Disclaimer: Bleach and its characters in the manga and anime belong to Tite Kubo. I do not, in any way, claim rights to any of the characters, movies, songs, or other franchises that may appear in this work of fan fiction.
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Reflections
Chapter One - Little Thing
In the beginning, he is a small thing. The desert he wakes up in is as vast as an empty ocean, and he feels all the smaller. Weak and afraid, he crawls with his belly to the sand, scenting the air for prey. It's a fruitless search; the fear in his blood is paralysing, even if he was strong enough to hunt, he wouldn't.
He knows what he must do, but he would rather run with his life assured.
His first meal is a dying Hollow; bloody and dragging itself between the dunes, it had fallen prey to a stronger predator. Like the Little Thing, it had had enough self-preservation to run while it still could, but had no more energy to find an easy meal for itself.
It had been a simple matter to run in and tear its throat out, chewing at the flesh, gnawing at bones, and sucking out the tangy blood, bitter with fear, along with the dying Hollow's reiryoku and soul.
Overall, it was a quick affair and it had left him wanting- his stomach still ached with hunger- but fearing the dead Hollow's pursuers (for surely its attackers would not simply let it go), he had burrowed deep into the sand and tunnelled his way far, far away from the Endless Sea.
His next two meals go about much the same way, and one Endless Night he finds that he is no longer a Little Thing, but quite large, and fast, and smart with the knowledge of three Hollows much older than he.
Fear is still a constant. But scavenging will no longer do.
So he hunts.
End Note: Reiryoku (霊力): Spiritual Power, different from Reiatsu (霊圧), which means Spiritual Pressure- the physical force/feeling/pressure of released reiryoku. The more reiryoku a person has, the stronger the feeling of their reiatsu.