This story has an OC in it, so if you're not a fan of that then you don't have to read it. But if you're interested, you may read on. The original of this story actually had another OC, but up until recently, I decided against it.
Hajimeru
Running, running, always on the run. It was all they could do now. It was all they could do to survive. Their home had been invaded. Their home had been seized from them. Their lives would be next.
Fleeing from supposedly holy beings that were thought to be extinct. Many of their kind had already fallen to them, many had been captured. One of their own had already disappeared. They refused to become part of those numbers.
Running was the difference between life and death; this disgusting game of hunter and game. Even as fast as they could run, as far as they could run, they could never outrun their pursuers who were right on their tails.
They were the hunters of their world; powerful, respected and feared. But now, that was irrelevant.
The hunters were now the prey.
+East of the Ruins of Las Noches+
In as little as eighteen months, their world was now in the Quincies hands. Even Harribel could do nothing to stop them and was overpowered.
Fierce azure eyes scanned the desert; their intense gaze was enough to strike fear. All looked empty as it usually did. He got up, dusted off his hakamas, sauntered over to the young Cifer to wake her up.
Grimmjow watched her roll over on her side and let out an irritated groan. It was now her shift and he just finished watching out for them, the Vandenreich.
"Hey. Wake up."
The black haired stoic opened their eyes lackadaisically. They lifted their head and looked up at the Jaegerjaquez. Behind the shroud of long black hair revealed emerald. Emerald eyes looked back into sapphire.
He looked into the eyes of Arroiuqlu Cifer, the younger of the Cifer twins. She, too, was a former Espada.
"It's my turn to take watch, I'm assuming?"
"Nah."
He sat down next to her, putting his arms behind his head.
"Then why did you wake me, trash?"
He fired a grimace at Arroiuqlu for the patronization.
"Felt like it."
She sent him an annoyed look, which was an odd thing for a Cifer to do. Then again, it was understandable for how they were living now, and concerning the fact that bats certainly do not enjoy being awoken.
This was hard on both of them, all the running and escaping. It was had taken its toll long ago; the two of them weren't getting along so well, though they didn't really get along all that well anyway. Every now and then, their temper would flare, occasionally giving off their position to the Vandenreich. Just the other week, they had encountered one of the Sternritters. Even with the two of them in Resurrecion, they were still defeated. As a result, they had to flee the battle. Arroiuqlu managed to patch up their wounds.
And treating the wounds without the necessary provisions was extremely difficult.
Unfortunately, all their supplies were used up a long time ago. The only place that held what they needed was their old home, Las Noches, which was overrun by the Vandenreich. Even if they could somehow get their hands on some supplies, they would just have to end up going back and fight for their lives. Such actions were extremely risky and would put each other in danger.
"So this is what we're reduced to. We were Espadas once, now we're just a group of Hollows on the run."
"You do what you have to, to survive."
Arroiuqlu let out a depressed sigh. Honestly, as annoying as things could get back then in Las Noches, everything was tolerable and to everyone's liking. They missed that time. They missed their home. (Even though Grimmjow disliked Aizen, he would never admit this to anyone, he actually had some appreciation for what that Shinigami did for him.) Their beloved castle was mostly ruins now.
All sense of security was gone; Despair, desperation, and paranoia would settle in soon enough. (If it hadn't already.)
"It's inevitable that we're going to get caught. So why do we even try anymore?"
"Don't start thinking like that. It ain't like they're gonna let us live that long if we surrendered. Besides, I'd rather die than give up ta those candy-asses."
"Well, if I remember correctly, those pieces of trash nearly killed you the last times."
"'Ey!"
Her emotionless look clashed with his irritated one. He quickly let it go and leaned against the quartz-like tree behind him, scoffing lightly.
