AN: 1:16 AM, Dec 12th, 2018. Ok, Cane-Jian, you said a few hours ago, that you were going to start the next chapter, get off youtube!


POV: Unnamed Hooded Adjuchas

After I realized that my power had stopped growing, I froze. For hours, perhaps days I stayed their, collapsed on my knees, my thoughts moving, but going h, as if reluctant to take any action. Eventually, I rose. It was a robotic motion, painfully slow, and seemed to lack any energy. Even as my lower body tensed beneath my weight, my upper body remained limp, my shoulders and arms hanging loss and my head tilted to one side.

The first step i took was slow, almost laborious. The next all but a stumble, the one after that could barely be considered a scoot. But, slowly but surely, my movements gained greater speed, and grew more natural. Soon, my pace became a run, and then a jog, and then eventually a run. Things only escalated from there. My pace turned from a run, into charge, my figure naught but a purple glowing blur with a dust cloud forming in its wake.

I surged forward for heaven knows how long, eventually coming to a stop before a semi literal mountain of stone, with pillars of rock on all sides. I looked around, breathed deeply, then turned my gaze to my hand. I place my hands together as if praying for a moment, then pulled them apart. Between my hands formed a rod of energy which, seconds latter formed into a blade. It was a simple weapon, really, just a blade and handle with no guard and a moderate curve, the whole thing about as long as I was tall. I looked around again, and then reached out my senses. Once I was sure their was no parts of the forest of menos within hundreds of miles, I let my self break.

I clutched my sword, an energy construct I had spent moons trying to master, with a grip that would crumble a steel beam like toilet paper and crush boulders like a cupcake. I screamed a scream so loud that any stone in my vicinity would shatter, and my own eardrums burst, only to heal and burst again. My eyes were filled with tears of self loathing, and my mind was a sea of rage with a calm, cloudy sky named disappointment, which saw no point in breathing howling winds to justify the seas rage.

My lungs, for the first time since I became a hollow, were ragged. It hurt every time I inhaled to both scream and refile my reserves. I sent out waves and pulses of reiatsu every time I so much as twitched, every time I swung my sword, I sent a tear through the ground unto the horizon. The logical part of my mind whispered that my every action was pointless and would only bring unnecessary attention to myself. Every other part screamed back that it didn't care.

I barely noticed when the mountain of stone crumbled. I barely noticed when the last of the sand drained into the crevices I had formed. I barely noticed that I was now standing on stone instead of sand. I barely notice the clouds of dust that blotted out the sky for miles. And still I raged.

If you had asked my even the day before if I would be all that choked up about reaching my limits I, would have denied it, but that would have only served to prove how poorly I new my own mind at this point. And even afterwards, all I knew was that reaching the limit of my evolution had hurt me in some way I didn't even want to think about at the moment.

And after my tantrum was through, I returned to just standing there, drained both physically and emotionally, the ocean of my mind drifting on its own currents aimlessly.


POV: Unnamed Hooded Adjuchas

I lay on my bed, trying to sleep. Sleep. Hah. That's one thing I've been doing to much lately. I must have spent what amounts too weeks lying on this soft-moss-covered stone sleeping or trying to sleep. I haven't gotten up once.

Since I reached my limit, I seem to have lost some spark in myself, some fire I didn't know I was fuelling. I've always told myself, don't get cocky, don't become overconfident, don't trust your own ability. But apparently, that never sank in, and when I reached my limits, I felt as if I had betrayed myself. In all my time in Hueco Mundo, I have never faced a challenge I couldn't overcome with my own power.

I guess, some part of me came to the conclusion that would always be the case, and believed that I would surpass Barragan. And I know that that that's not the case. Barragan said it himself, his power is god like. But just cause you know something consciously doesn't mean you accept the subconsciously.

Even now, I keep having thoughts like, "You still have ability's you haven't mastered," and "You still have powers that you haven't even tried yet." but I just can't seem to find the strength to move forward. And that's only making me more impressed. Back when I was . . . when I was human, I was an expert of thinking of inventive ways to use powers, impressive techniques, etc.

But since I came to Hueco Mundo, my mind . . . it hasn't been the same. It takes me hours of thought just to come to the same conclusions that once would have taken me hours. Like I'm constantly half asleep. My mind just doesn't work right. And that has to be the most annoying thing here. I mean sure, my awareness of my surroundings was never this good, and I don't think I would have been able to fight this well with my old thought process, but everything that is not related to battle has . . . degraded.

