"So why didn't you resist?"
Looking at the girl in front of him, Shinji asked in exasperation.
In the end, the Quincy's still hadn't dared to break ties with Shinji.
They feared his power.
"I… I was afraid of hurting them," Kurosaki Masaki replied weakly, aware of how foolish her decision was.
Shinji was baffled as to how Masaki had ended up imprisoned. Given her strength, far surpassing that of an average captain, it should have been impossible for these impure-blooded Quincy to restrain her.
Their power levels weren't even close.
Something didn't add up.
But what he didn't expect was that Masaki hadn't resisted at all, she simply let herself be locked up.
"You really…" Shinji covered his forehead, sighing in frustration.
"Didn't you come to rescue me?" Masaki asked with a playful tone, holding Shinji's hand like a spoiled child and shaking it.
"You should move out. Don't return to the clan again," Shinji advised.
It wasn't realistic for Masaki to follow him to Soul Society, she was still a student.
But staying with the clan? There was no guarantee some of the stubborn Quincy wouldn't try to cause her trouble again.
Even if they couldn't imprison her, they could still harass her.
"Eh? But… I don't have any money…"
Masaki blushed and muttered shyly.
"Don't worry about money," Shinji said with a nod.
Shinigami had strongholds everywhere in the human world, and money. Even if not entirely from legal sources.
After letting Masaki, who hadn't rested in a long time, get some sleep, Shinji stepped out of the room with Nilu in his arms.
"Hey, Nilu."
"Next, let's go find your two subordinates."
Looking her in the eyes, Shinji said:
"Open a Garganta. Let's go to Hueco Mundo."
The Garganta was a gate between worlds.
A hole torn open by Hollows to move between the human world and Hueco Mundo.
Even though Nilu had fallen to Adjuchas level, it was still an instinctive ability.
And since she used it to come here, she could use it to go back.
"Mm! I'm good at this!" Nilu nodded excitedly and ran ahead a bit.
And then… silence.
"Continue?"
Shinji prompted.
"…Shinji, I… I think I forgot how to do it," Nilu admitted, scratching her head with an embarrassed smile.
"..."
Nelliel, you're too cute.
Shinji covered his face and sighed helplessly.
Luckily, tearing open a Garganta was instinctual for Hollows. After a few tries, Nilu managed to open a pitch-black passage.
The Garganta!
Shinji glanced at the proud Nilu and stepped inside.
---
Hueco Mundo – a barren wasteland.
Pesche, wearing a mask shaped like an ant's head, suddenly stopped.
Behind him, the chubby Dondochakka bumped into him.
"Dondochakka, you idiot!"
"You're the one who stopped first!"
After a bit of bickering, Pesche adjusted the underwear worn outside his uniform.
"I can feel it, Lady Nilu's Reiatsu!"
"Yes, Lady Nilu has finally appeared!"
Dondochakka's expression turned serious.
"After all this time, we've finally found her."
Pesche exhaled and said solemnly:
"It's too late now. We can't bring the old Lady Nilu back."
"Her mask is broken, her power stolen, her memory lost."
"The Nilu that returned isn't the same one."
"So now, we must protect her."
His eyes firmed:
"Protect her from Nnoitra, Szayel Aporro, from pain, from suffering, from all disasters."
"This weaker Nilu… it's up to us now."
Dondochakka nodded: "Let's go. She needs our strength."
They dashed forward, using Sonído repeatedly despite the spiritual pressure it consumed.
Finally, they arrived.
Pesche looked toward the source of Nilu's Reiatsu, then his pupils shrank.
There, Nilu was being held by a Shinigami.
It looked like she was about to be killed.
"Damn it!"
"Let her go!" Pesche's eyes turned red.
After so many years of hiding, they had regained most of their power, even if not fully Arrancar again, they were no longer weak.
In an instant, Pesche rushed in and reached out to grab Nilu.
But then, the world spun.
Before he could react, the Shinigami had him by the throat, completely restrained.
"Impossible!"
Pesche tried to pry the hand away, but no matter how much strength he used, it wouldn't budge.
His near-Adjuchas-level power was useless.
Crushed by a Shinigami's sheer strength!
He gasped.
But… there was still Dondochakka!
He looked over just as Dondochakka appeared behind the Shinigami, aiming a palm strike.
The next moment, the world spun again.
Dondochakka was already slammed into the ground by the head.
"How… how is this possible?!"
Though they had fallen from their former Arrancar strength, they had mostly recovered their Reiatsu.
Still, they were easily subdued.
Was this Shinigami a monster?
Just as Pesche began to despair, he saw something unbelievable:
Nilu, the one they were trying to save, had climbed onto the Shinigami's head herself.
"Shinji, Shinji! These are my two subordinates!"
"The one with the ant mask is Pesche, the fat one is Dondochakka, they're both very reliable!"
After Shinji released the two Arrancars, Nilu beamed and introduced them.
"Lady Nilu, what is going on?"
Pesche was confused.
This Shinigami… his name is Shinji?
And he hadn't harmed Nilu, he'd protected her.
"Now then, Pesche, Don Dondochakka."
Nilu climbed down from Shinji's shoulders.
"Shinji has been taking care of me this whole time. I like him the most!"
"He even gave me a certificate. I'm now the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13."
She said this proudly.
"Nani?!"
Vice-Captain of Squad 10?! What a joke!
A Hollow… had become a Shinigami vice-captain?
Pesche's jaw dropped, and Dondochakka's snacks fell from his hands.
"Wait, Squad 10? Who's the captain?"
"Huh? You need to ask? Of course it's Kuchiki Shinji."
Nilu blinked like it was obvious.
