The bonfire crackled softly under the starry sky of Hueco Mundo. Its warmth seemed almost out of place in the vast, cold expanse of the desolate desert. Harribel, who had regained consciousness some time ago, now sat cross-legged across from Su Xiuyu, her golden eyes reflecting the flickering flames.
Their earlier conversations had shed some light on the world, and Harribel had already recovered a bit of her strength.
"Do you need to eat?" Su Xiuyu asked casually, tossing a small twig into the flames.
Harribel shook her head. "No. Vasto Lordes no longer require food. We can survive by instinctively absorbing spirit particles from the atmosphere."
She sounded almost wistful, as if remembering a time when hunger meant something. In her former Adjuchas form, she had needed to feed constantly. Now, that primal urge had become obsolete.
"By the way," she said, tilting her head slightly, "you haven't told me your name. Don't you think it's time for an introduction?"
Only now did she realize she didn't even know what to call the man who had saved her life. To be fair, most Hollows cared little for names. But ever since evolving, something inside her had begun to shift—emotions were blooming, attachments forming. Her instincts no longer screamed to devour, but to connect.
"My name is Su Xiuyu," he replied with a smile. "Or Uchiha Xiuyu. Either works. Both are real."
He stretched his arms behind his head, looking relaxed and at ease. "I'm human. That much is obvious. And… well, I'm very strong. Ridiculously so."
He wasn't bragging—at least, not entirely. Given what Harribel had already witnessed, there was no use pretending.
"You really are," Harribel admitted. "You're the first human I've ever met in person. The other Hollows always said humans were weak, fragile things that couldn't survive without the protection of the Shinigami…"
She paused, then blinked. "Wait, do you even know what a Shinigami is?"
"I do," Su Xiuyu said, though he didn't interrupt.
And so Harribel began to explain everything she knew—from the Shinigami and their duties, to the structure of Hueco Mundo, to the nature of spirit energy and Hollows. She spoke at length, her voice calm but eager, as if unburdening years of solitude.
Su Xiuyu simply listened. Though most of it wasn't new information, he could tell Harribel needed this. She was like someone who had been stranded on an island for too long—starved not for food, but for conversation.
Back when she was an Adjuchas, every interaction with other Hollows was a matter of survival. No one talked. No one trusted. There was only hunger, only instinct. But now—now, as a Vasto Lorde, she could think, feel, and most importantly… choose.
"So," she asked after a while, her tone softer, "what are your plans? What will you do here in Hueco Mundo?"
"I have time," he replied. "I'll wander a bit. Hueco Mundo's a big place. Might as well enjoy the scenery."
He muttered. "Besides, I'm just a clone. Patience is what I have most."
"Then… let's travel together?" she said, almost too quickly. "This world is dangerous. It would be safer if we stuck together."
Su Xiuyu blinked in surprise. But the sincerity in her eyes made it hard to refuse.
She wasn't looking at him like a Hollow looking for a pawn. She looked at him like… a companion. Someone trying to fill a void that had opened inside her.
"Sure," he said finally. "It's always safer with two."
Despite knowing full well that Harribel wasn't even human, Su Xiuyu didn't feel the need to say it aloud. She wasn't acting like a monster. If anything, she was more sincere than most humans he knew.
"But," he added, tilting his head curiously, "mind if I ask something?"
"Go ahead."
"I thought all Hollows had Hollow holes. But… I don't see one on you. Where is it?"
It was a harmless question, one born of curiosity. But the moment he asked, Harribel reached for the edge of her skirt armor.
"I'm not sure where exactly it is," she replied calmly. "But I can feel it's there. Do you want to see?"
She was already beginning to lift the skirt armor when Su Xiuyu's eyes widened in panic.
"No, no, no—that's not what I meant!" He waved his hands frantically. "You don't need to lift anything!"
She blinked, tilting her head. "Then… do you want to check the top instead?"
This time, her hands moved toward her breastplate.
