Bleach: Starting as a Vasto Lorde

Chapter 6: Conviction

In Hueco Mundo, the concept of day and night, entertainment, and laws were as absent as cheerful colors in a graveyard, as if its creator sculpted it with a satirical nod to Hell.

Weary of the desolate ambience, Kazuya sought refuge in a natural cave tucked within a mountain.

"Ahhhhh," he groaned in frustration. "Kubo, you bastard. This is so hard."

Apacci looked at him oddly. "Kubo? Who is Kubo?"

"I don't know," he said with a sigh. "I'm a little frustrated."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's rest for now."

Apacci agreed with the sentiment and laid flat on the ground. Her position revealed the see-through Hollow hole in her stomach. Discerning the symbolic meaning behind Apacci's Hollow hole was ridiculously simple.

She was fed up with being pursued. Thus, she craved the strength to survive.

He oversimplified her present desire, as he had no means of delving into her past life.

"Good night."

Kazuya folded his wings to make them as small as possible and rested his head on Apacci, careful to avoid her Hollow hole in case it caused her discomfort. Irritated by his wings, he turned to his side.

"Where do you think you're sleeping?!"

"We had a deal, remember? Let's add something else to it. I'll use you as a pillow. You can do the same when you become an Arrancar."

In her Arrancar form, she wasn't very tall, while he was nearly 6'3" — possibly taller after transforming into a Hollow. He could handle her with ease.

"Fine." Apacci huffed and rested her head on the ground. He was the most insolent man she had ever met, not that she had any chance to deeply know anyone beside him. "Ignorant guy."

"Wake me up if anyone tries to attack. Don't fight on your own."

And he was also the most considerate one.

Kazuya touched his mask, and dread consumed him. He hesitated in tearing off his mask, as a wrong step could spell his death.

'I'll find some Hollows to experiment with, preferably Adjuchas.'

Apacci glanced at him through her peripheral vision. His quiet reflection made her uneasy. "You keep mentioning Arrancar this, Arrancar that. What is an Arrancar?"

"A Hollow whose essence is closer to a Shinigami. We supposedly get this power from taking off our mask."

"Are you crazy?" Apacci retorted. "The mask is a part of our soul. Take off the mask and we'll lose the power to control Reiryoku. We might even die or reform into a Gillian."

Once an Adjuchas regressed, they could never regain their form. They would forever be stuck wandering the Hueco Mundo as a giant, mindless Gillian. No Adjuchas wanted to suffer from such fate, thus driving them to devour other Hollows.

Kazuya reached out and playfully tugged the unicorn-like horn protruding from her forehead. "Have faith in your determination to defy the norms... Well, who am I preaching to, anyway? You'd have been toast if I hadn't stepped up back there."

"I..." She wanted to say something but hesitated. "There is no point... Arrancar or not... we are just biding time. This is Hueco Mundo, dammit. Don't make me say the obvious."

They were going to die one day — she had realized the truth after witnessing the cycle of Hollows consuming the weaker ones. She wanted to die peacefully, if possible.