Chapter 24: Allies in the Castle
Karakura Highschool
Uryu had been receiving many odd looks ever since he arrived at school. He had shaken most of them off, however, by lunchtime, the boy couldn't take it anymore.
Uryu sits up suddenly, turning to glare at the main gossiper, Keigo Asano, "What is it, Asano? Is there something wrong with my face?"
Keigo, who was previously not so quietly whispering to Mizuiro about something, perks up, "W-well… it's just…"
Uryu raises a brow, unamused, "'Just', what?"
Keigo starts laughing, "It's just that hair braid makes you look like a girl!"
Mizuiro sweat drops, "Not feeling subtle today, are you Asano?"
Uryu adjusts his glasses, scoffing, "I'll have you know, my cousin, Yuzu, worked tirelessly to get my hair in this style. I won't let you mock—"
"Wait, YUZU'S YOUR COUSIN?!", Keigo blurts out.
Uryu raises a brow, "Yeah… wait, you were with her at that Kanonji rally, weren't you, Asano?"
Keigo ignores Uryu's question, "I DIDN'T KNOW YOU AND ICHIGO WERE COUSINS!"
This grabs the attention of Chad, Tatsuki, and Orihime, who walk over to join the conversation.
Orihime gives Uryu a look, "You never mentioned this, even when you'd open up about somethings in sewing club…"
Uryu sighs, "Well, I didn't find out until after Kurosaki… well…"
Orihime nods, "I understand…"
Tatsuki huffs, "Anyway, Ishida did raise a good question… you three guys were with Ichigo's sister during the Kanonji rally last week—who was that woman with you? Y'know, the one they called Karakura yellow or whatever… you should know Asano, she's your woman…"
Tatsuki snickers as Keigo wears a mortified look, feeling a shiver up his back, "I wish not to speak about Candice right now…"
Uryu raises a brow, "So that was Candice Catnipp?"
Chad gives the boy a shocked look, "You've met her?"
Uryu shakes his head, "No, but I know of her from what Ryuken has told me… their work acquaintances…"
Orihime places a hand on her chin, "I see! So, this Candice lady was your father's ex-nurse now turned babysitter has eyes for a young strapping lad in the form of our very own Keigo Asano! But the love is forbidden—so Keigo must wait until he grows up and trains to become a hero of legend and sweep her off her feet after defeating a foul monster that threatens her life! The two ride off into the distance up a giant metallic horse with laser eyes and—"
"Alright, that's enough Orihime!", Tatsuki interrupts her friend's maddened rambling.
The rest of the group all sweat drop at Orihime's typical antics.
Chad regards Uryu, "In any case, how has Yuzu been feeling these past couple days?"
Uryu gives Chad a serious look, "She's doing well, actually. You should see her later today."
Chad nods, understanding the other boy's meaning while Orihime observes the interaction with great interest.
Xcution Hideout
A few hours after school ends, Chad enters the Xcution Hideout, finding Yuzu, with Kon sitting on her shoulder, being there as Uryu said she'd be.
Yuzu notices Chad, giving the boy a wave as she talks to Riruka. Chad returns the wave before walking off towards the back, where he keeps his guitar.
Riruka sighs, "I never got to complement you on your new outfit until now, but the frills and buttons going down the center are so adorable!"
Yuzu smiles, "Thanks! Uryu worked hard on it—I'll have to tell him you liked it!"
Riruka nods, before turning to work on her dollhouse. Yuzu then notices how things seem to be completely out of order—not at all cleaned up from the way they were after the chaos that happened when she was here last.
Yuzu frowns, "Oh no! This place is still filthy! Why hasn't anyone cleaned it up! No—I'll do now!"
Ginjo sighs as he watches Yuzu search the cleaning cabinet, "She's like a mom…"
Kon jumps off Yuzu's shoulder, grabbing some of the wet wipes Yuzu hands him to clean the floor. Kon runs along the floor cleaning it, although also doesn't fail to sneak peaks up both Bambietta and Riruka's skirt.
Yuzu start sweeping the floor until she locks eyes with Bambietta, turning the sweeper off, "Hey Ms. Bambietta, can I ask you a question?"
Bambietta, seated on the barstool next to Ginjo, huffs, "Sure. But be quick about it—we've training to do!"
Yuzu nods, "Can I ask you questions about the Wandenreich?"
Bambietta's eyes widen at this, "Where did you hear about that from?!"
