-Forenote-
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach
I had a hard time with this chapter.
I actually rewrote the majority of it after getting most of it done as I realized my sense of time was horrible as per usual. So that means I had to make some changes and such for things to flow well.
And to be honest, looking back at chapter 2 it seems like a continued intro, with it establishing the situation and such. Which I think this requires a pretty good amount of that; not a problem, but thats just how it turned out.
To those who are enjoying this anyways, thank you kindly. I did see one reader saying it felt a bit rushed, which I do get, but I have a plan. A plan that does not involve long and fairly uninteresting sections of a nameless hollow (though you know damn well who he is) roaming Hueco Mundo just...eating. That's pretty much all adjuchas do, we know how it works, and that section will not last long.
The pacing from now on will probably be slower as it takes the time to really expand on character aspects - once that is an option for our protagonist here. Some of this will not be exactly happy or pleasant, but these are hollows, and as much as we may like to think of the ones we know as fairly civilized, the race(?) overall is literally based around negative emotion. Its not all sunshine and rainbows.
Don't get me wrong, I do love some fun little interactions and all that, but this is very much an event and story driven narrative. Depending on feedback and my inherent traits as a hopeless romanticist, there will be opportunities for some more light-hearted sections. After all, it's not as if we need to rush towards canon events: there are pretty good gaps in between major things outside of Hueco Mundo I intend to utilize fully.
Anyways, I'll probably be set on getting a new chapter out every week or so at the latest. I don't want to restrict myself by a weird time limit for creative purposes, but that seems like a good amount of time for me to prepare a well thought out entry, taking into account any delays caused by real life things. Or writers block.
And yes, I know about the little typos. I'm literally writing on my phone, mostly in my free time at work, and for some reason it doesn't always save quite right. I'll be heading back once a chapter is out to check just in case it didn't save my editing. Of which I do a lot.
-Forenote end-
Chapter 3: Sanity
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Oh come on, live a little."
"Too late for that."
"But you have such a nice mane..."
"No."
Nel frowned, the green-haired hollow crossing her arms and pouting slightly. "You really are no fun. Not even a single braid?"
Shin, draconian body swaying underneath her perch on his back, growled, tail sweeping wide in irritation. The sound rumbled out like the grinding of stone, heavy with the hints of his patience wearing thin. They - he - had been running for what felt like weeks, the arrancar almost always riding on his broad shoulders. When he asked why she didn't run herself, she had simply replied, "Because I'm not going to leave you behind." He distinctly remembered how fast he had seen her move, and conceded the point.
Nel had gone on to explain how dangerous it was for any single adjucha out this far in the wastes, and why she wouldn't leave. He had then, feeling slightly managed, asked why someone like her was even there in the first place; the answer to which he was still processing.
He certainly hadn't expected the news that the most powerful hollows, under some leader she wouldn't name, were uniting their forces to counter the soul reapers - and possibly to attack their base in the Seireitei itself. This wasn't the part that confused him, as something ingrained in his mind as a hollow recognized the threat the shinigami presented.
The thought of vasto lordes - and several other arrancar - making an alliance? The idea alone beggared belief.
She had then explained that they all had instructions to seek out more powerful allies, preferably vasto lordes, to join their ranks under the leadership of the Espada - the ten strongest hollows in the entire realm. It came as no real surprise to Shin that his new friend and apparent leader was one of them.
What did was the fact that she was only third in that ranking.
He had turned an incredulous look towards the woman at that news; who in turn, and to her credit, didn't bat so much as a single lash.
"The order also factors in potential, and my powers aren't truly anything incredible. I am quite flattered though," she had said playfully, patting one bony cheek.
In the end, that search was what had led Nel to him: his awakening into an adjucha had let off enough spiritual energy to sense with her pesquisa, a radar-like technique only arrancar seemed to possess.
In any case, that was why they were currently heading towards a white silhouette in the distance, which Nel had convinced him was the home base of this hollow army - the castle of Las Noches. She had also assured him that it was absolutely massive, and that it was the only reason the place didn't look to be getting any closer, no matter how fast he ran.
