Saga of the Princess of the Hollow World (Youjo Senki x Bleach)

[Rymu]

Yeah, she's going to resent herself for mentioning the glass part.

Click to shrink...

I mean, that would require Ichigo and/or Rukia to be hostile to Tanya and her faction or willing/able to spill that information to others.

 

[Lord of the First Flame]

Yeah, she's going to resent herself for mentioning the glass part.

The rest is nothing they didn't know.

Click to shrink...

Can anyone think of a reason why glass would resist aging?

 

[GabeC1997]

Can anyone think of a reason why glass would resist aging?

Click to shrink...

…maybe it's a transparency thing? Possibly light based? Light has an odd relationship with time and space, like how it can take millions of years to pass through a galaxy but it can cross the galactic void instantly.

 

[Morphile]

Can anyone think of a reason why glass would resist aging?

Click to shrink...

It's extremely non-reactive to the point that "reacts with glass" is a major warning sign and rather mechanically stable despite how brittle it is and the misconception of it flowing coming from historic production inconsistency, so mere passage of time does almost nothing to it.

 

[Jesse K the Bubba]

Yep. That's why so much stuff can be put in a glass beaker, even when it's something that can melt through you, the floor, the guy working in the basement, and the concrete.

 

[Lord of the First Flame]

So there's an actual chemical reason glass is resistant to Barragans Respira. Good to know.

 

[Centergg]

So... Mary's squad is composed of reincarnated members of Tanya's 203rd. Man, Being X is a petty bitch.

Click to shrink...

If so, then Tanya can reunite with them. Alucard style. Or Bloodborne style. As in - CONSUME them and then persuade them by talking in her inner world. Yes, it might look as horrible daemon devouring people alive, but really, this is just matter of perspective

 

[Jesse K the Bubba]

The topic of ships has arisen on the SB version. Since you all are far less restricted here, what does thou think of the possibilitues?

Personally, I just think it's going to be hilarious when Stark and Lilynette show up, and the latter starts trying to hang out with Tanya because she's her-sized, and Tanya's sputtering half the time because Lily wears an open vest that barely covers anything and extra-short shorts. Everyone with any kind of emotional intelligence (and a few without) is going to assume Tanya's attracted to Lilynette.

Whether Lilynette would be down, I have no idea. But if the subject were to be brought up, I could imagine Tanya trying to explain that it can't work out because Lilynette looks like she's a young teen, only for Lily to point out that Tanya looks younger than her, is actually younger than her, and that Tanya's 75 while Lilynette is the same exact age as Coyote. And they're pretty sure they're in the upper 500s.

And so, someone jokingly calls them the Loli-baa Lovers. This person was then so thoroughly erased from existence we no longer know what they looked or sounded like enough to describe them.

 

[Rymu]

I suggested Nel as an option before Visha turned up and added the fun complication of being of a different faction to Tanya to make things interesting when the reunion happens as well as doing quite a bit to ease some of the problematic elements of the two being paired off in YS. Honestly don't know enough about Bleach to really suggest anyone outside of Rukia seeming like she'd be fun.

 

[megamiaouh]

The topic of ships has arisen on the SB version. Since you all are far less restricted here, what does thou think of the possibilitues?

Personally, I just think it's going to be hilarious when Stark and Lilynette show up, and the latter starts trying to hang out with Tanya because she's her-sized, and Tanya's sputtering half the time because Lily wears an open vest that barely covers anything and extra-short shorts. Everyone with any kind of emotional intelligence (and a few without) is going to assume Tanya's attracted to Lilynette.

Whether Lilynette would be down, I have no idea. But if the subject were to be brought up, I could imagine Tanya trying to explain that it can't work out because Lilynette looks like she's a young teen, only for Lily to point out that Tanya looks younger than her, is actually younger than her, and that Tanya's 75 while Lilynette is the same exact age as Coyote. And they're pretty sure they're in the upper 500s.

And so, someone jokingly calls them the Loli-baa Lovers. This person was then so thoroughly erased from existence we no longer know what they looked or sounded like enough to describe them.

Click to shrink...

Tanya having a (real or supposed) harem of young looking girls would be funny, Lilynette, Yachiru, Yuzu, Karin maybe even up to Rukia.
As for an actual pairing... I don't know, most guys in Bleach are kind of meh for a Tanya pairing, outside of maybe Ichigo, girls... Rukia could actually work if Tanya eats her old lieutenant's soul and that brings them closer. Maybe something wild like a Tanya/Orihime/Tatsuki pairing, where Tanya starts hanging out with Orihime, Tatsuki tries to protect or gets jealous and things happen in such a way they end up in a three way relationship.

To be honest I'm fine with anything so long as it makes sense and isn't annoying, even just something like an implied and in the background Tanya/Fran or no romance at all.

 

[Jesse K the Bubba]

Saga of the Princess of the Hollow World

Chapter 6: Childish Ways

---

Nel loved her new life in Los Noches. She didn't get to see Pesche and Dondachakka as much anymore. It used to be all the time, but now it was just sometimes. They had a lot of work to do, digging holes and planting stuff and cleaning up people's garbage. Nel didn't know what garbage was before, but apparently, if people stayed in one place, the stuff they dropped started piling up. Nel used to just drop things and leave them, but Big Sister Princess Tanya said that was littering, and littering was bad! But then when Nel thought she was a bad Hollow, Tanya said it was fine because she didn't know, but now she did, so she had to be responsible.

So garbage goes in the correct bins so the nice Palas people can take it away to be recycled and made back into useful stuff.

Nel also had a new mama! Roka was a quiet lady and not very good at playing, but she was nice and made tasty food and patted Nel on the head and gave her baths. Nel liked baths! Getting her hair shampooed felt nice, and she always smelled good after. Nel also liked the new foods! Lizards and moon fruits were good and all, but bread was amazing! And potatoes were so cool! They could be made into anything and tasted great! Fried or mashed were her favorites, but almost any potato that Mama Roka cooked was good.

Nel was eating one of her favorites, crispy fried potato sandwich, when her new Big Sister came home just in time for Casual Soul Realm Assault Trip. The teevee was another great thing! Sometimes Nel watched cartoons, but mostly she watched the 'educational programs' Tanya got for her. Thanks to them, she knew most of the colors, how to count to ten, and that eating fruits and vegetables was good for you. And a lot of them were also cartoons, so they were fun, too. Sometimes Mama Roka used it to watch things called 'news' or 'dramas'. But all of them could watch Casual Soul Realm Assault Trip since it was fun, educational, dramatic, and informative on current events in the Living World.

Nel thought it was cool how the human Don Kanoji could jump out of a flying machine like that. Big Sis called it a helicopter, and Mama was interested in how it stayed in the air while being made of heavy metal.

"Ah, it seems this abandoned hospital has a Jibakurei attached to it," Tanya noted when the cameras pointed at the building to show a Plus soul attached to it with a bunch of soul chains. "Poor thing. He just wanted to provide an essential service and profit from it. It may sound bad now that he's so degraded and can't keep himself together, but if the height of his ambitions was a Cadillac, I doubt he was going to run a black company."

"Wha's a black company?" Nel asked, having never heard the term before.

"It's when a company starts doing business in the worst way, running its employees ragged and scalping for every yen they can get at the expense of their reputation and their worker's mental and physical well-being. Imagine if I didn't give the Palas mandatory off-time and vacation hours and made them work even harder until they started falling asleep at the job."

"Oh, dat sounds pretty bad." Nel took a bite of her sandwich and went back to watching as Don Kanoji confronted the spirit. "Ish he go'a be o'ay."

"Don't talk with food in your mouth," she admonished Nel and nodded. "But yes. There's not much a Jibakurei can do except toss some objects around, and unless Don Kanoji suddenly gained… Oh, well that's not good, actually."

Nel didn't notice before, but the soul had a bit of a hole where his chain was at, and now Kanoji was poking it with his Super Spirits Stick really hard.

"Would that not accelerate the Encroachment process?" Mama Roka asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid it would. Normally a human wouldn't be able to pull this off, even on purpose, but Kanoji is apparently so spiritually aware that he can enforce direct action on a spirit through a medium. His reiryoku must be incredibly high for a human."

"Dat's Don Kanoji," Nel mused before sipping some flavored water from her sipping cup. It had a neat top on it that kept her from spilling her drink no matter how far up she turned it.

There was some commotion, and Tanya made a surprised noise when the cameras showed a girl and boy trying to get past the rope barricade and security. They were almost stopped, then another guy bopped the boy on the head and a Shinigami that looked just like him fell out of his body.

"That man… He must be one of their agents," Tanya muttered. "Tapping into cable television turns out to have been a bigger payoff for intelligence than I expected."

'Ooh, that means this is important for work!'

Knowing how much her work meant to her, Nel made herself go silent so that Big Sis could focus. It was hard, but keeping her sipping cup in her mouth and just holding it there helped. It was especially hard when things got so exciting! The Plus turned into a Hollow, and the Shinigami got into a fight with it, Don Kanoji blasted the Hollow with a tiny, slow Bala-thing, and he even saved the Shinigami from getting his head bitten off, just before the Shinigami killed the Hollow and they witnessed the Plus come back for a moment before moving on in the cycle of reincarnation.

Nel kinda hoped he was reborn as an Arrancar. Having a froggy person around could be cool.

"Well, this definitely requires some further investigation. I'll have to ask Kurosaki and Kuchiki about those men next time I visit. …When I get the time."

"Dhoes were your fwiends?" Nel asked, seeing as the show was mostly over and Big Sis had gotten the information she needed. Kurosaki was the name of the three Quincy people Tanya was friends with, and Kuchiki was their other human friend who might also have hidden potential.

"Indeed. Kurosaki has Shinigami powers, for some reason, given to him by the Seireitei as an experiment of some kind. It makes it so he actually purifies the Hollows he kills instead of annihilating their souls."

Nel thought Seireitei was their enemy, but maybe they were trying to get along. At least, getting purified was better than being destroyed completely. Nel would be sad if her friends just disappeared. If they reincarnated, they could always be friends again in the future, but they couldn't do that if one of them was gone forever.