The woman eyes Candice, who is seated on the couch across the room, next to Yukio.
Candice regards her co-worker, "Don't look at me! I didn't tell her anything!"
Yuzu shakes her head, "She's right. My uncle told me about it… I want to see if what he told me matches up with how it actually is."
Bambietta looks to the side distantly, "It's still too soon for you to know anything about that thing. If I were you, I'd forget everything your uncle told you."
Bambietta hops off the barstool and walks out of the hideout, refusing to elaborate further.
Yuzu immediately walks over to Candice, looking at the woman with puppy dog eyes.
Candice sighs, "That ain't gonna work, kid. You should follow Bambi's advice. If your fight with that hollow proved anything, it's that you are nowhere near the level you need to be to know that kind of information… besides…"
Candice glances at Yukio and then to the others inside the room, "…it's not something I'm allowed to talk about in front of a non-Quincy."
Ginjo smirks, "A shame… this 'Wandenreich' has piqued my interest… but I'll respect if you all want to speak about it privately somewhere else."
Yuzu looks a Candice with a serious look, "When will I be at the level to ask questions about the Wandenreich?"
Candice wears a contemplative expression before declaring, "As soon as you can land a hit against me in a sparring match. Not even Bambi can protest to that."
Yuzu nods, "Alright. Let's spar now."
Candice smirks, rising from her seat, "That's the spirit! Boy! Put us in your game! This shouldn't take long…"
Yukio activates his fullbring as requested before his screen suddenly flashes a bright green light.
The boy is wide-eyed as Candice and Yuzu are back in the Xcution hideout almost as soon as they left, "I didn't even see her attack Yuzu!"
Yuzu struggles to get off the floor as she twitches as if she were shocked by electricity.
Candice regards the girl with a bored expression, "See, kid? You're nowhere near our level…"
Yuzu pouts, "You didn't say you'd attack me immediately!"
Candice scoffs, "It's a sparring match, of course I'm going to attack you!"
Yuzu looks down, still processing her defeat, before asking her mentor a question, "Can you teach me how to move that fast?"
Candice shrugs, "Maybe not as fast as I move, but I can at least teach you how to improve your Hirenkyaku."
Yuzu nods, with a slight smile, "Alright, I'd like to do that for my training today!"
Candice smirks, "Works for me. Bambi's gone anyway, so her plans for you are gonna have to wait."
Ginjo watches in muted interest, "How strong are you two women, exactly…?"
Las Noches
Nelliel walks through the dimly lit halls of Las Noches, looking around as if searching for something.
The woman huffs in mild frustration before remarking absentmindedly; "Where'd Pesche and Dondochakka run off to…? They should've been waiting at the usual spot…"
A familiar, but unwelcome, voice calls out from the shadows, "Oh, those two? They were poking their noses too deeply into my affairs, so I reminded them of their place… as I am here to remind you of yours."
Nelliel spins around to regard the owner of the voice, whose face is illuminated by a light pink cero.
Nelliel peers at the voice's owner, contempt clear in her own voice, "Szayelaporro… what did you do with my Fraccion?!"
Szayel scoffs, adjusting the mask fragment shaped like glasses on his face, "Calm yourself, Nelliel, I merely had a chat with them. You have no reason to worry for their well beings, of that, I can assure you."
Nelliel peers at Szayel for a moment, before deciding to ask a question, "Then what do you want?"
Instead of answering, Szayel turns and observes his surroundings, "I've always found these halls to be too dreadfully dark before Aizen came around… Barragan never did use this palace to its full potential…"
Nelliel continues glaring at the ex-Espada, "What are you getting at? I thought you were always one of Barragan's most steadfast supporters."
Szayel nods, "Indeed. I will forever be loyal to the Hollow King… whether that be Aizen, Barragan, or…"
Nelliel tenses as Szayel looks directly at her as he speaks his next word, "…White…"
Nelliel recomposes herself before scoffing, "White? Do you mean like the color? I've never met any hollow named—"
Szayel cuts her off, "You can play dumb all you like, Nelliel, but I know that you know who I'm talking about."
Nelliel's eyes shoot open at this, her face adopting an expression of rage, "You used Roka again!"
Szayel shrugs, "But of course, it is my creation after all. Unfortunately, I had to cut off my observations of White for… reasons…"
Before Szayel can react, he feels the chilling sting of metal on his neck. Nelliel glares directly into Szayel's eyes, a death glare that could've caused even hardened fighters to lose their nerve. Szayel doesn't flinch, despite finding himself on the business side of a much more powerful hollow's weapon.
