Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 38 - Old Friend

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Old Friend

"Je... Jekain?" Wayne's voice carried a faint tremor. Jekain, the one he'd known back when he was still an ordinary Hollow. The only one from his entire group who had become a Gillian and kept his mind.

"Is it really you?"

"Yes, my King." Jekain slowly raised his dragon head. "It has been a long time. Are you well?"

"...I never would have imagined it." Wayne hadn't fully come back from the shock yet. It took a moment before he managed to push the astonishment down. "I never would have thought that the Yinfeng they spoke of was actually you."

"Due to certain circumstances, I had no choice but to bury my former name." Jekain lowered his head as he replied. "I simply never expected that before even reaching the Inner Circle, I would meet my King again."

"Neither did I." Wayne tilted his head back slowly. "Fate is something no one can fathom. Heh — if you hadn't been hiding under a different name, I honestly wouldn't have known how to play that fight."

"My King, why have you come to this place? Our former companions..."

"They all lost consciousness." Wayne shook his head with regret. "I can only hope they make it to Adjuchas." He left it there. Jekain lowered his head and let the subject go.

"First — introductions." Wayne gave Nel a light pat on the head. "This is Nel." He turned to Jekain. "And that is Jekain. My first subordinate. We parted ways when he advanced, and I never expected to find him here."

"Hello." Nel nodded. Jekain rose and responded with a polite dip of his head.

"Nel is someone I met after everyone else had advanced." Wayne continued the introduction for Jekain's benefit. "Later, the two of us were hunted by an exceptionally powerful Hollow. Nel forced a breakthrough to Gillian at the critical moment, that's what turned things around. But she lost consciousness doing it, and I followed along with her all the way until she advanced to Adjuchas. We've been through life and death together."

"I am grateful to Miss Nel for coming to my King's aid." Jekain gave Nel a small, appreciative nod.

"Jekain, tell me about yourself. Why are you here? And when did you become a Lord?"

"That is a long story." Jekain exhaled slowly. "After we parted, I came to this Central Forest. Having kept my mind, hunting here wasn't particularly difficult. However..."

"Hmm?"

"After a time, my feeding began to draw the attention of the local Lords. The one who held this territory issued me a warning. But I needed to advance, so although I pulled back somewhat, I never stopped feeding. To avoid getting killed for it, I kept moving between territories and used the knowledge my King once taught me to set simple traps for hunting.

That's how I grew, slowly, within the Forest of Menos. Unfortunately, after one particular hunt, I wandered into the territory of an extremely short-tempered Adjuchas, and he spotted me." Jekain spoke evenly. Wayne took in every word.

"After that, I became his target. But that Adjuchas had only recently advanced, and I was on the verge of advancing myself. The gap between us wasn't wide. I used traps to cut off his line of sight, then fired a Cero that shattered a corner of his Hollow Mask, bleeding away a significant amount of his Reiatsu, which drove him into a fury.

In the end, I wore him down through terrain and traps, grinding the fight out over time. I took considerable damage myself. But I dragged that wounded Adjuchas to his death through sheer attrition. Before he died, he used his ability to issue a bounty on me to every Gillian-class Hollow within his territory."

"Your road hasn't been simple either." Wayne nodded slowly.

"After that, badly wounded as I was, I devoured that Adjuchas as quickly as I could to recover. By chance, I sensed my own advancement at the same moment. So beneath the sands — I don't know exactly how long it took — I finally evolved into what I am now.

As you know, my King, advancing to Adjuchas brings a dramatic shift in spirit energy and Reiatsu. That allowed me to shake off the Lords who were hunting me. I changed my appearance, took a new name, and joined the core group here in the forest, lying low. I had been preparing to advance to the mid-tier of Adjuchas-class or higher before heading to Hueco Mundo, and then I found you."

"Heh. Maybe this was fate's doing." Wayne smiled slowly.

"My King, your Reiatsu seems to have long since reached the threshold for advancement. Why haven't you..." As a fellow Adjuchas, Jekain had been able to read a portion of Wayne's strength from the battle just now. That Reiatsu had clearly cleared the bar.

"Ah... it's about time, I suppose." Wayne glanced at the two Hollow heads lying on the ground. Nel read his intent without a word, two Sonído steps, and she had both Hollow Masks collected and presented before him.

"Jekain, what are your plans going forward?" Wayne watched Nel take the Masks and turned to Jekain. "You helped us kill those two Hollows. Can you account for that when you go back? Or are you thinking of leaving with us now?"

"My King, I will follow you." Jekain bowed his head again. "My ability is Seal. The Shadow of Binding I used earlier sealed off the surrounding space, preventing our Reiatsu from leaking out, while keeping anyone inside from fleeing through spirit energy. That is why Miss Nel's Garganta failed to open."

"Oh?" Wayne's surprise was genuine. "So when you activated the Seal before asking my name, that was why?"

"Yes." Jekain nodded. "The Shadow of Binding isn't only to prevent escape. It also conceals the traces left behind after I act."

"But how could you have been certain it was me? What if someone else had come today?"

