Chapter 7

- Master? Are you in a bad mood? - Hina asked, having finished her morning run and sat down at the table, getting ready for breakfast.

- Where did you get it? "It has been four months since her gift was" activated ", and during this time Hina has mastered everything I could teach her in terms of reiatsu. That is the basics: meditation, concentration techniques, and control over your reiatsu. I couldn't do more simply because Hollow reiatsu and shinigami were different, and what I could do was not available to her.

- I just feel it. She shrugged. - Something happened? - Well, yes, we have been living together for six and a half years. Of course, during this time she began to understand me well.

- You could say that ... Hina. "I spoke in the voice I use only for important conversations.

- I'm listening to. The girl put her food aside and turned to me, ready to listen to what I was going to tell her.

-"I want you to be a shinigami.

- WHAT?! - Not a trace of all her restraint remained: she jumped to her feet, hatred in her eyes, fists clenched ... - So that I, yes with these insignificant, deceitful ...

- So no? - I interrupted her. I know perfectly well how she treats the shinigami: if I hadn't interrupted her, the girl would have insulted this fraternity in all available ways for another twenty minutes.

- ... - She seemed to be blown away: she looked away, forcibly unclenched her fists ... Master ... Well ... I ... I owe you everything, starting with my life, and ending with everything that I know and I can ... If ... If you ask me to become a shinigami, then I will become a shinigami ... She said forcefully.

- Hmmm ... - I held out, going up to her. - I know perfectly well how you feel about this idea, but you know me: I will not force you to do what you hate so much for no good reason.

- I understand...

- I don't think so. I shook my head. - Let me demonstrate. "As I moved closer so that she was inside the Stimulating Breath, I stopped protecting her from my spiritual pressure.

- Gha !!! - The girl exhaled, immediately falling to one knee and barely keeping herself from falling, resting both hands on the floor.

"Now you are experiencing my complete spiritual pressure ..." I said slowly, after which I again took my spiritual pressure under control. "And I'm not the strongest Hollow, or shinigami.

- Ha-a-a ... Ha-a-a ... - Hina somehow returned to her chair.

- Now listen to something. I taught you everything I wanted. Now you have all the necessary skills to travel to any part of Rukongai and take any place you want. You can protect both yourself and those with whom you become close, and in general you are able to live a decent life. In other words, you got what you signed up for six and a half years ago. I don't regret anything either: it was fun to make a human out of you, so we both got what we wanted. Now we can disperse in different directions and forget about the existence of each other.

- ... - Hina said nothing, silently looking at the floor.

- But if you want to stay with me ... - I stopped the mask an inch from her face, just like six and a half years ago. - Then you have to get stronger. Much stronger. I don't need a burden. I am not interested in girls who need to be saved, I prefer girls who themselves can save anyone. If you want to go from being a curious toy to being a person I trust to cover my back, then you have to get stronger. And I'm not just talking about becoming a shinigami, I'm talking about mastering the perfect control of the Bankai. And all this you can only do at the Shinigami Academy. Nowhere else. So choose, girl: if you turn around and leave, you will live the rest of your life in warmth and comfort, working wherever you want. If you stay with me, then your life will be under constant threat, and I doubt that you will die a natural death. Not to mention the fact that you will have to become the one you hate more than anything else - shinigami. And now I will repeat the words that I said to you six and a half years ago: decide, girl, I will not offer a second time.

- ... - This time she gave the answer not immediately. She examined my mask under her nose for a while, but when she spoke, there was not a trace of doubt or hesitation in her voice. - I will become a shinigami. I will become strong enough for you to trust me ... No! I will exceed all your expectations! I will surpass you!

- ... - Looks me straight in the eyes, and I see nothing but the very persistence that allowed her to withstand my training. - Ha ha ha, they say that there is no better reward for a teacher than a student who surpasses him. Well, I will wait for my reward.

- I will not let you down. - She smiled.

"Then don't waste time and go to Seireitei. I cannot open Garganta to you for obvious reasons, so I have to get there on my own. You know where all the collected money is. Take everything, I won't need them, and I think it's expensive to live in Seireitei.

- Good. She nodded.

"And one more thing: I won't go to Seireitei, so we won't be able to see each other. But remember this: on the first of every month I will spend twelve hours in this house, so if you want to meet with me, or send me a message, then come here and leave a note, or come on the first. Questions?

- None. She shook her head.

- Then eat and pack.

- Well? Will talk? - I asked, pressing the head of another Adjuchas into the sand.

