Six Feet Under the Stars

This article, Six Feet Under the Stars, was added by Achrones150 who determines its usage on this wiki.

This article, Six Feet Under the Stars, was added by Watchamacalit who determines its usage on this wiki.

"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."

"Why is your hair white?! ARE YOU AN ALBINO!?" Nori screamed, purposely ignoring the man's statement. "Or did you dye it? Why would you dye your hair white? That doesn't make sense! Why not red? Or blue? Or purple? Or green? Or yellow? WAIT. WHAT'S YOUR REAL HAIR COLOR. I bet you're a brunette. You look like a brunette. Are you a brunette? I bet you're a brunette... Are you a brunette? MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM."

Taiki thought about it for a moment. He stopped in his tracks, turning around to face the man once more. "On second thought, maybe I can make a Garganta for you... if you tell me who you're running from." He said, grinning mischeviously. "If we're on the same page, I also want you to take me straight to her without any complaints."

Nori found those conditions to be unacceptable.

"... Why do you have long hair? Are you a girl? Guys with long hair are either gay, or hippies, and you don't look like a hippie, so are you gay? I heard they have this, like, device, and you - MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM - stuff it in your underwear, and it tucks your sack back so it looks like you have a vaj. Do you want the website? There was a flier or somethin - MMM - wait, I think you might already have one... unless... maybe there's really nothing down there..." His gaze shifted to the man's crotch.

"Just because you don't have one doesn't mean you get to take mine, Dickless." Taiki countered, folding her arms across her chest. He had tuned out everything but the gaze onto his groin. But, god, this man had dieharrea at the mouth. "C'mon. Tell me who she is, and I might just create the Garganta right now." He continued to egg the man on, looking on with impassive eyes.

"Terey-... Sasha." A hand rose to Nori's face in an attempt to hide and supress his frustration. He better make the Garganta now. Or, he'd just bring him to her, and then she might like him more! So he could leave. Or, or... He'd kill the man when he got there and please her... Maybe if she was pleased, so wouldn't be so mean...

His suspicions were confirmed.

"What a coincidence..." Taiki commented, his eyes turning to the upside-down U-shape. A cheerful smile came across his face once again. "Sasha--" He was bemused by the "other" name, but decided to humor the man anyway. "--just so happens to be my mother."

"Good for you. Garganta now please." Nori growled. So this was her bastard child? No wonder he annoyed him so much... "Unless you want me to take you to her? I'm sure she would be thrilled to see you."

Taiki feigned a hurt expression. "With that rude attitude? I don't feel compelled enough."

"I said please." Nori rebuttled quickly.

"Right after you kicked me in the face."

"I did not."

"Keep playing dumb, Dickless. It ain't going to help you get away from your wife faster..." Taiki said lazily, raising one hand to pick at his ear with his pinky. Now that he knew his mother was here, he had all the time in the world, and he would use it to continue to toy with this man.

Nori frowned, looking down at the man before him with a disapproving expression. "I just realized I'm your step-father..." He mumbled, as if he was already thinking about something else. It was too bad he wasn't a girl. He/she'd get spoiled. "I'm not particularly fond of physical punishment for children, but maybe I'll make an exception..? Unless you'd like to apologize. Or open up that Garganta."

His step-father? At first, Taiki's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. He hadn't really paying attention to things such as family branches, and never considered such a thing to be true. He had really no idea if Nori was telling the truth or not. But if he didn't accept it, then the game he was playing with the man couldn't go on. So, he simply took his pinky from his ear and flicked the small piece of whatever away from him. "Is that a challenge, old man?" He asked tauntingly, using a mockingly polite voice.

No other words need be said.

A Family Spar

Using kogeru, Nori appeared in a squatting position below his new son, spinning with his leg out, trying to preform a leg sweep. "... Do I have grandchildren..?" He asked quietly... He wanted them. Would they like him, if he did have any..? Probably not, considering he stole their grandmother away... But this man was old enough to have children. Even if his dick was horrendously small.

The moment Nori appeared, Taiki swept his legs up and his hands down in a handstand, palms clutching the earthen material. He took a few "steps" forward, grinning back at his step-father as he did so. "Well, you definitely aren't the type of Shinigami I know..." He commented.

