[font=Trebuchet MS]I AM Godking ruler of the empty
Basic Information:
Character Name: Arekussu
Gender: Male - asexual
Age: 700
Appearance:
This translates into his clothing as well. While many of the arrancar attempt to design cloths that show off their hollow holes and, if they were an espada, their number, Arekussu wears fairly normal clothes. These usually consist of a white flannel shirt and a pair of white slacks. The slacks are normally a bit too large and hang below his hips, but they are held off the ground by being tucked into his boots. Underneath his shirt he wears a black wifebeater, which he tucks into his pants loosely.
His gloves and boots are actually his Zanpacto, So he wears them at all times. They are comprised of a black mesh covered in bone white metal plates, strategically placed to be used for defensive purposes. The gloves go almost to his elbows and his boots almost to his knees. Arekussu does not consciously remove these items when going to relax; they are removed by reitsu manipulation, and Arekussu is so practised at this that he does it without thinking.
Arekussu could be described as handsome, but it would be a bit of a stretch. In all honesty, he has quite a normal face. His eyes are a bit too close together, but not an exaggerated amount. His mouth may be considered a bit to small by some people, and his nose only slightly to low on his face. That is not to say he is ugly however, he just is not perfect. The only truly distinguishing feature on Arekussu's face is the deep blue spectrum of his eyes. They often change colour in different lightings from greys to greens, and they are most likely his most redeeming feature looks wise.
Arekussu's hair is a dark brown mop atop his head. It is an utterly uncontrollable mess at almost all times, although when wet it normally looks fairly good. With some work, it could be made to be presentable, but Arekussu has never been one to worry about his looks more than making sure he is wearing pants. Because of this a light dusting of beard almost always covers the bottom of his chin and lower mouth, and is the only thing that makes him look even slightly older than 20. The only reason he doesn’t have a full beard is because he was unable to grow one, although the tuft of hair is fairly formidable.
Mask Fragment Location: The pure white headphones that hand from his head at all times are his mask fragment. They are white with a white cord as well, and a white 3.5 millimetre jack. The cord falls forward and then wraps around to plug into the back of his neck, just at the base of his neck between his shoulder blades.
Hollow Hole Location: On his abdomen, just under his chest.
Number Location: Right Shoulder.
Personality: Arekussu is a quiet man, usually happiest when he is alone. He enjoys reading and music, both things that are best enjoyed without the usual annoyance of conversation or background chatter, and absolutely abhors speaking to groups of people. For that reason he is often mission from faction meetings and seems aloof when confronted by anyone. He prefers to send information by writing and even then it is very short and to the point, never going into much detail. However, this does not mean he cannot hold an interesting conversation, but only a rare few people get to see the talkative side of his personality.
Arekussu’s views on life have changed dramatically over the years. Being the element of despair, most assume that he would be rather depressing. This could not be farther from the truth, however, as long ago Arekussu realized that despair was not truly depression, it was the lack of emotion. Despair was so draining that it cause people to completely ignore social graces, alienate themselves from their friends and family, and even go as far as to kill themselves. Normally this is looked upon as depression by most people, but most people have not contemplated its meaning for over 700 years.
Arekussu has found that depression is merely the state of being in which a person closes themselves off from the world, not allowing connections to form or emotions to show, as the pain of loss was great enough to make the benefits of friendship worth it. Of course, Arekussu has, over the years, gotten over his loss of Bestia, and thus is much better at making these connections, but he understands Despair like no other.
When around Arekussu, most people instantly notice how he is almost always spaced out, never really fully in his body is the best way to describe it. He loses interest easily and constantly shifts his focus, leading people to believe that he has ADD. That could be the case, but Arekussu doesn’t think so. It is simply that he has found that everything happening now is useless, as it will be forgotten in the future, so why pay full attention when he can learn so much more from finding new things to learn about?
The only thing that can truly catch Arekussu’s full attention is music. Any type of music, from the most popular forms to the most obscure, brings joy into Arekussu’s heart. He finds peace in the knowledge that, even though humanity as a whole is corrupt and broken, they can still create such beautiful melodies. Often Arekussu can spend days just lying in his room listening to music, the endless stream of it that plays from his headphones. He does, however, not understand how anyone else could not like any sort of music, and finds it strange that someone can have a favourite ‘genre’.