"I'll have to check with the grid and compare it to today's events. Kurosaki's presence might muffle the results, but if those men came from another direction, it should lead us to a base of operations if we walk it back. Mom, do you think you could help me sort through the data?"

"Absolutely. I was fine-tuned for data allocation and recording through Caja Negacion manipulation as one of my earliest alterations."

"...He altered your brain?" Tanya sighed. "That man will go to Hell, someday."

Mama Roka frowned at that. There was someone that Tanya really didn't like that Roka didn't hate, but they never argued about him, whoever he was. But he did sound like a bad man. Mama Roka might just be too nice to him.

Either way, after dinner and a bath, where Nel got to help scrub Tanya's hair and Tanya helped wash hers, they set Nel to bed and went to sleep, but Nel was awake thinking for quite a while before failing to fight her tiredness any further. She was thinking of ways to be helpful. Everyone else was helping, after all, and Nel had learned a lot since she started living here. But hearing Big Sis talk about all the things she had to do and how she might not have time for friends made Nel a little sad. Tanya must have felt sad too about being too busy for friends. Even Pesche and Dondachakka had time to visit almost every day, despite being very busy Palas.

When she woke up, Nel had an epiphany! If Big Sister Princess Tanya was too busy right now, then Nel would help her with her work so that she wasn't so busy and could see friends. Nel had a lot of time she wasn't doing anything with, after all, and it sounded like Mama Roka was going to be helping today too, so nobody would be there except Nel for a while.

And so, Nel set out to help… And then realized she wasn't sure what to do. Tanya needed to find the weird man with the weird hat and wooden shoes somewhere in the Living World, probably close to the Quincies. But getting there meant opening either a Kūmon or Garganta, and she didn't know how to do either of those. So Nel needed some help with her helping.

"Eshcuse me, Uno," Nel began as she approached a Picaro, one of the oddball Arrancar kids who were kind of the same person but also kind of not. "Nel needsh some help doing shomething for Tanya."

"The Princesa requires assistance?" he asked in a monotone voice. "How can we help?"

"Nel needsh to get to the Living World where the Kuroshakis live and find a man wit' a weird hat 'n' clogs."

"Understood. Picaro, pick that up?"

"Yeah, we're gonna help the princess!" a happy girl with pigtails just below antler-like mask fragments cheered. Tres, Nel remembered.

"Oh ho, a new mission!" the floating mask-head Cero added as it sauntered over.

A dog Picaro barked and wagged its tail before sitting in front of Nel and panting.

About a dozen more showed up before Nel realized she needed to tell them that she only needed a few to help her. There was some disappointment, but the first couple that showed up decided that it would be them. Cero, Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco, Seis, Siete, and Perro Un. That should be plenty to keep a lookout and find the man.

"All right then, the new game is to find the Hat'n'Clogs Man!" Uno announced to his fellow Picaro, which made Nel think that maybe they weren't really the same person with a bunch of bodies, but instead just a bunch of really good friends. That made a lot more sense in Nel's mind. Like how she, Pesche, and Dondachakka were just thinking the same thing sometimes, or how Tanya taught her Escudo how to fight together and stay in sync. Nel didn't think she could be so close to the Picaro, they got a little too intense sometimes, but maybe as a good friend instead of a best? Yeah, that sounded good.

"Let's get the equipment and get ready for infiltration procedures. Secure a cloak for Nel."

Nel got carried off by Cinco, the boy with a fox-ear-shaped mask, Siete, a girl with glasses for a mask, and was lifted from above by Perro Un, riding on its back like a steed. Before she knew it, she was sped off somewhere they stored mission equipment like healing serums and suppression cloaks, and then off to a safe location to open a Garganta, and then through it into the Living World.

"Wow! Their shky dome is sho high!" Nel remarked when she looked up to see blue with puffs of white.

"Actually, it's open sky," Seis, the boy with a bandana and mask lining his jaw explained. "Los Noches' ceiling copies it."

"Dat's sho cool!"

"Should we split up for the search?" the girl with a horn on the mask on the side of her head, Cuatro, asked.

"We should fly and search from the air!" Cero suggested.

"No, we have to follow the rules," Uno reminded them all. "Always go in pairs, watch each other's back, remain hidden from Shinigami sensors, only interact with humans who can see you if necessary, don't kill anybody unless you're in danger, and don't give away vital information if captured. Our names and numbers are all we can tell enemies that capture us."

"Um, Nel doesn't have a number," the green-haired girl told them.

"Hey, is that a problem?" Cinco asked while helping her down. "What if they want her number but don't believe she doesn't have one?"

"That could be a problem," Uno agreed. "Nel, I am assigning you temporary status as Hermana Cero, not to be confused with Picaro Cero."

"Hermana?" Nel asked before gasping, realizing that Uno was referring to how she was Big Sis' little sis. That meant she was representing something very important here on this mission. "Arr right, Nel Tu Oderswhanck is Hermana Cero!"

"I thought her name was Odelshwanck?" Tres asked.

"Dat's what Nel just shaid," Nel said.

"She has a lisp," Sieta pointed out.

"Nel can't help it! She doeshn't even have all her lil' teef yet!"

"It's okay. You'll improve," Cinco encouraged her with a pat on her head, bringing a smile back to Nel's face.

"All right then, let's get into pairs and start covering ground."

---

Kisuke Urahara liked to put forth the image that he was unflappable, that nothing could catch him off-guard, and that he had everything under control. He knew he wasn't, of course. It took a lot of prep work to make anything go right and timing to get it there, and then there was so much waiting in-between that remaining vigilant often felt harder than anything else. But even to himself, he preferred to think he had everything in hand. That no matter what popped up, he was either ready for it or readiness was a bit of elbow grease away.

He played the recording once again.

"Hm, oh, I know he's human. Living, I mean. Not sure what the Shinigami did to him, but it's...interesting. I'll probably come and ask about it when the area's more secure. Just be careful around those black-robed characters. One step out of line, and you might find yourself passing over into the afterlife living in a half-rotted slum. Try to avoid that as long as you can." Pause. "Oh, and let the girls know I dropped by." Tink. "A little gift from Tanya. Tell Yuzu I can't wait for another cup of coffee."

He had gone over it several times already and reviewed the images he captured many times as well.

Tanya the Arrancar. She appeared out of nowhere, reiatsu suppressing cloak explaining at least a little about how she stayed under the radar, though even that would need additional training similar to what the Onmitsukidō underwent to be as effective as she made it seem. Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, a mask fragment resembling a crown made from a toothless maxilla and connected zygomata. Height and features resembling a girl between the ages of 10 to 14. Gray knee-high boots, white pants of a military cut tucked into them, and a button-down shirt with a small opening to reveal her Hollow Hole at the bottom of her sternum. Despite hiding from reiatsu sensors so effectively, she made no real effort to hide what she was, which spoke of the confidence she had in revealing herself. It told him that if she expected even the possibility of being seen, it was only if she was broadcasting her presence. It made him more than a little wary of whether or not she knew he had eyes on her at the time.

He played the recording again and watched as well as listened. He looked at the vial again and read as much as he could, even though he knew exactly what it was and what it did. He managed to filch it and get a sample while handling Kurosaki's 'unconscious' body. It did exactly what it said, and even the warnings existed for good reason.

Skin cancer was not supposed to grow eyes and teeth or make pained noises.

He paused it, and went over in his mind what he knew of Kuchiki Rukia.

'She had the perfect words to needle Rukia in the worst way. All while perfectly playing innocent ignorance.' She was a good actor, but no way in Hell had those words been aimed at anything other than Rukia's past in the poorer parts of the Rukongai. 'But worse than that, how long has she been watching the Kurosakis?'

Isshin claimed ignorance when he managed to talk to the man, and he couldn't say he doubted him. He was out on a call at the time Rukia said she witnessed Tanya's visit to the household. Almost perfect timing. He'd need to look into what caused the incident that pulled Isshin away from home, but he had suspicions. During that visit, Tanya had gifted Yuzu a rare form of quartz. Dumortierite like that could go for tens of thousands of yen without getting the same attention that more rare minerals like diamonds or rubies might. That was on top of the genuine gold Spanish doubloon she had passed over. Who knew what else she gave them to earn their trust through financial security? Or even just as pretty gifts? Well, it fits with the claim to royalty she made, even if it was one Urahara couldn't help but doubt.

Barragan Louisenbairn was a legend, in more ways than one. The Hollow was once responsible for wiping out a quarter of the Gotei's seated officers, including three captains, over a thousand years ago when there was an ill-fated attempt to push into Las Noches that went against Yamamoto's warnings, but had backing by Central 46. Nearly everyone who ventured forth perished, and those who survived and returned were scarred after seeing their fellows age to death in seconds before withering to bones and then dust. The King of Hueco Mundo was not to be trifled with.

And Tanya claimed to be his daughter, created by mad science.

Urahara knew that Aizen had insane ambitions, but he didn't think a Hollow breeding program was something he would undertake. And going by the report from Rukia he intercepted, Tanya was a second-generation creation on her mother's side. It was frightening enough to imagine what she might have inherited from her father, but her mother was a total unknown. All Rukia learned or listed about her was that she was 'created' by a scientist, an Arrancar, and may have never personally eaten a soul. That suggested a level of stability most Hollows could only dream of, and often with Hollows, stability comes with power.

It was far worse than he initially assumed. Arrancar could be powerful, no doubt, but most didn't reach the levels of a captain-class or Vasto Lorde, but Aizen must have found a way, likely using his Hogyoku and this geneticist so twisted that even the Hollow Princess was disgusted by him, to push them past their previous limits. And if he could do that and apply it to Vasto Lorde or even more powerful creations on the level of the Hollow codenamed White, or worse yet, Barragan, then the Seireitei was going to be in trouble.

But he had gone too far to back out of his path. Not for sunk costs, but simply because he couldn't take it back. His Hogyoku was already bound to Rukia, slowly dispersing itself through her back into the void.

This little communication through this Tanya Louisenbarn was a taunt!

Aizen knew what he'd done and was toying with him!

But he wouldn't take the bait. Because that had to have been at least one of Aizen's plans. If the Kurosakis were as indebted to her as he believed, and soon they were going to be a whole lot more if she wasn't lying about what she had, then trying to remove her would set them against him and send everything so far off the rails that he couldn't hope to recover it all. And if Tanya was telling the truth, and Masaki's Quincy soul had somehow survived consumption by two different Hollows, she could soon have Isshin and Ryūken by the balls as well, along with Ryūken's kid by extension.

