BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU
The Hollow and the Other settled into a tenuous relationship, feeling out the waters and figuring out what made them tick. The idea of destroying each other passed through their minds more than once.
The Hollow could poison the Other with his reiatsu.
The Other could destroy the Hollow with an arrow.
They both knew how it would end if it came to blows.
Mutually assured destruction.
The only way to ensure a continued stalemate.
Floating in an endless void gave the Hollow enough time to think. Too much time, really.
"Let me help." The Hollow said one day. The void around him rippled as the Other turned his attention to the pale monster in his dark prison.
"Help?" The Other asked with the barest hint of amusement
"Yes. Help." The Hollow repeated.
The air rumbled with something close to a laugh. "There is no help that a hollow could offer. It is in your nature to devour and destroy."
He was about to remove his attention when the Hollow spoke up again. "You want Ichigo to survive, right?" That was enough to catch the Other's interest.
"Is that a threat?"
"Far from it." The Hollow smirked, "I want him to live just as much as you do. If he dies, that's gonna be a real problem for me." He got the distinct impression that the Other was frowning. "Your method of keeping him 'safe' as long as he's not throwing himself head first into fights and... well..." He paused pointedly. The Other had his hands full with their wielder preparing to storm blindly into Soul Society and to almost certain death. "Keeping him away from danger is impossible. You need my help."
"And what would you get out of this agreement?"
Ah, of course the Other would be smart enough to know the Hollow wasn't that altruistic.
Fine. The Hollow would play his hand a bit. "Aside from the fact that my survival is directly tied to his?" He laughed humorlessly, then said "Recognition."
The Other laughed.
"I told you before, I will take back what's mine eventually." His name, his title, his rightful place. "We'll be... partners."
Yes.
That was right.
That was how it was supposed to be, right?
If anyone could help him retrieve his name it would be him.
"Ah. You still believe yourself to be Zangetsu." The Other said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "He won't feel the same."
The Hollow started, something pushing its way to the forefront of his mind: His wielder wouldn't know him... but maybe that would be okay. Emotion and words from... before? Could he really call those memories his own with how different he was now? A second later, the feeling was gone. "You don't know that." The Hollow grumbled.
They talked it out for what felt like hours. Certainly the longest civil conversation they had thus far. Eventually, the Other agreed to a trial.
He would have to wait a while for the chance to prove himself
The next opponent was a familiar one: That same red-haired shinigami they were facing when they all had awoken.
A lifetime ago.
The fight dragged on and the Hollow felt the collar around his throat loosen. He choked back the impulse to let his energy run wild. The Other was watching him closely. One step out of line and the shackles would be back. So instead he carefully reached out, watching the push and pull of the struggle and waiting for his chance to lend some aid. He made each action careful and deliberate, as if facing a cornered animal he did not want to spook.
See? I'll behave.
The Hollow was sure that both his wielder and the Other appreciated the extra shield provided by his hollow mask.
With his first display of trust a success, the Hollow found the Other more open to approach. They still didn't talk much, but they were no longer at each other's throats.
A tense sort of agreement.
He helped out more in the next fight, even going so far as to face off against his Partner in their sideways city.
It was exciting
Exhilarating—
Bitter-sweet?
His Partner didn't recognize him. Didn't even see him as a hollow, somehow. Just saw an illusion, a constructed opponent. Harsh.
"Train him well." While you can. The Hollow said to the Other after. "One day, that power—" your power— "will be mine."
Mine again.
Bankai was a surprise to him. The Hollow felt like he should have known about it... somehow. The new concept fascinated him. He had fleetingly hoped that weird doll would pull him out too. Force his Partner and the Other to acknowledge him as an equal. But alas, he was stuck quietly seething in the dark.
Another thing taken from him. Another thing he was owed.
The bankai he received was a pale facsimile of what it could be.
What it should be.
