Chapter 51: Harribel
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
Chapter 51: Harribel
Moments later, Yuna and Hinata could be seen following behind Harribel through the corridors of Las Noches, which was the name of Aizen's main base inside Hueco Mundo.
"Say, Harribel, can Arrancar have sex?"
While Hinata casually slapped the back of Yuna's head, Harribe ignored her completely and simply kept walking, causing Yuna to pout.
"Not very talkative, are we?"
"I have no desire to talk with you."
"Hee~ Why not? We'll be working together from now on, right? Let's get to know each other."
However, Harribel only shook her head and continued walking, clearly not interested in talking with Yuna more than necessary.
"Come on~ You can at least tell me the reason, right?"
"I have no desire to talk to someone who acts so disrespectfully towards Aizen-sama."
"Hee~ So it's loyalty, huh? However, is Aizen really a man worth your loyalty?"
As soon as Yuna finished speaking, Harribel turned around and glared at Yuna while some of her Spiritual Pressure subconsciously leaked out.
"Of course, he is worth my loyalty! He saved my life!"
"Oh? I see. One of the oldest tricks in the bag isn't~"
Harribel's glare intensified even furth when Yuna mentioned some kind of trick. Moments later, she huffed in annoyance and resumed walking.
"What trick? If Aizen-sama didn't call you his guest, I would have already cut you down."
"What trick? As I said, the oldest one in the bag: Using a third party to bring you into a life-threatening situation and save you at the last moment. Easy and simple."
As soon as Yuna finished speaking, Harribel's step paused, causing Yuna to smirk and Hinata to facepalm. Well, one might reasonably ask how Yuna knew about how Aizen recruited Harribel, but that question actually had a pretty obvious answer: Hisoka.
Again, one might reasonably ask why Hisoka would tell such a seemingly random piece of information to Yuna, however, Hisoka knew Yuna and, as such, knew her goals and how she usually acted. Since Hisoka thought that there was a good chance that Yuna would interact with Harribel at one point, she decided to tell her a piece of information that might sway Harribel's loyalty towards Aizen.
On the other hand, Harribel couldn't help but have some doubts about how Aizen saved her pop up in her mind. No, in fact, she had had these doubts for a long time now.
'It's just so suspicious. He tried to recruit me, but I rejected his offer, and only a few days later, a Hollow that was stronger than me appeared and attacked me. Just how many Hollow existed at that point in time that were stronger than me? Certainly not more than ten. And, even more suspicious, just when I'm about to die, Aizen-sama saves me.'
Although doubts about Aizen were clearly visible on Harribel's face, after thinking about the situation a little longer, all doubts vanished, and her neutral expression returned.
"It doesn't matter. Even when it happened, as you said, Aizen-sama has helped me get much stronger than I was before, and I'm thankful for that."
Hearing Harribels words, Yuna simply nodded her head as a smirk appeared on her face.
"In that case, what would you do if I could help you get even stronger than you are now and even stronger than you would be after Aizen used the Hogyoku on you?"
Yet again, Harribel's steps paused as she looked at Yuna in doubt. She pondered her words briefly before simply dismissing them.
"You are lying to me. I don't know what you want to archive by tricking me with a false promise of power, but I won't fall for that so easily."
"Hee~ In that case, let me ask you a question. What represents a Shinigami?"
Harribel briefly glanced at Yuna, wondering where she was going with this, but moments later, she decided to play along.
"Their Zanpakuto."
"Correct~ In that case, what represents a Hollow?"
Harribel didn't need to think about that for long and answered Yuna pretty much instantly.
"The mask and the Hollow hole."
"Correct again~ In that case, what is the highest form of power a Shinigami can use?"
"Bankai."
"Correct~ What about Arrancar?"
Also, Harribel obviously knew the answer; she briefly hesitated to tell Yuna the answer. However, since she seemed to be on Aizen's side, she decided she might as well say it, as she didn't think it would matter whether it was kept a secret or not. This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.
"Resurreccion."
"Indeed. In that case, why can't a Hollow-Shinigami hybrid not use Bankai, and why can a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid not use Resurreccion?"
This time, Yuna's question actually stumped Harribel.
'Yeah, why can't we? We have Zanpakuto as well, right? Why don't we have a Bankai? Well, our sword release is different from a Shinigami's, but isn't it still weird? No, this must just be the nature of things, so it can't be helped.'
While Harribel was deep in thought, Yuna decided to continue talking.