"Oh, Kuchiki Shinji and,"
"KUCHIKI SHINJI!!!"
The two Arrancars suddenly shouted in unison.
The Shinigami in front of them… was that Kuchiki Shinji?!
We're dead!
We picked a fight with a captain-level Shinigami!
Pesche's legs trembled, and sweat poured down his face like rain.
"No... hash bean sack!" (Pesche actually meant "wait a moment!" but messed up the words.)
Pesche suddenly slapped his forehead.
If he hadn't misheard, didn't Lady Nilu just say she's the vice-captain under the captain of the 10th Division?
Then… doesn't that mean the Shinigami in front of them isn't going to attack them?
Realizing this, Pesche tried to muster some courage and glanced secretly at Shinji's expressionless face.
And then,
"So scary!!!"
With a terrified scream, Pesche threw himself into the trembling arms of Dondochakka.
Shinji: Am I really that scary...?
Shinji's mouth twitched slightly as he touched his own face.
This face is clearly still very handsome...
---
"So, from now on, Lady Nilu is this Shinigami-sama's vice-captain?"
After a while, and after Nilu's repeated explanations, Pesche finally understood what was going on. Although he was still nervous around the captain-level Shinigami, he was no longer as panicked as before.
"Mhm!"
Nilu nodded repeatedly, clenching her small fists in front of her chest, her eyes shining brightly:
"Nilu will always follow Shinji. Wherever Shinji goes, Nilu will go!"
"Well then, I suppose there's no helping it."
Hearing this, Pesche and Dondochakka exchanged a glance.
Then they both suddenly knelt in front of Shinji: "We are the subordinate officers of Lady Nilu."
"We who recognize Lady Nilu as our sovereign should naturally follow her."
"Since Lady Nilu has chosen Lord Shinji…"
"Then, we implore you, Lord Shinji, to allow us to follow. Though our strength is limited, we will do our best for Lady Nilu, and for you!"
They both spoke in unison, then lowered their heads and bowed deeply to the sandy ground, not raising them again.
They were sincere.
For Nilu's sake.
As her sworn subordinates, they were willing to do anything, even enter Soul Society, a place with almost no chance of survival. They would never regret it.
"Get up. As Nilu's subordinates, it's only right that you stay by her side."
Shinji nodded, a smile flickering in his eyes.
That was the reason he came to Hueco Mundo.
Absolute loyalty to Nilu.
And Nilu, who cared only for him, would never betray him.
That meant these two, loyal to Nilu, were now fighting for him.
Moreover,
The two weren't just any ordinary Adjuchas. Their Reiatsu was only temporarily diminished. Once recovered, they could return to Arrancar level and wield captain-level strength.
A trip to Hueco Mundo that yielded two captain-class allies?
There could be no better deal.
"So Lord Shinji means… he accepts us?"
Pesche's eyes lit up with surprise, raising his head slightly toward Shinji.
Seeing the joy and relief on Nilu's face only further strengthened his resolve to follow Shinji.
Perhaps this was the best choice they could make.
Their masks were broken, their power stolen, and their memories lost.
Behind them, two Espada, Nnoitra and Szayelaporro, were still hunting them down.
Even putting those two aside, Hueco Mundo was teeming with Hollows who wanted to take advantage of Nilu's current weakness, to devour her, and reach Vasto Lorde level.
But if they followed this Shinigami, Lady Nilu could escape that fate. She would no longer be pursued, or targeted.
Thinking this, Pesche and Dondochakka once again knelt deeply:
"Thank you, Lord Shinji, for allowing us the chance to follow Lady Nilu."
At that moment,
A terrifying pressure suddenly swept over them, weighing down heavily on their bodies.
Thoughts slowed to a crawl, and the gravity in the air seemed to multiply dozens of times.
Pesche and Dondochakka stood with difficulty, faces grim, looking toward a hazy figure approaching in the distance, too blurry to clearly see.
But the massive Reiatsu, frantic and oppressive, was unmistakable.
Espada Number 5, Nnoitra Jiruga, was coming.
"Damn it! How did he find us?!"
Pesche cursed under his breath, fear in his eyes.
If his mask hadn't been broken, he wouldn't fear Nnoitra.
But right now, he had fallen from Arrancar to Adjuchas level due to loss of Reiatsu.
He wasn't in the same league as Nnoitra at all!
"He must've sensed Lady Nilu's Reiatsu and chased us here."
Dondochakka stood firm beside Pesche.
If they could sense Nilu's Reiatsu, of course someone like Nnoitra, who knew it well, could too.
"Damn it… we were so close… just a bit more..."
Pesche clenched his fists.
Even if they tried to escape through a black cavity, it was too late.
Nnoitra would track and follow them with ease, and then kill Nilu.
"There's only one choice left now…"
After a moment of hesitation, Pesche and Dondochakka exchanged a firm glance.
To repay the man who made Nilu smile again.
To repay the man who gave her peace.
They would fight, even if it cost their lives.
Even if Nnoitra was an Espada, they wouldn't let him kill Nilu without a fight.
He wouldn't be able to kill them and catch up to Nilu at the same time.
That was the only solution.
With resolve in their hearts, Pesche turned to Shinji:
"Lord Shinji, may we ask one final, selfish favor?"
"Please… take care of Lady Nilu."
With that, the two rushed ahead, heading directly toward the oncoming force.
They would delay Nnoitra with their lives.
Suddenly,
BOOM!
Like a meteor crashing down.
A massive dust cloud exploded as Nnoitra descended, stepping out of the smoke slowly.
He held his enormous scythe in one hand, grinning madly.
"Trying to run?"
"All of you are dying here today!"