3 3. Companion

The first thing I heard was the voice of someone's complaint. I didn't know whose voice that was, but it sounded heavy and muffled. Their words would echo sometimes, which means we were currently inside an enclosed room, for example, a cave.

"You see how he defeated it? Is that normal for a newborn to be this strong!?" said the owner of the heavy voice.

"That's a lot coming from someone who immediately went on a rampage the moment he woke up. I think he is like me, calm-minded and calculating." said a man with a rather lighter voice.

"What the hell are you saying, Pesche. If it was strength, he was comparable to this young me."

Their amazement of my achievement suddenly turned into a contest of comparison with me as the subject.

"Dondonchakka, Pesche, quiet. He's waking up," said another person nearby. Her voice was soothing. It was the Vasto Lorde that I saw before passing out.

'Gah! Did she see through me?'

I was trying to fake sleep through the course of the event, hoping that they would ignore my existence. But somehow, it was impossible to deceive the sense of a Vasto Lorde.

'Wait, those names. It sounded familiar. Don't tell me...'

Thinking that I wasn't going to reveal my act any sooner, the Vasto Lorde approached me and grab my nape, as one does to a kitten. She brought me next to her face and observed my small body closer. I wanted to cover that part because it felt like I was naked, but there was no need as that part was nonexistent in the first place!

"What's your name, little fox?"

I opened my left eye but immediately shut it tight. Her face was too close to mine, it was scary. Mainly because of the goat skull-shaped mask.

"I... don't have a name, kyun..."

""" Kyun...?""" the trio tilted their head sideways at the same time.

"Cu..." the one with the heavy voice mumbled.

'Cu?'

"He's so cute that I wanted to eat it!!" yelled Dondonchakka while charging at me.

His mask, although much smaller than the one that saw in the manga and anime, was still scary as his muscled body zoomed toward me.

"Gyaaahh!! I'm going to die, kyuun!"

I tried to wiggle out of this situation by moving my limbs and body as much as I can but the Vasto Lorde lady's grasp on my nape was too tight.

"Stop it, idiot! Don't you see you're trying to kill him!?" said a golden-haired skinny Pesche as he sent a dropkick to him. I couldn't believe he could finish his words so fast while sending Dondonchakka to the stone wall.

The Vasto Lorde, who by now, I realized as Nelliel Tu Odelschwank just sighed at the act of her brother.

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, you don't need to be scared." comforted Nel.

'That's the least of my worry! I could be dead, you know!?'

I wanted to yell it at her but decided not to as our power discrepancy was too huge to scale. A simple blow from her could turn me into dust as long as she wanted it.

'Ahh... If only I was born into a Vasto Lorde immediately.'

Before Hollows could Evolve into a Vasto Lorde, they need to undergo two evolution beforehand. First, transforming into a Gillian. You know, that towering body of Hollow that could shot Cero at will.

And after that, the Adjuchas, the strongest of them could even be comparable to some of the Captains of the Gotei 13 in the Soul Society. After reaching the peak of the Adjuchas, it was then that they could transform into Vasto Lorde.

In order to become a Vasto Lorde, hard work and strength couldn't lead you to evolve into it. There was only 1 requirement to become a Vasto Lorde and it was the hardest of them all. You can only become one if you are destined to be one the moment you become a Hollow. No matter how hard you train or consume strong souls, it was impossible to be one if you're not chosen by destiny.

'Do I have that requirement?' I thought deep inside my heart.

Another Hollow was the least threat that I should worry about. The Quincy and the Shinigami would appear in the future. If I didn't thread my path carefully, my future would be doomed in the future war.

And what I need the best right now, is a companion.

'These people before me, I need to keep them close.'

"What's wrong with him? Why he suddenly got quiet? Is his battery dead?" asked Dondonchakka who rose from the rubble of the wall.

"That is your fault, he got scared because of your mask. Cover it with something, preferably something thicker than your skull." reprimanded Pesche.