"Additionally, if the mask and the Hollow hole represent a Hollow, then why do Arrancar removes theirs to become a hybrid, and why don't the human hybrids get a Hollow hole? No matter how I look at it, something is missing."
As Yuna continued talking, Harribel's frown deepened further and further as her thoughts kept wandering all over what Yuna had just said.
'She is right; something feels a little off.'
"Very well, I'll at least admit that something is off about the situation."
Hearing Harribel's admittance, Yuna nodded her head in acknowledgment.
Frankly, she would have been more worried if Yuna had given her a normal answer, so this was perfect.
Meanwhile, back in Seireitei, two blonde people were standing opposite of each other, and while one of them was yelling with a furious expression on his face, the other one simply looked annoyed.
"She betrayed us! Why aren't you not the slightest bit flustered or angry!? Isn't she your sister!?"
Hearing the angry young man called Ichigo yell at him, Naruto sighed deeply while trying to push his annoyance away.
"Look here, Ichigo; I really would like you to drop this matter. I can guarantee you that she has her own plans that, in the end, won't cause any of us any harm. Just look around you; those within Seireitei have already dropped this matter, so why can't you do the same?"
"Isn't that obvious!? Because I knew her personally!"
Yet another sigh escaped Naruto's mouth as Ichigo continued yelling.
"Did you, though?"
"What?"
"Did you really know her personally? You have spent a few months in the same classroom, that's all. Big deal. The only things you have seen her do is mess around, act goofy, and prank people. Although those are one of the things she likes doing the most, that is far from everything there is to know about her."
Obviously, Ichigo wanted to reject Naruto's words, but before he could do so, a memory popped up in his mind. The memory of Yuna picking up Ishida after he activated the Hollow bait, where she promised to kill him if a single innocent person died.
A chill went through Ichigo's spine when he remembered the way her face looked at that moment. The goofy woman that seemingly wanted to do nothing but play around was replaced by a woman whose facial expression was cold and emotionless, looking at human lives like there were ants.
'Just what kind of life has she lived to be able to make that kind of face?'
Realizing that he probably didn't know Yuna as well as he thought, he could help but clench his teeth in anger and frustration.
"You are absolutely certain that Yuna hasn't actually switched sides, right?"
Seeing that Ichigo was finally letting go of his anger, Naruto sighed in relief as he nodded his head.
"There is no doubt about it. There were few things nee-san loathes more than betrayal. I am 100% certain that she would never betray me, even if it meant fighting someone to the death."
Feeling the confidence in Naruto's words and the resolve radiating out of his eyes, Ichigo couldn't help but look at Naruto in surprise.
"Why are you so certain about that? How can she have that kind of determination."
"Simply. Because it had already happened, and because I would do the same."
The moment Naruto stopped speaking, a strong wind seemed to blow, causing shivers to run through Ichigo's spine.
'These two are monsters. Just what kind of life have they lived up until now? Tatsuki offhandedly mentioned some kind of fighting arena. I wonder if that has anything to do with their personality?'
"Geez, Naruto, Ichigo, are you still fighting over what Yuna did?"
Hearing someone interrupting his thoughts, Ichigo looked at the source of the voice and noticed Tatsuki walking toward the blonde duo.
"Nah, I finally managed to convince Ichigo to stop bothering with this matter."
Tatsuki's face instantly lit up with a smile after Naruto told her that Ichigo would no longer argue about this matter. So, she happily skipped over to Naruto and gave him a hug while nuzzling her face into his nape, making Ichigo feel a little awkward.
Although there were never any romantic feelings between him and Tatsuki, the duo were still childhood friends, making it rather awkward for Ichigo to see Naruto and Tatsuki get intimate.
However, Ichigo realized that Tatsuki was pretty much always smiling when she was around Naruto, so he couldn't help but be happy for her that she found someone she could spend time with like this.
Meanwhile, back in Seireitei, a dark-skinned Arrancar was walking through Las Noches with a dissatisfied expression on his face.
'How dare she treat Aizen-sama so impolitely!? I can't accept this! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!'
This Arrancar was called Zommari Rureaux, and he was probably Aizen's most fanatical follower, going so far as to chant Aizen's name while he was killed during canon. Obviously, someone like that couldn't accept someone treating the object of his worship with disrespect.
He had pondered what he should do for a while now, and in the end, he decided that he had to do something no matter what. The images of Yuna acting rampant flashed through his mind again and again, constantly fueling his anger toward her.
