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Cazzuro stared out at the bleak, pale sands of Hueco Mundo's desert. He was always half suprised at the strange peace he felt here. He knew why he felt peaceful, this desert was his refuge from the Shinigami that so dearly wished to destroy him. In the human world, the only thing he could feel was hate. Hate for the Shinigami, who so often interrupted his hunts, and tried so often to kill him, for the human, so blissfully unaware of how easily he could kill them, for the spirits that had yet to be saved by the Shinigami, or turned by the Hollows. But even here, there were dangers. The Grandes, and the Arrancar, both powerful groups, both dangerous, and both content to leave regular Hollows alone, so long as they kept to themselves. Cazurro had no desire to test the patience of either gathering. Cazurro stood from where he had been sitting, each fiber of his being groaning slightly. A momentary flash of memory floated to the surface of his mind, but was quickly swept away by his own will. 'Memories' he snarled to himself in the silence of his mind, 'Are for the weak.' Looking aroung, he felt the no urge to hunt, and so decided to wander, looking for another Hollow to talk to. He also wondered if it was strange of him to want to talk.

Cazurro heard the call, and slowly turned to face the new Hollow. He did not recognize it, but that was pointless, as he never recognized any Hollow, save himself. Standing up slightly taller that he normally would Cazurro called back, "What do you want?" His voice was flat, a point of pride, he enjoyed showing no emotion, in spite of the deep seated hatred he had for most things. Knowing that this could well a trap, he instinctively sharpened one limb, ready to impale an unwary attacker. 84 He started toward the new Hollow, running through countless possible events. Because he was doing this, he failed to notice, until he tripped over it, the rock in his path. Quickly righting himself, he continued walking until he was mask to mask with the other Hollow.

Cazurro didn't much care for the tone of voice, let alone the apperance, of his newly found fellow Hollow. He avoided diveing into his memory to answer the question of how long he had been in Muchos, he lived in the now. He told his fellow conversationalist so. Then he decided that, even being a Hollow, introductions were in order. "I am Cazurro. Do not ask about my past, I've worked very hard to forget it, and don't expect me to ask about yours, as I will doubtless forget it too." That was the state of Cazurro's mind, he focused on the present, because to his the past was locked in memory, and the future was but a passing dream. Now was the only time that mattered to Cazurro. Cazurro scratched absent mindedly at one knee, wondering vaguely why it seemed to ache slightly. He had already forgotten about his little trip a few moments ago. Cazurro, tired of standing already, sat down in the sand, careless for anything that might be below him. In fact he almost spitefully wished that he had actually sat on some insent or lesser creature, just for the satisfation of destroying it with so little effort. Looking around he saw nothing but sand, and felt slightly disheartened that he hadn't crushed anything. Then he shugged and sighed. 'Ah, well,' he thought, 'maybe some other day.'

Cazurro stared absent mindedly at the sky. "Plans? I rarely make plans. Too much effort for so little pay off. As for hunting, that I do find worth while." He returned his gaze to the less than appealing Hollow before him. "I wonder, do you think I haven't recognized your power level compared to mine? Perhaps you think I was too stupid to notice, of somehow too weak. Don't demean me, I am more intelligent than I appear." Finally, Cazurro stood, and looked out over the bleak, and wholey uninviting desert. "You bringing up feeding made me hungry." Had Cazurro had a stomach, he suspected it would have growled deeply to emphasize his point. Turning back to Eldufan, he slowly shifted his head from one side to another, eliciting loud cracks at both far ends. "Care to join me in some hunting?" At the back of his mind, he quietly pondered how effective Eldufan was in battle, and if their activities might draw the attentions of shinigami. But hunger and a desire for chaos and destruction over rided any logical thought Cazurro was capable of. His head was almost spinning with twisted anticipation of the carnage he hoped to inflict.

Itsuki sits on the sand of Muchos and silently thinks about what he should do next. His thoughts are drawn toward eating human souls or other Hollows if need be. Itsuki sighs and lays down to sleep.

Cazurro growled at the sand beneath his feet, and kicked at it, sending plumes into the sky. "I hate this world." Cazurro paced for a moment, letting his rage boil for a time, and then turned to face the empty air. With a gutteral howl he ripped open the barrier between Hueco Mundo and the Earth. He marveled at the raw brutality of the opening, as if he had just ripped space itself. The jagged, unnatural perimiter made him feel all the more powerful. He peered through the portal with his beady eye, out onto the world of the living. The lower half of his mask pulled away from the rest at an unnatural angle, and a sick, purple tounge licked at the seem where the two mask pieces had parted company. A row of sharp, glistening teeth glinted behing the mask. Cazurro started to laugh quietly. He shut his mishapen mouth, the parts of his mask coming together with a quiet, but unmistakeable click. The laugh did not die at cazurro stepped through the portal, his mind filling with visions of chaos and torment.

