The Parasitic Thing

Hu spun around and saw that smiling face with its narrowed eyes. For some reason, he felt a little more at ease.

"Persimmon Bro?!"

Gin Ichimaru—still "Persimmon" at this point—stood there, grinning like a fox that had stolen a chicken. He wore the black robes of an ordinary Soul Reaper, with a Zanpakuto at his waist, and looked no different from any other Soul Reaper on patrol.

"What a coincidence, meeting you again." Gin walked over and casually hooked an arm around Hu's neck, as if greeting an old friend.

Hu let Gin lead him along, at a loss for words.

"Don't be nervous," Gin said quietly enough that only Hu could hear. "One look at your face and anyone can tell something's bothering you. Let's talk while we walk, and make it look convincing."

Only then did Hu realize Gin was covering for him.

The two walked on with their arms around each other's shoulders, looking like friends reunited after a long separation.

"Come to think of it, I happen to be in charge of this settlement this week," Gin said casually. "I figured with the Fon Clan stationed here, public order would be excellent, and I could slack off for a week. But then—"

He smiled.

"It really is 'excellent,' all right."

Hu paused.

Gin went on, "Even if the Fon Clan isn't popular among the nobles, surely that wouldn't be enough to put it under the eyes of so many spies?"

Hu's heart skipped a beat.

"Persimmon Bro, how do you know there are so many spies?"

Gin glanced at him, a mischievous glint flashing in his narrowed eyes.

"Little brother, nothing about your performance this afternoon looked like that of an elite trained by the Fon Clan."

Hu's face reddened slightly.

"How many times did you walk back and forth along the streets this afternoon?" Gin counted on his fingers. "I saw you come down this street alone at least five times. Every time you got here, you didn't stop for tea or browse the shops; you just stared at the same spots. Someone would have to be an idiot not to notice you were watching those lookouts."

Hu opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Gin patted him on the shoulder.

"With your skills, you can only keep an eye on ordinary Pluses. I don't know what the Fon Clan was thinking, sending you to watch people. Did all its fighters go off hiking or something?"

Hearing that, Hu instinctively looked away...

"And the guy at the last spot you were watching just now—"

His voice dropped a little.

"After you left, he gave you a rather dangerous look."

Hu's body stiffened slightly.

"I was worried, so I came over."

Hu instinctively wanted to look back, but Gin stopped him with a hand.

"Don't look back." Gin's voice was still easygoing, but it left no room for argument. "They're following us."

Hu swallowed.

"What do we do?"

Gin smiled and kept walking with an arm around his neck.

"If you don't want to cause a commotion in the street, let's lead them somewhere deserted and deal with them there."

With their arms still around each other, the two left the settlement and headed into a nearby bamboo grove.

The bamboo leaves rustled, and the light gradually dimmed. Hu could feel something following them, and the sensation of being targeted made the hair on his back stand up.

Gin, however, acted as if nothing were wrong and chatted as they walked.

"By the way, little brother, did you know there's a type of Hollow called a Parasitic Hollow?"

Hu paused, unsure why Gin had suddenly brought it up.

"A Parasitic Hollow?"

"Mm." Gin nodded. "These Hollows are actually very weak on their own, but they have a special ability—they can parasitize other Hollows or Pluses and devour their hosts' Reiatsu to grow stronger."

As Hu listened, a faint unease rose in his heart.

"Once they've grown enough, they can even parasitize Soul Reapers." Gin's tone remained light, but his words were chilling. "This type of Hollow was only discovered about forty-seven years ago and classified as a new species. When it was first discovered, it cost a Lieutenant his life."

Hu couldn't help asking, "Persimmon Bro, why are you suddenly telling me this?"

Gin smiled without answering directly.

"Want to know why I brought it up?"

Gin suddenly stopped, as if waiting for something.

"These Hollows are normally very rare, so you shouldn't run into them often." Gin paused. "But for some reason, I ran into several around here today."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gin suddenly drew his sword.

He shoved Hu aside and spun around, slashing down with his blade—

A black shadow was cleaved in two and fell to the ground.

Only then did Hu react and look back.

The figure on the ground was a Plus—or rather, had once been one.

Hu recognized the clothes. It was the spy he had last observed that afternoon.

