Darkness, and a slight pain in her head, at least compared to others she has suffered in her life, a sensation that was buried deep in her memory similar to how Hueco Mundo's desert buries every trace of those who fall inert. But the pain was there again, returning as if sands dissipated just to reveal its presence, everything else was still covered. That unexpected visit tempted her to stay submerged in the dark, it was a gentler company.
"You scared of me?! Soul Reaper!"
That voice... was much more familiar than her pain, and in some incredible way evoked much more cruelty. It should motivate her even more to go into a deep slumber but against all logic, that piercing scream was what made her reject that call. She needed to know what happened, the shadow began to fade slowly and her eyes gradually caught the glimpse of a figure. With that alone a part of her memory cleared, not much but enough to say one name.
"Nnoi... tra?"
The world stopped as she slurred out those sounds, perhaps it was a hallucination but she felt they left her mouth before the Quinta Espada touched the ground. She didn't know where she got strength from but she managed to get up, awkwardly approaching while drawing everyone's gaze.
"Nel, what are you trying to do?" Orihime asked worriedly catching the little Arrancar before she fell again.
"Please bring me closer to him," the girl almost begged now with a more lucid mind.
"I don't think that's good for you..."
"Please!" Seeing Nel's eyes the young woman knew that any attempt to reason would be useless, she'd seen that look many times before, and surely many others had seen it in her. Without saying another word, just offering a sad smile, Orihime took the little girl and brought her closer to the loser of the battle that just a few minutes ago shook the sky.
"Kenny?" The Lieutenant of Squad 11 addressed her captain, that Soul Reaper who'd emerged victorious.
"This is over, we have nothing more to do here. Besides, I'm feeling an interesting energy in that direction." He declared pointing his Zanpakuto of unknown identity to the desert, the girls were free to do whatever they wanted with his recently defeated opponent, that was none of his business. In his own words the fight against the Espada had been fun, but his life philosophy was very simple, when a battle ends you look for the next one.
"Cool! And since the desert has no roads and you only have to follow a straight line, you won't get us lost like you always do." Yachiru replied, always enthusiastic and as usual with much less protocol than most subordinates, jumping to her favorite spot on Kenpachi's shoulder.
"Most of those times were your fault…" her superior muttered irritated as they walked away from that place.
Now alone the two girls looked at Nnoitra with solemnity. Nel got to her knees and placed both hands on his back, her childlike mind already resigned to the reality, until she detected that something inside him was still moving almost imperceptibly.
"He's alive! Nel felt it, he's still breathing. Orihime please help me turn him over," she said with tears lurking in her eyes.
The sudden request made the teenager take a step back, but she couldn't say no, Nel was too small to do it herself and Ichigo was still recovering. It was difficult but with effort she managed to place him on his back, trying as much as possible not to look. Orihime was a compassionate soul but she couldn't help it, she still felt nauseated at the thought of that man's fingers inside her throat, forcing her to watch Ichigo scream at the top of his lungs in pain as his bones cracked one by one.
She was immersed in those horrible memories for only a few seconds, because soon the bizarre image of Nel regurgitating a viscous fluid on Nnoitra's chest took all her attention.
"Done! That's it, now you'll be fine," she said relieved and above all, happy; without thinking for a moment about the possibility that what she was doing wasn't enough, or about the consequences if it were.
Nel ran up to the other Arrancar on her own, full of energy as if she'd never been unconscious before. Even with the little flashes of memory her childlike form distorted her perception between friend and foe, making that line blur.
"He would be very angry if I don't help you too," she commented with a smile full of innocence, repeating without hesitation the same action from a few minutes ago on the smaller man.
"My spit has powers, it can heal anything," Nel explained enthusiastically to Orihime, who internally appreciated the gesture. The little girl was so hopeful that even in her confusion she wouldn't have dared to question her.
Now that Orihime understood everything, and watching Nel's eyes shining from tears that didn't manage to come out, she couldn't help but feel guilty. The human would never dare to call herself a doctor, but in her time healing injuries thanks to her Shun Shun Rikka she'd learned many things.
The saliva stopped the bleeding and accelerated the healing of the skin it came into contact, Nel's help had bought the fallen Espada a little more time, but by itself it wasn't enough. Internal bleeding and collapsed organs would soon make that wound open again, it was inevitable, and Orihime could only stand still.
She didn't know what to do, it was heartbreaking, even twisted. A little girl joyfully waiting for the being who hates her the most to wake up. Someone who had cursed her name in the lowest ways, rejoicing in the bliss of being the author of her misery, of the crack in her mask, of the scar on her skull. The one who chained her to that form that confines her body and mind.