"And you're some new, special kind of retard, aren't you?" Nori teased, drawing Nasuka and swinging it towards Taiki's mid-section. It wasn't as if the boy could draw his own Zanpakuto and defend; his hands were busy. Unless he pushed himself off the ground and into the air..? But it'd be simple to just change the direction of his swing and cleave him in half. How boring...

Taiki simply allowed himself to fall on his back, the strike just cutting into his clothes. But as he did, he pointed his hands like guns towards his assailant. "Hadō 1. Shō." He stated calmly, expelling a force of telekenetic energy. At the close range, it repulsed Nori away from him, allowing himself to get up without too much trouble. "Attacking an unarmed opponent? I guess I'll just have to arm myself, then..." He said in resolution, unsheathing his own blade in response to his opponent's.

Digging his blade into the sand to slow himself, Nori stood where he was, refusing to make any advances. "Whatever... I should probably kill you, anyway... I doubt Sasha wants to see you, or anyone from her former family..." He mumbled, now steadying himself into a defensive position. A frown-like snarl formed on Nori's face. Why did he care what Sasha wanted..? He was supposed to be running away.

"I don't think that's your decision to make, Dickless." The white-haired man retorted, raising his own blade to a similar stance. His body seemed tense, but in truth, he was quite relaxed. He was determined not to get overwhelmed by Nori's attacks, but was sure he could fight with ease. It was an even balance of the mind, as far he considered it.

"I don't recall asking you for you opinion." Nori retorted, still not moving. Maybe it wasn't obvious that he was waiting for Taiki to attack him? He could stand here all day... or, rather, until Sasha came and tried to retrieve him. Then he'd be using kogeru to get away.

"Fine with me. All you'll be getting, then..." Using his own Shunpo, he boosted himself forward, closing the distance between the two opponents with relative ease. He swung his sword down with one-hand, sparking a clash with Nori's own. "Is a taste of my blade." He continued to attack relentlessly, but in a focused manner in order to keep his opponent on the defensive.

Nori easily deflected all of Taiki's one-handed swings in a similar manner. Waiting for a moment where their swords would clash and Taiki would be left defenseless for a brief moment, Nori raised his foot up and kicked his opponent in the gut, smirking slightly. Was this the first time he'd ever smirked..? Nori didn't really remember doing it ever before... "How does it feel to know I'm banging your mom?"

"She must've shown no mercy, considering you're running away from her!" Taiki countered easily, lunging in to strike again.

"How does it feel to know you're going to have a brother or sister..?" He asked uneasily, side-stepping.

Once the blade fell where Nori had once stood, Taiki simply switched his attack pattern to a side-swing to counter quickly. "Well, let's hope they're gonna be better than my PMSing sister I already have!" He replied, continuing to smile even as he swung.

Oh? He had a sister, too? Awesome! Almost estaticly, pushing foward in an attempt to push Taiki on the defensive. "... What... What does she look like..?" Nori asked carefully. Was she cute~? Maybe she looked like Tereya did, when she was a child! Despite the rotting flesh... She did look rather cute.

"She's a replica of her mother, except her crimson eyes come to the surface every time she gets the urge to kill someone." Taiki explained, sliding back. He raised his own blade to intercept the attacks. It was almost like a spar between father and son... too bad he and his actual father didn't do this some time.

"What about her personality?" Nori pushed himself backwards, giving himself some breathing room once again. "Is she a bitch like her mother..? Or... As much of a bitch?"

"Hey!" Taiki exclaimed, pointing a finger at Nori. He feigned a look of indignance. "My mom is not a bitch! You're just too much of a wuss!" With that, he opened his hand out, clenching it into a fist. "From thine hand of staggering might, stab all those who block my path! Hadō 26: Yariawai!" At that incantation, a beam with the thickness of his fist erupted, a cutting beam aimed straight towards his target.

"She hasn't really been herself lately..."

Using both hands, he swung with a devistating blow down, slicing the beam in half and causing a sizable explosion, which in turn threw him further back. Sighing, he held his sword out horizontally in front of him. "Weed out, Nasuka..." He mumbled, wincing in pain as it elongated and pierced his hand, as it always did. It only took a second for him to use kogeru to close the distance between them once again, and another for him to bring Nasuka foward in a thrusting motion, increasing it's length at the same time to improve it's speed.