While fighting, Arekussu acts tired, often complaining that he is missing sleep because of the annoyance. He still fights just as hard as normal, just does not enjoy it in the least. Arekussu has not enjoyed a good fight since Bestia died, as it took all meaning from what he had been doing up until that point. For that reason Arekussu generally attempts to avoid fights, preferring that they be handled by an underling or a superior, as long as is not him.
Your Legacy:
Your Story:
Basic Information:
Character Name: Arekussu
Gender: Male - asexual
Age: 700
Appearance:
- Appearance:
- Have to wait a week to post omages
This translates into his clothing as well. While many of the arrancar attempt to design cloths that show off their hollow holes and, if they were an espada, their number, Arekussu wears fairly normal clothes. These usually consist of a white flannel shirt and a pair of white slacks. The slacks are normally a bit too large and hang below his hips, but they are held off the ground by being tucked into his boots. Underneath his shirt he wears a black wifebeater, which he tucks into his pants loosely.
His gloves and boots are actually his Zanpacto, So he wears them at all times. They are comprised of a black mesh covered in bone white metal plates, strategically placed to be used for defensive purposes. The gloves go almost to his elbows and his boots almost to his knees. Arekussu does not consciously remove these items when going to relax; they are removed by reitsu manipulation, and Arekussu is so practised at this that he does it without thinking.
Arekussu could be described as handsome, but it would be a bit of a stretch. In all honesty, he has quite a normal face. His eyes are a bit too close together, but not an exaggerated amount. His mouth may be considered a bit to small by some people, and his nose only slightly to low on his face. That is not to say he is ugly however, he just is not perfect. The only truly distinguishing feature on Arekussu's face is the deep blue spectrum of his eyes. They often change colour in different lightings from greys to greens, and they are most likely his most redeeming feature looks wise.
Arekussu's hair is a dark brown mop atop his head. It is an utterly uncontrollable mess at almost all times, although when wet it normally looks fairly good. With some work, it could be made to be presentable, but Arekussu has never been one to worry about his looks more than making sure he is wearing pants. Because of this a light dusting of beard almost always covers the bottom of his chin and lower mouth, and is the only thing that makes him look even slightly older than 20. The only reason he doesn’t have a full beard is because he was unable to grow one, although the tuft of hair is fairly formidable.
Mask Fragment Location: The pure white headphones that hand from his head at all times are his mask fragment. They are white with a white cord as well, and a white 3.5 millimetre jack. The cord falls forward and then wraps around to plug into the back of his neck, just at the base of his neck between his shoulder blades.
Hollow Hole Location: On his abdomen, just under his chest.
Number Location: Right Shoulder.
Personality: Arekussu is a quiet man, usually happiest when he is alone. He enjoys reading and music, both things that are best enjoyed without the usual annoyance of conversation or background chatter, and absolutely abhors speaking to groups of people. For that reason he is often mission from faction meetings and seems aloof when confronted by anyone. He prefers to send information by writing and even then it is very short and to the point, never going into much detail. However, this does not mean he cannot hold an interesting conversation, but only a rare few people get to see the talkative side of his personality.
Arekussu’s views on life have changed dramatically over the years. Being the element of despair, most assume that he would be rather depressing. This could not be farther from the truth, however, as long ago Arekussu realized that despair was not truly depression, it was the lack of emotion. Despair was so draining that it cause people to completely ignore social graces, alienate themselves from their friends and family, and even go as far as to kill themselves. Normally this is looked upon as depression by most people, but most people have not contemplated its meaning for over 700 years.
Arekussu has found that depression is merely the state of being in which a person closes themselves off from the world, not allowing connections to form or emotions to show, as the pain of loss was great enough to make the benefits of friendship worth it. Of course, Arekussu has, over the years, gotten over his loss of Bestia, and thus is much better at making these connections, but he understands Despair like no other.
