After the girls arrived, they went straight to their rooms to serve their punishment, with Sung Sun following along. Misaki went with them too, to speak with her daughters and reprimand them for their reckless actions.
Isshin stood up and looked at Ryu and Nel.
"Would you two come with me? I have something to show you," Isshin said with a sigh, then stepped out of his Gigai, revealing his Shinigami form.
"Of course." Both Ryu and Nel exited their Gigai as well. Ryu looked exactly as he had in his Gigai, only now wearing his white Arrancar uniform; Nelliel wore her standard Arrancar uniform with her mask resting atop her head.
Isshin used Shunpo and vanished. Ryu and Nel followed, moving with Sonido.
When they arrived, the three of them came to a halt. Before them stood a spirit crying in an abandoned house.
"He truly doesn't have the Chain of Fate," Ryu said, looking at the boy's spirit. "But you said Hollows are no longer born from human souls. Why does this child have a Hollow aura?"
"Look closely," Isshin said. The boy began to fade away.
"Wow," Nel gasped. "He just… vanished?"
Ryu narrowed his eyes—and then his eyes went wide.
"No… He's in Hueco Mundo?" He looked at his father, alarmed. "You idiot! You said Hollows weren't born from human souls anymore—and yet the kid was pulled straight into Hueco Mundo!"
Isshin shook his head.
"I don't think you understood what I meant," he sighed. "I said that's why people don't know about Hollows anymore. It's simply that the Chain of Fate was broken when the Soul King died. But human souls still become corrupted—and when they do…"
"Somehow… they're pulled into Hueco Mundo in a different way," Nel said, surprise in her voice. "At this rate, they'd barely survive a single day there. And in theory… not many Hollows have come out of Hueco Mundo under Harribel and Grimmjow's rule."
"Exactly. Point for Nel," Isshin said, as if scoring a goal. "And the most interesting part—come here."
Just as Isshin was about to use Shunpo again, Ryu grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait—did you just let this boy turn into a Hollow on purpose?" Ryu glared at him, irritated. "Why didn't you send him to the Soul Society?"
"Because, my son—the Soul Society is still recovering from the war," Isshin said with a sigh. "Kyoraku is still getting things in order, dismantling the noble clans of the Central 46 and rooting out the influence of the Zero Squad. The Seireitei isn't ready to operate at full capacity yet."
"So you're just letting all spirits that don't pass on naturally turn into Hollows?" Ryu asked, equal parts curious and angry.
"No… obviously not," Isshin replied quickly. "Apparently there are other Seireiteis out there. So it's not everyone—just the souls from Japan."
"Damn it… Thank goodness Harribel is back on the throne and I could step down," Ryu sighed, relieved. "She and Grimmjow have their work cut out for them."
"Shall we go now?" Isshin said, then used Shunpo to move to another place, with Nel and Ryu following him.
That was when they saw the spirit of a dog becoming corrupted, quickly turning into a creature that looked very much like a Hollow.
"What is this?" Nel asked, both amazed and unsettled. "It has the spiritual pressure of a Hollow… but it isn't a Hollow."
"According to Urahara, these are Yōkai—corrupted souls of animals," Isshin said with a sigh. "For some reason, they don't become Hollows in the traditional sense, but something similar."
It was Parent Day at Kuoh Academy the next day. Misaki and Isshin were there to see Karin and sit in on Karin and Yuzu's classes. The twins were a little embarrassed, but happy their parents had come—at first, they had only expected Ryu to be there, since their brother practically lived with them.
Ryu had classes to teach, but he always slipped away to watch his sisters' lessons with their parents. Nel was with him, and many people were stunned by the Arrancar's beauty—many felt a pang when they saw her clinging to Ryu.
Nel was there for the twins, but also for Sung Sun. She knew she couldn't replace the feeling the girl would have if Harribel were watching her, but at least she could brag to the other Espada that she'd been observed in class by the former King of Hueco Mundo and the former Queen who had united it—before passing the throne to Harribel.
As everyone was talking, Nel followed the girls until they reached a room and nearly ran straight into Sona Shitori, who was running away from her sister.
"Kurosaki… and Sung Sun… and you—I don't know you," Sona's eyes went wide as she took a defensive stance upon finding the four of them. Just then, her sister arrived.
Sung Sun's eyes snapped open, and she stepped in front of Karin and Yuzu.
"Karin-sama, Yuzu-sama—stay behind me and Nelliel-sama," she said, alarmed. "This woman is powerful… very powerful. She is close to Harribel-sama's level."
(In this story, Nel is the strongest Arrancar after reaching her second release, surpassed only by Ryu and equal to Stark—which is why Sung Sun compares Serafall to Harribel, not to Nel.)
"Ehhhhhh, what did I do?" Serafall arrived, making a grand entrance. "Sona-chaaan, they're treating me so badly!"
Serafall pointed at Sung Sun, who looked back at her with clear wariness, ready to give her life to protect Karin and Yuzu.
"Ahhh, a magical girl!" Nelliel shouted, pointing at Serafall. She pulled out a camera and snapped a photo, and Serafall immediately struck a pose.
"You understand the true beauty of magical girls!" Serafall cheered, running over to Nel and taking her hands in hers. "I'm Serafall Leviathan—but you can call me Sera or Levia-tan!"
"What a lovely name!" Nel beamed, delighted. "I'm Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck—but you can call me Nel."
