"Nel-sama, you're back to being little!" Dondochakka exclaimed.
"It doesn't last long... But thanks to that, Nel can enjoy being in Itsygo's care like in Hueco Mundo!" She replied happily as she was being carried. Urahara had already given her a piece of cloth similar to the one she was wearing before turning into an adult.
"So, where will you be staying?" Ichigo asked Nel and her brothers.
"Nel thought Itsygo could give us a home" She assumed.
"Wha-? Does everyone think my house is some kind of hotel or somethin'? Ichigo protested.
"I wouldn't mind if Nel-chan stayed here" Urahara grinned.
"Let's go home, Nel. Pesche and Dondochakka can come as well if they like" Ichigo replied with a menacing look in answer to Urahara's offer.
"Don't worry, Ichigo-sama. We can stay here so we don't give you further trouble"
"Thank you for thinking about me. Actually, how did you manage to enter this world without being pursued by Soul Society?"
"Oh, that is because they must be dealing with other hundreds of groups that escaped Hueco Mundo and entered different places in your world" Dondochakka casually replied.
"What?! Are you telling me that everyone in Hueco Mundo came to the Human World...?" Ichigo asked with a look of disbelief.
"Everyone that managed to escape at least. That was the order Harribel-sama gave everyone" Pesche clarified.
"Harribel? Who's that? Is he a strong Hollow or somethin'?" Ichigo had never met the actual 3rd Espada.
"It is a she. But yes, she is indeed the strongest Hollow in Hueco Mundo after the battle with Aizen. She was the only surviving Espada of the battle in Karakura" Dondochakka told him.
"What number is she?"
"3, the same number Nel-sama used to have when she was... an Espada" Pesche replied in a difficult way since he was still assimilating the fact that Nel had gotten her memories back as well as her adult form for a while.
Her two brothers knew about this ever since they felt her powerful Reiatsu during their fight with Szayelaporro, but after they reunited with her, they preferred not to ask her anything and Nel didn't say anything about it either, but they assumed that if her powers were back so would her memories be.
"We should try to find her. I'm pretty sure that if she talks with Captain Yamamoto about the current situtation you could get help from Soul Society" Ichigo innocently said.
"I don't think it would be so simple, Kurosaki-san. Soul Society has been the main enemy of Hollows for tens of thousands of years. Even if the current Gotei 13 was in a concensual agreement to that idea, I really really doubt Central 46 would approve it" Urahara replied.
"Those damn dinosaurs!" Ichigo insulted.
"Huh, tell me about it. I know better than anyone about their ancient and neverending shenanigans..." The shop owner sighed. "But anyway, it's getting late. Take Nel-chan to your house and bring her back tomorrow"
"Okay, thank you for everything. We'll go home, then. See you guys tomorrow" Ichigo bid them farewell.
"Bye bye!" Said Nel, who was very entertained as she sat on Ichigo's shoulders.
~~~~X~~~~
Rukia and Orihime had been drinking tea and eating some sweets for a while.
"So, how is everything going in Soul Society?" Orihime asked.
"Well, there have been some changes in a couple squads. But in the end, everything is more or less the same" Rukia replied, having zero interest about details.
"I see..." Orihime replied, although her mind was in another place.
"But... How have you been with... You know, Ichigo and all" Rukia knew the answer, but wanted to give her friend a little push.
"Kurosaki-kun is just... Not well" She sadly replied. "I've tried my best to cheer him up during the last days. To show him that I'm there for him. That everyone's there for him! But like always, I can't seem to pull it off" She finished saying with wet eyes and a breaking voice.
"*sigh* You know better than anyone how thick-headed Ichigo is. Normally, I'd scold him for being that way. However, I think this time it's only natural that he lacks motivation to do anything. It mustn't be easy for him to have lead a life of Substitute Shinigami for two years and suddenly become even more of a human than he already was before"
"Yeah. I know how hard this is for him. But for the same reason, I wish he'd rely on me a little more. Kurosaki-kun seems to be close, but at the same time, he's so far away... Far away from where my heart can reach..." She replied and a couple tears fell down her face.
