The loneliness was terrible. It encompassed all of his senses, and it hurt. It hurt to look around and see no one there. The silence was crippling.
He craved to have someone by his side so bad. There were a few that approached him, well tried more like, but they all ended up being reduced to dust and becoming a part of the cold sands of Hueco Mundo. It hurt to see the mountains of dead bodies arround him, killed off by his immense spiritual pressure.
The silence and loneliness got so bad he split his soul in half just to have someone there. Then Lilynette was born. She had looked at him with wide eyes and for the furt time in a long time... he had someone beside him... but it wasn't enough. He craved to have comrades, to walk beside someone and be by their side...
Aizen had came. He granted him his wish of having companionship although admittedly he wasn't friends with anyone. Not really anyway. They all fought to survive, it was the way of Hueco Mundo. Fight or get eaten. That was all there was to it. They hated each other he could tell, some barely tolerated each other's prescense, like Grimmjow.
His ideals were foolish he knew. They told him. "Comrades?! Are you fucking stupid? The only thing that matters here is power!" the Sexta sneered.
It had hurt to hear that but he was okay to just have people around him that didn't just die under his power. He abade by Aizen's wishes because he had granted him his wishes.
It had been a long run, he thought as he got struck down by Shunsui Kyoraku. He could feel a sense of peace filling him and it made him smile for the first time in years. He could see the sky and it had been beautiful to look at. But when Kyoraku had delivered the blow... he had been confused by the look on the other's face. It was almost a look... of sadness.
As he layed on the ruble, with Lily silent for once he took in his surroundings. Everything was in a dissarray with the Shinigami trying to defeat Aizen and with the addition of the Visoreds it was chaos. It was admireable to see however, the young not-so-human Ichigo Kurosaki fight Aizen. He was trying so hard to defeat the ex-Captain. It took some serious guts to face Aizen. Just thinking about the man gave Stark the chills.
He was taken out of his thoughts as he sensed Aizen make a move. He looked up to the sky and he could see the others, mainly their enemy, pause on their battles to wearily look at the crazed ex-Captain. He flashed stepped in front of Hallibel and he could see that she was confused and the next thing that happened shocked everyone.
"Aizen... -sama?" She looked confused as to why he was there. She was handling her fight against the shinigami well, so why was he there?
Aizen said nothing, merely having his eery smile on his face as always and in a second he unsheathed his zanpakto and struck her. Hallibel seemed shocked, not really registering the blow as she went down. Blood was pouring down her stomach and her teal-green eyes were wide in shock.
Starrk could only watch as she was struck down, not really understanding what was happening.
"I'm done with you." He said, a smile on his face and eyes devoid of any emotion. "It appears you aren't stong enough to fight for me."
"I-I don't understand." She said, still in shock.
"Isn't it obvious? Even if I made any more of you sacrifice yourselves, it would achieve nothing. This is what I've decided." He said, as he watched her fall.
Starrk's breath hitched and he finally understood. Aizen didin't care about them. He didn't care that they sacrificed their lives for him, that they were fighting for him. None of it mattered. That meant that the fact that Starrk was dying and bleeding out mattered little to him... Starrk wasn't stupid. He knew that the shinigami just wanted his own goals accomplished and he knew that there was little love between them but to actually see...
He watched on as one by one the shinigami were struck down. He watched as Gin betrayed Aizen and as he futily tried to kill him. He watched as the woman, Rangiku, sobbed in agony over Gin, her enemy. It struck something within Stark to see that.
Why... why couldn't he have that? To have someone care for him... to be sad over him and just be there... He looked up to the sky as he breathed in and out. He could feel his end coming. His slate grey eyes closed.
He sensed Ichigo's prescense fade and he could feel a deep sadness at it for some reason. He didn't know the youth but he saw the power and determination in him and it made him sad t know that Aizen had made something like that disappear. It made him angry to see all of this bloodshed, so many lives being taken.
He wasn't supposed to think this way, with him being a hollow but being a hollow... it simply meant that he was a peronification of instincts, that something was left unresolved when he died. That was all. That didn't mean that they didn't have emotions. The negative ones just stood out more.
