then that he decided to prop his body up. Some of his wounds spouted blood, but he knew that as long as he could consume some spiritual energy, the self-healing that all hollows possessed would immediately begin the process of recovery.
He had lost his arms which made balancing a tad harder in a sitting position, but at least he had his wings to act as propping stands.
He grimaced. That Shinigami was ruthless.
The amount of spiritual energy required for a hollow to recover one's arms was exponential, and thus most hollows would have no chance to recover, and instead had a higher probability of getting consumed and assimilated by another. However, He didn't worry about that particular matter. After all, what was spiritual energy when his homeland was literally drowned in it in the form of swords and weapons?
Staring at the offered remains of food the hollow had given him, his eyes turned disdainful. There was no point in eating another hollow for power. To him, all that would entail was having another consciousness in his soul fighting for dominance like many of the other hollows in Hueco Mundo and the Menos Forest. It was entirely ineffective and would only serve to hinder him. Besides, the swords in his King's domain were far more effective, looking just alone at the number of Adjuchas and new Vasto Lordes in the territory.
It was natural that he didn't even bother eating. Instead, he pulled from the meager amounts of spiritual energy he had been able to gather while he was asleep and forced it down to his legs. With the power provided, he staggered onto his feet and made his way out of the room.
He had never been to Baraggan's Kingdom, and as such was unfamiliar with the structures of the area. It was like a large maze with open rooms and tall spiralling spires with small pathways that bridged the gap between them. Internally, he was criticizing the surroundings as he went since nothing in his mind could ever compete with his home.
He quickened his pace.
How long had he been incapacitated for?
It was the only question running through his mind. Thinking clearly, from what he remembered of that Shinigami, Kisuke Urahara, he would not let Silent go if she was discovered. And that reason alone was more than enough for him to strain himself to report back to his King.
Still, he suddenly froze in his wandering when he stumbled upon a court of hollows, more importantly when his eyes landed on a figure siting on a throne of bones.
"Ah, the little bird has woken up," Baraggan spoke.
"Baraggan," he addressed curtly with only a slight nod to show some respect to a hollow of Baraggan's power. However, he would never bow to someone other than his King,
Baraggan took note of this and only grunted. "You belittle me over that silent idler you call a King?"
He didn't respond, and just stared indifferently. Live or die, it was Baraggan's choice, and the fact that Baraggan had already once allowed him to live meant that he wouldn't kill him now.
Baraggan crossed his arms and stared before he let out a breath. "Your loyalty is admirable," he spoke.
He once again didn't say anything, but he completely understood what Baraggan had meant. If it was any lesser hollow, they would have long since bowed and did their utmost to please Baraggan to increase their chances of survival, yet he was different.
"Go then, and tell that King of yours that he owes this mighty one a favour," Baraggan said as he directed the hollows in his court to part like the red sea.
A path out of Baraggan's domain was opened before him, with rows of hungry hollows aligning either side. Yet none dared attack him for Baraggan had allowed him to go, and Baraggan's word was law.
He stumbled forward, but immediately caught himself. Thinking about the distance from his location back to the King's domain, a shudder traveled down his back. He really didn't know if his body could hold out, and even when Baraggan had noticed, the prideful King never said anything about it.
His will and devotion was his only motivation.
He steeled himself before he gave one last look at Baraggan who sat leaning his head on the back of his hand.
A moment passed, and then two, before he spoke to Baraggan. "You have my thanks," he said quietly.
Limping, he walked out of Baraggan's Kingdom with only a single goal in mind.
He needed to return home.
Shirou sighed as he tried to communicate with the Zanpakuto spirits Kyoka had told him resided within his inner world. The results however, were once again the same.
No matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to work. The only spirits he could currently communicate with was Kyoka Suigetsu who chose not to respond, and Gae Bolg who's only concern seemed to be when the next fight came. In short, neither of the two were being helpful.
As for Kyoka's lack of response, it may very well be due to one matter that greatly confused her. He was a hollow, yet he still possessed an inner world.
Inner worlds were spaces within one's soul that for Shinigami, housed their Zanpakuto spirits. Hollows just didn't have it, and instead possessed an emptiness in their souls caused by the termination of their soul chains, anchors that had once tied them to their physical bodies. However, he alone seemed to possess an inner world. It was a testament to the spirits he seemingly held within him.
"Are you alright?" Nel asked.
"I'm fine," he spoke. "I was just thinking about a few things."
