Chapter 4: Alone
Setsuzo was walking in the desert, like he always did, searching for something to devour.
He just couldn`t remember his name, so he just chose one for himself after a while to have at least somewhat of a grasp on his own identity. He had thought long and carefully until he was statisfied with his choice.
It had taken him some time, but eventually he was able to control and suppress his desire to constantly consume. He also changed what he ate. What he found might have been sufficient, but it felt wrong to just eat what was cowering in fear in front of him.
After some time it had made him sick, especially after he had collected more knowledge about what he was. He had met others like him, with a hole in their chest. And shortly after meeting them, he was overcome with a new overwhelming feeling that replaced his drive to eat; a drive to fight.
He wasn`t a great fighter by any means, but he was persistent, focused and very tenacious. Through these very qualities he tended to win almost every fight, and when he held the other hollows in his hand, they would always tell him everything he wanted to know.
He was a hollow, a through negative emotions transformed soul of a human that had died. He was in hueco mundo, the world of hollows and the fragile things he had been eating, were lost human souls that hadn`t transformed into hollows yet.
And he had a problem with eating human souls. So he changed that.
Now he was not eating human souls anymore, he was eating other hollows. It was more entertaining and it also felt more deserved, if he would have to fight for his reward, instead of having it presented on a silver plate.
With each hollow he consumed he could feel that he was growing a little stronger. He was getting faster and stronger each day and he would not stop there. He could feel that he was on the verge of something, as if he would soon become a lot stronger if he just consumed a little more.
He took pride in his acomplishments. It was the only thing he could take pride in, because it pretty much defined his whole existence. Hunger, the drive to fight, the constant feeling of growth in his abilities. That and his skills.
One of which, a very useful one, was that he could feel danger when it dawned upon him. That was more of an instinct, but he could just tell when he felt something that he could never meassure up against. That specific feeling always announced itself whenever he came even remotely close to Las Noches, a castle-esk bulding that was supposedly the home of the current ruler of hueco mundo, former Très Espada Tier Harribel.
Logically, he was staying the hell away from that place. The last thing he wanted was to be torn apart by the empress of his world, or one of her lackeys.
His goal was luckily in the opposite direction. A place that was practically brimming with other hollows, all of them weaker than him and he would not let an opportunity like that slip away. He just knew that the place they were at would give him the edge he needed to evolve.
It was the only thing he could do anyway. He didn`t have any allies or enemies, family or just normal acquaintances. He had no one.
He was all alone.
Sometimes that made him peaceful. He had found out that he wasn`t like most of the other hollows. In fact, he was unlike any of the ones that he had ever met. While the others were sadistic and cruel, he didn`t really care if his opponents or victims suffered or not as long as he came out on top. They were greedy beyond belief, he was modest.
On the other hand, there were times when he wished that he was more like them. At least then he wouldn`t be alone. Because even if it granted peace sometimes it was also very painful and unpleasant when there was nobody one could talk to.
And sometimes, silence can be very loud.
That was also why Setsuzo wanted to evolve. He hoped he would become more like a hollow and less, well, himself. It was as if his body had transformed, but his mind was still human. He hated that. It prevented him from truly belonging somewhere.
He had been wandering for hours, step after step, getting closer and closer to his goal that would hopefully save him from having to continue to live this way. Not much further, he was almost there.
The sky didn`t really change much, since it was basically a giant canvas covering the real sky of hueco mundo. He never actually saw the real sky, he had only heard about it from other hollows, that it was just a pitchblack ceiling having only the moon to provide light.
Setsuzo stopped and slowly became confused. He should be there. He didn`t understand. Did he go the wrong direction? No that was impossible, he knew he was in the right place, but there was nothing here. He couldn`t see anything. He slowy turned around, checking in every direction and still nothing.
He sat down and started to think.
Calm down, there`s surely and explanation to this. He let himself fall on his back and started to stare at the sky.
Come on, this can`t be it, there has to be something. I`m right on top of it so why is nothing- wait, on top? He got right back up again and scolded himself for not thinking of it right away.
If it`s not around me, maybe it`s beneath me.
He closed his eyes and started to focus. He immediately found what he was looking for. The vast amount of spiritual beings was in fact under him. Waiting, for someone to go down there and feast on them.
So he started to dig. His body wasn`t made for this kind of work, it was made for fighting, which is why he only progressed at a modest pace, but he didn`t really care much. He didn`t stop when he was surrounded by sand. He didn`t stop when it was getting hard to breathe. He just kept digging.
(Bleach OST 1 Track 7: Creeping Shadows)
Until after what felt like an eternity, he finally broke trough. And was taken aback by what he saw. The things that lived down he were not just regular hollows. They were gigantic, covered by a dark cloak and unusually long and thin. What frightened Setsuzo a bit however was that they all looked the same. None of them were really different from the other, each and every one of them was just like the one that preceded or followed.
And they felt stronger than him. Now that he was closer he could tell for certain. These hollows were superior to him in every way. They were much larger, certainly stronger and had a higher spiritual pressure than him. But for some reason they all suppressed it. That's why they all felt weaker than him from afar.
