Hollow Love

Ours

Xenethis looked back over his shoulder, staring off into the distance at the massive, crumbled domes that stood so many miles away. That place, up until most recently, had been their home. It was where all of the Arrancar had lived while under the watchful eye and hand of Sosuke Aizen. But the war against the Shinigami had ended, and it had ended with their ultimate loss. All of their leaders were gone. Only two of the Espada survived and one of them had gone off on his own, too proud as he was to willingly travel alongside others. Xenethis hoisted his brown leather bag higher over his shoulder. After the defeat of Aizen, the Shinigami had been merciful enough to heal and leave alive those that they could. It was likely that General Yamamoto, the leader of the Shinigami, would have ordered the extermination of all threats, but as he was in the midst of intense medical care himself, he could not issue the command. After being healed, Tia Harribel and her three fraccion were brought back to Hueco Mundo. However, with Aizen's base of operations Las Noches abandoned, the survivors did what they could to scavenge for supplies before taking leave. No one had any reason to stay, except the most brain-addled of them all. Xenethis, Apacci, Sun-Sun, Mila Rose, and Halibel marched through the desert together, no destination in sight, no true plan in mind. Eventually they would come up with something, but for now, it was essentially a time of mourning and necessary change.

Suddenly, Apacci started to trip, her foot getting caught in the sand. Xenethis reached out to grab her. His hand took a strong grip around her arm. The two of them looked at one another and their gaze held strong for several moments. Apacci's pale face began to light up like a beacon before she found the willpower to actually yank herself away from him.

"I-I'm fine! Really!" Apacci snapped back. But she quickly retracted her vicious tone and bowed her head slightly, "...Um, s-sorry about that."

"It's fine. As long as you're okay." Xenethis smiled sweetly at her. Apacci was too embarrassed to look him directly in the eye.

"Did you bruise your ankle or something? You were walking way too fast there. You need to calm down." Mila Rose remarked from behind the two of them.

"Shut up! I'm totally fine! Why don't you watch over yourself more instead, huh? Get off of my back!"

Mila Rose normally would have thrown herself into a frenzy on the spot, but not this time around. Only a few hours ago, she, Apacci, and Sun-Sun had been left on the verge of death, burned nearly to cinders when they had tried to combat the leader of the Shinigami himself. They were eventually healed and revived by the powers of Orihime, the girl Aizen had kidnapped as part of his plan, but the wounds dealt to their collective pride as fraccion could not be recovered so easily. Mila Rose was too despondent to really feel like getting into a screaming match with the smaller, younger Arrancar. Sun-Sun kept her mouth hidden behind her sleeve as always, her emotions too withdrawn to be read. Harribel was in no mood to try and step in. It was hard, having to accept a complete and utter defeat.

"Hey, look over there." Xenethis pointed out in the distance, causing the four women to all turn their heads at once. There was a large cave not far away from their current location. It would be a good place for them to stop and rest at while they tried to gather their bearings. Harribel wasn't too sure, but she trusted Xenethis to the point of her life, so she was willing to go with his plan in mind.

"I think it'd be good for us, you know? Take some time off of our feet just to relax...and to think about things. We can discuss our next move more comfortably."

Not long after they had arrived and dropped their supplies off inside the cave, Harribel and two of the other fraccion went off. Harribel didn't say much, but she claimed she was going to 'scout the area' for any potential threats. Mila Rose decided to go with her. Wanting to be alone was the primary reason that Sun-Sun chose to slither off around the other side of the cave's rock formation, disappearing from sight. Only Xenethis and Apacci were left. Grimacing slightly, Apacci sat down beside Xenethis. He noticed that she was making a grasp at her ankle. It was on the same leg that she tried on earlier.