"Inoue..." Rukia said with pity as she hugged her friend. "Just give him some time. I'm sure that there must be a way for him to recover his powers. Destiny wouldn't be so cruel after everything he has done for the world"
"I hope you're right. Cause I... I just can't stand seeing him unhappy...But" Orihime continued. "I also feel so disgusted at myself"
Rukia listened speechless to her confession.
"When this happened to him, I know I should have felt sad for him. As her friend, I should've at least felt a bit of the pain Kurosaki-kun was dealing with..." Orihime said with a sad smile. "But instead... I felt relieved. Relieved that he wouldn't be in danger anymore. Relieved that we could go back to having normal lives. Relieved... That I had another chance to show him how much I love him" Orihime finished as she looked at Rukia.
"Stupid!" She hit her softly in the head. "How can you say you're disgusted when all your thoughts were pure?!"
"But, I thought his weakness was some kind of opportunity. That's just not right..." She replied.
"While that may be true, that's simply human. It's natural that in order to fulfill an objective you try to take any chance you have to get what you want. You may think it's selfish, or maybe a little crazy to think that way... But that's just how love is" Rukia concluded blushing a little as she hardly ever talked about such a girly and deep topic.
"Rukia-san..." She gasped. "Thank you" She greeted with a couple tears but a radient smile.
Rukia smiled as well, when suddenly she felt a strong Hollow Reiatsu nearby.
"What the-? No way!" She exclaimed looking at the phone, which showed a massive quantity of Hollows in the area.
"What happened?" Asked Orihime.
"It's Hollows and a lot of them! I have no idea what could be happening..." She replied with a hint of fear.
"Unless they were looking for..."
"Ichigo!" Rukia completed.
"They shouldn't be looking for revenge... Kurosaki-kun did nothing wrong! Aizen was manipulating them to achieve his own ambitions"
"Unhopefully, Arrancar aren't the most logical creatures in that sense. We already know how twisted some of them were..." Rukia remembered some of the worst Arrancar they met during their trip to Hueco Mundo.
"T-Then we must save him!" Orihime snapped.
"Wait... I think Ichigo is actually in the safest place he could be right now" She replied.
"He went to see Urahara-san?" Orihime knew which place she meant.
"Yeah. He had the hope that he could help him restore his powers. I don't know how it must have gone for him in that, but at least we know he'll be safe from encountering any revenge-looking Hollows"
"I really hope he's alright" She thought with a hand on her chest.
"Yo, looks like we're back in action!" A familiar male voice said.
"Renji!" Rukia recognized him.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but almost the whole Gotei 13 has been dispatched. Hollows are appearing all around the Human World, but it seems that this place in particular was the most affected" He said referring to Karakura.
"Whichs Squads were sent here?" Asked Rukia.
"Aside from 6 of course... Squads 3, 5 and 9"
Rukia was shocked. "That means..."
"We have a serious problem at hand if they were sent here" Renji knew what she was thinking.
"I must go help my brother!" She snapped.
"Wait, Rukia! I don't think that's what he'd want. You know him, he'll be alright, but now you're part of Squad 13, the only one ordered to remain in Soul Society"
"Tch..." Rukia grinned her teeth in frustration.
"Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine. Just stay here with Inoue-chan. It would be more dangerous to leave her alone with the current situation"
"I understand" Rukia remembered how Orihime was taken away when she was left alone the last time.
"Well, see you later. I gotta smash some Hollows!"
~~~~X~~~~
Nel and Ichigo had been walking for a while. She seemed fascinated with the thousands of things humans had in their world that she had never seen in Hueco Mundo.
"And what is that?!" She asked astonished.
"That's just a mail box. People who write letters use those" Ichigo replied understanding her ignorance.
"And what is a letter?"
"*sigh* It's a form of communication. You write a paper and put it inside an envelope. However, now that we have these..." He showed her his cellphone. "They are not used as much as before"
"Oh I see. Aizen had brought books and other stuff made of paper but Nel's never seen a letter. Ah, what is that?"
Ichigo was starting to get bothered. "It's a cellphone. You can call people and send mail with it"
"Wow. Nel can't imagine the amount of stuff humans have! It's amazing!"
