Chapter Text
She shivered when she felt a strange reiatsu very close to her. It was very unique, but it was like meeting a familiar stranger; you just can’t put your finger on it. Turning around, she meet a tall, slim man with piano-key teeth. “Nnoitra? Did you dye your hair?”
Shinji furrowed his brow lightly at the young girl. He had seen her before, briefly, during the Winter War. She had been with that wolf guy— what was his name again? But he had lost track after he fully involved himself with Aizen and hadn’t seen what happened to most others until much later. Apparently, she had made it out okay.
“Ehh?” His nose wrinkled lightly at the question. “I ain’t never dyed it an’ I don’t know who ya think I am, but that ain’t my name.” He frowned a bit, exposing just a bit more of those teeth, and extended a hand out to her. “Hirako Shinji, captain of the Fifth Division.”
Lilynette took his hand, shaking it once and letting it go. “Lilynette Gingerback, weapon of Coyote Starrk,” she stated, hands on her hips. The sense of knowing him was started to bother her know; she’s seen him before, but where?
“Hirako-san, haven’t I seen you before?” Uncertainty was something she didn’t like to have.
Finally, his lips turned upward into a light grin. “Ya probably remember me from the war. I guess you two were caught up with your own battle, but I was fightin’ Aizen. My clothes are a bit different, now,” he motioned to the rather bland black and white of his uniform, “but I was there.”
She nodded, recalling the events of the Winter War. When Hirako mentioned Aizen, her eyes widened. “You fought Aizen? And lived?” That was something you didn’t hear everyday. Lilynette eyed his new attire, which was a captain’s haori. “So you’re a captain now?” Through newfound friends from the Soul Society, she was starting to understand how it works.
Shinji faltered lightly at the question. How had this small child noticed such a difference when so many Soul Reapers had not? Or, perhaps, they had simply ignored it, too fearful of the answer. He wondered how many of his own subordinates feared him. He shoved those thoughts away; he couldn’t stomach that idea.
“Seems kinda weird, don’t it?” he asked with a faint smile. “We’re a bit more alike than ya’d think. Ya see,” a hand raised to tap lightly at his own forehead, “I’m part Soul Reaper an’ part Hollow. Originally one, but some stuff happened. Ya know how the Espada were made, right? Aizen givin’ ‘em that power t’ become more like us? S’kinda the same thing here, only backwards. Soul Reapers who’ve ventured int’ the realm of Hollow— we’re called Vizard.”
“Vizard,” she muttered to herself. A sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach churned, reminding her of how sick Aizen was. How could he resort to such things for the dream of ultimate perfection, too kill and experiment on his peers like that…
She looked back up at him curiously. “If you’re kinda like the Espadas, do you have tattoos for rank, too?”
He was ultimately pleased that she didn’t seem too horrified of him. He remembered getting a few of those looks— something mixed between fear and caution with just a hint of pity. They were really unsettling. He was the same guy as before, though he could understand the hesitation. If he had been on the opposite side, he might have done the same.
“Nah, it ain’t nothin’ like that,” he told her, in explanation of their ‘ranking’ system. “We just grouped t’gether. We ain’t really have a leader or anything, though someone had t’ take some sorta control an’ I stepped up. It’s not like ya’d think of, though. I didn’t boss anyone ‘round or issue out orders. I just did my own thing an’ they decided for themselves if it was good enough t’ follow along with.”
Of course, there was more to it than that, for Shinji. They were like his family and even if they hadn’t followed behind him, he would have made sure they were okay in whatever they had done. He felt responsible for them, at the very least.
She nodded slowly as he explained, taking in the new information in stride. Though they were like Hollows, the Vizards had more of a conscience and will than the Arrancars, who needed to be told what to do to keep from going at each other’s throats to battle for dominance.
“If you’re part Hollow, why didn’t the Sereitei try hunting you guys down, like they did to the Hollow survivors of the war?” she secretly envied them, in a way. They could go out without always feeling like their heads are on the executioner’s stone.
A moment of surprise registered across his features at the news. Had they really been tracking down the surviving enemies? He didn’t quite put it past Yamamoto, but more surprising had been that he’d been so unaware of it. Had it been done before he was searched out and asked back to his old position? That was the only excuse— right?
“Well, it ain’t like they never tried killin’ us off,” he told her with a faint smile. “When it first happened, the old man ordered us t’ be disposed of like we were any other Hollow. Kisuke an’ Yoruichi saved us, though. I guess steppin’ in durin’ the war put us back in their good graces.” He rolled his eyes at the last statement. “Or the old man was just desperate enough t’ fill the spots.”