Ichigo, his family, and his friends would be wrapped around this little Arrancar's finger, and by extension, under Aizen's thumb. And they'd thank her for it all the way to the desert sands.

What he needed was a way to expose them. Aizen was too far behind the scenes, but Tanya was poking her head out over and over. He just needed to be ready to whack the mole when it next popped up. Yes, Tanya had dug her claws into them, but by extension, she had an image to maintain. She was still a Hollow at the end of the day, and even if Aizen had removed that hunger for souls, there was still an undeniable vicious streak that every Arrancar he'd ever seen displayed in battle. They may have Shinigami-like power, but they used it like a Hollow.

An alert went off, and Urahara spun around in his chair and checked through his equipment.

"Oh, well, this isn't good."

Stepping out from his cellar, he felt the presence of the many, many Hollows that his systems had just warned him of. Rukia was still hanging around, probably still sorting through her thoughts on the Quincy war he had to explain to her after she informed him of the Arrancar's latest visit, but whatever she was talking about with Tessai had been forgotten as they both felt the Hollow presences as well.

"Something's going on," Rukia stated, looking at her Denreishinki as it beeped out alerts over and over. "So many Hollows at this rate shouldn't be possible."

Urahara wasn't sure what exactly it was, if it was a part of Aizen's plans or just a bit of bad luck. It wouldn't do to needlessly attribute every bad occurrence to Aizen. That way led down an actual path of paranoia. So, an investigation was in order.

---

Etsuya Motome was running, wondering why everything was so bad lately. Her mom got sick, her father started drinking a lot, and then there was the car wreck where she died. That really should have been the worst, but when she went to her own funeral, she had to witness her father get disowned by her grandparents, and then her mom died, but her ghost was nowhere to be found. And now there was a monster after her!

She didn't know why the monster was chasing her, just that she had to get away. But it was so hard! Being dead was so tiring! Why did this have to happen?! She was a good girl, right? Decent at least?

Finally, she had gone as far as she could, and she was falling to her hands and knees. The monster closed in, sounding like a howling beast from the movies, its massive jaws open and ready to bite down on her.

"Mo-to-me," a voice from within the mouth called out, causing her to freeze up even more. "Come…here, Mo-to-me!"

…Maybe…it was better this way? If that voice…

But then, something sped down from the sky and smashed the monster into the pavement. It cried out but went still as the little thing bounced from its back and onto its head.

"Just in time!" the winking, smiling white ball with a cloth draped over it said. "Are you all right, little girl? I hope the mean Hollow didn't hurt you."

"I… I'm okay, but…" Howls echoed around the town. More monsters were out there, and Motome was sure that the one chasing her was far from the worst.

"Mo-to-me," the creature got out, sounding more clear then before. "Please, Moto-me. Let me…save you."

"The Hollow knows you," the smiling ball said. "Not a bad person, then, just confused. It wants to help but doesn't know how. I know what to do, though. I'm Picaro, and I help dead children so that they won't ever be hurt again. Would you like my help?"

Motome nodded her head. The nice ball then floated up, and two tiny arms with alabaster skin reached out from under the cloth, offering her a little wafer.

"Just eat this, and we can help protect you."

Motome took it and ate the white wafer quickly. It tasted a bit like sand from the beach, but dry like it never touched the water before. Then Motome felt a chill running down her throat and all through her guts. It spread but disappeared as the chain hanging off of her chest since she died suddenly turned into a bunch of mouths and ate themselves. A hole appeared in its place while she coughed something up, feeling dizzy for a moment before the weird white stuff slid up into her scalp and hardened into four horns on a hat-like plate of white.

And then she felt…the others. Friendly voices of other children welcoming her and congratulating her and making promises to play when they came face to face. She felt so happy to have so many people ready to help her, and they were happy she was happy. Promises to share their strength and help her heal her wounds if she got any came, along with a clearer voice above them, like a radio.

"Welcome Etsuya Motome, Picaro Uno speaking here. You're now Picaro Doscientioseis."

"Roger, sir." She looked back at the…Hollow, and her fellows' understanding let her put together what, and more importantly, who it really was. "Permission to extract Hollow?"

"Permission granted."

Motome giggled and helped the Hollow back up to her feet, Picaro Cero already floating back to rejoin Uno.

"See you later!"

"Thank you, Cero!" she then smiled at the much bigger Hollow. "C'mon, Mama, let's get somewhere safe. We can come back for Papa later."

Her mother, not quite cognizant, understood enough to follow the child as she tore open a portal to Hueco Mundo, a happy ghostly trill sounding from her throat.

---

Ichigo never thought that the first Quincy he would ever meet was going to be such a stuck-up know-it-all with a death wish, but here they were. After arguing back and forth, getting called a liar, having his ancestry insulted, and then being called someone's attack dog… Well, Ichigo had just about had it.

At first, he was down for whatever contest Ishida Uryu had in mind, but he didn't think it was going to be this.

"When we're done with this!" he yelled at the Quincy, wherever he was, feeling the knot in his gut tighten every time he witnessed a Hollow die from his glowing arrows, and not because of the stupid score, "I am kicking your ASS!"

Part of him wanted to stop and kick Ishida's ass right now anyway just to get him to stop. It's like the idiot didn't even realize what he was doing! For all he knew, these Hollows were once people they knew. Or they had several innocent people inside them. Or both. Or worse, they could straight up be family! And even if they weren't, they were somebody's family, once. There were lost souls here, and Ishida was just casually destroying them forever.

Not only that, but so many people were getting hurt. His friends, his sisters, and for what? To prove Quincy powers were faster at killing Hollows? That didn't matter to him. What mattered was protecting the people and freeing the innocent from torture.

Suddenly, a child's cry was heard, and Ichigo acted more on instinct than senses. Two kids were running, and a giant, wolflike Hollow was chasing after them. He jumped forward and slashed, slicing the Hollow in half and purifying it.

"Doggy, no!" he heard, pulling him out of the moment in shock and making him turn to see that the two kids weren't exactly normal. One was short, maybe 3 or 4 years old, with green hair and a cartoonish animal skull mask on top of her head. The other one was maybe 8 with white antler-looking things just above her pigtails and a hole in her abdomen made visible thanks to her wearing a cropped shirt. Both wore tiny versions of a familiar black cloak over their casual clothes.

"Aw, we were going to take it back home," the older girl said.

"Hey, it'sh one of Big Sis' human fwiends," the smaller one exclaimed while gesturing to him. "Hi human!"

"What the- What are you two doing here?" Were these other Arrancar children from that Las Noches place? Did the bait attract them, too?

'Oh no, what if Ishida runs across one?'

"We're on a mission to locate a person of interest," the older girl explained.

"Yeah, Nel'sh trying to help Big Sis Tanya, but there's a bunch 'a Hollows running around, so Nel and Tres keep getting confused."

"Wait, Tanya sent you on a mission?"

"No, Nel did," the shorter one said, instantly earning a glare from the other child. "What?"

"You mean you didn't have permission from the higher-ups to go on a mission to the Living World?"

"Waz Nel shupposed to?"

The older girl could only frown intensely for a long moment.

"Oh, we're going to get in so much trouble."

He felt for the kid, really. Hopefully, her folks weren't too mad.

"Another thing, what was with all the crying if you were 'playing' with that Hollow?"

"Oh, dat's 'cause Nel's a mashochist," the tiny girl said, causing Ichigo to choke on his own breath. "Is not really fun until Nel's been chased so long that Nel cries 'bout it."

"Who the hell taught you that stuff?!"

"Taught what shtuff?"

The howling of a nearby Hollow stopped that line of questioning.

"Crap," Ichigo muttered, looking around and seeing more Hollows coming out of portals in the sky. And he was seeing less and less of Ishida's arrows, too. "Look, we're in a bit of trouble here ourselves. Some guy used a Hollow bait, and now they're just pouring in all over the place."

"Ish that what shmells like candy?"

"Are you two safe, or did you need to worry about Hollows coming after you? I know you mentioned 'keeping' that last one…"

"No worries. We Picaro are tougher than we look, and I've got Nel. These Hollows are basically just playing around to us."

Well, that was a disturbing thought.

"Should we make 'em shtop?"

That perked Ichigo's interest. "Can you?"

"Hm, maybe?" Tres said uncertainly. "I'll call the others. If we do, could you help us find someone?"

"Sure, I guess." He helped kids find their parents before. This was kinda like that, right?

"Tres to Uno. Tres to Uno. We've made contact with Kurosaki Ichigo. Yep. Uh-huh. He wants help with all the Hollows. Oh, they are? Ah, yeah, okay, we can do that. I'll let him know." She then smiled over at Ichigo. "Good news and bad news. The good news is we can remove the bait and draw in the Hollows to make them go back home."

"And what's the bad news?"

"The Gillian that's on the way is gonna be a bit harder to convince."

"...the what?"

---

Tanya was worried sick as she ran through the void of Garganta, Roka hot on her heels. They barely paused long enough to grab cloaks on their way out after hearing from the Picaro that Nel was with a few of them on a mission in the Living World. Or at least, they thought they were on a mission, but apparently, they misunderstood Nel's personal request as an officially sanctioned operation, and now Nel was in the Living World while a Hollow swarm was forming. The swarm itself wasn't a problem. Even the least intelligent Hollow would listen when Tanya ordered them, and the ones smart enough to make up their own minds but stupid enough to disobey would find themselves quickly flattened. No, the problem was that if this swarm was bad enough, then Seireitei was going to take notice and maybe even send in a heavy hitter to take care of it, perhaps several. And if that happened, it risked both the security of their fledgling espionage systems and Nel's very life.

'Please be okay. Please be okay.'

And she could sense Roka's growing worry as well. The woman had taken a fast liking to the tyke, probably as a way to alieve her Empty Nest Blues that must have cropped up when Tanya went to work full-time. And Tanya could admit, for all the little bratty moments and the trouble Nel could get into, she was a lovable and loving kid. A big heart for a creature that supposedly had none. Nelliel-sensei would have been proud.