- We will! We will! Don't kill! - The poor man whined pitifully.

- Then tell me.

- What exactly? - I continued to poke his muzzle in the sand: you can't relax with these guys.

- How do you manage gravity.

After Hina went to the Academy, I had a huge amount of free time. I didn't even realize how much time I was spending on the girl ... Anyway, I began to spend much more time in Hueco Mundo, mainly spending it on training. It was then that I noticed that all the shinigami eaten in more than seven years had a significant impact on me. In the sense that I became much stronger, I just did not notice it before, because in Hueco Mundo I only appeared for a couple of Adjuchas and immediately returned back to Soul Society. Now I noticed that the coverage of my radar has almost doubled, reiatsu, reireku, even the effectiveness of control over reiatsu, all this has improved markedly. And I noticed this in a rather interesting way: my next dinner, for no reason at all, struck me with lightning! I was so surprised that I even allowed myself to be hurt, and when I came to my senses, dinner was already ready to eat. It turned out that I clashed with an Adjuchas, the level of reiatsu of which was such that before I would have skied from him as soon as I saw. But now our reiatsu were comparable, so I decided to contact him.

Since then, I have often come across Adjuchas with unique abilities, such as this one, which controls gravity. Unfortunately, they all answer the same to my questions ...

-I don`t know! I just do it! I mentally give orders, and gravity increases in the right place, and then ... - Without becoming more listening, I cut off his head: no one knows anything. They all "just know how" to do it. A couple of times I left them alive, and carefully watched their actions, but I also did not understand anything: their reiatsu did not change, did not add up to any special flows, everything was ... Usually. Only when I imitated their actions with surgical precision, I could not create ice blocks or fireballs ... My reiatsu simply dissolved into the environment!

- Hmm ... - I drawled thoughtfully, grumpy with the mask of Adjuchas. In the anime and manga, there was surprisingly little information about the Adjuchas and Vaster Lords themselves: there was little mention of them, and then the narrative turned into Arrancar, so I don't know what to think about these inexplicable phenomena. So stop! Let's go in order. Or rather, let's think logically and draw a chain from the highest to the lowest. Take Barragan, Stark, and Tia. They all had unique abilities: aging, water management, and the ability to freely manipulate their soul. Did they gain these abilities after becoming Arrancar? Not! Arrancarization is the division of the soul into two parts, nothing more. The Arrancar can then free their Zanpakuto and regain their former form, with some modifications and much more power. The fact of the matter is that with greater strength, and not with new strength. In other words, the release of the Zanpakuto simply strengthens the Arrancar many times, but does not give any new skills or abilities: Barragan was aging Soi Fong's bones even before the Resurreccion, and Stark generally became an Arrancar on his own, dividing his soul in half.

So these unique abilities do not come from Arrancarization, but from Hollow itself? Just after Arrancarization and Resurreccion, are they getting stronger? Then it is understandable why I cannot copy them: try, copy someone else fingerprints. But in this case, another question arises: all Adjuchas with reiatsu above a certain level have some kind of skill. Someone more noticeable, like gravity control, someone less noticeable, like an incredibly tough hide, on which I almost broke my teeth ... And what have I got? I can't throw lightning or move mountains ...

- Hmm-mm-mm ... - I mumbled again, finishing off the Adjuchas, and continuing my way along Hueco Mundo. Maybe chat with someone who knows? Who lives here longer than me? After all, I may have been compared by force with these Adjuchas, but I cut corners so to speak ... By the way, why do not other Adjuchas go to Soul Society? Although given how "often" shinigami appear here, I don't think many have tried them to the teeth ... Okay, that doesn't matter. So, hang out with the old-timers? During my time here I have noticed several astronomical levels of reiatsu. One came from some ruins, which I naturally did not approach: I don't really want to get involved with Barragan. But other reiatsu came ... out of nowhere. There are very few notable places in Hueco Mundo, but I remember the approximate zones where I saw these reiatsu, and since then I have bypassed them. Although one of the rest of the reiatsu stood out: if the rest were "astronomical", then this one was more like "astronomical in a cube". Most likely it belongs to Stark, but should I contact him? No, he is a very sane type, and I think I will not die from his spiritual pressure, but ... I get the impression that he knows little ... Tia would be the best option, but which of the remaining sources is Tia? What if I meet at some Ulquiorra? Do I need it? No, don't.