Such good swordsmanship, Taiki noted. He flicked his sword wrist to point the blade downwards, once again sparking a clash of blades once Nori's collided with his own tempered steel, parrying it and using his own counter-strike. Even his Zanpakuto seemed strange... who was this man, really? His nature was becoming more and more challenging for Taiki to guess on his own, and it intrigued him.

"Seiiku." Large vines covered in thorns ripped themselves out of the ground before wrapping themselves around Taiki's neck, arms, legs, and waist. The thorns dug into his skin, preventing the vines from slipping on his body. Nori himself wasn't moving, his Zanpakuto half-buried in the ground below him. Maybe it took too much concentration so he couldn't move? Or maybe he couldn't move his Zanpakuto. Either way, it really didn't matter. Taiki should be trying to find a way out of his prediciment.

One possibility, at the time, was available: attacking the source. Taking in what breath he could before the vines could tear through his throat, Taiki expelled a mass of hot flames from his mouth. However, he didn't aim it at Nori directly; he aimed it at the groudns between them. As the flames expanded, their tongues licked the vines securing Taiki in place, weakening them enough for him to physically break out of them and leap back.

"Okay..." A large quartz tree ripped itself out of the ground below him, each branch on it's bony body pointed upward and sharpened, postioned to impale him in multiple places should he land on it. "Tanpopo." Said Nori, as it grew Dandelions, which routinely released their seeds that floated up in the air and surrounded the boy. So now... if he didn't dodge the tree, he'd get stabbed, but if he tried to move out of the way, he'd get killed. I'm such a genius...

However, a blade had found its way to his neck, a lone figure standing behind him, slightly off to the side. "Here's a tip." He stated calmly, retracting the sword away for a moment. "You should've did the dandelions first, then the tree. It would've been much less obvious." Taiki had used Shunpo again just in time to evade being swallowed by what would've been an explosive death. It would've been a flawless plan, had Taiki not percieved the movement of the ground in time.

Without hesitation, Taiki swung his blade again, aiming to cutt through Nori's neck and off his head.

"Here's another, talk after you try to attack me, so I don't know where you are and that you're about to attack."

The Pole made it's way to his side, effortlessly blocking the blade Taiki had swung at him. "Do I have grandchildren..?" He asked quietly. Did he? Nori was sure they were cute! At least one of them would have to be, at least... And he doubted she would look like an NPC from any Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. That would be impossible!

"If you mean my children..." Taiki said, grinning at the "tip" that his stepfather had given him. "Then, yes you do." He drew his blade back, floating backwards a little. "If you don't, then, well..." He shrugged. "You don't."

"Of course I do! What do they look like! What do they act like! I wanna know!" He shouted enthusiasticly. He couldn't wait until his daughter was born. Oh, right! That reminded him. "Sasha's pregnant, so you're going to have a half-sister. If you're not nice to her, I'll kill you, okay?"

"I can be nice, no need for threats..." Taiki protested calmly, raising a hand up towards the man. "Well, they're platonic twins; one's got long, silver hair and blue eyes. The other's got long black hair and red eyes. Both are at the age of twelve." He lowered his hand. So this guy seemed to like family very much. Or at least children. What if he was a pedophile? Was that why Sa-- Tereya was chasing him down?

"Ah... How's your wife? Unless... you raped some random woman and forced her to have your babies. Not that you look like a rapist! I'm just saying that it's a possibility... Did you?" Nori ranted, giving himself a mental facepalm. He better not make things akward. "Oh! And forget about the Garganta. I'll take you to Sasha after this is over. Maybe you can help!"

Taiki was almost tempted to faceplam himself at the man's rambling. Instead, a bead of sweat formed at the back of his head. "Really? That's great, then!" He accepted readily. However, at the next-to-last statement, he frowned slightly. "But, what do you mean, when this is over?"

"... I mean, after I kick your ass... What did you think I meant?" Nori wasted no time, using Kogeru to allow himself to appear above Taiki, using a lunging motion to thrust Nasuka down towards his head. If it at least pricked him, Nori would definately win. Because then he would have a toxin injected into his body and get all groggy! Taiki wouldn't be able to keep up.

