3 Chapter

- Hs-s-s ... - I involuntarily gave out, circling around my opponent. I don't know how many Adjuchases I managed to eat, no less than a couple of hundred, but this is the first time I was forced into battle. Most often, thanks to my predisposition to control and a feeling of reiatsu, I was the first to notice another Adjuchas and if he was stronger than me, then I managed to get away, but now it didn't work out. The fact is that I was engaged in "persuading" my lunch, which turned out to be Sero's shooting lover. So I simply did not notice the third Adjuchas' reiatsu approaching us. Well, when I finally quieted my prey, the third Adjuchas had already spotted me and was approaching at incredible speed. Immediately abandoning my prey, I ran away, buying myself time to restore energy after the battle, but now he caught up with me, and now we are circling around each other, waiting for the best moment to attack. And my opponent was none other than Grimmjow himself. At least I think there are a few Adjuchas here, like two peas in a panther. Worst of all, he was obviously stronger than me. And at the same time, faster. Moreover, he clearly felt my "Stimulating Breath" and moved so as not to get inside my aura.

On the other hand, the longer we circle like this, the better for me: I may be weaker than him in a direct battle, but I remember Grimmjow, except for direct combat, he can do nothing, which means if I manage to pull the time, the situation may turn in my direction. ... Heck! I almost missed his dash in my direction! Apparently, he also understood that wasting time was not beneficial to him. And yet I managed to jump to the side, at the same time activating the mine I had set up: where I was just standing, a column of red energy pierced the sky. I hoped that the panther would not have time to stop and dive right into him, but as it turned out, I underestimated my opponent: he stopped a couple of centimeters from the raging reiatsu and, having changed direction, rushed to me again. Barrier! A panther with a slightly surprised muzzle crashes into the set barrier and immediately jumps to the side. I forcibly dispel the barrier, at the same moment shooting at Grimmjow Sero, but then he simply disappears from sight! This is not just an acceleration jump like mine, this is a real Sonido! Rather predicting than reacting, I jump straight ahead, inside the not yet extinguished Sero, which actually saved me: as I expected, the panther moved next to me, and intended to close its jaws on my throat, only I jumped forward in time, so that all he could be content with was a tail bitten off at the root. It hurts, of course, but not fatal. Quite the opposite, such a "loss" may save my life, because the tail is still within the "Stimulating Breath" zone. Fortunately, the panther did not immediately understand what it had bitten off, and when my tail began to glow red, it was already too late: I threw in three quarters of the remaining reiatsu, so the explosion was so powerful that it dragged me through the sand about thirty meters, after which I jumped up on his feet, and without checking the state of his opponent, he ran away, taking advantage of the fact that after such an explosion, the residual background of the reiatsu would be dense enough that Grimmjow could not trace me. And only when my entire reserve of reiatsu recovered, I slowed down and began directing the streams of reiatsu into the stump of the tail: I hope it regenerates, I already got used to it. And yet I survived, and this is the main thing.

Fortunately, my tail has recovered, although not as quickly as I would like. However, this is not important, the most important thing is that I survived: it would be a shame if I died without doing anything in this world: I don't often come across something interesting. On the other hand, Grimmjow taught me an important lesson: Hueco Mundo is nowhere near as deserted as it seems. Since then, I have not allowed myself to completely go hunting, even during the battle following the environment in search of unexpected "guests".

So now, when I was engaged in slow, unhurried eating of my next lunch, I knew for sure that there was no one around me who could pose a threat to me, and I trust my radar completely, especially since it has improved markedly, because I I use it every second, and skills with reiatsu are like muscles: the more you use it, the stronger they become. And all the more unexpected for me was the feeling of anxiety that appeared literally out of nowhere! Immediately stopping my meal, I listened more attentively to my feelings, but no, there was a deserted desert around me without a single Adjuchas. Then why doesn't this feeling of anxiety go away? During my time in Hueco Mundo, I began to unconditionally trust my instincts, so there was no thought to write off this feeling as "it seemed". Hmm? Found! Curious...