But there she was, probably counting every breath from that man. The human had the power to help, she wanted to spare her the pain of seeing that inescapable outcome, but she couldn't do anything at all. She knew that breaking the illusion was the best thing to do, the longer the blow takes the worse it would be, there was no alternative, or maybe there was.
Orihime didn't know what was right, Nel in her vulnerable condition didn't have clarity to decide what to do, but she wasn't anyone to decide in her place either... Who was she trying to fool? She didn't know a thing. She felt choked with guilt despite being a victim, but the one thing she was sure of was that she simply couldn't stand by and watch from afar.
The young woman got on her knees to gently take the hand of her companion, but what she was going to say was interrupted by a voice that made her jump up in surprise.
"Nel! What are you doing?" Yelled Ichigo as he approached them, the Substitute Soul Reaper finally was recovered "You can't…"
At that very moment an unfamiliar Arrancar appeared behind Orihime, already with a hand on her shoulder. It was in less than a blink but the man showed an expression of sorrow for his fallen partners, however, the orders he had were clear.
"Sorry about this. To be honest, it's a pain for me too. Need to borrow her for a bit." He disappeared with the girl as quickly as he arrived. Ichigo's attempt to stop him was useless, his Zanpakuto just pierced into nothing.
"Damn it!" Ichigo couldn't believe how stupidly careless he'd been, rescuing Orihime was the reason he and his friends risked so much, and now thanks to him they would have to start all over again.
"Forgive me Nel, but I have to go, thanks for everything, and be careful," the young man said hastily but sincerely. Without wasting another second, he continued on his way, determined to rescue his friend and take her home safe and sound.
The little Arrancar was left alone in the middle of the desert, surrounded by inert bodies. She wasn't mad at Ichigo, she knew that getting Orihime back was his reason for being there, and now the poor girl was captured again.
"Itsugo will save her. He always does!" She stated without a trace of doubt in the boy, but immediately felt overwhelmed by the depressive silence around her, no one woke up, the reality began to show.
"Why don't they wake up? Are they…" That sentence got stuck in her throat, tears finally reaching their long-awaited revenge. But her unfinished question still received an answer.
"No, it is not too late yet. May I offer you our help?" The proposal of a mysterious lady was heard, she'd already approached Nnoitra's body before the little girl slowly shook her head as a sign of affirmation, timidly wiping her face with her hand. That woman seemed to know her answer in advance.
Nel just stayed silent, kneeling next to that Soul Reaper. The unspoken rule was always very clear, the Arrancar shouldn't trust Reapers, they destroy Hollows, but Ichigo showed her a different side of them, and she didn't have many options either way. Her current appearance might make many underestimate her, but that didn't change the fact that she lived in Hueco Mundo, she knew very well what death looked like.
"It's a tragedy that the human's been kidnapped again," another Reaper that Nel hadn't noticed ruefully commented. She also went to work without delay, focusing on Tesla's injuries.
"Everything is in the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki, we just came to lighten a bit the weight on his shoulders. We must have faith in his abilities."
The Lieutenant nodded, respectful as always, and limited herself to continuing with her task in silence, but inside her there were doubts. She would never dare to question an order from her Captain, not for fear of her gaze capable of freezing a volcano, she trusted Retsu Unohana with her life, but...
"Don't worry, it is okay." Again, the Reaper seemed able to read minds, although for Isane that was an everyday thing. She was momentarily alarmed but she knew from her superior's tone of voice that she was not upset, she didn't need to answer, she just cleared her thoughts and continued with her duty.
"It is okay because you are completely sure of your decision." Retsu spoke to the little girl with her ever-present courtesy, the Captain never stopped her current task, and Nel never took her eyes off the front. She unconsciously placed her hand over her enemy's since his healing began, the only one he had left, the other had been severed by Zaraki's sword.
"His wounds are very deep, a little more and it would've been too late for him, and also for his partner," it was difficult to tell if the Arrancar next to her was listening or not, but the explanation continued "I have never seen anything similar to this fluid, it is a powerful healing agent, if it weren't for this we wouldn't have been able to treat them on time. It was certainly the difference between life and death."
Nel didn't answer.
"It's admirable how he was able to cross swords with Kenpachi Zaraki, and even make him use his last resort. The battle between the two warriors was something impossible to ignore."