Hu's pupils contracted sharply.

But something even more bizarre happened.

The "Plus," cut in two, began to squirm. Several fleshy tendrils emerged from the severed edge of its upper body, coiled around the lower half, and forcibly pulled the two halves back together.

Then it staggered to its feet.

Hu looked at its face—the same face, the spy's face. But its eyes began to bulge. Something pushed the eyeballs out from within, and they dropped to the ground with a plop.

Countless tiny tentacles emerged from the two empty eye sockets and the rest of its seven orifices, writhing in the air.

Hu's stomach churned.

Gin stood beside him, looking as relaxed as ever.

"Disgusting as this thing looks, it's actually pretty weak," he said. "It just takes a little time. All you have to do is cut the Parasitic Hollow itself, hiding inside the host. One or two can be dealt with quickly."

He had barely finished speaking.

Roars rose and fell in the depths of the bamboo grove.

One, two, three... more and more.

Gin's smile froze on his face.

Hu drew Jiku'a and watched their surroundings warily.

Figures emerged one after another from the shadows of the bamboo grove. They wore all sorts of clothes: some were dressed as merchants, others as passersby, and several had faces Hu had seen that very afternoon.

Or rather, all those faces were familiar to Hu. Every one of them was among the faces in Cilian's intelligence.

Those spies were all hosts to Parasitic Hollows.

Their gaits were strange, stiff and unnatural, like marionettes controlled by something. Even the sounds coming from their mouths were all Hollow roars.

Gin gave a slightly awkward smile. "They're beyond saving. These guys have almost all been hollowed out and eaten clean by the Hollows. I doubt there's anything left but their skins."

Hu looked at those faces, and the unease in his heart instantly reached its peak:

They even dared to send people like this. Saying we haven't been discovered would be a little too self-deceptive.

He pulled out the signal device and pressed the red button hard.

Far away near Withered Bamboo Hamlet, Cilian watched the third light turn red, but showed almost no surprise and continued making his strategic arrangements as usual...

Meanwhile, on Hu's side...

"Did we just poke a Parasitic Hollow nest?" Gin's voice held a rare hint of awkwardness. "I've never heard of this kind of Hollow living in groups."

The two stood back-to-back, facing the Parasitic Hollows gradually closing in around them.

As the Parasitic Hollows lunged at them.

Hu slashed, Jiku'a's blade cutting across one host's body. A huge gash opened from the person's shoulder to the side of his waist, but no blood flowed. Instead, countless tentacles poured from the wound.

The Hollow rejoined the body and lunged again.

Hu dodged to the side and kicked it away, asking at the same time, "Persimmon Bro! Is there a quick way to deal with these things?!"

Gin answered while fighting off several Hollows at once. "This kind of Hollow mixes its own Reiatsu with its host's! Ordinary sensing can't distinguish where the Hollow itself is at all! If you only cut an unimportant spot, they won't die!"

"Then how do we fight them?!"

"Kidō that can completely destroy the host's body! Or a Zanpakuto that can cause widespread destruction! Those are their bane!"

Hu's eyes lit up. "Do you have either?"

Gin looked even more awkward.

"Kidō isn't my strong suit. As for my Zanpakuto—" He drew his sword and casually swung it. The blade instantly extended, pierced a Hollow, then retracted. "That's about all it can do."

Hu: "..."

Gin shrugged helplessly. "That's why I said these things are weak, but take time."

Hu looked at the growing number of Hollows closing in around them and gritted his teeth.

Since there was no shortcut, he could only overcome everything with brute force.

He took a deep breath, and his Reiatsu erupted.

"Break out of your cage and spread your wings to soar—Jiku'a!"

His Shikai was complete.

Blue light flowed along the blade, and even the surrounding air seemed to be sliced apart. Hu's figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.

Iai: Swift Dash.

He darted through the group of hosts, each appearance accompanied by a flash of his blade. The hosts were cut in two before they could even react.

Gin watched from the side, dumbfounded.

"Hey, little brother!" he shouted. "Chopping away like that takes too much out of you! These Hollows are weak themselves, and their hosts are all ordinary Pluses. If you release your Zanpakuto and unleash Reiatsu recklessly without hitting their vital points, they'll just wear you down to death—"

He stopped halfway through.