The fact is that relatively recently, about a hundred or one hundred and fifty lunches ago, I noticed that the radius of my radar increased so much that I could feel the usual empty at the bottom of the Forest of Menos under the boundless desert of Huéco Mundo. Of course, this little thing was not interesting to me, and I subconsciously filtered all the signals emanating from the Forest, but now it was there that I felt four strange sources of reiatsu. In terms of strength, they were not too superior to ordinary empty ones, but the reiatsu itself that emanated from them ... She was different ... It's like lemon and lime: it seems like they look the same, it seems like both are sour, but at the same time they are not the taste is different. Here, too, reiatsu is like reiatsu, but it was different, not like everything that I have felt so far.

- What do they say about a curious cat? - I chuckled, quickly finishing my lunch and looking around in search of a way down. Finding the last one was not so easy, but here I am again at the bases of giant stone columns. The group of interest to me did not stand still, and during this time managed to dump somewhere, so I began to move away in an expanding spiral from the place where I spotted them for the last time. As expected, I found them on the fourth loop, and immediately headed straight for these reiatsu sources. Oh yes, we must not forget to disguise! After activating Stimulating Breath, I continued to move without fear of being spotted. The thing is, I noticed an interesting side effect of this technique. All Hollows, including me, when generating reiatsu, release some of this energy into the world around us, it seems this is called spiritual pressure. Naturally, the stronger the empty one, the more energy it releases, and accordingly, the easier it is to cut from afar. But as it turned out, only reishi are released into the environment, and since "Stimulating Breath" allows me to control the streams of reiatsu in close proximity to my body, I can simply "turn" my spiritual pressure back, keeping it inside the "Stimulating Breath" zone ... And as a result, you can feel my real spiritual pressure only if you come close to me. Of course, blocking all radiation is unrealistic, but even if they notice me, from afar I will feel like a weak empty one, no more.

- Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm ... I hummed to myself, closing the distance, to the sources of interest to me. - Whom did you bring to me for the light? - Jumping over another rock, I stuck my muzzle around the corner and examined my targets. ABOUT!! What people! Or rather, shinigami! No, I don't recognize any of them, but the fact itself! This is the first time I see someone who is not empty! Well, yes, that's right: black kimonos, katanas in their hands ... Three guys, one girl, everyone looks young, twenty to twenty-five years old, clothes are tattered, torn in some places, in some places stained with blood, though it is not clear whose ... What are they doing here anyway? So they stopped and started talking about something. About what, I do not hear, although I'm not particularly interested. I was much more interested in another question: what do they taste like? - Hmm-hmm-hmm ... - I grinned in anticipation. Still, the feline appearance affects the psyche: I decided to play a little with my food.

- Caution! - The girl exclaimed first, turning in my direction. The others followed her, and in the meantime I jumped off a low cliff, having finished all the preparations, and now I gazed at them, expecting their further actions.

- Takeshi and I will deal with him, Koi and Taro, back us up. - Gave orders, apparently the leader of the group, while the others nodded obediently.

- Well, why so immediately "understand"? The audience immediately frowned and tightened their grip on their Zanpakuto. Well, yes, some ordinary Hollows can speak, but they are usually stronger than their fellows, so their reaction is expected. - I came here to greet the guests in my hospitable Hueco Mundo, and you will immediately "figure it out." Maybe first we'll sit down and talk ... I invite you to dinner in honor of rare guests! - The leader and Takeshi, meanwhile, walked around me from both sides, obviously not listening to what I was talking about. - As the main course. - I finished with a grin.

- Now! - Barked the leader, and two immediately rushed at me.

- Shakkaho! - Simultaneously with the attack, the girl and the remaining guy simultaneously threw clots of red flame at me. However, as soon as they got inside the "Stimulating Breath", I realized how unstable they were, and in a split second I figured out this for their "Hado": I simply broke the spell into separate streams of reiatsu. Hmm? Where are the guys attacking me? They should have hit my skin a couple of times already. Turning my head, I saw a very pitiful sight: both guys were now kneeling at the edge of my aura, breathing heavily, trying to get to their feet. So this is what strong spiritual pressure does to a weak shinigami ...

- Teru! - The girl exclaimed, apparently addressing the leader, and was already ready to rush into the attack, but ...

- Back! - the guy barked. - Get out of here! Immediately!

- But ... - Tried to argue Taro ...

- Immediately! - The leader barked even louder, somehow getting to his feet. - We will detain him.

