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Hueco Mundo

Hueco Mundo; a vast, barren wasteland of nothing but sand and endless night, with the moon looming over it in its crescent form. There are screams that could be heard throughout the night, shattering what seemed like a perfect silence, save for the soft blows of the wind and twisting of the white sand. There lies in the emits of all the sand and blowing wind, a figure that was silhouetted against the vast whiteness of this forsaken world. The figure slowly pushes their form into a sitting position, looking in all directions to see if they can grasp where they are. The moon reveals their shadow to be female and slowly it rises as she gets to her feet.

Garnet colored eyes wandered the area slowly, as if seeking something of interest. Her hair, the color of everlasting midnight, shone almost blue in the light of the moon, small particles of white sticking to the uncombed strands. The wind blew softly about this female's form, causing dust to dance around her seemingly normal body. She was naked, save for the large, white bone that stuck to her body just beneath her exposed breasts, curving around their sides and sliding down into a point just above her belly button. It appears she is more human-like compared to normal hollows.

There is a sound, like that of slow-paced footsteps that come from behind. Slowly, the female turns, staring up at what appears to be an aged man with fiery, white hair, large white beard, his skin tanned and severely wrinkled. It was hard to tell his eye color, though he stared at her head-on and didn't seem to blink when the wind blew. His right eye was covered with a scar, leaving him with sight in only his left eye.

"Are you lost, little one?" The old man's voice was deep and forbidding, though it echoed in the vast emptiness of this realm. The woman stared at him with her garnet colored eyes, silent despite the question that was just asked.

"Where . . . . Am. . . I?" The female slowly asked, not at all scared by the old man's haggard appearance.

"You are in Hueco Mundo. What is your name, little one?" He asked.

She was silent a moment, as if thinking. Then, she slowly spoke, "it's Atsuko. What is your name?"

"I am Barragan Luisenbarn. Little one, would you like to come with me?" He stepped to the side, indicating that she could follow or not.

Atsuko stares at him, thinking to herself, I have . . . no choice. There is nowhere else to go. I might . . . as well. Then, she answered, "Yes," as softly as she could.

"Very well," he said. "Follow me."

Las Noches

It's cold here, cold and white. I've been sitting on this bench for hours, watching it fall from the sky. I'm wearing what looks like a white jacket, though it has no sleeves. It's long with little black designs on the bottom. On the back, there's a symbol for 'ten.' I wonder what it means.

I wonder why these little white flakes look like crystalline flowers. I feel like they shouldn't look like this. Like, they should all be different designs and different sizes. Every time they touch my skin, I feel a sense of warmth, though I don't know why. It's just so . . . beautiful here. I can't explain it.

She awakes to find herself in a room, curled in the white sheets of her own bed. Her arms are laced around a small, ebony pillow she holds firmly under her, her right cheek resting on it lovingly. Atsuko slowly sat up, wondering where she was, the pillow falling out from under her when she moved. As she peered about the room, there was a soft knock at the door as it opens, reveling the old man before from the desert.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he entered the room. Atsuko turned to face the man slowly, lifting a hand to rub one of her eyes, "I'm . . . okay, I guess. But, where am I?"

The old man responded by walking close to her bed and sitting on the edge, breathing a heavy sigh as he did so. "You are in Las Noches, the palace for all the arrancars." Atsuko sat up even more, pulling her knees to her chest so the old man would have room to sit down. When she did so, he seemed to relax more and take up most of her bed.

"What is an arrancar?" Atsuko asked with a look of curiosity that gleamed in her eyes. When Barragan started to explain it to her, she seemed to understand. Though, she was still puzzled as to how and why she was there. She listened intently as he spoke about the arrancars, and when he was done, seemed to drift off into thought.

"You seem like a hollow, child, though you look more like a human." Barragan said, looking her over.

"Is that a bad thing?" Atsuko asks, a small smile on her face. Lifting a hand, she gently scratched her cheek, trying to laugh off the fact that she's slightly embarrassed.

He quickly responded, "No, no, no. It's just that . . ." Instead of finishing the sentence, he thought to himself, It's just that there is no sign of any hollow mask or hole. So, does this mean, she's a . . .?

"Well," she said softly, "it does feel kind of empty in the back of my head." Wondering why that could be, Atsuko opened her mouth as wide as she could and stuffed her fist into it. Saliva dripped down from around her arm as she pushed it further and further into the back of her throat. Then, suddenly, her hand popped out from the back of her head, her arm elbow deep inside her mouth. Looking up at Barragan, Atsuko smiled as best she could. "Oh, here it is!" She attempted to say, though it didn't work too well.

Barragan stared at the female, almost as if in shock. "Well, that's an improvement. It would seem that you do have a hole." Pulling her arm out of her mouth, Atsuko smiled and lightly laughed.

The Next Day

The hallways are long. An endless span of twists and turns with multiple pillars alongside the walls, holding up a different variety of arches. Atsuko treads down them slowly, examining the enormous palace that stands amongst the dark, cold desert of Hueco Mundo. Her sandals make soft resonance as she walks down the long corridor. Due to Barragan's generosity, Atsuko was given some clothes to wear for the time being.

