Six Feet Under the Stars

"What are we going to do here?"

The boy who had asked it obviously wasn't in the mood for a barren desert. His head was still hung slightly, and he stood hunched over, eyes diverted to the sand below for his own safety. He shouldn't have spoken... She would have told him eventually. Now he was going to be punished... But it wasn't as if he couldn't just heal anything she did to him. Sighing slightly, he dared to look up as he waited for an answer. Nine months. He would have to deal with this for nine months. Could he stand it?

"Didn't I say to talk when I tell you to talk, you dog?" The woman's tone was blunt and emotionless. She stood, arms folded across her chest. Her black hair was blowing in the intense winds, as well as her clothing. Her eyes searched around for a moment, then closed. Her senses kicked in, and she could hear the shriek of every Hollow in the sky as they flew over her head. A grin crossed her face out of excitement - soon, it would be all hers. "But, in any case, we'll only be staying here for a short time. After that, we're heading back to the human world."

"We're going to have problems communicating if I'm only allowed to speak when you tell me to, bitch." Nori growled in reply, staring daggers at the back of the woman's head. He couldn't last nine months. He couldn't even stand one day. Sighing for the second time, and this time loud enough so that she could hear him (he had high hopes it would annoy her), he stopped walking. There was nobody here. What reason did he have to listen to her?

"Do you want me to kill this child?" The woman turned her head over towards Nori with a disdainful expression, her voice calm but venemous. "I could very much easily do that. Then I wouldn't have to worry about a time limit... you'd be stuck with me forever, without neither your little whore or your brat to comfort you. Would you like that... sweetheart?" A smile with nothing less of sadism came across her face.

"NO." Nori shouted quickly, averting his gaze the moment she turned her head towards him. He'd do anything for the child. "I'll shut up... I"m sorry... Just... on't do anything..." In spite of himself, Nori kept talking, showing just how pathetic he really was. "But... I mean... If..." Nori stammered, unable to come up with a feasible excuse for the Hollow not to kill the child. If she did it, Nori would kill himself.

Without warning, Sasha stormed over, reached out, and grabbed Nori's chin in her hand, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "Listen here, you cockless pile of dog shit." She snarled through gritted teeth. "You'd better learn quickly what your place is now. You played the hero, and now you're playing the part of my personal bitch. Under me, you have no freedom. You have no dignity. You're just a tool that I can use as much as I please. Those two lesbo cunts back there won't even bat an eyelash towards you anymore, so there's no one to save your ass, or the kid's. Don't tempt me, motherfucker." Roughly, she let go of his chin, turning away from him.

This was enough to prompt Nori to begin crying. He didn't want to cry. He didn't know why he was crying. But he was... And it made him feel even worse. But she wasn't looking at him right now... Maybe she wouldn't notice if he didn't make any noise... "N... nngh..!" A hand was quickly risen to cover his mouth. She hadn't asked him to speak, or cry! She was going to kill the baby... He was her bitch... Nori shouldn't do anything unless she told him to...

"Now, we're going to head to a place that doesn't look like shit. I know where it is." Without pausing to look at him, Sasha began to walk off, sememingly in a random direction. Her feet seemed to grace the sand dunes like a ghost's. "But teleportation would be much too easy for the likes of you. Hope you like a long hike... we're walkin'."

Nori followed silently, nodding to himslf even though she wasn't looking to acknowledge it. Maybe he should just teleport away from her... But then, the baby... He couldn't just leave it with her... if not to use it to keep him with her here, what reason did she have to keep it?

"Oh... and if you even think about using Kogeru, I'm going to catch you and make sure you can't shut off your pain receptors." Sasha added, as an afterthought. "Thanks to that little energy Tereya gave you, I can do that with a flick of my wrist. Then, I'm going to burn your ass alive - and that doesn't include just with fire. After that, your kid's good as dead."