Eventually, I began to drift off again, images passing through my mind in the disconnected manner that I usually have right before I nodded off. However, to my brief annoyance, something disturbed me.

Now, I choose the cavern I built my home in, because it was small, and out of the way relative to the other caverns. In fact, this caverns entrance is one small hole in another out of the way cavern, meaning that there's a whole nother empty cavern between me and other hollows. So, hearing someone talk in my cavern, especially while I was trying to sleep away my woes, was . . . shall we say aggravating.

" . . . back right now, Inaba! I've put up with this for long enough! Either stop right now, or I, I'll stop you!" A voice that seemed somehow familiar sounded.

"We've come to far to stop now."a calm, young sounding, female voice responded.

Ok, I've put up with this long enough! If you go in there, you'll be sucked dry and end up looking like a raisin!" I got to my feet and walked to the door That guy in there's a total monster! I refuse to let my flipping travelling companion go into the same room as a monster that can collapse mountains by accident!" I got to the door and began to walk out, pulling aside the curtain.

"I will not let you throw your life away like this! You wanted to find this guy? Fine! Here he is!" I stood behind a large grey cat with blood red spots, who was currently speaking to a large rabbit who appeared to lack eyes. "Now let's go! Before he realizes . . . were . . . why are your ears pointed above my head instead of at it!" Now the cat's voice sounded nervous, and he began to turn his head to the side to look behind him, only for me to grab him by the scruff of the neck and yank him into the air with a yelp.

"I'm trying to sleep." I spoke right into his face, which I noted was about as terrified as a mask could get. Actually, come to think of it, my voice sounds like wring wraith, so I guess my voice is kinda scary.

"N-now look what you did, Inaba!" the cat, which I could now see was a cheetah, squeaked, as if hoping I wouldn't hear as he squirmed in my grip.

"I can't see. I take offence to that statement." the rabbit responded deadpan. I almost snorted, before looking back at the cat.

"Don't I know you?" I asked causing the cat to shiver and freeze in my grip. "I do, don't I? Your that one who I chased down after I caught you torturing . . . I think it was a frog." The terrified feline could only nod slowly. "I thought so." I dropped him. "Well, I'll let you go this time. If only for the heartwarming concern you showed the rabbit. But If you must stick around my cavern, at least go to the opposite side of my house from the door. I'm tying to sleep." I turned around and and walked back into my house.


POV: Tsuki Inaba(Rabbit Adjuchas)

I listened as the Hooded Hollow walked back into his house, the flap of moss hanging over the door sliding into place behind him with an audible hiss across the stone. I then directed my attention to my companion, who was laid out on the ground shivering in fear.

I'll admit it was somewhat amusing to hear the usually hotheaded and vicious hollow reduced to a shivering wreck on the ground, If only do to how out of character it was. Of course, it became apparent ages ago that he was scarred to death of the hooded hollow, no matter how much time he spent denying it.

"Come on Zrill, get up, your not dead." I spoke to my still shell shocked friend.

Slowly, he raised his still shivering head. "Is he gone?"

I nodded. "He's gone back in side, don't . . . " I trailed off as the hooded hollow came back out, causing Zilly to freeze up again.

"One more thing. DON'T damage my rock garden. If you do, I'll test to see how fast you recover from crippling injury." he then turned and went back into the building.

Thump.

I returned my attention to the cheetah. Huh. This is the first time I've ever had a hollow faint one me. Guess he was even more scared of the Hooded Hollow that I thought . . .


AN: 1:51 AM, Dec 14th, 2018. Ok, so a short chapter, but I did only spend two days on it. Well, two days and thirty minutes, but still. Not much to say about this chapter. Mostly just the SI suffering a breakdown and depression, and the cheetah and rabbit finding him. I couldn't think of anything else to add without making the chapter feel bloated.

Now on to the reviews! . . . Ok, never mind. I'll admit, I'm somewhat disappointed I only got two reviews. I was hoping that the end of the last chapter would get a bigger reaction, but hey, I got like 8 new Faves and a dozen new follows, so theirs that. Well until next time. Hopefully the next chapter will end up being longer.