When around Arekussu, most people instantly notice how he is almost always spaced out, never really fully in his body is the best way to describe it. He loses interest easily and constantly shifts his focus, leading people to believe that he has ADD. That could be the case, but Arekussu doesn’t think so. It is simply that he has found that everything happening now is useless, as it will be forgotten in the future, so why pay full attention when he can learn so much more from finding new things to learn about?
The only thing that can truly catch Arekussu’s full attention is music. Any type of music, from the most popular forms to the most obscure, brings joy into Arekussu’s heart. He finds peace in the knowledge that, even though humanity as a whole is corrupt and broken, they can still create such beautiful melodies. Often Arekussu can spend days just lying in his room listening to music, the endless stream of it that plays from his headphones. He does, however, not understand how anyone else could not like any sort of music, and finds it strange that someone can have a favourite ‘genre’.
While fighting, Arekussu acts tired, often complaining that he is missing sleep because of the annoyance. He still fights just as hard as normal, just does not enjoy it in the least. Arekussu has not enjoyed a good fight since Bestia died, as it took all meaning from what he had been doing up until that point. For that reason Arekussu generally attempts to avoid fights, preferring that they be handled by an underling or a superior, as long as is not him.
Your Legacy:
Your Story:
- Birth and Death:
- His life started as all lives start in Hueco Mundo; with his death.
A young child in a small village just south of modern day Bremen, Arekussu, or Alexander as he was known then, lived a fairly normal life. His parents were both humble people, his house small, but quaint, and his father brought home enough earnings from his job at the windmill. His parents seemed happy enough when they were around him, but when alone or when they thought he was in bed they worried. The spoke with other adults in hushed tones and seemed sad somehow.
Alexander ignored this, remaining blissfully unaware of the coming turmoil that would ravage his small village. A large scale war had been making its way across Europe for some time now, two religious factions calling up arms and sending wave after wave of hungry peasants to their deaths. The 30 years war, as it would be called by historians, was a brutal monstrosity in its basic form. The so called “armies” would run rampant, pillaging and raping from town to town.
As is to be expected, one such group found its way to Alex's hometown, and in one brutal sweep, ended everything that he had once known. The mill burnt to the ground as he watched, a sword found its way through his small chest, and everything was suddenly soft as his vision faded to blackness.
He awoke some time later, a 12 year old boy now reborn into the form of a soul. He called out softly at first, to his mother. When she was nowhere to be seen, he began to wander, only then noticing the large chain that hung from his chest. The sight of it sent chills up and down his spine and filled his heart with dread, but he pressed on.
A few minutes later, he found his mother. She had been at the inn when the militia had come through, and it was in one of the bedrooms there that he found her. She was beaten and bruised from head to toe, completely nude except for a small piece of blanket covering her midriff. Her face was twisted into a look of pain so horrifying that Alex gagged. The blood running from her neck had long hardened and the flesh around the cut had begun to fester, creating an aroma that permeated the entire room with death.
Alex broke down then, his eyes going blank as tears started to poor from them. He screamed his mother's name, over and over again, as the chain on his chest began to deteriorate. He sat in the corner, crying and screaming, as a white goo like substance began to leak from his chest, creating a pool on the ground. The substance leapt to his face, and his crying voice slowly turned deeper, began to take on the tone of the demonic beast he was becoming.
A few minutes later, and his transformation was complete. The small boy had become a huge beast, his face completely covered by a large white mask. A pair of strange devices covered his ears completely, and all he could hear from them were the screams of his dieing town, his friends and family burning and dieing.
His gargantiun head lifted as he smelled a new scent. It drew him to another world, through a gate comprised of pure darkness. As his foot broke the flat surface of the sands of Hueco Mundo for the first time, and he lost himself to despair. Alexander was completely gone. All that remained was a monster, a beast fuelled by hunger. As the beast smelled the air, you could almost see a grin on his masked face.
- Growth:
- For countless years, the Beast roamed Hueco mundo, murdering his brethren and devouring their life essence. His grew stronger from their power, and his madness grew aswell thanks to the constant screams of his past life. He could not remove the headphones no matter how hard he tried, they were a constant burden on his psyche. Eventually, the Beast let the madness in, used it as the driving force for his murderous rampages.