Nel nodded before she began to explain the purpose of her visit.
After Harribel had a discussion with Nel, she had then since become accepted by the rest. Today, she was currently present do to matters regarding living arrangements. After all, she and her group were the newest hollows to settle in, and were now in need of a place to stay within the region without disrupting anyone else.
Harribel and her group had laid claim to the South, Starrk and Lilynette to the North, and the East and West were inhabited by the other hollows.
"I see," he said as he pondered silently to himself. "Starrk and Lilynette live in a large area, and I'm sure Lilynette wouldn't mind having more company nearby."
Nel smiled. "That could work then," she said.
"Now all you have to do is ask them," he spoke.
"Right now?" Nel raised a brow.
"Yes, well, Starrk is right there," he pointed out.
Starrk was motionless, lying down on the sand by a large boulder. If he wasn't pointed out, it would have had been hard for anyone to have taken notice of him since he was also suppressing his spiritual energy.
"Well Starrk?" He asked.
"I don't care as long as she can distract Lilynette," Starrk said.
"You're hiding away from her, again, aren't you?" He inquired.
Starrk didn't answer, but at least he had consented to Nel and her group's presence in his area.
"Pesche," Nel called to her friend.
Of her companions, the only one who had accompanied her today was Pesche since Dodochakka and Bawabawa were busy looking for other places.
"Yes?" Pesche asked.
"I need you to find Dodochakka and Bawabawa, and tell them to move to the north," Nel said.
Pesche quickly agreed, and with a nod, he soon left.
Nel then turned her attention back to him. "Thank you," she spoke.
He accepted her thanks, and went back to what he was doing before, trying to communicate with his Zanpakuto spirits, however, he spotted something in the distance. The places he normally spent his time at were all highly elevated. This was in part due to his duty of warding off dangerous hollows before they could enter the land near him, and disrupt those using him for shelter. As such, vantage points were a must. In this case, he spotted a figure in the distance.
The figure was in a sorry state. Wounds covered the figure's body from head-to-toe, and even then, most of them were bleeding from over exertion.
Brans?
He stepped forward and appeared by Brans's side within a single bound. His facial expression promptly turned blank. Not only was Brans injured, but he had also lost his arms, and appeared to be fading in and out from consciousness.
"Brans?" He spoke. The last he remembered seeing Brans was when he had asked him to watch over Silent.
His eyes narrowed. If Brans was like this, then what of Silent?
Brans stared up at him with tired eyes, before recognition dawned. "I-I have failed you," he spoke with a wheeze of his breath.
"What happened?" He asked as he supported Brans. He knew that something was wrong when he had heard no word about Silent's situation. With Brans's personality, he would have had reported back to him within a week at most.
Brans tried to speak, yet his body began to strain under the burden of his long journey from Baraggan's Kingdom. Therefore, he only spoke the words that were most relevant. "Human world…Shinigami…Kis..uke…Urahara…Silent…Dan..ger."
With that said, Brans fell silent as he coughed out blood and fainted.
"Shirou?" Nel asked from the side as she and Starrk arrived.
He didn't respond straight away, and instead handed Brans over to Nel. "Take him back and let him rest," he spoke.
Nel nodded, but didn't leave as she was curious of something.
Starrk was the one who voiced his opinion. "Will you need help?" He asked.
Instead of answering, he raised his arm, and cut open a large Gargantia with a flick of his hand.
"I'm going to the human world to search for Silent," he said, placing his arms back by his side before walking towards the void. "I would appreciate help in finding her."
"In that case, I should give you some advice," A voice spoke.
He paused in his steps, Nel suddenly glaring as she recognized the sound of the voice. Only Starrk gave no outward reactions aside from straightening his back, but even then, it was hard to tell with him. It was either the voice had caught him off guard, or Lilynette was nearby.
Still, the crux of the matter was the appearance of a certain Soul Reaper.
Aizen Sousuke.
"Aizen," Nel spoke cordially. "Did you not remember your own promises?"
She was referring to what Aizen had agreed to the last time he had left. Specifically, how he was to notify others of his presence.
Aizen smiled knowingly. "Is that not exactly what I have done?" He reasoned. After all, no one else knew that he had arrived at this location in Hueco Mundo. His appearance in front of Shirou was his first in a while, so it could be said that he was indeed living up to his promises.
Nel looked like she swallowed a bitter pill, but nonetheless, she had no words to refute Aizen's reasoning.