'Lily?' he thought, tiredly. He could feel her in his mind, a soothing constant prescense that he could always count on.
I'm with you Starrk, untill the end. She understood and she already knew what he wanted to do and she approved. She didn't know if they would make it out alive but she knew that this... it would be worth it.
Starrk felt a small smile form on his face as he took in a deep breath. 'Thank you, Lily. I- I love you, you know that, right?'
Of course. I do too.
He sighed as he stood up again, struggling to remain up as his torso bled. Blood dripped to the floor as he took painful step but he withstood the pain. He used sonido as he sped away to where he knew the fight against Aizen was. He could see that the shinigami were there, along with Ichigo Kurosaki's comrades but they were the last thing on his mind.
It appeared he had missed some of the fight as his mind had wandered. Aizen looked different now. He had wings on him, his clothes were different, his eyes purple and white, his hair was longer and his spiritual pressure was chocking.
The others gasped at the sight of him, surprised that he was still alive.
"But... didn't I kill you?" Kyoraku muttered, his brows furrowed wearily as he raised his zanpakto in defense. This was the last thing they needed after all. Aizen was very near winning.
Starrk didn't pay attention to them. "I'm not hear for you Taichou-san." He stated, his eyes trained on Aizen. The ex-Captain stared back, eyes devoid of any emotion at all. He appeared disinterested at his prescense.
"Ah, Stark. I see your still alive." The other said, his voice sounding grating to Starrk's ears.
The First Espada stayed silent as he took in the battlefield around him. He could sense the human's presense. He could smell their fear. The shinigami were in a bad condition, with some missing limbs and bodies covered in blood but they still put up a fight. The Visoreds were battered and bruised but they still stood tall. As he gazed around him he couldn't help but furrow his brows as a the feeling of anger rose in him, festering to a degree that frightened Lily but none of it showed on his face.
"Aizen-sama." He said, his silver gray eyes staring intently to the other. "The other Espadas are dead."
Aizen cocked his head a bit. "I am aware."
Aizen didn't react to the statement. He didn't show sadness at their death or gratitude for their sacrifice. As he stared at the power hungry shinigami in front of him he couldn't help but remember Hallibel's fraccion, her sacrifice, Grimmjow's determination to be the best and be King, Ulquiorra's somber attitude, and a few others that he had known. He felt sad for them, because they had fought for this monster and maybe if they hadn't things might have ended a bit different.
Maybe they would have eventually formed an alliance with the shinigami against Aizen. Who knows but he hated the shinigami, all hollows did but he could see that a few were different. Starrk wished that he could have pledged his loyalty to Kurosaki instead. He was worthy... that was for sure and the instincts that screamed pack when he was near the other helped.
He knew that the Espada were weary of each other but they had to be. Hollows had to eat each other to rise in power but they had also been so close as well. The others couldn't see it butt that was because they didn't understand. They were beings of instinct. That put them on a whole different level not to mention that they were mostly part animals. There was a whole lot that the others didn't understand about hollows, Aizen included.
The Espadas had been so close to being a step closer to being comrades, at leats a few of them had but now they'd never get a chance...
"That... does not concern you, Aizen-sama?" Starrk said, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Aizen frowned a bit as he ran a hand through his hair. "Should it?"
Starrk didn't say anything for a moment. He doesn't care, Lily muttered softly in his mind. He could feel her anger and it only fed his. "They fought for you."
"And they didn't make a difference, now did they?" Aizen smirked. "I see... you are angry are you not?" Aizen stepped forward, his grip on his zanpakto slack and he appared unaffected at the sight of so many opponents, so many enemies. "They were nothing to me, merely pawns in a game."
Starrk didn't react to the remark, "I see." Starrk closed his eyes for a moment and he ddin't see Aizen frown at the daring action. 'Lily? You know... what we need to do?'
Of course. It's fine Starrk. Just make sure to kick ass, okay. Someone like him... doesn't deserve to live.
'Thank you Lily.' He thought and he sensed a rapidly approaching prescense and as he opened his eyes he could see that he other's had their attention trained on him and Aizen. It was a bit uncomfortable to be under such intense scrutiny but he shook it off.