Even with that explanation, the tedium was starting to wear at him. That and-
His jaws clamped together with an audible click, quelling the thought before it could develop.
"Shin? Are you okay?"
He opened his eyes, looking back to see Nel gazing down with a concerned face. He nodded once before staring forwards at the sands ahead. He could feel her eyes boring into the back of his skull.
Without warning a large pillar of sand erupted in the distance, the shockwave reaching them a moment later, the sound of a cero detonating clear.
They traded glances.
"Keep heading forwards." Her tone was authorative. "I'll see what it is." She immediately leapt off his back, darting out with incredible speed and vanishing into the desert.
A few moments after she was gone, his body shuddered violently, and it was all he could do to hold himself together as his chest swelled, the hollow hole there seeming to burn. He could feel his consciousness slipping, an unholy choir of murmuring and shrieks shattering any sanity he had managed to hold on to.
The downside of having such a powerful being nearby was that Nel, by nature, emitted an powerful aura: the presence of a superior predator. Other hollows could sense that, no matter their strength, and would intentionally or otherwise avoid the area she was in. As a result, Shin had not been able to find any prey in the days since his initial evolution, and he was beginning to lose control. Through either stubbornness or a sense of pride he had refused to show it.
This is...my chance...
A voice from behind caused him to tense in surprise, hackles rising.
"Well, well...look at what we have here."
A group of hollows appeared over the top of a nearby dune, of various shapes and sizes, all watching him with narrowed eyes. He didn't move, didn't look.
"What, mommy leaves and he just freezes?" A tall, thin one scoffed, moving up. "Well then, before she realizes what's going on...he's MINE!"
With a yell, the creature jumped at the inert form below.
Shin felt an uncontrollable instict rise, wiping away his conscious thoughts.
None of the other hollows saw the empty sheen in the larger beasts glowing eyes, the jaws open and slavering as it turned mindlessly to meet its prey.
--
Nel searched the area, no trace of any living thing nearby. Confused, she once again examined the small crater from the blast that had attracted her there in the first place. The fact that she never actually sensed whoever had fired it was the strange part. To fire a cero of any magnitude, one couldn't simply hide the rest of their reiatsu at the same time, and she hadn't picked up anything. Unless that was a hollows unique ability, at least.
And why would someone have fired it here? There was nothing of note in the area, and the only thing she could think was to create...
A diversion.
"Shin!" Nel whirled around, speeding back the way she came, praying she wasn't too late.
--
When she arrived, she wasn't sure whether to be pleased at what she saw...or horrified. Strewn about a large dip in the sand were various bodies - and body parts - in various condition, some savaged so badly they were unrecognizable. Blood covered most of the ground, spreading slowly from the corpses that remained, staining the sand black. Many of the heads were either gone entirely or had most of their masks missing. Several of the bodies were dissolving, the reishi that comprised their forms fading away after their souls were ripped away.
A panicked scream drew her eyes up, past the carnage, to witness one last hollow crawling up the far side of the dune from her, one leg torn off just above the knee.
Shin stalked after it slowly, and her heart fell as she saw the amount of gore caked on his frontmost talons. He suddenly rushed forwards, and with a mangled crunch and one last cry, the hollow was gone.
Nel winced, a horrid noise tearing through the air as Shin ate his fill. When it was done, his massive form lumbered upright, letting out a blood-curdling roar into the night. She watched him sadly, the moons cold light glinting off his horns as he howled out his victory, and lamented that she hadn't acted sooner.
She had been foolish. Every hollow went through this phase of uncontrollable hunger, why had she expected him to be different? He had certainly seemed more self-aware and intelligent than most, but that probably also meant he had been holding back for some time. Most likely, it had been gnawing at him shortly after they had met, just after his evolution.
How could I have forgotten what it was like, to be constantly fighting the urges? It was never a pleasant thing...I suppose I wanted to leave it all behind.
Nel shook her head slowly, hair rippling down her back with the motion. She had to fix this.
