Kensei returned to the base entrance with today's harvest, followed by three new members: Stark, yawning lazily; Lilynette, bouncing with the excitement of an elementary schooler on a spring trip; and Ulquiorra, standing quietly as if none of this had anything to do with her.
"This is where you live?" Lilynette hopped over to Kensei, eyeing the crude stone pillar. "Looks pretty shabby."
"You're one to talk about shabby, camping out in Hueco Mundo with Stark every day." Kensei flicked Lilynette's forehead. "Once I deal with the trouble, I've got plenty of nice places for you to stay."
He reached out and pushed open the door to the base. Before he could react, a green figure launched itself precisely into his arms.
"Ken!"
Nel clung to Kensei like an overgrown dog welcoming its owner home, her entire body hanging from him.
After completing her Arrancar transformation, Nel's figure was even more pronounced. The white Arrancar uniform clung to her full curves, especially the proud, soft swell of her chest, now pressed without reservation against Kensei's own, compressed into an exaggerated arc.
Coach, she's traveling with the ball!
Kensei staggered back from Nel's sudden ambush, but given the soft, springy sensation, he decided to let this minor infraction slide.
"Ken! Look!" Nel's arms looped around Kensei's neck, the half-ram skull atop her head digging uncomfortably into his chin. "I'm just like you now!"
She meant her form—now humanoid like his, no longer the half-human, half-Hollow creature she had been before.
"I see, I see. Congratulations." Kensei, dizzy from the jostling, had to steady the excited Nel. "Get down now, will you? I brought back some new friends."
"Huh?" Only then did Nel notice the three people standing behind Kensei.
She hopped down from him and curiously studied the new faces.
Yoruichi's head peeked out from the side, a mischievous grin on her face. "Oho, how does it feel to have such a beautiful lady throw herself at you?"
"Thanks to a certain cat, I'm used to it." Kensei had long grown accustomed to impacts of this magnitude; his heart remained calm. "More to the point, why don't we welcome the new members?"
Stark's eyes were half-lidded as his gaze swept across Nel and the others. He scratched his disheveled hair. "So noisy... Can I get a quiet place to rest?"
Despite his words, Stark felt an unaccustomed sense of peace.
He could sense Nel's unreserved closeness to Kensei as a fellow Arrancar, and he could also perceive that these Shinigami held no natural aversion to Hollows.
So this was what he meant by companions?
Stark's heart stirred slightly. Though he hated trouble and noise, looking at this scene—chaotic yet harmonious—his soul, which so despised loneliness, seemed to have finally found a place it could belong.
"Wow!" Lilynette's reaction was much more straightforward. She immediately approached Nel. "You're an Arrancar too? Looks like that Shinigami wasn't lying when he said he'd mastered Arrancar techniques."
She stood on tiptoe, trying to get a better look at Nel's Hollow mask remnants, but unfortunately, the height difference between the 142cm Lilynette and the 176cm Nel was too great.
Nel found this forward little girl amusing and picked her up. "Miss Aizen helped me! Used a lot of stabilizer, and the Arrancar transformation went smoothly!"
"Stabilizer?" Lilynette tilted her head. "What's that? Is it tasty?"
"It increases the success rate of Arrancar evolution!"
Kensei quickly covered Nel's mouth before she could continue. Lilynette was still a child, and he had no desire to eat an infinite barrage of Stark's Cero.
Beside them, Yoruichi chuckled. Kensei shot her a glare, warning her not to stir up trouble.
Ulquiorra had stood quietly by the door since entering. Her green eyes calmly observed their interactions, silently noting their reactions and emotions.
Unlike the greed and rage she had witnessed before, the emotions displayed by these people were natural and gentle.
"Concrete expressions of emotion," she mused silently. "Physical contact, eye contact... are these manifestations of the 'heart'?"
"Are these three Hollows who completed their Arrancar transformation on their own?"
Aizen emerged from the laboratory, her gaze slowly sweeping across the three. It lingered for a few extra seconds on Stark and Lilynette.
"These two split from the same soul, didn't they?" Even without instruments, Aizen could sense the similarity in their spiritual pressure compositions. "A fascinating form of existence."
Stark frowned slightly, instinctively sensing a hint of danger. It wasn't hostility from the other party, but rather the unsettling feeling of being completely seen through.
"Of course!" Lilynette puffed out her chest, indistinguishable front from back. "Stark and I are special!"
"And this is Ulquiorra. Just call her 'Ulqui'."
Kensei introduced the quiet Ulquiorra. As for why he didn't use her full name? Well, five characters was just too long.
Ulquiorra didn't object to the nickname Kensei had given her. A name was just a label, after all; none of it mattered.
"You seem very wise," Ulquiorra said, looking at Aizen. "Can you tell me what the 'heart' is?"
"An interesting question." Aizen nodded. "If I have time later, I can discuss it with you."
Ulquiorra was silent for a few seconds, then nodded in agreement.
"Ken." Nel tugged at Kensei's sleeve and whispered, "With the people you brought back, do we have enough room?"
"Enough."
Harribel's voice came from behind. She emerged from the inner corridor with her three companions.
"The spare rooms have been prepared."
Stark immediately raised his hand. "Please, by all means, let me go rest. Thank you!"
His eagerness suggested that standing there a moment longer would cause him to completely run out of energy.
Unlike Kensei's place, which, while somewhat chaotic, was still generally lively, the atmosphere was different elsewhere.
In Szayelaporro's temporary laboratory beside Las Noches, various instruments hummed as they operated. He stood before the console, excitedly adjusting the data on the screen.
On his left were the spiritual pressure monitoring readings from when he used Ikomikidomoe on Gordo Roikodium. On his right were the data obtained by analyzing Baraggan's aging ability.
"Perfect, absolutely perfect!" Szayelaporro's lips curled into an exaggerated grin. "The fusion of engulfing and time—what astonishing power will burst forth!"
Behind him, Baraggan sat on an unfamiliar chair, radiating a gloomy anger.
"Are you certain this method will grant this king even greater power?" Baraggan's jawbone clacked open and shut. "Enough to completely rot away those insolent ants?"
"But of course, Your Majesty." Szayelaporro turned, his fervent expression instantly switching to deference. "I guarantee it on my honor as a scientist. I will definitely help you crush those ants."
He manipulated the model on the screen. "Your Majesty, you need only dominate this Zanpakutō called 'Ikomikidomoe'. Combined with your already unrivaled aging ability, all Three Realms will be yours for the taking."
"Excellent." Baraggan's voice was filled with resentment. "Those Shinigami, and those Hollows who dared defy this king's will—they all must die!"
"Of course, of course." Szayelaporro nodded with a smile. "I will devote myself fully to serving Your Majesty."
"Speed up the progress." Baraggan rose from his seat and headed for the door. "I want to erase my humiliation in the shortest possible time!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Once Baraggan had disappeared from the laboratory, the deference vanished from Szayelaporro's face. He cast a contemptuous glance toward the direction Baraggan had gone.
Utterly stupid.
After sneering to himself, Szayelaporro turned and called up another set of secret data, his face once again alight with fanaticism.
"Baraggan?" He stared at the model on the screen. "I hope you can help me achieve the perfect evolution."
***
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