In the next moment, Ichigo was there. Just by his scent, and in that moment he could tell that the other was different. He was stronger, way more powerful and it almost made Starrk dizzy. The other's couldn't tell no doubt because like, Starrk they could not register his prescense even though he was standing right in front of them.
Ichigo was taller than Starrk, his hair fell in front of his eyes and his eyes... they held the gaze of a warrior. Starrk felt awed at the others prescense but he could tell that there was something off with the other.
His hollow. His zanpakto. Lily put in and he could see it now. He could sense it. The other's power was fading away. That was probably the cost of whatever technique he was using or would use. 'It's not too late', Starrk thought.
Ichigo glanced at him, curiosity in his eyes and Starrk merely bowed his head. He gripped his hands into fists, nails cutting into his hands and blood dripping to the ground. 'We can help him.' He thought, Lily didn't respond for a moment before he felt a sense of happiness and determination. We can help all of them Starrk, if only to show them taht we aren't... we aren't what they think. We're so much more.
Starrk was so much more than what they thought. Hollows were more than what they understood and he would show them.
"You have failed to evolve, Kurosaki Ichigo." Aizen said, disrupting Starrk form his thoughts. "You have lost the one chance I had given you, Kurosaki Ichigo. I am dissappointed. But it can't be helped, I suppose, You are merely human."
Ichigo didn't react, his gaze just staring ahead. As Starrk gazed as the other he couldn't but think. 'How wrong you are Aizen. He has the gaze of a warrior now.'
"Such a pity-"
"Aizen." Ichigo stated and it startled a few. His voice was different... it was deeper and and more powerful. He had already been powerful before but now Starrk was sure that this being before him was one worthy of loyalty. "We should take this fight somewhere else."
AIen narrowed his gaze at the other. How dare he make such a suggestion! "Such words are reserved for those who have the power to challenge me." He said, arrogantly.
Starrk couldn't help but smile and laugh, a sharp one that showed his fangs. He would enjoy this, he realized. To put someone like Aizen in his place and make him realize that his supposed godlihood was fake, that there was someone stronger than him.
Now, Starrk knew that he couldn't defeat Aizen, but he could sure as hell help.
"What is there to laugh about, Coyote Starrk?" Aizen stated, getting more angry at the second.
The shinigami and the rest of the company stared at the hollow in confusion. Why hadn;t he attacked them yet? All he had done was ask a few questions and now he laughing... but they could tell that it wasn't at them... It was at Aizen?
"You just don't realize, Aizen, just how out of your league you are." Starrk stated, his sharp fanged smile still in place. His statement only caused more confusion and he could feel intese gazes on his back.
"You are a fool, Coyote Starrk. Out of all of the Espadas your proposal was most absurd. Companionship," Aizen said mockingly. He could see that the other was not on his side. Not anymore. "What stupidity."
Starrk didn't say anything. He merely smiled again as he unsheathed his sword.
"What's he planning?" Ukitake wondered.
"Get ready for an attack." Hitsugaya said.
The others tensed, waiting for the onslaught but they could only get more puzzled as the attacks never came. Starrk just drew his sword. Lilynette materialized and she gazed up at Starrk with a smile on her face.
"Ready, Starrk?"
Starrk gave her a smile and it awed them to see just how loving it was. Just what was going on?
Starrk held his sword in front of him and it was suspended in the air. He concentrated and the air began to thicken with reiatsu and the wind began to blow heavily.
AIzen narrowed his gaze. What was happening? He didn't know and he didn't like it. He hated not knowing what was happening. Starrk's movements were foreign to him, but it was clear that his allegience wasn't to him. Just what was the other planning?
Lillynette glowed a soft white color, with every so often a few other pale colors showing up. She turned to the other shinigami's in the area and she stared specifically at the white haired captain and the other one that had fought against Starrk.
"Hey! It was nice meeting you all! I had fun fighting, even though you two didn't play fair! Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jyuushiro!" She stuck her tongue out playfully at them and then she stared at Ichigo who gazed back. She nodded her head and in the next instance she dissapred causing a few to cry out in shock.
