Hollow Love

Passion

Apacci had noticed that Xenethis had been watching her. He was doing it from afar, partially submerged within the shadows of a nearby pillar. Of course, he probably didn't think that the pillar was able to hide him, let alone that Apacci hadn't noticed him yet. In fact, he was most likely aware that Apacci would notice him rather quickly, it wasn't like she was unable to sense his spiritual pressure or anything, but he still kept himself hidden anyway. He might claim that he did it for the sake of politeness, but Apacci wouldn't have bought it no matter what he said. She didn't like him. She'd never really been able to like him. He was such a weirdo in her opinion. The fact that he had an unbroken mask, in spite of being an Arrancar, was very unsettling to her. He couldn't even explain why he had it himself, so she had no idea whether or not he was lying about it or if he really didn't know. Either way, Apacci thought it was something that should be seen as more suspicious. Yet already Mila Rose, Sun-Sun and even Lady Harribel were already very accepting of him. Especially Lady Harribel. It made Apacci a tad annoyed that the woman she looked up most to and admired more than anyone in the world, even more than Lord Aizen, would find attraction toward someone like Xenethis. It didn't seem right to her.

So of course, she had to call him out on it. "Come out here already! Stop watching me already, you creep!"

Xenethis did as he was told and revealed himself. He put on a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you or anything, Apacci. I just happened to be around in the area at the time and I-"

"Yeah, whatever. You don't have to waste time explaining yourself to me. I'm not going to believe it anyway."

"Oh, is that so?"

Xenethis continued to approach her until the two of them were standing almost side by side. The training space that Apacci had been using to practice her techniques was riddled with destroyed monuments and piles of smoldering debris. She had been trying out different methods of firing off her cero, her doom blast, from either using it in short spurts or charging it up for several seconds before firing off a more powerful, condensed attack. Xenethis had seen it all, but Apacci had only noticed his presence recently because she had been so thoroughly engrossed in her training beforehand. Xenethis would have placed a hand on her shoulder, but he could tell from the spiritual pressure brimming off of Apacci's body that she did not wished to be touched by him...only somewhat. Recently, her spiritual pressure had begun to grow less hostile toward him, but she herself probably never even noticed it at all.

"You know, your skills are incredible, Apacci. I couldn't help but notice, watching you fight by yourself like this."

"Y-Yeah...?"

"You could probably rise up in the ranks of the Fraccion if you really wanted." Xenethis told her.

"I would never do something like that! As if leaving Lady Harribel is even an option I'd ever consider! Besides..." Apacci snarled. She looked away.

Xenethis grabbed her by the arm. "Besides what? Does this have to do with Barragan's Fraccion at all?"

Appaci gasped. She looked up and her eyes met with Xenethis', their stares interlocking for several seconds before Apacci forced herself to look away again as the heat began rising in her cheeks. Her spiritual pressure started to waver in response to his touch, and this time it was something that both Xenethis and Apacci herself noticed happening. She didn't try and force her arm out of his grip, even as he continued to hold it. Even under the hot and blinding sun of Aizen's castle, the world around the pair suddenly felt so cold, so quiet and desolate. It was like despair incarnate. Apacci was not someone who liked to talk about her feelings very often at all, preferring instead to hide them behind an expression of frustration, anger and defiance. However, she wasn't nearly as strong emotionally as she liked to pretend. Things were still able to bother her.