He shot a glance around their surroundings. “They come here lookin’ for ya? That don’t really seem like somethin’ the Captain Commander would order. Maybe some wild card’s goin’ off on ‘is own again.”
Knowing who Yoruichi and Kisuke were, she nodded. They were very nice to her and didn’t care what she did, but they warned her about the Shinigami that still held a grudge against the Arrancars.
“It wasn’t a lot of people that looked for us,” she elaborated. “Just this one guy with a lot of face paint on and looked like a ram. He kept going on about ‘experiments’, along with several other people. But they haven’t came back after Yammy lost his memory and almost ruined the place.”
“Mayuri,” Shinji scoffed with a frown. “That makes sense.” Though, he didn’t seem pleased about it in the least. Those types of people were among the lowest, to him; how did that creep even get control of Kisuke’s old squad? It was a disgrace, as far as Shinji was concerned.
He gave a light sigh and lowered himself to sit on the ground, legs crossed and elbows resting themselves on his knees. His head tilted to the side lightly as he studied her. “So, whadda ya do for fun ‘round here?” It was a common question for most that he met in Hueco Mundo and he never really got a decent answer.
Mayuri…so that was his name. She would have to remember that, in case the coward decided to return to collect his ‘subjects’. Snapping out of her reverie to see him sit down, she plopped down on ground with him after his question.
“Well, I like to go to the World of the Living and buy candy. Usually I hang out with Kichiro, he’s the son of Yammy and Nel. But it’s more fun anywhere but here,” she shrugged.
Shinji wasn’t quite sure who Yammy was, but he had met someone named Nel before. She seemed like a decent motherly type; she had a nice look in her eyes, anyway. He gave her a light grin and a nod of understanding.
“I was livin’ there for a long time after I got kicked outta the Soul Society. I got real used t’ everything there. Gotta admit, they got a lotta cool shit. Not t’ mention they do some amazin’ stuff with coffee~ Ya got a favorite thing t’ do there?”
She grinned broadly. “I explored almost all of Karakura, and my favourite place was the candy store! I go there whenever I can, and last time I went they had this fair thing, so me ‘nd Kichiro went on these really cool rides,” she chattered, remembering that certain day with fondness.
“I’ve had coffee before,” she said, making a face. “It was so bitter until I added milk and sugar.” She refused to drink it unless it was sweet.
“Ya sure do like candy, don’t ya?” Why did all children seem to have an overzealous attraction to the stuff? It was kind of weird, as far as he was concerned. And then she began talking about her preferences toward coffee and Shinji couldn’t say that he was surprised.
“Ya can’t put too much in or it ruins the taste!” he objected, frowning a bit again. “It’d be no different than drinkin’ hot sugar water.” The thought alone made him wrinkle his nose, though the next moment he was shaking his head and attempting to think of a more docile subject for them to talk about.
“Well, what kinda music do ya like? If ya’ve been down t’ the livin’ world enough, ya shoulda heard somethin’ ya liked.”
“Oh I love music!” she laughed. “I really like this American band called Slipknot, they’re the best!” She had found the band after she heard the song “Before I Forget” blasting from someone’s car as the sped by while she was walking down a sidewalk. “After that, I found a lot of rock bands, like The GazettE, and their song Guren and Taion,” she described.
“What sort of music does Hirako-san like?” she asked, blinking at him. She couldn’t see him as a high-energy, aggresive music kind of guy, but instead into a laid-back type of genre.
“Don’t ring a bell, really.” Shinji could admit that he’d never quite heard the bands she spoke of, though the names did sound vaguely familiar. It had never been in his stream of sound, though, so he paid them little mind. Rather, he’d heard Hiyori talking about them and decided to avoid them at all costs. The thought of this girl being anything like the tiny Vizard caused Shinji to mentally shudder.
“Jazz,” he answered easily, “an’ swing. Older stuff, really. Ever heard of a guy named Frank Sinatra?” It had definitely been one of the highlights of his stay in the living world to meet and talk with that great man.
“Jazz?” she blinked. She recalled listening to it after stumbling upon a lounge club one evening. It had a contagious rhythm and she did enjoy it, but it didn’t float her boat much. “I have listened to it, but I guess I just gravitate towards rock and metal,” she admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
“I think I know who you’re talking about,” she added. “This lounge club I found were talking about him and his music.” She figured they were playing his music that evening.
“Hey, what about Santana?” She suggested.
“That’s a bit more my style,” he offered lightly, giving a faint smile. “I think we mostly got real different tastes in music, though. Not that it’s a bad thing.”
