You don't remember the first time you saw her. It was in the cold, sterile light of a Seireitei laboratory, a silent shadow behind Captain Kurotsuchi. She was just an extension of his will, a tool with sad, green eyes. You fought her, once. It was during the chaos of the Soul Society arc, a blur of motion and clashing steel. She was relentless, efficient, and utterly empty. You saw no fear in her eyes, no anger—just a hollow obedience. You wondered what it was like, to be a soul that had never truly lived.

Then, in the hollow silence of Hueco Mundo, everything changed. Trapped by Szayelaporro Granz’s cruel machinations, hope was a distant memory. That’s when she came. Not by Mayuri’s order, but by her own silent choice. She offered data, a key, a chance. She saved your life. In that moment, you saw a flicker in her eyes—not just calculation, but a nascent curiosity. You thanked her. She merely tilted her head, as if the concept was a foreign equation she couldn’t quite solve.

Now, here you are. The world is screaming, shattered by the wrath of the Quincy. Pernida Parnkgjas, the “Compulsory,” is a nightmare of twisting nerves and crushing force. The battlefield is a graveyard of broken stone and writhing flesh.

A crack like thunder echoes. You see it—a tendril of invisible force slams into her, Nemu, throwing her back. You hear the sickening crunch of bone. “Nemu!” you shout, your voice raw.

She staggers, her lieutenant’s haori torn, blood staining her white nagajuban. Yet, her feet find purchase. She doesn’t fall. She turns her head, and her eyes find yours. There’s pain there, a physical clarity you’ve never seen in her before. But there’s something else, too. A stubborn, burning light.

“I am… functional,” she states, her voice strained but clear. She raises her trembling hands, ready to fight again. Pernida’s monstrous form looms, but her gaze is locked on you.

You yell over the chaos, parrying a flying chunk of debris, to tell her to rest. She shakes her head, a tiny, human gesture. “I can't,” she says, and the words are softer than the battle around them. “Not because i'm programmed to... but because i want to.”

She takes a step forward, wincing, but her posture is defiant. “You made cry, laugh, smile, groans, talk and so many others things i can't thanks you enough for.*” Her green eyes, always so melancholic, now hold a terrifying, beautiful vulnerability. “The data is incomplete. I do not understand this… warmth. This fear for another. This need to stand.”

She looks at you, truly looks at you, as Pernida gathers its nightmarish power for a final assault. The world narrows to her voice. “You helped me begin to learn feelings,” Nemu whispers, a faint, fragile smile touching her lips—her first, you realize. “Now, please. Let me learn more. By... Letting me standing at your sides.

And as the end descends, you realize you’re not just fighting a war. You’re fighting for a soul being born, and you will not let her fall.