Winds of the Desert (Zeta and Neko)

He sat on a lone rock taking in the cool night air of the Desert of Hueco Mundo. A smile crossed his face as he admired the serenity that Hueco Mundo could have in the calm moments. Reminiscing in the past, he wondered whether or not he could call his life as a Hollow and Arrancar as a good one. In some aspects, he's love his time at Los Noches and being able to impress Aizen with his skill even if it seemed mediocre. However, he remembers times where things were so horrible that it seemed like a sleepless nightmare that he would never escape. The mere thought of it now made him shudder in the fear that those times could come again.

Wanting to continue enjoying the moment of peace he had, Zeta went back to focusing on the desert and its beautiful solitude. "If only every moment could be like this."

Neko stepped out of her garganta, unexpectedly falling to the ground because of the lack of ground. She yelped as she hit the soft sand head first, receiving a large mouthful of it. She hacked as she spit it out and cursed at whatever she could see to curse at. Her large purple eyes were squinted against the grains in them and her hair was full of it. It seemed though her hair was short, it could hold a lot of sand.
Her mask remnant sat a top her head, cat ears, like a head band. Her zanpakuto sat strapped to her side. Her shirt was black, long sleeved, and a bit too long, covering up the too short white shorts she wore beneath it. And when she spoke, her words were foul. "God damn this sandy place. Where the hell am I anyways? Supposed to be in fucking Karakura."

Zeta smirked at the sight of her. Normally, he would laugh out loud at the clumsiness of the Arrancar but she was pretty cute and he thought he would humor her for a while. "New at using garganta?" He stared at her curiously as he waited for her to dust herself off.

Neko leapt up, shaking herself. "No, I'm not fucking new to it. I just happened to be paying any damn attention when I stepped out or opened the stupid thing." SHe crossed her arms over her chest and glared childishly at the new comer, "Where am I, anyways?"

Zeta smirked as he looked back out into the desert expanse. "Hueco Mundo Desert. If you were aiming for Karakura, I would say you're just a wee bit off." He smiled and stood up from the rock he sat on. He slowly walked to her sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Hueco... Mundo...?" Neko raised an eyebrow and stared hard at him, glare gone. She was still a little dusty from hitting the sand and there was bandages wrapped around her forearms and her right knee from a nasty fall. Dirt had coated them with a fine tan color and sand leaked into her wounds but she didn't notice it yet. "What the hell is Hueco Mundo??"

ooc: Sorry if it's no good... I have writers block. v.v

Zeta couldn't believe what he had just heard. Despite her roughed up appearance, she was clearly an Arrancar. How could she not know what Hueco Mundo was? Could she have lost her memory somehow? It's possible, but not likely. He puzzled over this for a moment before replying slowly, "Hueco Mundo is the home of all Arrancar and Hollows. And by the looks of you, your home too."

OOC: lol you're good. I'm just rolling with it so just relax. I'm not very picky on where this goes lol

Neko's eyes widened, startled. Home? Wasn't home in Karakura, with the humans? She shook her head and tried to look stubborn but doubt was covering her young face. "Home? My home is in Karakura, where I was created."
She looked away from him, "How do any of us live in peace in one place anyways? Most of the arrancars I've seen have been trying to kill me, since I'm apparently so fucking hostile."

Now he was even more confused. Nothing was making sense. But, at the same time, he was curious. He wanted to know what could happen that could bring an Arrancar to believe that they belonged with the humans, the insignificant specs. Knowing this could take a while, he sat down and got comfortable. As he spoke, he motioned for heer to sit down beside him, "Well why don't you tell me about yourself and maybe I can help you out with your Arrancar problem."

Cautiously, Neko sat down in front of him, cocking her head and saying, "Well... First off, I'm Neko Yasu. I am a year old, as far as I know, and I'm one of the weakest arrancars in the entire world... according to my creator. Somehow or another, Kuroden wiped my memory clean and all I remember is the first year of my life." She opened her mouth to say something else but snapped it close, realizing she was rambling.

A curious case indeed, he thought. Most Arracar could remember something about themselves after their transformation. "Only a year, huh? Do you even know what it means to be an Arracar? Do you know about the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo? Or about Aizen?" He needed to see where she stood on this and he was growing more and more curious to know it.

"I know about Soul Society, as you can see I don't know anything about Hueco Mundo. Everytime someone mentioned it, Kuroden got this look on his face and they shut up. I do know about Aizen and all his stupidd ass butterfly-ness though." Neko snorted, shaking her short haired head slowly and crossing her arms. "According to most of the vizards, and Kuroda, a quincy, he was a pretty bad guy. Though he fused with some sort of magical thingy that transformed him INTO the butterfly man. He created most vizards, if not all, and he also created most, if not all, the arrancars."

