Bleach: Hollow Reaper

4: Ten Years Hunted

Beneath the sands of Hueco Mundo, within the forest of monsters, time becomes irrelevant. Eternal night, surrounded by monsters. Truly a nightmare for the average person. Ten years, by the living world's standards, have passed since the little swordsman's brush with death. Still, it hunts and is hunted. Even as the threat of destruction at the hand of a raging Gillian looms over it, the little swordsman continues to run, to fight, to kill and to survive.

The little Hollow kneels atop a branch, watching like a silent avenger as the Hollows beneath share in chatter, seek shelter from the stronger, even sharing meals together. Though the meals consisted of cannibalising other Hollows, the thought of Hollows behaving in a somewhat civil manner whilst revelling in their own disturbing aspirations and delusions of grandeur. The sight disgusted the little swordsman to the core, verbally realised by the low growl from beneath its mask.

One of the Hollows, a pink-skinned creature slightly larger than the average adult male, with a long mask and a small hole in the back of its neck, opens its long mouth and lets out a silent screech. The moment the creature closes its mouth, its beady eyes immediately lock onto the small, hidden figure above them. Their eyes meet and barely a second later, the little swordsman disappears. A spray of dark red blood spews forth from the creature's neck, followed by the dolphin-like hollow vanishing from existence. Standing behind where the hollow once stood is the little swordsman, its eyes already firmly latched onto its next target.

The second of the hollow group snarls at the little swordsman. Its legs tense as the sand beneath its feet sprays backwards when the Hollow leaps towards the small attacker. The little swordsman stays motionless for a moment before a crimson light flashes from a nearby direction. The area they stood is completely annihilated by a familiar crimson blast. A gust of wind blows from the impact zone as the little swordsman reappears on a branch, closely followed by an ungodly roar.

The little swordsman looks back to see a large white hand digging into a crystal tree as eyes, blazing with utter hatred, focus their attention on the little Hollow. The huge, lumbering creature walks forward, revealing its missing right arm, though it's cloak seems to have repaired itself. These two Hollows had been behaving like this for ten years. Ten years of hate fuelled cat and mouse. During those ten years, the little swordsman has grown stronger through battle and the constant presence of the Gillian's powerful reiatsu. More alert, thanks to its constant need to stay on guard, the Gillian refusing to give up its chase. Faster, as it runs, leaps and otherwise avoids the Gillian's onslaught.

Overtime, this game of cat and mouse became a part of the little swordsman's life. The chase became a source of training, while the Gillian itself became a weapon for the little Hollow to use as it saw fit. Naturally, the Gillian had caught on to this, though pushed by its instinctual fury, it never strategised, never made a plan. Why would it? Its entire life spent within the forest it has been the strongest. The weak bowed down and became food while the strong ignored it completely. So why would it ever see such a small creature as a threat? Why would it allow such a creature to wound it and escape? It wouldn't. It would crush the little Hollow beneath its feet. So why?

This game of cat and mouse would end today. Both sides had grown weary of the other. The Gillian's fury not subsided, it continues its useless assault. The little swordsman, having grown past any sense of fear it once felt from the larger Hollow. Its speed far outclassing anything the Gillian could deal with. Perhaps that's why. Why the Gillian has lost sight of its prey. Now in an area thick with crystal pillars. The perfect place for an ambush, though the Gillian had no thoughts on the matter. Its rage outmatching its intelligence tenfold.

It lets out a cry of anger, releasing red orbs into its surroundings. The blasts wreak havoc upon the enclosed space. Hollows and lesser Gillians alike, completely eradicated by the crimson balls of fury. The trunks of the crystal trees have already been heavily damaged by the outburst of crimson reiatsu but the little swordsman is still nowhere in sight. The Gillian lets out another screech, swinging its arm around and smashing through a nearby pillar, leaving the upper portion hanging by a thread from the forest ceiling.

Above, the little swordsman hangs from his blade sheathed within another crystal pillar. Watching the crazed Gillian from above, it quietly removes its blade from the pillar, allowing itself to fall a short distance before its feet connect with the crystal. Now dashing down the pillar at high speeds, the little Hollow prepares its blade by its side. Its eye hole begins to glow with a silver light for a moment before It leaps, leaving a small indent in the crystal pillar as its body seems to vanish.

Barely a moment passes when the little swordsman reappears, slicing across the Gillian's back. The giant lets out a roar of pain, twisting its body unnaturally with its arm swinging widely in an attempt to slam its attacker. The giant's hand misses its target completely as the little swordsman reappears again, this time slashing at the Gillian's upper arm, though not enough to seperate the arm from its torso. It lands on the extended arm and leaps away with haste, bouncing from branch to branch, avoiding the crimson blasts with relative ease. Each blast levels the platform the little swordsman once stood upon, gaining on the little Hollow, as though the Gillian was finally using what little remained of its brain and predicting where its target was going. Or perhaps, the Gillian was simply growing stronger, its hunt fuelling its power.

As the blasts neared their target, the little swordsman pierces its sword into a tree, using its momentum to swing itself around the trunk and launch itself off of a branch back towards the Gillian. The little Hollow bares its blade at the giant Hollow's face, however the Gillian, whether through intelligence or instinct, brings its fist skyward and slams into the little swordsman. A large shockwave emanates outwards from the little swordsman's body as it's sent towards the sandy ceiling. It lets out a pained groan as the force of the blow manages to send him through the ceiling, carving through the rock until a strange scenery fills the airborne Hollow's eyes.

Desert as far as the eye can see, small crystalline trees dotting the landscape as the bright moon shines down upon the white sand, illuminating the barren landscape. A scenery that seems to last for hours, when in truth, only lasts for seconds as the little swordsman places its feet on thin air, rebounding at incredible speed back down into the depths of the forest. Below, the Gillian rears it's head upwards to face the rapidly approaching creature. Within seconds, the giant forms another ball of crimson reiatsu, intent on finishing their game of cat and mouse forever.

The blast barely reaches completion as the soaring figure of the little swordsman collides with the mass of spiritual energy. The surroundings are blown back by the resulting shockwave. Crystalline trees are torn apart, causing small cave-in's while the sand below is blown away, creating a small sandstorm around them. The Gillian lets out a roar as it pushes against the little Hollow. Its opponent, clashing its blade against the crimson blast responds as its mask opens to reveal a mouth beneath, releasing an ear-piercing scream as the bones in its body begin to crack and break.

Pushing against the torrential power of the Gillian, the little swordsman finally manages to break through, connecting its blade to the monster's face. One more, final push accompanied by a resounding roar and the Gillian's mask cracks, breaks, shatters. The little swordsman's small frame is sent flying back as the Gillian lets out its final cry of agony, falling back before dissipating entirely.

The little swordsman on the other hand, continues to soar, eventually making contact with ground and bouncing to a stop within the trunk of a crystalline tree, shattering the trunk to the point where the little Hollow's body is completely hidden from sight.