LIGHTNOVELONLINE 73 – Catching Up
Apacci seemed like she was possessed by a devil. She refused to remain as an Adjuchas when Mila Rose had managed to become a Vasto Lorde. Harribel didn't count since she was already a Vasto Lorde and their de facto leader. She could kind of look the other way for Hisashi since he had always been a weird Hollow and wasn't one of her sisters. Mila Rose was a different story as the three of them had always been Adjuchas together.
She started hunting relentlessly and now that Mila Rose was no longer participating in their hunt she was getting a larger portion of their hunts.
Nel Tu had really managed to get closer to everyone. Hisashi had been easy as he knew her from the original story and knew she was a good trustworthy person deep down. Harribel was easy to win over too as she seemed to show an almost maternal care for Nel Tu which always brought a smile to his face. It was an entirely different side to her than he was used to seeing.
Eventually though even the more hesitant Tres Bestias who had started out a bit more wary of Nel Tu and her Fracción had opened their non-existent hearts to the little girl over the months spent together.
This was awkward for Pesche and Dondochakka who were torn. One the one hand they wanted Nel Tu to be as safe and happy as she could be. On the other they were more than a little sour because they felt they were slowly being replaced as her favourites by Hisashi and Harribel. They didn't dare to consider that maybe they already had been. As if that wasn't enough though now she was also getting closer to the three other girls.
The brotherhood was fearing the sisterhood.
The hunt went on for a lot longer than Apacci wanted, but she wasn't deterred. She was determined to catch back up to Mila Rose. Sung-Sun seemed less concerned at least in comparison to Apacci. However given the amount of effort she was putting in despite her usual lazy behaviour indicated she wasn't entirely unaffected.
Unlike them Hisashi was used to the grind. It had been his life ever since he became a Hollow. He knew if he took too long his family would be dead before he even got a chance to return to a human-like form so taking it easy had never been an option. Also unlike other Adjuchas he still had a human perception of time. Where most Adjuchas were hundreds of years old and lazing around for a few months or even years was seen as merely a short break to others Hisashi felt like he had taken a long break if he took it easy for just a few weeks.
He was sure eventually as he aged he would experience similar feelings regarding the passage of time, but now it allowed him to make the most of things since he was still trying to improve on a human timescale. It was one of the small benefits he still had due to how fast he had managed to become a Vasto Lorde.
Whether it was sheer force of will or the increased amount of prey going towards Apacci she had finally managed it.
The experience was quite similar with the main difference being the final results of the transformations.
She had taken on human form, though covered mostly in brown fur. Her legs still ended in hoofs just like Mila Rose had kept her lion's feet. However her hands had actually turned human.
She also now seem to have a human head, but was wearing a deer skull over the top of her head with only her lower jaw being revealed from under it. The antlers had become quite a bit larger and more ornate compared to when she was an Adjuchas though. They were more reminiscent of her Resurrección rather than Adjuchas form.
She had also become rather short. Both her and Mila Rose hadn't been too dissimilar in size as Adjuchas, but Mila Rose turned into an amazon during here transformation, whereas Apacci...
Hisashi looked at Apacci's petite form. It seemed despite becoming a Vasto Lorde this time around before becoming an Arrancar some things were probably not meant to change.
"What?!" Apacci yelled aggressively stomping her feet. It seemed she had senses something and felt insulted.
Hisashi chuckled. "Nothing," he said.
"You bastard! Get over here! We're the same now. I'll show you!" she yelled.
"Don't judge our little Apacci," Sung-Sun said 'supporting' her.
"Why... you!" Apacci said gnashed her teeth.
"And now we can hunt together, just the two of us," Sung-Sun teased Hisashi.
Apacci rolled her eyes. "You do deserve each other," she grumbled.
Nel Tu gently patted her on the leg to reassure her. "There there," she said. Nel Tu knew what it was like to be short.
Hisashi gasped exaggeratedly. "You want me all to yourself?" he responded.
"You know I could just eat you up," she said playing along.
Both of them broke out in chuckles.
Harribel sighed." Can't you all behave?" she asked.
"But that wouldn't be as fun," Sung-Sun answered.
Hisashi shrugged. He knew Harribel wasn't being serious either. It had become easier to read her since she started opening up.
"My time has finally come. Hisashi! Fight me! I'm going to win this time!" Apacci yelled confidently. It seemed her new form had already gone to her head.
Hisashi just shook his head. "Ok, if that's what you want," he said already knowing what the end result would be. She wouldn't accept it until after he beat her up a little though.
Apacci ran out ahead of him excited to try out her new power.
"Don't go too hard on her," Harribel said with some concern. Apacci was the only one that believed she stood a chance.