He eyed her up and down for a moment before proceeding. “I gotta ask, though— how old are ya?” He wasn’t quite sure of the aging scale of Hollow, but he was sure she was much older than she appeared.
She nodded agreeing with his statement. There was dozens of music genres out there; she didn’t expect to see everyone she met having the exact same taste as she did.
“Well…” she trailed off, scratching her head. “We don’t really keep track with stuff like that; after seeing the same colour for so long, we tend to forget.”
"What about you, Hirako-san?” she asked.
“T’ be honest, I don’t like givin’ out my age too much,” he said with a short laugh. “Though, since I asked ya, I guess I gotta answer~” His eyes trailed upward as his tongue paused in his mouth, the small ring clicking against the back of his teeth in thought.
“A little over three-hundred. Like ya said, keeping exact track is kinda pointless after a while. ‘Sides it don’t make me feel quite as old if I ain’t got an exact number. I can say ‘three-hundred’ for a while ‘fore it hits ‘four-hundred’.” Though, if he had to really think about it, that marker was growing closer and closer. The mid-point of the century marked his own turn of a hundred years. He gave a light sigh and waved a hand.
“S’all ‘bout how young ya feel, anyway~”
She gaped. Three hundred? If that’s how long Shinigami could live then-
Her thoughts went in a new direction as she heard a muted clicking sound coming from Hirako’s mouth. Did he have a lip piercing?
“I guess so,” she agreed softly. Turning to look at him while drawing her knees under her chin, she inquired, “What was that noise you made?” She attempted in imitating its sound by clicking her tongue, but it didn’t sound as metallic.
“Eh?” At first, he wasn’t quite sure what noise she was talking about— the gesture had become so common to him over the years that he barely even realized he was doing it. Then, she began clicking her own tongue and he let out a grin.
His own muscle shot out from between his lips, displaying the metal hoop embedded in it for a few moments before withdrawing it back into his mouth to speak again. “S’a tongue ring. I got it in the livin’ world. Ya like it?”
A tongue ring? She never knew people could get one of those! “It’s so cool!” she gushed. “I want one’a those!” She paused; there was a small problem. Though she knew it would hurt initially, there might be some after problems.
“What if you’re eating and food gets stuck between your tongue and the ring?” Even though she would like one, she thought that would be a bit weird.
Somehow, he had expected her to be fascinated with the jewelry; she was reminding him more and more of Hiyori by the minute. Though, a much quieter, not as infuriating version. It wasn’t a bad thing, to say the least.
“Well, ya gotta keep it clean,” he told her, motioning with a hand. “They got all sorts things for it, so it’s really hard t’ fuck it up unless you’re lazy ‘bout it. I didn’t run int’ any problems with this one, though.”
He thought for a moment and then gave her a grin. “I think one would suit ya pretty well.”
“Really? What happens if you don’t take care of it, ‘cause I want one too,” she added cheerfully. She thought Hirako was really cool, and his tongue ring was neat. “Is there different kinds of tongue rings?”
“Infections,” he told her with a lightly distasteful tone. “Real nasty type’a things. S’better not t’ find out first-hand. Though,” he paused a moment to gesture toward her, “with how young ya look, there ain’t no way someone down there would do it. Maybe even if ya had an adult with ya. ‘Course, they sell kits that let ya do it all yourself.”
He gave a nod to her second question. “They got all sortsa different types. Bars an’ hoops an’ studs. I prefer the one I got in, now. Bars feel uncomfortable an’ the studs ain’t obvious enough for me.”
She frowned at the sand and kicked it. Man, she was really looking foward to getting one. How could he get one know? And those do-it-yourself kits seemed pretty painful, and she wouldn’t work up the nerve to do it at home..
“I know!” she exclaimed, jumping up an down. “You can take me to the World of the Living and I can get one!” she proposed. This plan would definitely work; since Hirako would be there with her.
“M-me?” His tongue stumbled slightly over the word. Really, how had he not seen the request coming? He’d talked it up way too much and who else would take her? Somehow, he was sure her mind had already ruled out Starrk as a possibility, for whatever reason. Well, it wasn’t as if she really was a child; she was her own responsibility.
His mind swept over any possible consequences of the actions, but none he could bring up were really worth telling the girl ‘no’. Finally, he gave a conceding sigh.
“If ya really want it, I ain’t gonna say no.”
“Whoo-hoo!” she cheered, jumping up suddenly. She opened up a small Garganta, ran behind him, and started to push him with her hands on the small of his back towards the entrance.
“Get in, Hirako! This is gonna be great!” she urged. She couldn’t wait to show it off to everyone, it was gonna be so cool!