The Beast's hunger grew and grew, until he could no longer sate himself on mere hollows. The Menos Grande, larger hollows that roamed underneath the sands, beckoned to him. Their large amalgamation of hollow souls would be a meal fit for a king. Eventually, his hunger forced a change in him.
He fell unconscious as a hollow, and awoke as a Menos Grande, towering over the others by almost 30 feet. His headphones still remained, however, and his madness as well. He viciously attacked the other Menos, feasting on thousands of souls at a time. His strength multiplied, his ceros able to destroy entire mobs of menos with one blast.
This lifestyle went on for many years, His feasting knowing no limits. On several occasions he faced an adjuchas, and he would run. The power radiating off of the adjuchas clearly told the beast who was prey and who was the hunter.
However, on one such occasion, he faced the adjuchas. The adjuchas was small, and blended into the darkness easily. Something in the back of the Beast's mind told him that the adjuchas was a bat, but he ignored the information.
They fought, and the adjuchas could have killed and devoured the Beast, but she did not. She simply left him there, bleading from a number of perforations. She did not devour any of his essence, and as such he continued his murderous rampage.
Soon, his hunger could no longer be sated by the Menos grande, and he went through another transformation. He grew smaller, but instead of losing power his strength only grew. Menos grande no longer satisfied him. Instead he began to hunt other adjuchas.
- The Split:
- For more than 20 years he hunted. His madness grew larger and more manic over time, and at a certain point he could no longer stand the headphones. The screams never ended, a constant stream of death and decay that flung him into a rage.
The Beast smashed his head against the ground, his anger blocking out any pain he might have felt from the experience. A crack began to form on the bottom of his mask, and as he repeatedly bashed the mask, the crack grew.
He found a rock, and began hitting his face with it. In the back of his head, the Beast heard a soft voice cheering him on. The voice grew louder as the crack grew longer, and the more damaged the mask became the less control over his own actions the Beast had. He soon realized that if he continued, he would lose control, but by that point it was too late.
- First Breath:
- Arekussu fell to his knees as the mask tore off in one final smash, splinters and pieces falling onto the sand beneath him. His breathing was ragged, his eyes watering and his face a brutal mess of scrapes and bruises, but the mask was off.
Arekussu thought back, trying to remember how he had arrived in this place, or who he was, but his mind was a blank slate. He remembered something about monsters, and devouring them. Some sort of transformations... but his memory was as fuzzy as his knowledge of this place. He stood, and looked around, attempting to find his bearings.
All around him for miles was sand. It was flat as well, with none of the curvature that his mind had come to expect in a world. Well of in the distance, he cuold see some white blotches marring the landscape, and in the other direction there were mountains of some sort, but both locations were days of travel away. Not only that, but points that stuck out so much were likely to have many people nearby, and Arekussu was not in the mood for interaction.
Instead, Arekussu simply sat down and waited for his wounds to heal. While he waited, he inspected his new body. It was tall, and gangly in all the wrong places. His arms were small and weak and his legs much of the same. His chest was half the size of the beasts he remembered fighting in his past life. Surely he would not survive long in this place without shelter and some sort of weapon.
When his hands made their way to his head, he found a mop of hair atop his scalp and the pair of headphones still hanging over the top of his head. With a small tug, the headphones came off, and he held them out in front of him. What the devices were for, Arekussu did not know, But he felt like it should not have been so easy to remove them.
His left hand trailed the cord up over his shoulder and felt the input jack. It was plugged right into the back of Arekussu's neck, at the base between the shoulder blades. Oddly enough, there was no pain or even any sensation at all coming from the area. Arekussu softly felt the cord, attempting to make an image of it in his mind. Then he unplugged it.
Nothing happened. Would it be that simple to get rid of? Arekussu stood, rolling the headphones from hand to hand. They felt like they were a part of him, but something in the back of his mind told him they were evil constructs. Without a thought, he tossed them away into the sands, leaving his face and in fact entire head clear of anything even remotely white.
After a few short seconds, however, he felt a familiar weight over his shoulders. The headphones had reformed themselves seemingly out of thin air. With a sigh, Arekussu began to walk aimlessly through the sands. He was stuck with these things, although he had no idea what they were for.