"And what advice do you have to give?" He asked a tad impatiently.
Only he knew that the longer he waited, the worse the situation could become in the human world.
Kisuke Urahara.
He clenched his fists. Naturally, when Aizen had first told him of this name, he had felt nothing of it, but he supposed that was his mistake, and Brans was the one who suffered for it.
Brans was strong, yet even someone of his strength was defeated. Based on the wounds, his impression of Kisuke Urahara only grew worse. After all, someone like him could tell that the injuries inflicted weren't fatal, but rather to inflict the most pain.
"It's fairly obvious what this Kisuke had in mind," Kyoka suddenly spoke from within his inner world. "He wanted this Brans character to flee. Why else would he wound him yet not kill him, or question him?"
His body tensed after hearing Kyoka's words, and soon after, his gaze landed on Aizen.
"Speak," he spoke, his words sounding like a command in his haste.
Aizen thought nothing of it, and wiped the sand off of his Hakama.
"The Soul Society has people from the Twelfth Division in charge of technology and spiritual tool development monitoring the presence of hollows within the human world," Aizen said as he pushed up his glasses. "Should an Adjuchas level hollow appear, Shinigami can be immediately notified and dispatched. Now what do you think would be the appropriate response if a Vasto Lorde level hollow appeared?"
Aizen didn't give anyone the chance to speak as he continued. "Not only would the Soul Society deploy Captain level Shinigami like myself, but if more than one Vasto Lorde level hollow appeared, they could even deploy full divisions. That is after all how devastating a Vasto Lorde's power can be. That's where I can come in and intervene," he said.
"And how would you do that?" He asked, the gargantia closing behind him.
"I can send you all quietly one by one to the human world so that the Shinigami will not detect the presence of a Gargantia. From there, it's up to you to mask your own spiritual energy," Aizen explained.
"And why should we trust you?" Nel asked as she shifted Brans's weight on her shoulder to alleviate some of the discomfort in her position. "You are a Shinigami yourself. Is this not just some plan of yours to hinder our strength and deal with us one by one?"
Aizen laughed good naturedly. "You would be correct in your caution, but I assure you, I do not hold the Soul Society in a very high regard. Why else would I be in Hueco Mundo?" He said.
The words Aizen spoke caused a fleeting look of surprise to flash across Nel's face, but she was quick to hide such things. "Pretty words are all you are," she said while turning her gaze away.
Thinking on the content of Aizen's words, everything said did seem plausible. As for whether or not he trusted the man, did he even have any other choice at the moment?
"Go on," he said, turning his body to fully face Aizen.
"Gladly," Aizen said before he placed a hand within his Hakama and pulled out a box containing a black orb. "I'd like you all to turn your attention to this device I have created. It will be able to send you right to the human world without triggering the alarm system the Twelfth Division has meticulously set up. Of course, it will take me a few moments to construct it up accordingly."
"That doesn't matter," he spoke. "I'm more concerned about where this device of yours will open up at."
Aizen nodded.
"True, I do recall you saying you were going to look for someone in the human world. No problems, it shouldn't matter much as long as I set the device up where this friend of yours opened up their gargantia," Aizen explained.
Gargantias were tunnels between dimensions, and very often, one would leave a trail behind after opening one as it takes time for the holes in the dimension to mend.
"Then I will have to trouble you," he said thankfully.
"The pleasure's mine," Aizen said cordially. "You need only show me the way."
"Well then, if things are like this then I'll take this guy back for now." Starrk said as he yawned, and then turned to Nel before he took Brans off her shoulders. "Call me when you need me. I'll be taking a nap while I wait for this guy to wake up."
Everything appeared to be moving accordingly.
Aizen stared off at the lands around him as the Vasto of White led him towards a specific location.
What caught Aizen's attention the most however, was the simple realization that he could not spot a single Gillian level hollow or lower within this land of swords he was walking through. It was absurd, bordering on incredible. With the way he knew how Hueco Mundo functioned through his own research, there was little to no means for such a land like the Vasto of White's to exist.
Take for example the Menos Forest. The hollows there all varied in power levels, strengths and intelligence. However, none but a few of them were in the same state of evolution. After all, the stronger a hollow in the Menos Forest was, the greater their need to feed on others. This need would drive them to further acts of cannibalism, thus reducing the potential of other hollows reaching the same level.
"Is this the place?" He asked as the Vasto of White stopped near a small ridge.