They dashed out into the Living World, and Tanya immediately engaged her Indice Radar, feeling out for Nel's signature. She found it, turned, then shot off in Sonido, stopping just short of where Nel was, seeing before her a number of new characters currently being harrassed with questions by the Picaro.

Including that agent she wanted to look into.

And he looked really defeated right now, for some reason.

Ignoring that for the moment, Tanya ran over and scooped Nel up into her arms, stopping her from rubbing something onto a dark-haired, glasses-wearing, teenage boy's arm. The young man was on his back, looking exhausted, with several cuts up his arms that were now healing before their eyes.

"Big Sis!"

"Nel! We were so worried about you! Why did you think you could just run off to the World of the Living without permission?"

The little girl started tearing up, her big, expressive eyes shimmering with shame and sadness.

"Nel's sowwy! Nel just wanted to help Tanya find the man from the teevee!"

"Find the-" Tanya paused in her words and looked back at the agent in green with a striped hat and geta sandals. Along with a tan-skinned man with a mustache, there were also two living children with him, and given that they were answering questions given by the Picaro, they had spiritual awareness. Ah, now she understood. A family outing interrupted by work. And now the Picaro were just adding to his exhaustion on top of whatever his job had been out here. Luckily, they understood information security, but they also deviously knew how to use their looks and charms to lower people's guards. More than a few dissenters had been found out because they weren't paying attention to the little rascals collecting their garbage. Most of it led nowhere, but there had been two cells that had plotted violent uprisings or sabotage found out through this method, and most people were none-the-wiser.

'All right. Let the Picaro work their methods for a moment. I need to check up on a certain strawberry, anyways.'

"Ichigo, you look roughed up."

"Stupid giant Hollow blasted at me," he mumbled from the ground. He looked only mildly better than the other teen. "But I beat it."

"It was sho cool, Sis! He swung a big lazer from his shword!"

"Hey, you were cool yourself, kid." He grunted as he shifted his body to look upward. "Thanks for catching the first one."

"Catching?" What exactly was that supposed to mean? "Nel, what did you catch?"

"Nel can catch Ceros wif her mouth!" the tot explained, her previous guilt seemingly completely absent and now replaced by pride. "And den Nel spits them back out."

"She missed her shot, but it bought me some time," Ichigo explained. "Kinda freaked me out when she toppled over, but then she was back up and complaining about the taste."

"Tastes like burnt," Nel agreed with her tongue stuck out for emphasis.

"Cero Doble," Tanya realized. "That was one of your mother's techniques. I could never figure it out, so I always thought it was unique to her, but it seems you've inherited it." Stopping herself from going further as she realized what kind of company she was in, she passed the suddenly bright-eyed girl over to Roka to hold. "Anyways, we're going to be taking you back in a minute. Ichigo, are you hurt in any serious way?"

"Nah, Nel spit on us. Apparently, her drool heals wounds?"

Tanya looked back at the tiny Arrancar. "Since when?"

"Uh, all da time? But no one's been hurted for a while."

…Maybe she should take a day to go over everything Nel knew about her abilities. Healing saliva was new, though. Did she develop it after learning about her mother's death? No, she wasn't aware of her mother before Tanya found her. She wasn't sure where it came from, then.

"Hey, Ishida, you still alive over there?"

"And unfortunately conscious."

"This is that source I mentioned."

"...You realize those are Hollows, right?"

"Ichigo, who is this and why are you telling him about us?" Tanya was sure she was very clear about him not just telling anyone about her and what she was.

"Tanya, Ishida Uryu. Glasses, the Princess. She figured out about my mom and told me."

"...So, there really are other Quincies, then?"

"Ah, now I see," Tanya said while walking back over to the boy, frowning at the Christian-style cross charm on his wrist. "That's what sticks out about you. I didn't expect another Quincy to be so close. Perhaps you're related?"

"As if!" both teenagers declared at the same time, if in totally different tones. Neither seemed to like how in sync they were, though.

"Well, that's for genealogists to poke at, not me. But since I have your attention, could I ask that you refrain from using your powers in battle until a suitable substitution comes along?"

The boy scoffed. "And what, let Hollows run rampant when I can stop them?"

"That's genuinely preferable to all parties involved, seeing as your power is the sole sort in my admittedly limited knowledge that can actually destroy souls. I'd rather we prevent that as much as possible."

"Afraid I'll erase all your food?"

Well, that tore it! Tanya was very much trying to be reasonable here! She didn't regret baring her teeth a little. It didn't seem to affect him all that much anyway.

"I'm afraid you'll be the one solely responsible for the true and final demise of many a person whose only crime was to linger on after death a little too long. How many parents must have searched for children they knew had passed, ignorant that the child they once loved no longer exists?" Tanya turned her gaze over to the geta-wearing man. He seemed oddly focused on her right now. Then again, she had something to say that wasn't disguised as childish babbling. Well, the Picaro probably already got what they wanted. Time to make an impression and knock this self-righteous child down a peg. "I'm afraid you'll be the one to answer when your time comes if your virtues outweigh your sins. The Gates of Hell are real, my friend. I've sent plenty there, and that's no exaggeration. No matter how many times it opens, those massive skeletal hands dragging the wicked by their chains never fail to impress upon me that evil exists and its cost is real! And you, you know exactly what it is that you do. Look me in the eye and say that potentially slaughtering - no, erasing hundreds of innocents is worth some passing comfort for the few."

A bit of sweat had started to collect on the Quincy's forehead, and his defiant expression had morphed into one of worry. Good, she was getting through to him.

"Your power and ability to shape reishi is something to envy, but its use as a weapon is the most horrifying that I know. At least at the blade of a Shinigami, I know my fate is to wake up to a new life. In the gut of a Hollow, there's a chance to break through and reclaim myself, or for it to run afoul of Shinigami as well. But a Quincy, even a weak one, could end my existence. Oblivion. Nothingness. Not only is that something to fear for myself, it's the fear of what I'd leave behind. My family, my friends, my comrades… They would all be left knowing that there is nothing they can do, because there would be nothing left of me. And that same fear goes for everyone who knows what it is that you can do."

Tanya thought she heard a whimper from Nel, so she stopped. She didn't want to upset the little girl and give her nightmares. She was probably going to have to reassure her many times over the rest of the day that Tanya was in no such danger, and probably soothe her with boisterous tales of her own strength before bed. She had said enough anyway. Yes, by that somber, thoughtful look, Ishida had gotten the message.

"I can promise to refrain from killing them as much as I can," the Quincy said after a long moment of silent contemplation, "but I won't let them hurt people."

"Just remember that inside every Hollow is a person, too. And most of them deserve a chance."

She fought back the urge to sigh. It wouldn't do to look like she was strained here, but she was, just a little. After being worked up about Nel and caught off-guard by all of this, her nerves were a little frazzled. Nothing a moment to decompress couldn't fix. Maybe a snack. Well, they were already in the Living World and Ichigo looked like he needed a hand. No, wait, the agent was right there! Ah, did he already know about Tanya's communications with Ichigo? She never picked up on him watching them closely, but he had been there at the Casual Soul Realm Assault Trip location and knocked Ichigo's Shinigamified soul out of his body. Damn though, she had just spoken to Ichigo so casually, and he basically said out loud that he knew her.

…Wait, if he said that out loud where an agent of the Seireitei could hear, then that meant that he'd already informed him, or…he trusted him enough to not pass it along. It could be that the man served a role similar to Rukia's in a supporting fashion. Ichigo couldn't leave his body on his own, which meant he needed people with the tools to do so close at hand. While she couldn't expect to trust the man with everything (there were some things she would never allow herself or anyone else to leak no matter how much they came to trust the individual human), it at least seemed that he wasn't going to immediately report them to the Shinigami.

Well, even if he was, there was only so much for it. Killing him could cause more problems than it would solve. If he didn't report in, people up the ladder would investigate. If they investigated, they might find traces leading to the Arrancar, or interrogate Ichigo and Rukia to get every bit of information they could. That could lead to a lot of places, and all of it outside of Tanya's control. The snooping would definitely affect the trial operation they had here, not to mention the methods employed to 'extract' their assets could range anywhere from stripping out Ichigo's power to erasing any and all signs of his family ever existing here.

No, better to keep things steady. Don't rock the boat too much. Don't shake up the ladder. Continue as you were, and keep a close eye on things.

"Sorry if they're chatting your ears off, mister," Tanya opened with the man after she approached, patting Picaro Tres and Cuatro on the heads. She decided to go with the casual approach. Act like everything's natural and people will often assume you're doing nothing wrong. "They're just always happy to meet new people."

The man looked at her, and in the blink of an eye, the weight on his shoulders disappeared, and he was smiling with the air of a used car salesman or carnival booth proprietor.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all! I love meeting new people as well. Comes with the territory of running a specialty shop like mine."

'Ah, a shopkeeper for a day job? How industrious!'

"Oh, we'll have to visit sometime. I have had trouble finding a store I could actually shop at in the Living World. I just hope I don't interfere with your regular customers."

"Shouldn't be a problem. Might wanna dress up a little differently. Wear a hat, maybe."

'In other words, only come in disguise. So Shinigami do come around, but they're not monitoring it too closely. That also likely means we haven't been reported on. I should check to be extra careful, though.'

"We'll keep it in mind. By the way, I'd hope that with what's happened here… Well, we don't want some violent figures digging into our business, and we happen to know some violent people with grudges. It'd be unfortunate for us both."

"Oh, yes, I know what you mean. Yeah, while I'm having to pay the Piper, I know more than most that there are certain things we don't tell the folks upstairs. They'll just make a mess of everything."

'Good. We're on the same page, then. He understands that even if Shinigami came, he'd be at risk as well. They might just leave him high and dry and take whatever equipment they've loaned him, or they could tie up all the loose ends and give him a cozy house on the west end of the Rokungai while sending his kids and partner to the other ends. Best not to risk it.'

"We'll just keep it all on the low, then," Tanya agreed, outstretching her hand. "Tanya Louisenbairn."

"Urahara Kisuke," the man returned, shaking her hand and studying her face. She kept her expression even and matched his grip.