"Yeah... I don't know about that. When you live in this world, you get used to it pretty quickly"
"Is that so?" She couldn't seem to believe someone could get tired of such a fascinating place.
"Well, Hueco Mundo is quite boring, isn't it?"
"It is. There is not muts to do aside from playing or fighting"
"I thought so" Ichigo remembered how most Arrancar were obsessed with power and fighting. It was no mystery, since it was their way of living. However, was that all there was to Hollows?
"L-Look, Itsygo! There's Shinigami in the sky!" She pointed with her finger.
"Why would-? What am I saying? Of course there would be Shinigami if all Hollows are coming here! Put that hood on and hide your Reiatsu"
"Nel's scared, Itsygo..." She said almost crying.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you, Nel" He pat her head to calm her down.
"Itsygo..." She blushed after hearing such strong words. Ichigo had almost no power left, but Nel was sure that he would still fight for her if she was in danger.
He hurried to his house and jumped into his room thanks to an open window. At least he had enough power to do something so basic.
"Why did we enter like that?" She asked.
"I'd like to keep you a secret if possible. It's kind of a drag explaining things to my dad"
"I see... But wait, aren't you human? Your dad wouldn't be able to see me-"
"Turns out he's a Shinigami. Or at least he used to be. Regardless of his current title, he's still a Soul, so he could see you"
"Would that be too bad?"
"I think it might be a problem"
Nel was about to say something but instead she just looked around the room without knowing what to do.
"Well, make yourself comfortable. I can sleep on the floor, I don't mind"
"No, no. This is your home, Itsygo! Nel can't allow that"
"And what will we do? Are you saying that we should share the bed?"
"Would that bother you...?"
Ichigo thought for a second. "Well, she is like a child in this form. I don't really care if that's the case, and I don't want her to start crying either..."
He put his hand on her head and replied: "No, of course not"
"Yippie!" She celebrated and jumped on the bed.
"Hey, keep it down! If you keep doing things like that, dad's gonna-"
"ICHIGO!" Isshin rushed into the room, crushing the door.
"What the hell are you thinking?!" Ichigo agressively said as he kicked his dad in the face.
"Ow... That hurt. As expected of my son, a simple kick can do good damage... OH!" Isshin shouted as if he had found a hidden treasure.
"Dammit"
"Ichigo, explain yourself! What's the meaning of this? I know that as my son you might have inherited some of my peculiar tastes, but also as my son, you must learn to control your impulses to abduct lolis!"
"It's really not what you think, but I'm not gonna explain it either" Ichigo facepalmed.
"What's your name, little?" Isshin asked Nel.
"Nel Tu"
"Where is your home? I shall be responsible for my son's crude actions"
"Nel doesn't have a home. Itsygo said he would give Nel a home, but now... WAAAA!" She started crying.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! It wasn't my intention! Please don't cry... If you really have nowhere to go, you can stay here" Isshin tried to calm her down.
"Really?" She asked with a broken voice.
"Really. But, where were you planning to leave her, Ichigo?"
"I thought she could sleep in my room. I would've slept on the floor but she wanted me to sleep on my bed with her" After finishing the sentence he realised how wrong it sounded.
"You're deeper into this than I imagined..." Isshin replied disappointed.
"Whatever... Just make her sleep with Karin and Yuzu, it's not like I care!" Ichigo replied bothered.
"But Nel... Nel wanted to sleep with Itsygo!" And she started crying again.
"Oh... I guess there's no other choice. You shall do as she says, Ichigo, but don't you dare try...!"
"I will not, so stop bothering me already!"
"Okay, then. You're free to stay as much as you need, Nel-chan"
"Th-Thank you so muts!" She said with little tears in her eyes.
"*sigh* Now leave, you're making her cry with every sentence you say" Ichigo reptimended him.
"Lucky bastard" Isshin muttered as he left the room.
"I wonder where my sisters are right now. If Karin had been here, she wouldn't have let dad do all this" He said looking at the broken door.
"He's full of energy" Nel observed.
"Totally. He's not very sharp though, as he didn't seem to notice you're a Hollow. That must be thanks to the hood. The first time I saw you I didn't think you were a Hollow either..."