Before the Vasto of White could speak however, he was interrupted as a child-like hollow he hadn't seen in his last visit suddenly appeared.
"Shirou!" The child-like hollow exclaimed. "Have you seen Starrk? I swear he's hiding from me," she pouted.
So, his name was Shirou? He noted it down for later use.
Shirou sighed before opening his mouth. "Now's not the time Lilynette," he spoke.
Lilynette frowned before her gaze landed on him. "What are you doing her?" Her voice sounded accussing.
He felt his brow twitch. Ignorant child.
"Lilynette," Shirou warned.
clicking her tongue, Lilynette backed off and decided to watch from a distance. Shirou then prompted him to begin constructing his device.
The device he was constructing currently had no name, but it didn't really matter. All that did, was the device's function. Unlike a Garganta which proceeded to literally tear a hole between dimensions, this device utilized aspects of what Shinigami's used in their own dimensional crossings called Senkaimon.
The Senkaimon that the Shinigami used were pre-made dimensional holes, which was why when they opened they did not disrupt the dimensions and form fissures and cracks in the human world. Naturally, for something pre-made, each Shinigami required a guide in the form of a hell butterfly to avoid the counter measures the Soul Society had taken to prevent others from using their same passage way. The passage itself was called the Dangai, and the counter measure was called the Kōtotsu.
Still, the aspect his device took from the Senkaimon was the utilization of a pre-existing tear. Which is why he had used his words to instruct Shirou to bring him back to where a gargantia was originally opened.
As he worked, he didn't realize until later that the noise he was creating to set up the device had brought him to the attention of the other hollows passing by. However, one word from Shirou was enough to keep them quiet and at bay.
Soon, Lilynette got bored with just watching and decided to inspect everything herself, her presence going unnoticed due to the importance of the situation. Besides, to her, inspecting was far better than staring at sand. Eventually, she became transfixed on the black orb like object being emitted from the device.
"It's done," he spoke, getting Shirou's attention.
Shirou nodded before stepping forward. "Thank you," he said.
The other hollows around seemed to have conflicted expressions flash across their faces, but he supposed it was natural. Shirou was their leader, and a hollow himself, yet here he was thanking a Shinigami.
"I know I didn't misjudge you. Elusive and cunning," Nel spoke with a frown. She had followed closely behind him ever since Starrk had left. "But your current behaviour is making me think otherwise."
He only smiled on her commentary, not willing to divulge or admit anything.
Shirou was more straight-to-the-point. "How does it work?" He asked.
Perfect, he thought to himself before explaining.
The device was set up in a small formation shaped like an upright square window. Metal widgets were spread evenly across the surface, and in the middle, was a small condensed pool of spiritual energy to act as a power source. To use it, one would only need to activate it through the orb-like activation switch, and the device would naturally draw the person in.
"Then I'll be going first," Shirou said as he stepped forward.
"Of course," he agreed.
However, at that moment, everyone just froze.
Because the first to go was coincidently someone that no one had expected.
"Huh? Eh?" Lilynette starred in befuddlement as the hand she had used to touch the black orb began to pull her body towards the center of the sphere. "W-Wait hold on!" She yelled trying to force herself out.
Meanwhile, everyone else including Shirou was staring at her incredulously.
Even he appeared to be a tad taken aback as he had planned for the first individual to go through the gate to be a Vasto Lorde. Preferably Shirou, but his plans would have been fine as long as he was able to send a hollow even remotely strong enough through the dimensions. But this? He immediately began to rework his plans to salvage everything. At least he could rely on Gin Ichimaru, one of his most trusted subordinates, to send a Gillian across.
"S-Starrk you idiot!" Lilynette yelled as the orb expanded and her body was nearly completely enveloped. "W-Where are you when I need you!"
And with that, Lilynette disappeared.
A week had passed since Silent had returned back to where Ishida was training.
In the past few days, she had also been training with him. Nonetheless, everything Ishida would teach her were things she seemed naturally able to do on instinct alone. Things like forming a bow in her hand, gathering spiritual energy from the environment, and creating spiritual arrows to fire at targets, all were completed with little effort.
It was a fact that only served to make Ishida train even harder, yet today something just seemed off about him. Not once did he smile during his training, and instead he was palming an object he kept concealed in his hand.
