Disclaimer: Still not the owner of Bleach...


Somewhere in Hueco Mundo...


Hollows dealt with food, hostile or ready, in a narrow framework. For most, a life of predation awaits, often involving preying on blank souls or cannibalism, a fate filled with a peril of its own. Predictably, those who were able to survive the savagery that hollow after-life entailed were either the geniuses intelligent enough to obtain their nourishment without risk or strong enough to tank through and devour nearly any opposition offered from their peers. Everyone outside those two categories faced the much more broad and nebulous circumstances that resulted in being average.

Unfortunately for the elder hollow, he could count himself amongst the vast and colorful ranks of the unassuming, average masses, not quite smart enough to be considered a silver-tongued devil nor powerful enough to disregard cunning. At best, his skills placed him solidly among members of the wizened vanguard, the catch all term for hollows who managed to band together under the banner of having managed to regain their upper mental faculties. It was a claim most run-of-the-mill hollows boasted of, yet few could genuinely demonstrate.

Randomly strung out on one of the innumerable number of Hueco Mundo's dunes, the stooges who he had sent out earlier proved his point, still paralyzed by that braided shinigami's strange magic. It wasn't too much of a shock that they had failed as miserably as they did; It was all too obvious to the pack leader hollow how most of the hollows present were mostly useless now that their immediate objectives had ended.

They were walking food.

Literally.

They were nourishment in every sense of the word.

Maybe it had slipped past his notice or maybe he willfully ignored it in favor of expediency, but the older hollow had never imagined that a simple rhythmic pulse of reiatsu would have turned their brains to mush, and so quickly too. He'd expected the shinigami to have had some scratches by the time he'd caught up to them, but the group he'd sent had gotten into some strange circular game of follow the leader. A single wound would have sufficed, yet in the end her little dance had ended in a boon for the pack leader, an outcome he had mostly envisioned.

A curse of adversity from up above was always remedied by good fortune. The shinigami had seen playthings she could string along in order to draw in bigger fish, or at least that's what the wily hollow had let her think. Even his fleeing from her had given his new subordinates enough time to evacuate the food she had so nicely disabled for him too.

And now he'd thank her not by eating the simpletons- oh no, that was a fate reserved for the truly useless. No, the blood of a hollow was a substitute for the flesh, a poorer one, yes, but a meal that contained the same strengthening properties all the same.

"I'll need to provide a shock to your system to get you up" the pack leader lied, mentally guffawing at their prone forms.

Of the 8 hollows who had been separate from the group, only one of them gave him any indication that they heard him. Struggling and guttural growls met him as he lazily wandered over each of their bodies, halting over the still form of the hollow look-out that had stayed behind in the village.

The elder hollow started with him first.

"It's a sophisticated ritual, painful too, but you'll be free of this dark magic before you know it," he assured the look-out, gently gliding his claws over the hollow's back before plunging in. The intricate, bloody pattern raked across its backside almost worked its deceptive magic on the pack leader before he stepped back to admire his own work, absentmindedly licking very bloody claws. Taking advantage of the immobile brute's seeping wounds and careful to keep up the ruse, he proceeded to gulp down every last drop of blood generously greeting his palette while simultaneously releasing his reiatsu to expel the shinigami's poisonous trick.


[Your vitality has slightly increased back to normal]


Feasting on his enemies and all savoring all that they once were, was one of the greatest of pleasures his kin could experience, and it should have been all the more satisfying for him, a hollow treated with a large, unmoving morsel.

If it was not for the annoying presence of the stationary text staring back at his blood smeared mask, it would most likely have been a glorious meal in, but alas...

It hadn't left him bewildered in its arrival or with its continued lingering form, but the uselessly obscene display and the redundant information it offered did little endear its presence to the wily hollow. He needed no words or whispers to tell him that rejuvenation came with every bite. These pretty messages told him nothing ne-

[Repeat this action 6x more times to restore health completely within a day]

[ Bonus Available: keep up the 'Blood Ritual']

[Bonus Available: Teach 'Blood Ritual' to tiger triplets]

With his head cocked to the side, the elder hollow stared at the mental intrusions, silently considering how much of a boon it would be to tolerate this new brand of madness. This thought was quickly followed by how he'd have to rip open his skull to fix it, but quickly discarded for a number of reasons besides death.

Nope.

Probabilities were an area best left alone to pranksters and gods among hollow-kind; it was no place to dabble in, even sparingly. On the other hand, a skill such as this warranted further observation, especially if it was as versatile as he imagined it might be, but first…

He had six more volunteers he had to free from the clutches of that evil reaper, and it would not do to keep his anxious kin waiting.

Hurriedly replicating the sham of a ritual he might hopefully be rewarded for, the older hollow noticed the sudden boost in both his mood and energy as he went about gorging himself, freed and fed in a whirlwind of red. Sand and blood blurred together as he preyed upon each the dolts lying before him, taking no heed to their comfort as he received the fruits of his labor.


[Vitality restored to normal threshold, health will be restored within a day!]

Trait Boosted!

"Blood Sucker F"- The ability to draw strength from the bodies of Hollows is an instinct that no Hollow can ignore. For you, this law of nature is not as absolute as one would think however.


This was truly better than he had hoped.

Draining his lessers of their blood had always been a prized skill and punishment of the older hollow, but not for an instant had he thought that he could substitute the bodies of his kin for the energetic liquid that gave them after-life. This was no ordinary increase in skill; this was a revolution itself in his eyes.

But now, all that was needed was to drag those clones he was so fond of into the fold, for he had no doubt that teaching them this skill would once again provide some boost of its own to his...trait?

He'd certainly lucked out on that revel, something told him that a visit would have to suffice for repayment.

A simple thank you was much too informal afterall….


Player 2 is online …..Player 2 is online….