The fight against the Kuchiki Captain was going... adequately. His Partner's counterfeit bankai was simple to use; the only reason they weren't all sliced to bits from that cloud of petal-blades. His Partner was staying ahead, and that was making him cocky. Idiot. Of course, their luck had to run out; kneeling with a sword speared through his hand, lightning stabbing through his shoulder, a pink blade coming in an arc towards his neck.
Fear and panic shout through them.
His Partner was going to die.
His partner was going to die unless he did something!
The other was impassive as ever. Though he intervened in the battle against Kenpachi, he would offer no such help here. "I have done all that I can for him. This is the fate he chose as a Shinigami."
No.
No!
The Hollow moved without thought, actions guided by instinct forced his energy outwards in a torrent of power, shredding through the dark abyss, forcing his way to the surface.
Adrenaline stretched the moment into an eternity.
Blissful pain raced through his nerves.
Sweet blood heavy in his mouth.
The thundering of his Partner's heart beneath his ribcage.
For the very first time, he was alive.
He caught the sword barehanded, not even registering the sting.
The Kuchiki captain asked who he was.
Funny, the Hollow was wondering the same thing.
He didn't have time to dwell on it, though, too busy sinking into the haze of violence. The dance of blades was beautiful. The slight flicker of fear and confusion in his opponent's eyes was better than anything he could ever imagine.
The hollow tossed attacked with a manic disregard for collateral.
This is it, he thought, this is how we'll work together. This is how I keep him safe. We'll—
"Disappear!"
His Partner's voice clawed through the haze. Rough hands pulling at the mask covering his face.
It hurt.
It hurt! It hurt! It hurt!
The Hollow screamed all the way back to the sideways city.
Betrayal and agony laced through him. He had been helping! If he hadn't done that then his Partner would've...
No. Not Partner. This wasn't a democracy.
Hot anger filled his heart.
"You should not have done that." The Other intoned.
The Hollow could only growl, a low, animalistic sound that reverberated the air around them.
"I warned you before that he would not accept you." The Other said. Fuel to the fire.
The air shifted.
"I've given you your chance to help, and you abused it. It's time I send you back and—"
"No." There was a sword in the Hollow's hands, pale and deadly. The point rested a hair's breadth away from the Other's throat. They both were surprised at that.
"Hollow," The Other hissed, eyes narrowing as he sneered down at the pale figure threatening him. He spoke slowly, carefully. "You know you cannot kill me. What is it you hope to gain from this exchange? You are only painting your actions in a worse light."
The hollow matched his expression. "You won't take him from me. I don't care if I have to beat you within an inch of your life. I don't care if he pushes me away. He. Is. Mine. I'll tear out his heart and eat it myself if it means no one can take him from me!" He was frothing by the end, eyes wide and wild, grin stretching his face.
His instincts screamed louder to eat— consume— devour—
Maybe then his own heart wouldn't be so empty. Maybe then he could keep his Partner safe.
Not Partner, he reminded himself with a shake of his head.
"He trusted you."
The Hollow knew what the Other really meant.
'I trusted you.'
The Hollow had a sword. He had gained strength. He knew, instinctively, that the Other could no longer hold him down. He held all the cards. "Too bad."
The Other's face shifted through a variety of emotions. "You said you wanted to help."
The Hollow barked a laugh. "Did you forget? I'm a hollow. You said it yourself: it's in my nature to devour and destroy."
The Other bowed his head in defeat as the Hollow took in his power.
The air was unbearably silent. The Hollow's dead heart was a heavy weight in his chest. Strange, it hadn't bothered him until he knew what it could feel like when beating. Didn't know what he was missing until he got a taste of it. His skin itched. The numb feeling of pure instinct was a welcome reprieve from the anguish.
He was a hollow.
Ever since he awoke, he had been trying to deny that fact. But...this is the way it should be. Right? Couldn't be Zangetsu. Wasn't quite Ichigo. Just a Hollow. Nothing more.
In front of him, the sky rumbled with the threat of a storm.