LIGHTNOVELONLINE 68 – Going Out Together
Pesche was unsure how much he should reveal since before Nnoitra attacked Nel Tu she was one of the leaders in Las Noches, but now she had amnesia from the head injury he inflicted on her. If it had been before she would be the one with most of the information regarding Las Noches, but now it was left to Pesche and Dondochakka. Being mere Fracción meant the information they had regarding the workings in Las Noches, limited just to what Nelliel had been able to share with them.
They hadn't even told Nel Tu any of it in fear she might recover her memories and traumatising her in her current childish state preferring to simply entertain her and let her enjoy a happier life without worries. They knew she hadn't been happy when she was an Espada. She didn't fit in with Las Noches, she didn't like fighting nor devouring other Hollow. It was very similar to how Harribel's group didn't fit in in Hueco Mundo. Most Hollow were ruled by their emotions and instincts that trended towards the destructive or tyrannical. Either they consumed each other or they ruled by the law of a jungle. Something that didn't come natural to Nelliel.
Hisashi didn't say anything since it wasn't his place to share their private details if they weren't comfortable sharing them yet. He could still use his knowledge in guiding them as best he could.
"Probably? We weren't among the higher ups so we weren't privy to much information, but we know about Harribel due to her interactions with Barragan. I've never heard of the rest of you nor this location though. That doesn't mean they aren't aware of them though." Pesche finally answered.
"Well it is only a matter of time. Grimmjow's pride will probably prevent him from reaching out to anyone except his subordinates for his hunt of me, but that can only last so long before either he spills the beans or someone else finds out about his behaviour," Hisashi said.
The rest could only nod in agreement. Most of them didn't know him at all, really only Pesche and Dondochakka knew him at all, but all of them could tell Grimmjow wasn't going to just give up with this little set back. At least not from what little that they had seen of him.
"Regardless of what ends up happening, we're going to need to get more powerful. As we are now we are just scurrying like rats," Hisashi said.
"Just because you're weak, doesn't mean we are..." Apacci said stubbornly.
Hisashi shot her a look. This wasn't the time for their usual banter.
Apacci looked surprised before looking away embarrassed. "Sorry..." she mumbled in response.
Sung-Sun patted Apacci on the shoulder with her tail.
"It's ok Apacci," she said knowing Apacci was just trying to lighten the mood.
Harribel looked troubled not liking the direction the conversation was going in.
"We can't..." she started.
"We have to..." Hisashi said hesitantly. He didn't want to have an argument with Harribel right when she had started to open up to him more, but they didn't have the luxury.
"No... we've been trying to so hard," Harribel responded stubbornly.
"You don't have to Harribel if you don't want to as you're already a Vasto Lorde and wouldn't experience much growth. However Apacci, Sung-Sun and Mila Rose still have room for growth. The same goes for me even as a Vasto Lorde," Hisashi said.
"As they currently are they would be sitting ducks in front of Arrancar like Grimmjow," he continued.
"I..." Harribel hesitated. She had senses the pressure given off by Grimmjow while in his Resurrección and it was terrifying. She knew she would be lucky to survive an encounter with him. As for her friends they wouldn't even last a moment if someone like that attacked them. She was torn between her concern for her loved ones and her feelings regarding the hunting of her fellow Hollow.
"I agree!" Mila Rose said confidently. She was the one with the strongest hunting instincts among their group her form coming from a lioness. She also wasn't entirely happy how Hisashi had passed her by in the short amount of time they had known him. Despite being the quiet one out of the Tres Bestias she was even more competitive than Apacci.
"If Hisashi says so, I'll trust him," Sung-Sun said, actually being serious for once.
Hisashi smiled at her causing her to look away in embarrassment which was an even rarer sight. It seemed unlike her usual teasing and banter she could actually be embarrassed when forced to share her true feelings.
"I'll agree with whatever Harribel-sama decides," Apacci said, still unable to listen to Hisashi she left the final decision to Harribel.
Seeing two of her subordinates agree Harribel became even more troubled.
Feeling her distress Hisashi patted her on the back. "You don't need to participate, just protect them in case something they can't handle appears," he reassured her.
It seemed that finally did the trick as she nodded with some resignation.
"Do we have to?" Nel Tu asked with a sad expression.
"You don't have to. You're already an Arrancar so consuming some regular Hollow isn't going to increase your strength in such a short time. We can all play together between our hunts," Hisashi told her. He was wondering if it would speed up her recovery, but he wasn't going to force her against her will while she was in her little girl form. He didn't have the heart to put her through that knowing how against fighting she was.
"Since I won't be joining the hunts either we can play together," Harribel said trying to cheer her up. Hisashi felt like it wasn't only to cheer Nel Tu up though.
Nel Tu finally smiled again. Peshe and Dondochakka seemed to be in agreement too.
Hisashi used the entirety of his massive spirit power reserve to infuse [Spiritual Energy Absorption] in all three of the Tres Bestias. It should help enhance both their passive absorption of ambient spirit particles and also when they consume other Hollow. His hope was that he could manage to force them to break through the shackles they hadn't been able to in the original story by giving them a big edge.
The original wasn't very clear on what exactly set apart those that could become Vasto Lorde and those that couldn't with some speculation being that it was all determined when someone first became a Hollow with some simply having a potential to become Vasto Lorde that others didn't. It could also be that a Hollow had to go through a very specific experience to become a Vasto Lorde such as gaining a better understanding related to their aspect of death.
He was going to give simply boosting their spirit power growth beyond anything other Hollow could achieve a try. Maybe overstuffing them could do the trick. At a certain point quantity could become a quality of its own.
They headed back out into Hueco Mundo to hunt together for the first time.