"Yeah, Nel remembers the misunderstanding we created that time"
"Now it is something to laugh about if you think about it. You three were quite bothersome, but our journey wouldn't have been as fun as it was if we hadn't come across you. Not to mention the fact that I would've possibly gotten killed by Nnoitra..." Ichigo felt a chill down his spine as he imagined the fate he'd have faced if that was the case.
"Nel was so scared! Nel didn't want to lose you after all you did for her" She seemed on the border of tears again.
"Don't worry, all that is in the past now. There may be a new menace, but if I restore my powers, mark my words, I'll just beat the Oni and restore the peace"
"Itsygo..." She looked at him astonished with her big hazel eyes.
"Well, it's night already. You wanna eat something or would you call it a day?"
"Hollows don't really need to eat normal food, so I'm fine as it is"
"In case you want to try it I have no problem"
"Maybe tomorrow" She replied as she thought that it would be better if she was in her adult form to do more stuff with Ichigo.
"Okay. I'm totally worn out with all the stuff I have to process, so I'll go ahead and sleep"
"Nel will do the same" She replied as she let herself fall in Ichigo's pillow.
He went to the bathroom and showered. After that he changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth.
Nel was fast asleep when he came back, so he carefully put her under the blanket and quietly got inside the bed.
"She must be exhausted after all the Reiatsu she used this afternoon. You don't know how grateful I am for what you're doing, Nel" He gently caressed her hair and she smiled in her sleep.
He looked at the moon that shined that night and thought of the Shinigami that were busy dealing with the Hollow exodus.
"I hope everyone's alright. If things are like Nel said, they shouldn't be in danger anyway, although it does make me uneasy not being there. But don't worry, guys. If everything goes well, I'll be back by tomorrow"
He closed his eyes and flipped his body to the opposite side of Nel. Back to back, he sunk deep in slumber.
~~~~X~~~~
"So... What is your excuse to come to the Human World?" The blonde 5th Division's Captain asked with his characteristic grin.
"Trust me, I wouldn't mind getting back at you any day, Shinigami! But now it's not the time..." Grimmjow replied as he held a badly wounded Harribel in his arms.
He remembered Shinji from the last time they encountered each other, but revenge wasn't on his mind at the moment.
"Sorry, but this amount of Hollows seemed like a threat to Soul Society. I wouldn't really mind letting you go, but you see... I just recently restored my position and although it's a bit of a drag, I'm kinda happy with it"
"Fuck it. If you wanna fight so badly, I'll give you a fight! Just leave her out of this" The Espada said as he left his female companion on the floor of a large building's rooftop.
Shinji flash-stepped and appeared behind his rival.
"Fine by me. We don't have to go so serious at it either, just make it credible enough that you defeated me" He whispered and then drew his sword with a slash.
Grimmjow evaded the attack and drew his blade as well.
"Nah, if you're gonna fight, you gotta give it your all or it's not worth it!" He replied as he fired a red Cero.
"And here I was trying to help you. Oh well... I'll just end this quick" Shinji replied as he pulled out his mask.
"Oh that trick won't help you anymore. I've been training every day during the past weeks and since the morning all I've done is fight relentlessly! you better get ready, Shinigami... Grind, Pantera!"
Grimmjow extended his Zanpakuto and scratched its blade to awaken it.
A moment after, he transfromed into his Resurrección, which was the only way he thought of that would let him defeat Shinji in his masked form.
A vast amount of Reiatsu was felt through Karakura Town.
"Now you've done it... How do you pretend to get away with this after telling everyone in the area that you are dangerous?" Shinji maskpalmed.
"Easy. I'll just beat you quickly and disappear. I doubt your mates are free enough to come help you anyway"
"True that, but are you sure you can take me on even after taking that form? We have no restriction for this mission due to the threat it posed"
"See for yourself!"
Grimmjow jumped at shinji and slashed relentlessly with his panther claws.
The Captain blocked the inexhaustible savage attack of his enemy with difficulty.
"He's being reckless, but at the same time, I can't find an opening" He thought as he kept moving his Zanpakuto from one place to another to block, while stepping back constantly.
