Bleach: Starting as a Vasto Lorde

Chapter 292: A Pristine Heart

Ever since Nelliel had moved away from Hueco Mundo’s darkness, opening her eyes after a long rest made her excited because something good always awaited her. Whether it was meeting Kazuya and becoming an Arrancar then going on to walk among the living. Even though she had attracted attention in every town she went to, the humans she interacted with treated her with kindness. They showed a sense of compassion that has always been missing in Hueco Mundo, missing in her life before.

Then she moved to the isolated island, where every dawn she had risen up to her little companions showering her with affection, giving her lovely flowers and fruits from all over the island. Although they were Hollows, they had the heart to treat her with gratitude. She had made it a habit to hunt for them, find edible fruits for them, and nourish their bodies by transferring miniscule amounts of Reiryoku to their fragile bodies. Even after Kazuya’s miracle, they remained delicate little creatures. She had to take things slow, feed them like a bird feeding its chicks.

—Her hubris had cost her dearly, and her companions dearer still. All her cautious efforts had only accelerated them towards the disaster.

Today, Nelliel laid in her ‘home’, where darkness licked every corner of it. She stretched a hand toward the ceiling, as if trying to grasp the happiness that had slipped through her fingers.

It was clear that not a single fiber in her being felt excited to wake up here.

The loss of her companions had left her ‘hollow’. Her future had narrowed down to a few words: rest, help any Hollow in need, recover, wait for Kazuya’s call. Her promise to him was the only drive in her life. She had to walk even if every step felt like walking on flames—but forward nonetheless until she accomplished Harribel’s—and her own—dream to change Hueco Mundo into a place where even the weakest Hollows could live in peace.

A distant pulse of Reiatsu jolted her upright, her brows furrowing in doubt. One—no, two Arrancars came out to prowl, one of them gave her a flashback to Kazuya’s overwhelming power. The other Arrancar, while not at the first Arrancar’s level, had power rivaling Grimmjow.

These Arrancars—Espada’s prowl always ended with a tragedy for Hueco Mundo’s denizens. Killing hundreds and thousands was the norm for these Espada.

‘I have to go.’

Grasping her katana, she stabbed it into the stony ground and pulled herself to her feet. The idea of facing two powerful Arrancars to save someone didn’t frighten her. Her sword had tasted the blood before, and would again if necessary. No bigshot from Las Noches would bully the weak in her presence.

The weak Hollows needed a protector until Kazuya and Harribel’s dream became a reality. She would gladly fill in the role of being a shield for the weak.

Stepping out of the cave, she gazed towards the source of the oppressive Reiatsu. Suddenly, another Reiatsu flared up. This one carried the Reiatsu signature of an Arrancar without the Hollow part mixed in. It felt reminiscent of Kisuke Urahara, who was an ex-Shinigami, or so she had concluded through the process of elimination. Kisuke Urahara obviously wasn’t Hollow nor was he a Quincy since she had witnessed him smacking Grimmjow’s face with his Zanpakutō. In the brief time she had been with Kisuke, he had flaunted his shopkeeper occupation to the point of it becoming annoying.

As such, she had come to the conclusion that Kisuke Urahara had stopped being a Shinigami.

‘Huh?’

She sensed the newly arrived Shinigami’s Reiatsu — it almost rivaled the Arrancar. Yet, her interest withered. She had no stake in the ongoing Shinigami and Hollow conflict.

She had never seen a Shinigami in action, but she knew about their duties — purifying Hollows and sending them off to another life. A noble duty that should only be performed on willing Hollows. Forcing it on a Hollow was the same as declaring their current life meaningless. At the same time, she couldn’t blame Shinigami for putting down those Hollows who invaded the Living World to devour souls.

This complicated relationship between Shinigami and Hollows made her have a completely neutral perspective about Shinigami — neither love nor hate.

‘The Shinigami is clearly outnumbered. Aren’t they asking to die by coming here?’

She couldn’t believe a Shinigami would be stupid enough to walk into the enemy’s territory. They had to be here for some purpose.

Nelliel held her Zanpakutō horizontally, her left palm pressed against the flat of the blade. “Praise…”

The Zanpakutō glowed as a hazy pink smoke emanated from it.

She narrowed her eyes before uttering the final phrase to her release, “Gamuza (Capricorn Night).”

Light pink spiritual energy erupted around her. From the clouds of dust, Nelliel’s released form emerged. She now had great resemblance to a mountain goat-like centaur, complete with a black horse’s tail that had a white ring at the base of it. Her Hollow mask’s horns became longer and more curved, framing the sides of her face, particularly the cheeks. She had regained parts of her hollow armor from her Adjuchas form: the white spaulders that came across her shoulder blade to her neck, the white elbow guards, and white gauntlets. A black armor covered her exposed arms.

