So you're living in the Rukongai?( Erica, Ranma((Working out stuff for time skip))

Erica’s embrace was more than enough to calm his nerves again. She was very understanding, even though it must’ve been a roller coaster of an experience for her as well. They’ve had Arrancars in their ranks before – he remembered a specific one, but not by name – so it wasn’t… like… the very first time that an Arrancar had interest in serving as a Shinigami, but it was one hell of a timing.

“Mhm… right, ye,” Ranma nodded with a red, half-sleepy face – he really just wanted to snug at this rate, maybe the fluff made him sleepy or something. Still, he eagerly followed Erica up to Belle’s now allocated room- oh yeah, he was a dude. “So, uh, yeah, he’s a dude, alright,” Ranma commented with a raised brow.

… Quadro-

“Huh, you still… remember your days as a Hollow? How was it like?” This was actually pretty fuckin’ interesting – after a few 5-6 years of slaying Hollows himself, Ranma had… never actually tried to put himself in the shoes of one. Here one was, an ex-Hollow to be exact, who had memories of their Hollow days. Hollows, as… creepy as they could be, were still creatures who existed – and their existence, too, was part of the spiraling Soul Cycle that had to be kept in balance at all times.

No need to antagonize them too much…

“Y-Yeah, those swords aren’t for eats… those are Asauchi. Sorta like your own Zanpakutō, but works different. Uhm…”

Snuggles was clinging onto Erica’s neck like a protective scarf, still iffy about the smell of Hollow nucleo nearby. Poor lad. Ranma was struggling to come up with the proper questions, clearly needing a little help now that things looked to settle down again.

Hell, it was like they'd just adopted a guy.

Taking Belle’s hand as he offered it to her, Erica would gently shake it, a smile still upon her face. “There’s plenty of food in the kitchen and I reckon we could all do with something to eat at this point. Should definitely be able to find something that tastes nicer than your Asauchi, as they were certainly not made to be chewed on. They’re kind of a Shinigami’s partner in a way and become stronger by carrying and communicating with them over time. Ranma is much further along than me though when it comes to that kind of thing.”

While the cat around her neck seemed to be a little wary of the Arrancar, he would soon enough calm down as Erica stroked him. The hissing would turn to purring, as Snuggles fell almost into a trance like state due to her attention. She’d always had that effect on the ginger giant and as he almost fell off of her because of it, the healer would quickly take him into her arms where he could rest peacefully.

“Perhaps the kitchen would be a better place to talk to as it seems that Ranma is certainly curious about you.” She added, smiling at her boyfriend then. There did seem to be a little awkwardness and the pink haired woman would do her best to help ease it if she could.

Ranma made sure to hold up his sheathed Zanpakutō upon being mentioned, a sharp nose of pride at the referral. He and Hōkamaru were close… he knew that now. He wondered what the bond between an Arrancar and their Zanpakutō was like… was their Zanpakutō maybe a Hollow? Arrancar spirit? Or was it humanoid? So many questions… damn.

Despite his slight awkwardness, Erica tried her best to mend the road between Ranma and their guest… although Belle was curious as to why they wanted to know more. Not only did the sheepish guy show signs of shame over remembering his past, he straight up revealed it… but despite the unsettling feeling Ranma got in his chest-

What did he expect? The half-masked boy used to be a Hollow, after all – all Hollows sought to eat souls, either others or their own. It was a dog-eat-dog world for them, and they behaved accordingly.

But when one took its mask off and became an Arrancar… guess they had the ability to just do whatever the fuck they wanted? It was honestly a miracle that Belle wanted to help Shinigami instead of, y’know, aiding other fellow kindred Arrancar! It honestly didn’t make much sense…

He killed people… and survived getting killed, by Shinigamis like him and Erica as well as by other Hollows. One could wonder if all that guilt was to just go up in smoke the moment they took off the mask and evolved into goofy eel thieves like this guy… but Arrancars were capable of just about as many things as humans and Shinigamis, eh? Even if they were once Hollows… even if they still possessed Hollow essences, it alone wasn’t cause for hostility.

If Ranma just snapped and killed Hollows left and right, wouldn’t he inadvertently destabilize the Soul Cycle? He remembered those notes from the Academy, after all. Humans, Shinigamis, and Hollows – the Three Worlds that each inhabited, and the balance they held together…

…

It was food for thought. Food for reflection. Ranma closed his eyes as he sat down at the kitchen, merely… reflecting before he held Erica's hand gently and opened his mouth again: “I-I’m sorry… I gotta apologize for trying to kill you earlier…”

Arrancars were a people of choice, freedom and drive… and other adjectives from his notes back then- but a choice, they always had. It really was a very polarizing topic, those Arrancars, but one thing was clear; those who attacked Soul Society… and this guy… weren’t the same. Shinigamis used to be far more unhinged in the good-old days too, so if anything, Ranma had to avoid acting like a hypocrite.

“Soul Society was attacked by a rogue group of Arrancars very fuckin’ recently. Honestly, if you wanna avoid getting killed by another trigger-happy Shini-gang member, get your Garganta up and running again… y-you said you had issues with it earlier, which is why you ended here?”

… Oh yeah, Ranma could cook them both some meals, so he went up on his feet and went to work. Erica perhaps had more questions, too.

It was a difficult situation for all involved but Erica continued to try and keep everything on the up and up. There had been enough damage done to the Soul Society and the last thing she wanted to see was any more done. Belle may have been an Arrancar but it was obvious that he had nothing to do with the attack, which was more than enough for the healer not to be hostile. It’d all been a case of the wrong place, wrong time for him as far as she could tell and his luck truly must be terrible for him to have appeared now of all times.

As Ranma set about making food for them, Erica would add on to what he said. “You’ll be fine staying here for a while but Ranma is right. Not all Shinigami are going to be as open as we are and you’ll no doubt run into more trouble if you aren’t careful. Just take it easy until you’re able to use your powers again and everything will be OK.” She tried her best to sound cheerful but honestly the former Squad Two member never truly had to try all that hard. It was natural.