"How do you like that?!" The Espada said as he jumped doing a somersault to finish in a devastating kick.
Shinji fell hard into the concrete ground below them.
"Damn, that hurt..." He said as he got up again.
He was about to counter when he noticed a number of giant blue slashes coming at him.
"Ah... Shit" He muttered as he noticed his situation.
"DESGARRÓN" Shouted Grimmjow as he used his most powerful attack.
Shinji evaded the first two just by dodging, but the rest of slashes were too difficult.
"Well, at least I tried. Despite his aggressive attitude, I can feel that they are not up to anything bad. Thanks to his attack, now I have enough proof to say it was too dangerous to continue" The Captain thought as he fled from the battle. "Good luck, pal"
Grimmjow looked for him but couldn't find a single trace of the Shinigami. He felt a bit disappointed by this since his body was aching for a fight, but in his mind, he knew that it was better to end it as quickly as possible and take Harribel somewhere safe.
"We came to this world cause we had no other choice, but now, even though I hate to admit it... Who would help us?" He thought as he ran in the opposite direction to the Shinigami pursuing him. "I used Pesquisa and all trying to find Ichigo, but I can't even get a glimpse of his presence..."
Thanks to his Resurrección, he was able to completely lose his pursuers in a matter of minutes. He didn't have much Reiatsu left at this point though, so he was forced to go back to his normal form afterwards. He felt really tired as he carried the queen of Hueco Mundo through Karakura Town. Harribel had been dormant during most of the events, and although she was slowly regaining consciousness, her body didn't even allow her to stay half-awake for too long, due to the pain and exhaustion remnant from the invasion.
"She stayed back to fight those Demons even knowing how strong they were. I was surprised that she managed to defeat so many and still have energy left to challenge Ulquiorra. That bastard... He didn't even use his Resurrección. Is he even an Arrancar? He looked exactly the same as when we were in Aizen's army, but his power is at a completely different level. It sickens me. I never fought him using his full potential, but I'm sure he was strong. Only he was able to truly beat him, and I'm pretty sure that if someone has a chance of beating him once and for all, that's him" He remembered the face of his favorite rival.
"My, my..." A familiar male voice said.
"Who the hell?" Grimmjow reacted immediately drawing out his sword.
"Hey, no need for that, I'm here to help. I heard Hueco Mundo was in trouble" Urahara said to calm him down.
"How do you know?" He asked him with a menacing look.
"I already have two Arrancar guests at my humble shop. I wouldn't mind making room for another pair. I can see that she's not in the best shape..." He offered in a friendly way to try to persuade the Espada.
"Heh, and what makes you think I'm just gonna trust you? You're clearly a Shinigami!" He cut his hand in purpose and was charging a particularly dangerous Cero.
"H-Hey, calm down a little! I have no intention of hurting you or your girlfriend!" Kisuke tried to calm him down.
Grimmjow was determined to blast a Gran Rey Cero until he heard a voice behind him.
"No... Grimm...jow..."
"Huh?" He looked back.
Tier Harribel was hardly opening her eyes, but she noticed the situation and tried to make him reason.
"I somehow know... He's only trying... To help" She spoke and then lost consciousness again.
"Tch..." He made a sound of disapproval but stopped charging his attack. "You better be telling the truth"
"Of course. You can stay as long as you need to heal your wounds"
"I'm fine! Though... Some medical treatment wouldn't do her any bad..."
"You're quite the Tsundere, aren't you?"
"Sh-Shut the fuck up! And also, she's not my girlfriend!"
"Sorry, sorry. I was just teasing you a little... We should start moving. Follow me" Urahara said as he felt the Reiatsu of other Shinigami getting closer.
"Whatever..." The Espada replied as he picked up Harribel bridal style and did as Kisuke told him.
~~~~X~~~~
"Huh? What's going on? Where am I?" Nelliel thought as she raised her head.
She was laying on the ground. A great infinite plain of black sand was all she could see around her. She tried to recognize the place, but was unable to.
To get a better view she tried to stand up, but before she could, the expansive wave of a giant explosion sent her flying.
After falling to the ground she noticed what was happening.
