Chapter 285: To the Garganta

    Kazuya, the black cat, and the somewhat pissed-off petite assassin set out for their next destination—Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s lab. To reach Hueco Mundo, they required a pathway through Garganta, and while the Shinigami may possess other, more unconventional methods of travel, none were as efficient as those offered by Mayuri, or so Soi Fon explained to him. Since Yamamoto had given an order, the mad scientist wouldn’t make too much fuss about lending a hand.

    Soi Fon strode up to the wooden door that was like every other squad in Gotei 13. She jabbed a finger at the communication panel embedded beside it. “Open the door.”

    A moment of static crackled before a disembodied voice responded with indifference. “Identify yourself—”

    “Stop wasting my time and open this damn door!”

    Soi Fon brandished her fist, fully prepared to smash through if the operator asked another question. The operator rolled out the CCTV-like camera from the wall, which stopped on Kazuya.

    “I-It’s you!”

    Kazuya waved his hand with a nonchalant smile. “I guess I didn’t destroy enough shit last time.”No?v(el)B\\jnn

    “N-No, please! I’m opening the door!”

    The mechanical hiss of hydraulics echoed as the door slid open. The 12th Squad would be spared from another hefty repair—at least for today.

    Soi Fon gave him a sidelong glance, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes. “You’ve some history with them.”

    She could only wonder about his history with Mayuri’s squad as now wasn’t the time for such conversation. Noticing his gaze upon her, she let out her typical ‘Hmph’ before moving inside the 12th Squad’s grounds.

    Kazuya trailed behind her, smiling. “This little firecracker is a piece of work.”

    “I agree,” Yoruichi responded with a purr. “Fon Fon, you better behave in Hueco Mundo, or I’ll ask my friend to feed you to Hollows.”

    She kept her voice low enough that only Soi Fon heard her for obvious reasons.

    Soi Fon shot a sharp glance over her shoulder, her brows knitted in annoyance. “You best behave yourself, or I’ll start our deathmatch in Hueco Mundo.”

    Yoruichi brushed her whiskers. “I’ll just run away.”

    Soi Fon looked bitter, almost fed-up with Yoruichi’s smugness, yet she couldn’t argue with Yoruichi in this place. Even though she was a hot-headed lady, most matters regarding Yoruichi had her composed.

    “Behold,” Mayuri proclaimed with a sweep of his arm. “My own pathway to Hueco Mundo. Let’s get it open.”

    He tapped a sequence into the control panel, and the pods lurched to life. The Hollows writhed, their screams muffled within the confined pods. The frame vibrated, a burst of spiritual energy weaving together until a dark seam yawned open in the same manner an Arrancar’s Descorrer split open the void. Even the pathway felt a lot more stable than what a lower-level Hollow could manage.

    If it was anyone sane, they would’ve hidden the Hollows somewhere. But Mayuri—he openly and proudly displayed the sadistic workings of his technology. Still, Kazuya was a little impressed by Mayuri’s method of achieving the effects of an Arrancar’s Descorrer ability through multiple Hollows’ survival instinct, which were triggered through the torture device in Mayuri’s hands. Kisuke would have come up with a different solution, one that might require more technical knowledge, but Mayuri had no issue with torturing Hollows/Shinigami/Quincy for his goal.

    He was simply heartless.

    Yoruichi seemed pissed at Mayuri’s method, but she knew better than to open her mouth and ruin everything.

    Soi Fon crossed her arms, looking plain disgusted. “You are insane... Is it stable?”

    “Of course,” Mayuri said with a knowing grin. “As stable as any pathway through the Garganta can be. But the longer you wait, the more these creatures—abominations suffer.”

    “Spare me your bullshit,” Soi Fon snapped before glancing at Kazuya. “Let’s leave. I don’t want to see his face more than I have to.”

    Without his response, she dashed inside the Garganta opening. As Kazuya tried to follow Soi Fon, Nemu stepped in his way.

    “Kazuya-kun,” she whispered. “Please... meet me after you return...”

    Kazuya hesitated for the briefest moment. He knew any request from Nemu was likely planned by Mayuri as she rarely, if ever, went against his instructions. Yet refusing her could bring consequences he wasn’t willing to inflict—mainly being beaten and stomped on the ground by Mayuri.

    He glanced at Mayuri, who shrugged and turned his back. “Alright.”

    A faint shadow of relief crossed Nemu’s face before she stepped away from his way.

    {I expected Partner to free her from Mayuri since you’re a connoisseur of freedom and all.}

    Contrary to Nami’s beliefs, he didn’t feel strongly for Nemu’s freedom. He did strongly despise the way Mayuri treated her, however. Someone so pure and loyal didn’t deserve this horrible treatment.

    ‘I’ll need to convince her to go against her only purpose, which is serving her creator. I don’t have that much time on hand.’

    {Understandable. Have a nice day.}

    He stepped into the inky darkness of the Garganta. The sensation was disorienting momentarily before everything turned normal.