"Stop! Please don't!" Su Xiuyu practically lunged forward, grabbing her hands—only to realize too late where they landed. He immediately pulled back, cheeks faintly flushed.
"Harribel… men and women are different. It's not appropriate to do things like that in front of someone else."
She stared at him blankly. "Different? I don't understand. Before becoming a Vasto Lorde, gender wasn't a concept. I only evolved today. These things… I still don't grasp them."
There was no shame or flirtation in her tone—just pure confusion. To her, lifting her armor was no different than showing a scar or an injury.
"Don't worry," Su Xiuyu said gently. "Today is like your first day as a new being. You'll understand eventually. Life is about learning—especially the differences between men and women."
Harribel looked thoughtful. "The meaning of life…"
She repeated the words softly, like tasting them for the first time.
"You might be right," she said at last. "Maybe the destination isn't everything. Maybe the journey—the scenery along the way—is just as important."
After that night, the two began traveling together across Hueco Mundo.
Despite claiming to "take care of each other," Harribel handled nearly every encounter on her own. As a newly born Vasto Lorde, her aura alone sent most Adjuchas fleeing in fear.
Though it didn't work on the lesser Hollows—because, quite frankly, they didn't have the intelligence to recognize what they were sensing.
Still, along the journey, their odd partnership gave rise to many strange and amusing moments.
Such as Harribel continuing to remove her breastplate in front of Su Xiuyu, completely unaware of how inappropriate it was.
Or the time Su Xiuyu sat down to rest, only for Harribel to nonchalantly lean against him—pressing her large, firm chest directly onto his side.
"Harribel… again?" Su Xiuyu sighed, feeling the weight—literally—of her affection. "You can't just do stuff like this to people."
"I don't know any others," she said flatly.
The implication was clear: she wasn't going to do this with anyone else.
------------------
Su Xiuyu felt the weight gently press down on his head, Harribel's touch cool yet calming. Slowly, he came to understand her. Despite the ambiguous nature of her actions, Harribel's expression remained unbothered—stoic, detached. There was no hint of embarrassment.
She was, after all, a newly born Vasto Lorde. Emotional growth was still foreign to her, and Su Xiuyu found himself mildly concerned. Would this graceful warrior woman someday turn into a silly, airheaded fool? He shook the thought away with a soft chuckle.
Thankfully, Harribel's combat prowess remained solid. No matter what level of Hollow she had evolved from, to reach the rank of Vasto Lorde demanded more than just luck—it demanded blood, pain, and relentless battle experience.
A sharp whoosh sliced through the silence. In an instant, Harribel vanished and reappeared behind a lurking Adjuchas. With a single fluid motion, her clawed hand pierced through the creature's steel skin, killing it before it could react.
Poor thing never stood a chance.
Harribel, despite her immense power, had yet to become an Arrancar. She didn't wield a Zanpakutō or possess a War Soul. Her fighting was raw—feral. All claws, kicks, and brute force.
Still, Vasto Lorde-class Hollows were born with innate mastery over the Cero, the infamous Hollow Flash. Yet even that felt underwhelming here. In the vast emptiness of Hueco Mundo, encounters between beings of equal strength were rare. And Vasto Lordes were so few in number that it could take centuries to even see another.
So far, they had only encountered one other Adjuchas. It wasn't surprising. The ecosystem of Hueco Mundo was merciless. Most Hollows never even evolved past Gillian. Reaching the rank of Adjuchas was already a minor miracle. Becoming a Vasto Lorde? That was the stuff of legend.
Still, Harribel was aggressive. She never hesitated to strike first. It was instinct—a deep, primal urge embedded in her very existence. Vasto Lordes didn't survive by being kind; they thrived by devouring the weak and conquering the strong.
By Su Xiuyu's estimation, nearly two weeks had passed since his arrival. He and Harribel remained in the same desolate region of the desert, an endless sea of white sand stretching in every direction.