A Hollow of white body and jet black bat wings, claws and legs was fighting.
"What was his name? Wasn't he called... Ulquiorra?"
From her angle she couldn't see who he was fighting, so she stood up and ran to the top of the dune to see the battle.
"Who is that?" She muttered as the other Hollow screamed with rage.
It was a white Vasto Lorde with horns in his head and long orange hair.
"That hair... It's longer, but it looks just like... Ichigo?!"
The Vasto Lorde charged a great red Cero from its horns and blasted it full force at Ulquiorra.
He evaded it, but the Vasto Lorde flash-stepped so fast that it seemed like teleportation. Ulquiorra had no chance to escape his enemy as he was hit by a black blade and thrown into the sand.
After hitting the ground, the Espada pointed his finger and charged a Cero Oscuras to counter.
The white Vasto Lorde protected himself with the blade, but the Cero managed to deal him a certain amount of damage. He screamed in anger as he touched his damaged torso and charged viciously at Ulquiorra.
From the distance, Nelliel could see how Ulquiorra moved his lips, but couldn't decipher what he was saying.
After he finished speaking, a cloud of darkness and green lightnings engulfed him.
A crushing Reiatsu brought her to her knees. Out of the dark cloud appeared Ulquiorra, now with three pairs of black fallen angel wings, demonic horns coming out of his head and green irises with black sclera on his eyes. On his body, a long tunic formed, covering his legs, while the rest of his body had a white color of skin in which the moon reflected its shine.
The Vasto Lorde, which by now Nelliel was completely sure it was Ichigo, confronted Ulquiorra one more time, but unfortunately for him, it was the end.
From the nightsky fell a long weapon she identified as some kind of lance. The Espada grabbed it and charged it with Reiatsu, to immediately hit Ichigo with it and, with his other hand, throw a tremendous green lance of pure Reiatsu at him.
"No... No... No! ICHIGO!" She yelled as she saw his silhouette being disintegrated in the attack, raising her hand from the sand as if she was trying to reach him.
Until she suddenly woke up with tears in her eyes and holding Ichigo tightly in her embrace.
"Ungh... Nel?" He muttered as he slowly woke up, not even opening his eyes.
"Ichigo... Thank God!" She said as she held him with even more strength.
She felt every ton of negativity inside of her turn into relief and happiness.
"Wait, Nel! I can't breathe...!" He tried to say before noticing. "Wait a minute. This strength, this... Softness?!" He thought as he realised she had transformed into her adult form.
"Sorry... I'm just so glad..." She put her head against his as she embraced him with tears of happiness running down her cheeks.
"What happened, Nel?" He asked her with a worried look and washed her tears away with his hand.
"I... I had a nightmare..." She blushed as she felt childish due to the idea that a mere dream made her so upset.
"Oh... I can't even imagine how terrible it must have been if you ended up transforming" He pointed out.
"Huh?" Nelliel realised at that moment that she had gone back to her original age, at least for the moment. "You're right! I hadn't noticed..."
"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now" He tried to calm her down by patting her head.
"I'm sorry for the trouble, Ichigo... But it was so real!"
"Then, would you like to talk about it? Only if it'll make you any good, of course"
"It might sound ridiculous... But I... I saw you die" She told him very serious.
"Really? How?" He became curious about such a terrible fate.
Nelliel doubted for a moment if she should tell Ichigo. A part of her felt that it was only a dream, but there was also something telling her that it was more than that.
"You were fighting... That fourth Espada, Ulquiorra. But to say the truth, it wasn't really you. It was like, you had become a Vasto Lorde"
"It can't be...!" He said out loud. "Nel wasn't in Las Noches during my battle with Ulquiorra, she couldn't possibly know how I looked in that form" He thought.
"Does something about my dream bother you?" She asked worried as well.
"Should I tell her that I once became a Vasto Lorde?" He thought, to finally reply: "No... Not really. It's just that I know for a fact that Ulquiorra is dead. I... I killed him" He lied.
"I heard that as well... Maybe I'm just afraid cause when the Oni invaded, a giant green Cero flew across the sky. I hadn't thought about it in that moment, but maybe my subconscious linked that to him. After all... The time we encountered him was really shocking" She remembered.