Still, she was thinking about other matters. Over the course of the week, she had been constantly returning to that particular clinic, and each time she felt more and more confused with herself. For personal matters, she avoided looking at anyone else who came into the house ever since the first time she had taken a good look at that orange-haired youth. It felt as if something was clawing at her from the inside, an unbearable pain spreading across her body, only made worse when she had once spotted him in the city in a black hakama wielding a giant sword.
It was then that she decided not look at anyone else within the house-clinic for fear of even greater pain.
She didn't realize it, but her hands were trembling. There was just something about this city, and the people who lived within it. She felt lost, unsure of what to do, and that uncertainty is what clouded her judgment.
What was right and what was wrong?
She knew that she should have returned back to Hueco Mundo long ago, and yet her she was anxiously waiting for Ishida to finish his day's training just so that she could once again sneak out.
Karakura.
This place, this town, it seemed to hold something dear to her, a deep desire engraved even within her own consciousness. Even if she wanted to return to Hueco Mundo, she knew that unless she solved her problems now, she would only end up coming back to this town again. Besides, if she returned, she wouldn't even know the next time she would be able to come back to the human world.
"Remember, stay here for now, especially today," Ishida warned just before he left.
She remained still, not promising anything since she already had plans to leave.
Frowning, Ishida didn't say another word before leaving in a certain direction.
Waiting a couple minutes, she then promptly left in the direction of the town.
Only two things were going through her mind at that moments. Two choices to be exact. Either go back to the clinic again, or travel through town. Both options were compelling to her as no matter how many times she visited the clinic, she'd never get tired of just looking at it. As for the town, wandering around always brought her a sense of familiarity.
However, two or three hours later, she could do neither as she spotted an abnormality in the distance.
A hollow?
She wasn't sure because she was used to seeing only Adjuchas-level hollows or higher back at Hueco Mundo within the Hill of Swords. Still, it had a mask over its face, and that was more than enough of an indication.
She steadied her breath and formed a bow in the manor Ishida had taught her. She didn't know if she was a hollow or not, but the point was, she didn't feel any guilt as she let loose a spiritual arrow. Perhaps, if she was killing a fellow hollow in the King's domain she would hesitate, but she had heard stories from her friends about the other hollows living outside the King's domain.
The arrow soared across the air before instantly piercing through the hollow in her sights. Moments later, the energy within the arrow burst, and rendered the target into nothing, its screams quickly dying out as the human it held in its hand fell back towards the ground.
Still, she didn't pay much attention to it anymore, but rather her eyes widened as she looked at a sky completely filled with them.
What was going on?
She had been in Karakura Town for the better part of a few weeks now, and she'd never encountered other hollows. Yet today, so many of them were present.
Currently in the course of her wanderings, she found herself in one of Karakura's busiest streets, the shopping district. Many people were walking down and about, others entering shops, and some just standing idle and talking with friends. That's not what she cared about or focused on however. The hollows around and infesting the place was what drew her concern.
There were too many hollows in the area, and even if they weren't attacking anyone yet, all it would take was a single step from some of the larger ones to end a life. Thus, it was too dangerous to keep them here.
She sucked in a breath before firing an arrow potent in spiritual energy. The arrow itself was like a beacon that drew all of the hollows attention. Subsequently, all their gazes landed on her still holding her bow in hand.
A shiver ran down her back staring at the sheer number of them, but she didn't hesitate when it came to finding a more isolated fighting ground.
Drawing them away from the people at the shopping center, she ended up at a soccer field adjacent to a kids middle-school. Apart from a few kids she could vaguely see running in the field, no one else seemed to be in the area. Still, she didn't want to risk fighting here.
Wait?
She narrowed her eyes, spotting a hollow in the middle of the field about to attack the group of kids.
Damn it.
She pulled up her bow to shoot the hollow down, but was instead forced to fire at the horde at her back as some of the faster one's drew too close. Each shot fired ended a hollow's life.
Sweat dripped down her brow, as exhaustion began to take its toll on her. She didn't know how many hollows she'd already killed, but their number just didn't seem to be ending. Even worse, she couldn't get away from the area as she had been completely surrounded. Still, what concerned her the most, was that she had lost track of the hollow on the ground within all the commotion.
Were the children safe?
She didn't know.
Suddenly, spittle flew as a hollow unexpectedly blindsided her, and sent her flying towards the grounds of the soccer field.
With a crash, she quickly realized that she'd unexpectedly landed on someone.