This time, Taiki simply jumped out of the way. "What are you, a prophet?" He taunted, raising his blade up to the defensive again. "This fight ain't decided just yet." He was beginning to enjoy himself more and more as the battle progressed, and was tempted to just sit back and defend himself. However, Nori was too perceptive of that, and thus he had to put forth effort to keep his opponent on his toes.

The moment Nasuka missed and hit the ground below, a small green carpet began growing out of the surrounding area. Grass! That would make things much simpler. "No, I'm just an esper. Prophet gives it a slightly religeous connotation, which repulses me deeply." He replied simply.

"Hmph..." Taiki, seeing this new development, decided to take to the air in order to avoid point-blank confrontations with the effects of Nori's Zanpakuto. This way, it would take longer for the attacks (at least on the ground) to reach him, as allow him a good F.O.V. Being in the air seemed quite advantageous, and he percieved he might have to stay up for a while.

"Nyeh, Tanpopo." Nori grumbled, watching in delight as the same scene from before develouped. Now that Taiki was airbourne, it should be harder to escape, right?

Wrong.

Taiki's sight was able to catch the dandelions moving towards him. He moved out of the way once again, but kept a distant eye on the dandelions themselves. If Nori was able to control plants, he might easily direct those things to simply follow him. It would be difficult to keep evading he kept doing that...

"Agh, this is bullshit..." Nori muttered to himself, using Kogeru to - once again - appear behind Taiki. Holding Nasuka like a baseball, he swung it at Taiki's back, trying to knock him into the cloud. True, he could control plants. But only if they were attatched to the ground and stimulated by his reiatsu. While the seeds were the offspring of his technique, he couldn't really do anything with them...

"Your movements are getting predictable!" Taiki lectured lightly, bending over to avoid the strike. With a backward lifting of his foot, he kicked Nori in the chest to force him away, then turn back around to face the man completely.

Nori couldn't think of a snappy comback. "SHUT UP." He rebuttled instead, pointing Nasuka at him and watching it extend. Were they really? Or maybe it was just because his step-son was being a total asshole and making him mad. Nori would have to spank him later...

Once again, Taiki utilized the Kido technique of the beam property, closing his fist and shooting the energy towards the lengthening Nasuka.

It was enough to force it back, though it kept extedning. Unfortunately, this force was applied to Nori's arm, making it bend backwards at an akward angle. Crack! Nori whimpered. Was it broken..? He switched hands, letting the other one hang limply at his side.

"... Maybe you could teach me Kido sometime... since you seem to be so proficient at it, and I can't seem to do anything to you while you're using it..." He mumbled, grimacing. When would he release? Was he mocking Nori by not releasing his Shikai?

Taiki lowered his hand, his grin somewhat prideful. "Flattery will get you nowhere." He replied, once again settling into a comfortable stance. He had to admit, though; hearing it from a guy who was attempting to annoy him to death at first was quite refreshing.

"I respectfully disagree." Nori landed back down on the ground below. "But this is getting boring." Jabbing Nasuke into the ground, he watched silently as the grass grew expedentially, shooting up into the air towards Taiki. They were like tiny blades... But, if his assumption was correct, Taiki would probably find a way to avoid it anyway.

And sure enough...

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens...." Taiki extended his hands out, bolts of electricity forming on the skin of both of them. Hadō 84..." They shot out as a massive torrent of lightning, enveloping the extending grass in their destructive power . "Sōren Sōkatsui!"

He not only evaded the threat of being impaled... but also pushed back the attack.

Nori took the brunt of the attack, hissing as it blasted him even further away than he wanted to go. Bits and pieces of his flesh were torn off... And he recieved excessive burn marks... not to mention bruises from when he hit the sand... Nori was pissed now. Taiki would pay.

Unexpected Interference

A powerful burst of reiatsu disrupted the area around him. His teeth sharpened... He gained multiple eyes... Maybe he should try a different appearance when entering his Demon Form? This was getting old... It was all getting old. But that didn't matter right now... He would have to wound Taiki somehow. It would be payback, right? So it was okay! Nori wouldn't kill him...

That was when Taiki's eyes widened. The torrent of reiatsu hit him like a tornado's winds, causing the grin off of his face to vanish. He felt a chill go down his spine as he felt the dark and corrupting power he was enveloped in. Other than the eyes and teeth, his appearance hadn't changed... and yet, it seemed as if Taiki was now facing down a completely different person. This was certainly no Shinigami....no... this was definitely the power of a demon.