- A Chance Meeting:
- Over the years, Arekussu learned of the powers he had gained from removing his mask. He was stronger and faster than any of the hollows he encountered, and though he killed many of them, it was no longer out of hunger. He harboured a deep hatred for the monsters, as they somehow reminded him of a past self. He did not hunt them out, but when he crossed their paths they would die.
Arekussu had just crested a ridge of sand when he felt a presence unlike any other he had felt before. It was powerful, the waves of energy flowing from it almost overwhelming his senses. Still, he had not backed down from one of the beasts as of yet, and he did not plan to now. He darted off in the direction of the monster, using his new form of running to get there faster. He called it “boom step” as every step would make a loud noise.
When he saw the beast his spit backed up in his throat. It wasn’t as large as most of the beasts he had seen, but the look of it sent chills down his back. It stood around 8 feet tall, and the entirety of its body was completely cloaked in a black shadowy mist, the likes of which he had never seen. The mask was formed from three triangles, with seemingly no mouth. The split between the triangles crossed over where the eyes should be and met at the bottom of the face.
After his initial shock, Arekussu went into a low bearing fighting stance. In a blink, he was next to the beast, his right leg spinning in for a roundhouse kick. Just as the leg was about to connect, however, the beast disappeared. Arekussu quickly recovered from the kick and dodged to the right just as a shrouded arm smashed into the sand where he had been standing.
He stepped away, leaving some space between himself and the beast. It was fast, much faster than he was. And from the indent in the sand, it was also much stronger. Still, it didn't change anything. Arekussu blasted in again, throwing a punch towards the beasts head as a feint. When the beast dodged, Arekussu moved aswell, bringing his other hand around in the path of the beast, a ball of cero energy swirling in his palm.
With an explosion of force, his hand connected with the beasts arm. Arekussu was already counting his victory when he looked up. The beast had not even flinched form the blow, its arm was not even damaged in the slightest. A look of comprehension crossed Arekussu's face as he realized how outmatched he was, followed soon by a gasp of pain as the beast appeared behind him and smashed him over the head.
As Arekussu fell into unconsciousness, all he could see was the Masked face staring down at him. Strangely enough, the blackness seemed to have faded, revealing the body of a young woman clad in bone white armor. He passed it off to delirium as his sight blacked out, and he knew no more.
- Uncomfortable Situations:
- Arekussu awoke sometime later, his head throbbing violently and crusted blood on the back of his head itching. His eyes opened, and he realized he was in a cave of some sort. His head rested agains a pillow, his body on a small mat that kept the cold of the stone from his skin. He heard something moving about in the cave, and decided it was best he pretend to be asleep so as not to attract their attention. He squeezed his eyes shut and lied still.
A voice spoke up a few seconds later, from right in front of his face. “I know you're awake.” It was a female voice, although it was overlayed with the dark multi-voice that covered most hollows. Still, it seemed less harsh than most and he detected no anger in it. That did not, however, stop him from being startled by the sudden noise, and he got up so fast that he headbutted the thing.
It was like hitting a rock. He rolled around on the bed, holding the spot he had hit. Through the cracks in his fingers he saw the monster from before, only this time she was not clad in her shroud of darkness. She looked almost human now, besides the mask and the bone armor that loosely hung from her body. Very loosely in fact, the way she was sitting on the bed revealed more of her breasts than she had intended.
He jumped up and made his way for a hole in the cave wall, hoping it would lead outside, but she was there before him. “Come now, you only just got here.” she said, her tone hiding a laugh behind it. He whirled around so fast he left an image behind him and made his way to the other door, which was also immidiatly blocked by the woman.
With a sigh, Arekussu sat on the bed. “What do you want with me?” he asked. He wanted to be anywhere but here, as he knew that without a thought this beast... or should he say 'woman,' could kill him. She was obviously just toying with him before her meal, and to be quite honest he would rather just get it over with.
She chuckled, her tone much darker now that it had been. As she slowly walked towards him and grabbed his collar, pulling him up to her eye level, she said, “I just want to play a little game. Its an easy one that I am sure you will enjoy.” She then let him go, his body limp enough that he fell back onto the bed. “And if you lose, I will kill you!” The gleeful chuckle she let out after she said this only heightened Arekussu's anxiety.