He considered himself to be the fastest of the ten Espada, Aizen's ten strongest Arrancar, so he decided to use his speed to teach Yuna a lesson. As long as she didn't see him, no one could blame him for wounding her a little. Obviously, he wouldn't go for the kill since Aizen had deemed her a guest, but surely some kind of semi-heavy wound wouldn't be a problem, right?
As he was walking, he finally noticed his target appear in front of him. He didn't know exactly where she got it from, but she was currently deeply immersed in a book, making this the perfect opportunity.
So, he quickly used [Sonido], the Hollow version of the Shinigami's [Flash Step], and appeared behind Yuna, slashing his sword at her, intending to leave a huge gash on her back.
The sword hit its intended target, but to Zommari's surprise, no blood splattered.
"That was just an afterimage~"
Suddenly, a voice came from directly behind him, where Yuna was still casually reading a book.
"You..."
"I?"
Zommari gritted his teeth and attacked again, dismissing all worries about being found out. However, just like the first time, his attack landed without any blood splattering to the ground.
"Another afterimage~"
Yet again, Zommari turned around, panic visible on his face, and attacked again, futility cutting through yet another afterimage. Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him from turning around as he suddenly felt a presence directly next to his head.
"Another afterimage~ I hope you are all lubed up because..."
The presence moved even closer to his ear, allowing him to see some blue and red hair as he could feel someone breathing into his ear. Moments later, someone whispered into his ear in a deep voice that made all the hair on his body stand up.
"... Yuna time."
*Splat*
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 51: Harribel
Moments later, Yuna and Hinata could be seen following behind Harribel through the corridors of Las Noches, which was the name of Aizen's main base inside Hueco Mundo.
"Say, Harribel, can Arrancar have sex?"
While Hinata casually slapped the back of Yuna's head, Harribe ignored her completely and simply kept walking, causing Yuna to pout.
"Not very talkative, are we?"
"I have no desire to talk with you."
"Hee~ Why not? We'll be working together from now on, right? Let's get to know each other."
However, Harribel only shook her head and continued walking, clearly not interested in talking with Yuna more than necessary.
"Come on~ You can at least tell me the reason, right?"
"I have no desire to talk to someone who acts so disrespectfully towards Aizen-sama."
"Hee~ So it's loyalty, huh? However, is Aizen really a man worth your loyalty?"
As soon as Yuna finished speaking, Harribel turned around and glared at Yuna while some of her Spiritual Pressure subconsciously leaked out.
"Of course, he is worth my loyalty! He saved my life!"
"Oh? I see. One of the oldest tricks in the bag isn't~"
Harribel's glare intensified even furth when Yuna mentioned some kind of trick. Moments later, she huffed in annoyance and resumed walking.
"What trick? If Aizen-sama didn't call you his guest, I would have already cut you down."
"What trick? As I said, the oldest one in the bag: Using a third party to bring you into a life-threatening situation and save you at the last moment. Easy and simple."
As soon as Yuna finished speaking, Harribel's step paused, causing Yuna to smirk and Hinata to facepalm. Well, one might reasonably ask how Yuna knew about how Aizen recruited Harribel, but that question actually had a pretty obvious answer: Hisoka.
Again, one might reasonably ask why Hisoka would tell such a seemingly random piece of information to Yuna, however, Hisoka knew Yuna and, as such, knew her goals and how she usually acted. Since Hisoka thought that there was a good chance that Yuna would interact with Harribel at one point, she decided to tell her a piece of information that might sway Harribel's loyalty towards Aizen.
On the other hand, Harribel couldn't help but have some doubts about how Aizen saved her pop up in her mind. No, in fact, she had had these doubts for a long time now.
'It's just so suspicious. He tried to recruit me, but I rejected his offer, and only a few days later, a Hollow that was stronger than me appeared and attacked me. Just how many Hollow existed at that point in time that were stronger than me? Certainly not more than ten. And, even more suspicious, just when I'm about to die, Aizen-sama saves me.'
Although doubts about Aizen were clearly visible on Harribel's face, after thinking about the situation a little longer, all doubts vanished, and her neutral expression returned.
"It doesn't matter. Even when it happened, as you said, Aizen-sama has helped me get much stronger than I was before, and I'm thankful for that."
Hearing Harribels words, Yuna simply nodded her head as a smirk appeared on her face.