He couldn't afford to play around any more. He gripped his sword with two hands, holding it in a diagonal pose as he readied himself.

It didn't take very long for Nori to Advance on him.

Taking his time, he paced towards Taiki slowly, removing his shirt and tossing it to the ground below. A small eyes formed on his back. Now he could see behind him, too! Ah, no openings now... Almost at once, his right arm swelled up to the size of a thick marble pillar, and the fist was covered with a gray mold, and was hardening consistantly with the amount of the substance on it.

"If you surrender now, I'll be happy to end the fight. But you'll have to acknowledge it as my win. Because... You know, you'll be surrendering... yeah."

Taiki would've gladly fired back a comment of his own in response to the rather cocky statement... had it not been for another burst of corruptive reiatsu that came into play. But it wasn't Nori's. It was familiar... close to him... and similar to that of a Vizard's. But, if that were true, then why was it so dark? He furrowed his eyebrows, attempting to find the source of the new energy that had come into the battlefield.

However, he didn't need to, for it appeared right before his very eyes.

A slim hand reached out and grabbed Nori by the back of the neck, locking on with a vice-grip. Stoic eyes bored their stare into the back of his head. "I just knew you couldn't keep yourself out of trouble." A woman's voice, low and menacing, purred within his eardrums. The white-haired man could only stare in wonder at her, the long, black hair and half-Shinigami uniform all too familiar.

"Kaa-san..." He murmured to himself, lowering his blade.

"S-Sasha..." Nori whimpered, the eye in the middle of his back closing immediately as his appearance changed back to normal. Using kogeru, he immediately tried to get far enough away that she couldn't catch him. But... she was taken with him because she was holding on... "Let go..!" He cried, reaching behind himself, trying to make her release her grip.

In response, she tightened it, her fingers sinking into the flesh like pressing danggers. "Trying to run from me...?" She hissed, narrowing her eyes at Nori even though he could not see her. "Not gonna happen. A master never lets their slave get away from them." She used Shunpo to get back to where they once were, and in Taiki's sight. However, she hadn't yet focused on the white-haired boy just yet. This man tried to use her "son" for an escape? He was going to find himself in a shitload of trouble once they got back.

Nori cringed and dropped to his knees. She was going to break his neck! "Please stop, I won't run, I'm sorry... I just... I met this guy, and he told me about the family you had, and now I feel bad for taking you away from them..." Small tears welled up in Nori's eyes, not from his slight feeling of guilt, but from the pain she was causing him. "Just... let go!" He screamed. It would be simple to enter his Demon Form and make her let go... but he couldn't hit her anywhere near the stomach because of the baby...

"You said that earlier." Sasha growled, obviously getting pissed by his begging voice. "Guess what? You attempted to flee. You took advantage of me, you little shit, and that is something that's going to cost you dearly. But for now..." She removed her fingers from Nori's neck, letting the blood spray and spill on her hands. "I'm focused on Taiki..." She directed her gaze up towards the said man, who now had a rather carefree expression on his face. He descended to their level, free hand in his pocket.

Nori covered the back of his hand desperately with his right hand. Blood oozed between his fingers... he would have to heal himself later... Would Sasha let him? Crawling into a miserable little ball on the floor, Nori waited for Sasha to tell him they could leave... Nine months... He couldn't stand that... She was going to break him before it was over...

A small, amused smile came across Sasha's face as she looked over Taiki's form. "I hope you weren't expecting your mother, brat." She stated tauntingly. "She's a part of me now, rather than the other way around. As far as you're concerned, she never existed." She emphasized her words in order to make sure the boy was actually affected by her words. After all, what better way to break someone down than insult their mother? Other than the use of the old "Yo Mama" jokes...

However, Taiki wasn't easy to be broken down in such a manner. He looked away, pointing his blade off to the side but keeping it lowered. "Not at all. I knew there was something up about your reiatsu the moment you came into the area. It was far too dark, even for a Vizard." He deduced, keeping that calm look on his face. "For someone being able to overpower Kaa-san, you don't do a very good job of hiding yourself, Hollow." It was such a shame, really. His father had even persuaded him to use his so'called Vizard blood. If this was the price to pay and the risk to take as a result, then he'd be better off relying on his own strength.