Their sorroundings were just as mundane as they were. Only plain ground with occasional large trees rising from the bottom, reaching up to the ceiling of the underground cave, possibly supporting the ground above it.
Setsuzo was lucky and fell down close to one of those trees, so he grabbed it with his right hand and got to the ground safely. The landing was a little rough, but there was no real damage done. When he got up, he looked at the creatures again, now even more overwhelmed by their size.
They didn`t seem to notice him though. They just stood around and did nothing. Something was wrong. This just didn`t feel right. Even if they decided to ignore him, those creatures would at least move.
Setsuzo got up and started walking around, slowly and warily at first, faster as time progressed but still cautious.
The longer he was in the cave, the more his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He counted about 20 of those things, all gathered together, almost as if they were cuddling. He kept walking around until suddenly, one of the hollows turned towards him in an instant and aimed to stomp him.
(Bleach OST 1 Track 7: Creeping Shadows ends & Bleach OST 1 Track 9: Enemy unseen starts)
He evaded just in time, only to be targeted by another foot. He also evaded that one and as soon as he got a little distance between him and the two attackers he looked around and was petrified for a moment.
Every hollow in the cave was looking at him. They had also formed a circle around him. And amidst of all of that was a spinechilling laugh that made it`s way to his ears.
"Well, well, well would you look at that friends. Some lost little lamb has found it`s way to our domain", a voice said in a mocking tone.
Oh fuck, were the first words that came to Setsuzos mind. I gotta get out of here.
He had gravely underestimated the situation. The feeling that he could not defeat what was right in front of him rang every alarm bell there was in his head. He had to do something to get as much distance between him and that voice as possible, or he would very certainly die.
He panicked, started to look around himself frantically for an opening to get to the tree closest to the hole he dug. He started running as soon as he saw it, completely disregarding any safety what so ever. And regretted that decision immediately afterwards.
Before he could react, a red beam of energy impacted in fornt of him, missing him by only a few meters.
"Now now, leaving so soon? I`ll admit it, it's not exactly a Palace down here, but it`s not that bad", the voice continued in a threatening tone.
Setsuzo was frozen still, only able to move his head to look where the blast had come from. One of the large hollows had his mouth open and was steaming a bit out of it.
"Frightenend by the menos? I guess someone as weak as you would be, but don`t worry", the voice uttered with an extra portion of menace in it`s the next words, "you have far bigger things to be concerned about."
A shape started to step into the light from the shadows, revealing a hollow with frightening features. He was of a normal build, about Setsuzos size, with a few major differences. His legs were very animalistic, so he only stood on his toes. The skin on his upper body looked like it was covered by light brown bandages and both his hands ended in a claw, much like Setsuzo`s right hand.
The most significant difference however was that he had wings made of blades. They rattled with each step, creating a high-pitched ringing sound. And then there was his mask. His eyes were diagonal slits and his mouth was warped to a menacing smile.
However all of that didn`t matter, because looks didn`t really intimidate Setsuzo, it never had with any of his opponents. What terrified him to his core was the spiritual pressure that this hollow was emitting. He must have surpressed it before Setsuzo got to this cave, because he had never felt a reiatsu that was so drenched in sadistic needs for violence and murder on his way to this place.
"Oh i`m sorry, where are my manners? My name is Bainne. These", he pointed at the creatures standing around them," are my loyal subordinates, the Menos Grande. And we", Bainne spoke with a cruel grin on his face,"will most likely be the last thing you see before you are eaten alive."
Bainne started making his approach, almost casually, as if it was a stroll in the park. Setsuzo wanted to move, but besides shaking his entire body, he couldn`t move a single muscle.
Bainne slowly came closer, his shit-eating grin growing wider and wider.
Come on, I can`t die here. Move, goddamnit.
Nothing happened.
Move.
Not even one muscle in his body listened to his commands.
MOVE!
Bainne now stood right in front of him and although they were about the same height, he somehow absolutely towered Setsuzo`s appearance with his own.
"Come on, this can`t be it, right? At least try not to go out as a little bitch. Tell you what", he said, while leaning down to Setsuzo`s face and coming dangerously close, "i`ll give you a little headstart. That way, you`ll at least have a small chance of living a little longer and I in turn get a chance to be a little entertained, which will result in you living even longer than that little headstart that i`m giving you. Yeah, that sounds fair don`t you think?"
Fair would be if Setsuzo would be at the other end of Hueco Mundo right now, or simply anywhere else than where he was right now. He wanted to answer but he was still struggeling to even breathe.
"Really? No answer?", Bainne said and looked like he was getting pissed. Only to relax again and once more put on that terrifying smile.
"Know what, i`m just gonna take that as a yes. And since i`m such a nice guy, i`ll even help you upstairs."
"Up-upstairs?", was the first thing Setsuzo was able to stutter together.
Bainne burst out in laughter. That sound was beyond seizure-inducing. It sounded like thousands of blades were being ground together in a very violent fashion. He stretched out one of his arms and picked Setsuzo up as if he was nothing.