"In that case, what would you do if I could help you get even stronger than you are now and even stronger than you would be after Aizen used the Hogyoku on you?"
Yet again, Harribel's steps paused as she looked at Yuna in doubt. She pondered her words briefly before simply dismissing them.
"You are lying to me. I don't know what you want to archive by tricking me with a false promise of power, but I won't fall for that so easily."
"Hee~ In that case, let me ask you a question. What represents a Shinigami?"
Harribel briefly glanced at Yuna, wondering where she was going with this, but moments later, she decided to play along.
"Their Zanpakuto."
"Correct~ In that case, what represents a Hollow?"
Harribel didn't need to think about that for long and answered Yuna pretty much instantly.
"The mask and the Hollow hole."
"Correct again~ In that case, what is the highest form of power a Shinigami can use?"
"Bankai."
"Correct~ What about Arrancar?"
Also, Harribel obviously knew the answer; she briefly hesitated to tell Yuna the answer. However, since she seemed to be on Aizen's side, she decided she might as well say it, as she didn't think it would matter whether it was kept a secret or not. This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.
"Resurreccion."
"Indeed. In that case, why can't a Hollow-Shinigami hybrid not use Bankai, and why can a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid not use Resurreccion?"
This time, Yuna's question actually stumped Harribel.
'Yeah, why can't we? We have Zanpakuto as well, right? Why don't we have a Bankai? Well, our sword release is different from a Shinigami's, but isn't it still weird? No, this must just be the nature of things, so it can't be helped.'
While Harribel was deep in thought, Yuna decided to continue talking.
"Additionally, if the mask and the Hollow hole represent a Hollow, then why do Arrancar removes theirs to become a hybrid, and why don't the human hybrids get a Hollow hole? No matter how I look at it, something is missing."
As Yuna continued talking, Harribel's frown deepened further and further as her thoughts kept wandering all over what Yuna had just said.
'She is right; something feels a little off.'
"Very well, I'll at least admit that something is off about the situation."
Hearing Harribel's admittance, Yuna nodded her head in acknowledgment.
Frankly, she would have been more worried if Yuna had given her a normal answer, so this was perfect.
Meanwhile, back in Seireitei, two blonde people were standing opposite of each other, and while one of them was yelling with a furious expression on his face, the other one simply looked annoyed.
"She betrayed us! Why aren't you not the slightest bit flustered or angry!? Isn't she your sister!?"
Hearing the angry young man called Ichigo yell at him, Naruto sighed deeply while trying to push his annoyance away.
"Look here, Ichigo; I really would like you to drop this matter. I can guarantee you that she has her own plans that, in the end, won't cause any of us any harm. Just look around you; those within Seireitei have already dropped this matter, so why can't you do the same?"
"Isn't that obvious!? Because I knew her personally!"
Yet another sigh escaped Naruto's mouth as Ichigo continued yelling.
"Did you, though?"
"What?"
"Did you really know her personally? You have spent a few months in the same classroom, that's all. Big deal. The only things you have seen her do is mess around, act goofy, and prank people. Although those are one of the things she likes doing the most, that is far from everything there is to know about her."
Obviously, Ichigo wanted to reject Naruto's words, but before he could do so, a memory popped up in his mind. The memory of Yuna picking up Ishida after he activated the Hollow bait, where she promised to kill him if a single innocent person died.
A chill went through Ichigo's spine when he remembered the way her face looked at that moment. The goofy woman that seemingly wanted to do nothing but play around was replaced by a woman whose facial expression was cold and emotionless, looking at human lives like there were ants.
'Just what kind of life has she lived to be able to make that kind of face?'
Realizing that he probably didn't know Yuna as well as he thought, he could help but clench his teeth in anger and frustration.
"You are absolutely certain that Yuna hasn't actually switched sides, right?"
Seeing that Ichigo was finally letting go of his anger, Naruto sighed in relief as he nodded his head.
"There is no doubt about it. There were few things nee-san loathes more than betrayal. I am 100% certain that she would never betray me, even if it meant fighting someone to the death."
Feeling the confidence in Naruto's words and the resolve radiating out of his eyes, Ichigo couldn't help but look at Naruto in surprise.
"Why are you so certain about that? How can she have that kind of determination."
"Simply. Because it had already happened, and because I would do the same."
The moment Naruto stopped speaking, a strong wind seemed to blow, causing shivers to run through Ichigo's spine.