A perfectly polite and strong first impression! And with that, Tanya was wriggled a little more into the Living World's hearts and minds. There was still a long way to go, but thousands of miles were walked step by step.

 

[Rymu]

Family bath time feels like it's got some potential for Nel to bring up when she's in her original form again...

 

[Anonymous Brainwash]

Alright, someone who speaks Kisuke translate whatever horrifying information he just got out of Tanya

 

[Yeetboi]

The amount of misunderstandings going on in Kisuke's head must be monumental. He's probably hyper-analyzing every errant micro expression.

 

[Newborn_Cretin]

oh my god, HAHAHA poor tanya shes actually being straight forward and honest its just everyone besides the kurosaki siblings are making assumptions.

as for kisuke thoughts and assumptions

"Oh, it's no trouble at all! I love meeting new people as well. Comes with the territory of running a specialty shop like mine."

'Ah, a shopkeeper for a day job? How industrious!'

"Oh, we'll have to visit sometime. I have had trouble finding a store I could actually shop at in the Living World. I just hope I don't interfere with your regular customers."

"Shouldn't be a problem. Might wanna dress up a little differently. Wear a hat, maybe."

Click to shrink...

definitely asking how to discreetly shop with him, suggestion falls in line with to not wanting soul society seeing them interacting with him, hes already banished thank you very much.

'In other words, only come in disguise. So Shinigami do come around, but they're not monitoring it too closely. That also likely means we haven't been reported on. I should check to be extra careful, though.'

"We'll keep it in mind. By the way, I'd hope that with what's happened here… Well, we don't want some violent figures digging into our business, and we happen to know some violent people with grudges. It'd be unfortunate for us both."

"Oh, yes, I know what you mean. Yeah, while I'm having to pay the Piper, I know more than most that there are certain things we don't tell the folks upstairs. They'll just make a mess of everything."

'Good. We're on the same page, then. He understands that even if Shinigami came, he'd be at risk as well. They might just leave him high and dry and take whatever equipment they've loaned him, or they could tie up all the loose ends and give him a cozy house on the west end of the Rokungai while sending his kids and partner to the other ends. Best not to risk it.'

Click to shrink...

subtle threat about fighting and aludes to knowing she knows about the special spirit ball that aizen is after but also indicated she hasnt told her boss for some reason not keen on violence maybe.

"We'll just keep it all on the low, then," Tanya agreed, outstretching her hand. "Tanya Louisenbairn."

"Urahara Kisuke," the man returned, shaking her hand and studying her face. She kept her expression even and matched his grip.

A perfectly polite and strong first impression! And with that, Tanya was wriggled a little more into the Living World's hearts and minds. There was still a long way to go, but thousands of miles were walked step by step.

Click to shrink...

name drop is a threat but also the keep quiet means its between the both of them no one else knows.

This is my best guess.

also a horde of arrancarr children bothering kisuke and yoruichi is just flat out hilarious to me

 

[Wild Transient]

Chibi Nel is adorable and HALPING!

They may have Shinigami-like power, but they used it like a Hollow.

Click to shrink...

Urahara is in for a very rude surprise the moment he encounters Tanya trained Arrancar.

 

[GabeC1997]

...Nel's going to curl up into a ball and scream in embarrassment when she gets her memories back, isn't she?

 

[Newborn_Cretin]

...Nel's going to curl up into a ball and scream in embarrassment when she gets her memories back, isn't she?

Click to shrink...

adult Nel subconsciously reacting to Roka and calling her mom is going to be the best.

 

[Rymu]

adult Nel subconsciously reacting to Roka and calling her mom is going to be the best.

Click to shrink...

I'm tempted to ship Nel x Roka just for that...

 

[Guardian Box]

I'm very interested with the wafer-thing. Was that in canon that it would be possible to Arrancarize simple Pluses?

 

[Jesse K the Bubba]

I'm very interested with the wafer-thing. Was that in canon that it would be possible to Arrancarize simple Pluses?

Click to shrink...

It's just how I decided to describe one of Picaro's unique abilities.

The Pícaro were once a group of Human children who were abandoned and left to die of starvation. The children became Hollows and eventually these Hollows merged together into a single Gillian, who started to feel lonely and guilty due to devouring the others. After evolving into an Adjuchas, the Hollow went to look for other deceased children to have company, turning them into Hollows and either feeding them parts of itself or assimilating them.

Click to shrink...

Edit

It's not just an 'anyone' kind of thing. It's the Picaro's speciality, and I'd further add that it only works under certain circumstances. That's why all of them are either children or pet type animals, save for Cero, who is basically their core.

 

[Jesse K the Bubba]

Saga of the Princess of the Hollow World

Chapter 7: Dividing Past and Present

---

Aaroniero Arruruerie had few regrets in their long life as one of the original Espada, if one did not count the innumerable examples of 'did not eat that person'. They tried not to linger on those for too long. However, their newest mistake earned its place at the top of the list.

They should have read the fine print!

It seemed so reasonable! Let the little Pala scientist study their powers and perform a few experiments. In exchange, she had samples taken from many varied Hollows they could eat and gain new powers from. Hell, one of the experiments was to study how their Glutoneria's Hollow Absorption ability functioned, so it was a win-win! But this next one, they could feel it, it was killing them! No, worse, rewriting them!

"Bastard," they heard from within.

Aaroniero was a Gillian. They just never made that last step into becoming Adjucha. It wasn't unique. There were several Gillian Arrancar, but they alone were an Espada at Gillian rank. They could have probably pushed for an Adjucha form and easily achieved it, but so much might have been lost in the transition. No, better to hold onto all they had. That's why they had two heads. Keeping themselves even and equal to each other but above all the other souls ensured they would remain at this state.

But now another soul was rising.

"For what you did…"

'It wasn't us! We only ate the Hollow that happened to eat you!'

It was no use! He was coming up faster and faster! If he overtook them, it would all be over! There had always been a risk of this happening, but they had been so sure that all their souls were withered into mindless little balls of memory and reiryoku, but the damn scientist was reinvigorating this specific one for her test!

They tried getting her to stop by using Cognition Synchronization, but she just repeated the lines of the waiver they had signed. The very tiny lines among a few hundred others. They tried calling someone else for help, but all of them were leaving Aaroniero to this fate. Half of their fellows even laughed at them.

Perhaps…a new regret was never making a single ally that could step in at this moment.

Wait, they could still salvage this! This soul…it had memories!

They reached in and pushed against the soul's mind. They'd read his so many times before to use his likeness, practicing until they could get it perfect. It was going to be so fun when they met his former friends and used him to eat them, but now this bit of preparedness was going to help them in a different way.

Going off the memories, they reached for another soul and pulled it up. It was risky, but it just might work!

"You… No. Miyako?"

It was working!

"Kai-en?"

Yes, it was working! Now, properly distracted… Wait, what was going on? The souls…were connecting? They were both rising?!

"Oh, well that's interesting!" the damned scientist said just a few inches to their left, so close yet so far out of reach of their paralyzed body. "A second signal. The wavelengths between them… It's similar to the effects of serotonin and cortisol on brainwaves. Could it be…?"

What? What were those? Some kind of hormone, right?

"Am I…getting actual data recordings of the quantifiable power of love?!" she started yelling in excitement.

…That had to be the stupidest thing they ever- No, no, the souls! They were both rising up now! They were so close to Aaroniero now, they could practically see them.

"I can see… I can see what you were planning, you monster!" the female shouted, only serving to fuel her willpower with anger.

"You're as bad as that damn Metastacia! Cruel for cruelty's sake!" the male added, his own rage palpable. The two halves of Aaroniero Arruruerie tried to push back, but the visualizations of the two long-dead Shinigami came into focus. Hand in hand, they attacked with a pair of roars, aiming to overcome the egos that had long led this Hollow body.

Two Zanpakuto erupted side by side from the center of Aaoniero's body. The force and pain of the sudden piercing from within their spirit were so great that even the paralytics Francisca used could not stop them from twitching and seizing up. The blades slid to opposite ends of the Arrancar's body, and they screamed as their halves fell apart.

"Someone! Anyone! Help me! Arrrgggghhhh! Lord Aizen! Please!" one head yelled as it tried to roll about, flailing its orbus body about in its death throes.

"I can't… It can't just end…like this," the other struggled to get out before grunting and closing its eyes.

The two halves then began to glow and reform. Francisca was frantic to get as much data as she could, even though every kind of sensor and camera was already aimed at the operating table. As quickly as it started, it ended, and the flesh of Aaroniero Arruruerie had reformed into two new Arrancar. Both were black-haired adults, with the torn and sliced halves of Aaroniero's clothes barely covering them. The female had a mask over her left eye and down her cheek, tapering off before reaching her jaw, three holes lined below her eye in descending size. Below her right eye was an orange Stigmata shaped like an upside-down fire. Her holed was just below her right breast, in the place where Francisca knew her liver should be, normally. The sword at her side had shortened and broadened while gaining a larger guard and shorter grip, now resembling a 17-18th century seaman's saber. The male's mask was over his right eye, with five teeth on the bottom, and the eyehole being slot-shaped rather than round. Below his left eye was a blue crescent-shaped stigmata. His hole was located just below his left clavicle. The sword had completely changed, turning into a trident that greatly resembled a sort of halberd, or perhaps a straightened bishamon yari.

One of Francisca's hands was rapidly taking notes while another was pressing along points of their bodies, checking over vitals. Her third was turning some dials and nobs on the Resonador del Alma prototype, and the last was gently patting one Arrancar's cheeks, then the other's. After a moment, the male started waking up, his blurry, aqua-green eyes slowly opening and slowly moving over to look at the doctor.

"Where…am I?" he got out quietly.

"Don't worry, señor. You're safe here in Cuerpo de Palas Fuerte Delta: El Silo Médico."

"That…makes no sense."

"It'll become clear in time. Let me see if I can get your companion cognizant."

The female was waking up as well. She didn't pay Fransisca any attention, however, her gaze going straight over to her counterpart.

"Kaien?"

"Miyako? Is that… Is that you? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but…everything's sore. It's all so bright and loud. Like I've been trapped in a dark box for years. I…thought I heard you and…I went to you. I'm… I'm so sorry."