"Well would you look at that, he can actually talk", he bickered amused. "Yeah, little guy", he continued and pointed to the hole in the ceiling. "Upstairs." Without any further ado, he wound up and threw Setsuzo with sheer force towards the hole. He wasn`t even flying 2 seconds and had already passed it and was coming out on the ground of the desert again.
This time it didn`t take long for Setsuzo to actually move. After he had landed (very roughly), he immediately picked himself up and started running the hell away.
Fuck.
He kept running and running, never looking back, he didn`t need to in order to know that he was being pursued.
Fuck.
"Run, little guy, RUN!" Bainne was now screaming behind him in pure euphory.
FUCK.
He wouldn`t get away in time. He wouldn`t gain any distance. If Bainne would want to catch up with him, he would do so, but like he said, Bainne wanted to entertain himself. So he`d let Setsuzo run a little bit more, until he was bored and then he`d get rid of him.
At least that`s what was supposed to happen.
Somewhere, deep inside of him, under all the pressure, fear and agony Setsuzo awakened a new power. He had never done it before, only having seen other hollows doing it.
In his deseperate wish to flee, run away and be anywhere but here, as far away as possible, he opened a Garganta.
He didn`t even think, he just pressed on forwards, towards and through the Gateway to another world he had subconsciously created, only to find himself running in a completely different environement than before.
It was dark. Trees were everywhere, but not the ones he knew, these ones had strange green stuff on them. Wide lines made of a stonelike material were set up in a grid-like pattern. Along those lines were strange blocks, sometimes with yellow quarter-like lights on their sides.
He stopped in his tracks, for Bainne`s presence behind him had vanished. He immediately looked around to check if he saw him, but there was no trace.
Setsuzo allowed himself to breathe again, and started to further take in his environement. The skies were clear, devoid of any clouds and very quickly, he noticed a difference.
The sun was missing. The skies weren`t lit up by the yellow ball he was used to look at. Instead, many stars were sprinkled across the canvas above him. It would have been a very calming image, if there had not been an unexpected and very unwelcome return of a certain voice.
"You little shit, thought you could run away from ME?" Bainne`s angry voice was echoing through what could only be described as a hole in the air. The hole seemed strangely out of place, still showing the desolate wastelands of Hueco Mundo.
It wasn`t long until the body followed the voice, and Setsuzo was able to recognize Bainne`s now from rage distorted face. He stepped out of the garganta and as soon as he did, it closed behind him.
After he had stepped out, he had immediately taken an intimidating stance and started to build up his murderous Reiatsu, only to stop dead in his tracks. Where a moment ago he was clearly the hunter, he was now looking like the hunted, startled beyond belief himself.
He looked around frantically. His shock continued to grow as he slowly realized what his sorroundings looked like.
Then he looked back at his prey with a very affixiated gaze and said: "You`re either a complete madman, or completely oblivious where you just went to, which would be even worse. For you that is", he added.
A hole in the air started to open once more, through which Bainne slowly retreated. "If you ever get out of the giant mess you`ve just gotten yourself into, trust me when I tell you that wherever you are, wherever you`ll go: i`ll find you." Those last words where filled with such an intense murderous intent that it ran shivers down Setsuzo`s whole body, even long after his persecutor was gone.
(Bleach OST 2 Track 11: Here to stay)
After some time passed he finally loosened up a little, having some peace and quiet at last. He looked up to the sky again and took in the sight of it once again. Now that he looked closer, he could see that it was not black but in fact a very dark blue, filled with stars. It was a comforting sight. He climbed up one of the block formed buildings and got on it`s roof to be even a bit closer to that soothing image.
He was a little worried, since Bainne was, in his eyes, absurdely powerful and yet he got out of this place as fast as he had arrived. Setsuzo didn`t care though. He just looked up at the sky and for the first time in what felt like ages ago, he had found peace.
Autho's notes:
Something i forgot to mention at the end of the last chapter: (Gasp and shocking gestures) Squad 11 4th seat Makoto Souken has a Bankai!? Why, yes he does. Big fucking shocker i know ;)
Jokes aside, yes he does have a Bankai and a pretty awesome one at that i might say. You won't find out about it though until a lot later. Consider it a little tease for things to come, since he is a Major Player for most things that are Happening in this Story. The biggest ball has already been dropped, namely that he was responsible for the death of our two main characters. Well, death as humans (obviously). No more on that Topic though, wouldn't want to spoil anything for you.
Now for this chapter:
I hope the way i inserted the Soundtrack titles wasn't too confusing. As for everything else there is really not much to talk about without revealing some things, so i don't really have a lot to say on that. I do have something to say that i didn't mention at the beginning of the prologue though. English. It's not my maiden language, so do expect some grammar mistakes and repeating words since my vocabulary isn't quite where i'd like it to be. That being said:
If you`ve got your own opinion, PM me, or, better yet, review the Story. I`ll always welcome consturctive criticism.