I'm on fire! I guess I'm excited to write this because I actually enjoy it and I have a lot more time now that school's almost over!
This story has hit one of my milestones! It has now reached 1,000 hits! Thanks a lot, guys!
Review Corner:
-Barrett M107: Thanks!
-JJun: I hope you like Juuda!
-Ten Commandments: Heh heh heh!
-BMACBOO: I wouldn't say Ch. 6 was a filler chapter because we were introduced to two characters that would be important to the future. Plus, there's some foreshadowing for future events there. And I didn't notice that Haruka's last name was shared with Haruto's; that's pretty cool! Next character will be based off Shunpei (JK). For your Ch. 7 review, your answers will come eventually.
-ZxZ Fic Hunter: Nahh... it can't be that long 'cause Juuda's not the main character. Also, the next true arc begins at the 11th Chapter, so it can't go for very long. This arc has a specific purpose which you'll see later on.
Ch. 8 Another Story: The Silver Shinigami
Opening: "Seasons' Call" by Hyde
"Captain-Commander, he has located the Arrancar. He is currently in pursuit."
"Good. Dismissed. By the way, you do not have to call me by that old title anymore."
"Forgive me, but you will never be anything less than the Captain-Commander to me."
"...That wasn't your thoughts when you were under him."
"That was then, and this is now."
"..."
"Captain-Commander, is this truly the wisest course of action concerning the Arrancar? He's already regarded among most Hollows as being a dangerous threat. Is there really no choice but to test him?"
"Worried that one of them will be killed?"
"No. But I do worry that needless bloodshed will occur because of their actions."
"Unfortunately, this Arrancar will only listen to reason through violence. There is no way around it."
Juuda and Hopus has traveled together for two weeks since the day they've first met. Despite Hopus's continual chattering of the mouth, Juuda managed to ignore most of the nonsense he spouted and didn't speak much unless he had a purpose for it. Besides that, the two often walked in silence to an unknown direction, using the wind as their guide...
After hours of more walking, Hopus slumped to the floor with his eyes closed and his hands drooped down. "Juuda... Juuda! I'm tired!"
Juuda sighed and stopped walking. "What's wrong?"
"I said... I'm tired!"
"Isn't the Reishi in the air giving you energy?"
"It isn't enough! I've gotten so used to it that it isn't enough to feed me when I'm tired!"
Juuda groaned. Then he blinked when he spotted a crowd of Hollows walking through the desert. Upon closer inspection, he found them to be a crowd of Menos Grande that were waddling down a different path.
"I've found some Hollows. I'm gonna kill them so we can eat them," Juuda said.
"No, wait! We don't have to kill any Hollows!" Hopus pleaded. "There are plenty of alternatives to killing each other! I can take a break for a few min-"
He was cut off as Juuda jumped to the air, catching the attention of the Menos Grande. Sensing his bloodthirst, they opened their mouths to launch a Cero at him. But before they could fire, Juuda used Sonido to appear behind them and rapidly stabbed through their masks with his bare hands, killing them instantly. He grabbed two on each hand and dragged them towards Hopus.
"Here," He said, throwing the corpse of one Gillian to Hopus. "Eat it. It'll replenish your strength."
"Juuda! You didn't have to kill them!" Hopus cried. "They didn't have to be killed!"
"It's kill or be killed in this desert," Juuda responded, grabbing the cloak of one Gillian and chewing on it. "They wouldn't care if we died."
Hopus whimpered, then bitterly bit one of the Gillian's cloaks. While he hated it, he knew that if he didn't eat, he'd be exhausted and he wouldn't be able to keep up with Juuda. Plus, the Gillians' death would've been in vain. Juuda glanced at Hopus's depressed figure, but decided to ignore it.
"Please don't kill me! Please!" The brown-colored Hollow begged as the silver-haired Shinigami held his wakizashi against it's mask.
"Then tell me: Do you or do you not know the location of the Arrancar Juuda Tsubaki?" The Shinigami demanded.
