Shinigami-Like And Hollow-Like [Belle, Ranma, Tentō]

With all that was happening now that Belle decided to pop in and make himself welcome in Soul Society, Ranma’s brain was constantly thinking… grinding… and also that other kind of grinding, ‘cuz let’s be honest, he needed the comfort.

HOWEVER!!! He had a superior again now – Tentō… so Tentō had to meet Belle too, y’know, be informed about all of that. That was why Ranma decided to meet up with him at the dark-skinned Shinigami’s current base, and upon merely glancing Ranma’s face, one could tell that the scarred Shinigami had been mentally boggling with all sorts of questions… it was time to take some of that weight off of his shoulders and get some damn answers.

Was… was this allowed?

“Tentō! Tentō, ya there?” Ranma would call to the big guy, reminiscent of when they bullied that floating eye monster together, “Remember when I messaged ya?! About the Ar- that sheepish guy?! Well… he’s here!”

…

“I got questions, and so do you, so let’s uh… ya got some snacks?”

Tento sensed the soft, relaxed energy of an Arrancar nearby far, and his instincts told him it was this ‘Belle’. While the energy was weaker than the many Arrancar he had faced before, he still remained on guard. His mind buzzed with questions, primarily why Ranma would bring an Arrancar into Soul Society, especially after the recent devastation caused by the invasion of Hollows and Arrancar. At first he wondered if Ranma was being followed given how close his energy was to Belle. But upon Ranma entering to speak to him that was quickly rejected.

He took a steadying breath, a slight internal graps of his forehead with his hand, and faced Ranma, who had just entered the room with his usual chaotic energy. "Ranma, good to see you," Tento greeted, his voice warm but serious. "I sensed an Arrancar's presence, and I'm guessing it's Belle. We need to talk about this. Now”.

Tento led Ranma to a table with some snacks, trying to keep the atmosphere calm despite the urgent questions bubbling up inside him. "First things first, how did you even meet them. And why did you bring an Arrancar here? Given the last invasion and the destruction of the Gotei, Soul Society, and Rukongai, this is a serious concern. Do you not realize the amount of tension and fear right now among the Rukongai citizens, let alone possibke bloodlust from any Shinigami's???”, his voice was calm ans in its usual lowness but the firmness may as well have had Tento been lightly yelling.

He kept his senses alert, monitoring Belle's energy while focusing on Ranma. "I trust you, but I need to understand the situation fully. What's Belle doing here, and why now? We need to make sure this doesn't pose a threat to our efforts in rebuilding and maintaining peace". Tento's demeanor remained composed, his tone firm but understanding. He wanted to get to the bottom of this while keeping the lines of communication open with Ranma. It was crucial to balance trust with vigilance in these uncertain times.

On God, Ranma needed the snacks. He had to gather his thoughts again… damn complex thoughts. But yeah, Tentō was right – they needed to talk. How did Ranma meet Belle, and why he brought him right here? As for how Belle came to Soul Society, that was above and beyond Ranma’s control – dude had Garganta, came here, and was having trouble finding around… problem was, Belle liked the Rukongai now.

“Yes, yes, yes, Tentō- I mean, Zēfā, I know – case is, I didn’t even bring Belle here – Belle came here on his own…” was the first answer that Ranma was able to give Tentō. Belle just popped into the Rukongai, stole some eels and a yukata, then got found by Ranma, and remember – his go-to reaction at that time was to kill the Arrancar, thinking that Belle was an accomplice of the invaders from before. “Dude, Belle just… came in. Garganta and shit, I guess… I just found him sneaking around with a straw hat and all, which led to me trying to kill him at first, but then Hono and Yuri stopped me, which led to me taking Belle back home, which led to this.”

Yeah, ‘nuff said.

He was a bit surprised to see Belle so willingly slide his Zanpakutō to them, sheathed and all. Belle explained that his mask only just got torn off recently, so he was a young-young-young-really-young Arrancar with only recollection of his time in the Menos Forest. Menos Forest? Wait, I… I think I heard about the Menos Forest – aren’t only Menos-grade Hollows located there? Ranma pondered with a raised brow.