She took a single step forwards, and the noise it made, however faint, caused his head to jerk towards her. She could see the lack of clarity in his eyes as he snarled, tail thrashing about, no recognition in the predatory stance he assumed.
"Shin," she called softly, showing no fear or aggression; if he wasn't going to wake up, she would do what she could to calm him, though there was no sign that he even registered her voice.
This was proven a moment later as he leapt forwards, jaws open wide.
Well then.
Nel let him get within a foot before acting. She stepped to the side, one hand almost caressing the edge of his jaw as he landed. Her other hand she buried in his orange mane as she took a hold of his horn. With a small grunt and a twist, the larger hollow found itself in the air - and a moment later it slammed back down into the sand, with Nel placing one hand just above an eye.
Holding the beast down, she kept repeating his name until she finally saw a glimmer of light looking back...
--
Shin faintly heard someone calling him, as if from miles away. He slowly rose to the top of his own mind, blinking in confusion upon seeing Nels almond-shaped green eyes staring down at him. His whole body ached as if he'd been tossed around, and finally that memory slid into place as well as he groaned from the unexpected pain.
She smiled at the noise. "We have to stop meeting like this, Shin." She kept one hand on his mask just to be sure. "How do you feel? I don't see any wounds, just a lot of blood."
He shifted uncomfortably. "...Awake, I guess. I'm sorry." Her expression softened some - right before she slapped him hard on the neck.
He scrambled to his full height with a yelp as she pursued him, shouting something that sounded like an odd mix of reassuring words and death threats, swatting at his ankles whenever she could.
It stung quite a lot more than expected, both physically and otherwise. She overrode any of his attempts to explain himself, simply roaring out "You dont think I, of all people, wouldn't understand?! You gigantic IDIOT, who the HELL do you think I am-"
She eventually devolved into muttered words and an impressive growl of her own as she stalked away, one last echoing blow to his hindquarters still smarting.
"You had better tell me the next time you need to feed," she shouted over one shoulder. "I am not going through this just to have you go feral on me!" Shin looked after her incredulously; apparently hollow women were just as confusing as any other at times.
"I'm not hearing a 'yes'!"
Starting in surprise, he quickly caught up, glancing to the side at her as he loped along. "Thank you."
Nel flashed him a winning smile, hopping back and onto his shoulders once more and giving him a much lighter smack on the head, yelling at him to run like some kind of drill sergeant.
Snorting in amusement, his mind clear for now, he took off across the desert, making tracks towards the distant silhouette of their destination.
--
Days later, the castle of Las Noches was clearly visible in the distance - if it could even be called as such. It had a single titanic white structure with a square base and walls, leading up to an equally large sloped dome capping it. There were a few smaller conical structures surrounding it at various intervals that they could see from this angle, and from Nel describing it there were more on the opposite side. If he strained, several smaller nubs of white could be seen on the very top.
"It's a palace," Shin had said in awe when the scale of the place had struck him. "A palace big enough to hold a city...where did it come from?"
Nel had opened her mouth...and paused, seeming to be lost for words.
"I don't actually know, I don't think anyone really does," she'd admitted after a minute of thought. She told him several minutes later that one of her fellow arrancar, by the name of Barragan, used to rule over Hueco Mundo. Apparently when he had been the king, there was no structure like that, only the smaller pillars surrounding it. If anyone would know, it was him - or possibly their current leader.
Whom Nel still would not speak of.
"It's a secret."
"And I'm another hollow. Under your command, if I remember right." She had grimaced at that, holding up one slender hand to stop any further questions of his.
"We're essentially preparing for war, Shin. As decreed by our leader, only the ten Espada know who exactly they are. If any word got out of Hueco Mundo and to the Soul Society, it would jeapordize the entire plan. We have to be patient."
At seeing the doubting expression in his eyes, she had sighed relentingly. "Though I have been told the plans will come into effect within a year. That's all we know for now."
"A year?!"
She'd squinted at him rather testily. "Oh, and you have something important to do otherwise?"
She had a fair point.
