My pain is real!

He had stopped a small distance away from this female with such pale skin and pink hair, taking a deep gaze at her from beyond his hood. A slightly amused snicker escaping his lips. Well, well. Another Arrancar? Out there in the desert? Perhaps she was just returning to the castle as well. He didn't know a thing about her power or rank, having not socialized with the others of his kind that much lately. Yet he found himself somewhat curious. He could remember seeing this face somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. His ears focused on listening as well. The singing, now sounding more like a whisper, reaching his ears. The voice came off in a high pitch, as expected of a female. Perhaps a bit on the stoic and calmer side. His thought process was cut short, as he noticed something. The person who also seemed to have cat ears turned around, and began walking off towards the castle. So their destinations were the same after all. His grin now deepening, the young male opened his mouth. "~So as the boy fell asleep~" he was singing with a clear voice, his voice deep and poetical as usual. Sure to reach her ears in the end. He also started to walk forward, reaching up to her in no time.

There the man stood, a few meters away from the female. His gaze still set towards her, a faint smirk showing from underneath the hood. The fragment of his mask also barely visible under his right eye. The dark reiatsu around of him clearing, reducing the oppressive feeling around of his. They were now standing side by side, though a clear distance apart. It could now be clearly seen, what the person was holding on his right hand. The hand itself covered by a leather glove, a rose colored in black held within his grasp. His lips pulled into a near frown as he let go of the rose. The winds picked the delicate flower, now flying towards the female. "And so, everything in life eventually comes to and end", the person recited in a softer tone from before. If the other Arrancar besides of him was keen on observing, she could have noticed a very faint spark of purple. One appearing and disappearing in an instant. This sparkle having met the rose, making it wither mid-air. His hands now placed in the pockets of his coat, Hao turned towards his new acquaintance. "Why, good evening there my fair lady. Mind I ask you who you are? I have a feeling we've met before, but I'm not too sure exactly where", his lips pulled into a small smirk again, the person questioned the female with a distinct tone behind his words. Showing a tiny bit of playfulness. Perhaps the person before of him could remember him, even by name. But the usually bored Hao felt like questioning her anyways, if only for the sake of his own amusement.

Aeris stopped instantly, as he heard someone else singing. She turned around instantly. While her rest of the face was still looking normal, her eyes were wide. A sign of a unexpected event. No one else shouldn't have been able to know that song. Aeris had herself learned that song from her mother. Not that like she would still remember that. Other reason to be surprised was to hear someone else to sing. No other arrancar had ever sang besides Aeris herself.

''Who is this person?'' she asked from herself as she turned around completely, watching the mysterious figure to get closer. As the arrancar got closer, Aeris noticed an object in the person's hand. A black rose. Her eyes had changed from wide to curious. Aeris liked only a few things. Flowers and singing were part of those two things. Had that person brought those things out on purpose, to let her guard down? Or was it really just a weird coincidence? She stopped her line of thoughts there, as she noticed something near that dark rose, which was currently in mid-air. It touched the flower and made it to wither on an instant. This, combined to person's clothing, made Aeris to remember someone faintly.

A question had been asked and Aeris was ready to answer, as the person was standing only a few meters away from her. This somehow familiar man was also polite. Another characteristic, which wasn't usually seen with arrancars. Aeris had her eyes finally at their normal look. ''My name is Aeris. And as I don't remember the correct meeting place, I do remember meeting you''. Her neutral, monotone voice kept a small break before starting to speak again. She didn't usually talk a lot without having a small breaks to define her speech. ''And you don't have to give me your name, Mr. Aokami''. The clothing style was very unusual for an arrancar, so she remembered him well. ''What are you doing here?'' Aeris didn't quite remember, what kind of person Hao was, but she was sure that she would find it out soon.