"I don't need to hide myself from a weakling like you." That was when Sasha's smile turned maniacal. She raised a finger abruptly before Taiki could say anything else, unleashing a powerful Cero at him that seemed to gain slowly in power. Taiki's eyes widened, and he pointed his blade at the blast before it collided head-on with him. For a minute, it looked like he had been completely consumed...

Until the offensive energy dispersed.

Now, Taiki was wielding two blades, one pointed at the two, and one of them pulled back as if to swing. But, his hands moved to switch their positions, and the one that was now pointing forward glowed with corruptive energy before it was blasted - the very energy that Sasha herself used. However, she was unfazed, raising both hands to her own defense. The raw energy slammed into her palms, but dispersed shortly after being unable to overpower her strength.

Such an incredibly powerful attack... and the Kurosaki prodigy had once again proved himself to dominate it.

Squealing, Nori was finally able to re-enter his Demon Form. "Gahou..." He mumbled, as the five holes in his neck sealed themselves. Maybe he should help Taiki win..? Though it honestly didn't look like he needed Nori's help at all. Sasha would punish him later for it, anyway... But she already treated him like shit! How could it possibly get worse?

A quartz tree, similar to the one he had tried to impale Taiki on before, erupted out of the ground below Sasha. It gleamed with potential... After she dodged it, he would use Tanpopo on the area she was. He could learn from his past mistakes!... Sasha was going to kill him...

A grin came across Taiki's face once more as he saw Sasha's eyes widen in shock at Nori's turn on her. She acted accordingly, quickly evading the tree before it could impale her. "Such a shame! Now I can't call you Dickless anymore!" He took a step forward, and vanished into thin air. But he was not retreating; this was one of his signature techniques for his Zanpakuto. The reiatsu around the area was prominent enough for him to use, and there would be no expectation from Sasha when he struck.

A perfect trap.

"Tanpopo!" Nori shouted, as the Dandelions covered the area Sasha had moved to. Wherever Taiki went, he sure screwed Nori over. If he wasn't here, then what was keeping Sasha from disciplining him..? What an asshole. Now he was going to get killed. Or she might hurt the baby, or... Nori bit his bottom lip and swallowed his sadness.

Taking it from her master's move, she sneered. "Pathetic!" She snarled, unleashing her reiatsu from her body. It blew away the dandelions, shielding her from what would've been an explosive end. Her narrowed eyes cast themselves down upon her servant. "Defying me is useless, Princess. You just blew your last chance to beg--"

"Hallo~!"

Immediately, her eyes widened, and she turned around in shock. But she could not stop Taiki's blade from slicing into her left shoulder. His eyes were calmly narrowed, and the smile was visible on his face as he observe her blood erupt from the wound like a geyser. She sucked in her teeth, skidding away from him and casting a glare in his direction, though her eyes wavered under the pain. "You bastard..." She spat.

"Like it?" Taiki mocked. "Ato Teki Boueisen, an effective measure for power-types. After you blasted that Cero, the reiatsu remnants were enough for me to camoflauge myself in. All I had to do was wait until you exposed yourself."

Nori hesitated for a moment. "Uhm... Taiki, sorry to interrupt, but... Well, one, why are you explaining your ability to her? I know that's a bad habit everyone does, but wouldn't it make more sense to wait for her to figure it out, so that you could probably get a few more usages out of it? And... secondly... don't hit her in the stomach..."

Taiki shrugged lightly. "My mother already knew about my Shikai. What point would be there to hide it?" He raised into a defensive stance once, looking over Sasha. "Now, anything else you want to try?" He taunted, the fox-like quality of his smile showing. For a moment, Sasha remained silent, closing her eyes and tilting her head from side to side. Then, she opened them once more. To her surprise however, she made no move to attack. Instead, she spoke the words that would decide Nori's fate.

"Sorry. But I haven't time to waste on you."

With that statement, she abruptly turned around, wrapped an arm around Nori's midsection before he could protest, and vanished. Taiki's eyes widened, and he attempted to follow the reiatsu trail, but it too had vanished as well. He had to admit: Sasha was pretty good at covering her own tracks. He re-sealed his Zanpakuto and sheathed it. It would be too troublesome to follow... right now, he had other business to attend to in the desolate realm.