“Very well, let us play then.” said Arekussu, preparing himself for the worst.
- The Game:
- With what seemed like a grin, the mysterious woman waved her arm, tearing a hole in the space to her left. Through the hole was a black abyss that Arekussu had not seen before. “What is that?” he asked. Nothing he had seen in the wastes had even compared to this arch of blackness.
“It's a gargantia, and we are going through it.” Said the woman as she grabbed his arm. Her grip was firm, but not painfully strong. He could tell from the relaxed muscles in her arm that she could probably tear the arm off if he resisted, so he let her drag him into the inky blackness that was the gargantia. It was dark inside, almost to dark to see, but Arekussu thought he heard a faint melody playing off in the distance. Before he could place it, however, they were through.
They were standing in the midst of a city, the bright sun of day shining down on them. People walked by them on all sides, seemingly oblivious to their presence. Arekussu's eyes widened at the site. These people were human, truly human, and there was not a beast in site save the woman holding his arm. The city was strange aswell, as something in the back of his mind told him that the buildings were taller then they were supposed to be. Most had two floors, and were made from wooden logs instead of thatches.
Before he could comment on the area, however, the woman pulled him forward and jumped, carrying him onto the roof of a nearby house. Behind the house was a small yard, fenced off from the forest that surrounded it. There was a small girl playing with a dog in the yard, her laughter filling the air. It made Arekussu think of music for some reason he could not fathom, but he ignored the sensation.
The woman looked at the girl, and hunger radiated off her. Surely the woman did not mean to... no, the beasts of the wastes did not eat humans from what he had seen, just each other. And yet, he could sense the soul of the girl and knew that it was fully of the life that a beast craved. As these dark thoughts flitted through his mind, the woman turned to him and spoke.
“The game is simple. Kill the girl.” she said. He had a feeling that underneath the mask there was a grin ont he woman's face. His stomach churned at the thought of killing something so innocent. If he didn't though, he would most certainly die at the hands of this woman.
He turned and looked at the girl. Her life for his. It was easy enough, he was sure he could break her neck before she knew anything was awry. IT would be painless at least. He thought of her parents then, the look on her mother's face when she found the dead body, the screams as she held her daughter in her arms, the look of sadness on the fathers face as he dug the grave, the wave of depression that would resound around this small city.
Just as those thoughts were whirling in his mind, the girl looked up and seemed to stare right at him. Her brilliant blue eyes crushed any chance of him following through. “I won't.” he said, his voice less than a whisper.
“What was that? I swear I heard you say no to me.” Said the woman, her voice raising a notch and darkness creeping from her hands. She was going to kill him, he knew it, but maybe if he put up a fight the girl could escape.
He turned to the woman, planted his feet firmly, and said without a stutter, “I won't kill that innocent little girl to satisfy some sick whim of yours. And I won't let you harm her either.” His fists came up and he dropped into a fighting stance, prepared to fight for his life. She began to move, and Arekussu moved his arm to intercept the blow.
It never came. Instead, he was knocked over with her head in his stomach, her arms wrapped around his back. The darkness that had been escaping from her hands was gone, and so was the white bone armor, replaced by a grey sweater and black slacks. He sat there, completely bewildered, as the woman hugged him. “Wha...” was all he could say.
- Bestia:
- He sat there in silence for a moment, and noticed that the woman's shoulders were heaving. He felt a light dampness where her mask pressed against his leg and realized that she was crying. He was still too confused to speak, but this situation was getting a bit awkward. After another few moments, he reached his hand out, patted her on the shoulder and said, “There there?”
She looked up at him, and for a moment he though he could see her eyes through the slits in her mask, but the moment past. She began to stand as she said, “You have no idea how many times I have played this game.” She dusted off her pants, dislodging a few splinters that had caught in the fabric. “And yet, you are the first person to have won.”
He won? So he was not going to die. Strangely that did not surprise him. Something in the back of his mind had sensed that this woman was different. Whether it was the way she spoke or her odd appearance he did not know, but she seemed less like a monster and more like a person. Still, his mind was having trouble accepting this, and he thought he knew the reason why. He stood, and once up said, “What is your name?”