She reappeared in front of Ichigo, and the next instance Ichigo had a face full of hollow. He blinked in confusion as he didn't sense any malicious intent from her. She smiled at him and he could only blink as she placed a big wet kiss to his cheek. "It was nice meeting someone like you, Kurosaki Ichigo! I wish we could have known each other better!" She lept back beside Starrk and she nodded at the other.
Ichigo couldn't help but be more puzzled.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
Starrk nodded as he placed a hand on Lilynette's head. He looked down at her, remembering her features and ingraning them in his mind. Lily gazed back at him, a soft smile on her face. "I had fun, Starrk."
"Me too, Lily." He murmmred lovingly and he couldn't stop the pain in his chest as he felt her dissappearing. "Los Lobos, ejucate entre las estrellas y los planetas, devorar y allimenta a tu paso..." He stated, his voice echoeing.
Starrk's reiatsu flowed out around him, it's immensity surprising the others especially Ukitake and Kyoraku. They raised their hands to protect against the fierce wind that flowed. They could only stare in awe as they felt the hollow's power. It was clear that there was more to the other than meets the eye.
Aizen could only stare in anger as his grip tightened on his sword. It didn't matter what kind of show Starrk put on. This meant nothing. He was above these peasants. He was a god, a three dimensional being. Soon he'll have his key. He'll enjoy watching the life leave their eyes.
Starrk's energy swirled about him, cacooning him in a blanket of warmth. His clothes changed into an elegant sleeveless kimono, totally different from his western look. It was a dark balck that seemed to shift different hues and colors in the light. His hair was longer, reaching his waist with two locks in framing his face. He had piercings in his ear that appeared to be mad eof gold and his bone piece was still around his neck.
He had markings on his face, a sun on his forehead. What was most eye catching however, were the pair of wolf ears and the many tails that flowed behind him. His sleeveless kimono showcased elegant tattoos winding around his arms, all the way down to his wrist. His reiatsu morphed and the image of a large and snarling wolf appeared, standing nearly a hundreds of feet high.
"Holy shit." Keigo chocked out, as he stared awe struck at the scene in front of him. Tatsuki could only nodd in agreement, her words failing her.
The wolf howled and it was loud. It dissappeared a moment later but in its wake it left two wolves by Starrk's side and they were majestic. One was as darks as the night and the other white as snow. They were big, reaching above Starrk's waist.
Starrk grinned at Aien, his eyes glowing a molten silver. "Los Lobos, guardianes de la vida y la muerte. I bet your surprised, huh, Aizen. You didn't know about this little trick of mine huh."
Aizen scowled. How dare he?! "You think this will help you? This is nothing." He said, arrogantly with his stance proud. "I am a being that has transended far beyond your comprehension!"
Starrk laughed and the others could only admire his courage. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I know that I am no where near strong to defeat you. But I didn't say I was going to fight you, now did I?"
"What?" Soi Fon gasped, her free hand cradling the stump of her severed arm.
Starrk turned walking straight to Ichigo. The subtitute shinigami merely standing and not making a move to attack the other just yet.
'I can't sense any ill intent,' Ichigo thought as he saw the hollow approach him and stop a few ways in front of him. He was confused when he saw the other. He could see the sadness in the grey eyes, nd he could only stare in confusion at the red blossoming on the other's kimono.
Starrk saw where he was staring and he placed a hand on his chest. "Ah, you noticed huh. This didn't heal. I have no doubt that after I do what I need to do, I will dissappear. But this will be worth it. I just know it." Starrk said, his ears flattening towards his skull a bit.
He turned to Ichigo, a small fond smile forming on his face and Ichigo couldn't help but be breth taken at the sight. This being... this hollow in fornt of him... he was unlike annything he's ever met before, he realized.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, I know you are strong. I can see it, and I can also see it slipping away from you." Starrk said lowly. This was only for Ichigo's ears. No one else needed to know what was going on. "But I will change that. I know that you will defeat Aizen. I know that you'll do the right thing. I wished... that things could have turned out differently." Starrk smiled, and it was sad.
"You want... to help me?" Ichigo murmmured, his deep voice a pleasant timbre. His amber eyes gazed intently into molten silver ones and he found truth in them. He could see that the other was sincere. "Why?"
