Bleach: Starting as a Vasto Lorde

Chapter 3: Character System

Apacci.

After some recollection, Kazuya recognized the name. She was one of the Tres Bestias, Tier Harribel's Fracción. Harribel, the tanned Espada with golden hair — easily one of his most favorite female characters ever — led Apacci and her two friends.

'This is rather bizarre.'

Somehow, he found himself in a timeline preceding the moment when Apacci encountered Tier Harribel and transformed into an Arrancar under Aizen. A timeline where the cunning Aizen had not yet seized control of Las Noches.

'Maybe he already did.'

He couldn't be entirely sure about the convoluted chronology of Bleach.

"What about yours? Don't expect to take mine without giving yours!" Apacci snapped at his silence. "Cat got your tongue or what?"

Perhaps it was Kazuya's even temper and obliviousness to Hueco Mundo that put her at ease. She felt no danger, allowing her true character to shine through; while polite on the surface, she was a Hollow with a fiery demeanor.

"Kazuya," he answered, his fingers brushing the skeletal mask that concealed most of his face. "It's..."

This prompted him to observe the other changes in his body. He was wearing the same clothes during his death — a white shirt and jeans, both of which were torn in embarrassing spots, showing his pale white skin. One of those holes exposed the gaping hole in his thighs. Two holes, to be precise.

'Hmm. I think I remember this.'

Every Hollow's hole, at least in higher evolutions, symbolized an aspect — what a Hollow lacked in most cases before their death or the cause of their death. He remembered that much from the material. For example, a Hollow hole near the stomach signified a craving for strength, whereas one in the eye meant blindness to certain things.

'What is mine supposed to mean?'

He gently punched his thigh, then tried moving his legs. He could use his legs just fine.

"Terrified of your holes?" Apacci asked. "We are Hollows. Why tire out your legs walking when we can fly instead?"

"Haha, indeed." He chuckled at her indirect attempt to comfort him. "So, Apacci, where are we headed?"

"How would I know?" she retorted. "Someplace I don't have to constantly run away from those damning incarnations of gluttony."

As if by instinct, Kazuya tenderly stroked her crest, his fingers trailing through the velvety fur that extended down her head. It was a habit he had acquired while horse riding as a gesture of affection for his steed.

"Watch where you touch! I am not your pet."

Despite her irate tone, she didn't order him to dismount. He glanced at his legs and smiled, touched by her subtle kindness. Even in a perilous world, she extended her compassion to a stranger. Perhaps she was relieved to discover someone reasonable in Hueco Mundo, a companion who wouldn't betray her and transform her into food.

'And they say Hollows are evil.'

He would have considered seducing her if she was in her Arrancar form. He had always harbored a fondness for tomboys. Regrettably, she wouldn't attain her human form anytime soon.

'A shame. Oh, right! I almost forgot about that pop-up window. Character System, wasn't it?'

As if responding to his curiosity, a colossal gray box materialized, obstructing his vision.