- Commendable dedication. - I nodded, watching as Taro grabs the girl by the hand and forcibly pulls her away. - But I would not advise you to move away from this patch. - I held out, nodding at the open space between the three stone "trees", where this action took place.

"We won't let you chase them. Takeshi said with conviction.

- Pursue? No, I'm not going to follow them, this is the point ... - Then a loud explosion was heard from the direction of the retreating couple. - In that. - I finished with a bloodthirsty grin.

- A-A-A-A-A-A!!! - There was a cry from the other side, full of pain and despair. My opponents could not resist and turned in that direction, which is inadmissible in a real battle, but now I let them enjoy the spectacle. Namely, their friend, who now lacked one leg. On the other hand, the girl was not taken aback and is already providing first aid to her friend.

- While you were chatting about something, I managed to mine the area around. Made Mina weak so that no one would die. For the rest ... The limb is larger, the limb is smaller ...

- I will kill!!! - With animal hatred Takeshi hissed, rushing towards me with his katana at the ready. - Cut, Kikori! "Yeah, that's what the release of the zanpakuto looks like! I paid much more attention to the process of transforming the katana into a huge, two-handed ax than to his attempt to kill me. Wow, with the transformation of the zanpakuto, the owner's reiatsu level has also increased slightly. Curious, but no more. Easily dodging the blow, I did not bother too much, stepped on the ax, at the same time, butting the shinigami. The latter of course flew to the side, leaving his weapon at my paws.

- Be a good boy, give your katana willingly ... - I turned to the leader.

- Cut ... - He started, intercepting the zanpakuto more comfortably, but the performance began to bore me, so I rushed forward and simply bit off his hand, along with the zanpakuto. True, the dead limb could not hold the weapon for a long time, so his zanpakuto soon ended up at my paws. - Grgh!!! - This one did not begin to yell out loud, but the guy could no longer stand on his feet. In the meantime, I decided to arrange a small experiment: I took a trophy zanpakuto in my mouth, strain a little ... Tink! - The blade is bitten, and I spit out shards of steel with irritation. Ugh, they're not tough at all! Although the ax looks more impressive ... Grabbing it at the blade, I had to tense up, but after a couple of seconds of grinding my teeth and spitting out sparks, I still managed to bite it.

"Well, gentlemen, shinigami, I'll ask your blades too ..." I turned to the girl and her wounded friend, but Koi no longer helped her comrade. Instead, she held out both of her hands to me.

- Hado number thirty-three! Sokatsui! - This time a little more impressive, and this time blue, reiatsu clot flew at me. It seems that they did not understand ... This time, I did not bother tearing the spell apart. Instead, I instantly created Sero, and simply "blew off" the fireball, sending Sero so that the reiatsu wave would pass half a meter above the girl's head. Yeah, judging by the shaking hands and the frightened look, it got through this time.

- Zanpakuto. - I said weightily. This time there was no objection. After breaking their weapons and allowing the girl to provide first aid to the leader, I drove the shinigami into a pile. - Well, comrades ... Shall we talk?

- We won't say anything! The legless cripple frowned.

"Oh, you don't understand, I am not interested in the secrets of your Society. And even how you got here, I'm not interested. I'm worried about another question ... - And he paused, carefully examining the shinigami, slowly walking around them.

"W-what do you w-want?" - Stuttering, the frightened girl asked.

- Oh, my question is simple, how are these columns. - I nodded at the "trees". - Which of you is the tastiest? - As they realized the issue, the shinigami's gazes were filled with fear and despair. - Well, do not be silent! I need to know which of you to leave for dessert.

- You are a monster! - The leader said with hatred.

- Are you serious now? - I asked seriously. - How would you feel if I called you shinigami? Ha ha ha ha !!! And yet which of you is the tastiest? - I returned to my question, pointedly sniffing at my victims.

"N-don't ..." the girl squeaked. - Please don't eat us ...

"Excuse me, young lady, but I don't know what" mercy "and" condescension "are. "When I finished playing with my food, I simply jumped on the legless cripple and broke his neck with one bite. I may love to play with my food sometimes, but tormenting it is against my predatory instincts, so the shinigami died instantly. Without wasting time, and not paying attention to the stunned friends of the just deceased, I proceeded to the meal, starting from the head.