Starrk smiled at the subtiture shinigami. He couldn't help the tears that formed in his eyes. His mind was silent for the first time in years and he felt empty. He knew that he wasn't going to survive this but it comforted him to know that he'd be making a difference, especially to soomeone who deserved it.
"Because... all I wanted was to have companions. Because you deserve it." Starrk stated simply as he reached out a hand and placed it on the other's chest. The tattoo of a gothic one stood out on his pale hand. It was a stark difference between his pale skin and Ichigo's tanned flesh.
Ichigo didn't stop the other. He felt the deep loneliness emmanating from the other and it sadenned him. It reminded him of what he felt with Tensa Zangetsu, but this... it was more pronounced, and just as heart wrenching.
"You won't loose them..." Starrk murmmured his eyes glowing in determination. "I won't allow it."
Ichigo stared at the other in confusion before he understood. "What? But that's not..."
"Don't worry. It'll be fine," Starrk interrupted as his body glowed again. The wolves by his side howled loudly, glowing an etherel white with other pale colors intwined. They lept away from his side and to the shinigami and the others, touching them before they could react.
They gave a cry of surprise as they felt a warmth engulf them and suddenly their wounds were healing and disappearing from their eyes.
Rangiku could only cry in relief as Gin got better before her eyes. She hugged him, fearing she was dreaming and Gin could only stare i wonder at his healing torso. Soi Fon's arm regenerated and her cuts healed. Komamura's torso slowly stiched closed. Kyoraku felt a peace enter him and he relaxed a bit. Ukitake could breathe easier for the first time in more than a hundred years.
"What's happening?"
There was a glow and slowly something stared manefesting in front of them and they could only stare in shock as before their eyes, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Tier came into view. They were staring around them in confusion before they saw Starrk.
"Starrk?"
" I hope I haven't made a mistake in bringing you three back." Starrk said. "Listen to me. I don't have enough time, but I want you three to run Hueco Mundo and do it fair. I trust you three to be better than him. Turn it into it's real potential understand?" Starrk ordered and they couldn't keep the surprise from showing on their faces.
"You brought us back?" Tier murmmured, confused.
Starrk nodded in reply as he went about the last part of his plan.
"Why?" Grimmjow growled, not understanding what was happening.
"Because, you're my comrades." Starrk said, as if that explained everything.
"That makes no sense! We weren't comrades! We sure as fuck didn't get along with each other! So why the fuck would you bring us back?" Grimmjow snarled and he voiced out the other two's thoughts.
"Because I care. I trust you to show them wrong. We're hollows... but we're so much more than that. Show them... just how much better we are." Starrk turned his head to the side, his gae boring into them as a he threw them a fanged smile.
"Hallibel-sama!"
Tier's eyes widened as she whipped around. "Apacci? Sun-sun? Mila Rose?" The Third Espada culdn't believe what she was seeing. Her fraccion were alive...
"Do me a favor would you?" They turned their gaze back to Starrk. "Choose your fights well. Don't fight needlessly. There's been enough bloodshed as it was."
They gazed at him, before they nodded at him even Grimmjow surprisingly enough.
"Aizen." Tier growled, remembering the way she had been struck down. She felt angry and betrayed. There was no way she would make that mistake again.
Aizen smiled mockingly and there was a hard edge to his eyes that brought chills down their spines. "You think this will help you? No matter what you do you will efforts are futile. Your one hope has wasted his chance."
Grimmjow snarled but he didn;t make a move to attack surprisingly. "You sack of shit. You think you're so mighty? Just watch your going to get knocked the fuck off your fucking high horse. Just watch." He said, voice full of anger but also smugness and as he gazed at Ichigo he could see what Starrk saw. They all did.
They moved and they stood behind Ichigo and it finally dawned to the other's just where their allegience stood. They stood with Ichigo.
"You would help a mere human?" AIzen said, anger simmering just beneath the surface.
Ulquiorra surprisingly smirked. "Yes. He is not trash. He is worthy."