'These two are monsters. Just what kind of life have they lived up until now? Tatsuki offhandedly mentioned some kind of fighting arena. I wonder if that has anything to do with their personality?'
"Geez, Naruto, Ichigo, are you still fighting over what Yuna did?"
Hearing someone interrupting his thoughts, Ichigo looked at the source of the voice and noticed Tatsuki walking toward the blonde duo.
"Nah, I finally managed to convince Ichigo to stop bothering with this matter."
Tatsuki's face instantly lit up with a smile after Naruto told her that Ichigo would no longer argue about this matter. So, she happily skipped over to Naruto and gave him a hug while nuzzling her face into his nape, making Ichigo feel a little awkward.
Although there were never any romantic feelings between him and Tatsuki, the duo were still childhood friends, making it rather awkward for Ichigo to see Naruto and Tatsuki get intimate.
However, Ichigo realized that Tatsuki was pretty much always smiling when she was around Naruto, so he couldn't help but be happy for her that she found someone she could spend time with like this.
Meanwhile, back in Seireitei, a dark-skinned Arrancar was walking through Las Noches with a dissatisfied expression on his face.
'How dare she treat Aizen-sama so impolitely!? I can't accept this! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!'
This Arrancar was called Zommari Rureaux, and he was probably Aizen's most fanatical follower, going so far as to chant Aizen's name while he was killed during canon. Obviously, someone like that couldn't accept someone treating the object of his worship with disrespect.
He had pondered what he should do for a while now, and in the end, he decided that he had to do something no matter what. The images of Yuna acting rampant flashed through his mind again and again, constantly fueling his anger toward her.
He considered himself to be the fastest of the ten Espada, Aizen's ten strongest Arrancar, so he decided to use his speed to teach Yuna a lesson. As long as she didn't see him, no one could blame him for wounding her a little. Obviously, he wouldn't go for the kill since Aizen had deemed her a guest, but surely some kind of semi-heavy wound wouldn't be a problem, right?
As he was walking, he finally noticed his target appear in front of him. He didn't know exactly where she got it from, but she was currently deeply immersed in a book, making this the perfect opportunity.
So, he quickly used [Sonido], the Hollow version of the Shinigami's [Flash Step], and appeared behind Yuna, slashing his sword at her, intending to leave a huge gash on her back.
The sword hit its intended target, but to Zommari's surprise, no blood splattered.
"That was just an afterimage~"
Suddenly, a voice came from directly behind him, where Yuna was still casually reading a book.
"You..."
"I?"
Zommari gritted his teeth and attacked again, dismissing all worries about being found out. However, just like the first time, his attack landed without any blood splattering to the ground.
"Another afterimage~"
Yet again, Zommari turned around, panic visible on his face, and attacked again, futility cutting through yet another afterimage. Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him from turning around as he suddenly felt a presence directly next to his head.
"Another afterimage~ I hope you are all lubed up because..."
The presence moved even closer to his ear, allowing him to see some blue and red hair as he could feel someone breathing into his ear. Moments later, someone whispered into his ear in a deep voice that made all the hair on his body stand up.
"... Yuna time."
*Splat*
Chapter 51: HarribelMoments later, Yuna and Hinata could be seen following behind Harribel through the corridors of Las Noches, which was the name of Aizen's main base inside Hueco Mundo. "Say, Harribel, can Arrancar have sex?" While Hinata casually slapped the back of Yuna's head, Harribe ignored her completely and simply kept walking, causing Yuna to pout. "Not very talkative, are we?" "I have no desire to talk with you." "Hee~ Why not? We'll be working together from now on, right? Let's get to know each other." However, Harribel only shook her head and continued walking, clearly not interested in talking with Yuna more than necessary. "Come on~ You can at least tell me the reason, right?" "I have no desire to talk to someone who acts so disrespectfully towards Aizen-sama." "Hee~ So it's loyalty, huh? However, is Aizen really a man worth your loyalty?" As soon as Yuna finished speaking, Harribel turned around and glared at Yuna while some of her Spiritual Pressure subconsciously leaked out. "Of course, he is worth my loyalty! He saved my life!" "Oh? I see. One of the oldest tricks in the bag isn't~" Harribel's glare intensified even furth when Yuna mentioned some kind of trick. Moments later, she huffed in annoyance and resumed walking. "What trick? If Aizen-sama didn't call you his guest, I would have already cut you down." "What trick? As I said, the oldest one in the bag: Using a third party to bring you into a life-threatening situation and save you at the last moment. Easy and