Zeta chuckled at her comments about Aizen's butterfly-ness considering it wasn't one of his greatest moments. "This Kuroden person has kept you well informed about most things then. It's puzzling why he wouldn't mention this place though. It's like mentioning Heaven, but not Hell. What have you been doing this past year if you weren't here then?"

"Hanging around the World of the Living, what else?" Neko gave him a 'duh' look before shaking her head and looking at the sky. She sighed and shrugged, "Maybe he was trying to keep me from leaving... he didn't act like he wanted me there though, always hitting me when I did something wrong."

Her last comment made him slightly angry. Even though he just met her, there's no reason to physically abuse someone unless out of deperate need. However, he controlled himself so he could learn more about what her life was like. "Do you know why he created you?" Through this answer, Zeta would see if her creator used her as a tool or had some genuine care for her.

"Nope. Though I wish I did. He seemed to be angry that I wasn't more powerful, so he started to hit me. Kuroda was the only one that helped me leave 'cause she didn't like it. She figured that if he could hurt me then he could hurt her and she helped me leave, leaving him herself. Don't know what she does now though, not seen her in a month or so." Neko shrugged and stretched her arms behind her head. "Damn guy was an abusive bastard that I hope I never see again." Neko didn't really see the importance in the question so she allowed herself to ramble about the Quincy lover that had saved her life, surely. Which got her wondering, would Neko ever see her again? She hadn't liked her before then but... now it was different.

As she continued through her story, Zeta became more and more intrigued by her story and more importantly, herself. At first, she seemed unbelievable, but he did remember hearing of a human who had experimented with Hollows and even went to the extent of manufacturing Arrancar, but nothing was ever confirmed. Now, he had the living proof of this man's work before him and he couldn't help but feel an attration of curiousity towards her. Some parts made him laugh, others angry, and some were upsetting. Even though she was an experiment, she was as much of any other living being as he was. He truly enjoyed her company.

"That's quite a story you have," he said after letting everything sink in. "What would you do if you ever saw him again?" This would be an interesting answer indeed.

Neko hesitated, uncertainty filtering her brain and pulling forward thoughts of her own similiar to his question. As she hesitated, her teeth connected with her lip and gnawed on it and she brought her hands in front of her as she began to scratch at the bandages. "I'm not sure... I suppose I demand a bunch of shit from him but I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive him for what he did."

Zeta smiled. He admired her answer as opposed to the usual, 'I'll kill him,' or 'Make him wish he were dead,' answers that he's heard so many times in the past. "I know why the other Arrancars don't like you." He looked to her and before she could respond, he told her, "You're not like most Arrancar where you're aggressive or dark. You look at things a lot better than most and the others resent you for it. But, I don't. I commend you for it." He made a grand smile exposing his teeth.

Neko blinked at him, raising her eyebrows at her explanation. Could that truly be it? Were her actions unlike other arrancars? Yes... now that she looked at it, most of them had been angry and unlikely to do anything but curse at her and shove her. She was calmer unless confronted with a blade or other weapon, then she was only like a frightened child. "I see what you mean... they're so damn angry all the time. Or if not, they are emotionless and when they do get angry they just fucking explode."

Her last statement struck a cord in Zeta's heart. He knew he could fall into that category. Only, he did show some emotion when the moment called for it. But, he still had his explosive moments that were dangerous to any bystanders around. Still, he didn't want to be classified as another Arrancar in her eyes. Even though he just met her, he wanted her respect and care that she didn't feel towards other Arrancar. It was something worth obtaining. "Not all of them are that bad though. There are some who are better and actually have sound reasons to fight or even exist. But, they are few and far between." He stared out into the desert again as the memories of those Arrancar had come and gone before his eyes.

"Yeah," Neko nodded, cocking her head and looking up at him, "like you for example. You seem like the good guy, ya know? Easier, gentle." She sighed and looked away, staring at one of the twig trees nearby, catching a glimpse of a lizard hollow. Returning her gaze to Zeta, she smiled a bit, "I never caught your name."

He chuckled realize his mysteriousness. "My apologies. I'm Zeta Encadenado, Arrancar number 28." He outstreched his hand for a handshake beaming a smile as grand as the desert they were in.

Neko laughed, shaking his hand gently as she said, "Lots of vowls in that name, Zeta." She grinned up at him, respect in her gaze, "As an arrancar in the espada, I suppose you're always being watched?" She cocked her head curiously at him, waiting for an answer.

Zane laughed. "Lots of vowels indeed." Hearing her second question, his tone became serious. "I'm not an Espada. I aspired to be one when Aizen was still around, but after talking with you, I'm reconsidering that it may not be worth it. Why would I want to surround myself with ill-tempered people who are itching for a fight? If anything, your life sounds more like bliss than mine." He turned to her and smiled.