He earned Ulquiorra's allegience?! "This has gone on long enough!" AIzen said, his grip on his sword tightening as his reiatsu pressed heavily on to them.
Starrk frowned as he increased his own reiatsu in response, coating everyone except the maniac in a blanket of protection. It strained him and he could feel blood seeping from his wounds at a faster rate. His strength was draning faster by protecting them from Aizen's influence. He breathed heavily as his ears pressed fully against his skull and his tails wrapped around his waist to comfort himself.
"Starrk?!" Grimmjow said, seeing the other weakening before his eyes. He couldn't help but feel a surge of protectiveness for the other. He had brought him back to life after all.
Starrk gave a strained smile. "I'm fine." He concentrated at the hand as he hurried. "Stars that line the sky, universe and cosmos that envelope life, hear me. I am your commander, the ruler of the cosmos, the wolf that runs among the stars, heed my cry. Bring life and creation to place." He chanted and he could feel his eyes glow with power.
The others were blasted back form the sheer force, even Aizen was blasted back a few feet.
Ichigo could feel his eyes widen at the surge of power that coursed through him. He could feel them. He could feel their prescense in the back of his mind and he recognized them immedietly. 'Zngetsu?! Hichigo?!' They responded immedietly with fondness and confussion and it stole Ichigo's breath away. 'I thought you disaappeared!'
We did... However it appears we were brought back. By the Wolf. Zangetsu responded and he recognized him as Tensa. Ichigo stared ta the hollow in front of him. Why would he do this? Why would he...
"This way, I can unlock all of your potential, Kurosaki Ichigo." Starrk smiled but a moment later he coughed harshly, blood spilling form his lips as he fell to his kneesbut Ichigo caught him just before he hit the gound. He held him close and Starrk rested his head on the other's chest, savoring the comforting feeling of being held before he went away.
"This way," Starrk whispered as his eyes slipped closed, "your powers won't fade away a-and... you'll... remain as... you a-are." Starrk struggled to say as his chest constricted. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and the world was going dark around him.
Ichigo starred at the other with wide eyes. 'He stopped my powers from disappearing? That means Zangetsu and Hichigo... won't disappear?'
"Ichigo... p-please, defeat Aizen." Starrk whispered as he gazed at the other with dulling silver eyes.
'He's dying.' Ichigo thought and a feeling of immense sadness filled him. This being... this wonderfull being just did the most unselfish act he has ever seen. Starrk was dying. He owed it to him to do what was asked of him. He gazed determingly at the other, his hand gripping Starrk's tightly. "Don't worry..." Ichigo said, "I won't fail you."
In a moment of impulse he leaned down and he captured the other in a kiss, surprising himself and Starrk. It was passionate and desperate, and full of feelings that Starrk has never felt before and he loved it. He kissed the other desperately a few tears dripping down his face. They seperated with a gasp, both panting.
"Thank you for everything." Starrk said, happy for the first time ever. He'd die at least, filled with joy that he got to expirience something so wonderfull.
The other soculd only stare in shock and some were in tears at the scene. The hollows couldn;t help but feel a sense of sadness as well as they watched Starrk get weaker before their eyes. Starrk wouldn't even be there to see their acomplishments...
"I trust you all... t-thank you." Starrk gazed at the other hollows before his eyes slipped closed. His breath came shorter and a few moments later, it stopped altogether. His heart slowed to a halt.
There was the sound of mouring howls and in that moment the sky ripped open in a torrent of rain, as if it was weeping for their loss.
Aizen watched in satisfaction. "How ridiculous. It was about time the mongrel died. To think that there was actually someone that car-" Aizen was interrupted by Ichigo slamming a palm on his face and they took to the sky. He was thrown threw the air and he imacted the earth in an ear shattering boom.
Ichigo landed softly on his feet, fury etched in his features and his power flowing around him as if it was alive, angrily flickering about him. "I'll finish this in an instant Aizen." He gripped his zanpakto in his hand, tattoos marking his arms and glowing a deep red. Horns manafested on his head and his eyes turned a deep golden color.
Ichigo looked menacing. It was as if he was the king of hell himself. The earth shattered with every step he took. "Let's do this, Aizen."
So what do you think?