"No, no, don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for." A twitch of muscles, the hand holding one of hers tightening to a comforting grip. "Nothing. I can only feel happy…now that you're here."

There was so much to learn! But…Fran couldn't intrude on this moment. She slowly backed away and turned a few knobs next to the doors. The lighting dimmed and the beeping of the many machines was muted. They were still recording, but Fran felt like these two needed this moment. There was real love happening here, and she would not be getting in the way of that.

Slowly, she exited the room and closed the door, third and fourth hands rapidly texting out instructions to several orderlies and nurses informing them of the new patients, as well as calling for a few Escudo to come down and watch over the pair.

Lastly, she wrote out a full report. While there were some unexpected occurrences, the experiment was a resounding success all around. True, the Shinigami's soul was still an Arrancar but going by the Nihonjin-style names they'd called each other by, it was the original ones they'd been aiming for. She felt no remorse for what happened to Aaroniero. It was just how Hollow's grow and develop from the baseline. The passage from Gillian to Adjucha was not supposed to be interrupted the way they'd done it, and though it was interesting how they held onto that precarious state for so long, it was doomed to fall apart someday. She'd just accelerated it. Besides, it's not like they died.

Before she could forward the report to the Princesa, a message came from the royal leader herself. Fran read it, then frowned.

'Why did a Gate to Hell just open up and drag in two ball-shaped souls that look like Aaroniero's faces?'

"Well, if they went to Hell…that's certainly not my fault, right?"

---

People didn't like the Gates to Hell opening up, even if most of them knew they'd done nothing to get thrown in there. It was still uncomfortable to be reminded that it was always a death away from swinging wide and claiming its next inhabitant. But even in places where death was constant, one did not see it that often.

"The commotion's dying down, so there's that," Tanya commented before sipping her coffee and leafing through some papers. She was going over the current captains, lieutenants, third, and fourth seated officers of each Court Guard Squad, studying their known powers and abilities, all written up by Aizen, Ichimaru, and Kaname (through dictation). She had gone over a few before, mostly the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Her mother, as it turned out, was a speed reader and had a very data-analytical mind. She just wasn't very good at communicating the things she knew. Trying to ask her to find out who was the most dangerous going by the recorded feats was unlikely to bring her an answer, but asking 'which one appears physically strongest?' or 'who appears the most adept at using battle kido?' would get direct answers every time, or at least some good examples of the possibilities.

Therefore, while Tanya went over more personal files, Roka read through pages and pages of sensor readings. A mind-numbing amount of numbers was being parsed through and understood by the woman as easily as a children's book to a literary professor. In the time she'd processed a years worth of reiatsu readings, Tanya had just gone over the Fifth Division's three seated officers.

'I wonder if there are plans to pull some of these over to our side,' Tanya wondered to herself. Ichimaru had added notes pointing out how much Hinamori Momo adored (his words) Aizen. They might have seemed like teasing, but that was just Ichimaru Gin. He had a way of doing things in a half-joking manner all the time, which just meant that when even he was taking something seriously, so should everyone else.

Regardless, Tanya did not have that much information on the woman to know one way or the other. For all she knew, learning that Aizen was working with Arrancar would be the deal-breaker. Sometimes even the kindest folks in the world could hold a burning, irrational hatred in their hearts against entire groups of people with little chance of changing their ways, even for that one thing. She learned that lesson in a rough way during her last life. She still didn't understand what Ispagna's problem was with the Egeptian-Daciana people. At least she could understand it when it came to Hollows and Shinigami. There was actual bad blood between them. The Daciana just had a different cultural perspective thanks to their nomadicism.

Still, worth a shot if and once she got it, but she wouldn't waste her time beyond the first offer if it was shot down. Ispagna also taught her that lesson.

"Ah, Franny just sent a message," a recent addition to Cuerpo de Palas: El Equipo Científico said while sorting pages. He was an average, thin male with a mask fragment on the back of his head and a little patch of gauze taped to the front of his skull. Wilhelm Nylon, apparently with the memories of an engineer recently unlocked. Tanya pegged his attitude as the teaching sort. "The two new Arrancar from the Aaroniero incident have woken up. No violence, but they're demanding answers."

"We should inform whichever Shinigami is here right now. They'll want to know." They were probably also wondering what happened to one of their Espada. Tanya hadn't intended for Aaroniero to be effectively killed like that, but being the 8th and one of the more despised Arrancar due to his old penchant for eating the injured as a Gillian, his loss would be one felt less by the majority. Besides, if things panned out, they may have gotten two experienced fighters for the price of one high-maintenance jack-of-all-trades.

"Uh, ma'am, I think they're all out."

Then again, they probably didn't know yet.

Well, that meant that she had to handle things. Tanya sighed and stood up with her documents in hand. Sure, she could probably get any number of people to look in on them in her stead, including a handful of the Espada, but it shouldn't really be necessary and would just burn a favor for potentially little beyond extra security. Four Escudos were already there, including Capitana Karrotte. Not to mention the Frausteins. The other two weren't great at non-lethality, and Gavrill was lousy about limiting collateral damage, but between all of them, two recently comatose Shinigami souls in unfamiliar bodies ought to be more than manageable.

As Tanya walked down the halls with Wilhelm and Roka behind her, she flipped through some pages and started to read up on the 6th Division. The moment she read the captain's name, however, she stopped mid-step.

"Uh, you all right, ma'am?" Wil asked.

"Tanya?" her mother tried.

"...I may have made a huge mistake," Tanya croaked out.

Kuchiki Byakuya. It could have been a coincidence. She didn't know how common of a surname it could be. She hadn't been Japanese in well over a century, maybe close to two, now. Except the Kuchikis were also one of the Seireitei's Great Noble Houses, and several important relatives of Byakuya's were listed in his profile. While the family name of the Captain slowed her steps, the name of one of those relatives stopped her dead.

Kuchiki Rukia, younger sister, member of the 13th Division.

'She wasn't a human!' Tanya realized, now far, far too late. 'She must have been using some stealth technique combined with a false body! But with how Kurosaki's been acting… How deep can her cover be if she's using her real name? No, that's just it. The Living World wouldn't know what her name signifies. We shouldn't know what it signifies. I only know now because of the information Aizen has provided. And with a noble background, she's both deeply embedded into their society and likely highly trained for her role.

'But then, why hasn't there been a response? There's no way she hasn't reported my presence! Or…is there? She seemed rather attached to Ichigo. Could it be that she's going native?

'If that's the case, I have to test for that. My next visit will have to be extra cautious. I'll bring Veronica and see if I can get some more stealth units ready for it. I'll just lay it all out. Tell her I know, and ask why I'm not being sliced at by her brother captain. No wiggle room. No getting around it. No denying it.'

Tanya took in a deep breath and started heading toward El Silo Médico again. They weren't far from where the commotion was beginning, the male shouting at her Escudo, who were standing firm and holding their fusils at the ready. A good front, but she'd need to go over indoor and close combat readiness. Fusils were for medium and long ranges. Capitana Flan del Karrotte, on the other hand, was doing her level best to talk the man down, sword held at her side in precautionary readiness, but not threateningly.

"I must apologize, Señor Shiba, but thou are not given clearance to trot about the Silo. There is much in the ways of sensitive information in these healing halls."

"Well if you can't tell me what the Hell's going on, and we can't go find someone, then get someone down here!"

"Someone is here," Tanya announced herself, shaking off the uncertainty of another problem for later. "Shiba-san, was it? I am Princesa Tanya Louisenbairn. I may be able to help you."

The man scoffed. "Seriously? And when did the King of Hollows have a kid?"

"Approximately 74 years ago, on July 18th," Roka instantly answered. Tanya was actually surprised she had the exact date.

The man shook his head.

"Whatever! Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Well, that depends on what you mean. Are you asking me to explain where you are or how you got here?"

"Sure, let's start with that. Where exactly are we?"

"You're in a medical facility under Las Noches, in Hueco Mundo. I presume you know what that is, at least."

For a moment, the man looked stunned. Then he looked over at the Escudo, taking careful looks at their mask fragments and the holes that were visible among them, one on the hand of a man, and the other in Flan's neck. Then he looked back over at Tanya and her followers and did the same to them.

"Shit, it wasn't a dream," he muttered before reaching up and rubbing the mask over his eye. "I'm… I'm a Hollow."

"Happens to everyone eventually, statistically speaking," Wilhelm decided to speak up. He got a look from Shiba, but just shrugged rather than back down. "Well, if every soul has always existed and goes through the cycle of reincarnation more or less at the same efficiency rate as all others, it's far more likely that at least 80 percent of all souls have experienced Hollowness on some level, whether as the head or one of the souls it's eaten. And several of those have to have gone through it multiple times."

"Could you just give me a moment?" Shiba asked the engineer before rubbing his nose and sighing. "Okay. So, I'm not hallucinating. Let's assume that. And right now, I'm talking to the child of the Hollow my parents used to tell me scary stories about to make me go to sleep."

"Glad that my father could be of assistance in your rearing."

"What I don't understand is how I'm still a Hollow. I distinctly remember Rukia-chan running that Metastacia bastard through with her Zanpakuto. We should have been purified."

"Hm, Fran? Still have the notes?"

The scientist poked her head out from an adjacent room and offered a smile and wave before walking out. Obviously, when faced with potential confrontation, the healer preferred to avoid it and wait until things were settled. Or the fighting was done and people needed to be stitched back together.

"Ahem, yes ma'am. 'Metastacia,'" she read from a document created after interviewing Aaroniero about his powers and their sources, "'Tasted distinctly of rhubarb and fermented wasabi. Powers include Reitai Yūgō, or Spirit Body Fusion, Zanpakuto Destruction, and Recall on Death.' Ah, it seems that if he came close to dying, he would immediately return to Hueco Mundo, usually to attempt to heal from his wounds. That's when Aaroniero found and ate him."

"In other words, he wasn't de- Wait, did you say Rukia?"

"Yeah, she was one of my subordinates in the 13th." Shiba arched an eyebrow. "Why? Something happen to her?"

"Ah, no, she's perfectly fine, I assure you. Just…some things related to work."

"Oh no, don't you worm out of this. I wanna know!"