His granddaughter would be pleased to know that their grandmother was doing fine.

A New Addiction

Nori grimaced. She was going to kill him, or murder him, or - Wait... That was the same thing. Maybe? There was a difference between Murder, Manslaughter, Homicide, Genocide, so on and so forth. But there were many ways that she could kill him! She could cause massive internal hemmoraging by bludgeoning him to death, or fish out his internal organs and strangle him with them! Or make him choke on his own balls, or...

That wasn't really important. He didn't even try to resist when she had taken him. Whatever she wanted to do, it was up to her. He would find out eventually anyway.

She had gotten away from her son a distance good enough. Abruptly, she stopped, allowing him to drop to the sandy grounds. She put her hands on her hips, ignoring the wound that had carved itself deep into her shoulder. She looked at him with disdain, and seemingly calcuation.

She was wounded. He might be able to overpower her. But his instincts told him otherwise. Lying on the ground motionlessly, he stared back, meeting her gaze with a combination of boredom and apathy. "So what did you decide to do with me? And before you get all pissy about me trying to run away, we both know that you expected me to, and that you would've caught me eventually anyway."

"So why did you do it?" Sasha questioned lightly, raising a finger to suck on briefly before she pulled it out, similar in the way one would do when they're readying a Wet Willie. Of course, her intentions were more than just simple hazing. She walked over towards him, squatting over him and half-lidding her eyes. "You once again walked yourself into a trap. Tell me, does it please you to know that I'm going to make you suffer?" She made her tone conversational and casual, as if what she was talking about was a normal thing.

Nori glanced at the finger briefly; she was definately going to do something with it. If she was going to shove it up his ass... Well, not only would that be slightly kinky, but he wasn't going to let her do it. "You might be able to keep me from shutting off my pain receptors, but you can't keep me from iducing a coma... I'll just put myself to sleep for nine months while I wait this out..." He mumbled. As she squatting, he stood, keeping her from being eye-level with him.

She didn't have to use words for her next move. Standing up with him, she promptly thrust the finger into his mouth, but making sure not to hit the back of his throat. It was a seemingly random action... however, when she had licked her own finger, she had coated it with a small amount of her reiatsu. Upon the contact, she had sent the reiatsu into his brain. It would act like an addictive drug, though the effects were rather unknown to her. She would have to wait it out in order to see what he did.

She jerked the finger out, smirking. "A coma? You don't want to do that..."

The effect of the drug was apparent immediately.

First, Nori blushed, driven to do so by the perverted way she had thought of to 'inject' the 'drug'. But then... He began shaking uncontrollibly. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed to the ground. Ecstasy. It made him feel too good for words. The reiatsu she had sent into his brain stimulated his reward pathway, flooding him with an ungodly amount of positive emotions. By the time it had finished, he couldn't tell if he was still himself.

But he knew what he wanted.

Using kogeru, he appeared before her, hugging her arm tenderly while trying to shove her finger back into her mouth. She needed to do it again. He needed her to do it again. What would it take? Would he have to serve her forever? If that's what it took, then he'd do it immediately. A lifetime of serving her would be worth it, if she just let him do that whenever he wanted...

Success.

"Not so fast." She ripped his arm away from his grasp, clearly satisfied with the results. "You've got to be obedient, loyal, and overall, a good pet to have around." She instructed. "And once the nine months are up, you're going to help me deliver this burden of a child. If your service is good enough, then maybe I'll consider releasing you and the kid. But your bitch stays with me, got that?"

Nori immediately lunged after her, trying to force himself on her. She couldn't keep him from it! He wanted it! And he was going to get it. But... would she give it to him if he said yes..? "I-I understand..." He stated simply, drawing back quietly. His obssessive staring at her lips should have been a clear tell as to what he expected in return for agreeing. "But... Wh... What if I don't want to leave?"

"Then you can stay..." A grin came across Sasha's face, and she raised a hand to grip Nori's chin. She put her face so that it would be inches away from his, but the grip on his chin made it difficult for him to reach what he so desired. It was such a non-painful, yet torturous method to use on him. "It doesn't matter to me. I have what I want, and I'm going to get more, whether it's with you or without." Prpmptly, she released him and pulled away before he could steal.