It was a tall and well built man who appeared to be of hispanic descent. He had shoulder length brown hair which was curly at the ends, and bangs that covered the majority of his face aside from his nose and chin. What surprised her however, was the abnormality of his arm. It seemed to be completely in cased in a black armour of some kind. The only other thing that she quickly took note of was that the man was hurt, blood running down from his head and staining his clothes.
"Are you alright?" The man asked through laboured breath.
She nodded, but her attention was elsewhere on the Hollows hovering just above them. This was why she didn't notice the only other person nearby: A black-haired girl in a T-shirt with a singlet over top. Her face was square with a narrowed chin, and she didn't appear to be any older than fifteen.
If one looked closer at the scene, they would have been able to see that the black-haired girl seemed to have completely froze; her eyes widening in disbelief as a hand came to rest in front of her mouth.
Still, all of this went unnoticed.
"You are the one all these guys are chasing?" The man asked.
Once again, she absently nodded her head. She had been able to lead all these hollows to chase after her due to the purity of the spiritual energy she had within her. Still, there was no way she would get others involved. Which was why,
She pushed away from the man and promptly left as she reformed her bow, the hollows quickly chasing hot on her heels.
By that time, the man noticed that the black-haired girl had collapsed onto her knees and moved to help her; yet the black-haired girl swatted the man's hands away before wordlessly staggering to her feet and giving chase.
Back with Silent, she had reached the forest where she had first met Ishida. In fact, it was one of Ishida's training grounds.
Hiding within the trees, she then began to shoot her arrows, killing hollow after hollow. At times, they would draw close to her, but this was precisely why she had chosen this area. Maneuvering around their strikes, she disappeared into the foliage and resumed her onslaught of arrows.
At Hueco Mundo, her sparring partners normally involved Adjuchas level hollows. Therefore, when she isolated these regular hollows within the forest, it was relatively easy to defeat even their large numbers from a distance. True she could have done it anywhere with her strength, but then she would risk the danger of getting blindsided once again.
Looking across the trees, her expression lightened.
For some reason the hollow's numbers seemed to have dwindled from the last time she took notice. Soon after, none were left as she shot forth her last arrow.
In that moment, she blinked her eyes, spotting something on a distant branch of a tree.
How odd, it was that black cat she had seen before. Thinking clearly on the matter, she actually had been seeing this cat a lot in the previous weeks since she's been exploring Karakura town. Often following her at times before quietly slinking away when she wasn't paying attention. Yet what was it doing here?
Currently, it had used her moment of pause to walk up to her, brushing up against her legs while meowing, its fur feeling quite smooth. She knelt down and began to pet it, letting out a laugh when the cat rolled onto its back and insisted on it's stomach getting a rub. Sadly, she shook her head to show that she didn't have the time.
Many hollows were still present in the town, and it would be best to eliminate them before they devoured anymore humans. However,
The cat meowed once more before standing up on its feet and swishing its tail. It soon began to walk in a certain direction, pausing at it turned and looked at her.
Did it want her to follow?
She shook her head, and walked away back towards Karakura town.
Now wasn't the time.
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Next update: Fate-In Time.
Short Story Idea by Archer McMuffin: The Daily Life of a Reluctant King, Part 1.
In the Vasto of White's domain, there were no set rules, but there had always been some sort of underlying pact between the hollows of Adjuchas level.
Hollows who had recently evolved from Adjuchas to Vasto Lordes were still in the know while other Vasto Lordes like Starrk and Harribel were kept in the dark about this growing secret society and its policies.
The growing fanatical devotion to one being, and the emergence of a possessiveness that even the leaders of the society did not know about. Then again, most hollows had lost any notion of emotion long ago after their human counter parts met with death. Therefore, the feeling of possession was not something they knew, yet that didn't mean that they didn't act on it.
It was why on this day, Shirou felt a cold chill travel down his back as he stared at the three newest Vasto Lordes approaching him.
Sung-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apacci.
Normally, this trio of hollows would never so casually approach him when they were Adjuchas, but now they had become Vasto Lordes.
Since he never placed any sort of rules in the land he protected, the hollows within had made their own. One of them being that one was not worthy to approach him unless they were qualified enough. Naturally, it was why none of the hollows in his domain raised a fuss when either Starrk or Harribel came to speak with him. Other than Brans who was well respected, no other Adjuchas dared approach lightly in fear of some sort of retaliation by the rest.
