With a wave of his hand, Uryū Ishida dispersed the Reishi Bow and picked up the object that could cut through souls. "I didn't expect you to catch on so quickly."
"I noticed you hadn't fired a single arrow, so I figured his wind might be affecting you." Yasutora Sado saw Dordoni trembling as he propped himself up on his arms. "He's..."
"He's still alive. I need someone to spread word of the Quincy's arrival," Uryū Ishida replied. "I shot through his Saketsu. That's the source of his Reiryoku. Arrancar are Hollows made to resemble Shinigami, so their Soul structures are similar as well."
Uryū Ishida warned him, "Even if you force yourself to stand, you're in no condition to keep fighting us."
Dordoni struggled to lift his head. "Run... hurry!"
A beam of white light smashed through the wall, rushing straight toward Uryū Ishida and Yasutora Sado!
...
Muten...
Nell ran barefoot, chasing the fading trail of ink.
For all these years, she had wandered the endless desert outside Las Noches with her two older brothers.
Whenever she looked at the massive structure rising from the white sand, fear would grip her.
The Arrancar who lived there were different from her. They were immensely powerful beings.
It was only natural to be afraid.
But... Nell felt that what she feared was not the strength of the Espada.
It was something else.
She wanted to know what she was afraid of, yet she did not dare enter Las Noches.
She wanted to stay far away from Las Noches, yet she could not let go of the answer she wanted to find.
And so, day after day, year after year, she continued wandering outside.
Maybe... there was nothing wrong with living that way.
But if that were really true, why had she never gone somewhere farther away?
What exactly was it that frightened her so much, yet kept her from walking away?
She wanted to know.
When she saw Muten Natsu and the others carrying the same worries, yet still choosing to move toward their destination, a longing rose in Nell's heart.
The longing of someone drifting in a daze for those with a firm purpose.
The longing of someone letting time slip by for those who realized their own worth.
The longing of someone innocent and immature for those who were clear-eyed and mature.
A longing that had always been sleeping deep inside her, and now that it had awakened, it could no longer be restrained.
Nell burst into the vast palace, passed through the dark corridors, and saw Muten Natsu in an enormous space lit by torches.
A man stood in front of Muten Natsu.
Where his left hand should have been was a mass of shrimp-like tentacles, twisting and writhing to reveal the circular mouthpart wrapped inside. A long, sharp tongue licked the jagged teeth beside it.
Then the hideous mouthpart suddenly swelled, as if it meant to swallow Muten Natsu whole.
Nell remembered that person. The one she had once seen devouring Hollows was this very guy!
But Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue, standing behind Muten Natsu, seemed not to see anything at all.
Muten Natsu was going to be eaten!
"Muten!" Nell shouted anxiously as light flared in the eye sockets of her broken mask. "Chōkasoku!"
Her small body shot forward at incredible speed, and Nell flung herself into Muten Natsu's arms. "Run!"
Muten Natsu held Nell as the huge mouth on Kaien Shiba's left hand, now swollen to the size of a person, ignored Nell's presence and snapped down hard.
Its sharp teeth struck together with a crisp sound.
Kaien Shiba frowned. "Muten, didn't we just agree on this? Why did you dodge?"
Agreed? Nell lifted her head from Muten Natsu's arms. "Did Nell do something wrong?"
"No. You did me a huge favor." Muten Natsu lowered his eyes slightly. "Thank you, Nell."
"Wuu..." Nell's mouth crumpled, and her quiet whimper instantly turned into a storm of wailing. "Waaaaah!"
The corner of Muten Natsu's mouth twitched. "Why are you crying now..."
"You don't want Nell anymore..." Nell's eyes filled with tears. "You left Nell behind..."
"Didn't I say goodbye?"
"I didn't hear you... Waaaaah! How could you leave Nell behind when Nell didn't hear you... You big meanie..."
"All right, all right..." Muten Natsu patted Nell's head. "You caught up with me, didn't you? Where are your brothers?"
"They... came with me..." Nell sniffled. "They were right... ah!" she cried out in alarm. "They're gone!"
"You really..." Muten Natsu sighed.
"Muten," Kaien Shiba reminded him, "now isn't the time for this. There are still two worlds waiting for you to save them."
"Nell, can I hold you for a bit?" Orihime Inoue reached out and took Nell from Muten Natsu's arms. "Muten has something important to do right now. We can play with him later, okay?"
Rukia Kuchiki stepped forward and stood beside Muten Natsu.
Watching Orihime Inoue hold Nell and wipe away her tears, Muten Natsu was briefly lost in thought.
This scene... He had not noticed it before, but Orihime had really grown up.
"Muten!" Kaien Shiba urged him. "What are you spacing out for?"
"I was thinking that time really does pass quickly. It's been so long since I killed you." Muten Natsu's voice sounded distant. "So long that I can't remember many details about you anymore, which means I can't judge whether you're really you from the details."
Kaien Shiba's expression darkened. "Now isn't the time to dwell on the past. Time is running out. Hurry over here, and I'll take you to the Gates of Hell..."
"Time really is running out, so I don't have time to make a plan. I can only use the simplest, quickest method to verify it." Muten Natsu stared at that familiar face. "Since you said you need to swallow me to complete the disguise, then I'll let you swallow me."
"Then why did you dodge?" Kaien Shiba's gaze shifted. "Ah, was it because of that child? I was going to take her with us too..."
"No. Even if Nell hadn't come, I would still have dodged." Muten Natsu admitted what he had planned from the start. "The moment you bit down, I would have moved aside. If you really were Brother Kaien, you would have stopped and asked why I dodged. But if you were the 9th Espada, you would never let such a perfect chance slip away. You would speed up and bite down."
"Well, I admire that kind of caution, but the situation is urgent. It's only natural that I got anxious for a moment." Kaien Shiba gave him a helpless look. "Are you really going to treat me as an enemy just because I was impatient?"
"Like I said, after all these years, I can't remember many details about Brother Kaien anymore." Myōki sprang out in Muten Natsu's palm. "But I remember one thing very clearly. Brother Kaien would never attack a child with killing intent!"
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