"He is not a warrior, he's a fool," Nel said finally reacting. Her voice and appearance were still that of a little girl, but the seriousness with which she spoke those words seemed to belong to a different person. Suddenly the childish figure was surrounded by smoke, leaving in its place an adult woman, her true self.
Isane froze for a few seconds in surprise but Retsu didn't change her expression, that explained the drastic change in the intensity of her spiritual pressure. She knew from the beginning that Nel had been the Espada's first opponent, it was unusual, but in her long life she'd witnessed much more rare things.
"He's a childish, stubborn man." Her hand began to squeeze the other under it, and just like her child version she was too immersed in her thoughts to notice her actions, in her case guided by anger. The pressure made a cut bleed between Nnoitra's fingers, staining both their hands "Someone who fights for no real reason, just to satiate a crave for violence...is nothing more than a beast."
"You're right," the Reaper replied with a calm voice, but with a look that silenced many things.
Nnoitra's breathing deepened at the burning sensation, that subtle change didn't go unnoticed by Nelliel who, realizing the possible reason, removed her hand, hesitating a little when she noticed that although weak, the Quinta's hand made an attempt to stop her. Even unconscious he had the instinct not to let go of any prey, coming from him it wasn't a surprise.
"Are you still sure?" Retsu questioned, snapping her out of her bubble.
She had nothing to think about, their two personalities might seem different on the surface, but they were both her. Maybe now she was a little less naive, but her decision was the same.
"Yes, thank you."
The healing lasted for hours, or perhaps minutes, the fixed sky of Hueco Mundo makes difficult to know exactly. Nelliel approached Santa Teresa picking up the Zanpakuto and a few other things along the way. Taking someone else's weapon without permission is not something she likes, but it was something that had to be done, and in the case of that specific weapon it was impossible to be indifferent, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when touching that metal. She stuck it in the sand, near the hand that its owner still had.
"Miss Nelliel!" Two voices shouted in shrill harmony, and were instantly joined by a third who wasn't ashamed to be heard, a complete change from her tessitura of moments ago.
"Pesche! Dondochakka!" Nelliel flung herself into them for a big hug not unlike the one she gave Ichigo as she just woke up from her slumber. She had seen them every day of her life for the past twenty years, but to her it felt like she'd just returned from a long journey.
"I missed you both so much, I don't even know how to thank you, I could never make up for everything you did for me," she said through happy tears.
"There's nothing to be thankful for, Master, that's the duty of a Fracción," Pesche assured with a more serious voice than usual, but no less happy.
"We were very scared! But we would do anything for you, Master Nelliel," Dondochakka added sounding the same as always, crying in a somewhat comical but sincere way, he never lost his naivety no matter what.
"You know that you're not my Fraccions, you are my brothers," the Ex Espada reminded them as they hugged each other more calmly, she knew it was useless to talk to them about debts, their loyalty was that genuine.
"Don't touch me! I'd rather die than get help from a couple of gross Reapers!"
"Oh Grimmjow!" Pesche exclaimed now in his typical hyperactive voice.
"He's very scary!" completed Dondochakka, their reactions usually coming in pairs.
Unohana was a bit far from her, but Nelliel noticed how the Sexta Espada suddenly went silent and motionless as the Captain gave her companion a nod to start his treatment. She wasn't sure what happened, she didn't see her make any movement, maybe it was a special ability. Nelliel laughed to herself at that idea, in other times something like that would've been quite useful with...
"Nnoitra…" Pesche uttered completely emotionless, the warm atmosphere melting away in an instant.
"I helped save him, please forgive me, it's just..."
"You don't have to apologize, or explain yourself. We will always support any decision you make until the end," her friend reaffirmed, she knew that he wasn't lying, but his tone of voice didn't change. Dondochakka decided to just nod and remain silent, obviously both were affected, they have every reason to be.
"We're happy to see that you've finally recovered." Pesche quickly changed the subject to something more pleasant, with Dondochakka giving a few rounds of applause at the good news. The Ex Tercera appreciated the gesture, but sadly she also had to take that hope away "I'm sorry, I can't keep my real form at will, these changes are only temporary."
Their dejected looks made her feel horribly guilty, her poor friends couldn't even have a sigh of relief.
"Is that bastard still alive?" Grimmjow's voice resounded again, having relatively less serious injuries he already looked quite healthy, but before he thought about making a ruckus his gaze instinctively turned to the Captain of Squad 4, something inside him screamed to get out of that place as fast as he could "When you wake up, you will pay me back for what you did. You asshole!"
He yelled one last threat, it wasn't normal behavior for him to just leave, but the eyes of that woman were something straight out of hell.