Nori immediately tried to take it anyway, grabbing her arms and pulling her towards him. Without a second's hesitation, he kissed her passionately shoving his tongue inside her mouth before she could do anything about it. But there was... nothing. No ecstasy, no rush, no incredible feeling of positivity flowing into every crevice of his body... Did she have to do something special to make it happen?

"M-Make it work... Now..." He ordered.

WHAM!

For his foolish bravery, he got a fist crashing into his mouth, the strength put into it sending him on his back. Sasha growled, retracting her fist and glaring down at his form. "I don't think you're in a position to be giving orders, pet." She snarled, using the back of her fist to wipe her mouth in disgust. "If you don't feel like going by those terms, there's always an alternate solution."

Nori's hand rose to his mouth, trying to stop the blood from gushing out of it. Despite his obvious want to, he didn't respond, and instead lifted himself into a submissive sitting position. He wouldn't even heal himself unless she specifically told him to, which reminded him... Didn't she want Nori to heal the wound she had on his shoulder? It was still bleeding... and even though the pain was probably nothing to her, it wouldn't be very good for her to lose too much blood.

She couldn't maintain the glare for long, as a splitting ache came through her shoulder. She stifled a yell that came out as a groan as she fell to her knees, holding a hand to her wound. She had forgotten all about it... damn that boy! "First order... heal this fucking rift in my shoulder!" She gasped out, frustration at her sign of weakness leaking through to pollute her tone.

And Nori did so immediately, drawing and releasing Nasuka without a word, and placing it in the wound as painlessly as possible. "Gamou!" He shouted, the 'h' in the word muddled due to his inability to move his jaw properly. Sasha's wound closed in no time, as well as any other irregularities in his body. Nori's jaw, however, did not. He hadn't let the barbs on the Zanpakuto pierce his hand, so he wasn't affected.

"Now heal yourself." Sasha instructed, standing up and turning her back on him. "After that, we're going back to the temple."

Doing as told, Nori pricked his finger and uttered the command, sitting silently as his jaw healed back up. "Do... Do you want me to take you there..? I could get us there as quickly as possible..." He whimpered. She hadn't told him to speak. Sasha was going to punish him, wasn't she?!

Oh, god, he was turning into the perfect slave already. "Fine." She relented, folding her arms across her chest. "Go ahead and take us there..." She didn't sound very thankful of him. It would make him soft, and she didn't want to give him the idea that she was being kind to him.

Sighing softly, Nori placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and they both erupted into a deep red outline. After a slight tingling sensation, they appeared back at the entrance to the ruins, the only difference in both of them being the slight smell of smoke surrounding them and an uncomfortable warmness they felt on their person. He retracted his hand quickly and stood quietly. What now?

Without a word to him, Sasha turned and walked towards the prison that was personally made for him, lifting a finger to gesture inside. What would be waiting for him would be five lose chains, one for the neck, another that was hooked into a wooden board that would secure his wrists, and two ankle chains. They looked pretty normal, but if he himself thought that, he would get a surprise once he put them on.

Purposely walking as slow as possible inside the cell, to preserve what little freedom he had left, Nori sat down on the floor of the prison she made. It wasn't as if he could put the restraints on himself.She, as lazy as he knew she was, would have to do it. Even though he fumbled with the chains at first and took a while getting them to her, when he finally held them out for her to use, his actions were filled with a sense of submissiveness.

Unhesitatingly, she took them, leaning over to pick up and fit each one to their respective positions. Wheread he had trouble putting them on, she had no problem at all fixing the neck bracelet, as well as the wooden handcuffs that secured his arms in place. Once she fitted the ankle chains on him, she stepped back, watching silently. It didn't take too long; with a hiss, both the neck and ankle chains were pulled back into the wall, taking him along with it. He was now bound to his prison, with the neck chain tightened jus enough for him to breathe, but still make it painful to do so. With a chuckle, Sasha stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

Sighing, as soon as she left, he used Kogeru to release himself, staying within the room but away from the chains. She hadn't actually told him to stay there locked up (thought it could be presumed she wanted him too), and since he hadn't left the room, he would have at least some time until she discovered he had released himself. "What a btich... she gives me it, and then when I do her a favor, she locks me up instead of giving me more... that fucker..." He grumbled to himself.

The End