Nel who was still observing me shook my body and asked, "Moshi moshi. You're there?"

Startled, I immediately replied, "S... stop it, kyun. My head's spinning, kyun..."

"Oh... my bad." apologized, Nel. "So, what's your name, little fox?"

"I... I told you I don't have one, kyun."

"He's a newborn, having no name is a normal thing, Nel," informed Pesche.

"Is that so?" wondered Nel.

"Umm... I'm sorry, but can you put me down first. My tail felt heavy because of the blood circulating in it." I begged.

As if losing her interest in me, Nel put me down, gently before moving away. As my vision was returned on the ground, I could see her full body now. While the upper part of her body was a body of a woman, her lower body under her waist was the body of a goat. I would've mistaken her for a moose if not for the goat or sheep skull adorning her face.

Next was Dondonchakka. In the anime or manga, he was described or drawn with a huge tiki mask and a onesie with a polka dot pattern on his back. But in here, he was a muscular man covered by white bones on his lower torso and a fur shoulder plate.

Pesche had the most surprising appearance, compared to the useless-looking purple bug in the manga and anime, he had quite an intelligent aura surrounding him, the beetle mask and the blonde hair only adding to his charisma.

"Hmmm..."

After being released by Nel, however. Both Dondonchakka and Pesche started observing me closely. Their gaze was too burdensome to handle. I kept hiding under my tail.

"The fact that he still has his consciousness intact already proved that he's a powerful Hollow. I wonder how many souls he consumed already," commented Pesche.

"But he still needs to learn how to properly grow up. Don't cha think so?" said Dondonchakka.

"Well, that is true. If he got into that state, it would be about time until he lost himself."

"What do you mean with losing myself, kyun?" I asked.

"Ahh... the more souls you consumed, the hungrier you'll get. The scary part is no matter how much you eat, it will never be enough."

"Then... what should I do to avoid losing myself, Kyun?"

"Eat, eat, and eat. There's nothing you can do about it." interrupted Nel while closing her eyes to sleep.

Both Pesche and Dondonchakka agreed. Although it was insatiable, it didn't mean there was no end to it. The only thing you had to do was give in to it all the while trying to survive.

After what seemed like a long session of Q&A, the two finally lost interest. I explained to all of them some part of my origin without revealing too much about the 'real' world out there. The story was woven like a normal daily life of a Hollow. Born from grudge, revenge, etc.

'To think that I would meet them on the first day, my little sister would have been overjoyed if she was here.'

Once I lied down on the stone cave ground, I silently gulped as I imagined my future self. Would I really lose my mind? I rubbed my belly while staring at the Hollow circle on my chest. Now that I am a Hollow, do I have to consume the human soul to evolve?

I was too deep in thought that I was unaware that I spoke out loud, "Is there a way to get stronger without consuming any human souls, kyun?"

My mindless words suddenly gathered the trio's odd look. As if finding a new creature that hadn't been documented before, their interest spiked once more.

However, unlike their previous way of showing interest, this time they were showing it moderately.

"There is one way," replied Nel, her eyes was smiling.

I couldn't help imagining the expression behind her mask. It should be a beautiful smile, wasn't it? if I was still alive, I think I would have fallen for her.

'Wait, am I not alive now?

"What is it?" I asked, dismissing my thought. The golden eye under the slit of my mask showed a bright gleam of interest inside my heart. If there's another way without harming any human souls. Wouldn't it be better? I might not lose myself to the hunger.

However, it was too early for me to feel overjoyed. I should've seen the sinister eyes from the two idiots behind her.

===°°°°===

I didn't know long have passed since it began. After counting to 15 I lost track of it. And now, I was in a dome-shaped clearing underground. Around me, there were so many huge barks of trees that had the same material from the one above that could reach so high in the sky. Unless one could fly, there was no way to reach the top. And no matter how many I counted, there was no end to it.

Crack! Boom!

'That was the third one!'