Ah. So he had seen the female somewhere before! No wonder he thought those pink flocks were so oddly familiar. Thinking back, Hao could remember sitting through one of those bothersome Espada meetings like he had done so many times before. Having often seen some very peculiar sights there. While they were usually so very boring, he always had the chance to observe the actions of rather amusing beings. Most of the higher ranked Espada were rather eccentric after all. This one he could barely remember for her unusual features, and maybe that stoical expression and way of acting. Like a broken window that hadn't fallen out of its frames yet. But what would he know about people like her? Nothing really. He could see these people around every now and then during his stay in the castle. That's that. He was a silent lurker, someone who only made contact with others to alleviate his eternal boredom and this weird feeling he had. While he wasn't a social person, he found others to be very interesting in ways. And as such, he was curious about Aeris as well. Trying to get to know her a bit better, as his rather strange introductions showed.

The man brought his right hand over his face, snickering while he did so. She even remembered his name and all. Making the introductions short. He had thought of getting more social with people for a while now. He had spent a couple of years avoiding contact with others after all. Having found Arrancars and other souls alike to be boring. But his moods had shifted again. A faint smile on his face, he swiped his right hand away, pulling the hood down. Yellow optics glaring towards the female, but not in a threatening way. His eyes were inviting and close, yet so very distant. The eyes of a true observer. "Oh, nothing much. I just thought that a change of scenery would do good for a change. Besides, I need to socialize with my fellow Espada every now and then", he spoke with his usual charismatic tone, sounding very honest about his words. Yet there was a faint pressure in his words. You could say that Hao was a very oppressive person like that. His excitement not showing through his chilly smile, but through his hands. His muscles tensed, a bright purple spark erupting through his gloves. Disappearing in an instant. He had calmed down right away. The weird thing was, his gloves were still intact. Showing a great degree of control over his powers.

His face had some rather unique features to it. The fragment of the mask under his left eye. The streaks of white running through his hair, with the scarlet hues to his sides. One could say these features proved attractive. Rather, the person in question usually kept the hood up to hide his true identity. Most others only knowing him as that cloaked person. He was showing the fair lady some grace by doing so, especially after that crude outburst of his. "Then how about you? What are you doing out here in the desert miss Aeris? Enjoying the endless night?" he questioned with the same tone of voice as before, tugging at his hood again. For some reason he felt better having it up. The cloth now obscuring his face once again. Now that the introductions were out of the way. He was preparing to soon make his way towards the fortress.

Aeris didn't like about the snickering, which Hao made when she remembered his name. But only seconds later, when his hand was off the way, a faint smile had appeared. Aeris was having a hard time to figure out this person's personality. He was inviting, yet distant. He tried to be social, but he observed everything she made. Next time he started to talk, his voice was charming. That gave an idea to Aeris. Maybe this person was some of those people, who didn't knew what they felt.

Brighter spark had appeared and disappeared trough the person's gloves. Maybe because of excitement. Aeris then started to pay more attention to the person's face. His hood was still up, but his left eye was still visible. Or, more importantly, what was under that eye. His fragments of his hollow mask. Aeris stopped observing until she realized, that she could just continue on doing it for hours.

''I don't enjoy'', she answered to the mans question. ''It just annoys me less than the endless sun inside the fortress''. Aeris started to turn around, but not too quickly. ''If that was all you wanted to talk about, continue your journey'', she said while she continued her walking towards the white wall of Las Noches. She hoped, that Hao wouldn't have a same way. Something might happen..

Truth to be told, Hao wasn't too surprise over the answer Aeris provided him with. His question having the hidden aim of ascertaining her true disposition that he thought he had already figured out a bit by now. His guess was not too far off. This female was quite a lot like he was, just more open about it. Incapable of enjoying what this sad excuse for a world had to offer. Had she always been like this, or was something the cause? Could someone perhaps change her outlook on life? A silly thought experiment that held no importance to him. Dismissing the thought he shrugged, leaving out a calm sigh. Taking one more look up to the skies. His eyes shining a faint innocence for once. Such a dark gloomy sky, containing glimmering lights of hope. It was a nice change of scenery from his previous adventures. Yet, he knew that he would eventually grow bored with it once again. Like he always did. Such was the passage of time.

