So here we are, sitting in the cafeteria, chatting and getting to know our new friend.
Hiro may seem clumsy, weak, and untalented, but he's in the 1st Class, just like the rest of us — and that's worth something. He's very smart. I'd even say wildly smart. A genius.
In ten minutes of conversation, he bombarded us with so many terms and so much information that many of our brains were already boiling.
His reiryoku volume is only slightly above average, but he has good control and excellent intellectual abilities. In theory classes, he's almost always at the top of the class. But in practice and physical training, he's almost always at the bottom.
"Next time, instead of being afraid of all those jerks, start bombarding their brains," said Hebiko. "They'll fall behind quickly."
"Heh," Hiro said, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. It's just… I rarely get to talk to anyone. People always react in a way that's not very pleasant."
"Is it because you're a bastard?" our Snake asked.
Hiro immediately ducked his head, turned pale, and grew sad.
"What's a bastard?" Renji asked.
"An illegitimate child born from a relationship between a commoner and an aristocrat," Snake replied calmly. "They have almost no rights and are often not recognized as noble."
"How did you find out he was one?" I asked.
Hebiko just smiled mysteriously. Although her snake-like smirk was a simple answer to all questions: I won't tell you.
"Well, yes," Hiro sighed. "My mother is a cook in the Oono household, and the youngest son of that family fell in love with her… but his family didn't accept it." He clenched his fists. "That's why I want to advance in military service — so that my relatives will have to reckon with me. I'll do everything without their help! I failed the entrance exam twice, but still I made it," he smiled. "And what do you want to achieve in the military?"
"A comfortable life," Renji and Rukia replied in unison.
"To become important," Kira smiled.
"To change the world," I said calmly.
"To find a rich man," Snake smiled.
Well, such answers made Hiro's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. We're so different, yet at the same time we're all sitting at the same table.
"Well," Hebiko turned to me, "are you sure you can handle Kano? You know he trained even before the Academy. His boasting about his strength is not without reason."
"I'm not disagreeing," I replied calmly. "But you know, I didn't suffer from idleness before the Academy either."
"Let's hope that's enough," Renji said grimly. "But we simply must help you!" he declared.
"The idea makes sense," I nodded.
"Great!" smiled the bushy-browed guy. "Then let's spar. It'll be good for you."
"I won't refuse, but tomorrow."
"As you wish."
We chatted a little more, then just walked through the park. It was a normal day, and at the same time we got to know our new friend better. Hiro is a pretty good guy after all. Smart. He and Kira got lost in a long conversation about theories of spiritual power.
We'll quickly pass the Basics of Reiryoku. It's an easy subject — just theory. They told us what the soul is, how it interacts, and where it comes from. They told us about the world of the living, about the Soul Society, and most importantly, about the Hollows.
The latter particularly interested me.
Hollows are negative souls. They were originally positive, but were unable to reincarnate or enter the Soul Society. They are lost souls. Suffering from their inability to interact with the world of the living, from the hunger for information and the emotions that lingered after death, they gradually turn into monsters. Their chauns of fate decay, and eventually hollowness overwhelms them. They go mad and disintegrate, to be reborn as Hollow. Not all of them retain their minds during the transformation. Once they become Hollow, they regain the ability to feel and interact with the world of the living, even if they remain invisible to it. The sudden flood of information after such a long starvation, as well as their uncontrollable hunger, turn them into monsters. But the most frightening thing is that this is not physical hunger — it is spiritual hunger.
The Hollow is terrifying, and by eating others, they temporarily fill the hole in their soul and calm down. That is why, after their transformation, Hollows often come to their relatives and loved ones: they want to fill the void and begin to devour others. This is the only way to dull this feeling, even a little.
Therefore, one of the tasks of the Shinigami is to find souls lost in the world of the living and send them to the Society. This place was created by the Soul King, and here souls become material and are not subject to transformation into Hollows — at least as long as the soul remains weak and does not leave the Society. Although strong souls, after spending some time here, also become immune. You could say that a part of the power of the shinigami is born in them.
By killing a Hollow, the Shinigami frees it from its terrible existence, and it — along with all the spiritual power it absorbed, which was once the souls of other people — goes to be reborn. Alas, the souls that have been eaten are already deprived of their minds, and after the Hollow's death, they dissolve into other souls, making them stronger.
The Hollows live in Hueco Mundo — the Hollow World, or the World of Emptiness. It is a dimension similar to the Society, but opposite to it.
Hollows are reflections of Shinigami. They can also grow and develop. But while Shinigami have their own source of power and require training and time to develop, Hollows grow by consuming others. Their development resembles that of bacteria — they evolve.
Officially, there are four stages of Hollows.
Simple Hollows appear from Soul Plus. When Hollows cannot enter the world of the living, or for some other reason, they begin to devour their own kind.
Devouring and becoming stronger, they reach their limit, and evolution begins. Menos Grande, or Gillian— huge Hollows devoid of reason, will, and emotions. They are enormous, slow, and dangerous. They are often passive and obey those who are stronger. But even among them, there are those who do not stop evolving. They begin to eat other Gillians. Once the limit is reached again, the second stage of evolution occurs.
(End of Chapter)
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