He had noticed that not one of the Hollows struck by Hu's Zanpakuto had stood back up. One by one, they began to dissolve into Reishi.

Hu darted back and asked between breaths, "Persimmon Bro, what were you saying?"

Gin looked at him, then at the Hollows scattered across the ground, beginning to dissolve. He fell silent for a second.

"Nothing," he said. "Keep going."

Hu nodded and charged out again.

Gin stood where he was, watching Hu charge back and forth through the Parasitic Hollows. A thoughtful glint flashed in his narrowed eyes.

Is he lucky enough to hit the Parasitic Hollows themselves every single time?

Or... does this kid's Zanpakuto have some special ability?

Gin watched Hu slash his way back and forth, the smile on his face growing a little deeper.

Before long, the last Parasitic Hollow fell.

Hu stood amid the wreckage and let out a long breath. His body was covered in slime splattered from the Parasitic Hollows as he cut them down. But he had no time to worry about that, because just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief—

Boom—!!!

A tremendous explosion sounded in the distance.

Hu looked up sharply.

It came from the direction of the Fon Residence.

Flames shot into the sky, illuminating the darkening heavens.

Hu's heart leaped into his throat. Their target is Shaoling!

"Persimmon Bro! Thank you for everything today! I have to go first! Let's talk another day!" With those parting words, he turned and rushed toward the Fon Residence.

Gin stood where he was and watched his figure disappear into the depths of the bamboo grove.

Then he turned toward the shadows deep in the grove and smiled softly. "Captain Aizen, is this the show you prepared for me? You certainly gave me a clear view from the best seat in the house."

"No, Gin, what I prepared for you is more than just this. You still need to follow him and watch. What I prepared for Captain Soi Fon this time is more than just this."

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Sōsuke Aizen stood there, moonlight falling across his face and reflecting coldly off his glasses.

"Then I'll follow Captain Aizen's instructions and keep watching the show. Would you like to come along, Captain Aizen?"

"Ah, of course. Go on ahead; I'll be there shortly."

Gin glanced at Aizen, trying to read something from his face, but Aizen's expression remained as calm and unruffled as ever. Unable to discern anything, Gin could only say, "Then I'll be going on ahead."

After watching Gin leave with Shunpo, Aizen finally let his expression shift a little.

He looked toward the place where Hu had fought. The Parasitic Hollows had already dissolved into Reishi, leaving only scraps of their hosts' flesh and skin, along with their clothes, on the ground.

He walked over, a grave expression visible beneath his reflective glasses.

Others might not have been able to determine where the Parasitic Hollows themselves were, but Aizen, as their creator and the Soul Reaper most familiar with them, knew exactly how and where this kind of Hollow hid its true body.

Yet precisely because he knew, he had been surprised, even somewhat wary, when Hu had casually dispatched them with one cut each.

He picked up a piece of human skin. It was quite intact, bearing only a single cut where it had been severed at the waist.

Aizen turned the skin over and saw a mark on the chest where the Parasitic Hollow's body had once been. This further confirmed his thoughts: this Hollow had not died because its body had been destroyed.

"Parasitic Hollow—it should really have been called a Symbiotic Hollow. Its essence is to synchronize its Reiatsu with its host's, forming Reiatsu of a higher quality. It was one of my attempts to break down the boundary between Pluses and Hollows." Aizen spoke to himself on the deserted battlefield. "Once they enter symbiosis, the Hollow replaces the functions of the Saketsu and Hakusui, and the Hollow's body produces Reiatsu that combines that of a Plus and a Hollow. The Department of Research and Development has really fallen on hard times if it can't even see that."

"A life-form like this chimera generally wouldn't dissolve into Reishi upon death the way a pure Hollow would." Aizen prodded the inside of the human skin in his hand, occasionally lifting strands of filmy material. "Did he separate the Hollow part alone and kill it?"

"That Zanpakuto..." His voice was soft. "A conceptual-level stripping away or separation, then."

Aizen looked around at the pieces of human skin scattered across the ground. The battlefield had become even more gruesome than it had been when Hu left.

"Conceptual-level separation of phenomena..." Aizen murmured to himself. "How enviable..."