"I-I wasn't thinking about using it..." Nori lied. He was walking steadily behind her, but not so far that he was out of earshot. But... How could she burn him without tired..? It was possible with dry ice, maybe... But still, it was a pretty stupid thing to say without explaining. Even so; it didn't matter. The second the kid was out of her control, Nori was going to kill her. He doubted Tereya wanted someone else permanently leasing her body, anyway...

As they walked, the Hollow screams were beginning to be louder with each and every step. They seem to dominate the blackened skies, their masks the only things seen from afar. Other than that was the face of the moon that looked down eternally on the two hikers. To anyone else, it might as well have been Hell. To her, however, it was home. She could practically feel herself become a part of the dark and enticing power it produced - a mental fuel for the Hollows there. It was why so many decided to reside to nothing but fight and survival - it was just to tempting to say no too. Such was the nature of Hueco Mundo, after all: an eternal battlefield where only the strong reigned.

Well, there would be a new power dominating this region soon... she could assure that.

Nori wasn't exactly sure what to do. She wasn't actually a Hollow... she wasn't even making Tereya go into her Hollow Form, whatever the Hell that looked like. Was she a failure as a Hollow? Why were they even here? And she even told him that they were only going to stay here for a short time... That meant that they were probably going to retrieve something and go back with it... And that's where they were going now? He could use Kogeru with her and then they could both get there faster...

"This used to be a civilization..." Sasha said calmly, as they reached what appeared to be the ruins of a structure. However, unlike other damaged structures, there were some things that were still mostly in tact. "It was much like the Greek human civilization fo Sparta, an oligarchy. However, the desire to fight and kill simply spread too much. The Arrancar and Vastro Lorde that had been so plentiful had destroyed themselves in their own pointless Civil War. Now, few of them remain to tell the tale." She stopped in front of a huge, temple-like structure. "Oh, and you're free to speak now."

Nori glanced away from her, resisting the urge to glare at her or look around. "... What are we here for..?" He asked quietly. What else did she expect him to ask? The "history" of the civilizations? Like he gave a fuck. Maybe she was going to go pleasure herself on one of the ruins... Still, he couldn't help but look at her like that... She still did look and sound like his wife, and his wife was attractive...

"This is where we'll be residing for today. My "home"... and your prison." She replied, shoving open the doors to the temple. She walked in. The rooms seemed similar to that of the Egyptian pyramids - primitive, yet having a modern feel to them. "Not much right now, but once things are brought in from the Soul Society, this should feel just like home."

"Prison..? You can't keep me here... I could just use Kogeru to escape any cage or anything you put me in, unless you know kido, which I know you don't..."

"You're right. I don't." She stopped for a moment, walking towards what was a small prison room. The door was shut. "But my master does. Or have you forgotten that already?" She pressed a hand on the door, causing it to open up at her touch. "You'll be staying in here, and will only come out once I tell you to." It was small, rectangular, and empty, with nothing but walls inside of it. If anything, it looked like a cell for an insane person.

Nori frowned. It was getting old. If she threatened with it every two seconds, it was going to lose effect. "Whatever... Honestly, if you think doing this is going to torture me, you're wrong... I'm just going to sleep until you summon me, okay? Try not to make too much noise." He taunted, stepping inside the small room and laying on the floor as he waited for her to close the door. He didn't need any food or anything. Who was she kidding?

"Not so fast..." A small smile came across her face as she watched him. "I'm going to give you your time for a while." She said immediately, leaning against the open door with her arms folded across her chest. She tilted her head. "Do whatever the fuck you want - walk around, kill some Hollows, whatever. I need some time to decide what the hell am I going to do with you, and once I do, I'm going to find you again. Don't waste your free time - it's going to be the only time you get."

And he didn't. Immediately, he burnt up as he always did, re-appearing outside the ruins and breaking into a full-fledged sprint. He was going to get as far away from her as possible. Maybe she wouldn't be able to find him again! But first... He was going to work on releasing that energy Tereya had given to him. Had she planned to use it like that? Still sprinting, he closed his eyes and concentrated as much as possible.

"Where the fuck is it..."

As he disappeared, she could only chuckle. "Run, little piggy..." She whispered, turning her heel and walking off. "No matter where you hide... I'll always be there. You're mine forever..."

