HOLLOW BOUND

"Don't you dare pin this all on me."

"Go ahead and laugh. Laugh at me."

"What good have you ever been to me?"

"You can care if you want. I can't anymore."

"I can't stand you… that stupid smile on your face…"

"Start celebrating already. I know you wanted this…"

"Well, you should be happy. You got what you wanted."

"You could have done more… why didn't you do more?"

"Why do you get everything good? When is it my turn?"

"You don't know a damn thing about the world like I do."

"Just here to pull me into another awful situation, huh?"

"You always act like you've never done anything wrong."

"I just wanted an apology. And you couldn't even do that."

"You don't have a sympathetic bone in your body, do you?"

"I'm fine. Of course I'm fine. I'm not allowed to be anything else."

"Why would I care about them? Have they ever cared about me?"

"I never meant anything to you. I'm just upset I didn't see it before."

"Oh, of course it's all my fault… of course, because it's never yours!"

"Oh no, it's okay just put it all on my shoulders, again... you always do."

男対山！

to put it simply, uno wasn't made for hueco mundo. her body was constantly dripping water as part of her yōkai origin, which while in the world of the living mostly meant hiding in lakes or ponds or streams, keeping herself ( mostly ) free of debris, in hueco mundo, it meant she was easily coated with the fine-grit sand of the desert landscape, weighing her down and making her lose sight of starrk-sama and lilynette. today wasn't the first time they had gotten left behind, and it likely wouldn't be the last, either—but somehow, every time it happened, starrk-sama knew exactly where to find uno, instead of abandoning them completely.

" you have no idea your effect on me. " // @bornhollow

" uno . . . affects starrk-sama . . . ? " her voice is gentle, quiet, as if anything more will disturb this moment of peace they've found for themselves here in the open sands of hueco mundo. it was a deserted place, reminding them somewhat of the temples they'd seen in the world of the living; this one was mostly open, though, but the tall white columns out front, providing them a bit of coverage from the strong winds that had been whipping through the dunes today.

by now, uno knew that there was something . . . strange that seemed to connect her to the arrancar known as coyote starrk—and by extension, his other half, lilynette. it went beyond the slight similarities uno had noticed between themself and lilynette, from their pink irises and light green hair, or single eye showing—it sometimes felt as if there were some invisible sort of tether connecting her to him, allowing her to sense not just his reiatsu, but his emotions, or allowing him to track them down when they got lost.

wasn’t that something.

and then they’d run into uno again, and they’d given starrk a smile, soft and enchanting, and how could he do anything but smile back? and that was that, it seems. she was no longer etched into his soul, she was an extension of it.

In the feeble protection of the ruins the three of them have come across, coyote keeps uno close to his side, the feeling so natural as their wet body presses against him, his own arm easily wrapping around her shoulders. she was made to be there, she belongs there, and coyote wasn’t ever going to let her be anywhere else.

“it’s- not a bad thing, uno. it’s different, but not bad.” he shifts the cloak a bit so he could look down at her, offering her a kind smile, a smile just for her, one that reminds them of when they’d first became intrinsically bonded-

“don’t apologize. i like it, truth be told. i like knowing what you’re feeling, where you are, like being able to keep you safe-“

his lips find their head, pressing into their wet hair, inhaling deeply. they smell of mildew and dampness, and it should be unpleasant, but it isn't. far from it.

“i don’t want this to go away- i don’t want you to go away.” his chest is tight as he admits as much, a heart that isn't there aching as they wrap their other arm around her too, not caring about getting wet from her natural dampness. a beat of time passes, then two, before he turns her face up, smiling softer.

No man’s life is worth more than another! If you’re gonna put your life on the line, you do it as equals!

" you should be recovering. " his voice comes soft as he glances away, unable to fight the way he winces slightly as ikkaku applies some of hōzukimaru's styptic to his wounds; however, yumichika does not pull away or tell him to stop beyond that—after all, it wasn't like he could expect unohana-taichō to patch him up, not when she already had so many others to tend to. " you look like you need it more than me, anyways. "

eyes slip closed, raven locks falling in a gentle cascade as he leans his head against the other man's shoulder, allowing him to continue tending to his wounds and adjust his feathers. after a moment yumichika reaches up, taking ikkaku's hand only once he'd peeked one eye open, ensuring no one was looking their way. slowly, he brought his hand over, lips brushing against his knuckles. " . . . iba already gave you a lecture, didn't he? " he knew—he knew that anyone else who was aware of ikkaku's situation would likely reprimand him for not using his bankai in order to keep the pillar from falling—but more than anyone else, yumichika also knew precisely why he hadn't. it was for the same reason he hadn't requested transfer to another division, where he might actually be 3rd seat; it wasn't about the power or the rank for either of them, in the end.

it was all about following that man until they took their final breaths.

but he doesn't stop, doesn't rest, not when yumichika needs tending to. that's why he's here, isn't it? to fight with him, and to heal with him, even if that means forgoing rest to fix him up.

okay, maybe he doesn't know the meaning of the words "heal" and "rest".

"i'm fine, don't worry about it." he hates when yumi worries about him. it makes him feel weak and coddled, like he doesn't trust that ikakku can hold his own. and hypocritical, too, because when yumi is hurt, he worries about him. he knows he can hold his own, he doesn't think he's weak when he gets hurt, but it's different when it's the other way around. obviously.

he keeps adjusting and readjusting yumi's feathers, only stopped when his soft lips brush ikakku's knuckles, sending a shiver shooting up his spine. he doesn't have to look around to know they're alone, he's sure yumi already checked, so he doesn't bother checking before he pushes some sleek, soft hair from his brow, kissing his forehead in turn.

"yeah, yeah, he laid into me already. you'd think he was my captain or something." ikakku smirks, ignoring the pain of moving too much in the moment, but it lasts only a second before falling a bit, yumi's plea enough to make his heart ache as bad as his body does right now.

when ikakku dies, he knows two things; it'll be in a battle, and it'll be by yumichika. or that's what he wants, and most of the time he thinks that no one else has a say in it. that's how he's gonna die, and he's gonna die happy.

but sometimes real life doesn't want to follow plans.

"i'm not gonna die without you, idiot. not if i can help it." he knows he can't help it, not always, but he'll try his damn best.