The talk had then turned to preparation, and the entire reason he was on his way to their base. Shin was honestly surprised to find he was the only hollow that Nel herself had found to bring back at all, other than the two companions she had mentioned; whose names he could never seem to remember. There was realistically no limit to the amount of hollows here. Nel raised one delicate brow at his surprise. "Well obviously we weren't sent out to find any random adjucha."
He tossed back an expression that seemed to speak volumes, to which she responded with a rather unfeminine snort.
"Shin. You are clearly no ordinary hollow," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"And you're basing that on..?"
He got a flat look. "From what you told me and from what I was able to sense, you fought and summarily ate two adjucha when you were just a gillian. Do you think that is in any way normal?"
"You do know I have nothing to compare that t-ow!" Her loud slap echoed in the area. Nel sighed in mock weariness as he cursed.
"That is not normal. Or even heard of. At all," she explained more patiently. "And as you should know, any...abnormalities in this world should never be overlooked." She stretched languidly, laying back against his bushy mane, feet pointing back where they had come; Shin wasn't entirely sure how she was keeping her balance, as he was still galloping along at a fair pace.
"Besides," she continued thoughtfully, "you may remember I was surprised to find you?" He nodded once, thinking back. "That was because I had genuinely thought the spiritual energy I was sensing was from a vasto lorde - and not in any small amount. You have enough raw power to be quite a threat." She frowned. "It's just very...unrefined. Which I can only assume is why you're an adjucha still."
"Can a hollow even do that? Jump straight past this level?"
"Not that I've ever heard of. You would be the closest example I've seen, and I can't imagine it will be much longer before you do change." A smirk grew on her face. "Maybe then we could get to the castle sooner." Shin grumbled good-naturedly at that, eliciting a small laugh.
In his mind, however, things were anything but light-hearted. He had fed several times since their encounter in the desert before, with Nel helping locate any worthwile prey nearby before she scared it off. The problem was that he could not sense any real change in his power. He'd felt it distinctly after the ambush, but only then. From Nel's description, he had no shortage of actual strength, all that was left was the evolution itself.
But was there some sort of trigger, some catalyst to push him over the edge? Or was it simply that he needed to consume more reishi?
Onwards he ran, wishing only for the hunger to end, however it may happen.
--
Some weeks and several groups of hollows later, the massive bulk of Las Noches filled most of their vision. It dwarfed the horizon, rising up nearly enough to blot out the light of the moon.
"We're still another two days out...at the least." Shin looked back, clear doubt on what Nel could see of his expression. She shrugged in response. "I did say it was big."
He shook his head ponderously in disbelief as he leapt over a large mound - and landed heavily, sand kicking up as he skid to a stop, nearly throwing Nel off. She yelped in surprise, holding onto his mane as she looked up. "Shin, what-"
Her question died off into frosty silence as she looked to the top of the next dune in their path, and the tall, thin figure that stood at its peak. The aura of power radiating from it told Shin all he needed to know before he even got a good look: this was an arrancar.
The man stood at seven feet, lanky figure clothed in white. A slim white jacket covered his torso, open at the chest and with the collar upturned, framing a pale face with strangely elongated features, a too-wide mouth stretched in an ominous grin. Medium length black hair was slicked down, turning shaggy and unorganized as it reached his neck. One snakelike eye peered down at them, the left covered in a large white eyepatch. His lower half wore some sort of white hakama pants, tucked into odd thin black boots, the toes upturned at the end. A long, ringed expanse of chain links led from his right hip, looping around to the bottom of a weapon he held with his left arm, the haft resting over one shoulder, the huge crescent-bladed head visible over the opposite side.
Shin couldn't move; he was being crushed by the spiritual pressure emanating off this being. It washed over him in waves, heavy with bloodlust - some small part realized it wasn't aimed at him.
He caught a glimpse of Nel looking back, and a moment later her own reiatsu burst out, unleashed for the first time. Surprisingly, it seemed to lift the weight pushing him down, and he realized she was acting as a barrier, her power stopping any other from passing by. Even with that, the magnitude of it caused him to cower back unwillingly.
Nel swung back to face the man, a distictively frigid expression on her features. "What do you want?" she asked calmly, one hand on the hilt of her blade.