The Devil's Smile
"Where should I go..?"

It was an obvious question, but important nonetheless. Maybe the ruins of Las Noches? That was a bit obvious, though... She'd find him in an instant. Maybe he should just keep running? Logic dictated that the longer he ran, the further away from her he'd get. She'd never be able to catch him! He had Kogeru!

A small distance away, a disruption came into the atmosphere, via a massive Garganta opening up slightly above the ground. A white-haired figure, lone in presence, stepped onto the sand dunes. He was wearing something similar to that of an Espada's outfit, but there was one major difference: it was black, and more human-like in attire. From his spiritual pressure, it was obvious that he was no Hollow, yet he had willingly stepped into the bleak desert known as Hueco Mundo. He took a look around. "Might as well start lookin' from here..." He mused, taking a few steps forward in order to begin searching for his mother.

Taiki Kurosaki.

"A... Garganta..? A Garganta!"

Upon seeing the small opening in the sky, Nori immediately used Kogeru to teleport himself inside, taking no shame in bypassing it's creator completely or asking his permission. What a fool! Terey-... Sasha could have him! She didn't need Nori. "Uh... Thanks." He mumbled audibly. Why not? The man was doing him a favor.

Wait a minute.

What the hell just passed him by?

And why did it feel like opening that Garganta was a mistake?

Taiki immediately frowned, reaching a hand out and catching the man by the foot before he could pass into the Garganta completely. Such a move made him feel like he had just been used... and he didn't like that. He wanted to see the man who dared use him for his own personal gain. With a swift motion, he tossed his hold back out of the Garganta, the Garganta promptly closing behind him.

And now Nori frowned, kicking his captor in the face with his other leg before positioning his foot and putting it where if he pushed, the man's wrist would shatter. "Could you open that up again, please?" He asked politely, ignoring the fact that he had just harmed the man he was asking something of. He was so close! If he could get to the Human World or Soul Society, it'd be way better than here!

The man allowed a small smile to come across his face. "Nope. But I am going to tell whoever around here that we've got an escaped convict on the loose." He said in good humor, promptly releasing the hold he had on Nori's foot. "Who might you be running from, hm?" He moved his jaw around a bit, trying to nurse the pain inflicted on him by the kick. Jeezus.... this guy had one hell of a foot!

A scowl graced Nori's features. This man seemed... familiar. The mocking tone present in his voice annoyed him. Even his actions and gestures seemed to reflect off of something else. Maybe he was doing it on purpose, just to agitate Nori? "Why should I tell you anything?" He asked carefully.

"You don't." The man shrugged carelessly, shoving his hands into his pockets once more. "But my Gargantas aren't free."

"My wife." He said jokingly. It wasn't a lie... but it wasn't the truth, either. A half-lie? "I'm running from my wife. Now, I know you must have to assert so much energy in order to make a tunnel like that, but since I told you who I was running from, could you open it now? Pretty, pretty please?"

The white-haired man rolled his eyes. "Oh, so it's marriage problems. Sorry then, I can't help ya..." He muttered, turning away from Nori and descending to the sand dunes. "Now, there's a relative of mine who lost her way, and I'm trying to find her. If you'll excuse me..." So he was using him to simply escape his problems? Screw that... he shouldn't have made his wife mad in the first place.

"Mmmm..." Nori hummed, following the man steadily without saying a word. He would annoy the man until he opened a Garanta. "MMMMMMMMMM." It seemed the humming was increasing in volume and changing in tone, seemingly trying to agitate the man as much as possible. Some sand was constantly kicked towards his direction by shuffling feet, while humming had escalated to the point where it was just screaming without opening your mouth.

Unfortunately, Taiki had a lot of patience. It was a result from being around his rather ignorant family, as well as their ridiculous tempers and emotional outbursts. It was what allowed him to stay with his bane of a wife. Well, that and the fact that he didn't want to separate from his children. To the humming, he only responded calmly, "Following me's just going to make your wife find you faster. I ain't helping you, Dickless."