Held in her right hand was her ever-so reliable double-sided lance.

To avoid alerting the Shinigami and two Arrancars, she had released her Resurrección far from the action.

Her next move was to restrain her Reiryoku in order to hide her presence as much as possible, which she had been honing ever since she came to the Living World. With her released form, she wanted to approach the Arrancars without using Sonído.

Despite the great distance, her heightened spiritual awareness gave her a near-clear picture of the conflict. The stronger Arrancar chose to give the Shinigami an honorable one-on-one battle — an expected result considering the high as heaven pride of every Espada.

‘Shinigami can use Shikai and Bankai too.’

Since the Shinigami chose to invade Hueco Mundo, they must possess Shikai at the bare minimum. Maybe the Shinigami had an ace up its sleeve that could turn the tides of the battle, or something to escape with their life. There must be something fueling their confidence that led them to Hueco Mundo on their own. Nelliel had too little knowledge to have a solid understanding.

What she did know was that she wanted none of their lives to fizzle out here.

After a long trek, she arrived at a dune, which allowed her to observe every participant of this conflict as more than tiny dots. The Shinigami engaged in battle was a woman, or that’s what she made from the Shinigami’s silhouette. She was petite and small, yet holding a ridiculous amount of power.

Apart from the three she had sensed earlier, another observer stood nearby — a tall, silver-haired male, with a black cat occupying his shoulder, who could hardly be spotted against his black kimono. Because he had his back turned on her, she could neither see his features nor figure anything unique about him. His strong silhouette reminded her of someone.

What set off alarms in her head was his nonchalance. He seemed to have no intention to join the fight or duke it out with the other giant Arrancar.

‘Is that black cat Yoruichi?’

She shook the thought away. Not every black cat was Yoruichi, and not every silver-haired man was Kazuya. Besides, Kazuya used his Arrancar form to pass off as a human. He would never try to join the Shinigami as far as she was aware.

‘I’ll watch from here.’

The battle’s momentum shifted dramatically when the Shinigami landed a hit with her stinger-like blade. In response, the black-haired Arrancar released his Resurrección, his spiritual pressure exploding to new heights. Alarm went off in Nelliel’s mind. The surge in Reiatsu could end horribly for the Shinigami man and woman, and even the cat. While she could forgive herself for letting Shinigami be hurt, she would never forgive herself for letting an animal, especially a cat, die tragically.

The cat must not be harmed.

To Nellie’s surprise, the black cat seemed unfazed by all these powerful Reiatsu around her.

‘She has to Yoruichi. Then that means…’

Her fingers clenched around her lance. Kazuya had finally returned to Hueco Mundo. Was he here to take her away? Was he worried about her? Was he here to simply meet her? — The possibilities sent warmth spreading through her chest, a feeling she had forgotten in Hueco Mundo.

‘Why is he with a Shinigami? There has to be a reason.’

As she stood puzzled, Kazuya glanced over his shoulder. Nelliel’s body moved on reflex, dropping to her knees behind the dune, her centaur form pressing against the sand. Her heart thundered in her chest.

‘Why am I hiding from him…?’

She should be rushing to greet him, yet all she could feel at the moment was anxiety, fear even. Not fear of Kazuya himself, but of disappointment in his eyes, in Yoruichi’s, in his entire family’s. The thought of their judgment pressed down on her chest, making her breathless.

‘No, no… he—he will understand me.’

Taking a deep breath that did little to steady her nerves, she rose back to her hooves. The battle had escalated during her moment of weakness. The Arrancar now dominated the battle, the lighting-like lances in his hands leaving the Shinigami increasingly bloodied and battered.

‘This battle is over.’

The female Shinigami tried to enhance her abilities through a technique, which proved futile. The battle was already set in stone. Then what she had expected from the start happened — the Shinigami smashed through a cave, dragged out like a corpse, and pinned beneath the Arrancar’s foot.

The giant lance hung above her like an executioner’s blade.

Nelliel made a quick plan in her mind. Grab the trio of Shinigami, Kazuya, Yoruichi, and flee from the scene.

But Kazuya moved first. He grabbed the Arrancar’s lance with his bare hand, and its sharp edge cut through his palm. The blood dripped down, covered the yellow lance, and then turned the white sand crimson.

Time seemed to slow down as Nelliel stared at the dripping blood, drop by drop. Something primal awakened in her. A murderous rage that she had never felt before burned away her reasoning.

'How dare he!’

Driven by pure instincts and rage, her right arm threw out her lance. Lanzador Verde’s impact was devastating. The black-haired Arrancar’s right side simply ceased to exist, leaving only his left shoulder and head intact.

Nelliel shuddered, every muscle in her body tensing up.

—She had just killed a Hollow.