"Ah—"
"Ah—"
"Ah—"
Three terrified screams rang out.
"Shinigami!" Nel, Dondochakka, and Pesche cried out, clutching their heads. Nel was especially tearful.
"Shinigami Number One, Shinigami Number Two… that makes two bad guys!" Nel said, pointing at Toshiro and Ashido.
"Hey, hey, so you didn't know what we were?" Toshiro said, somewhat speechless.
"It's because you didn't introduce yourselves!" Nel shouted at Toshiro.
"You really are bad guys!" Pesche then said.
"Truly bad guys yo!" Dondochakka said, covering his face, looking somewhat ridiculous.
Also, the word 'yo' seemed to be Dondochakka's verbal tic. He always added a 'yo' at the end of his sentences.
"Oh no! We're definitely, definitely going to be killed!" Nel cried out.
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Dondochakka and Pesche nodded repeatedly.
"We won't kill you, you know," Toshiro assured them.
'Although they're Hollows, such cute being… killing her would truly be a loss for the whole world,' Toshiro thought to himself.
Moreover, as Toshiro once said, not all Shinigami are good, and not all Hollows are evil.
Anyone who's seen the original anime knows Nel is undoubtedly the kindest among all Hollows. Such a being, even if a Hollow, Toshiro wouldn't kill.
Looking at Nel, still crying pitifully, Toshiro said helplessly, "Could you not believe everything you hear? I said we won't kill you."
Ashido beside him showed no objection to Toshiro's words.
"So, there are such Hollows too? Completely different from those savage, bloodthirsty ones," Ashido sighed.
Although Ashido fought Hollows in the Forest of Menos for centuries, looking at the innocent, cute Nel, the ridiculous Dondochakka, and the silly Pesche, Ashido truly couldn't muster any killing intent.
Swish!
Nel, Dondochakka, and Pesche turned their backs to Toshiro and Ashido, discussing among themselves.
"What should we do?" Nel asked Dondochakka and Pesche.
"Big crisis yo," Dondochakka said in his ridiculous tone.
"Nel still thinks bad guys must be punished," Nel said, puffing her little cheeks.
"But I don't think we can win at all," Pesche said somewhat miserably.
Earlier, when Ashido charged over, with one move he kicked Dondochakka flying. If Toshiro hadn't stopped Ashido in time, Dondochakka and the others might already be dead.
Their combat power wasn't on the same level.
Even at their peak, they weren't Toshiro and Ashido's match, let alone now after losing their power.
Currently, they didn't even have the qualification to attack Toshiro and Ashido.
"Even so, Shinigami are still bad guys," Nel said with childlike simplicity.
After losing her power and memory, becoming a child, Nel's mentality also became that of an ignorant child. In her view, Shinigami were enemies of Hollows, so naturally, they were bad guys.
"Right! Invite them to play the endless chase game. Pretend it's fun, then take the chance to defeat them," Dondochakka said, thinking himself clever.
"Yeah, yeah, good idea!" Nel nodded, snickering.
"Yeah, yeah, maybe we can win this way," Pesche also thought it made sense.
"Hehehe..." Thinking this, Nel, Dondochakka, and Pesche couldn't help but snicker proudly.
"Hey, hey, discussing how to deal with us right in front of us... Is that really okay?" Toshiro complained, utterly speechless.
They were only a few steps apart. Every word from Nel, Dondochakka, and Pesche reached Toshiro's ears.
However, the three, laughing triumphantly over their clever plan, didn't hear Toshiro's complain.
"Umm... Mr. Shinigami, since you're not bad guys, then let's play together!" Nel said with a smile, inviting Toshiro and Ashido.
"Play?" Toshiro was taken aback.
"Here I come!" Nel shouted sweetly, stamped her feet hard on the ground, leaped up, and pounced towards Toshiro.
"Hey, Nel—" Toshiro didn't have time to finish.
Nel's little foot landed on Toshiro's shoulder. Then, instantly, she reached out to grab the Zanpakuto on Toshiro's back.
Swish!
In an instant, Toshiro's left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Nel's little hand reaching for Hyorinmaru.
Then, Toshiro hoisted Nel onto his shoulder.
Smack!
Toshiro gave Nel's little bottom a pat.
"Hey, Nel, even though you're a child, some things shouldn't be played with."
"A Zanpakuto is a very important thing for a Shinigami, not something to play with. Remember that?" Toshiro said seriously.
But Nel, on Toshiro's shoulder, was stunned. He actually hit her, and there.
"Waaah—" Nel, hoisted on Toshiro's shoulder, suddenly burst into loud tears.
"Let me go! You bad guy! Bullying Nel! You're a big bad guy!" Nel cried and shouted, kicking wildly on Toshiro's shoulder.
"Alright, alright, alright! I'll let you go. Stop crying," Toshiro said, somewhat flustered.
Then, he quickly put Nel down from his shoulder.
After getting down, Nel hurried back to where Dondochakka and Pesche were.
"Dondochakka, Pesche, Bawabawa! The plan failed! We should run!" Nel quickly said to Dondochakka, Pesche, and their pet Bawabawa.
With that, Nel took the lead and ran into the distance.
Seeing this, Dondochakka, Pesche, and Bawabawa quickly followed.
Watching Nel and the others flee, Toshiro didn't pursue.
Toshiro didn't really want to kill them. Although Nel was very cute, Toshiro still had to return to the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force's camp with Ashido. He had no time to play endless chase games with them.
However, after running some distance, Nel suddenly stopped, turned back, and stuck out her tongue at Toshiro: "Come catch me if you dare! Make me cry loudly!"
Seeing Nel's triumphant, gleeful expression, not at all like the tearful mess from before, Toshiro knew he'd been tricked. Nel's crying earlier was definitely fake, just to escape.
"Speaking of which, she said she was a masochist from the start. So, that slap earlier probably just made her happier, right?" Toshiro complained helplessly.