"I couldn't be certain." Jekain shook his head. "The reason I asked was this: every time a powerful outsider appeared in the forest, I went to investigate, afraid of missing my King. I have kept that habit across dozens of hunts. If I hadn't found you here, I would have continued indefinitely. Only after advancing to the mid-tier did I plan to travel to Hueco Mundo and search for you there. Because I believe, my King, with your ability, you will stand at the apex of Hueco Mundo sooner or later."

Jekain's words carried no performance in them. That faith, steady as bedrock, was something even Nel could feel from where she stood.

"These years have truly been hard on you." The red light in Wayne's eyes warmed with relief. "Since you were able to seal off the area just now, the cause of those two deaths remains unclear. For you, there may still be room to maneuver."

"My King, you mean... you want me to return and keep lying low?"

"If it's possible, that would be best. Because before we head to the Inner Circle, there's something I have to do first." Wayne leaned down and brought his lips close to Jekain's ear, his voice dropping to a murmur.

That same day, having learned of Wayne's plan, Jekain took his leave. Under the name Yinfeng, he returned to the circle of Lords.

"Yinfeng — why have you taken such grievous wounds? Where are Varta and Gascard?"

"Those two Hollows did this to me." Jekain, Yinfeng now, said weakly. "Varta and Gascard are dead."

"What! What happened!" At the highest point of the hollow tree, the great Lord's Reiatsu erupted beyond his control.

"This is what happened, my Lord." Yinfeng spoke steadily, delivering the account Wayne had prepared for him word for word.

"The three of us tracked down those two Hollows, the Adjuchas and the Gillian. Varta attempted to negotiate, but they were unreceptive. They found the terms too harsh. The talks stalled. Gascard, displeased with their attitude, threw a punch. The result was that the opponent severed his head in a single move."

"Hiss..." Every Hollow present drew a sharp involuntary breath. To cut down a strength-type Hollow in a single strike, it had to be a combat-type of fearsome capability.

But why would a Hollow of that caliber stay out of the Inner Circle? The answer came quickly to those assembled. Most likely because of the Gillian companion who hadn't yet advanced.

"After Gascard's death, we were put on the back foot. Varta ordered me to open the Shadow of Binding and revealed my ability to the other side, warning them that even at full strength, they couldn't possibly keep both of us, and that if they pressed the attack, it would bring the retribution of the core-area Lords down on them.

That gave those two Hollows pause. They agreed to resume negotiations. In the end, they accepted being brought under our fold and agreed to lend their strength in the next battle of the Forest. However, they demanded the war spoils for themselves. Anything beyond that, they would leave alone."

"Hmph." The great Lord gave a cold snort. "And Varta."

"After that, we continued negotiating territory and tribute." Yinfeng went on. "For territory, they took over Doruni's land. Gascard's vacated land they chose to return to us Lords of the core area. But on the matter of tribute, we hit an impasse again."

"What do you mean." A thread of cold crept into the great Lord's eyes.

"The tribute we demanded, those two Hollows had no intention of paying it. They agreed to be brought under our fold purely for mutual benefit. After helping us fight through the battle of the Forest, they would head to the Inner Circle. Until then, they wanted both sides to stay out of each other's way."

"Insufferable arrogance!" The Lord Hollow's displeasure was plain.

"After that, Varta pressed harder to protect our interests, and only enraged them further. Then the Gillian suddenly said, 'Let's settle it all in one go.' And with a single Cero..."

"Hah..."

Yinfeng's words hit still water like a stone. Every Hollow present erupted at once. They all understood what Yinfeng hadn't finished saying. They all knew why Varta hadn't come back. He had been killed. His territory was empty again. And those two outsiders had returned that land, land that had originally been his, and called it their tribute payment in full. To the Lords assembled here, this was no tribute. It was a declaration.

"Are you certain." The great Lord could not help but look at these two intruders differently now. A Gillian-class taking down an Adjuchas with a single Cero, that was nearly impossible. Unless...

"Give me the specifics."

"It was... a very strange Cero that the Gillian fired. It seemed the Gillian drew on its unique ability. Varta had no time to dodge, he took it dead-on. That Cero was nothing like the dark red of an ordinary Gillian's. It was colorless, nearly transparent. A control-type like Varta never had a chance to evade before he was..."

"So even a Gillian-class can wield its ability with that kind of precision." The great Lord muttered. "And then?"

"After that, I activated the Shadow of Binding once more to contain the two of them, and I fought with everything I had just to break free and report back. In the process I lost an arm, the Adjuchas cut it off with a long green spear." Jekain let the assembled Lords see the wound as he spoke. "As for those two Hollow beasts, whether they are still within the Central Forest, I cannot say."

"This..."

A silence settled over the other Lords. No one knew how to handle two intruders like this. With that kind of power, coming into conflict with them again was not a wise decision. They had intended to bring them in through negotiation, and then that fool Gascard had ruined everything. Two Adjuchas lost in a single stroke, and not a shred of goodwill gained from the other side. An extraordinarily grave loss.

Now, if these two arrogant outsiders continued to linger within the forest, they were a time bomb buried in the heart of the Forest of Menos. And when they went off, the core area would feel it, Gillian-class and Adjuchas-class alike.

➤ Next: Farewell to the Forest of Menos