"T-The last time I saw he was headed towards the Troll Cave!" The brown Hollow shakily replied. "It's up north and huge! Y-You can't miss it!"
"Thanks," He replied, stabbing through it's mask.
After they ate, the two continued on their journey to nowhere. As they did, Juuda noted that the atmosphere had gotten ever darker, in part because of Hopus's depressing attitude.
'I knew that this kid was depressed, but to make the atmosphere this repressive is impressive,' Juuda thought. 'I'm not a babysitter!'
"What's wrong now?" Juuda asked.
"...Why, Juuda?" Hopus squeaked, squinting his tiny eyes. "Why'd you have to kill them?"
Juuda sighed. "Look, kid. You're young, so your eyes haven't been opened to the cruelties of Hueco Mundo. It's in our nature to eat souls. As a Hollow, you must've eaten other souls or Hollows before."
Hopus wildly shook his head. "No, no, no! I couldn't have!"
"Killing has been going on for quite some time," Juuda explained. "Since the beginning of time, people have killed and murdered each other. This isn't any different."
"But a life is precious, Juuda!"
"Maybe, but that isn't the point. Animals kill their own to eat each other, humans eat animals they've killed, humans kill each other for revenge, greed, and all sorts of things. And finally, the Shinigami kill us," Juuda said. "You can't get away from death."
Hopus quivered a bit. "I-Is that how you feel, Juuda?"
"I can't think any other way," He replied, putting his hand to his chest. "The reason I fight is because I do not feel any satisfaction in my body. It's hollow in my chest. I haven't been able to satisfy it no matter what I did."
"Do you think that killing with satisfy that emptiness?"
"Maybe. It hasn't, yet," Juuda answered. "But one day, when I meet a powerful opponent and face off, I'll have that feeling of excitement. That's my dream, anyway."
"Hmmm... well, I don't agree with that!" Hopus spouted, much to Juuda's surprise. "I think there are plenty of ways to feel satisfaction! Just look at me! I'm a bubbly ball of satisfaction!"
Juuda raised an eyebrow. "And just how do you do that?"
"Well... I think happy thoughts!" Hopus suggested with a wide smile. "I think about helping other Hollows and actually do it!"
"Sounds fantastic, kid," Juuda said, turning back to the direction he was heading. "You keep doing that."
Hopus frowned, believing that he didn't get through Juuda. Nevertheless, he managed to express his opinion to the unsatisfied Arrancar as well as get him to do the same, so he continued to walk with his big smile.
Eventually, they arrived at a cave. Hopus marveled at the size of the cave, as it stretched for what looked like a half-a-mile in height and width.
"Let's go in. You need a break, right?" Juuda said.
Hopus nodded, and the two walked in.
The silver-haired Shinigami grinned as he saw two figures entering the Troll Cave. He opened his right eye to get a better view. The taller one matched his looks the last time he saw him.
"Found you."
He then started walking towards the cave.
Juuda sighed. It seemed like wherever he went, there existed only generic-looking Hollows in Hueco Mundo. Surrounding the pair were three humanoid Hollows. All of them were colored gray and they had slightly variations in head shape. Besides that, Juuda couldn't classify them, so he assumed that they were normal Hollows that hadn't evolved from being a Menos Grande.
"Hm hm hm... What do we have here?" One Hollow evilly said as it circled the two Arrancar. "Two tiny Arrancar who thought that they could take a rest in our cave?"
"W-What's so f-funny?" Hopus asked, trembling.
Another Hollow stretched it's hand out to grab Hopus, but it instantly felt a flash of pain. It screamed upon realizing that it's arm had been cut off by a karate chop from Juuda's hand. It tried to grab him with it's other hand, but Juuda jumped on top of it's arm and stabbed through it's head with his hand, killing it.
The two Hollows backed away in horror. Even Hopus had to step back in fright, looking at the Hollow blood seeping down Juuda's hand. He quickly wiped the blood away to keep Hopus calm.