Akako wandered the sands with a growing, growling pit in his gut. His previous meal just didn't quite quell his hunger. I must truly be in hell if I am to continue like this; eating all these other creatures and never being full. His paws made no sound as he continued to walk, seemingly, infinitely towards the curved horizon. His hunger almost made him collapse when he reached the peak of another dune. He was so hungry and tired, that he wished he could just open his mouth and food would hop right in his mouth. It was at that moment that he hatched an idea. He lay down on the coarse sandy dune and stared at the sand below him. He focused deeply on one particular spot in the ocean of sand below. After an minute or two of no results, he dropped to his stomach, rolled to his back, and looked up at the moon. it seemed to be in the same exact place it was when he woke up in this desert. Perhaps there is no concept of time in this plain. Maybe I could be here for days, and not a second could have passed since I died. Is this the fate of the damned? He stared at the monochrome sky for several minutes, or even possibly an hour before rolling back to his stomach. He was going to try and will the food to come to him again. This time, he wasn't going to bother standing, but try it laying down. He didn't want to waste his energy standing. Once more, he stared out into the sea of sand. In his mind, he repeated one word over and over again, Food. He very suddenly got excited when he saw something move, but it quickly faded when he felt the sting of the wind on his eyes. He had failed his second attempt. He sighed and stood back up, his legs shaking from hunger. He wanted to find something else to eat. Something that would at least pacify the turmoil in his gut.

It was another hour or two before came across something else that moved. This one was larger. This one seemed to be even more of a monster than Akako was. It was large, had quite an interestingly intricate white mask on, and a huge whole going through its massive chest. It looked like it could easily crush an SUV. With its huge dark green body, it turned to him and waved. "Oi! Oi you! Doggie! C'mere!" Akako stopped and looked around. He didn't see any other living being aside from himself, let alone a 'doggie'. "Yes, you! C'mere! I've got some food for ya." Akako's stomach growled harshly. He didn't care much for being called a 'doggie,' but he couldn't really refuse a meal under these circumstances. He walked closer to the creature only to find how tall it really was. "Hehe. Good doggie. Here. I jus' caught this 'un." The behemoth spoke in a rather Osakan accent, and threw a child over to him. She was still trembling in fear. "Eat up, doggie. A'fore she r'ns away." Akako looked curiously between the child and the monster. Does he really expect me to eat her? He thought. Even with his stomach grumbling like that, he couldn't come to devour this innocent little girl. he turned his head and looked down at the sand. "Wha? Yer not 'ungry? But a holla's gotta eat, right?" Akako looked up at the pale mask of the behemoth again and repeated, "H-holla?" The word perplexed him. Could this behemoth be suggesting he was a 'holla'? "Soarie 'bout my accent. Wha' I mean is 'Hollow.' We're called 'at 'cause o' these here holes in us." As he said that, he pointed to the hole in his massive chest. "'ere. Eat up. You'll fell be'er." Once more Akako looked down at the little girl, still trembling at him, but now she was in tears. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth. He didn't want to look at his prey as he ate it. There was a scream, and then several smacking noises. Then it was over. "Good. Now yer well on yer way to being big 'n strong like meself."

Akako lay down on the sand. He thought about what he had just done, and what he had become. Normally, he wasn't very philosophical like this, but he couldn't help but wonder this thought, What is a 'Hollow?' What does it mean to eat one's soul? He looked up at his burly new 'friend' and tried to classify him as a hollow and not anything else. "He is... big, but the lizard was small. He is... Green, and so was that lizard but... He turned his head and tried to look at his skin color. I am blue. Or rather a deep sea blue. He sat and rolled and twisted, trying to come up with some definition of a 'hollow.' He thought his brain cramped when he had run out of ideas. He pushed himself to his feet and started to walk away. "Hu? Wus a matta'? Hey! Us holla's gotta stick t'gether. Oi!" The green giant tried to follow Akako, Shaking the ground with each monstrous step. Akako however was faster than the beast and he slowly faded away into the sand behind him.