The man simply grinned wider and barked out a laugh, any actual humor very clearly missing. "So cold," he sneered, voice cutting through the silence with a jagged edge. "What, you aren't going to even introduce me to your new little pet?"
Nel sighed, almost in resignation. "Shin, meet Nnotra Gilga...another of the Espada." Nnoitra's one eye gazed at him, a small hint of curiousity there; Shin felt like an insect, being examined by a much larger predator. He did, however, stand his ground. The Espada snorted after a moment at his lack of reaction.
"Well he's not a coward at least, I'll give you that..." He leaned forward, slamming his weapon down into the sand. "Whatever. You know I'm not here for that, Nelliel." He leered down, his only reply a narrowed look.
"I don't recall agreeing to anything."
"Yeah? Then let's get it straight: I want a rematch."
"There's no time for this right now."
"Haaaah?!" Nnoitra's eye turned into a slit, mouth twisted into an ugly grimace. Nel shifted slightly, putting herself more in front of Shin; he caught the movement, expression turning vicious.
"Playing babysitter, right...well then, I think you just need the proper motivation." He suddenly vanished with a soft noise, like static. The same happened to Nel, and they both reappeared directly behind Shin, Nnoitra's long weapon clashing against her drawn sword in a shower of sparks as she pushed him back, expression furious. "You would go that far to get a simple fight?!"
He laughed maliciously, almost seeming to drink in her anger. "Of course!" he yelled, swinging his huge weapon with incredible ease and speed. "You know damn well this is what I live for! Now shut the hell up and FIGHT ME!" With a final roar he lunged forwards, launching Nel back with a wide sweep. She cursed, throwing a quick look at the paralyzed Shin.
"Get out of here, head for Las Noches! I'll meet you there, but you need to go-" She was cut off as her opponent once again flashed to the side, catching her in the side with the haft of his weapon in a swift jab. She growled in rage, batting the taller man away in a strike that sent a shockwave out, tossing him into a nearby rise.
"Go, now!"
Shin didn't hesitate a second more, panic taking over as he crouched, leaping away as fast as he could. He could still hear cackling and the metallic clanging of their blades behind him - but he ran.
He ran until he could no longer hear, see, or sense his friend anymore.
--
Panting, Shin finally stopped, dropping to the sand with a loud impact. His sides heaved, muscles shivering in exhaustion. He couldn't remember exactly how far or long he had gone for, though it had felt like days - and Las Noches was no closer.
Damn.
He hadn't payed any attention to where he was going in his panic, his fear, for that was exactly what he was running from. A primal urge to flee for his life was the only thing that had guided his flight from the battle.
After a few minutes his breath returned, clarity returning as he rose, gazing around. The same endless white desert surrounded him on all sides. He stood at the top of a huge hill that sloped down for miles, turning into a breathtaking expanse of flat plains leading to the palace far in the distance, broken only by the tiny stubs of trees dotting the landscape.
He had been told to head straight for Las Noches; that was the last thing Nel had managed to say, and he was determined to follow that instruction, if only to repay her for ensuring he survived this far.
But...something was stopping him. Yes, he could head to relative safety and regroup with Nel. But the thought of simply remaining as he was infuriated him.
He had been powerless to even move against Nnoitra - and he now knew that as friendly as Nel was, she was at the same level.
Far beyond anything he could imagine.
A rumbling growl seeped out from his clenched jaws, talons kneading the sand unconsciously.
Why can't I evolve already? What's stopping me?
Shin knew he wouldn't gain any more power from eating other hollows, that was already clear. And he felt deep in his soul he wasn't meant to stop here. Besides, the ever-present hunger was still there, and he would never rest until that was gone.
But if simply gathering his strength wasnt enough, he needed to go searching for what he needed - not sitting on his ass in a palace.
Casting one last look at Las Noches, he turned away, scanning the surrounding area for some sort of clue, anything of note. For a moment, he wondered if this would count as disobeying orders.
Sorry Nel. I'll meet up with you later.
Alone once again, he ran on.