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Nelliel stared at the figure before her, trembling as she curled into herself. That uniform—the black kosode, the Zanpakutō at the hip—it matched the ones she'd seen before. The same ones who swung their blades first and spoke never. The Shinigami.
Every encounter she'd ever had with those in black robes ended the same way: blood, death, and silence. Now she was face to face with another one. Was this it? Was she going to die?
The thought alone tightened her chest, her voice choking up as tears welled again and spilled over. Her sobs grew louder, rising in pitch with each heartbeat. She shut her eyes, bracing for a slash, a roar, something.
Instead, a calm voice greeted her.
"Why would I kill you?"
Moyu squatted down beside her, his tone gentle, his presence completely unthreatening. Nelliel's sobbing quieted, her teary eyes blinking up at him with surprise and disbelief. "You… you really won't kill me?"
Those golden-green eyes, so filled with innocent wariness, searched his for answers. Moyu reached out and ruffled her short lake-green hair, tousling it roughly as he spoke. "I'm not like the others. Not all Shinigami are the same—just like not all Hollows are."
Nilu froze. The implication in his words was something she hadn't heard before. Her crying stopped completely. "The… same as Nilu?"
Her voice trembled not with fear, but with fragile hope. As if she were desperate to believe it—desperate to belong. In all her time wandering the white desert, she'd never found someone she could call "same." Always too soft to be like the Espada, and far too strange to be like the lesser Hollows.
Now, maybe that had changed.
"Let's go," Moyu said, standing up and glancing toward the battlefield where Shihouin Yoruichi was still weaving through the horde. "It's not safe here."
He offered her his hand. "Do you want to leave with me?"
Nilu hesitated, her little fingers curling against her chest. "You… you're sure you won't kill Nilu?"
Moyu gave her a small, sincere smile. "I don't break promises."
That was enough.
Nilu nodded and stood up quickly, sticking close to his side, nearly clinging to his leg as they turned to leave. She trusted too easily, Moyu noted, and that same trust had likely gotten her into this mess in the first place. But her honesty—her innocence—was the rarest thing in Hueco Mundo.
He looked down at the little Arrancar beside him and smiled, more pleased than he let on. The "abduction" had gone perfectly. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck—the former Third Espada, a once-unstoppable Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar—now trailed behind him like a lost lamb. If she regained her former strength, she'd be a monster even by Soul Society standards, yet her loyalty and gentle nature made her a perfect ally.
The kind of companion most warriors could only dream of.
Moyu reached down and gently patted her head again. Nilu looked up, her eyes wide and full of wonder. That innocent gaze seemed to chase away all the suffocating spiritual pressure that filled this place. Just looking at her could make one forget they were surrounded by the dead and dying.
Moyu chuckled softly, then glanced back toward the center of the battlefield. He frowned slightly as his eyes tracked Yoruichi, still zipping across the air with streaks of thunder and blurred motion. "Her strength's not what it once was…"
She had changed over the years. Her long absence from active combat had dulled her edge. The fierce black cat who once ruled Seireitei's Second Division with flawless grace now bordered on domesticated. If not for her fur being the wrong color, Moyu might have mistaken her for a spoiled orange tabby.
Still, there was power left in her.
Suddenly, the sound of system prompts echoed inside his mind.
Your White Hits has greatly increased its comprehension by observing Shihouin Yoruichi's Instant Form. You have partially comprehended: Instant [Name Missing].
Your Kidō has significantly improved by observing Shihouin Yoruichi's Instant Form. Partial technique unlocked: Instant [Name Missing].
In that moment, detailed insights on the technique known as "Instant Coax" surged through Moyu's thoughts. A hybrid method—fusing Kidō precision with White Hits' explosiveness—it was a style of combat even Yoruichi and Sui-Feng rarely taught.
Each time he'd watched her vanish and reappear in an eruption of sound and light, the formula imprinted itself deeper into his soul. He wasn't merely watching anymore. He was learning.
Your Shunpo has awakened competitive resonance due to simultaneous growth in Kidō and White Hits. Speed enhanced by 30% through observing Shihouin Yoruichi's Shunpo.
Moyu narrowed his eyes. Shunpo had always been a troublesome field for him—progress came in inches, not leaps. He had already surpassed the standard techniques of the Onmitsukidō, but breaking past his current ceiling seemed all but impossible.
Now, the barrier cracked.
Still, despite the growth, he shook his head. "Not my style."
The use of highly concentrated Kidō around the shoulders and back would destroy any outer clothing during the technique. For someone like Yoruichi or Sui-Feng, that might add to the elegance. Their figures enhanced the spectacle. But for a man? Moyu grimaced. The image was enough to make him shiver.
He shelved the thought.
Yoruichi, sensing that Moyu had secured Nilu, began to pull away from the horde. Her objective had been achieved—draw the enemies' attention and clear the area for rescue—but something was wrong.
Moyu noticed it too.
Instead of dying down, the numbers had swelled.
Reinforcements were pouring in from deeper within the Forest of Menos Grande. One after another, Menos of varying size and rank emerged from the shadows. The longer the fight dragged on, the more came.
The crowd of Hollows wasn't thinning.
It was growing.
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