"Kaien?" Tanya heard from the room he was in front of, and another Arrancar, the woman, poked her head out. "Did she just mention Rukia?"

"Uh, um, yes, I was- Can we get them some clothes please?!" Tanya barked towards the three Escudo men, who jumped but ran off to find something for them. It was one thing talking to a man wearing one leg of a hakama turned into an impromptu skirt, but another entirely when a woman was trying to very carefully not expose anything in her very torn clothing.

"'Bout time. Helmet-head here wouldn't budge on even that."

"I must repeat mine words," Flan defended herself, "but I had not the men to spare to fetch any clothing. And this would be but one fraction of the reasons you needed to remain in place."

"Forgive us, but we are trying to be secure here," Tanya added, keeping her face from turning towards the door where the woman awkwardly stood. "To answer the questions I'm sure you must have, yes, Kuchiki Rukia is safe. She…seems to be on a mission in the Living World at the moment."

"How do you know that?" Kaien demanded. "Are you guys spying on the Seireitei?"

"Why wouldn't we be spying on the Seireitei?" Tanya shot back. "We're not exactly on friendly terms. As much as I'd like to never have to worry about fighting anyone ever again, history hasn't exactly painted a kind picture concerning their reactions toward rival powers, let alone rival powers led by Hollows. I doubt being peaceful and intelligent will sway enough of the leadership of the Gotei 13 or the Noble Houses to avoid conflict, so thus we must seem too powerful to attack for fear of reprisal."

"Peace through strength," Karrotte picked up from there. "Mine own family has followed such a creed for generations, and it has yet to forsake us."

"And all my father had to do was beat an army of Shinigami so thoroughly one time, and you all apparently still treat him with respect through distance." The Escudo were returning now, clothing in hand. "Ah, thank goodness. Ladies first, if you please."

The woman was given her new clothes, and then she ducked back into the room with a quiet thank you, door shut behind her.

"Okay, so you have your reasons. And what's going to happen to us?"

"Well, that depends on you. Aaroniero was an Espada, one of the top ten elite fighters of the Arrancar Army. Despite being near the bottom of their ranks, that still meant he was among the strongest of our race. I have to assume that you and your…"

"Wife."

"You and your wife could both have a significant portion of his power, assuming a lot wasn't lost in the transition. That's before we account for whatever growth you may experience. Even in perfect halves with a little loss, that's still ahead of the majority of Arrancar. And I can't help but assume you're a little unbalanced, so you're probably not far off Espada levels."

"What makes you say that?"

"The way you hold yourself, and the fact you said 'subordinate' earlier, which means you were an officer. While competence still plays a factor, I know that the Gotei also leans heavily into power for authority. An unfortunate necessity for both of our peoples, as one needs to be able to back up their orders with strength to get…certain types of people to listen."

Kaien's eyebrow arched up again, and the door opened to show his wife now thankfully dressed, fiddling with her shirt's hem.

"It's a little…odd feeling," she said, and then Roka was at her side, pulling and adjusting the clothes. "Uh, hello?"

"About 3 centimeters decrease on the bust seam, 4 on the waist. A small…adjustment to the back," Roka rattled off as she slowly went around and continued adjusting the clothes with her fingers. Done with that, she stood back up, and the woman looked herself over.

"How did you do that?"

"I adjusted the stitching."

"But…how?"

"...I don't understand."

"Yeah, I'm going to get dressed," Kaien said while taking his clothes into the room. "When I'm out, we have a lot more to talk about."

"Oh, certainly."

---

"Aizen?" the former Shinigami muttered after finally learning just what was going on. "Fucking…Aizen of all people? I mean, Ichimaru was no surprise, but Aizen?"

"I'm also shocked about Kaname-san," Miyako added, nursing a warm cup of tea.

They'd finally been allowed out of that hospital wing and led to some sort of cafeteria, though the Princess insisted that her guards hold onto their weapons until they were needed. Kaien didn't like it. The last time he was without a weapon was probably the worst day of his life. No, it definitely was. He and his wife died that day. But those guards were staying nearby, so it wasn't completely out of reach. A little effort and Nejibana would be back in his hands. Hopefully, it didn't come to that. There were Hollows everywhere. Oddly deferential, human-shaped Hollows, but still.

'What the Hell did Aizen do to make all of this?'

"Hm, well, I heard he doesn't like nobles. Probably got…on the wrong side of some less than kind examples," the Princess offered. Yeah, she knew that there were those out there who walked all over people with their privilege. Kaien tried to keep his own clan in order, but even the Shibas had their assholes. "I haven't deigned to ask. He'd share if he felt it was important."

"Have to be a big deal for him to do all of…this."

"I personally like to think this project is their way of showing everyone that there can be a better way. Productive, rather than destructive. The Balance is important and all, but that doesn't mean people can't live fulfilling lives in either the Living, Soul, or Hollow Worlds. After all, if the living, who have short lives and must all eat multiple times a day just to survive, can build the civilizations that they have, why can't we?"

Kaien shrugged and ate a bit more rabbit stew. Seemed to be the only meat they had on the menu here. Rukia would be so sad.

"Still, don't much like this whole aggressive footing you've got."

"You'd have to take that up with Lord Aizen. I just train troops and sign off on road paving and trash collection. Whatever regal authority I might have held under the old system is basically ceremonial at this point."

"...Didn't you authorize the thing that turned that guy inside out to get us?"

"Uh, no, not exactly. He signed a waiver to participate in an experiment being performed by Francisca Fraustein, which she developed on request from me. She could have completely refused and even reported me if she thought I was reaching beyond the authority of my station. Honestly, any random citizen could have done the same thing. You could argue my position gives me a lot of weight in matters like this, but it's more akin to greasing the wheels than it is to the power behind decisions."

'In other words, you're working within all of the technicalities. People can tell you no, but no one would want to. Defunct royalty is still royalty. What was that Western Living World country? England? Their royalty just sits around and gets their pictures taken all day, but people still do whatever they want. Probably got a new king or queen by now, but I'd bet my pay on it still being that way if I even got paid.'

As he went for another sip of water, a wave of reiatsu hit him. Given how everyone else around them paused in what they were doing, he wasn't the only one.

"Do you feel that?" someone asked to the crowd.

"I can taste that!" a voice shouted out.

"The Hell is that?" Kaien asked no one in particular. "It feels like Old Man Yamamoto and Kenpachi just got together and said 'screw that thing in particular' using their reiatsu."

"No, not exactly," Miyako refuted, focusing more on the feeling as she closed her eyes. "This signature isn't aggressive. It's… It feels sad. As though recently begrieved but…somewhat hopeful."

"It's also a complete and utter unknown," Tanya told them. "I can recognize the various Espada's signatures, and that was not one of them. I think we have a new recruit."

"All Espada, their Fracciones, Escudo, and the Princesa are to report to the Throneroom of Aizen's Palace ASAP. An important meeting is to be held within an hour," the voice of Kaname Tousen announced over the intercom system installed throughout the facility.

'Not unknown for too much longer, then.'

---

Aizen was rather thrilled about their newest acquisition and introducing them to the whole. And before him was the pride of years of work. The Espada each stood to either side of his court, their Fracciones standing behind them if they had any. Standing at attention in front of them like the professional soldiers they were was the Escudo, lined up in four columns and split on either side, facing the center and awaiting orders or the signal to face the front. Arriving after most was Tanya Louisenbairn with her mother and two Arrancar with very familiar faces and reiatsu signatures.

'Curious,' he thought, but questions for that would come later. There was a procession to follow.

When the last to arrive finally came, Grimmjow - no surprise there. It was usually him, Baraggan, or Nnoitra dragging their feet - and he and his took their place, Aizen finally deigned to stand. With a silent order from the Princesa, a mere hand sign, the Escudo turned about, facing the front and looking up at their overlord, a magnificent display of disciplined syncronization. All eyes firmly on the throne, Aizen gestured to his left as he spoke.

"Arrancar of Las Noches, rejoice, for we have found a new member of our ever-growing family among the sands." He loved this little bit of patronizing, both because there were a few who actually believed it and clung onto his words, and the ones who didn't could only seethe like dogs forced to wear leashes by their owners. He then raised his hand, and the two beings stepped forward from behind the throne. The man looked bored, or perhaps tired. The one that appeared to be a young girl was more wary, but her eye went over all these new faces, drinking them up one by one, but lingering for a particularly long moment in the direction of the Princesa. Perhaps drawn by their visual similarities. Adorable, on some level.

"Please welcome Coyote Stark and Lilynette Gingerbuck, the new Primera Espada."

Ah, there were the whispers. The Espada were mostly shocked, though Baraggan's was couched with confusion. The Fracciones, however, had more peers to gossip among, and some could not help themselves. Being far more disciplined, the Escudo did not devolve from their attentive stance, but there was surprise in all of their eyes.

"Lord Aizen, I may have misheard," Szayelaporro's voice spoke up. "But which of these two is the Primera?"

"Yes," Ichimaru quickly answered before he could. While mildly amusing, Aizen had a different approach.

"You can simply find that out yourselves, I am sure. Stark, Gingerbuck, go ahead and introduce yourselves."

The two walked forward, more than a little nervous, though probably more for the reasons the other Arrancar did not know about than what they most likely suspected.

"Uh, hey," the man tried once they were at the others' level. "Name's Coyote Stark, like Aizen introduced us. This is, uh…"

"I'm Lilynette!" the girl introduced herself boisterously. "So we're the new Primera thing. How about you?" she asked while pointing towards the Princess.

Tanya cleared her throat and signaled the Escudo, who went from their parade rest to a more relaxed one, though they did not instantly start dispersing. "Greetings, Miss Gingerbuck. I am Princesa Tanya Louisenbairn. On behalf of the Escudo and all Arrancar, welcome to Las Noches."

"Don't call me 'miss', and thanks." The girl put her hands on her hips, and Tanya flinched a bit and blushed, her eyes seemingly focused on how Lilynette's shirt shifted slightly to the sides. "So, you're a girl, right?"

"Uh, er, yes, I am," Tanya answered.

"Cool. I never met another girl before. You're my friend now!"

"I, uh, okay?"

Well, it seemed there were even things that could render the little monster speechless. He knew she had criticisms about some of the ways a few of the females dressed, but he always assumed it to be some sort of self-informed ideal of propriety. Now it seemed there might have been another reason.