Then another line pierced his ears. The female had spoken once more. Trying to finish the conversation and telling him to go on. His expression reached a momentary frown, though he still felt a bit of amusement inside. A contradictory reaction. Judging by the direction she was walking in, their directions were pretty much the same. How lucky. Or maybe unlucky? Depends on who's eyes one looks through. Judging by the way she spoke, she wanted to end this short conversation of theirs. "My journey? Hah. This journey you speak of has already ended. Our destinations are very much the same"

His voice suddenly turned pressing, yet not threatening. It was as though he turned into someone colder and more serious in an instant. Such a strange shift in moods. But it just went to show in how much control Hao was of himself. Portraying himself in new lights constantly. His reasons for doing so still remaining instead.

The male Arrancar then tucked his hands inside of the pockets of his coat. Walking through the endless fields of sands towards his destination. His pace, while rapid, was matched to Aeris' pretty well. He was keeping a distance, yet staid close enough to clearly hear her voice. He wished to observe the person a bit more. While he wanted to get back to Las Noches quite soon, he still had all the time in the world to spend on other things. It was more amusing to travel around with a companion than alone after all. Besides, this person sort of reminded him of himself. So dark, yet so very different. For now, this was a good pass of time. Humming a tone to himself, the male kept on going. His destination currently known as the large fortress rising before of them. The tune of the song being the very same Aeris was singing a short while ago.

Aeris gave a quick glance to the arrancar, as he said his destination. It seemed, that he was returning to the fortress. Which would cause more social situations to Aeris. She wasn't very social person, so talking with three or a more people during one day was extremely rare. She still walked towards the fortress. Aeris didn't know Hao very well. She hardly knew anyone very well, but that's besides the point. The point is, that Aeris wasn't sure of this man's intentions. Combined to her doubt towards everyone, it would be bothersome. She noticed, that the man started to follow her. And not very far away from her.

Aeris hadn't walked very far away, until she stopped. It was because of the man, like last time. The melody, which he hummed, was still the same which Aeris knew. This started to bother her and she turned rather swiftly around, facing the man. ''How do you know that song?'' was her simple question. No more words were needed. A brief wind traveled trough the spot they were, moving small bits of sands. It was a very silent night on that lonely desert, with only voices of two arrancars disturbing it's peace.

Hearing the words of his unlikely companion, Hao stopped humming in an instant. His eyes hidden beneath the hood turning towards her. Now taking a close look at her. From her disposition, it was faintly apparent that she wasn't exactly comfortable with him following her. A sign of doubt and distrust. Which wasn't all too surprising considering that this was the most the two had ever socialized before. Not only that, his own way of acting was rather random. Ever changing the way he communicated with her. A little bit of caution would help her keep safe, especially when around such a stranger. He turned himself around, now facing Aeris directly. The female had asked him a question after all. Perhaps she was surprised to hear someone else humming this particular tone. It was from a fairly unique song after all, one that was lost with the ages. He thought about what to do next for the shortest while. Quickly deciding on his next act. Having more than enough time, he could offer the female a show. A true performance from a previously unknown artist.

In a hidden subterranean research facility in a room with several patients aligned in cages at the opposite end of the door, there were a group of men. Each wearing the JLA uniform; Japanese officers everyone of them. The commissioner of the project was none other than Kitaro Masaji, a man who will later be wanted for war crimes, as he is the leading figure in the chemical warfare, inhumane experiments AND unethical practices which are cited to be superstitious. One of them was grafting the DNA of species of supernatural entities to that of prisoners of war. Study the effects and see what would happen.