"Yours is lovely too!" Serafall declared, grinning. "But… why was your friend so scared of me?" She looked sadly at Sung Sun, genuinely confused.
"Because you're far more powerful than she is," Nel said with a gentle smile. "So she's being cautious."
Serafall's eyes widened, then narrowed—though she kept her playful demeanor.
"How did you know I'm strong?" Sera asked, amused.
"You're making absolutely no effort to hide your spiritual pressure," Nel teased, looking her over. "Though you're controlling it well enough not to crush everyone around you."
"Sister, that girl is one of the Masked!" Sona shouted, pointing at Sung Sun, who narrowed her eyes at Sona. "I told you about this!"
"Ehhhhhh? But the Masked were supposed to be huge, masked monsters!" Serafall cried, staring at Sung Sun in pure shock. "She's just a cute, princess-like girl!" She turned to Nel. "Are you going to tell me you're a Masked one too?"
"I am," Nel said playfully. "Though we call ourselves Hollow."
"Nelliel-sama…" Sung Sun's voice cracked. "Please don't give away information about our kind to them…"
"Don't worry, Sun-chan." Nel smiled warmly at her. "She's not a bad person."
"Ehhhhhh—wait a second… so the Masked aren't giant monsters?" Sera nearly squeaked, stunned.
"Sister, I already told you that!" Sona shouted, frustrated—completely missing the look Serafall gave her.
Nel, however, caught it—and burst out laughing.
"That was a very nice attempt to get information out of us," Nel laughed, thoroughly amused. "But I'll tell you anything you want to know."
"Nelliel-sama!" Sung Sun nearly yelped. She had a naturally cold, reserved personality—but Nelliel had a way of flustering even her.
"Is that really all right with you?" Sera asked, curious.
"Not at all!" Nel replied cheerfully.
"It is not all right, Nelliel-sama," Sung Sun sighed, looking utterly defeated. For a moment, even Sona felt a pang of sympathy for the Arrancar.
"So… you're someone important among them?" Sera asked, her tone soft and childlike.
"If being the former Queen counts as important," Nel said, just as playfully.
Karin and Yuzu both face-palmed. Their sister-in-law, sweet and innocent as she was, had just dropped a massive secret right there in the open.
Serafall narrowed her eyes—and for the first time, her expression turned serious.
"You were… deposed?" She gathered her power, on guard. She wouldn't fall for the tricks of a former monarch trying to reclaim the throne—not when she herself was still dealing with the factions of the original Satans.
"No, no!" Nel laughed, finding it all very funny. "I stepped down on my own and got married. I take care of my husband and my adorable little sisters-in-law. Harribel-chan is a much better queen than I am—isn't she, Sun-chan?"
She looked over at Sung Sun, bright and happy.
"Yes… Nelliel-sama stepped down of her own free will," Sung Sun replied, sounding exhausted. She turned to Serafall. "In truth, I serve under Harribel-sama's rule. I am here to protect Ryu-sama's sisters—since they were targeted by a rogue Hollow acting alongside one of the Crows."
Serafall's eyes went wide, and her mind began racing with theories. Kokabiel really had been controlling some of the Masked… and if this was a plot to kill the husband's sisters of the former Queen—who had abdicated the throne to a ruler she believed was better, just so she could marry—then this could very well have been an attempt to drag the former Queen back into the game.
"Let me ask you this," Serafall said, turning directly to Sung Sun rather than Nel, since she could sense nothing from Nel at all—the woman was exceptionally good at concealing her power. "Who is stronger? Her… or your Queen?"
"Well, that depends on your perspective," Nel started.
"Harribel-sama has said that if she fought Nelliel-sama ten times… she would lose all ten," Sung Sun said plainly.
The silence that followed was absolute.
"Wow…" Serafall breathed, feeling a twinge of envy. If the Original Satan Faction were only half as self-aware as these people…
"Wait—you're Ryu-sensei's wife?" Sona asked, bewildered.
"Mm-hmm!" Nel beamed at the mention of her husband.
"Why would you give up your throne to marry a human?" Sona asked, genuinely shocked. "You were a Queen. Your entire species looked up to you."
"But it's obvious, isn't it?" Nel said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "I was Queen—but my husband was King. And ruling is such a bore. We only ever wanted an army to kill a God who attacked us first. Besides… Hollows are really good at fighting."
Serafall found herself nodding—it made perfect sense.
(Harribel-chan is a much better queen than I am.)
In the end, it seemed the current Queen saw her people as her people—while Nel had seen them as a means to an end.
If only those idiots in the True Satanist Faction could be this self-aware, Serafall thought wistfully.
"Wait—so Ryu-sensei is a Hollow too?" Sona nearly shouted, horrified. "And a King… which means every time I raised my voice to him or tried to intimidate him… I was threatening a former King of the Masked?"
Panic set in. Sera watched Nel carefully, ready to step in if needed—her sister might have just stepped into very dangerous waters.
"Don't worry—my husband doesn't like oppressing the weak," Nel said with a playful grin. "He was probably just amused by you trying to intimidate him."
To Sona, it felt like a direct blow to her pride. She was the heir to the House of Sitri—one of the noble families of the Underworld—and yet she had just been dismissed as weak.
She lowered her head and turned away, walking off in defeat.
"Sona-chaaaan!" Serafall called, hurrying after her sister to comfort her.