The fact Belle survived there was… suspicious and worrying, for it could speak volumes about Belle’s strength. On the other hand, Belle was quick to reveal all of this, as if willingly trusting them with the information. Belle desperately stated his desire to help out this place that he’d grown to like now – to protect Soul Society, even though he wasn’t from here. It was all odd, new, but a bit endearing… but Ranma couldn’t afford to fall for any tricks, and he still didn’t know everything about this Belle guy!

I mean, what if he was secretly powerful?! What if he was tricking them?! He had balls for trying that! But what if he… wasn’t? What then?

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Ranma’s brain lagged, “S-So yeah, that. Dude tried to go to Earth, fucked up, ended up here, and now wants to stay… why he ain’t just trying to use another Garganta is beyond me, but if he ended here on accident, then I reckon he ain’t very good at it.”

Just as the one in one conversation between Tento and Ranma took place, a fluffy and curly white head popped into the room. It was easy to guess who. Tento eyes shifted as the Arrancar entered the room. Turning away from the snack table while keeping a hand rested on the table. In truth, Tento was far more concerned about seeking Ranma's mind state right now before talking to Belle. He wanted a base to breach from before hearing, even that, what Belle had to say. But nevertheless, he was here now and had Tento's attention as he stepped into the room. Kneeling down to the ground and slipping off his dagger, what Tento could only imagine as his zanpakuto before sliding it towards the two shinigami. “Well, since you went and brought such a big gift…”. He said catching it with his left foot before moving to carefully pick it up. So he was a menos then? If so, how could his spiritual pressure, even so relaxed, feel so weak? Was it that much sealed away??

Tento listened to Belle’s Words. But the more he listened the more he was in disbelief. How could Belle believe he went to earth? The smell of humans and the type of energy being emitted was a clear to9l for any Hollow or Arrancar to track a difference. It was no simple matter to get lost in Tento eyes. Belle was quite suspicious and seen as someone untrustworthy. How could such an irregular claim be accepted as true? Even an incompetent arrancar, if that was even possible, had its instincts to match its conscious desires.

“Live here? Peacefully? ”, Tento began, his voice still calm and firm. Thought he went to earth? Why not just go answer and try again IF that was true. But at least this was a possible bit of information if it was true. There was a freshly new Arrancar standing before them. “Such a thing is a world beyond mad and illogical in thought, especially given the present stage of Soul Society and the Rukongai. It is one thing for Arrancara to find co-existence within the human world. With their own rulers and society. The spirit realm is different, hollows aren't supposed to be here and that is the same for Arrancars. You are not cleansed”, Tentoi said, soaking in Belle's comments. Claims. Wishing ti live here peacefully, it was not a comment he was foreign to from an Arrancar. He felt unease in trusting in but as of yet the few Arrancar he heard such claims kept them so far. Nevertheless, trust was a fragile and expensive thing for him to have right now. And one he would not so eager give out to an Arrancar just because he was with an acquaintance.

“Ignoring that. The whole Spirit realm was attacked only a mere few weeks ago. People havemt nor rebuilt yet. Their dead are not found and buried. And the fear as well as memories of their attacks are fresh”, Tento said thinking about the complexities. There were many hollows he did not see or scene in the invasion. Even the more powerful beings that he felt from afar was not an absolute in recognition. He only had the reports of others, those who fought or those who saw and survived. This one, was not an appearance that matched any in his memory. But if he was a new one like he said…he could have blended In with the general hollow forces…

“ ‘Cute stuff’ doesn't matter right now. It isn't enough to really want to protect q place nor its people believe you. People will be on guard and hostile to you. Violent, and it is likely to lead to disorder”, Tento stopped for a second, moving his eyes to Ranma. Tento took a deep breath, his mind racing with questions as he listened to Ranma's explanation. The situation was complicated, but it was clear that Belle’s arrival was unexpected and possibly dangerous. He needed to handle this with a balance of caution and understanding.

"Alright, alright Ranma. But I will have questi9ns later for Hono and Yuri then," Tento began, his tone calm but firm. He was aware that both of them were Shinigami. Byt what divisions they were with in the past as well as who they were as people was lost to him. It was of little weight towards trust.

"I get that Belle came here on his own, and you found him sneaking around. But we need to be extremely careful about this. Given everything that's happened recently, tensions are high, and any misstep could lead to more chaos”.