She looked at him like he should already know the answer. “It's Bestia, and you, my little arrancar, are my new best friend.” She grinned after the last sentence, and without giving him time to think she grabbed his arm and pulled him into another gargantia. And for some reason, Arekussu relaxed. Her name was Bestia. Somehow, this felt right.
- Time Passes:
- Arekussu lived the next 10 years of his life with Bestia. Soon they got past the awkwardness of their encounter and became close friends. They only saw each other every so often even though they lived in the same cave that Arekussu had been brought to unconscious, mainly because they were almost always out killing hollow. They only left one at a time, as it was something that neither of them wanted an audience for. This was never actually made as a rule; they both knew each other well enough that nothing needed to be said on the matter.
The time they did have together was spent doing a plethora of activities, from studying the advancement in the human world to teaching Arekussu about the world around him. He learned many important things from Bestia, who as it turned out was over 400 years his senior. She taught him terminology of things he already knew, and many things he did not know. Over time he learned to control his reitsu much better, and eventually unlocked his zanpacto, a pair of plated gloves that he could comfortably wear at all times.
He learned of Gargantias, hollows, and arrancar. He was taught of the shinigami, warriors who cleaned souls and killed beasts that strayed into the human world. He learned that his “Boom steps” were actually Sonido’s. And most importantly, he learned about Bestia.
She was the one thing that kept him going now, the one part of his life that allowed him to force himself to stay alive. Before he had mindlessly slaughtered hollows out of rage, not caring if he lived or died. Now when he went on his trips to the sands, he would worry about her, and make sure he avoided too much trouble so he would be able to see her again. It was an odd senstation, and Arekussu attempted not to dwell on it as it brought up strange feelings that he did not know how to place.
On one of his excursions, while thinking of Bestia, he heard his first song. His headphones were over his ears, and as his foot crushed the mask of a hollow, noise started to be produced by them. At first he was worried, as they had never made a sound before, but after a moment he realised that he quite enjoyed the music. It was classical music, Beethoven’s Sonata in G minor, and it was beautiful. And not only was the sound incredible, it also had a positive effect on his body. He could move faster, his harder, and release more reitsu than he could without the music.
From that moment on, he began to go to the human world to study music. There were schools where people would congregate to learn music, and he would listen in on instructive lectures and watch the students practice. On one such occasion, he attempted to play an upright Bass that had been left out by a teacher, and it came so naturally that he felt like he had been playing it all his life. After some practice, he was able to use his reitsu to meld the white substance that his headphones were made of into numerous instruments, and he could play them all like a master. It was truly incredible, and playing music for Bestia made her very happy.
- This is love?:
- Time passed, almost 10 years, before Arekussu finally admitted his feelings for Bestia. Not to her, of course, just to himself. It took some work to find out what the feelings were called to. He spent many long hours in the human world, listening to conversations and reading anything he found lying about. The best source of information was his music however, as a new musical craze had just started, singing about your love for someone. It was an odd form of music, generally using a bass guitar, a drum set and some sort of brass section, but the lyrics got their point across. Arekussu found this music old fashioned however, and began using his time away from the cave to write music.
It was much harder to do than he originally assumed. He had always been easily able to imitate other songs so naturally, and he assumed that this process would be similar. This was not the case. He poured all his effort into this song, and still the going was slow. It would take him hours to write one line, and even longer to make sure the music matched the line as well. Still, once the song was finished, he was very proud of his work. Still, he was not sure if he could bring himself to play the song for Bestia. If the feelings he held for her were not mutual the whole thing would blow up in his face.
But what should he do? Bestia was getting suspicious about his outings, as he never seemed to come back injured anymore, or even tired at all. She probably knew that he wasn’t fighting the beasts, but how could he explain what he was doing without her asking to hear the song. The whole situation was irritating, to say the least. Still, tonight was the last night he would work on it. It was pretty much all done now, he could play the music through his headphones at will now, and it was all finished. He just wanted to play it a few more times tonight to solidify it in his memory.
Arekussu left the cave, walking past Bestia whose nose was deep in a book. He said a quick goodbye and took off into the night, getting as far away from the cave as possible before he started to play the song. He couldn’t risk Bestia hearing it and coming to investigate.