"Awesome! C'mon, Stark! Go make friends!"

"Uh, hey?" the larger Primera tried to greet a few of his new comrades.

Nnoitra started laughing from his place, standing up from the squatting position he had taken since the start.

"Oh man, this is like one bad joke after another! First, we're all getting knocked down a number, turns out Baraggan's little girl is batting for the other team, and now it looks like this old man is also taking orders from his own pipsqueak!" He thumbed over in Harribel's direction. "I could get it if one of you was trying to get in good with her. It'd still be pathetic, but hey, look at her! Instead, we got two dozen soldados juguete following the military brat's every word, and now a drunk uncle look-a-like getting bossed around by a - whatchacallit? - mesugaki!"

Leave it to Nnoitra to stir the pot into something entertaining. Aizen was worried this might be boring.

"What was that?" Baraggan demanded as he stood up from his chair and turned towards the much taller Espada.

"Eh, didn't hear me, old man?" Nnoitra taunted the former king, taking a few steps and leaning over, using their height difference to add injury to insult. "It's all right. 'M sure ya got a lot on your mind now that you learned your bloodline's over pretty much as soon as it started.

The old Arrancar grunted angrily. "Young fools like you don't know how to respect your elders or your betters. Half my men could have thrashed you about like the bug you are for your words, but we refrain to keep the well-painted walls as unblemished as we can, out of respect for the Palas who've proven far more useful than you."

Nnoitra's eye narrowed angrily. Aizen was going to have a good, long laugh when he got to his private chambers, looked back over everything, and thought of this moment again.

"So…Baraggan, right?" Stark tried to ask the former king. "That sounds familiar."

"I would hope." Another grunt of annoyance as he turned to look at Aizen and then back to Stark. "I was the King of all Hueco Mundo for uncountable years. Where were you that my name is merely familiar?"

"A valley pretty far up to the north. We…didn't get visitors."

Several eyes opened wide at that reveal.

"You were the denizens of the Valley of Death?" Harribel asked the Primera, who reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I didn't, er, I don't think we called it that."

"It is said that any Hollow who goes there meets their end, crushed under the oppressive weight of the one who calls that place home," Zommari Rureaux recounted. "While the presence of an immensely strong Hollow could be felt at its center, none ever came close and returned to tell of what resided there."

"Geez, we… We weren't trying to do that!" Coyote defended himself.

Rather hilarious from Aizen's point of view. It wasn't just the immense reiryoku of his newest Espada creating such devastating pressure, but also the lack of control endemic to most Hollows. After all, what use was there to hide one's presence when they led solitary lives of violence more often than not? Only Hollows adapted to using stealth or rare cases like the Princesa, a Hollow born with the purpose of ruling over other Hollows, seemed to have any inherent understanding of the techniques used to mask one's presence or restrict their own reiatsu in some way. And so a Hollow finally reaches the point where they no longer feel the need to constantly be on the hunt, but now they've reached the point where almost nothing else can even survive their presence. A few lessons on reiatsu limiting techniques, and suddenly the Hollows felt they owed him everything.

Well, splitting in half certainly helped matters. Even Aizen had hesitated to approach that particular well of power. He had been thinking of saving it until he completed his Hogyoku, but since they'd saved him the trouble by becoming natural Arrancar, he went ahead and collected them.

There was a little more back and forth, and finally, Aizen decided to focus on those familiar beings Tanya had brought with her. Ah, yes. That face certainly looked like Shiba Kaien. Aizen would have remembered him anyway, but Aaroniero liked to pull it out once in a while. Plus, he was curious about what exactly happened to cause this.

"I have noticed that Aaroniero Arruruerie is not present," Aizen said to the Arrancar, some of whom looked quite nervous at that fact being pointed out. Tanya went ramrod straight, standing in expectation of being called upon. "Yet we have two new faces among us. Why is that?"

"Sir," Tanya started, voice even, her nervousness held back with admirable willpower, "Espada Aaroniero Arruruerie had volunteered for an experimental treatment to further research into Soul Resonance technology. However, as an unforeseen consequence of their extended Gillian state, their body underwent the transition in Adjucha, causing them to…split into the two beings we have here now."

A minor loss, all things considered. Aaroniero's only real use was the broad applications of power they held, but it was rather sloppy and unfocused compared to most. A curiosity that might come in handy for specific situations, but oddly they never had exactly what Aizen needed for his most important aims. If anything, what he read of the Soul Resonance technology might be a far more valuable asset to those goals.

"Wait, so those two are like us?" Lilynette asked.

"Like us?" Tanya asked. "Wait, you…used to be…a single Hollow?"

"Yeah. We were." Coyote scratched his chin. "Whoever we were didn't wanna be alone anymore. So we broke ourself apart."

"...Oh that's what Lord Aizen meant when he called you both the Primera," one of the Escudo, their Captain, he believed, suddenly realized. "I had feared the mystery should haunt us 'til someone thought to query our newest knights on their exact ranks."

"Weird," Grimmjow muttered. "We still counting them as one person? Or is it like a Szayel thing?"

"Don't compare my methods of extraction to the equivalent of Neanderthals bashing together rocks to get fire."

"Sure, we'll just compare it to a butcher chopping off his own hand," Tanya snidely remarked, her contempt for her creator showing through. Szayel looked scandalized by her slander, but said nothing. "Still, this is quite coincidental."

"Indeed. Come forth, both of you. Let us meet you as well."

The two nervously walked forward. Unlike the Primera, theirs was more out of fear and caution. They understood that they were far from safe here, even if only a fraction of those present decided to have at them. So different from the approach Stark and Gingerbuck had made just moments ago.

"Well now, ain't that a pair of familiar faces, eh, Aizen-taichou?"

"Indeed. Tell me, do you two have names?"

"Sorta," the male answered, rubbing at his neck. "Pretty sure I'm Kaien, and this is Miyako."

He was guarded. He probably understood the situation he was in was incredibly unfavorable, but likely not to what extent it was and from which direction. It was rather…useful, in a way. Aaroniero could have never pulled it off thanks to their transformation power requiring darkness to function, but if this 'Kaien' was stable, Aizen could take advantage of it far more readily. Miyako, too, perhaps, but more as a way to sell Kaien's presence than her own specific uses.

From one way of looking at it, if he remembered his life as a Shinigami, then he was now surrounded by potential enemies numbering in the hundreds to thousands, some of which outmatched him at his best on their worst days, all headed by what he'd have to see as a 'traitor'. Yet, he was undeniably now a Hollow, and not only of those faulty prototypes who could so easily pass for average Shinigami if they had but a chance to. If he stepped into the Seireitei and spoke to Ukitake Jūshirō this very moment and got him and his old Division to stand up for him, there was still all the rest of the Gotei 13 and the Central 46 to contend with over his new existence.

And why wouldn't the government vote to have him put down? For his soul's own good, of course, if they bothered to explain it like that. A sentence Yamamoto would be forced to have carried out.

He could also just not know anything, just bare recollections of a life lost, but Aizen was not about to hedge any plans on that. Especially not when he was holding the hand of his wife in such a comforting manner moments ago. No, Aizen would need to treat this as if the Kaien who died years ago had just woken up with his mind intact and a Hollow's mask and hole on his body, because that might just be the case. Even if Kaien put up an act, he'd only play along for appearance's sake. And if it wasn't the case, he'd still be able to play his part.

A little complicated near the end, but he had some ideas on that anyway.

"Hey Shiba-san, you remember me?" Ichimaru asked the Shinigami-turned-Arrancar.

"...I feel like I should punch you in the face," the man blithely told Gin. There were definitely some gasps, but it looked like most of the Arrancar were waiting to see what would happen after such blatant disrespect. "Ya'know, for some reason."

"D'aww, it really is him. Just as grumpy as before."

An excellent attempt, but Aizen could see through it. Too direct toward something that should have been vaguely familiar. Even disliked rivals should evoke a sense of comfort to one who cannot clearly identify friend and foe. Not hostility. Yes, he was fairly certain the Kaien before him remembered. He simply didn't want them to know he did. It was a safe route, after all. In his mind, if they knew, they would want to do something about him and Miyako. Several Espada certainly would, but Aizen knew how to play this to his advantage.

After all, Shiba Kaien had an old debt to pay, and his debtor was about to need an emergency collection.

 

[Rymu]

Well. Tanya has been getting all sorts of free shows thanks to daring outfits and apparently has been a useless lesbian about them for quite a while according to Aizen. How adorable.

 

[Yeetboi]

Paaahhhhh! Both Shiba and Miyako!? Tanya has that UR Gacha luck!

 

[Wild Transient]

What are the odds that the real reason Aizen is doing all this is simply because he was bored?

 

[Finagle007]

What are the odds that the real reason Aizen is doing all this is simply because he was bored?

Click to shrink...

Not so much bored as overwhelmingly lonely. Nobody except Yamamoto and the Zero Squad comes close to him in power among the Shinigami, and none of them are particularly social. Add to that they're all far too set in their ways to ever change the way the afterlife runs, even to the point of making long-overdue improvements to the Rukongai, and you get the idea.

 

[neotzu]

What are the odds that the real reason Aizen is doing all this is simply because he was bored?

Click to shrink...

in essence yes. Aizen is an unparallel genius of his generation he also has enough ambition to match. I forgot what his motivations were but i think he was arrogant enough to think himself as the next soul king.

 

[dxdragon]

Ha! So Lilynette is more towards Tanya's speed? How interesting.

Wonder what Tanya will think about Lilynette's ability to turn into a gun that fires rapid fire ceros. She might truly fall in love

 

[Rymu]

Ha! So Lilynette is more towards Tanya's speed?

Click to shrink...

I mean, Miyako got a reaction out of Tanya and Aizen confirms she's got a history of critiques about the fashion choices of the ladies in the area. So it's not exactly Lilynette being special.

 

[Jesse K the Bubba]

I mean, Miyako got a reaction out of Tanya and Aizen confirms she's got a history of critiques about the fashion choices of the ladies in the area. So it's not exactly Lilynette being special.

Click to shrink...

Okay, but that turns into a gun bit, tho!