The hollow before me started to crumble into particles of light after I smashed its mask. It drifted toward me and then absorbed into my body. I mentioned this phenomenon to the trio, but weirdly enough they didn't understand what I told them. As if the particle of light being absorbed was only exclusive to me.

'Am I a special case?' I wondered. I didn't have comprehensive information about Hollows and their natural life.

Anyways, although I already defeated three of the Hollows before me in a battle of attrition, there were still more lingering around preparing to rush at me. One, two, three... twelve of them were still healthy and in their prime state as well.

"I can't lift my finger anymore. That's it... I'm done, kyunn." I replied, laying low on my white belly.

Sensing that my reiatsu was slowly dwindling, Nel instantly appeared before me, grabbed my nape, and jumped away. Her reiatsu was enough to stop the weak Hollows I fought from pursuing us.

"That's not bad, now you can stand your ground against 14 of them at the same time for 30 minutes, as well as killing three of them in return," said Pesche, announcing my latest record.

My training session only revolved around fighting bigger and stronger enemies. At first, I fought one by one with another hollow that was slightly stronger than me. Although the strength of the enemy didn't fluctuate that much, I was left all alone fending against multiple enemies after they found out I could kill any hollow in one on one fight without having any injury.

From two to three, from three to four, on and on... Thankfully, whenever I exhausted all of my stamina, Nel would come to my rescue. Her reiatsu as a Vasto Lorde was enough to drive away any low-level Hollows. And sometimes it was one of my 'senpai' that came to my rescue. Though the two of them couldn't be compared to Nel, they would not let any harm came to me.

"Aaahh... I can't stand it anymore, kyun. When will it stop, kyun?" I asked, weakly? I was laying on Nel's back like the alphabet H. My tail, although weak, still moving left and right.

We were now on our way to look for another training ground. Staying in one place for too long was not good in this sort of place. There was a risk to bump onto a Menos Grande level Hollow like a Gillian or Adjuchas. With Nel as the lead, Pesche and Dondonchakka was following her while conversing with me.

"Until you felt the first hunger. Then, we'll raise the difficulty. Everything up till now was just the tutorial." explained, Pesche.

"That's cruel... I don't know the tutorial could be this hard." I sighed.

Dondonchakka laughed at my weak response, he confidently said, "Hahaha, fighting like this made me miss the good old days. The moment you get the hang of it, this little play would be a walk in the park. Fighting when your hunger is driving you insane is the real deal."

"Lower your voice, senpai. My brain keeps vibrating whenever you say something." I complained.

"Hey, that's mean." protested Dondonchakka.

"Ahh! It's vibrating again!"

All of us laughed once in a while. Until I fully restored our little group would keep wandering around the underground part of Hueco Mundo. And once I did, I would be thrown one more time into groups of Hollows that were slightly stronger than me.

All of this happened all day, all week, all months without rest. Thankfully a Hollow didn't need to eat, although souls were their number one delicacy.

"Say, your ability is rather unique, how did you do it?" asked Pesche. He was very interested in my ability starting from day one. Dondonchakka nodded vigorously as he drew closer to my face. Even Nel couldn't help but perked her ears.

The fact that I hadn't told them anything about it yet was not because I was reluctant on disclosing my information. It was because this ability was quite traumatizing for me as well. Imagine having to see yourself dying over and over again, all in different manners of style, like a budget Final Destination movie.

"Your Reiatsu, it didn't vanish or move place. It was still there as if that was the real you. This is the first time I saw something like that."

'Really, from other's perspective, my clone is a perfect illusion. Isn't that actually pretty cool? Will I have more OP skills in the future just like some Isekai novels my sister had?'

Time passed as we spent our time beside each other. Though I wouldn't say that our relationship was like a family, we were quite fond of each other's company. Weird, this is the first time that I made a friend without them making fun of me behind my back.

And then, after what seemed like three months, it happened. My tail started shining like a lantern, my body slowly drifting on the air. It felt like I was floating in outer space.

"Something feels weird, kyun," I mumbled amid battle.