Nelliel gives him an ultimatum, "You have five seconds to start explaining why you used Roka to spy on White, or else I'll have to explain to Barragan why his alchemist's head has been cut from his shoulders."
"Always so confrontational aren't you—" but Szayel's lips clamp shut as he feels the blade dig into his neck, a sign that Nelliel is serious.
Szayel's eyes shine with fear briefly before he opens his mouth to speak once more, "That dragon is strong. All of us in Las Noches have heard of him by now—I'd be surprised if there were hollows out there who haven't heard his name either. I wanted to see if there was anything special about him—an interest that the two of us seem to share, as I came to find."
Nelliel relieves some of the pressure from Szayel's neck, but keeps the sword leveled next to it, "Then you should know that it is unlikely that he'd approve of your experiments… why would you want him to become the new King?"
Szayel clicks his tongue, "Oh, Nelliel, I never said that I wanted that at all. You really shouldn't twist people's words like that, or else Barragan might think we're both traitors!"
Nelliel scoffs, "You say that like we aren't. You should know how absolute Barragan's rule is more than anyone!"
Szayel closes his eyes and shakes his head before addressing the woman before him, "You should really be less open about your intentions, Nelliel. I honestly feel like the only one who has noticed, or the only one who cares enough to point them out to either yourself or Barragan… speaking of which, Nnoitora returned not too long before you. The others are waiting."
At this, Nelliel's eyes widen, her face adopting an expression of urgency.
The woman quickly sheathes her sword, "We'll continue this conversation later."
Szayel smiles lightly, "I'm sure we will…"
As Nelliel runs past Szayel, she can hear him call out to her from behind, "And when we do, I hope that you will bring our 'mutual interest' with you to the discussion."
Espada Meeting Room, Las Noches
Nelliel arrives before a large door, huffing before pushing it open to reveal eight forms sitting around a long meeting table, with Barragan seated at the end.
"About time you got here, woman! Get lost or something?", Nnoitora calls out from where he is seated in the middle of the table.
Nelliel glares at Nnoitora, before letting out a sigh and shrugging, "We all know the desert is a vast place. Besides which, I thought you didn't care for my well-being."
Nnoitora raises a brow before carelessly snorting as Nelliel takes her seat adjacent to him.
Suddenly, a loud sound booms through the room as Barragan slams his axe on the floor next to him, calling for silence.
Barragan decrees, "Since that fool Aizen has left, I am once again the de facto King of Hueco Mundo! I have used this power to extend the glory of Las Noches throughout all of Hueco Mundo, hunting down any loathsome rogue Vasto Lordes who yet resist my right to rule! Aizen was too passive to hunt them down, but not I! Hueco Mundo will once more be restored to its rightful state of being!"
A few of the Espada glare at Barragan as he says these words, specifically whenever Aizen came up, but none gave any voice of disapproval.
Barragan then turns and regards Nnoitora, "You have failed to hunt down a mere group of meddlesome Adjuchas! You are an incompetent weakling!"
Nnoitora slams his fist on the table, about to stand up and protest, but Nelliel grabs his arm. He looks back at Nelliel, who, wearing a serious expression, shakes her head.
Barragan regards Nnoitora once more, "Oh? Is there anything you'd like to say?"
Nnoitora opens his mouth to speak but is cut off by the light voice of another Arrancar, seated across the table, "He probably just thinks he's hot stuff because he's an Espada. But at the end of the day, Nnoitora is just trash who makes himself look strong by hanging around a stronger hollow like Nelliel there."
Nnoitora snaps back at the androgynous looking hollow, "I dare you to say that when it's just the two of us! You should know that I'll take great pleasure in tearing you apart if you do, Luppi!"
Before any further conflict can arise, Barragan raises his voice, calling for order, which causes the two Espada to sit back down.
Barragan continues, "I'd like someone a bit more competent than Nnoitora to deal with these loathsome Adjuchas—as unnecessary as that seems. I don't want to waste anymore of my own Adjucha minions on them, as I'd prefer to use those on the weaker Adjuchas and White. One of you are going to destroy them in one fell swoop…. Luppi, you seem like you think you are up to the task."
Luppi nods his head, "I'd be glad to prove myself superior to this piece of trash!"