Ichigo deviated Ulquiorra's green Cero and escaped Las Noches to protect Nel. However, Ulquiorra was faster and stronger. He caught up to them and sent the two flying into a pillar, to finally almost kill Ichigo by digging a hole into his chest, in the same place where the nihilist Espada had his Hollow Hole. Nelliel didn't remember everything clearly, as she almost passed out instantly after she was tossed by Ulquiorra, but she clearly remembered how helpless she felt when she saw Ichigo dying. Remembering such scene, filled her with determination as to never let something like that happen ever again.
"It was a nightmare to remember..." She said full of despair.
"Don't worry, I'm alright. There's nothing to be afraid of"
"But... I think it's time I am truly able to protect you as well. I don't want you to get hurt like that time with Ulquiorra or then with Nnoitra. I don't ever wanna look at your inanimate body as I curse my own weakness. I don't... I don't want to imagine living in a world without you, Ichigo!" She declared, just like her Zanpakuto.
"Nel..." He could only say after seeing her so determined for the first time, as well as realising his position. "Am I that important... To her?" He thought as he became lost in the powerful gaze of her hazel eyes.
"I wanna be strong, Ichigo. I want to fight by your side. I want... To protect you... In the same way you protected me" She concluded.
"I... I never thought that you cared so much for me" He blushed a little as he said his thoughts.
"Well, I... I don't know how to explain it either. It's just, a feeling here in my chest. Something that's sometimes heavy as a block of iron and other times light as a feather. Something that fills me with sadness when I see or think about you getting hurt, but that fills me with joy when I know you're happy or safe" She blushed as well and closed her eyes as she gave him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life.
Ichigo felt that her description could only match one feeling in the human library. Not only that, but every time Nel said something like that to him, he felt strange as well. The first time, he wasn't sure that it was something good, but now this strange feeling only seemed to make him happy.
Suddenly, he felt the need to touch her face. To feel her smooth skin in the palm of his hand and the tip of his fingers.
"Huh?" She was surprised at Ichigo's reaction, but at the same time she loved the way he was touching her.
"You're so beautiful, Nel" He said his thoughts out loud, since he was so immersed in his feelings that he didn't realise it.
Seeing her as a fully grown woman, forgetting about the kid he once knew was a piece of cake. Her cute yet mature personality only confirmed that idea, and she was undoubtedly beautiful, so much he instantly blushed just from looking at her straight in her hazel orbs.
Now, Nel felt a different urge. Something she had never felt in her whole life. She stared deeply at Ichigo's brown eyes and then she looked at his mouth.
"What is this? What am I thinking?" She thought as she felt the desire to feel Ichigo's lips against hers.
Ichigo, despite logically understanding the situation, had zero experience with girls. He didn't know what he was supposed to do, although his instincts were clearly telling him to do the same the girl wanted, but he wasn't sure about it. Could Hollows even feel that way? Did HE feel that way about her...?
In the end however, their bodies moved unintentionally, slowly heading each towards the other's lips, but suddenly.
"Good morning, Ichigo! Sorry for not repairing your door yesterday, but I stayed at a friend's house with Yuzu" Karin entered his room.
"Shit, the door!" He remembered.
"So what were you...?" She stopped right in her tracks as she noticed a beautiful girl with turquoise hair and, for some reason a cracked skull in her head, by Ichigo's side.
"Wait, she can see her!" Ichigo thought as Karin's look was obviously directed at the place where Nelliel was.
"*sigh* I'm not gonna ask anything cause I'm not like the other two, but get ready for a celebration..." She warned as the steps of her father and sister were heard as they got closer to the room.
"Ichigo! How did Nel-chan slee-? Oh my God!" Isshin suddenly ran out of the room.
Ichigo knew he had gone to tell his mom's poster that he became a man or something of some sorts.
"What's up with him?" Yuzu asked oblivious of the situation since she couldn't see spirits.
"No way..." Karin muttered as she noticed. "That means that this girl... That skull... She's a Hollow?!" She thought.
Isshin came back into the room as energetically as always.