- Broken Sonnet:
- Musical Reference:
Will be inserted after link ban is gone
Bestia lifted her head from the book after Arekussu had left. It annoyed her to no end that she had no idea what he had been doing for these past few nights, and earlier today she had decided to follow him tonight. It would not be hard, she was very good at hiding her reitsu signature and moving silently, so she doubted he would even know she was there. She stood quickly, her armor appearing as if from nowhere.
In a moment, she was in the sands, moving towards Arekussu’s reitsu signature. He made no move to hide it, so she was sure he did not know she was there. They traveled foe a few miles before Arekussu made an abrupt stop, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Bestia slowed her speed, and stayed back by about 100 feet, a couple sand dunes over. She went prone and crested the dune to see Arekussu spinning himself a guitar from his headphones.
So, he came out here to play music? Why he didn’t do it at home, she didn’t know. Bestia enjoyed his music; it allowed her to escape from this wretched place, even only temporarily. Maybe he thought his music irritated her? She would have to be sure to compliment him the next time he played in the cave.
When he started playing, however, she was surprised by the style. It was something she had not heard before, a mix of the classical elements but using a steel strung guitar like the blues singers used. It was not unpleasant, just strange. And then Arekussu began to sing, something she had yet to see him do.
“And now I concede on the night
of this fifteenth song
Of melancholy, of melancholy,”
His voice was beautiful. It played softly over the notes of the song, staying subtle while tempting with his tenor vibrato. She had not heard anything like it in all of her years as a Vasto Lord, and the fact that he had been hiding it from her irritated her. She was about to call down to him when he reached the next line in the song.
“And now I will admit in this fourth line
That I love you, that I love you”
For some reason, her words caught in her throat. The strong tone of his voice held the word ‘love’ over her head as he sang, and she was taken aback. She felt a strange feeling then, one she had been feeling for quite some time. Could it be?
“I don’t care what they say
I don’t care what they do
Cause tonight I leave my fears behind
Cause tonight I’ll be right at your side”
Did she love him? She had never truly thought about it, but they had been together for almost 20 years now, and she had grown quite dependent on his company. The way his hair never quite stayed in one place, the silly grin that crossed his face when she complimented his music…
“The clock on the TV says 8:39 p.m.
It’s the same, it’s the same
And in this next line I’ll say it all over again
That I love you, that I love you”
…The way he slept with his arms and legs spread over the entire bed, his childlike curiosity about the world around him…
“I don’t care what they say
I don’t care what they do
Cause tonight I leave my fears behind
Cause tonight I’ll be right at your side”
Bestia liked everything about him… and if this song was any indication, he liked her as well. She had her trepidations… There were things in her history that she knew would one day catch up to her, but this time with Arekussu had been some of the best years of her life.
“Lie down right next to me
Lie down right next to me
And I will never let go, will never let go”
She loved him. She knew it now, and she was sure he felt it back. So why did this frighten her so much? She stood, not sure whether to go to him or run away, not sure whether to quell these feelings or let them blossom.
“I leave my fears behind
Cause tonight I’ll be right at your side
Lie down right next to me
Lie down right next to me
And I will never let go, never let go”
The music stopped, and Bestia turned to leave, just as Arekussu said, “So you heard it then.”
She stopped, and walked towards him and sat down at his side. He wasn’t looking at her, and his eyes were mostly covered by his hair. He wasn’t looking at her, and she wasn’t sure she could meet his eyes right now. “Yeah, I heard it. It was… beautiful.” She sat there in silence, and after playing with her sweater for a second, said, “Arekussu, I-”
“Don’t say anything Bestia.” He said, grabbing the hand that she had been using to play with her sweater. He held it softly, as if holding a delicate flower, and she did not struggle. This felt… right. They both lied back on the sand, the stars of Hueco Mundo shining down on them. This is where they stayed for a few hours, neither looking at each other, just their hands connecting them.
» Return of the Fallen -WIP-
» Hello Friends
» Fumetsu no kōfuku, 12th Division Captain
» Asgier Blackbane (WIP) (continued)