"Waaah… waaah…"
Deep within the endless sea of sand in Hueco Mundo, a little girl wrapped in a dark green robe fled in panic, crying loudly as she ran.
Behind her, less than a hundred meters away, two grotesque humanoid Arrancar chased after her with bared fangs and claws, letting out terrifying howls from time to time.
"Hisss… hisss…"
Trailing closely behind the two Arrancar was a massive purple serpent-like Menos. It was thick and bloated, diving into the sand one moment and bursting out the next, its enormous maw wide open as it released chilling hisses.
"Waaah…"
The little girl ran desperately forward. From her golden-green eyes streamed two lines of crystal tears, sliding down along the rose-colored marking on her cheek before dripping to the ground.
"Whoosh—"
A scorching gust of wind blew back her hood, revealing a head of lake-blue tousled hair and a small, delicate face.
For some unknown reason, a scar—like one left by a blade—ran across her face, extending from the white skull mask fragment on her head down to the right side of her nose.
"Roar—! Roar—!"
The two Arrancar chasing her suddenly let out several sharp cries toward the sky, then split up to flank her from left and right. Only the horned serpent-like Menos continued pursuing from behind.
"Haha, I'm going to catch you now!"
The Arrancar on the right—one with a huge face and strange spots covering its back—let out a sinister laugh before suddenly leaping forward, ready to seize the little girl.
But at that critical moment, the Arrancar on the left—long-faced and wearing a mask resembling a termite—suddenly lifted a leg and kicked him hard to the ground, then made a silencing gesture.
"Shh!"
"Waaaooo—!"
The big-headed Arrancar rolled several times across the scorching sand before jumping up angrily.
"Why'd you kick me, Pesche Guatiche?!"
"Take your sensory nerves out of your heels and try using them properly for once, Dondochakka Birstanne!"
The long-faced Arrancar named Pesche Guatiche scratched the antenna on his forehead and stared fixedly at the sand dune ahead with his single exposed left eye.
"I have a feeling there's danger behind that dune!"
The big-headed Arrancar named Dondochakka Birstanne tugged nervously at his yellow coat and asked anxiously, "Really-yo?"
"Yes! My 96.54% intuition tells me something terrible is definitely going to happen there!"
As he spoke, Pesche turned and shouted to the purple serpent-like Menos behind them:
"Bawabawa! Hurry and stop Nel! Don't let her run any farther!"
"Hisss—"
The purple serpent Menos called Bawabawa immediately burrowed into the sand. With a slight twist of its massive body, it blocked the little girl Nel's path.
"Could it be reinforcements from Nnoitra Gilga-yo?"Dondochakka asked fearfully, clutching his jaw.
"Probably not…"
Pesche frowned thoughtfully.
"Ever since Lady Nel was severely injured by Nnoitra Gilga and Szayelaporro Granz working together, we've been heading toward the outer regions of Hueco Mundo, far away from Las Noches. There's no reason we'd run into them here!"
"Then who could it be-yo?"
Dondochakka bulged his brownish-yellow eyes and squinted toward the dune.
"I remember the entrance to the Forest of Menos is close to here. Could it be… that rumored person?"
"Shinigami… Ashido!"
Pesche's antennae trembled violently, and his voice turned anxious.
"If it's really him… we should turn back!"
"But if we go back now, we might run into Nnoitra's pursuers-yo!" Dondochakka plopped down onto the sand, staring at Nel as she played with Bawabawa in the distance.
"In front of us is a terrifying Shinigami. Behind us are the hateful Espada… Looks like our mission to protect Lady Nel ends here-yo!" Pesche…"
"Tch! That new 'king' of Las Noches is truly cold-blooded to the extreme!"
Pesche spat angrily onto the sand.
"Nnoitra attacked first—so why wasn't he punished by the overseer?"
"I don't know…"
Dondochakka lifted his enormous head and gazed at the murky sky, filled with melancholy.
"I just want to stay by Lady Nel's side forever-yo!… but…"
"Enough with the 'buts,' Dondochakka!"
Pesche interrupted sharply.
"Before Lady Nel notices anything, let's lure her back using our 'Infinite Tag Hide-and-Seek' chasing game!"
"…Seems that's our only option-yo! Better to fight Nnoitra to the death than be killed by a Shinigami!" Dondochakka clenched his fists emotionally.
"Haha! It's rare to see that expression on your face! Alright then, it's settled—we'll take Lady Nel back—Eh? Where's Lady Nel?!"
Pesche suddenly shrieked in terror.
"What?! Bawabawa's gone too!!!" Dondochakka leapt up from the sand in panic.
"D-Don't tell me… while we were distracted… she ran toward the dune by herself?!"
Pesche broke out in a cold sweat at the thought.
"No way!"
Dondochakka swallowed hard. The two exchanged a glance, then tiptoed nervously before breaking into a run toward the sand dune.
"Lady Nel! Please don't let anything happen to you!!!"
Pesche hurried after Dondochakka, silently praying again and again that Nel wouldn't encounter the Shinigami Ashido.
After all, Ashido was the only Shinigami said to have survived in the Forest of Menos for hundreds of years. Rumor had it he could defeat Adjuchas-class Menos without even using Shikai!
And although Nel was originally the former Third Espada, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, ever since she was ambushed by Nnoitra and Szayelaporro, her mask had been shattered, her powers stripped away—and she had even lost her memories.
As for Pesche and Dondochakka, their masks had also been destroyed, and their strength had long since regressed to that of ordinary Hollows. In their current state, surviving under the watchful eye of the Shinigami Ashido would be nearly impossible…