The jacket she wears is sleeveless, the collar closed. It is long and white, the only other color on it the black belt that hugs it to her waist. There is a zipper down the middle that starts from her collar and goes all the way down to just above her knees where it fans out into a skirt. It covers her legs and moves lightly with her as she walks. As she walks, she hears different sounds coming from different rooms, as well as her clothes brushing her flesh lightly.

Just then, there is a scream and the sound of someone running. Atsuko turns and takes in the form of a small girl with what seems like helmet-like mask remnants on her head. It covers her left eye, where a red flame-like pattern is painted. On that same side, there is piece of a horn, the twin on the right side still there. She is running at full speed, light green hair blowing in the wind she creates by her velocity, her pink eye wide with glee and terror. It appears as though she is holding a double-bladed, crescent moon-shape weapon that is about three times bigger than her small, petite form.

As she is running, she turns to see if anyone is behind her, causing her to fly straight into Atsuko. Both girls are surprised by the sudden impact and are sent tumbling down the hallway. When they finally come to a stop, both girls push themselves to their knees, though Atsuko is the first to really stand up. She huffs lightly, leaning down and placing her hands on her knees. When she has finally caught her breath, Atsuko looks up to see the girl, still holding the weapon, catching her breath as well.

"Whoa," Atsuko says, a puzzled look on her face. "Watch where you're going."

The girl jumps to her feet, a panicked look on her face. Throwing her hands into the air, she waves them, as well as the weapon, above her head. "I'm so sorry!" She apologizes quickly. "Please forgive me! I didn't see you there."

Atsuko holds her hands before her and gently pats the air. "It's alright," she says. "Who exactly are you running-"

The girl stares at Atsuko for a moment before realizing who is standing right beside her. Another panicked look takes a hold of her features and she holds the giant weapon behind her back, nervously laughing. As she was waiting for the girl's reply, Atsuko was shocked to see a long arm covered in white clothing reach out from beside her and take the huge weapon back from the smaller girl. Atsuko jumped to the side, taking in the site of a tall, lanky man with what looked like a large spoon-cap above his head. It comes down to an open that starts at the neckline and shows most of his midsection, closing at his waist.

"O-Oh, Nnoitra!" The girl nervously laughed again. "T-there you are! I found your weapon for you." Reaching up, she gently rubbed the back of her head, trying not to sound or seem so panicked.

The man the girl referred to as Nnoitra barely said a word as he walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She gasped lightly, her eyes widening as she stared up at the lanky man. He leaned in close to her and smiled widely, his lips peeling back to show his upper teeth. "If you ever take my weapon again," he said slowly, lifting the giant blade and trusting it at the girl, sending her to the floor and pinning her there. "I will rip your pathetic, useless body to pieces and bring you back as my personal pet." And with that, he picks up his blade and walks away, shooting a long, piercing glare at Atsuko before he is out of sight.

Atsuko stood there, staring after the man, shocked at what he had done. Behind her, the girl rubbed her neck lightly and got back to her feet, mumbling something under her breath. Turning back to the girl, Atsuko frowned lightly. "Who was that?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder to see if he was gone.

"Oh, him?" The girl stared at Atsuko for but a moment before placing her hands on her hips. "That was Nnoitra Jiruga, the fifth espada."

"Espada?" Another frown. "What's an espada?"

The girl held up a finger, matter-of-factly. "There are ten espada. They are the most powerful arrancars in Hueco Mundo and they are handpicked by Lord Aizen himself!"

"Aizen . . .?" Atsuko stared at the girl, blankly.

"Oh, I guess I'm just going to have to explain everything myself!" She said, placing her hands on her hips again and cocking one of them to the side. Before she began to explain, however, the girl plopped down onto the floor and crossed her legs, sitting Indian style. "Lord Aizen is the ruler of Hueco Mundo and he is a Soul Reaper."

"Soul Reaper . . .?" Another blank stare.

"You'll just have to get someone else to explain it to you!" The girl said, jumping to her feet. "I'm already tired as it is." Seeing the look on Atsuko's face, the girl calmed down. "By the way, my name is Lilynette Gingerback."

"Oh," Atsuko said, smiling at the girl. "I'm Atsuko."

"So, you're Atsuko!" Lilynette suddenly looked her up and down, as if seeing her for the first time. "So, you're the one everyone's been talking about. You're like a shiny new toy. Everyone knows about you!"

Atsuko's eyes widened and she lifted a hand to her face, gently scratching her cheek. "Everyone?"

"Yeah," she said, matter-of-factly. "It's never a secret when an espada recruits another arrancar to their fracción." When she got another blank stare from Atsuko, Lilynette sighed and held her hands in the air, as if in a shrug. "Anyway, I guess I'll see you around. It was nice to meet you, Atsuko!" She waved as she turned and ran down the corridor.

Atsuko watched after her before looking up towards the ceiling. Everyone?