simple." As soon as Yuna finished speaking, Harribel's step paused, causing Yuna to smirk and Hinata to facepalm. Well, one might reasonably ask how Yuna knew about how Aizen recruited Harribel, but that question actually had a pretty obvious answer: Hisoka. Again, one might reasonably ask why Hisoka would tell such a seemingly random piece of information to Yuna, however, Hisoka knew Yuna and, as such, knew her goals and how she usually acted. Since Hisoka thought that there was a good chance that Yuna would interact with Harribel at one point, she decided to tell her a piece of information that might sway Harribel's loyalty towards Aizen. On the other hand, Harribel couldn't help but have some doubts about how Aizen saved her pop up in her mind. No, in fact, she had had these doubts for a long time now. 'It's just so suspicious. He tried to recruit me, but I rejected his offer, and only a few days later, a Hollow that was stronger than me appeared and attacked me. Just how many Hollow existed at that point in time that were stronger than me? Certainly not more than ten. And, even more suspicious, just when I'm about to die, Aizen-sama saves me.' Although doubts about Aizen were clearly visible on Harribel's face, after thinking about the situation a little longer, all doubts vanished, and her neutral expression returned. "It doesn't matter. Even when it happened, as you said, Aizen-sama has helped me get much stronger than I was before, and I'm thankful for that." Hearing Harribels words, Yuna simply nodded her head as a smirk appeared on her face. "In that case, what would you do if I could help you get even stronger than you are now and even stronger than you would be after Aizen used the Hogyoku on you?" Yet again, Harribel's steps paused as she looked at Yuna in doubt. She pondered her words briefly before simply dismissing them. "You are lying to me. I don't know what you want to archive by tricking me with a false promise of power, but I won't fall for that so easily." "Hee~ In that case, let me ask you a question. What represents a Shinigami?" Harribel briefly glanced at Yuna, wondering where she was going with this, but moments later, she decided to play along. "Their Zanpakuto." "Correct~ In that case, what represents a Hollow?" Harribel didn't need to think about that for long and answered Yuna pretty much instantly. "The mask and the Hollow hole." "Correct again~ In that case, what is the highest form of power a Shinigami can use?" "Bankai." "Correct~ What about Arrancar?" Also, Harribel obviously knew the answer; she briefly hesitated to tell Yuna the answer. However, since she seemed to be on Aizen's side, she decided she might as well say it, as she didn't think it would matter whether it was kept a secret or not. This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site."Resurreccion." "Indeed. In that case, why can't a Hollow-Shinigami hybrid not use Bankai, and why can a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid not use Resurreccion?" This time, Yuna's question actually stumped Harribel. 'Yeah, why can't we? We have Zanpakuto as well, right? Why don't we have a Bankai? Well, our sword release is different from a Shinigami's, but isn't it still weird? No, this must just be the nature of things, so it can't be helped.' While Harribel was deep in thought, Yuna decided to continue talking. "Additionally, if the mask and the Hollow hole represent a Hollow, then why do Arrancar removes theirs to become a hybrid, and why don't the human hybrids get a Hollow hole? No matter how I look at it, something is missing." As Yuna continued talking, Harribel's frown deepened further and further as her thoughts kept wandering all over what Yuna had just said. 'She is right; something feels a little off.' "Very well, I'll at least admit that something is off about the situation." Hearing Harribel's admittance, Yuna nodded her head in acknowledgment. Frankly, she would have been more worried if Yuna had given her a normal answer, so this was perfect. Meanwhile, back in Seireitei, two blonde people were standing opposite of each other, and while one of them was yelling with a furious expression on his face, the other one simply looked annoyed. "She betrayed us! Why aren't you not the slightest bit flustered or angry!? Isn't she your sister!?" Hearing the angry young man called Ichigo yell at him, Naruto sighed deeply while trying to push his annoyance away. "Look here, Ichigo; I really would like you to drop this matter. I can guarantee you that she has her own plans that, in the end, won't cause any of us any harm. Just look around you; those within Seireitei have already dropped this matter, so why can't you do the same?" "Isn't that obvious!? Because I knew her personally!" Yet another sigh escaped Naruto's mouth as Ichigo continued yelling. "Did you, though?" "What?" "Did you really know her personally? You have spent a few months in the same classroom, that's all. Big deal. The only things you have seen her do is mess around, act goofy, and prank people. Although those are one of the things she likes doing the most, that is far from everything there is to know about her." Obviously, Ichigo wanted to reject Naruto's words, but before he could do so, a memory popped up in his mind. The memory of Yuna picking up Ishida after he activated the Hollow bait, where she promised to kill him if a single innocent person died. A chill went through Ichigo's spine when he remembered the way her face looked at that moment. The goofy woman that seemingly wanted to do nothing but play around was replaced by a woman whose facial expression was cold and emotionless, looking at human lives like there were ants. 