"Okay... so let me get this straight, Ichigo. Judging by her hair, I can more or less get an idea of what you did... So I'm going to try and guess the whole story-"
"Dad!" Ichigo tried to call his attention as Yuzu was in the room.
"No interruptions until I finish" He replied seriously as he closed his eyes and pointed his index finger upward as if there was a magical cloud on top of it in charge of shaping everything he was going to say.
"For fuck's sake..."
"So... Ichigo was having a normal day, until he came across an unprecedented beauty having a hard time. For the first time in his life, his instincts told him that he could not ignore this older woman. He used his natural talent as a man of the Kurosaki family to speak to her and try to make her fall in love with him.
However, there was a problem. Turns out that the woman and her little daughter had been abandoned by the father, which not only gave away the age difference she had with Ichigo, but also meant a new responsibility in his life.
Any average man would've ran away as soon as this obstacle presented itself, but my son, acting as a real prime alpha male, decided to help this woman and her daughter with no hesitation.
All this dramatic chain of events brought us to yesterday's night, when Ichigo brought the little girl to take care of her while the woman was busy.
Proving his parental ability as well as how dependable he was, the woman decided to accept Ichigo as her new husband, who will take care of her and her daughter for the rest of his life.
My son, has truly become a man. And a man I can be proud of!" He finished, letting a few tears of happiness.
After he finished telling such an unbelievable story, Ichigo was facepalming and Nelliel looked at him strangely as well as his daughters.
"Dad, what the hell are you saying? Ichigo is all by himself" Yuzu said not understanding.
Isshin, quickly understanding what was going on, replied with a good cover: "Of course... I forgot to tell you that today I was going to practice for when that day truly comes, Yuzu"
"Ah... I see" She replied calmly as she knew her dad very well, or so she thought.
"Oh, I forgot to buy some things for breakfast. Could you girls go get some eggs and bread?" He said as he gave Karin 2,000¥, as well as a serious look.
"Okay" She replied. "Let's go, Yuzu" She took her by the arm and left the room.
"Bye, Ichigo, see you later!" Said Yuzu.
After the girls left the house, Isshin gave Nelliel a better look. As soon as he noticed her skull, he had an idea of the actual situation.
"*sigh* Would you mind explaining me what's happening, Ichigo? Cause I know perfectly well that yesterday, Soul Society was having a lot of trouble because of... Well...This" He pointed at Nelliel.
"I guess there is no other choice..." He muttered.
"No. All of this is my fault, so I'm gonna explain" She replied.
"I don't care who does it and no one will be at fault either. I just want to know exactly what I'm dealing with" Isshin clarified.
"Alright. I'll start from the beginning, Kurosaki-san" She said seriously.
And that was Chapter 2! I had a little busy week, but I still had time to write this one. It was a pretty mixed chapter so I even had trouble naming it, but that's what made it wholesome as well.
I hope you guys enjoyed it, and now I'll head to Reviews (which makes me really happy, keep them going!):
Mugetsu1996: Nice start and it has Ichigo Paired with Nel cant wait for more.
Reply: Glad you liked it, and I added more IchiNel stuff in this chapter that I hope you enjoyed! Of course I'll go steady with that, I hate rushing things, but step by step all roads lead Rome *insert heart*
Guest: Thank you for posting, it was a really nice prologue !Hell's nature in Bleach is not really explained, I think that except in the first chapters it is mostly forgotten. The demons you describe are cool, I'm glad you made them loook monstruous and not human-like like the Arrancars. Is Ulquiorra still a Hollow though ? Or did he evolve into a demon ?I can't wait to find out more about this universe.
Reply: Well, that was the main reason I decided to pick the Oni as the main antagonists. What are their motives? In time we'll know. About Ulquiorra, Grimmjow revealed a bit of information about his current state so I hope you get an idea (I won't give a clear answer yet of course, but you will get it eventually). Also, I wouldn't really use the term evolve to describe the change from Hollow to Oni, as they are completely different species of souls, but that's irrelevant anyway.
Black Bankai: That was awesome.
Reply: Thanks a lot for the support, always appreciated!
See you all next time! Evhron out.