Nnoitora wears a scowl at this, as Luppi continues, "Consider this small panther and his negligible posse as good as dead!"
Barragan nods before shifting his attention back to Nelliel, "And I hear you went after White, Nelliel? Tell us of your findings!"
Nelliel nods, "I caught sight of the hollow briefly, but chose not to engage directly. I saw the wound you left on him… he'll be dead soon enough."
Barragan chuckles at this, "As I suspected. No mere Adjucha could hope to resist death from my power! My remaining Adjuchas should all but secure his death!"
As Barragan laughs, the rest of the Espada wear various expressions. Seated next to the King is a hulking Arrancar known as Yammy Llargo, who looked absolutely bored throughout the entirety of the meeting. Adjacent to Nnoitora and across from Yammy is a masked figure, known as Aaroniero Arruruerie, with bubble like-sounds coming from its mask occasionally. Next to Luppi is a tall, bald, dark skinned Arrancar, known as Zommari Rureaux, who scowled slightly whenever Barragan brought up Aizen, a trait shared by the trio sitting at the end of the table. This trio comprised of a bearded man with slicked back hair, known as Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, a twin-tailed woman with purple hair that matches her eyes, known as Cirucci Sanderwicci, and another bearded man with an orange afro, known as Gantenbainne Mosqueda.
Barragan's laughter settles, "This meeting is over! You all may leave."
Yammy is the first to leave, "About time! Meetings like this are a waste of my time!"
The others follow suit, leaving not quite so loudly as Yammy.
Nelliel is accompanied by Dordoni, Cirucci, and Gantenbainne, who make small talk until stopping in front of a door. Nelliel opens the door, letting the trio in, before looking up and down the hall to make sure nobody is there.
The room lights up when Nelliel enters, which reveals Dordoni and Gantenbainne each leaning up against a wall while Cirucci sits on a chair next to a desk in the corner.
The purple-haired woman regards Nelliel with a serious expression, "You were lying back there, weren't you? You met with White."
Nelliel nods, "He has agreed to become the rebellious wind we've been waiting for."
Cirucci's eyes widen at this, "You didn't actually get all poetic with him, did you?"
Nelliel's eyes widen slightly before she closes them and smiles bashfully while rubbing the back of her head, "Well, yeah. I guess I did."
This causes Cirucci to huff and shake her head, "What are we going to do with you…"
Dordoni decides to speak up, "Well, poetry can be quite useful in convincing a niño of something's importance. Sí, I bet he just went with it and didn't ask many questions."
Nelliel nods, "That's what happened."
Gantenbainne is the next to speak, wearing a skeptical expression, "And are you sure this Adjucha has what it takes?"
Nelliel regards Gantenbainne, now wearing a much more stern expression, "He will—when he becomes a Vasto Lorde, he definitely will. Now if you all will excuse me, I have to go find Pesche and Dondochakka."
Nelliel leaves, followed by Gantenbainne.
As Cirucci gets up to leave, she regards Dordoni, who looks deep in thought, scratching his goatee, "I sure hope you plan on leaving too—you should know it's creepy for an old guy like you to hang around in a girl's room after she's left!"
Dordoni is snapped out of his thoughts by this, giving the woman a nod, "After you, chica!"
As the two leave, Dordoni once more is deep in thought, wondering why Nelliel sounded so certain White will become a Vasto Lorde.
Elsewhere in Las Noches
In another corner of Las Noches, the being known as Aaroniero turns on a monitor, revealing the visage of none other than Sosuke Aizen. Aaroniero bows at the sight of the captain.
Aizen speaks, waving his hand, "Right now, there's no need for such formality."
As Aaroniero rises, Aizen states in his smooth voice, "Now then, Aaroniero. Tell me what you have learned about the hollow White."
The hollow removes its mask, revealing the face of a man with black hair and green eyes—the spitting image of Kaien Shiba, "As you wish, Lord Aizen."
The Menos Forest
One may now find significantly less hollows in the depths of the Menos Forest compared to a month prior, something a particular serpent Adjucha has taken notice of by now.
Sora huffs, "It seems like my attempts to keep hollows out of the living world are working… either that or I've killed just about everyone here…"
Sora begins to conclude the latter, as her looks around to find a barren landscape which is nearly completely silent, "Even Gillians are a rare sight now-a-days… I think it might be time to leave this place behind—"
Just then Sora's senses make him aware of power presences nearby. He slithers in the direction his senses are telling him to go, halting before the entrance of a cave. Odd noises can be heard echoing off the walls of the cave. The serpent slithers into the depths, finding that it leads into a massive cavern. The serpent nearly lets out a gasp as he sees something that is far more massive than any Gillian he's ever seen, with a bulging body that nearly fills out the entire cavern. Sora notices the creature is staring down at him with a large eye.