He sighed, eyes drifting across the lifeless horizon. "Hueco Mundo really is a godforsaken place."
The silence here could kill a lesser man. Su Xiuyu's clone often wondered whether the mindless void of the realm was the reason behind the emptiness within Hollows themselves. The isolation here... it clawed at the soul.
Of course, that was just idle speculation from a wooden puppet with too much free time. Su Xiuyu, the real one, knew the truth: Hollows were born of loss. They weren't human. Not Shinigami either. They were something else entirely.
"Hey, Harribel... this place is driving me nuts. Have you always lived like this?" he muttered, dragging his hand through the sand, as if hoping for a different color beneath.
"I don't know what boredom means," she replied plainly. "I grew up killing. That's all there was. Kill or be killed."
A tragic, simple answer. Yet completely genuine.
Su Xiuyu's gaze softened. "You've had it rough... Don't worry. One day, I'll take you out of here. The world beyond is far more beautiful than this wasteland. You'll see."
Just as the words left his mouth, a faint ripple of spiritual pressure brushed against their senses.
Far off in the distance, a white, bone-armored figure crouched low in the dunes—watching. Waiting.
A leopard-shaped Adjuchas had been stalking them for days, hiding his bloodlust well. But Su Xiuyu's perception wasn't so easily fooled, and Harribel's finely honed instincts had already picked up on the scent of prey long ago.
Su Xiuyu's spiritual pressure, blazing like a firework in a pitch-black sky, had been attracting all kinds of unwanted attention. To the Hollows of Hueco Mundo, he was an anomaly—alive, human, powerful, and oddly unafraid.
The leopard Adjuchas licked his fangs, both intrigued and wary. That human's aura was intoxicating. Pure, vibrant, and delicious. But beside him stood a Vasto Lorde—a rare and deadly predator.
What were they doing together? Hollows rarely tolerated each other, let alone formed bonds. Unless... no, this was something different. This Vastod was protecting the human?
Was she raising him as livestock?
"Disgusting..." the Adjuchas muttered under his breath. "Treating him like fresh meat to be eaten later... Typical lunatic behavior."
He'd had enough.
"Hey, you in the sand dunes!" Su Xiuyu's voice suddenly rang out, calm but firm. "Been tailing us for a few days now. You gonna keep hiding, or come out and say hi?"
The leopard Adjuchas froze, his cover blown. Harribel narrowed her eyes, spiritual pressure flaring ever so slightly as she prepared for combat.
Su Xiuyu glanced at her, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "You haven't taken off your breastplate since that guy showed up. Gotta say... you've got a pretty good defense instinct."
"Human, your spiritual pressure is delightful," the leopard Adjuchas finally announced, stepping into the open with a predatory grin. "Even if you're just a snack, I'll enjoy devouring you slowly."
His arrogance seeped into every syllable. Like most Adjuchas, he craved the thrill of battle.
He turned to Harribel. "Why would a Vasto Lorde keep rations like this around? Don't you realize how enticing he smells?"
Then, with a blur of motion, the leopard Adjuchas vanished—and reappeared directly beside Su Xiuyu, jaws wide open, ready to clamp down on his shoulder.
Too slow.
With a clank of shifting metal, two sleek mechanical arms burst out of Su Xiuyu's shoulders. They clamped down on the Adjuchas open mouth like twin vices, freezing his attack mid-motion.
And then...
BOOM!
A shoulder-mounted cannon launched a concentrated energy blast point-blank into the Hollow's face, sending him flying across the sand in a cloud of dust and scorched spirit particles.
The Adjuchas crashed into a dune with a grunt, sand spraying in all directions. When he looked up, dazed and burned, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"You... You're human... How the hell did you fire a laser cannon from your shoulder?!"
Su Xiuyu's eyes gleamed with mechanical menace. "Who told you humans couldn't be monsters too?"
Guys What do you think of a fanfic based on Tensura (That Time i got reincarnated as a slime?)
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