Akako's walk eventually broke into a jog. He had so many questions and no answers. The only thing running through his head was What is a 'hollow?' What does it mean to be a hollow? All throughout his jog, he saw creatures of all shapes and sizes, sounds and colors, no two looking alike. He saw no similarities between himself and any of the creatures aside from the masks. It was then he stopped. He looked out into the wasteland and saw a few monsters, but the two things all the creatures had in common were the pale and intricate masks they wore and a hole showing right through them. It was then the idea sparked. Could being a hollow mean to be empty? To be void? That was the one thing he could think of after looking out at all these Hollow. But if Hollow are void, then the question is, void of what? He felt he was getting closer to what it meant to be a hollow. Even though he uncovered more questions than answers, he still had an answer. "Hollow are void. Now, what are they void of?" He had found his next goal and now set out to search for the answer.

"Hollows are void, but of what?" Akako spoke this question to himself several times as he walked across the darkened nighttime desert. He repeated the question once more when he was interupted by the growling of his stomach. "No. This is more important than food. Hollows are not void of... wait." He felt he may have been on to something with this train of thought. He looked behind him to where he had left the large green hollow. He remembered how amazing it felt to eat that little girl's soul. It was a sensation he had not received when he ate the lizard. "Hollows lack what souls have. Could it be that a Hollow lacks... 'Soul?' Or do I... does a hollow lack something more complicated than that? There is only one way to find out." He looked ahead and started to run again. Direction did not matter, but he had to test this theory. He went out in search for a larger hollow. A hollow that he would believe to fill his hunger. If I eat enough Hollows that devoured Human Souls, would that fill my lack of a 'soul?' Akako was now sprinting all out in a straight line through Hueco Mundo, in search of a hollow, or any other sign of life.

Just after Akako passed a spot on the sand, it began to sink. It was like watching someone pull the plug out on a bathtub filled with sand. "Could this be a natural phenomenon here?" he asked to no one in particular, but he did receive an answer. A voice called out from deep in the pit, where a flat white mouth appeared. "Hehehehahahaha! I'll give you a 'natural phenomenon!' A lowly Hollow like you is doomed to be eaten!" The voice had a somewhat feminine sound to it, but the words directly contradicted it. Slowly, the mouth closed and disappeared beneath the shifting sands. Akako's heart was beating rapidly. He couldn't tell if it was from fear of a second death, from joy of finding food, or it was some form of the 'Hanging Bridge Effect'. One thing was for sure though: he would die again if he didn't stay on his toes. The cackling started again, and the sand started to wane. Quickly, he ran away from the vertex of the pit, hoping to escape this attack, "Idiot! Now you're all mine!" Called out the feminine voice, but not from the pit. It was coming from his left. He turned to see some dark blue shark monster flying toward him. He panicked, No. No. Get... away. I have to get away. Go away! The shark's masked jaws opened up to reveal row after row of frighteningly sharp fangs. Akako closed his eyes and he heard a smack.

He felt something touch in a place he couldn't quite clearly describe. It was as if something hit just above the tip of his tailbone. He opened his eyes and saw the Hollow flopping about like a fish out of water on the sand. It swore and flailed before managing to get back under the surface. "You fooled me! You aren't as defenseless as you look. I won't be making that mistake again." He could hear the sand shifting all around him, but he didn't see any movement. Even the air seemed still. It turned quiet at that moment. The only thing Akako could hear was his own body moving. Then, just ahead of him, he saw a fin glide right through the sand. Instinctively, he chased after it. He was much faster than it, but he had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. He caught up and lunged at it, but just before he made contact, The shark leaped at him again, but from behind. Akako looked back to the fin and saw it sink into the sand, and rise up behind the Hollow. "The... Tail?" He said in shock. He never would have guessed it could use its tail like bait in such a manner. "Yes. You aren't the only one with a fancy tail! Now, die!" She shrilly screamed. Fancy tail? What did she mean? Akako tried to turn in mid-air, but was only able to go ninety degrees. He looked at the shark and gasped, "N- no. No. No!" At the third yell, a blue sphere of energy flew out from his mouth at the shark. It hit dead on and the Hollow flailed on the ground again. "Bala!?"

"Where did you learn that? You're only a minnow! Where did you learn Bala? Akako ran toward the female hollow and opened his mouth. He couldn't wait to feed any longer, and this was his chance. "I- I don't know. I just... did." With those final words, he bit into the shark Hollow and she stopped flailing. Akako bit again, and she twitched a bit. He bit a third time, and she moved no more. He was well into his meal, but he wanted to know. "What is being hidden under these masks, I wonder? He stepped closer to the head of the shark and tapped his claw against the pale white mask. he scratched it a little harder, and could see a fracture being formed. He clawed at it a little more and a piece fell off. Akako was so shocked about what he had seen, that he grimaced and turned away. What he saw under the mask was a human face with the face of pure fear.