Chapter 11: Training


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya spent some time chatting with his party. Harribel then motioned for them to follow her. They soon stepped out of the cramped cave, which had been narrow to fit everyone without it feeling cramped. He preferred it this way as it also helped M Rose and Sung-Sun slowly be used to his and Api’s presence.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel turned around to leave. “I’ll inform you when we leave. Until then…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He reached out and grabbed her hand. “I have a request. Can you help me with my training?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Training?” Harribel readily asked. “What type of training?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What skills do I need in Hueco Mundo?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel’s eyes turned soft. “Fight… right now?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll ask youter.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He had to address Api’s concerns first. As soon as Harribel left, Api red at him for obvious reasons. He had put her into a dilemma and made her lie. Now was the time to reward her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You forced—gahh!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Appaci nearly choked when Kazuya hugged her neck, squeezing the deer for her dear life.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Thanks for having my back.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Not expecting words of gratitude, Appaci stood there like an idiot until he drew back from her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Did you rip their masks to transform them into Arrancar?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I did, and the results were just as I expected. Also, don’t feel bad for them. They came to kill us, remember?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">All three Hollows ended up burning their souls, temporarily showing Reiatsu of Vasto Lorde-ss. He had a sudden idea. The unnamed NPCs couldn’t endure the demanding process of Arrancarization, but Api was a different breed. She was a named character with her own role to y in the massive war caused by Aizen.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The chances of Api seeding were enormous.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Api shivered as his ‘intent’ locked on her. “What are you thinking now?!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I feel hungry! Can I grill your leg?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He decided to ditch the risky idea. The one percent chance of Api dying or being inflicted with Amnesia like Neliel was simply uneptable.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘I’m getting way too obsessed with this Arrancar shit.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">He shook his head and decided to rx for the day.


    <b>***</b>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Sometimeter.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya strolled across the rocky terrain of Hueco Mundo until he came face to face with Harribel. On the cliff in the distance were M Rose, Sung-Sun, and Api, their shadows falling long and dark in the twilight sky.


    <span style="font-weight:400">All three Adjuchas watched, fascinated, as the two Vasto Lorde silently sized each other up.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel made eye contact with him. “Before we start, let me ask you something. Why do you want to be strong? …Why do you want to fight?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Everyone needed a reason to seek strength, whether it was for survival, a sense of aplishment, or simply to tyrannize the weak. Harribel was determined to have strength for a meaningful purpose: to avoid meaningless fights. She wanted to be strong in body and spirit, gaining her control over her own animalistic desires.


    <span style="font-weight:400">She had another dream, one that couldn’t be fulfilled in the near future.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya smiled at her question. “For my survival and to protect Api... That’s all I have on my mind right now.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He wasn’t obsessed with fighting, neither did he need to be powerful to kill mindlessly. His only wish was a life free from control. This training was a necessary step in assuring his freedom and survival.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel gave him a cursory nod, finding his reason appropriate for a Hollow of his age. “I’ll test you first.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll perform really bad.” He gave an elegant bow, showing manners rooted in him by his grandfather. “Please take care of me.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He never got into any brawl. His closest experience to a fight was during the self-defense lessons. This would be his first rodeo. Saying he wasn’t a little nervous would be a lie.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It’s fine.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel gave a single, sharp nod and her powerful Reiatsu shot out, wrapping around him with an invisible grip. It was sharper than a de, giving him a sense of danger. In an instant she was gone, reced by a silver sh and the distant hum of her Sonido. Then she was in front of him, her sword arm howling through the air.


    <span style="font-weight:400">His skin broke out in cold sweat and his heart raced in his chest. In a split second, he shifted his body weight and used the technique of Sonido. His body disappeared with a loud swoosh followed by a giant cloud of sand as Her sword missed its mark and mmed into the ground, sending sand cascading outward in concentric circles.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The attack could have sliced him in half — the realization made him gulp. “This isn’t training, Harribel. You’re straight-up trying to kill me.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It will only scratch your thick bones,” Harribel said in a neutral tone. “Physical injuries without Reiatsu heal faster in Hueco Mundo’s rich Reishi.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He nced at the aftermath of her attack. “Yeah, right. I totally believe you. Can we do it without inflicting injuries?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He wasn’t ready to test his regeneration skill so soon. Especially not by getting his body crushed by her sword.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel shook her head. “You have to teach your body… or else, it’ll not be ready when the momentes.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">While the fear of death was necessary to push him to his limits, the fear could work against him in dangerous situations. He might abandon those he wished to protect.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Harribel-sama, he is inexperienced!” Sung-Sun shouted. “You should start with basic things like when to defend and when to attack.” Sung-Sun gave Harribel directions to help Kazuya with Harribel’s inflexible demeanor. “A Vasto Lorde who can’t fight properly. It’s quite an adorable sight.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Even I can knock him out,” M Rose spoke but no one paid her any attention. “Fuckers.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Hahahaha.” Api wasn’t so considerate. Throwing her head around, she let out a carefree giggle. “His face is so hrious.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Herughter was loud enough to reach him, prompting him to re at her in return.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘I’ll take care of herter.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">“N-No, I was kidding!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Api shivered and settled down. Sung-Sun and M Rose chuckled at her timid response.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel frowned. “Gaining experience through battles is the best training for you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya knew the importance of her advice. He could brute force weaker Hollows with his Reiatsu only; the same method wouldn’t work with another Vasto Lorde or stronger opponents. A novice like him needed to invest both time and effort to get better.


    <span style="font-weight:400">If he lost against another Vasto Lorde, it would be due to hiscking skills.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Skill issue, fuck.” He pped his cheeks and clenched his fists. “No pain, no gain. Come. Let’s start.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel pounced at him without hesitation. The sound of rending air reached his ears — her sword arm once again came crashing down on him. She was fast, but he was also a Vasto Lorde, both in body and senses. Stepping to the side of her attack, he saw her vulnerable after her wide attack.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Found an opening.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">He raised his leg to kick her undefended side. Goosebumps suddenly crawled on his skin, signaling danger. Another strike wasing. A frontal kick to his midsection at tremendous speed.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Haph!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He leaped in the air without another thought. <i><span style="font-weight:400">Swish</i><span style="font-weight:400">. Harribel’s kick rended the air; he dodged a fatal kick to his chest andnded on a boulder. Pure adrenaline pumped through him, a surge of energy rolling through him in waves.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The training had barely started, but he was feeling its rush.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel reached him instantaneously with Sonido and swung her arm with brute force. He barely ducked to dodge. Yet, her arm changed its course and took his knees out from under him. Next thing he knew, he was kissing the ashen sand.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Keep your eyes open and sharp,” Harribel said calmly as she kneeled before him and ruffled his hair. “Don’t expect your enemy to fight with honor… the survivor is the winner. It’s the unwrittenw of Hueco Mundo.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kazuya pushed himself up and spat the sand out. Despite the ridiculous impact, the pain was nonexistent. He looked up at Harribel. Her soft gazecked any arrogance or negative emotions, for that matter. She looked like a teacher fullymitted to coaching him to the very end. No, he felt like her gaze was more akin to a mother teaching a newborn. She radiated that type of aura.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You’re gonna drive me nuts.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Harribel almost feltpelled to leave him alone and happy. She firmly shook her head, resisting her impulses.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘I can’t. I can’t stop… Ick the strength to protect him from Baraggan. We both have to grow.’</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Clenching her fists, she told him to have a brief rest before continuing the training. She didn’t use lethal force afterwards, and he could mostly keep up with her flurry of attacks. He continued trading blows with her, adapting his body to her movements and expanding hisbat knowledge.