Somehow, Grimmjow wasn't the least bit annoyed with the younger Espada. As irksome as Arroiuqlu was, he much preferred her to Ulquiorra. Though he wasn't quite sure why. It could've been because she was one of the only surviving Espadas (formally at least). It could've been that she saved his life more than twice now, so he felt like he was in debt to her. It could've been that she was a woman. Or it could've been something else entirely, he did not know.
The same could be said for her, she felt no animosity towards Grimmjow. Quite the opposite, the Cifer actually held some sort of respect for the Sexta. She knew he was strong, tough, and independent. And as an Espada, she felt some sort of obligation to respect her male companion. But she also knew that keeping together was safer than going alone, which was why she saved his life up until this point. Arroiuqlu tried to keep things as civil as possible.
Arroiuqlu made a small apologetic smile before speaking again.
"Gomenasai. I didn't mean to be offsetting."
"Ferget about it."
She bowed her head slightly to confirm what he said before turning her gaze to the crescent moon that hung in the sky. A barely visible frown crossed her lips as a small wave of nostalgia hit her. Memories of her and Ulquiorra's life as Hollows were sour ones. The Cifer missed looking at the moon from Las Noches when things were slow, instead of on the barren wasteland on the run from the Vandenreich.
Pushing such thoughts aside, she slowly stood up.
"Well, since you woke me up, I suppose I'll take the next shift."
Grimmjow grunted a bit before shutting his azures. Within a minute, he was already asleep. Arroiuqlu stretched her legs a bit and quietly moved out of the sleeping jaguar's way. Her green eyes identical to Ulquiorra's scanned the desert for any signs of life. The white light from the moon was both a blessing and a curse.
It would make spotting the duo all the easier but the same could be said for spotting the enemy.
All was still, for now. A light breeze brushed up against her pale face as the smell of sand greeted the Arrancar. Aside from the sounds of her sleeping comrades, it was extremely quiet.
She could not sense anyone, even with her pesquisa. But she refused to let her guard down, they were always around. They learned the first time that these beings could slip through their pesquisa. Grimmjow had underestimated one while overestimating his own abilities and it nearly cost him his life.
Arroiuqlu looked back at him.
'Even in his sleep, he scowls. Honestly...'
She let out an inner sigh as she turned her attention back to her post. It was strange; these two on the run from Quincies. They could hardly be civil but had learned to tolerate each other long enough to survive. How they managed to get through this long without killing each other was beyond her. The Cifer wondered how long it would be before they too would get caught. Her hand unconsciously slipped to her zanpakuto, ready to be drawn. Her cat-like eyes flitting from left to right.
Many hours later, still no sign of the enemy and the end of her shift was coming to close. As she got up, Grimmjow began to stir. Her eyes glancing back at him before looking back at the empty world of Hueco Mundo. He slowly opened one eye then opened the other, letting out a yawn as he did so. Grimmjow craned his neck and looked up at the green-eyed woman.
"You're up."
They watched each other for a few seconds until he got up and stretched. As the pair of Espadas began to gather themselves, a scream echoed from the distance.
"What was that?"
As if on cue, spikes of reiatsu and bright flashes of light illuminated the sky.
"That's not to far off."
"If we stay here any longer, chances are our presence will be noticed."
"Then let's get the hell outta here."
"I actually agree with you, trash."
"Not trash!"
Before they could finish fighting with each other, there was another scream. They both looked back at the direction of the scream, noticing that it was significantly closer. Arroiuqlu and Grimmjow turned to run, spotting a small dot in the distance.
"The hell is that?"
The dot was speeding towards them at an alarming speed.
"Let's get the hell outta here!"
The two hastily began leaving.
"Waaaaaaait!"
At first they thought that it was nothing, but the voice seemed quite familiar. Arroiuqlu glanced back at it to see that it was a serpent-like creature. It seemed to be a very familiar creature. As they ran, they looked back. Their minds weren't playing on them; it was indeed someone that they knew.
"Faster Bawa-Bawa! They're gaining on uth!"
They turned their heads to look back at their pursuers.
"Nel?"
R&R. Please no flames.