What kind of retaliation and who headed it, he didn't know, but it was a matter that he had never questioned,
But it was also a matter that he had taken for granted. Recently Starrk had been coming to find refuge from Lilynette, but Lilynette would often follow and instigate Starrk to spar with him. This was evident from the massive explosions of numerous ceros, and the destroyed land. Based on this recent activity, he concluded that the three approaching him were going to ask him for a similar matter.
Apacci strode forward, looking confident, yet Mila Rose blocked her, and they both immediately began arguing. Sung-Sun then took the lead, only for the other two to grab her by the shoulders and force her back.
Cursing and butting heads with each other, the three somehow arrived fifteen-feet away from him at the same time, yet before they could even speak, a brat showed up and ruined everything.
"Oi Shirou, you said you'd hang out with me today," Lilynette called from the distance as she crossed her arms and absently kicked the ground. "Starrk's still being an ass."
"Tough luck, we were here first!" Apacci quickly argued, crossing her arms.
"Indeed," Sung-Sun spoke with a flourish of her hair. "In which case, a child like you serves no purpose aside from being an annoyance." She then made shoo-shoo gestures.
Lilynette's lip twitched before she erupted with an explosion of profanities. "You all, who do you think you are!" She yelled. "I've been here the longest, so that makes me more important than all of you."
Mila Rose grunted before saying, "words of a brat."
Lilynette growled, pouncing straight at Mila Rose who simply held her off at arms-length.
"See," Mila Rose laughed. "A simple brat."
"You think he'd rather spend his time with you?" Lilynette argued.
"Of course not. He'd rather spend time with lady than a brute," Sung-Sun said evenly.
"Then tough shit bitches, you can leave now," Apacci said smugly, leaving behind a trail of dust as she took the initiative.
The others blinked, then Mila Rose and Sung-Sun cursed under their breath before following. Lilynette was close behind, but by the time she reached everyone they were already less than five feet away from Shirou.
"That's enough!" Lilynette yelled before glaring in the distance. "Starrk help me!" She demanded.
In the distance, Starrk was just picking at his ear, and ignored her.
"I'll remember this," Lilynette muttered before turning her attention back on the competition. "Why don't all of you just leave already? Shirou would rather be with me."
"He wouldn't want to be in the presence of someone who irritates him," Mila Rose spoke, turning her head towards Lilynette.
"Then who would he pick? Obviously, it would still be me," Lilynettes spoke confidently.
"He'd never choose a brat; therefore, he'd choose me," Mila Rose spoke.
"How funny, you?" Sung-Sun muffled her laughter. "I'm the better option."
Apacci clicked her tongue. "A lying snake? Not a chance. At least I'm honest with myself."
Silence.
Their inquiring gazes then all turned towards him who had been slowly trying to slip away.
Well damn.
He composed himself, forcing his body to remain still under their gazes. "Well uhm," he racked his head for something to say. Instead, someone else spoke on his behalf.
"What is going on here?" A calm voice echoed before a figure appeared.
"L-Lady Harribel," the three bowed, Lilynette didn't even bother, instead she gave Harribel the stink eye thinking she was trying to interfere as well.
"Harribel," he spoke with obvious relief in his voice.
Finally, someone he could rely on.
Harribel stared at the four in front of her with a discerning eye. She had just returned from self training out in Hueco Mundo as it was the best way to increase her combat experience. After all, if she really had any phrase to best describe this land littered with swords, it would be 'Peaceful.' No hollows besides Vasto Lordes would dare invade due to the numerous Adjuchas and other Vasto Lordes spread out within the King's domain.
"Would anyone like to explain?" She asked while staring at Sung-Sun.
Scratching her head, Sung-Sun then began to explain. After watching Starrk battle with Shirou in recent days, Mila Rose had gotten the idea that they themselves would be able to spar and grow stronger through combat experience.
Listening, Harribel nodded her head, but she was more surprised about another matter. Shirou sparred with Starrk while she was away? If she had known that she could have sparred with Shirou, it would have had saved her the trouble of training outside. Still, she could understand the crux of the current problem.
There was only one of Shirou, and four of them. Therefore, they had to decide amongst themselves who Shirou would spar with.
She kept silent, pondering over the problem until an unexpected sentence filtered through her ears.
"But obviously, he'd choose you."
Something just shattered inside Shirou's mind, an unknown feeling of trepidation welling up from within him as he discreetly stared at Harribel.
She was blank for a moment, before a complex expression surfaced on her face, causing her to glance his way. Coughing into her hand, she turned back to face the four and probed "is that so?"
"Kill me now."