And yet I want to talk to Tia ... How can I identify her from a safe distance? What were her distinctive features? Oh, exactly! She also had three helpers. So we are looking for Vaster Lord with three companions. Or two? The latter joined a little later, and I have no idea what time frame I am in. No, roughly I can imagine: I went to the World of the Living, and there is now the end of the nineteenth century, but when exactly did the third Adjuchas join Tia's retinue? Who knows.

No sooner said than done: I began to visit the areas where I last spotted the Vaster Lords' reiatsu and scanned them carefully. Several areas turned out to be empty, a couple of times I spotted Vaster Lords who did not have companions, but it seems I found what I was looking for: reiatsu several times higher than my own and three reiatsu much weaker than mine. To risk? Or not to risk it? What do I hope to get from her? Information about why I don't have any special abilities. How important is it? It is very important, because my strength and potential directly depend on this! It's one thing to have public abilities, and quite another to be able to do something unique, not accessible to anyone else. So the risk is worth it? Yes, it's worth it.

- With God! I mean ... Aizen? Ugh, man! - I spat to the side, and slowly began to approach the Vaster Lord.

An interesting place: a whole mountain, or rather a rocky ridge: stones protruding from the sand rose twenty meters, and stretched as far as the eye could see. And so, I approached the entrance to the cave, imperceptible from afar, and stopped thoughtfully: no one was in a hurry to meet me, although I deliberately did not hide my reiatsu, otherwise they would think that I was trying to sneak up on them. Do they know about my arrival, but do not meet? Trap? No, somehow shallow: Tia will twist me in a fair fight in a couple of minutes, she doesn't need to make traps.

- Knock Knock! - Not finding a suitable surface for knocking, I shouted, going down the rough-hewn steps down somewhere. - Is there anyone at home? - A small descent, and I found myself in an incredibly cozy cave for Hueco Mundo. If I had not lived in Soul Society for so many years, I would have asked to live here. And here are the inhabitants: a lioness, a snake and a deer stand in the far corner and watch me watchfully. They feel that I am much stronger than them. But Tia, on the contrary, stood in the middle of the cave, and looked at me with curiosity, but without a drop of aggression. - Mademoiselle, did anyone tell you that the moonlight turns you into a goddess of beauty? - I gave it out.

- Not. - Briefly and clearly. Well, yes, I remember she does not like to engage in verbiage.

- Is it customary for you to greet guests with deathly silence? - I could not stand it, to which the deer opened her mouth to say something, but the snake immediately wrapped the tip of its tail around her face in the manner of a muzzle.

- Most of the "guests" come here with ill intentions. - The girl answered. - There is no point in talking to such people: they never listen to anything.

- In that case, I hasten to disappoint you: I have not the slightest desire to commit suicide.

"And yet you came here.

- I came. I nodded.

- So you need something from me. - concluded Tia. - Speak, I will listen to you. - ABOUT! Small victory!

- Should I stay in the aisle? The draft here, somehow uncomfortable ...

- Come in. She nodded. "But throw out anything suspicious and I won't hesitate.

- Well, what do you want from Mrs. Harribel? - The lioness asked discontentedly. The three peeled off the far wall and sat behind Tia, somewhere in the middle of my explanation of my problem. Of course, I did not talk about any Arrancar, but even without this it was not difficult to explain the essence of the issue.

- I want ... - I wanted to answer briefly and clearly, but ...

- Follow me. - Tia cut me off, then got to her feet and went to the exit. A couple of minutes later, we were standing near the entrance to their hideout. Tia is next to me, and her entourage is at the entrance. - Use Sero.

- ... - Vaguely twitching his muzzle, which replaces me with a shrug, but fulfilled the request, and fired Sero vertically into the sky.

- You do not understand?

- Understand, what?

- Look. - Tia raised her hand-sword to the sky, and charged Sero, let it go up, just like I did a second ago.

- So what? - I do not understand.

"I just used Sero as quickly as I can.

- Ha-ah? - I looked at her incredulously. - Why so slow? - Her Sero shot at least a second later than mine!

- ... - The girl did not answer, just looked at me expressively, they say you have brains? Then learn how to use them!

- So ... - My ability is to shoot Sero quickly? No, this is only an external manifestation! "Is my ability improved reiatsu control? Harribel-san, can you repeat this? I raised my paw and activated three Nen-blades, forming the likeness of three energy claws.

- ... - The girl raised her "human" hand and I perfectly felt how reiatsu was whipping her too, only she refused to form into a blade. - Unreal. She shook her head.

- That's how it is ... Everything is clear, thank you very much for the explanation! I nodded. - See you! Tia said nothing, just following me with her eyes.