Part 5: Hueco Mundo Vol.1, 4-4

It's very strange. This doesn't make any sense.

I should still be inside the building walls.

(There was supposed to be a giant domed roof within these walls... Where has the ceiling gone?)

(And outside of these walls, it always appeared to be night...dark and unchanging.)

(The moon never moved, so how is it broad daylight?)

Well, well...

At the head of the pack, are you?

Huh!

(I can handle it... His movements are slow. He's skilled, I can tell that by looking at him. I shouldn't wait for his first move.)

I should win with one blow!

What was that? So that's the best you can do?

Huh!

Agh...!

Tch...

I knew it. You're as weak as a newborn.

Chad!

Hey, what's wrong, Ichigo?

(Chad couldn't have been defeated. We made a vow!)

(I can't accept this. We vowed we'd all come back...and we'd all return alive!)

(I have to trust that's exactly what we'll do!)

............

I'm coming in.

Yes... Obviously, you're aware of what happened.

That fool Nnoitora got impatient. He had been under standing orders to remain in his place.

I could sense the fight. Chad isn't dead.

............

That's for sure.

Your meal is ready... Now eat it.

No, I refuse.

I understand your defiance, but until Lord Aizen tells me otherwise, staying alive is one of your duties.

So eat.

............

Would you prefer to have me force the food down your throat? Or would you rather be strapped down and receive the nutrients intravenously?

All I know is that Chad is not dead.

You're annoying me.

It doesn't matter one way or the other.

Do you expect me to respond to your provocation? Do you expect me to reassure you, to confirm to you whether or not he's still alive?

It's a pathetic attempt. I'm not here to comfort you, either physically or psychologically.

............

I don't even understand why you care so much whether or not he's alive.

Before this battle is over, all of your friends will be dead anyway, and that's the truth.

They should have realized this was going to happen from the start.

Stop it...

If they didn't realize it, then they're fools and deserve to die for their arrogance.

Either way, you should dismiss them from your mind. It's not worth the effort to remember them.

If I were you, I'd be angry that they were all foolish enough to sneak into Hueco Mundo in the first place...like lambs to a slaughter.

............

I will come back here again in one hour.

If you haven't eaten any of your nutrients by then, I'll tie you down and force the food down your throat. Keep that in mind.

............

*Sob*...