After successful studies, standing along a monitor, Lieutenant Kitaro would stare at what he would be holding; a piece of parchment written with Kanji, more specifically, the test results where a serum was invented. One such person who has a high count of Reishi can become empowered with immortality the Hollow seem to possess, and perhaps aspects of their power, but so far, on the Reishi Geiger counter, only Kitaro seems to have the highest count of everyone in the facility, even the prisoners. Standing within the room where it has an operating table with a syringe that is capable of taking out extracts and intermix it with DNA changing chemicals. His uniform was the same as all JLA officer, missing only the cap, and accompanied by a lab coat. His analytical eyes looking over the paper as he scans over the series of successful experiments, in comparison to the failed ones.

Kitaro had made a deal with a man who at the moment was living in Taiwan in pre WW II era. He had brought with him several hollows of a weaker variety as well as one that was a little stronger than the rest but still nothing that couldn't be easily handeled. The man here was a doctor and Kitaro knew little about him other than he was expirimenting with hollows and working with the spirtual world. His research showed progress and therefore Kitaro was interested. He had sent in lower arrancar to examine the man from behind the scenes hiding from his vision to make sure he was the real deal before Kitaro had made an arrangement to get him the hollows he needed provided that in the end they would be in an agreement of mutual protection and advancement with eachother whenever the opportunity would strike.

Kitaro examined the room upon entering. Now back in the present and no longe in reminding of why and what he was doing here. Kitaro stayed standing up at his height of six foot six inches tall or little more than 2 meters in height waiting for the man to offer him a seat. He didn't want to be rude about it. He was a polite man and an honorable man in the matters that involve his friends and his allies. This man here was an ally and had proven to be and with this research could perhaps produce greater numbers of allies. So Kitaro was polite yes. He examined the room and made sure of his surroundings. He didn't want any unwatned surprises but as the doctor examined the hollows Kitaro took up the incentive to speak again. "Ah Doctor would you mind if I sat. I have traveled a while and into the sand so I wouldn't be questioned on the way." Kitaro stated beginning to sit down or at least motioning to but not actually going without the word of his ally here. It was the proper thing to do.

There was something curiously interesting to this inter-dimensional creature, the progenitor of Hollows that would be classified by names assigned by other creatures of his kind as an Arrancar. It may be coincidental, but he has a similar given name to his surname, as Masaji found to his interest. The man had a perfectly common name in Japan, despite his inter-dimensional existence, suggesting that perhaps the stories were true, that he was a spiritual being just as the rest of those creatures are.

Regardless, the man makes a gesture to allow the Arrancar a chance to sit, on his couch that is. The one with the seat aligned so to face the window of the room where the recent experiment is taking place. At least the one where the man was injected with Hollow extract, one with the highest Reishi count so far, only second to Doctor Masaji's own Reishi count curiously. It was so to produce these super soldiers, but to his knowledge, what agreement was so good that has gotten a representative of these Arrancar to agree to actually provide help to the experiment? Nonetheless, the entire room was set to have an observatory camera set in place, as in his pocket, Masaji has his own syringe of Hollow extract. If this experiment were to go right, then odds are, he'll inject himself with the syringe as a self-experimentation, to get first taste of the product that would be produced.

Turning around, he'd face his guest with his stone slate of a face. "It seems we have quite a similar run in of names, my surname is Kitaro as well. An accident? I think not, now as you should see here, this is our latest subject... an insurgent Chinese prisoner that should've been executed, but instead, has been given a second chance into life... as an experiment. Fascinating, eh? If this experiment were to succeed, the man can proudly proclaim himself to be the FORERUNNER of all Hollowfied human super soldiers... perhaps granting evolution that humanity should've sought! Provided I work around the issues of sterility." The man said in his enthusiasm, watching as there would be developments in the prisoner's body, mostly the mutation taking place through dilation of cornea, swelling muscles and the paler tint taking place which is making the man whiter than usual. Back then, Masaji himself was yellowish which would be typical of most Japanese people.