'Just what kind of life has she lived to be able to make that kind of face?' Realizing that he probably didn't know Yuna as well as he thought, he could help but clench his teeth in anger and frustration. "You are absolutely certain that Yuna hasn't actually switched sides, right?" Seeing that Ichigo was finally letting go of his anger, Naruto sighed in relief as he nodded his head. "There is no doubt about it. There were few things nee-san loathes more than betrayal. I am 100% certain that she would never betray me, even if it meant fighting someone to the death." Feeling the confidence in Naruto's words and the resolve radiating out of his eyes, Ichigo couldn't help but look at Naruto in surprise. "Why are you so certain about that? How can she have that kind of determination." "Simply. Because it had already happened, and because I would do the same." The moment Naruto stopped speaking, a strong wind seemed to blow, causing shivers to run through Ichigo's spine. 'These two are monsters. Just what kind of life have they lived up until now? Tatsuki offhandedly mentioned some kind of fighting arena. I wonder if that has anything to do with their personality?' "Geez, Naruto, Ichigo, are you still fighting over what Yuna did?" Hearing someone interrupting his thoughts, Ichigo looked at the source of the voice and noticed Tatsuki walking toward the blonde duo. "Nah, I finally managed to convince Ichigo to stop bothering with this matter." Tatsuki's face instantly lit up with a smile after Naruto told her that Ichigo would no longer argue about this matter. So, she happily skipped over to Naruto and gave him a hug while nuzzling her face into his nape, making Ichigo feel a little awkward. Although there were never any romantic feelings between him and Tatsuki, the duo were still childhood friends, making it rather awkward for Ichigo to see Naruto and Tatsuki get intimate. However, Ichigo realized that Tatsuki was pretty much always smiling when she was around Naruto, so he couldn't help but be happy for her that she found someone she could spend time with like this. Meanwhile, back in Seireitei, a dark-skinned Arrancar was walking through Las Noches with a dissatisfied expression on his face. 'How dare she treat Aizen-sama so impolitely!? I can't accept this! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!' This Arrancar was called Zommari Rureaux, and he was probably Aizen's most fanatical follower, going so far as to chant Aizen's name while he was killed during canon. Obviously, someone like that couldn't accept someone treating the object of his worship with disrespect. He had pondered what he should do for a while now, and in the end, he decided that he had to do something no matter what. The images of Yuna acting rampant flashed through his mind again and again, constantly fueling his anger toward her. He considered himself to be the fastest of the ten Espada, Aizen's ten strongest Arrancar, so he decided to use his speed to teach Yuna a lesson. As long as she didn't see him, no one could blame him for wounding her a little. Obviously, he wouldn't go for the kill since Aizen had deemed her a guest, but surely some kind of semi-heavy wound wouldn't be a problem, right? As he was walking, he finally noticed his target appear in front of him. He didn't know exactly where she got it from, but she was currently deeply immersed in a book, making this the perfect opportunity. So, he quickly used Sonido, the Hollow version of the Shinigami's Flash Step, and appeared behind Yuna, slashing his sword at her, intending to leave a huge gash on her back. The sword hit its intended target, but to Zommari's surprise, no blood splattered. "That was just an afterimage~" Suddenly, a voice came from directly behind him, where Yuna was still casually reading a book. "You..." "I?" Zommari gritted his teeth and attacked again, dismissing all worries about being found out. However, just like the first time, his attack landed without any blood splattering to the ground. "Another afterimage~" Yet again, Zommari turned around, panic visible on his face, and attacked again, futility cutting through yet another afterimage. Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him from turning around as he suddenly felt a presence directly next to his head. "Another afterimage~ I hope you are all lubed up because..." The presence moved even closer to his ear, allowing him to see some blue and red hair as he could feel someone breathing into his ear. Moments later, someone whispered into his ear in a deep voice that made all the hair on his body stand up. "... Yuna time." *Splat*