"Y-You Arrancar! We'll kill you!" The Hollows roared, flexing their muscles. To Juuda's surprise, their arms began to get more bulky and hefty. One stepped towards him, causing the ground to quake underneath. "Surprised? We're not your average Hollow! By flexing our muscles, we get twice the power!"
"Hmph!" Juuda grinned. "Alright! Show me your strength!"
"Don't get cocky, Arrancar!" A Hollow roared, throwing itself at him. It punched Juuda with all it's strength... just for Juuda to to block it's strike with the palm of his hand! The two Hollow gasped.
"...That's it?" Juuda taunted.
The Hollows growled, continually punching Juuda. The Arrancar easily blocked every strike with his bare hands, much to their shock. Getting bored, he grabbed the Hollow's fist, then kicked it's body against the wall!
"How are you so powerful?!" The Hollow demanded.
"Don't ask me, 'cause I don't know," Juuda replied, putting his hand up. "Cero."
A powerful burst of gold spiritual energy erupted from Juuda's hand, blasting through the Hollow's mask and created a hole through the quake, causing it to quake. Hopus grabbed the wall in fright and the other Hollow was shaking even without the cave's influence.
"I can't believe we're going to lose!" The remaining Hollow cried. "Boss, help!"
"Shut up," Juuda said, using his Sonido to appear right in front of it and broke it's mask instantly with his hand. "Feh! Not even a warm-up."
'Wow. Juuda sure is powerful...' Hopus thought. 'He can back up his boasts with his strength. He's amazing...'
'Wait. Did it say boss?' Juuda wondered.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
Hopus squeaked and Juuda grimaced as they felt continuous tremors coming towards them. Hopus hid behind Juuda's leg, looking at the gigantic Hollow coming towards them.
It was nothing like Juuda has even seen before. It was a towering Hollow of about twenty feet tall and it's belly ten feet wide. It's pale skin was accessorised with green markings around it's body and jagged horns coming out of it's elbows and knees. In it's hands, it wielded a thick club.
"I've never seen a Hollow like this before," Juuda murmured. "It resembles a troll."
The Troll Hollow looked down at Juuda and Hopus before turning it's attention to it's Hollow brethren. It surveyed the corpses for a few seconds before turning back to the pair. "ARRANCAR. HOW DO YOU PLAN ON PAYING BACK THEIR DEATHS?"
"I have no intention of doing so," Juuda replied, no fear clear in his eyes. "They attacked us first."
"HMPH. THAT'S NOT AN EXCUSE," The Troll Hollow replied. "YOU HAVE KILLED MY WARRIORS AND NOW YOU WILL PAY THE PRICE WITH YOUR LIFE."
The Troll Hollow raised it's club and brought it down with much speed. Juuda picked Hopus up and easily dodged the attack with his Sonido. He placed Hopus in a small hole in the cave before dodging another club strike. No matter how fast the Troll tried to strike Juuda, he couldn't make a contact.
"YOU'RE QUITE FAST," The Troll Hollow remarked.
"You're just too slow," Juuda responded.
Juuda appeared behind it and stabbed it's back with his hand. To Juuda's surprise, he couldn't pierce the skin; instead, he pushed it's skin into it's body! Juuda stabbed the Hollow again, but couldn't pierce through it's jello-like skin.
"IMPRESSED, ARRANCAR?" The Troll Hollow boomed. "UNLIKE MY SERVANTS, MY ABILITY ALLOWS MY SKIN TO BECOME A GELATIN-LIKE SUBSTANCE IN WHICH NO SOLID CAN STRIKE THROUGH IT!"
"Oh no!" Hopus gasped.
Juuda grunted in response, then landed on the ground and remained motionless. The Troll Hollow frowned at this action.
What are you doing, Juuda?!" Hopus cried. "Move out of the way!"
"IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE ADMIT DEFEAT, ARRANCAR!" The Troll Hollow said, grinning widely. "NOW I SHALL TAKE YOUR PRIDE ALONG WITH YOUR LIFE!"
