Kazuya was lying on the bed after Momo left, waiting for Yoruichi's return.
'Two more weeks. Should I return to Harribel or give her a surprise at the mission?'
He ruled out the second option since he might be under surveillance as a Shinigami. Fighting Soi Fon, stirring troubles within the academy, and showing potential to be a powerhouse — all these deeds had painted a bulls-eye on him. Countless eyes would be scrutinizing his every action during the mission.
'Guess I'll take a week off and spend some time with them.'
While the taboo thrill of romantic affairs with teachers had its allure, none could replicate the soothing haven that Harribel's presence offered. He could do a reconnaissance mission to Hueco Mundo to see if Nelliel had undergone any transformation during his absence.
Thinking about his future, he unknowingly drifted into a slumber. He didn't resist the urge as a nap was necessary to reset his mind after everything.
…
He woke up to the rhythmic motion of a moving mount beneath him. Deja vu washed over him. He found himself engulfed in the perpetual dusk of Hueco Mundo, accompanied by an eerily familiar riding experience. A knot of dread tightened in his chest. Shifting slightly, he caught sight of Apacci in her deer-like form, a form he hadn't seen in what felt like ages.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake," she greeted, much like their prior encounter.
But a glaring anomaly stared him in the face. Gone were his horns, wings, and even his once-flowing locks were shorn, echoing a past life's hairstyle. He was stripped of all Hollow attributes, as if time had wound back and morphed him into a regular soul. His Reiryoku levels had plummeted, sinking him to the mundane level of an average living soul.
In a reflexive act, he pinched his cheeks and twisted his own ear until it flushed crimson. The resultant sting squashed any notion that this could be a figment of a twisted nightmare. Even his callouts to the mysterious System yielded utter silence.
'I got a hard reset as a powerless man…'
Powerlessness. The term clung to him like an ill-fitting garment. He was weaker than the lowest class of Hollows. And the worst part? He had no regrets about his life or longing for a redo. His life was perfect as it was. Now, every bond he had built was snatched away from him. Lovers and friends he couldn't live without.
Could he regain those relationships without the crutch of his System and his Vasto Lorde prowess? Doubt clouded his usually resolute spirit, marking the first instance of vulnerability. He was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
'Is this the scheme of the god who reincarnated me? What a sick bastard.'
Grimacing, he felt a surge of rage welling up within him, directed at the unseen architect of his shattered existence. The things he would do to the orchestrator would be unsuitable for even the most depraved minds.
"You're one rude fellow," Apacci said. "What else did I expect from a male…?"
Apacci's grumbles brought him out of ever-consuming hatred. He extended his hand to caress the fur bordering her sensitive ears. Her eyes shut momentarily as a soft purr resonated from her throat. The action was undeniably Apacci; she'd always had a soft spot for his tender touch.
"Apacci."
She snapped out of her contented state, her hooves skidding to a halt. "How do you know my name?!"
Hopping gracefully from her back, he stood before her, locking eyes. "Believe it or not it's not our first meeting. You and I go way back."
She blinked her eyes in confusion. "...How? I never saw you before today. I'm pretty sure of it."
"Well, I don't know why you forgot about me," he said with a shake of his head. "Tell me, Apacci. Why did you save me?"
The old Apacci showed compassion for his Hollow holes. She had no reason to rescue an average soul. It'd be far easier to just consume him and be done with him. Only he could discern the inconsistency because of spending too much time with her.
"Why save you? You looked fragile, defenseless. I'm regretting my—" Her words were abruptly severed by a bone-chilling roar. Her body quivered, and her eyes darted backward. "Fuck, it's back! We're dead. SO DEAD."
He immediately climbed atop her and patted her back. "Is it the Adjuchas who look like a combination of snake and caterpillar?"
"You know that too?! Never mind. Questions can wait after we survive him!"
With a powerful lunge, she shot forward, the wind from her sprint nearly knocking him away from her. He bent down and hugged her before she incorporated Sonído into her movement and destroyed his body from sheer wind pressure.
'It's right behind us…'
Even without his finely-tuned senses, the emanating menace of the pursuing Adjuchas made his heart race and his skin slick with nervous sweating. The irony was cruel; once he could have shattered a Vasto Lorde with his Reiatsu alone. Now, standing close to an Adjuchas' Reiatsu would destroy him.
"There is only one fate awaiting you, little deer. Cease your resistance and become a part of a greater Adjuchas like me."
"Apacci, it's closing in on us."
He loathed the feeling of depending on someone else for survival. Yet, it was his only choice if he wanted to discover the truth.
"I'm doing the best I bloody can!" Apacci's voice tore through the air as her hooves pounded with renewed fervor. "Damn that fiend. That ABSOLUTE FUCKER."
Furiously, Apacci cursed the menacing Hollow trailing them, its razor-sharp claws aching to snare them. For the Adjuchas, devouring Apacci was essential for maintaining its existence as an Adjuchas; for Apacci, escape was a desperate bid for survival. It was a deadly race with only one possible victor.
Fate, however, seemed to have rolled the dice against Apacci. Small and less endowed with energy compared to her hulking pursuer, her stamina was quickly draining. Despite Kazuya's earnest words of encouragement, her hooves eventually faltered, and she collapsed on the ashen soil of Hueco Mundo.
He caressed Apacci, his eyes darting around for the shark-themed Vasto Lorde. She was nowhere in the vicinity as far as he could see.
'It's not a reset. It's a different timeline or… a fabricated reality.'
Apacci sluggishly opened her eyes and nudged him with her horn. "This is… it for me. He won't chase you after eating me. Run away."
Her words echoed the sacrificial motto that characterized the Tres Bestia. Yet, Kazuya found her response most peculiar. Before meeting him and falling head over heels for him, she was the kind to go down fighting rather than laying down and giving up. She had even been prepared to challenge him—a Vasto Lorde—when she thought he'd eat her.
Would that type of woman sacrifice herself for a man she knew for an hour?
Absolutely not.'
The Adjuchas was closing in at an alarming rate, and time for deliberation had run out. Faced with the grim decision of abandoning Apacci or confronting their mutual doom, he threw away the thought of self-preservation for the first time.
'If my assumptions are wrong, I'm dead for real.'
Planting himself firmly in front of Apacci, he greeted the Adjuchas with a disarming smile, every ounce of his being radiating defiance. "You aren't eating my wife today… I swear on my life, I'll protect her."
...
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