Sora slithers cautiously towards the creature but is impeded by the sudden appearance of a small, humanoid hollow with a white body. The smaller hollow shouts something incomprehensible, causing the serpent to flinch.
The small hollow shouts once more, this time Sora is able to make out "Away!" among the noise.
Sora throws up his hands, "Hey! I don't mean you two any harm! That is, unless you were planning on needlessly preying on humans—I can sense you two are quite formidable."
This causes the small hollow to cease their shouting before looking up at the massive creature behind them.
After a moment, the hollow turns its attention back on Sora, shaking his head, "We no go to world of living… we stay here, where it safe."
Sora nods his head, "So do you two have names? I don't mean what they all call you down here, by the way, but true names?"
The white hollow tilts his head before stating, "Wonderweiss… Wonderweiss Maglerna… he my friend Hooler."
The young sounding hollow points back at his companion, who evidently is named Hooler.
"And you can call me Sora—Sora Inoue. It's good to meet you and your friend, Wonderweiss!" Sora states in a friendly tone, outstretching his hand, which the younger hollow silently shakes quite awkwardly.
After a few moments of silence, Sora decides to break the ice, "So Wonderweiss, how come you and your friend are cooped up down here? As I said earlier, you two are quite formidable from what I can tell, so I don't really see what you'd have to be scared of up there…"
Wonderweiss elaborates, "White Dragon kill all. He not discriminate… we all food for him…"
Hooler screeches at the mention of White, flailing about, which is only mitigated by Wonderweiss placing his hands on the creature, comforting it.
In spite of Wonderweiss' solemn tone and Hooler's reaction, Sora cannot help but let out a chuckle, "Oh, is that all? In that case you two have nothing to worry about—White is long gone from the forest. Even if he was still here, I'm sure he wouldn't come after you two, because he only goes after the trash hollows like I do. He stopped me from doing something bad, that I would regret for the remainder of my days… I owe him everything for that…"
Sora looks into the air, seeming to have become lost in his thoughts. Hooler calms down, as if understanding Sora's explanation.
Wonderweiss ponders the serpent's words for a moment, before looking back up at Hooler, which grabs Sora's attention, "Hooler… we leave."
Just then, a bright light captures all three hollows and before Sora can even process what happened, the trio find themselves back outside the cave.
"What was that?" Sora asks, genuinely confused about what just happened.
Wonderweiss brokenly tries to explain Hooler's ability, "Hooler have ability called Negacion… we can move fast that way."
Sora remains skeptical and slightly confused, but shrugs, "Well I might not get how that works, but I can definitely see you were telling the truth about that being a good way to get around!"
Wonderweiss and Hooler remain silent at this, continuing to observe Sora who seems to be thinking about something.
Sora suddenly asks, "Hey, could you two watch over the Menos Forest for me?"
Wonderweiss tilts his head, seeming to not understand what the serpent means.
Sora then declares, "I want to leave Menos Forest to go and find White. I still have a debt to repay him, and it will take much more than simply existing down here. If he's in trouble up there, I must help him!"
Wonderweiss seems to think about this for a moment, "You want Wonderweiss to stop bad hollows and you help White?"
"Yes, I'd appreciate that a lot." Sora states with a nod, glad that his intentions are clear to the white hollow.
Wonderweiss looks back at Hooler, the two sharing a gaze, before Wonderweiss makes a declaration of his own, "We stay here… but you come back."
Sora chuckles, "Thank you, I appreciate it. Also, of course I'll come back! And when I do, I'll show you that White isn't such a bad guy."
Wonderweiss nods at this as Sora turns and leaves, beginning to make his ascent out of the depths.
As Sora leaves, a masked figure in black robes observes the Adjucha, and begins to ponder to themself, "Hollows acting so civilized around each other… how odd."
The figure looks at the disappearing figure of the serpent, "I'd better observe that one more closely… maybe then I'll finally understand exactly what all is happening on the surface."
The figure jumps towards the direction Sora was heading, following him out of the Menos Forest.
Author's Note:
The next chapter is about Karin.