Tento turned his attention to Belle. The Arrancar's plea was sincere from what he could tell, he did not give a sense of unease or suspension yet. But that wasn't the same as giving good reason to have faith. Perhaps he wanted to find a place to belong. Or perhaps he had plans and was attempting to use Ranma. Despite the uncertainty, Tento couldn’t ignore the genuine fear and desperation in Belle’s voice. If It was an act it was worth it's metal.

"Belle," Tento addressed him directly, his voice steady, "I appreciate your honesty and your willingness to cooperate. The fact that you want to live here peacefully and even offered to help protect Soul Society is a good start. But understand that this situation is delicate. Trust is something that needs to be earned, especially given the recent invasion and the destruction that followed”.

Proceed with caution, Young Master. His intentions may be sincere, but we can't afford to take risks lightly

Iknow, Shiōmaru, Tento thought, maintaining his composed exterior. We need to find a way to handle this without sparking more conflict. Although, it may be better in the long run to just...

Oh, how touching. The little Arrancar wants to play nice. How quaint. But don't be fooled, Tento. Everyone has a hidden agenda. Use him, or he’ll use you.

Tento mentally pushed back against Acosador's intrusive thoughts, focusing on the task at hand. He turned back to Ranma, a thoughtful expression on his face as he whispered.

"Ranma, we need to assess Belle’s capabilities and ensure that he truly poses no threat. We can’t afford to overlook any potential danger. For now. We keep a close watch on him while we learn more him. For now, he stats on hold here, while Sho Konamura is advised of this matter”.

Tento's eyes softened slightly as he looked at Belle again. "Belle, if you genuinely want to be part of this community, you’ll need to prove your loyalty and willingness to follow our rules. We'll start by monitoring you closely and have you adjust within deemed appropriate places. If you’re sincere, you'll have the chance to integrate peacefully. But understand that we can't be any slip-ups”.

He heard more bickering going in between the spirits with7n him. A bunber of seconds of their interjection in silence as Tento watched the twos reactions and comments to likely come.

Ranma… severely underestimated the situation – yes, he knew it’d be dangerous to just… y’know, not chase an Arrancar out of Soul Society on sight, but given what Yuri spoke about, and Hono scolding him for being too fuckin’ alerting (loud), his hands were tied and it all led to this here now. So uh… fuck, shit just kind of fell down from the sky and wrecked the order, and he was just sort of forced to juggle with it all.

So… ideally, Belle could stay. He was a bit cowardly, but that could be fixed – he just needed to know that he was playing with fire. People in Soul Society weren’t obligated to tolerate him – as a matter of fact, history and the nature of the spirit world spoke of the polar opposite, that one should by default be wary around an Arrancar here.

Ranma’s brain hurt, but he kept listening. Tentō was willing to at least help assess Belle’s capabilities if the Arrancar genuinely wanted to stay here. No slip-ups. His brain was pulsating, and Tentō’s was probably just as pushed to the very limits of his skull. This was… a delicate, complex, complicated topic, really. But Belle also constantly insisted that he couldn’t hurt anybody without his Zanpakutō…

…

“Is the Living World that fucked right now? I haven’t been there in a hot minute, gotta check for myself someday,” Ranma commented, wondering if the presence of Quincy and other Arrancars on Earth was really that big of a deal for a small Arrancar like Belle here. The World of the Living was a huge realm – no need to stay close to potential danger territory or anything.

“W-Wait, don’t-“ Ranma tried to stop Belle from trying to tear off the remaining piece of his mask that was left on his skull – to no avail, although a crack could be heard. Didn’t that hurt? That sounded like it hurt like hell. Ranma also showed… that he felt bad for the Arrancar. Was Ranma being too soft, too compassionate? Was he lowering his own guards to a potential thread right in front of someone as wary as Tentō?

Probably, but it was very hard to stay sharp 24/7, and Tentō knew Ranma better than that. “… F-Fuck it, Yuri also wanna keep an eye on him, so it’s not like I’m on guard duty all the time… I could’ve sworn there was another Arrancar who also worked with the Gotei United before, but you also know Hollows much better than I do…”

…

"Argh, my head…"