The Troll Hollow raised it's club and smashed it down on Juuda as hard as it could. Hopus screamed as it caused the entire cave to rumble heavily. The ceiling began to collapse, forcing Hopus to use his own Sonido to get out of there. He took one glance at the Troll Hollow's grinning face and it's club which covered what he thought was a dead Juuda. He managed to get out of there before the cave completely collapsed.
Hopus looked in horror at the remains of the cave. There remained the Troll Hollow, it's victory plastered all over it's face, standing amidst the rubble of the cave. It's club was completely down, pressing against some rocks which presumably held the corpse of Juuda.
"Juuda! Juuda!" Hopus cried.
"AH...HAHAHA!" The Troll Hollow roared in laughter. "I WIN. TAKE THAT, ARRANCAR!"
"Take what?"
Both Hollow gasped upon hearing Juuda's voice. The Troll Hollow looked down to see Juuda lifting the club, then throwing it away! He emerged from the rubble of the cave with barely any scratches, save the dust that had piled on his body.
"WHAT? THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" The Troll Hollow exclaimed.
"Hierro: Another one of the Arrancar's abilities," Juuda explained. "It's the opposite of your ability. While you can absorb enemy attacks to protect yourself, Hierro completely guards against it by producing titanium-hard skin from the user's Reiryoku. In this case, it can easily protect myself against that club of yours."
"Juuda!" Hopus cried in relief.
"NO..." The Troll Hollow gasped in disbelief.
Juuda simply pointed his hand at the Hollow and said, "Cero." He unleashed a gold burst of spiritual energy at the Troll Hollow, but it retaliated by standing up and absorbing the attack. Juuda blinked when he realized that the Hollow had the attack in it's body, then dodged before the attack was reflected at twice the speed. The Cero crashed into the sand, unleashing a huge explosion in the area.
"Tch!" Juuda scoffed.
"HA! DID YOU ACTUALLY THINK ONLY SOUNDS COULD BE DEFLECTED BY MY SKIN?" The Troll Hollow laughed. "EVEN THE ARRANCAR'S PRECIOUS 'CERO' CAN'T PIERCE IT! I'M INVINCIBLE! WAHAHAHA!"
"Oh no," Hopus whispered. "This could've been avoided if Juuda hadn't picked a fight with those Hollows. None of his attacks are working. What is he going to do?"
"No, actually this is great," Juuda said with a grin, prompting the Troll Hollow to stop laughing. "I've been waiting for this moment for quite some time."
"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ARRANCAR?" The Troll Hollow demanded.
"Arrancars pride themselves in several things, but the one field in particular that they all want is to develop their own variation of the Cero," Juuda explained. "And I am afraid to tell you, for your sake, that the Cero that I've developed has been specifically designed to defeat an opponent such as yourself."
The Troll Hollow narrowed it's eyes. "YOU LIE."
Gold spiritual energy began to envelop Juuda's hand. "Oh, it's no lie. Take this: Cero Espiral!" He yelled, firing the gold spiritual energy straight at the Troll Hollow.
"THAT CERO IS NO DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE REST! I WILL ABSORB IT AND DESTROY YOU!" The Troll Hollow boasted, puffing it's stomach out.
Much to the Troll Hollow's surprise, the Cero had begun to spin into a drill. The Troll Hollow gasped as it realized what the Cero was doing. It turned to run, but it's obese body rendered it unable to do so and felt it's back get ripped in shreds by the drill Cero. The Cero continued to go through it's body, leaving the Troll Hollow to scream in pain as it's entire body got decimated.
"Cero Espiral, or Spiral Zero in English," Juuda said. "It transforms the Cero into a drill for twice the piercing power. But you can't hear that, because you're dead."
Hopus stood up after having sat down because he couldn't stand the sheer awe of the battle. He waddled towards Juuda and said, "You're really strong."
"That was nothing," Juuda said, shrugging. "That Hollow couldn't even force me to use my Resurreccion."
'Juuda really is invincible,' Hopus thought. 'I wish I had that kind of power to protect others.'
