"What are you doing?"
Rukia saw Gaoyu cleaning up the remains and couldn't help frowning.
"These are precious experimental materials. Don't waste them."
Gaoyu looked at the test tube in his hand and watched the liquid slowly sink into the sands of reishi. He shook his head regretfully.
"I'll leave this guy to you."
Gaoyu tossed Renji down in front of Rukia, then asked, "How long can you still maintain this form in the outside world?"
Dark Rukia was ultimately only Rukia's secondary personality. She couldn't suppress her dominant personality.
She had awakened largely because the pressure of the Second White Hollow had stimulated the First White Hollow inside her. The resonance between the two spiritual pressures had awakened Dark Rukia from the depths of her consciousness, allowing her to take control of the body.
Of course, this state couldn't last forever.
"I think I can hold on for one day at most," Rukia said. "If it lasts any longer, my idiot original self might notice something."
"Then we still have some time. Want to come back to Las Noches with me?"
"Las Noches? Is that your base in Hueco Mundo? Is Kisuke Urahara really behind you?"
"Enough. You'll find out about all that sooner or later. Let's get back to Las Noches first."
Gaoyu set off for Las Noches with Rukia and the unconscious Renji.
On the way, Gaoyu couldn't help asking, "Hey, Rukia..."
He turned to glance at Rukia beside him, then asked, "As a Hollow, you have a hole in your abdomen, so why don't you have a mask?"
"..." Rukia didn't answer at first, seeming to be lost in thought. After a long while, she finally spoke slowly:
"I told you before, didn't I? The Shinigami is my original self..."
"When other Hollows reach the Menos