Suddenly, an enormous Reiatsu flooded the area. As Hopus slumped to the floor once again due to his weak resolution towards Reiatsu, Juuda was hardly fazed by it, though he was surprised.
'This isn't a Hollow's Reiatsu. It's a Shinigami's,' Juuda thought.
He felt something brush against his back. Juuda knocked Hopus away with the same leg he used to roundhouse kick the person ambushing them. The white-haired Shinigami jumped back and grinned at them, placing his hand on his wakizashi Zanpakuto.
"A Shinigami, huh?" Juuda said. "What's your name?"
"Sorry, but I don't have to tell you that yet," The white-haired Shinigami said, completely disappearing from Juuda's sight.
"Where is- no!" Juuda yelled, seeing the Shinigami's wakizashi coming towards Hopus. He used Sonido to appear next to him, drew his own Zanpakuto, and blocked the Shinigami's strike.
"Fast, aintcha?" The Shinigami asked.
"Weak, aren't you?" Juuda responded.
The Shinigami's grin turned upside down as he broke Juuda's parry and tried to strike him. Juuda easily dodged and Sonido'd in front of him, attempting to stab him. The Shinigami shifted his head to dodge the strike and pushed against the ground to do a backflip kick. Juuda, in mid-flight, couldn't use Sonido and took the blunt attack head on, flying into a pile of rubble.
"Juuda!" Hopus cried.
Juuda clucked his tongue, then reappeared behind the Shinigami. The latter spun his blade to slash Juuda, but he blocked by applying Hierro to his arm, surprising the Shinigami. Then he jumped up and kicked the white-haired man with his two legs, sending him flying to the other side of the rubble.
"You're quite tough," The Shinigami said, pointing his Zanpakuto at Juuda. "I don't have to hold back."
"You were holding back?" Juuda taunted.
With a grin, the Shinigami said, "Shoot to kill, Shinso!" With one blink, Juuda found the blade extending towards him at a very fast speed. One microsecond after he blinked, he immediately Sonido'd away before the Zanpakuto could strike him.
"Not yet!" The Shinigami yelled, swinging his extended blade towards Juuda. The Arrancar stepped on his blade, prompting the Shinigami to groan. "Aww... not again..."
"Die, Shinigami!" Juuda roared, pointing his hand towards him. "Cero Espiral!" He unleashed a drill of gold Reiryoku straight towards the Shinigami. He barely dodged the attack, causing it to pierce the rubble and caused the rocks to fly in a whirlwind for a few seconds and making the two fly away. Hopus grabbed a rock as he flew away also.
After the whirlwind stopped and the rubble dropped back to the ground, the Shinigami emerged unscathed. He looked around a bit, then both his eyes widened in shock as he felt the Arrancar appear behind him. Before he could fully get away, Juuda slashed his arm with a small cut being the outcome. The Shinigami jumped back twenty feet away, clutching his bloody arm.
"You're strong," The Shinigami acknowledged. "You've passed the initial interview."
"Initial interview?" Juuda questioned.
"If you want to know, come to the remains of Las Noches," The Shinigami said. "There, you will find all of your answers."
Realizing the Shinigami was about to make his escape, Juuda was about to use his Sonido to catch up, but the Shinigami fired a force from his hand that restrained Juuda. He easily broke through the spell, but looked back to see the Shinigami was gone.
Hopus ran to Juuda. "Juuda! You're not really going to-"
"If there are powerful opponents like him, then I must," Juuda said, a fierce grin forming on his face. "I'm going."
He turned around and headed straight down the direction the Shinigami went. Hopus had a worried look on his face, but he waddled after Juuda anyway.
Ending: "Alumina" by Nightmare
The second part of the Another Story arc is done. One more chapter after this! Hopefully, the identity of the white-haired Shinigami has been revealed to you, as well as the identity of another. Juuda is quite powerful, isn't he? At least he is, compared to a certain other person related to him.
We're quite close to the end of the Beginnings Arc as well. Hopefully, you readers have submitted your OCs.